Sweet Home Montana (The McKaslin Clan) (16 page)

She was ready to go home, not that her apartment felt like a home or her life there more than an existence. But it was hers, and she’d worked hard for it. That would have to be enough. Because if Caleb wasn’t trustworthy, then no one could ever be.

Chapter Sixteen

I
nsurmountable obstacles. Caleb hunkered down on his back patio in the afternoon’s shade and wondered how something could get so far offtrack so fast. He’d thought that the chances of Lauren really falling for him, the way he’d fallen for her, weren’t in his favor. Friendship was one thing, but he wanted a deeper kind of friendship with her and more, much more.

His jaw still dropped every time he thought of her in that laundry room, holding herself together, hands trembling and lower lip wobbling and raw hurt in her pretty eyes. His chest crumpled at the idea he’d caused her pain. Or that when it could have mattered, when he should have put his heart on the line, just like he’d gone there to do, he’d been too paralyzed to do it.

How could I have let her go?

It wasn’t fear that had stopped him but abject shock. He’d been up most of the night last night, thinking this through. Not that he’d had much choice of it. His mind kept going over and over their evening together. Spending time with her, seeing her with those kids, watching as she’d tidied the house while Danielle had gotten a few moments to unwind over her tea and sandwich. She was the real deal. A good woman through and through and he’d fallen so far and hard for her, he’d stayed up thinking until he’d figured out a way to put his life here on hold.

But now, after knowing about his favor for Spence, what were the chances? He swiped a hand over his eyes. The image of her face pinched with pain and her quiet pride ripped out his heart. He’d hurt her and he couldn’t live with that. Fierce, indestructible love gripped his soul. A man protected the woman he loved, he didn’t make tears well in her eyes and let her think that he’d lied to her.

You had to know that I liked you, Caleb. And you used that.
Her words came back to him along with how she’d stood there looking at him an hour ago using her laundry basket as a shield. Agony sheared through him like a downdraft, leaving him hollow. No, he hadn’t known that she liked him that much, enough to put that kind of pain in her heart and that kind of devastation on her face. If he had, he would have kissed her last night. He would have told her what he’d struggled so hard to keep back.

You’re the biggest kind of fool, Caleb Stone. He’d been afraid of putting his heart on the line. Not because he was a coward, but because he didn’t know where she stood exactly. He’d been hurt before and the last thing he wanted to do was to hurt her by rushing things. Trusting a man the way he wanted her to trust him, why it was all new to her.

You gotta fix this. His chance for love with her was gone. It had to be. Even if he apologized and explained, she thought he’d lied to her. That while she’d been falling in love, trusting him with her vulnerable heart, he’d been fooling her. That’s what she thought and she was never going to forgive him. He didn’t see how she’d understand.

The thing was, he couldn’t let her hurt like that. Not without fixing it. A small plume of dust smudged the bit of Mary’s driveway that he could see. That must be the last McKaslin come to send Lauren off.

Time to bite the bullet and face things. He rose to his feet. His five dogs were smart enough to be asleep in the cool draft from the air conditioning. They watched him with disapproving eyes as he opened the sliding glass door, letting in that objectionable heat.

None of them moved, the mutts. He’d brought each home into his life to find them homes and they’d wound up staying. He stepped over them, grabbed his truck keys and left them to their snoozing.

He had some hard work to do.

Only one thing hurt more than saying goodbye to her family, Lauren thought. With a devastated heart, she stood in the dappled shade of Gran’s driveway beside her car packed for the long journey. She swiped at troublesome tears that leaked from her eyes—everyone else was crying, too, except for Spence. As hard as this goodbye was, she had more than one reason for her tears.

“This is a total bummer.” Ava wrapped her hard in a hug. “We just got to know you again and now you have to go.”

“It’s not like we can’t call her and yak at her any time.” Aubrey joined the hug. “We’ll e-mail.”

Danielle wrapped her arms around them all. “I already feel like we’re real sisters. I’ll miss you, Lauren.”

