Forever After (Montana Brides) (2 page)

The glimmer of a smile lurked in his eyes. “Okay. But I reserve the right to make intelligent suggestions.”
 

Leaning back in her chair, Nicky thought about how interfering those intelligent suggestions could become. “As long as you remember who’s in charge of the investigation, that’s alright.”

He nodded.

“I’ve also got my own business to run.”

“You can work from Bozeman, if that helps.”

Nicky drummed her fingers against the edge of the table, running through the projects waiting for her back at her office. It could work, but only if the rest of her team were happy to take on extra work.
 

“I’ve got one more question. Why did you come here today? I was supposed to meet someone from the office on Monday.”

“You wouldn’t have come. So I made your decision for you.”

For a few seconds she didn’t think she’d heard him correctly. A hiss of air escaped her lips when she realized he’d been serious. Leaning forward, she matched him stare for stare. “I’m not some gullible twenty-four-year-old anymore. There’s no way I’ll let you make decisions for me, and don’t even think you have any right to try. If I come with you, it’s because I want to, and my family needs me. My decision has absolutely nothing to do with you.”
 

After the briefest hesitation, he said, “Fine. No more decision-making on your behalf.”

Dropping her arms to her side, Nicky dragged herself out of the chair. “It’s a deal then. I’ll pack my bags and make a few phone calls.”
 

Sam smiled with such ferocity she felt as though she was about to be eaten by a big bad wolf. And she knew from personal experience just how big and bad he could be.

After a quick change of clothes, Nicky found her suitcases and wheeled them into her bedroom. She pulled clothes out of her closet, tossing them into the open bags before she changed her mind about leaving.
 

In between calling her staff and ringing her neighbor, she managed to fill three suitcases to overflowing. Staring at one of the bulging bags sitting in the middle of her bed, she began to have serious doubts about what she’d agreed to do.

“Cheer up. It can’t be as bad as that.”

Sam stood in the doorway, looking like a man who really cared. She knew how deceptive those looks could be, and she wasn’t getting sucked into his life anymore than she had to. “It’s okay for you. I’ve got six weeks of family life ahead of me. Six not so glorious weeks of fashion advice, grooming tips, and man advice.”

Sam laughed. “I thought Maureen would have gotten the message after the last guy got the boot.”

Nicky’s head shot up. “How do you know about the last man she earmarked for me? I never saw you the whole time I was in Bozeman.”

“You mean you made sure you never saw me. But I heard about what you’d been up to.”

“I’m going to kill Cody when I see him,” she choked out. “That brother of mine thinks Maureen’s matchmaking tendencies are funny. Just wait until she turns her attention on him. He won’t be laughing then.”
 

For some strange reason, Cody and Sam had become great friends. Between a chief executive who thought he could tell her what to do, and a brother who had about as much common sense as a snail, she knew she’d be heading into dangerous territory. “That’s why I need my own apartment. At least Maureen won’t be able to pounce on me.”

 
“Don’t be too sure about that,” he muttered.

Nicky gave him a sharp stare. It sounded as though someone else had been on the receiving end of her stepmom’s rescue missions. Every time Nicky visited Montana, Maureen packed months of advice into whatever timeframe she had to work with.
 

Regardless of what Nicky thought about Maureen’s pearls of wisdom, she had to hand it to her, the woman was a force to be reckoned with. She lifted her suitcase off the bed.
 

“Three suitcases?” Sam looked at the bags stacked in her doorway as if they’d been infected with a deadly disease.

Nicky gave him a tight smile. “You should be thankful I stopped when I did, otherwise you’d be paying a lot more for excess luggage.” Frowning, she looked around her room.
 

This was it. The beginning of the worst six weeks of her life.
 

She jammed another pair of sandals into the side of her bag and headed down the hallway. Sometimes helping her family sucked big time.

“Are you practicing for a marathon, or just trying to outrun me?”
 

Pulling on the handle of her airport trolley, Nicky came to a screeching stop in the middle of the arrivals area. Sam’s eyes were alive with laughter, his mouth in serious danger of tipping into a smile. She clutched the trolley as he moved toward her.
 

