Forever And A Day (Montana Brides, Book #7) (16 page)

“There are three rooms ready upstairs,” Mrs. Davies said. “I’ll put clean towels on the end of each bed in case you want to have a shower to get the smell of the fire out of your skin.”

“I can organize the towels,” Sarah said. She smiled at Jordan as she walked past. “Are you okay?”

He kissed her quickly on the lips. “I’m fine. Thanks for helping.”

“You’re welcome.” She walked quickly out of the room, dodging Tim as he came running into the kitchen.

“Jeb called. Highway Patrol’s coming up the driveway.”

Jordan walked across to the pantry and grabbed a couple of mugs. “Take these with you, Tim.” He filled the mugs with coffee and added cream and sugar. “I’ll follow with a couple more.”

“You tell those boys to come and get some cookies too,” Mrs. Davies said. “They did well tonight.”

Tim nodded and walked out of the kitchen. Jordan wasn’t far behind.

Colin O’Grady pulled himself out of the Highway Patrol vehicle and looked around. “Heard you had a fire?”

“Looks as though it’s a small one,” Jordan said. “Pete put it out with one of our extinguishers.”

“Do you need a hand with anything?”

“We’re fine at the moment. Mrs. Davies is in the main house giving everyone coffee and cookies if you want to say hello.” Jordan knew Colin had a soft spot for Mrs. Davies and her home baking.

Colin glanced at the mugs in Jordan’s hands and smiled. “I might just do that. How was the bachelor party?”

“Different.”

“I heard Alex got a surprise.”

“You could say that. It’s the first bachelor party I’ve been to where the bride-to-be doesn’t need to gate-crash the party.” Jordan didn’t need to ask how Colin knew about the bachelor party. Doris would have been updating her Facebook page. When a three-time World Bull Riding Champion was about to get married, nothing was sacred.

“Do you need more mugs of coffee out here?” Colin asked.

“We’ve got enough. I’ll let you know when the fire trucks arrive.”

Colin nodded and walked over to the main house. Jordan turned toward the barn and stared at the empty building. He thought about everything he had to do tomorrow.

They couldn’t afford to lose bookings. If the damage from the fire took longer than a few days to fix, they’d be in serious trouble.

***

Jordan rubbed his hands across his face. By the time the fire trucks left the ranch, it had been four o’clock in the morning. He could have gone back to bed, but he figured now that Mrs. Davies knew Sarah was in the house she’d keep an eye on what was happening.

So he settled for a shower, found some clean clothes and managed to eat half a loaf of bread before Mrs. Davies arrived in the kitchen.

“You’ve got a good appetite this morning, Jordan McKenzie.”

“It’s been a long night.”

She gave him one of her I know what you’ve been up to stares and opened the fridge. “Could you manage a plate of bacon and eggs after all that toast?”

Jordan drained the last of his coffee. “You know me, Mrs. Davies. I’ve got hollow legs. I’ll eat whatever everyone else is having. Thanks for helping out last night.”

“It wasn’t a problem. Have you got some clothes for Sarah? The poor girl can’t go back to Alex’s ranch in her evening dress. People will talk.”

He had a feeling they’d talk anyway. Colin’s eyes had nearly popped out of his head when he’d seen Sarah. He didn’t know what Colin’s problem had been. She’d been wearing one of Jordan’s sweatshirts over her dress. It wasn’t like she was parading around the ranch semi-naked or anything.

“I’ve left a clean pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt on the end of the bed for her.”

“At least that’s something.” Mrs. Davies scowled at the mess he’d left on the counter. “How long do you think the barn will be out of operation?”

“I need to call the insurance company today, then get some prices for fixing everything up. I’ve only got ten days until our next guests arrive, so that’s my time frame.”

“And the guests we’ve got now?”

“Danni and Grant Huse leave today. The Blackwells and the McEwans leave tomorrow. Are you okay with looking after them in the main house?”

