Montana Cherries (13 page)

“You might, too.”

“I won’t, Haley. I promise you.” He kept her tight against him, but lifted her chin to look at him. “I’ll be your daddy and live with you and play with you for forever, baby. I promise you that.”

“Will you play Barbies with me?”

Her question caught him off guard and he laughed. He nodded and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll play whatever you want.”

“I love Barbies.”

“Then yes. I’ll play Barbies with you. But wouldn’t that be more fun with friends who are small like you?”

This got her attention, and she once again went into her thinking routine. The tears stopped, and her eyes wore a look that was too old for her. Finally she reached a conclusion. “I would like two new friends,” she announced. “But only girls.”

Relief eased the grip on Ben’s heart. “Then we will find you two friends. Only girls.”

“Okay. Let’s do it.” Her troubled features cleared, and she pressed both her hands to his cheeks before popping a kiss on his mouth. The move took his breath away.

She climbed out of his lap and turned a bright gaze to the store. “Can we have ice cream now?”

chapter twelve

A
re you getting excited to leave, dear? Have you finished packing yet?”

“I’m very excited, Aunt Sadie. And no, not yet. But I’m close.”

Dani closed her eyes as she lay on the boat dock that evening, her cell phone at her ear, and lifted her chin toward the sky. The lingering heat from the day warmed her cheeks as she tried her best to be as relaxed as she hoped she looked.

In actuality, she was wound tight due to the upcoming family meeting.

And because she had
not
finished packing. She still had to go through the old desk in her bedroom, but she kept avoiding it for fear of what else she might find.

“I’m so excited for you,” Aunt Sadie said. “I know how you love New York. But I do hope you plan on getting a place with a spare room for when I visit.”

Dani smiled at her aunt’s suggestion, and pictured the two of them on that long-ago trip. Neither of them had been there before, and to a thirteen-year-old, New York City had seemed like the best place on earth. They’d done as much during the week as the trip had allowed, with plans to return the following summer.

A future trip had never happened, though.

In fact, Aunt Sadie had even quit visiting Montana. Up until then she’d stayed at the house several times a year. She’d claimed it was to give her brother and sister-in-law a break with the kids, but Dani had always imagined it was because
she
was special to her aunt.

But when the visits had stopped, no one had ever explained why.

“She’s not traveling right now” was all her dad would say. But Dani had lived in fear that it was more. That Aunt Sadie had been sick.

Or just didn’t want to see Dani anymore.

When she’d finally come back, it had been to help put their mother into the ground.

“I did find a place,” Dani finally replied. She pinched the spot between her eyes and pushed the past from her mind. Aunt Sadie was firmly entrenched in her life now, and always would be. “As well as possibly a great roommate,” she added. “However, if I sign the lease on that place, you and I might have to bunk together when you come out. There won’t be an extra room.”

“Well, then, maybe I’ll just make Jonas splurge and put us both up in a fancy hotel. We can do research.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Aunt Sadie and her husband, Jonas, owned several boutique hotels, most of which were located in Colorado and Utah, but this wouldn’t be the first time she’d taken a trip in the name of research. “Just give me time to settle in and convince my new boss that he didn’t hire me for no good reason.”

“You silly child. You’ve never believed in yourself as much as the rest of us do. It’s about time you got over that, don’t you think?”

Dani did believe in herself. But she was also realistic enough to see her flaws, and to know there was always room for improvement. “Silly or not, I’ll be looking forward to seeing you. I’ll take you to a Broadway show.”

“Of course you will. And I’ll take
you
to that fabulous little diner we found in Union Square.”

Those had been two of their favorite stops on their trip. Dani was looking forward to revisiting both.

“So how about the boys?” Aunt Sadie’s tone turned more serious. “Your father told me Nate didn’t make it in again. He doing okay?”

Dani blew out a breath. “As far as I know he’s fine, but you know how he is. Doesn’t share much, and he definitely does his own thing. I’ve never understood why.”

“Well, you know it was different for the younger ones.”

“Yeah.” There was a gap of several years between the twins and Jaden and the older three. “They didn’t have Mom around as long as we did.”