It was time to face a sad fact. She’d never get this man completely out of her system. After three and a half hours of uninterrupted bonding time her body had remembered just how addictive Samuel Delaney could be.
 

She ran her hands down her suit. It was supposed to remind both of them that she was returning to Bozeman for business and nothing more. But the wider his smile grew, the harder it was not to smile back. “If you can’t keep up with me, then maybe you should set the pace.”

Sam took another step forward. She realized too late that four-inch heels weren’t a good idea. They put her eye to eye with Mr. Chief Executive. And eye to eye was a dangerous place to be.
 

Mischievous brown eyes fused with blue. “Maybe we could take turns?”

Nicky frowned. “With what?”

“Setting the pace.”
 

Heat slammed through her body. He was playing dirty, and her two-timing body remembered just how well they could share. Her gaze skittered away from his eyes, landing squarely on her stepmother’s face. Her heart sank. First Sam and now Maureen. She must have been really bad to deserve the two of them in one day.
   

“Darling, I’m so pleased I found you. Cody said you were arriving with Sam, and I couldn’t resist coming to meet you.” Maureen opened her arms and kissed her on each cheek. “It’s good to see you too, Sam. I’ve organized a little welcome home barbecue for Nicky. Are you able to join us?”
 

Nicky hoped not. He must have something more important to do than make polite conversation around their patio.

He glanced at her. The mischievous gleam was back in full force.
 

She squinted back. He wouldn’t dare say yes. He couldn’t say yes. Having Maureen and Sam in the same house, at the same time, would drive her insane.

With a blinding megawatt smile he looked at her stepmom. “Thank you. I’d love to come.”

Her shoulders sagged.
The toad
.
 

“Do you want me to take your suitcases?”
 

If you didn’t look too closely, you’d swear Sam Delaney was being his normal charming self. But Nicky knew better. The man was seriously delusional if he thought she’d let him take anything of hers. “I can manage them on my own.”

“I guess you’ll have to follow me then.” He held his arm out, leading Maureen toward the main exit.
 

Sending an evil glare straight through his shoulder blades, Nicky muttered unladylike things under her breath. Despite her best intentions, Samuel Delaney had wormed his way into her personal life and she wasn’t impressed.
 

With one last push of the trolley she made it out the terminal doors and into a warm Montana evening. And into the next six crazy weeks of her life.

Nicky stood in front of her father’s house, gazing at the beautiful two-story building. He’d built his home ten years ago and it still managed to take her breath away.
 

Stone, timber and glass walls drew the outdoors in, creating a warm and inviting heart to the ranch her great-grandfather had created. Four sets of windows framed each side of the house, and a balcony wrapped around the second floor, giving almost every room uninterrupted views of the Gallatin Valley. It would have been perfect if you ignored the trucks and cars filling the gravel yard to overflowing.

Nicky stared at the vehicles, then down at her crumpled red suit. Maureen’s barbecue had turned into a full blown social event. “I can’t go in looking like this.”

Sam spent a leisurely few moments studying what she’d quickly dismissed.
 

Clenching her jaw, she ignored the heat hitting her cheeks.
 

“You look fine to me,” he said. “Just the right amount of rumple to bring out the sympathy vote, but not enough to make you look like a bag lady.”

Planting her hands on her hips, Nicky glared at him. “If that’s supposed to make me feel better, you’ve got a bit more training ahead of you in the empathy department. Knowing Maureen’s friends, every one of them will be decked out in casual designer chic. I feel like I’m wearing airplane grunge.”

“Some of us like airplane grunge.” Sam smiled.

She ignored her jean clad kidnapper. How anyone could look as good as he did after spending most of the day in airports was beyond her. The creases in his cotton shirt added to his charm, along with the dark shadow hugging his jaw and the wicked gleam in his eyes. He didn’t care about stepping in on fashion central, but she did. Her gaze shot to his truck.

“You want me to grab one of your suitcases, don’t you?”

