Forever And A Day (Montana Brides, Book #7) (26 page)

Tess laughed. “Not quite.”

“A fashion photographer?”

“No, but getting close.”

“I don’t know what…
Wow
.”

Sarah twirled in the middle of the room. “What do you think?”

“Perfect.” Tess sat back in her seat and watched Sarah fiddle with the neckline. “It’s a wrap-over so it’s supposed to show some cleavage. Make sure you wear a pretty bra and you can’t go wrong.”

“Love the shoes,” Sally said. “The thin silver straps look really nice with the blue merino. Will you be able to walk in those heels if it snows?”

“It’s not going to snow,” Tess said with certainty. “I checked the weather forecast this afternoon.”

Sally frowned at the dress. “What about a jacket? It might not be snowing, but it will be cold. I’ve got a navy blue wool coat if you want to borrow it?”

Tess disappeared into her room again. Two minutes later she was back with another hanger. “What about this cape?”

Sarah held still while Tess flicked the cape around her shoulders. “Where did you get all of these amazing clothes?”

Tess shrugged. “Here and there. I’m happy they’re getting some use. What do you think about the cape?”

“It’s perfect.” Sarah did another twirl and watched the pale lavender cape flair out around her legs. “I feel like Mary Poppins.”

“Make sure you wear pretty underwear all over. Not just your bra.”

Sally and Sarah both looked at Tess with their mouths open.

“What? I may be socially inept, but I know a good thing when I see it. And Jordan and Sarah are two good things. It would be a shame not to be prepared for all eventualities.”

“We’re going out for dinner,” Sarah said. “And I’m not going to be dessert.”

Sally raised her ice cream sundae cup in a salute. “You go, girl. But be careful. Jordan’s got a sweet tooth and you might fall under his spell.”

Sarah had been under his spell before and it had ended in disaster. This time she was going to be careful.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Not for the first time, Jordan wondered if he was going crazy. And it didn’t have anything to do with the freak snow storm that had passed through Montana. Or finding out his ranch guests had been stranded in one of the visitor centers in Yellowstone National Park.

Those things he could handle. It was Sarah that spun him in circles.

Two hours ago he’d decided there was no way he was going to miss his date with her. So, idiot that he was, he’d driven across to Alex’s ranch to pick her up. With roads closing everywhere, he’d barely managed to crawl along the highway.

Sarah had been waiting for him. So had Mac.

His heart had nearly stopped beating when he’d seen her looking all soft and sexy in her blue dress. She’d put her hair into a fancy knot on the top of her head, leaving wispy strands hanging around her neck. He’d wanted to pull her into a hug, kiss the living daylights out of her, and tell her how much he’d missed her.

But Mac was there, hovering around them like an overprotective father. He’d told Jordan he was a fool. The roads were dangerous. They needed to stay where they were. But Jordan had a plan and a snow storm wouldn’t stand in the way of his date with Sarah.

He should have listened to Mac. An hour later they finally pulled up to the guest accommodation on his ranch.

Sarah stared out of the window. “I can’t believe how quickly the weather changed.”

Jordan turned the ignition off and grabbed his jacket off the back seat. “It’s Montana. It happens more than we’d like. Give me a couple of minutes to unlock the front door, then I’ll come back for you.”

Jordan didn’t wait for Sarah to reply. He pushed his door open and waded through the snow to the front door. He fumbled with his keys, unlocked the door, then turned to get her.

“I’m here.”

She smiled up at him and his heart skidded to a halt. Her eyes were so blue that he could have stayed there all night. “Come inside.” His voice sounded as rough as gritty sandpaper. If she noticed, he hoped she put it down to the cold and not her body. Because if she had even a hint of what was going through his mind, she’d run a mile. Or half a mile to Emily and Alex’s place.

Sarah looked around the living room. “It looks as lovely as I remember it.”

“Mrs. Davies enjoys looking after everything. I’m going to put our dinner in the microwave. Do you want a hot drink or something?”

“Hot chocolate would be great.” Sarah followed him to the kitchen and sat on one of the stools. “Have you heard anything more from the visitor center?”

“Nothing apart from the call I got earlier. Tim said they’re warm and they’ve got plenty of food. The Rangers keep emergency supplies on hand for when this happens, so they’ll be okay.”

He finished making her drink and passed it to her. “This should warm you up.”

Sarah blew on the top of her mug and took a sip. “Perfect, thanks.”

“Do you like meatloaf?”

“Are you going to impress me and say you made it yourself?”

Jordan felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. “If I told you Mrs. Davies made it from scratch would it count?”

“You bet. I’m so hungry I’d eat anything at the moment.”

Jordan ignored where those words could take them and started unwrapping the meatloaf he’d left in the fridge.

Sarah leaned her elbows on the counter and watched him. “What have you been doing today?”

“Moving cattle. The weather forecast didn’t look good yesterday afternoon, so we started rounding up the herds and moving them closer to the main house. We were up early this morning doing the same thing.”

“You must be tired?”

“It’s been a busy couple of days.” Exhausted better described how he was feeling, but Sarah didn’t need to know that. It didn’t matter how many layers of clothes you had on, the ice cold wind tore through everything, leaving your face raw and your body pummeled.

Even the simplest tasks, like feeding the stock, weren’t easy. When they’d gone outside this morning, most of the hay bales were frozen together, making them nearly impossible to roll. Moving around on the deck of the truck had been worse than ice skating. But that was normal and he wasn’t complaining. He wouldn’t trade his life for anything.

He set the timer on the microwave and grabbed himself a coffee. “The sale of your computer program went through okay?”

Sarah nodded. “It did.” She glanced down at her cup and fidgeted with the handle. “I’ve been talking with Jacob Green. About property investment.”

