Montana Wrangler (16 page)

“Naw. Bright Star reared...as I was trying to get off a shot.”

“Just as well.” Jay touched Paige's arm. “Get the bedroll and thermos from my horse. He's going into shock.”

* * *

Paige dashed over to Jay's horse. Her hands were cold, her fingers uncoordinated. She struggled to undo the ties that held the bedroll in place, her ill-fitting gloves making the task even more difficult. This was her doing. Her fault that Bryan had been thrown from his horse.

When the bedroll finally came loose, she grabbed the thermos and rushed back to Bryan's side.

“Are you hurt?” she asked as Jay poured some coffee for the boy.

“My ankle. I t-twisted it. I couldn't get it out of the stirrup. I can't stand up.”

Dear Lord in heaven.
“I'm so sorry, Bryan,” Paige said. “It's my fault you ran away. I didn't recognize how desperate you were. I was going to tell you this morning. But you were gone. I want you to be happy. If that means you staying here, then you'll stay.” She gulped down a sob. She'd only known she was desperate to be his guardian, as her sister's final wish. To be loved by her sweet nephew. “You don't have to move to Seattle. I promise I'll talk to the judge. Tell him you'd be better off with Jay and Grandpa.”

“You'll do that?” Doubt turned his question into a prayer as he took the cup from Jay and sipped the warm liquid. He wrinkled his nose.

“I will. Just as soon as we can get you back home. I promise.” She knew her promise meant she'd have to return to Seattle, to her condo and her job, alone.

She soothed her hand over Bryan's smooth cheek. “I promise,” she repeated, her throat constricted with the heartbreak of unfulfilled love and longing. “But I'm going to come visit you. Often.”

Slowly, as though he wasn't sure he could trust her, Bryan nodded. “Okay.”

Jay examined the boy's ankle. “I can't tell much with your boot on, but I don't want to take it off. I'm afraid it will swell up and we'll never get the boot back on.”

He glanced around the open clearing. Only then did Paige realize it had begun to snow. White flakes had begun to pile up against blackened tree stumps and in places sheltered from the wind.

“We need to get out of this weather and get Bryan warmed up before we start back. The horses need a rest, too. I don't know how long this storm is going to last.”

“What happened to Bright Star?” Bryan asked.

“He's probably already back at the barn,” Jay said. “He was moving pretty fast last time I saw him.”

“Shouldn't we leave here in case the bear comes back?” Paige's nerves were jangled enough. She didn't need an angry bear charging at them from out of nowhere.

“I don't think he will.” Jay stood. “You stay here. I'm going to take a look around, see if there's a cave or someplace we can hang out for a while. Keep your eyes open and yell if you see something.”

“Something like a bear,” Paige clarified.

“Yeah, something like that.” He secured their horses then walked off through the trees.

Paige sat down next to Bryan and straightened the bedroll that covered him. “If you're hungry, we've got some trail mix and granola bars in the saddlebags.”

“I'm okay.” His color was better than when Paige had first seen him, which was a good sign.

Paige checked around for the bear. She hoped the gunshot had scared him off permanently.

“Are you real mad at me?” Bryan asked.

“No, honey. I'm not mad at you. Although running away wasn't the way to solve the problem. I'm mad at myself.” Oddly, she wondered if leaving her family's home and moving to Seattle had been her way of running from her problems. And what of Jay selling his ranch and moving to Bear Lake? Had he been running away, too?

“How come you're upset with yourself?” Bryan asked.

“Because it was selfish of me to want you to move to Seattle when you obviously wanted to stay here.”

He lifted one shoulder in an easy shrug. “Seattle might not have been so awful. I mean, you're not a bad person or anything.”

She almost laughed.
Now
he decided it wouldn't be so bad. Leaning toward him, she kissed Bryan on the cheek. “Maybe you can come visit me someday.”

“Can I still use the hotel pool and stuff?”

“Absolutely.”

A branch cracked behind Paige in the woods. She spun around, exhaling a breath when she saw Jay in his yellow slicker returning.

“I found an overhang that looks deep enough to give us some cover,” he said. “Let's lift Bryan up on Thunder Boy. It's too far for him to walk on that bad ankle.”

Jay brought his horse closer. Together she and Jay got Bryan up on his good leg. He hopped a few steps, grabbed on to the saddle and Jay boosted him up.

Leading Peaches, Paige followed them down the hill through the trees until they reached the overhanging rock Jay had found. Over the years, wind and rain had hollowed out a six-foot-deep space. It didn't look like much of a shelter to Paige, but the ground was dry toward the back and the hillside blocked the worst of the wind.

