Forever Cowboy (Montana Brides Book 5) (4 page)

“I’ve enjoyed myself. Don’t let my brother’s advice put you off buying this building, Emily. He’s a bricks and mortar kind of guy. He’ll come around to seeing the possibilities.”

Emily took one last look around the ground floor before pulling the front door closed. The only possibilities Alex was inclined to see were from the back of a bull. That hadn’t worked two years ago, and it wouldn’t do much good now.
 

What she needed was a bank manager with imagination. Someone who could see past her business plan and into what she was trying to achieve. And that, she realized, might be about as difficult as making a cowboy see the possibilities.

Emily closed the heavy wooden door of the Bank of Bozeman and headed across the parking lot. She didn’t feel the afternoon heat seep into her bones, or hear the happy chatter of people as they caught a few rays of sunshine.
 

She focused on putting one foot in front of the other, making it to her truck before someone recognized her. Before someone asked how her day was going.
 

She was so upset that she didn’t know if she could even begin a conversation without breaking down in tears. In one big, bold, ugly stroke of his pen, Jackson Riley had destroyed half a life-time’s worth of dreams. And that didn’t account for the hours of work that had gone into rewriting her business case. None of the long nights and early mornings mattered one iota, because Jackson Riley wouldn’t be signing off on the business loan she’d applied for.
 

“You’re going to bang into someone if you don’t watch where you’re going.”

Emily stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and looked up into a pair of unsmiling gray eyes. “Sorry.” She dropped her chin to her chest and kept walking, dodging the hand that shot out to stop her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said over her shoulder. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her keys. In fifteen minutes she’d be home, surrounded by boxes of beautiful clothes for the boutique she wouldn’t be opening.

“You can’t drive if you’re upset.”

“I’m not upset.” She clamped her lips tight on the catch in her voice and kept moving.
 

“You’re walking too fast. I can’t keep up.”

“There’s a clue in there somewhere,” she muttered. The last thing she needed was a heart-to-heart discussion that ended in,
I told you so
.

The soft thud of Alex’s crutch followed her along the sidewalk and she felt really bad.
 

She turned, waiting for him to catch up. It had been nearly two weeks since she’d last seen him and he still looked as though he was in pain. Like somewhere, deep inside his body, there were things going on that would take a lot more than physical therapy to fix.

His steady gray gaze didn’t leave her face. She couldn’t figure out what it was about him that made her heart race, even after everything he’d done. Sure, he had muscles galore, but then all of the cowboys she knew were the same. And his crooked nose shouldn’t have added to his appeal. But it did.

He’d ridden on the professional rodeo circuit for years. Every bump, break, and scar gave him something that set him apart from other men. But that wasn’t the only thing that set him apart. She had to remember that Alex Green had more women hanging off his jeans than anyone she knew. Buckle bunnies loved him, or parts of him, and she knew what made
their
heart rates hammer.

“I saw you come out of the bank.”

Emily nodded. She didn’t need the concern she could see on his face or the gentleness in his eyes. She wanted to find a quiet spot in the middle of nowhere and lick her wounds clean.
 

“Did you get your loan?”

She took a deep breath and repeated the words she hadn’t wanted to hear. “I’m too big a liability. The bank manager could see the potential investment return, but my current financial status didn’t give him the reassurance he needed to sign off on a loan.” Emily’s voice sounded about as wooden as her heart felt. Jackson had tried to be kind, but it had hurt even more because of it.
 

Alex pushed his hat to the back of his head. “I’m sorry. I know it meant a lot to you.”

“Nicky warned me it might not happen.” She’d also told her that Alex’s idea about sub-letting part of the building to another tenant made sense. It would give Emily the guaranteed income the bank was looking for and make the loan payments greater than she could do on her own.
 

“Did you ask your parents to secure the loan?”

She shook her head. “I want to do this on my own.”

“It’s not going to happen unless you have financial backing.”

“My dad…” She closed her mouth. She’d never told anyone why she wouldn’t ask for help from her family and she wasn’t about to start now.

“What about your dad?”

She gripped her keys tight and looked over at her truck. “I really have to go. How’s your leg?”

“Getting there.”

