Maverick (Star Valley Book 3) (3 page)

Standing by the door, Leah leaned her forehead against the smooth, cool glass and watched the rain pelt the water already being held in the reservoir. When she was younger, before they closed it off, her mom and dad had taken her on the tour far beneath the earth, to the interior of the dam itself. It had been cold and black with an elevator that went down, down, down, never seeming to end. Far from being scared, Leah had felt peaceful there, as though it were a preview of the afterlife—silence.

She’d been coming back ever since.

It wasn’t peaceful now, though, not with the thunder reverberating against the glass and the rain assaulting every flat surface outside. Leah waited for the heavy torrent to blow itself out and then smiled at the woman before sprinting out of the building and back to the road. She hopped on the Downtown bus and nervously checked her watch. She and Candace were supposed to leave soon and Leah wasn’t even finished packing.

Finally at her apartment complex off Sheridan Avenue, she flung herself into the shared space and Candace gaped at her from the kitchen. “You’re drenched!” she called as Leah beat feet toward her bedroom.

“I know! Sorry! I’ll be out in
five minutes
!”

Her short hair dried quickly (the only thing good about it) and she flung her wet clothes over the shower rod before squirming into new ones. The trip was only overnight so she filled her small bag with a few odds and ends, folded the plastic-wrapped gown and placed it on top, and zipped the case closed. She left it in the living room and found Candace, still in the kitchen. As Leah closed the door of the refrigerator after pulling out a bottle of water, she stared at the medical report Candace had taped to the freezer door and blinked at it for a moment. It had been up for nearly two weeks but she mostly ignored it.

It felt strange to have it out like this, on display. Leah didn’t like it. It felt like a bird circling, a bad omen. But it made Candace happy—gloriously happy—and Leah didn’t have it in her heart to tell her to take it down.

“Are you all packed?” asked Candace, breaking Leah’s focus.

“Yeah. Yep. All packed and ready to go.”

“Awesome. You drive,” said her friend, handing over the keys. “I’ll drive us back.”

With their suitcases packed safely in the trunk, Leah headed into Yellowstone National Park, which was the quickest way to Jackson Hole in the summertime. In winter, those roads would be closed for the season, but aside from the winding curves the storm seemed to have left this part of the state untouched and driving was easy.

“You know,” said Candace, “you might get paired with a hot groomsman.”

Leah made a noncommittal noise from the driver’s side.

“That’s it!” Candace said suddenly, making Leah jump in her seat. “We’re going to make a list.”

“A list? For what? We brought everything we need. And it’s just overnight.”

“No, a list for
you
!”

Leah glanced at her. “I have everything I need.”

Candace snorted and Leah wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, but she had a bad feeling. “Not even close.”

“I’ve got my dress, my shoes,” Leah replied cautiously.

“Not that kind of list.” Candace tore out the blank last page of the roadmap atlas and scribbled furiously at the top, then held it up triumphantly for Leah to read.

Reverse Bucket List
.

Leah stifled a groan.

“Oh, come on, Leah. You know what you’ve gotta do. You’ve gotta live like—”

“Don’t say it,” Leah hissed. “I hate that song. You know I hate that song.”

Candace frowned. “We’re making a list anyway. And right at the top is fuck a cowboy with his boots on.”

Leah rolled her eyes but she had to admit that just the thought of it thrilled her heart into a faster beat. She glanced at Candace who was scribbling furiously. “Don’t put that!” she cried, waving a hand at the girl.

Candace snatched the pen and paper out of Leah’s reach. “Oh, yes we are!”

“Well…well don’t put…”

“What?”

“
Fuck
,” Leah half-whispered, feeling heat creep up on her cheeks. “Don’t write fuck!”

Candace laughed and Leah couldn’t help but giggle, too. “What should I write then?”

Leah squirmed in the driver’s seat as the hills undulated out the open window. “Make love.”