“Can’t see why not. We’ve had a bigger houseful in here before today. Just remember Gracie and Trent are due back in three days. Are you going to call them?”

Jordan shook his head. “I’ll have most things sorted by the time they get back. I don’t want to interrupt their first vacation with Jessica.”

“Your mom called last night. She’s coming out to the ranch this morning.”

He looked up from yesterday’s newspaper. “Did she mention a time?” He was really in trouble now. Since he’d broken up with his last girlfriend, his mom had been playing matchmaker. She’d introduced him to every single woman she knew. When that hadn’t worked she’d gathered reinforcements from her craft group and they’d managed to introduce him to most of their granddaughters.

If his mom knew Sarah had stayed the night, she’d have planned their wedding guest list by the time she arrived.

Mrs. Davies took a packet of hash browns out of the freezer. “She didn’t say what time she’d be here. You might want to give her a call.”

Jordan glanced at his watch. It was six o’clock. His mom would still be in bed, totally oblivious to what had happened earlier in the morning. He’d go and see if Sarah was awake, look at the fire damage in daylight, then take Sarah home before he called his mom.

It was the perfect plan as long as Mrs. Davies, the ranch hands, half of the Bozeman Fire Department, and Colin O’Grady didn’t say anything about Sarah to his mom. And he knew the chance of that happening was about as sure as a snow storm in the middle of Summer.

***

Sarah pulled Jordan’s sweatpants over her hips and knotted the cotton ties against her waist. After a quick shower and clean clothes, she felt much better than she had when she’d woken up.

She frowned as she combed her hair, remembering what had happened after their early exit from the bachelor party. When the fire alarms had woken everyone up, the rest of their early morning had taken on a life of its own.

Jordan had decided not to come back to bed after the fire trucks had left. She didn’t know whether he was so wide awake that he knew he’d never sleep, or embarrassed that everyone had seen she was there.

She looked down at her feet, then across at her black high heels. She’d have to go barefoot, because even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t be able to walk anywhere in her shoes. The two red blisters on her feet reminded her why it wasn’t a good idea to wear new shoes for more than a couple of hours.

Not that she’d been wearing her shoes all night, but that took her back to her first problem of the morning. Her second problem was getting back to Alex’s ranch before anyone knew she was missing.

Mac and the other ranch hands she shared the house with usually slept in on Sunday mornings. But knowing her luck, half of them would have been at Alex’s party or somewhere else in town. Some of them might even be rolling into bed themselves. If she didn’t make a move soon, everyone would know what she’d been doing last night.

“You’re awake?” Jordan stood in the doorway, looking surprised that she was up and showered. His dark hair was standing on end, as if he’d raked his hands through it so often that he’d put a permanent kink in it.

“I…well I woke up and decided to take a shower. Thanks for the clothes.”

Jordan looked around the room. “You’ve made the bed?”

“Fresh sheets, too.” She mumbled. Now she felt like one of those people who had obsessive-compulsive housecleaning tendencies. She picked up her carefully folded evening dress and wanted to rumple it up so that she seemed normal.

Jordan leaned against the door frame with a sexy smile plastered across his lips. This was so much more awkward than she’d thought it would be. She was a grown woman. She could sleep with anyone she wanted. Except she’d never wanted anyone quite as much as she’d wanted Jordan.

She picked up her shoes and took one last look around the room. “Could someone give me a ride back to Alex’s ranch?”

“I can take you.”

She nodded and moved toward the door, hoping he got the hint and moved his delectable body out of the way. He stayed where he was. “How’s the barn?” she asked.

“I’m just about to go and have a look. Do you want to come with me?”

She thought about all of the people that might see her wandering around the ranch. But it was Sunday. Normal people slept in. Even cowboys needed downtime.

“Do you need to borrow a pair of shoes?”

Sarah looked down at her feet. “I’ve got blisters on my heels.”

“Wait here.” Jordan disappeared down the hallway. He reappeared a few minutes later with a pair of sandals dangling from his hand. “Mom left a change of clothes here in case she needs to stay over. These should fit you.”