“Y-e-s,” Sadie drew the word out, “but I . . . Dani . . . Sweetheart, what do you remember about your mother?”

Dani opened her eyes with the unusual question. “What do you mean?”

Her aunt went silent, which was odd for her. Usually on their weekly calls Dani couldn’t shut her up.

With the empty air making her nervous, Dani filled the gap. “I remember how pretty she was,” she started, then cringed at the description. The first thing she could say about her mother was that she’d been pretty? That seemed so superficial. “And she loved having kids.” Dani hurried to get the words out. Her mother had told Dani that very fact on numerous occasions. Her kids meant the world to her.

But in trying to remember more, Dani was stumped at the lack of specifics that came to mind. She concentrated on Christmases and birthdays past. Her father showed up in her mind, along with her brothers. Even Aunt Sadie and Uncle Jonas. But she struggled to visualize her mother at all.

“She was a great mom,” Dani finally said.

“Sure,” Aunt Sadie agreed, but she didn’t sound sold on the idea.

“And she died running errands I should have been doing,” Dani finished with a bite to her words. If Dani had come home that weekend . . .

“No—”

“I don’t want to talk about Mom.” They’d argued before over who should have been doing what, and Sadie never saw things Dani’s way. But the fact was, had Dani been home, her mother wouldn’t have been where she’d been. She wouldn’t have wrecked. “The past is the past,” Dani pointed out. “I’m moving to New York in a couple of weeks, and I intend to make my mother proud once and for all. That’s all that matters to me now.”

There were a few more seconds of silence, before her aunt agreed. “You’re right. No need to bring up old hurts. So tell me, what’s the first thing you’re going to do when you hit the bright streets of New York again?”

The tension eased and they talked for several more minutes, and when they said their good-byes, Dani lowered the phone and stared at the sky. She’d been out there for the past hour, nervous about tonight, but the phone call had only made things worse. Had her aunt been implying something about their mother?

But what?

Footsteps sounded on the boards behind her, and Dani tilted her head back to look. Ben was coming her way, albeit seemingly upside down from her vantage point, and her heartbeat sped up. She couldn’t stop the smile that spread over her face. “You’re back.”

He stopped right behind her, looking down into her face, and gave a heated smile in return. “I’m back.” Then he shot a raised brow to the empty bowl beside her. “Was it a one-scoop or a two-scoop day?”

She made a face and pushed to a sitting position, taking in the sexy new cowboy boots on his feet. “I still can’t believe you remembered that about me.” She ran a hand over her hair, feeling ruffled at being caught stretched out on the dock.

“How could I forget?” he asked. “I mean . . .
gross
. You put chips on it.” He lowered to sit beside her, and together they shifted so their legs dangled over the side.

“I see your point.” She elbowed him in the ribs. “But really, it’s good. You should try it that way.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

She glanced over at him then, and really, she tried hard not to stare. But, man, he looked good. And she hadn’t seen him in two days.

Almost three.

His hair was standing a bit on end, as if he’d run his fingers through it, and he didn’t appear to have shaved since he’d left. He was quite . . .
rough
looking. Which somehow managed to tingle her toes. And made her wonder why she was suddenly so hard up for him.

“Want to talk about it?” he asked.

About her being hard up for him? She bit her lip. Wouldn’t that be an interesting conversation?

But that’s not what he meant. She glanced at the empty bowl.

“No need. How was your trip?” She changed the subject. “Haley still good?”

“Haley’s great. In fact, I think this trip was just what we needed.”

“I’m so thrilled to hear that, Ben. I told you she’d bounce back.”

“You did.” He grabbed her hand and held it in his lap. “But I did go ahead and make an appointment with your friend.” He gave her a strange look before adding, “For both of us. We go in next week.”

“Oh, Ben.” She said the words softly. He struggled occasionally with knowing the right thing to do, but in the end he got it right. She slid her fingers between his and squeezed. “Janette is great. I’m confident that talking to her will only improve things.”

“That’s what I’m thinking, too.” When she tried to untangle their fingers, he tightened his grip, and at her look, he twisted his mouth into a perplexed smile. “I missed you.”

Her heart thumped. He’d missed her?