The brunette threw back her head and howled with laughter. “Make love? Trust me, honey. That’s not what you want to do. You want a man with tight jeans, and big hands, and a big—”

“Oh, don’t,” Leah groaned.

“And you don’t want him to make love to you,” Candace pressed.

Leah had trouble even
picturing
that happening to someone else, let alone herself. It didn’t seem likely, or that she’d be any good at it. It seemed overwhelming. And complicated. And likely to leave someone with injuries requiring hospitalization. “Let’s stick with making love. Write that down,” said Leah, capitulating to Candace’s damn list. “Write down
make love to
a cowboy with his boots on.”

“Leah,” Candace chastised.

Leah shook her head. “That’s all I’m ready for.”

Her best friend looked at her sharply, letting a long silence hang between them. “Baby steps,” she finally said firmly.

Leah hesitated, so used to staying quiet at any talk of the future.

Candace refused to look away.

“Baby steps,” Leah finally said softly, turning away from Candace and gazing the Tetons rising up over the horizon.

“We’re going to find you a cowboy this weekend,” Candace declared.

Perhaps. But would Leah even know what to do with him?

It was early in the evening when they finally arrived at their hotel. When Leah saw the stone walls and low, rough hewn beams she could practically hear her credit card screaming in agony.

“You only get married once, right?” asked Candace, hauling her suitcase out of the back. “I guess Becca’s parents went all out.”

“She better hope she only gets married once. Who could afford to stay here twice?” Leah replied, gazing at the Tetons framing the hotel. They were purple against a darkening blue sky. No signs of a storm all the way up here.

The lobby was quite large with a huge stone fireplace. Certainly it was the nicest place Leah had ever been. The staff seemed friendly, though, and Leah and Candace headed up to their shared room, suitcases trundling behind them. Neither of them could afford to tip a bellboy.

Candace set to work spreading out their clothes. Bridesmaid dresses for tomorrow morning and the dyed shoes to go with them. They were spring green, which didn’t thrill Candace but Leah didn’t mind at all.

“Dinner’s in less than hour,” said Candace, checking her phone. “Here. Put this on first,” She held up a black lace bra for Leah. Something about it looked different than Leah’s other undergarments, something other than the color and the added lace.

“What the—?” She reached out to take it and felt its padded cups. “Oh, no way!” she declared, trying to hand it back.

“Put it on,” Candace insisted again.

“A push up bra? You’ve got to be kidding me! There is no way I’m—”

“Oh, yes you are! It’s going to look great with the dress. Trust me.”

The dress was borrowed from Candace’s closet. It had a high neck, no sleeves, and was quite bit shorter than anything Leah was used to wearing. Then again, most of Leah’s dresses hung well below her knees, which she always considered slightly knobby. They were nothing compared to her pitiful and unattractive chest, though. So the deep-blue satin dress was a good compromise.

Several minutes later, standing in front of the mirror, Candace swept back Leah’s short, choppy hair that hadn’t quite grown in yet and attached a long hair piece that was close enough to Leah’s own color that it blended in. “I don’t look a thing like me,” she whispered.

Candace chucked her shoulder gently. “Of course you do. You look exactly like you, just without the dark circles under your eyes. This is you if you were permanently on vacation.”

Leah snorted. She’d never been on vacation even once, let alone forever.

“Maybe Anna or Carly can get married in Hawaii and we’ll get you into a bathing suit.”

Leah paled and met her friend’s eyes in the bathroom mirror.

“Baby steps,” Candace reminded her. With one final flourish, she opened the door and gestured for Leah to step through it first. “Let’s go get dinner, get drunk, and find you a cowboy with a nice pair of boots.”

‡

A
ustin stood in
front of the sink at the nicest hotel he’d ever stayed in and surveyed the damage he’d already done in just under an hour. Every towel in the room was now on the floor, all of them required for the gargantuan task of getting him clean. The sink was now full of the remnants of his Grizzly Adams beard. His hair could still use a trim but he didn’t think his skills had gotten any better since that time he was six and gave himself a buzzcut with his father’s electric razor.