Which told her about as much as she’d told him.
 

The corner of Alex’s lips twitched. “I was about to head over to Tess’ café and grab a coffee. Do you want to take pity on me and save me from being pounced on by Jessie and Doris?”

“They’re not that bad.” Emily couldn’t help the laughter in her voice. “Besides, it’s Friday. They go across to the library for Erin’s,
Time for a Yarn
program.”

“Sounds like a match made in heaven. Those two could talk the hind legs off a moose.”

“It’s a craft group. The yarn is like thread or wool.”

Alex still didn’t look convinced that he’d be safe. “Are you sure they’ll be at the library?”
 

“Almost sure.”

“So you might be interested in coffee? If they’re at the café you could change the subject so they don’t ask about my failing career.”

“Then they’d ask about mine,” Emily added. “And by the time I got back to my truck the rest of Bozeman would know that I didn’t get the loan.”

Alex moved out of the way of a woman pushing a stroller. “The gossip mill sounds like it’s moving faster than the last time I was home.”

Emily remembered the last time he’d been home because she’d been the center of more than one tall tale. “Facebook,” she sighed. “They’re running social media classes at the library. Doris and Jessie have found their calling.”

“Maybe I’ll skip the coffee.”

“Could be wise.” Emily hesitated before walking away. “You’ve made me feel better. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He smiled, and Emily felt something quiver near her heart. “Don’t let what happened at the bank get you down. Other buildings are being put on the market all the time.”

But none of them had the history or the character of the old library building. They also didn’t have the leaky roof, soft cabling and plumbing that had been installed when Noah rode in the Ark. And if you added fire damage to the total package, you ended up with trouble.
 

Maybe Alex was right. She’d have to be crazy to consider owning the building. It was probably just as well the bank had turned her down. She could have ended up over her head in debt and bankrupt, just like her birth father.

Or maybe not.

“You know I’m not much of a betting man,” Trent said with a smile in his voice. “But I can’t turn down someone who’s looking in the face of defeat. I’ll raise you by a dollar.”

Alex glanced at his friend, then down at the cards in front of him. “I’m going to call and raise you by another buck.”

Sam rubbed his jaw. “You guys are going to clean me out. Here’s my buck fifty, and I’ll call.”

Trent turned his cards over. “Ace high flush.”

“It’s a queen’s high flush from me,” Alex said as he flipped his cards into the center of the table. “Congratulations, hot shot. Another round to the daddy-to-be.”

“Nothing like cleaning out the pot to make a man feel proud,” Trent said as he scooped the poker chips into a pile in front of him.
 

Every second week, the same group of guys got together for Friday night poker, trading the in-between Fridays for babysitting duties while their partners went out. Only this week, four of the families were on vacation, so Alex, Sam and Trent were on their own.

For the last few years Alex hadn’t been in town much. But now that he was home he planned on making up for lost time. “Gracie’s looking fit to burst with all of that baby inside her. You sure she’ll be all right in town?”

Trent had married Alex’s half sister, Gracie, in a Vegas spur-of-the-moment, tell-the-bride-later kind of way over a year ago.
 

“She’ll be okay with Nicky and Emily,” Trent said half-seriously. “I’ve given Gracie strict instructions to call me if she needs anything. I’ve got my cell phone, so she can’t go wrong.”

“Wanna bet,” Sam yelled from the kitchen. “Don’t you remember those costumes Emily chose for Nicky’s bachelorette party? She nearly gave me a heart attack.” He came back to the table with two large plates of pizza balanced in his hands. “You’d have to be mad to let them run wild at Joe’s Bar.”

Alex hadn’t heard about the bachelorette party, or the late night rendezvous at Joe’s. “What costumes?”

“Think short, see-through fabric, with lots of silver buckles and not much else,” Sam sighed. “It’s just as well I married Nicky when I did, otherwise I’d be chasing off half the men in Montana. Who wants a beer?”

“Make mine a cola,” Trent said.
 

“Worried about a late night run into the hospital?” Alex asked.

“Am I that obvious?”

“Only sometimes,” Alex said. “Better make mine a cola, too. Doc Johnson’s got me on enough pills to put a horse to sleep.”