“Definitely.” Rebecca cozied in to complete the sisterly hug. “I’m going to come visit. You know, on a school break? We could hit the beach, drowse in the sun and do nothing but read books and talk.”

Sounded like heaven. She loved having sisters and she knew their relationship would only get closer with time. She still had one more sister to get to know and that was something to look forward to. Her life was full, her heart was confused, both healed and shattered, all at once.

“No-guy-dap.” Madison added her sentiments from Dorrie’s arms.

This was so hard. Tears stung her eyes as her sisters broke away. Dorrie came to give her a hug, then Dad, both tearing up and demanding a call the moment she reached home. They would worry.

“I love you, Lauren.” Dad swiped at his eyes. “We’ll be over to see you in about three weeks. Dorrie’s got her heart set on it.”

Lauren knew it wasn’t only Dorrie. “Me, too,” she said. “I love you all.”

There was only one more goodbye to say, and that was to perfect, wonderful, precious Gran. Lauren held the dear woman close, swallowed hard at the searing lump in her throat and spoke low, so only her grandmother could hear. “Thank you for inviting me here.”

“This is your home now,” Gran said. “You come as often as you like.”

“Count on it.” It took all her strength to let go. To force her feet to carry her around to her car door.

Spence was there, holding it open for her. He still looked a little Heathcliff-like, but the harsh frown was gone. He almost smiled. “Drive safe. Dorrie gave you the store’s e-mail address? Then use it when you get home. This car doesn’t look trustworthy. When you come back, I’ll go over it.”

She understood he wasn’t talking about the car, not really. It was his way of starting to be a big brother. She was going to like that, too. “Thank you. I will.”

As she settled behind the wheel, she took one long look. She wanted to memorize every detail, because in the lonely hours of her life, when her work and studies were done, she wanted to get all of this down on paper. It wasn’t the impressive mountains and breathtaking landscape she wanted to sketch, but the people clustered together, bound by love and hope, her family.

After one last round of goodbyes, she started the engine and drove away. She watched the group of them in her rearview mirror, waving after her. They grew smaller as she rolled down the driveway and disappeared after she’d rounded the corner. But their love remained in her heart.

And, she realized, so did Caleb’s. How cruel was that? She gripped the wheel hard, as if that could stop the pain from rising up. Saying goodbye to her family was enough, she didn’t need to add any more hurt to the pile.

Then she saw him. Caleb. He leaned back against his truck’s closed door, the Stetson shadowing his face, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked about as easy to move as his truck, which was parked across the exact middle of the driveway, blocking her way out. Fences on both sides penned her in. She couldn’t go around without scraping the fence or the vehicle.

I can’t face him. I can’t.
Agony cracked through her. His words pierced her mind like a bullet.
I got that report on Lauren because we’re friends, but I didn’t feel right about it. I spent time with her and I know she came to meet her family, nothing more.
Why did knowing that make it even worse? Her heart cracked into even more pieces as she hit the brake and skidded to a stop. The man didn’t even blink. He was so sure of himself, so sure that, what, he could apologize and they’d go back to being friends again?

Hurt burned behind her eyes as she leaned out the window. “Caleb, what’s this about? You know I need to get by you to go home.”

“Yep, I’m aware of that. I just wanted to keep you here for a few minutes longer.” He strolled toward her in that easygoing way of his, but his jaw was tense, a muscle worked in his neck. He opened the car door, towering over her like a stoic Western legend. “Okay?”

“No, it’s not okay.” She unbuckled anyway, because if she had to see him again, she wanted to look him in the eye. So, she was still in love with him. She didn’t
want
to love him. She didn’t want her spirit to turn toward him like uplifting hope. “Caleb, I want to go home. I need to leave.”

“Yep. I can see you’re pretty broken up about things.” He opened the car door wider, so she could step out. Her mouth was a tight line of anger, she had to be a little put out that he’d blocked her in. But it wasn’t a deep anger, only the veneer of it, to cover up something else. Yeah, he knew exactly what she was going through. His heart couldn’t take it. He’d caused this, the stark pain in her eyes. She held herself board stiff as she met his gaze. All strength and dignity.