“We'll get Bryan settled,” Jay said, helping Bryan then unsaddling the horses. “I'm going to gather some wood for a fire.”

“I feel like such a doofus,” Bryan said as he lowered himself to the ground. “Messing up my ankle and stuff.”

Paige tucked the bedroll around him. “Jay thinks you got your stubbornness from my genes.”

“Really?” He laid down using Peaches's saddle for a headrest. Paige propped up his foot on a small boulder to keep the swelling minimized. “Mom could be pretty stubborn, too, if she wanted to do something and Grandpa didn't want her to.”

“We came from the same gene pool.” She smiled down at the boy and brushed his damp hair away from his forehead. “You rest now. It's been a long day for you.”

For her, too, she thought as she sat down and leaned back against the rough wall of the cave. She closed her eyes.

Before she knew it, she felt the warmth of a fire on her chilled feet.

“You're back.” She smiled at Jay, who was squatting down adding twigs to the fire he'd built.

“Back to two sleeping beauties.”

She glanced at Bryan. “Poor kid. My selfishness sure did a number on him.” He could have been killed or badly mauled by the bear. That, too, would have been her fault.

“You wanted to do the right thing.”

“That's what I'm going to do as soon as we get back to Grandpa's house and I can talk to the family court judge.”

“You're really going to give up the guardianship thing? Go back to Seattle without him?”

She pursed her lips to stop the denial that wanted to fly out of her mouth. Afraid to speak, she simply nodded.

He tipped his hat back and gazed at her with such intensity, it made her stomach churn.

“I wish there was a way you could stay here.” His voice was low and intimate, almost drowned out by the drumbeat of the rain.

Her heart echoed the same rhythm. She wished she could stay, too. But without a job...

Chapter Fifteen

S
atisfied with the red coals glowing within the fire ring of stones he had gathered, Jay sat back and raised one knee, making himself comfortable.

From the beginning, he had fought Paige over Bryan's guardianship. Fought her in court. Now he wasn't so sure he'd done the right thing. After all, a boy needed a mother figure around to keep him on the straight and narrow.

And he'd hurt Paige. Badly.

Yeah, he still wanted Bryan to grow up right here in Bear Lake where he'd been born. That would be best for the boy.

But in the past couple weeks, Paige had made Jay feel things he hadn't felt since Annie was alive. Admiration. Pride in her accomplishments. And her determination.

Now Paige was going to leave. He knew the weight of loneliness that would follow.

He fed a few more twigs into the fire and watched the flames ignite. He couldn't have it both ways, keep Bryan here and Paige, too.

From the corner of his eye, he studied Paige. Wearing Henry's floppy hat, a poncho and old boots, she resembled a cowboy who had ridden hard across the prairie in a blizzard. But her cute little nose and her soft lips were totally feminine. Without a hint of makeup, her complexion was as rosy as a ripe peach hanging from a tree.

Yep, he was going to miss her. A lot.

“Guess you really like your job in Seattle,” he said.

Sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees, she lifted her gaze from the fire to him. “Most days.” Her voice held as much enthusiasm as a flat rock.

“Maybe when you get back to Seattle, you can talk Elite Hotels into building a four-star place here in Bear Lake. You could be the manager.”

She choked out a quiet laugh that wouldn't wake Bryan. “That's not exactly their style. Although they do have a renovated nineteenth-century hunting lodge in the Lake District of northern England. Very elegant and posh.”

“Bear Lake could use a little posh.”

“Maybe.” Even as she spoke, her gaze drifted away from him, her expression pensive.

“Had a guy on a trail ride here earlier this week. He was pretty wiped out by the time we got back to the barn. Wished he didn't have to drive back to Kalispell to his ritzy hotel.”

“I'm sure the B&Bs in Bear Lake are fine.”

“Yeah, maybe, except his wife hadn't booked one. None of them are four stars.”

Hooking one arm around his raised knee, he returned his attention to the fire. Even if he asked her to stay, what could he offer her? He was a hired hand. That's it. Granted he felt close to Henry. But Jay wasn't the owner of the outfitting business.

He'd thought about it, though. Henry was getting on in years. At some point he'd have to sell the place. Or maybe leave it to Paige to dispose of.

Jay had a few bucks in the bank from the sale of his ranch, his favorite horse and saddle. His pickup. The entire sum of his wealth.

Every day Paige must meet men at the hotel who could buy and sell the moon and the stars. All he could do was look up at them and count his blessings.

She deserved more.

* * *

By late afternoon, the rain had eased and Jay decided there was enough light left for them to make it home before dark.