What in the heck was she supposed to do with that?

She would do
nothing
with that. “I don’t believe that at all.”

Instead of replying, he shrugged. Then he stared out at the lake.

There were a few boats still on the water this afternoon, and the two of them sat quietly together as several passed within view. One pulled a skier, and Dani suddenly found herself so hot she wished she were out on the lake with them.

Or maybe she should just jump off the dock and douse her head.

“So how’s your week been?” Ben asked.

Lonely.

“Busy,” she said instead. What was wrong with her today? “I took on a new client over the weekend, a fishing and hunting company opening up in Swan Valley.”

“You’re a busy woman.” He peeked at her from the corner of his eye. “So you weren’t sitting around pining for me?”

“Hardly.”

He smiled at her comment, and tightened his fingers on hers. “Tell me about your client, then.”

Delight filled her that he’d asked. “They’re a start-up—brothers from this area—and they finally decided to put their money where their mouth is and follow their dreams. Yesterday we did a couple of planning meetings in the morning, then we drove out to the location in the afternoon. It was gorgeous, by the way. Amazing views of the mountains. Today I spent hours on the phone, and I think we’ve already nailed down a brand identity for marketing purposes. We should have the beginning ideas for a logo by the weekend.”

Ben gave a low whistle. “Impressive.”

She smiled at the compliment.

“You’re going to be able to finish with them before you move?” he questioned.

“I’ll get far enough. We’ll map out a detailed strategy before I go, and hopefully the logo will be finalized. I may have to finish up a few things after I’m gone, but not anything I can’t handle in the evenings. They wanted to move fast, but they also hired me with the understanding that my time was limited, especially starting next month.”

Ben turned his green gaze on hers. “You’ll be able to keep clients after you move?”

That was the part that stunk. “Not really. But I haven’t been able to bring myself to part from things quite yet.”

“Ah.” He nodded as if he got it. “Changes. They can be both good and bad.”

“That they can.”

They both went quiet again, each in their own thoughts, and he tucked her arm under his. She noticed that their thighs were touching, but she had no idea which one of them had scooted closer. Or maybe it had been both.

As they sat doing nothing more than simply “being,” it occurred to her that theirs was the only healthy relationship she’d ever had. Including the poorly-acted-out seduction routine she’d turned loose on him ten years ago. Even that had been better than any other man she’d been with. How sad.

She wondered what that said about her. Was she the problem?

Or was Ben simply the solution?

She also wondered if she would be able to find this kind of comfort down the road. A relationship where she was an equal as opposed to a servant. Where the two of them talked.

And he listened.

She hoped so. Because she didn’t want to be alone forever.

“So you took Haley shopping again?” She pulled herself from her thoughts, grasping at a conversation topic.

“I did.” Ben appeared more relaxed than she’d seen him since he’d been back. “We had no meltdowns, and she talked nonstop. I’m calling it a victory.”

“What did you buy?”

He held his feet in the air. “Besides boots?”

She grinned. “I like the boots. They suit you.”

“Wait’ll you see the cowboy hat she picked out for you. Just remember, you promised to love it.”

“And I will. Sounds like you had a good time.”

“You don’t know the half of it. We also bought Barbies.” He gave her an eye roll that was way cuter than he probably realized. “She came back so loaded down, I’ll have to build her a closet just to store them all in.”

“And I assume she’s inside right now showing them to Jenna?”

“Couldn’t wait to get back.”

They fell into silence again, and Dani watched a fish jump in the lake. The tiny splash sent ripples spreading through the water.

“She also met my mom,” Ben said. “We stopped off in LA.”

“On this trip?” Dani’s heart pounded with the admission. This felt big. “They hadn’t met before?”

“I wasn’t ready before. My mom is a lot like Lia.”

“
Oh,”
she said, then wrinkled her nose with her next thought. “Maybe that’s why you dated Lia?”

“Oh, geez, really?” He shuddered as if disgusted with the idea, then seemed to think about it. In the end, he merely shrugged. “Anyway, I surprised Mom with the visit, so she only had time to line up
one
reporter. Whom I got rid of immediately. In the end, I think meeting her brought Haley and me closer together.”