He was glad he was only sipping his coffee. He didn’t think she would have started looking at buildings yet. “You can’t go wrong with his advice.”

“He had some good ideas.”

“Are you going to buy a building in Portland?” The thought of Sarah moving that far away left him feeling hollow. But if that’s what she needed to do then he needed to learn to live with it. They were going to be friends, and friendship could work over long distances. People did it all the time.

“No, not Portland. I’ve been looking around here.”

“Montana?” he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. But if it was an investment property it didn’t mean Sarah would be here. She could be living in Iceland and own a property in Montana.

“It makes good business sense. How’s the meatloaf?”

Jordan turned and stared at the microwave. “It’s cooked. I’ll get the salad.” Mrs. Davies had taken pity on him this morning. When he’d gone across to Gracie and Trent’s place for breakfast, the snow had already been up around his ankles. They knew the chances of him getting into town tonight were dismal, so she’d offered to cook dinner. By lunchtime, she’d left a huge meatloaf, salad, garlic bread, and dessert in his fridge upstairs. When Tim called at four o’clock to say they were snowed in at the Park, he’d moved everything downstairs.

“The garlic bread just needs a quick burst in the microwave then we’re done.”

He thought about the things Gracie had told him to do. He moved quickly through the living room, turned the gas fire on and lit the candles on the dining table and side tables. It looked better. Romantic. Maybe too romantic. Gracie would get him into trouble.

The microwave beeped and he turned back to the kitchen.

“I’ll get it.” Sarah already had the microwave door open. “Do you want the bread on the dining table?”

“That’d be great.” This was harder than he thought. He’d been less nervous when he’d learned how to ride a bull.

“So what are your guests doing over the next few days?”

“We were supposed to be going on a horse trek tomorrow, but we’ll need to postpone it for a couple of days. If they want to enjoy the snow, we’ll go tobogganing and snow tubing.” He left the meatloaf and salad on the table and gave Sarah a plate.

“Snow-tubing?”

“Yeah, you know. It’s a big tube you sit in and either get pulled by a snowmobile or shoot down a slope on your own. Trent and I twisted dad’s arm to get him to take us snow-tubing when we were little. Used to give mom a heart attack.”

Sarah looked up from her plate. “Did you ever go over the edge of a trail?”

“Tried not to.”

“Did you ever tell your mom?”

Jordan laughed. “No. She would have made dad be more careful.”

“Sounds like you had a fun childhood?”

Jordan pushed the salad around his plate. “We had lots of fun. Dad used to take us hunting and fishing. In the Fall, we’d disappear for days into the mountains. I couldn’t imagine having a better life. When he died it was like a part of our hearts had been ripped out.”

“I’m sorry.”

Sarah’s voice settled deep in his chest, made the pain a little less sharp. “One day, when I’ve got children of my own, I’ll tell them stories about their granddad. I want to be a good dad.”

“You will be.” Sarah cleared her throat. “Tell me the funniest thing about your dad.”

Jordan thought long and hard. His dad was a practical joker and had always seen the funny side of life. “He put a frog down mom’s swimsuit once. I’ve never heard anyone scream for as long or as hard as she did that day.”

“So that’s where your attraction to Kermit the Frog comes from?”

The teasing note in Sarah’s voice made him smile. “No. That’s where my attraction to you comes from.”

Sarah’s fork froze halfway to her mouth.

Heat rushed to Jordan’s face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. No, I did, but I didn’t mean to say it. And you don’t remind me of a frog…” He clamped his lips together and took a deep breath. “I should shut up now before I say anything else.”

Sarah smiled and kept eating. “You’re cute, Jordan McKenzie.”

“Cute? Are you sure you didn’t mean drop dead handsome? What about intelligent, witty, and the best catch this side of the Rockies?”

“Cute is better than all of those things. And you know what?”

“What?” Jordan had no idea where her question was heading, but it had to be better than where his had gone.

“I’m the luckiest person in the world to be having dinner with you.”

He wouldn’t survive past dessert if Sarah kept sweet-talking him like that. “Are you sure you don’t want to marry me now?”

Sarah burst out laughing. “You inherited your sense of humor from your dad.”

He smiled at her, but inside he felt like an idiot.

He hadn’t been joking.

***

Sarah rested her head against the back of the sofa. The flames from the gas fire leaped in the fireplace. They’d put some music on, had coffee.

She looked at Jordan. He’d closed his eyes. Seeing him so relaxed made her smile. He was usually so full of energy, a constant force in motion that didn’t slow down.

Tonight he’d been quiet, more reserved than she’d seen him in a long time. She pulled the blanket on her knees higher, wrapped it around her shoulders and sighed. “What do you want to be doing in five years?”

With his eyes still closed, he smiled. The dimple on his cheek deepened and the laughter lines around his eyes crinkled. “Sounds like you’re interviewing me for a job.”

His voice sounded soft and drowsy. Sarah snuggled deeper into the sofa. “It’s good to have goals.”

“That it is, Legs. Let’s see…” He opened his eyes and stared into the flames in the fireplace. “I’d like to have paid off most of the loan for the barn conversion. It worries me, owing the bank so much money.”

He frowned and Sarah waited for him to sort through the things in his mind.

“I’d like to be married, to have children. To be happy. Sometimes I envy Trent and Gracie. They found something special. It doesn’t come around often, that once in a lifetime love.” He sighed and looked across at her. “What about you?”

She thought about all of the things that used to matter. A career that was going somewhere, a successful business that would make her lots of money. She’d made lots of money, but it had come at a price. “I used to think what I was doing was the most important part of who I was. But it’s not. It’s who I am that’s important.”