Chewing her bottom lip, Nicky tossed up between clean, wrinkle free clothes, and a suit that felt like it was ready for the laundromat. The clean clothes won. “I don’t know which case I packed my pants and shirts in. I’ll hunt through them out here, so we don’t have to lug them all inside.”

With a resigned sigh, Sam moved around his truck and opened the back passenger door. He grabbed one of the suitcases and nearly dropped it on the ground. “What did you pack in here? Rocks?”
 

An excited squeal filled the evening air, followed by the clatter of high heels against slate tiles.
 

“Nicky, I’ve missed you.”
 

Emily raced toward her, arms extended, and a huge smile across her face. Nicky couldn’t help but grin at her stepsister. Surrounded in a cloud of expensive perfume and a bright pink shirt, she hugged her tight, glad to at least have her company as a buffer between fashion perfection and wrinkle hell.

“You look wonderful. It’s been too long since you came home.” Emily looked happily at Sam. “You need to bring my sister back to Montana more often.”

“Once is more than enough,” Nicky muttered.
 

Flicking her mop of red curls over her shoulder, Emily gave her a bland look that set her nerves on edge. Her sister had to be nuts to think Sam was anything more than her current employer.
 

“Hey, sis. Long time no see.” Cody grinned from the front door, bounding down the steps two at a time. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug, squeezing all the oxygen out of her lungs.

“Where did all those muscles come from?” Nicky asked. “Don’t tell me you’ve been going to the gym?”

“You don’t need a gym when you’ve got a ranch to manage.”
 

Nicky poked at the rock hard biceps flexing in front of her. “Have you swept any females off their feet with those muscles, little brother?”

He grinned wickedly at her. “I’m perfecting my technique at the moment. What’s with the suitcases? I thought you were staying in The Village?”

“I need to change my clothes. How about you put all those muscles to good use and take my suitcases upstairs to my old room?”

Cody looked across at Sam. “I don’t think you know what you’ve taken on. Nicky will have you jumping through hoops before the end of the first week.”

Sam looked amused. “She’s already set some pretty impressive ground rules, but I think I can take what she dishes out.”

Nicky stared at her muscle-bound step-brother and overconfident employer. “Would you two stop talking about me as if I wasn’t here?” She growled at the grin spreading like a rash across Cody’s face. “If you both did as you were told there wouldn’t be any problems. My life would be a whole lot easier.”

Hauling one of the suitcases past her, Sam whispered, “There’s not one easy bone in your body. But I’m sure you’ll find someone who thinks listening to you will give them fringe benefits.”
 

A wave of heat washed through her body. Cody burst out laughing, and Emily stood with her mouth open, watching Sam vanish through the front door.

With more admiration than she thought was strictly necessary, Emily turned and asked, “Tell me again why Sam flew to Denver to get you?”

“Work and nothing more,” Nicky muttered.
 

“What’s taking you so long to get inside and give your granddad a hug?” Michael Roy Scotson stood in the entranceway, commanding everyone’s attention the same way he lived his life; loud and with maximum impact.
 

The white stone columns of the house were every bit as imposing as the seventy-six-year-old standing with his shoulders back and an impatient gleam in his eyes. He wasn’t a man who took kindly to being told what to do, or waiting for a runaway granddaughter to make an appearance. Nothing short of death would slow her bossy, old-fashioned, and totally loveable grandfather down.
 

“Hi, granddad. It’s good to see you.” Moving up the stairs, Nicky hugged him tight, smiling to herself as his wiry grey hair crinkled against her cheek.

He leaned back, spearing her with a look that meant business. “You’ve got your work cut out for you, girl. I’m counting on you to get this mess sorted before anyone gets wind of our problems.”

“I’ll do my best.”

He squeezed her shoulder. “That’s all we’ve ever wanted.”
 

His raspy voice stirred unpleasant memories of life in the Scotson household. Her parents marriage had ended when she was fourteen-years-old. After a messy divorce her mom had taken her to Seattle. As a teenager, returning to Bozeman to visit her father had been the low point of Nicky’s life. She’d missed her mom, her friends and the life she’d made thousands of miles away.