Sarah slipped her feet into the sandals. They didn’t have straps across the back and fitted fine. “Thank you. Again.”

“You’re welcome.” That sexy smile popped back onto his face. “I enjoyed last night. Before the fire.”

Sarah looked longingly at the door. She’d never slept over at someone’s house. Except her ex-fiancé’s home and he’d turned out to be a total loser. Jordan wasn’t. He was kind and sweet and uncomplicated.

If she had half a brain cell left she’d be throwing herself into his arms, asking for another night of spontaneous combustion. Except she didn’t know how to ask. Didn’t even know if he’d want her to ask, or what she’d do if he said yes. And all of that thinking she decided, was too much at six o’clock in the morning.

So she hugged her clothes close and stared at the dark stubble on Jordan’s face. “I enjoyed last night, too.”

He stepped forward and kissed her on the cheek. “We’ll take a look at the barn then get you home before anyone knows you’re missing. Don’t say thank you.”

Sarah grinned at the man who made her feel like a giddy teenager. Except she wasn’t a teenager anymore. She had a company to reinvent and a software program she needed to sell. And that was before she worked out what was going on with her parents.

***

As soon as she got back to Alex’s ranch, Sarah’s cell phone started ringing. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and frowned at the number. “Mom?”

“Hi, honey. I didn’t get you out of bed, did I?”

“No. No, I’m fine. I’ve been awake for ages. Is everything okay with you and dad?”

“It couldn’t be better. I wanted to give you a call to say how happy we are that you won the court case against James.”

Sarah held her breath. She hadn’t been expecting that at all. “Thanks, mom. How did you find out?”

“You know how news travels. Your dad was playing golf yesterday with your lawyer. Why didn’t you tell us you’d won?”

“I only found out a couple of days ago. I guess I was still coming to terms with what it meant.”

“You don’t need to worry about a thing. Your dad has asked a friend to start looking for a building in a good location where you can re-establish your company. I know you preferred to work in the center of town, but there are some lovely developments underway in the Pearl District. All of those lovely warehouses are attracting a new…”

“Mom, wait a minute. I know you want me to come back home, but I’m still looking at different options.”

“That’s okay, honey. When you’re ready to make a decision, we’ll have narrowed down the lease options for you. Thomas didn’t go into any specifics about how much damages you were awarded, but you might want to consider purchasing office space rather than leasing. You can never lose on property, especially if you keep it as a long-term investment.”

“I’m not sure where I want to live.” Sarah waited for her mom to say something, but for a few minutes silence was the only thing between them.

“If location is the issue we can look at different areas. I know you’ve always liked the ocean. There are plenty of little towns along the coast that you might like. They’re further from Portland, but if you were happy to commute they could work.”

“It’s not Portland I’m thinking about, mom. I might stay in Bozeman for a few months. I like it here.”

“Yes, dear. I know you do. But there’s not much opportunity to develop your company in Montana. Your father built a successful career in medicine, but his biggest opportunities didn’t happen in the hospitals. It’s who you know, Sarah. You have to go to the right events, and the local rodeo doesn’t count.”

Sarah thought her mom might have meant that as a joke, except it hadn’t been funny. “I can work from anywhere, mom.”

“I know you can, honey. I thought you’d want to come home. You’ve got good friends here, and Portland’s such a lovely city.”

Sarah’s chest was getting tighter. “I don’t think you should look for commercial properties just yet, mom.”

“Okay, we’ll stop looking. But as soon as you want us to put some options together, just give me a call and I’ll make it happen. But that’s not the only reason I’m calling.”

Sarah sat down.

“Your dad and I have decided to come and visit you. Christmas is weeks away and we miss you. We’re arriving next Sunday afternoon at one o’clock. Your father has appointments first thing on the following Tuesday, so we’re leaving on Monday afternoon. I know it’s not long, but we want to make sure you’re all right.”