Paige met his decision with a groan. The thought of getting back on Peaches and riding anywhere was the equivalent of agreeing to four hours in a dentist's chair.

She considered walking, but she didn't think she could make it. Not with her wobbly legs.

Bryan rode double with Jay, and Paige followed. As they made their way down the trail, the sun broke through the cloud cover. Slanting rays of sunshine touched the newly washed pine trees, making the needles glisten. Fir trees gave up the raindrops they'd captured, and they fell to the forest floor like tears.

Like the tears that Paige refused to shed.

When the main house finally came into view, Paige let her body go limp. Grandpa hurried off the porch to help her dismount.

“Nathan and me, we've been worried sick. When Bright Star came back without a rider—”

“I'm okay, Grandpa.” She leaned on him as he helped her up onto the porch. “Bryan got thrown and twisted his ankle. Jay isn't sure how bad it is.” She collapsed in one of the wicker chairs.

Jay asked Nathan to see to the horses then assisted Bryan over to the porch. The boy hopped up the steps.

Grandpa's eyes glazed with tears as he embraced the youngster. “I was afraid something awful had happened to you. Don't ever run away again, boy. It's too hard on this old man's heart.”

“I'm sorry, Grandpa. I won't run away again.” He gave Paige a shy smile. “Aunt Paige says I don't have to move to Seattle. I can stay right here with you and Jay.”

“Well, now, is that a fact?” Grandpa helped ease him into the chair beside Paige. She patted Bryan's arm.

Jay knelt in front of him. “Let me get that shoe off now. See how bad it is. We might have to take you to the clinic for an X-ray.”

Bryan winced as his boot came off. “It feels a lot better now.”

Not taking the boy's word for it, Jay checked the ankle himself. “It doesn't feel like a break, but we'll see how it is in the morning.”

“Better get some ice on that swelling,” Paige suggested.

“We should get out of our wet clothes.” Jay stood. “Think we could all use something hot in our stomachs.”

“Right, son. I'll heat up some chili.” Grandpa started into the house then stopped, holding the screen door open. “One good thing happened while you were gone.”

“What's that?” Paige asked.

“Archie had her puppies. She's got 'em all warm and cozy in a box in the tack room. Four of the prettiest little snub-nosed guys you'll ever see. The dad must have been a bulldog or something.”

Despite her aching body, Paige's spirits lifted and she smiled, the kind of knowing smile one woman would give to another.

* * *

A hot shower and a bowl of chili made Paige feel almost human again. While Bryan was regaling Grandpa with his now-heroic tale of frightening off a gigantic bear, Paige wandered out to the barn to visit the puppies.

The lights were still on when she found her way to the tack room. She squatted down a few feet from the cardboard box. Archie and her beautiful puppies rested on a nest of old towels. Two of the puppies had Archie's border-collie black-and-white coloring; the other two were brown with white noses.

“How are you feeling, girl?” she asked.

Archie's tail flicked up.

“Pretty proud of yourself, huh?”

One of the puppies stirred, climbed over a sibling and found a teat. Archie licked the puppy's head.

Paige inhaled a sharp, painful breath but the air didn't make it to her lungs. Oxygen couldn't slip past the blockage of regret and guilt in her chest, an obstacle so large it felt like a malignant tumor. She tried to clear her throat.

“You're going to be such a good mother,” she whispered.

“You'd be a good mother, too.”

Jay's voice behind her made Paige start. Before she could turn around, he hunkered down beside her.

“I'm not so sure of that,” she said. “Not after the way I blew it with Bryan. I'd probably turn out to be like my mother.”

He raised his brows. “And that isn't good?”

“It wasn't that Mom didn't love me and Krissy. But she and Daddy were a team. We were...an inconvenience, I think. They were both centered on what they, and the store, needed. Not what we might need or want.”

“I don't think you'd be like that, Paige. Not even close.”

“We'll never know, will we?” She shoved herself upright. He stood with her, his big hand on her elbow to steady her. The heat of his palm spread all the way to her diaphragm.

She drew a breath. “I'm dead on my feet. I'm going to bed.”

“You'll feel better in the morning.”

“I hope so.” At least physically. She was less confident about her mental and emotional state.

As she walked back to the house, she glanced up at the sky. The storm had passed, leaving only a few scattered dark clouds and a sprinkling of stars.

Jay's idea of opening an Elite Hotel in Bear Lake would be laughable if she didn't half wish it were possible. A hunting and fishing lodge on the hillside above the lake designed with a long porch for sitting and window boxes of colorful flowers. A dining room with a high ceiling, paintings of royalty or maybe cowboy kings on the walls, antique tables covered in white cloths, fancy folded napkins at each place setting. Bedrooms with tall feather mattresses and canopies of silk drapes that could be pulled closed for privacy.