He clipped enough out of his eyes so that he didn’t look like a Canadian pop singer and left the rest of it well enough alone. All in all, he didn’t look too bad. His jeans were new and so was his shirt. Maybe if he smiled enough, women wouldn’t look too closely at his hair. It seemed a shame to waste time at a stuffy old dinner. Honestly, he’d rather just skip the whole shindig altogether. He was much more interested in the After Party he intended to hold in his room.

Seized by impulse and a desire for freedom, he shoved his wallet into his back pocket and hurried to the door. Austin grasped the door handle and pulled it open, only to find Walker standing there, scowling at him.

“Oh, good,” the man said with a quirk of his lips. “You’re ready.”

Austin scowled at him. He was ready for
something
, but it wasn’t over cooked steak and speechifying. He ran his hand through his freshly dried hair and tugged at the cuffs of his button down shirt.

“You look better,” Walker assured him as they made their way to the elevators. “Though…you couldn’t have looked
worse
. I’m sure the crowd will stay and listen to you speak now instead of running toward the Emergency Exit.”

“We could skip it altogether and avoid pandemonium, just in case.”

“Fat chance.”

“It’d be our civic duty,” Austin wheedled.

Walker pressed the down button and shook his head. “Just keep it short. It won’t kill you. I promise.”

Austin vowed to keep his part as short and to-the-point as possible as he stepped into the empty elevator car. On the way down, they stopped at the next floor. When the doors slid open, two young women hesitated, staring at Austin and his brother. Austin reached out and put his hand on the door, holding it open. He flashed them a smile. “Getting…
on
, ladies?”

Behind him, Walker grunted but Austin ignored him.

The brunette grabbed the blonde’s arm and dragged her into the car with a grin and a giggle. “We sure are!” she declared. The blonde said nothing, only stared at him with her big, blue eyes. She stood beside him, with the brunette behind her, and slapped at the row of buttons on the panel. She pressed the button for the lobby again, even though it was already lit. “Stupid,” she muttered under her breath.

Austin gave her a winning smile. “Well, now,” he said, “you never know about these things. Excuse me, darlin’,” he drawled. “Let me just make sure. Wouldn’t want to end up back at my room.
Yet.
” He leaned down close to her, purposely crowding her, and heard her gasp as his arm brushed her ample breasts. He pressed the button for the lobby himself then turned to look at her. She was like a tiny rabbit, tensed and trapped.

The other girl in the elevator giggled but he couldn’t take his eyes off the one right in front of him. She bit her lip, probably hard enough to draw blood any moment. And if she did that, of course he’d have to kiss the hurt away. Damn he needed a woman and this one was perfect. She had long blond hair, a top-heavy figure with a tiny waist he could wrap his hands around, and crystal clear blue eyes he could get lost in.
Those eyes
, those eyes were the thing. He was mesmerized.

Time seemed to stop and all that could be heard was the low hum of the elevator and the much more rapid pace of her breathing. Austin was tempted to touch her, her hand, perhaps, or maybe her shoulder. He even briefly considered skipping the award ceremony altogether, gambling instead that this girl was a much better prize for him. His own lips parted, not even certain what he was about to say. Before he could, the sharp ding above their heads announced their arrival on the ground floor.

He grinned at her. “Saved by the bell.”

The girl gasped and turned red up to her ears.

Austin turned, albeit reluctantly, and placed his hand over the edge of the door to keep it open. “Ladies first.”

There wasn’t much room in the tiny, mirrored space and the blonde was forced to brush up against him as she passed. Austin didn’t mind it—not a bit. He kept his hands to himself, though. He was still grinning when Walker grabbed him and lightly shoved him out of the elevator. “Wrong way,” he said, aiming Austin down the long hallway.