He’d best seize his chance before she started on about moving his truck. He needed her to listen, really listen, to him. “You misunderstood something today, Lauren.”

“I told you I understood. Mary is so good, she’s vulnerable. I get it.” Tears stood in her eyes. She fisted both hands, as if holding back her emotions took every drop of her strength. “You and I are done. Will you please move your truck and let me go—”

“Sure. As long as you hear me say this. You said that I ought to have known how you liked me, and that I used that.” He took a step toward her. Everything inside him longed to reach out. To pull her close. To wipe those unfallen tears away. To shelter her from any more pain. “But I didn’t know. I hoped. I wished. I dreamed. But I didn’t know.”

She rubbed her forehead with the heel of her hand, as if his words only hurt more. “You dreamed?”

“For you to care for me the way I’ve come to care for you.” He ignored the fear flickering in his chest, sure of the truth. One hundred percent positive of the strength of his love for her. “I’m asking for your forgiveness for helping Spence. I didn’t feel right about it. You have to know that.”

Her chin wobbled. “Fine. You have my forgiveness. I have to go. This place isn’t my h-home. And you’re not—”
My everything
. Wishing it were so wouldn’t make it that way. Those pesky tears were falling again and she brushed at them angrily. “You can’t put a patch on this, Caleb. How can I believe you?”

“Because I believe in you. I have since the moment we met. I know what you heard doesn’t make it seem that way, but I defended you to Spence all along. It’s the truth and we can go back to the house right now and ask him.”

“This isn’t about forgiving you. I already have. You were right.” She closed her eyes against the image of that check. Of all the pain her mother must have caused so long ago. “Mary offered me a bunch of money, which I—”

“Refused,” he interrupted. “I know that about you. Just like I know that if you walk away, we’ll both be the poorer for it. Only love matters, the real kind, pure commitment and devotion and heart. That’s what I feel for you. How can I prove it? Name it and I’ll do it. I’ll move to California. I’ll move to China, if that’s what you want. This place will always be here to come back to. All I want, all I value, is you.”

Why was he saying this now, when she was too vulnerable to fight it? She sank to her knees in the grass, feeling the broken pieces of her heart, of her life, shattering away, until there was nothing. Nothing at all except her love for him, pure and true and everlasting.

She felt the first shield fall from around her heart. “You would do all of that for me?”

“I’ve been awed by you since the moment I first saw you.” He moved closer, his dark eyes honest and sincere. “I didn’t dare assume that you would feel this kind of love for me. I love you, Lauren. Heart and soul. I want to spend the rest of my days cherishing you, making you happy, giving you every reason to see that your trust is well placed in me.”

Wow. His tender caring words left her speechless. Her head reeled. Her pulse stalled. He towered over her, all hurt and sincerity, and he was more amazing to her now and too good to be real.

But he was real. And he was hers. She longed for him the way dawn longed for the sun, the ocean for the shore, the vast reaches of the universe for light.

The second shield around her heart tumbled, too. She knew in her soul that she’d been right about him, that he was a loyal man. It was hard to open her heart one more time, but her defenses kept falling until there was the truth. “I love you, Caleb Stone.”

Relief flashed across his granite face. “That’s good news.”

Bliss soared through her like helium, lifting her off her feet. She laid her hand on Caleb’s chest. She could feel his heart beat for her beneath his sun-warmed shirt. Hers beat for him, too.

She could see the future in the microsecond it took for him to cup the palm of his hand to her cheek. Finishing school, coming home to marry him, living on his land where love had prospered for nearly a hundred and fifty years. There would be children one day and close ties with her family and her sisters, always her sisters, showing up at the door.

It was going to be a dream come true, Lauren thought as Caleb slanted his lips over hers. It was their first kiss, sweet and tender, the promise of a wonderful life to come.

* * * * *