“How’s the leg?” Sam asked.

“Better than last month, but that’s not saying much.”

Trent reached across for a slice of pizza. “When do you think you’ll be riding again?”

“The rate I’m going it could be next year.” Alex had given up on the June deadline for a clean bill of health. All he knew was that his leg hurt like hell whenever he rode his horse. And Thunder was no match for the bulls that would eat him alive if he got within an inch of their hides.
 

He reached for the Cola Sam held out to him. “How’s Emily’s hunt for the perfect clothing boutique going?”
 

Sam shrugged his shoulders. “Nicky’s still helping her look, but they haven’t found anything. It’s a pity the old library didn’t work out.”

“What did the engineer say?”

“Structurally, it’s as solid as a rock. The fire damage can easily be repaired. The plumbing and wiring will be a pain to replace, but it’s fairly straight forward.”

“Why won’t she ask anyone in her family for a loan?” Alex asked. “You own a construction company, for Pete’s sake.”

Sam sat at the table and popped the cap off his beer. “I asked Nicky the same thing, but she’s not talking. It’s a pity the bank couldn’t loan Emily the money. Her online business is creating profit margins that would make most people sit up and take notice.”

Trent shook his head. “Seems to me that the two property tycoons in the room aren’t using their brains. Emily needs a silent partner. Someone to help spread the cost of the loan, but still give her the freedom to create her own business.”

Alex reached for his drink. “I can’t see that happening. Last time I saw her she wanted to do everything herself.”

“True,” Trent said. “But that’s the Scotson stubbornness speaking. Maybe there’s a different way of looking at the problem.” He turned to Sam. “Last week you told me that Nicky was thinking about setting up her own consultancy office in town.”

“Probably because she’s sick of working down the corridor from her husband.” Alex smiled at the resigned look on Sam’s face.

“She keeps telling me that I’m interfering in her work.”

“Let me guess,” Trent said. “You’re making helpful suggestions?”

“No.” Sam laughed. “I’m interfering.” Sam and Alex bumped cans together, toasting his interfering ways.
 

“So Sam’s interfering, Nicky wants a baby-friendly office, and Alex is looking for something to keep him out of everyone’s way for a few months.”

“I’m sure there’s a point to this conversation,” Alex muttered.

“Brilliance takes time. Especially when you morons need to let your brains play catch up with your mouths.”

“Hey, watch who you’re calling a moron,” Sam said. “I managed to beat Nicky at scrabble the other night.”

Alex reached for another slice of pizza. “You’ve been married for about a year and a half and you play scrabble? What’s wrong with you?”

“We’ve got our own set of rules.”  Sam grinned. “And you won’t hear any complaints from me.”

Alex shook his head. “That’s too much information for the only single guy in the room. Can we start the next round of poker?”

“Give me two more minutes, then you can tell me to shut up,” Trent said. “What if you and Sam go thirds in the building with Emily? Nicky can use part of the space for her business and Emily gets the rest. You get a remodeling project and I get an excuse to eat at Tess’ café.”
 

“I can see where you’re going with everything else, but what’s Tess’ café got to do with the deal?” Sam asked.

“I don’t want Alex getting lonely. He needs some male bonding time so I’ll meet him for lunch at Angel Wings Café. Nicky’s great at a lot of things, but cooking isn’t one of them.”

“Excluding your stomach, you’re forgetting one thing,” Alex said. “I don’t want to buy another building.”
 

Sam shrugged his shoulders. “You’re not buying a building. You’re buying a dream.”

Trent made a gagging sound. “Pardon me while I choke. That’s one of the worst reasons I’ve heard for investing in a property.”

Alex picked up his cell phone. “It’s not my dream, its Emily’s. And she sure as hell won’t want to share. Why did Gracie text me?”

Trent dropped his cola, spilling it over the table. “It’s not the baby is it?” He stood up and started searching his pockets. “Where’s my keys?”
 

“Don’t panic, daddy.” Alex laughed. “Gracie wants you to bring home a tub of chocolate caramel ice cream. She didn’t want to stress you out in case you thought something had happened, so she sent me a text instead.”