And tea time. Such a glorious hotel would need a fine tea service in late afternoon. People from miles around would come just to enjoy the ambience.

She laughed at the fantasy she'd conjured. But it was a bitter laugh, one that bit deep into her soul.

Dear Lord, please help me to accept the life You have given me and rejoice in Your loving goodness.

She slipped out of the house early the next morning. This would be her last day in Bear Lake for a while. She'd make the call to the courthouse to change Bryan's guardianship arrangement. Even drive up there if she had to. Then she'd head for Seattle.

For now, she wanted to revisit the place Jay had shown her, the place where both of them had felt close to God.

The natural cathedral.

* * *

He had to find a way to keep Paige in Bear Lake.

Jay knew it was a crazy thought. He'd struggled, searching for an answer all night. What could a simple wrangler and trail guide offer her?

Nothing but love and a ready-made family,
her
family. A family he wanted to be a part of, if she'd have him.

Once up and dressed, he did his usual quick walk-through of the barn and stable to see that everything was in order.

At Peaches's stall he halted. The horse wasn't there. Thinking someone might have left the door to the corral unlatched, he stepped outside.

No Peaches.

Back in the tack room he checked for Peaches's saddle. It was gone, too.

If a thief wanted to steal a horse from Henry, Peaches would be at the bottom of the list. Any one of the string of horses he ran were worth far more.

To anyone except Paige.

He strode purposefully toward the house. Why would she want a horse? He was sure after yesterday's ordeal she'd never want to ride again.

He found Henry at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal.

“Where's Paige?” he asked.

Henry raised his head. “Her door was closed when I got up. I assume she's still asleep.”

Jay suspected otherwise. He marched down the hall and rapped his knuckles on the door. When he didn't get a response, he quietly peeked inside.

An open suitcase sat on the neatly made bed.

His gut clenched. She was leaving this morning. There was no time left to—

“Looks like she's all packed.” Henry had come up behind Jay and was peering around him.

“Yeah, it does.”

“You gonna let her go, son?”

“Don't have much choice, do I?”

“Sure you do. But if you want her to stay, you gotta ask her.”

“And offer her what? Being the wife of a wrangler in a town that doesn't even have a movie theater? And the biggest cultural event is a bunch of fiddle and guitar players in a country-Western festival at the municipal park.”

“You'll think of something, I reckon.”

Maybe. But was he ready to take the risk? The risk of loving and losing? “There's one problem. Paige is gone and so is Peaches and her saddle.”

“Son, she's not planning to ride that horse all the way to Seattle. Go find her. Say what needs to be said and bring her on back here.”

“Yes, sir. I'll try.” He hesitated a moment thinking where Paige might have gone. In an instant he got the answer. “Wish me luck.”

His nerves snapping like an electrical wire gone crazy, he jogged out to barn and saddled Thunder Boy. He'd only have one chance. He'd have to make it good.

* * *

Paige sat on a boulder listening to the roar of the waterfall cascading to the river below. The waterfall was wider and wilder this morning than when Jay had brought her here. White spray spread its reach clear to where she sat. The mist mixed with the tears on her cheeks.

The Lord's natural cathedral
, Jay had called this spot.

How could she leave all this and return to Seattle? Return to a job she no longer treasured?

How could she stay here without a job?

And what could she do about her love for Jay? Although he had kissed her, and seemed to care for her, was he past the pain of losing Annie and ready to move on to someone else?

If Jay couldn't reciprocate Paige's love, it would be cruel punishment for her selfish behavior. And well deserved.

Bryan's rejection of the love and life she'd offered him was another whiplash across her conscience.

She exhaled a breath. It was time to stop being so maudlin. She wasn't a quitter. She'd follow the career she'd chosen. She'd make it a success.

She rose from the boulder, her muscles still aching from yesterday's ordeal. Untying Peaches's reins from where she had secured the horse, she started to mount.

Why not make your career a success right here in Bear Lake?

Where in the world had that thought come from? There weren't any four-star hotels around here that hosted conferences. She had seen very little of what she'd call fine dining.

So why don't you change that?
Why don't you build your own hotel?

Ha! Fat chance.

And then she remembered Elite's restored hunting lodge in England's Lake District where she'd stayed for three lovely days and nights. Bear Lake couldn't support anything quite that elegant and pricey. But a rustic lodge with lots of amenities would be doable.