TIS THE SEASON...FOR ROMANCE (WESTMORELAND/MASTERS/JEFFERIES) (32 page)

She had decided she would return to Boston and wait for Corey to finish college in December, and then she would return to Yellowstone and be with him. They would marry and be together forever.

She’d gotten up enough nerve to talk to her mother the day before they were to leave Yellowstone. She waited until her father had gone to visit a guy he’d met during their vacation and took that time to talk privately with her mother. Abby told her she’d met someone and that he was the person she wanted to marry, not Larry. She wanted to marry for love.

Her words caused her mother to actually cry. Dorothy Madison then told her that they didn’t have long to live on earth and that they wanted to make sure she was connected with someone who could take care of her. And that she didn’t need love, she needed financial security.

Abby hadn’t agreed and told her so, but saw how distressed it had made her mother. And then her mother basically sealed Abby’s fate when she revealed that Abby’s father had a serious heart condition. They hadn’t told Abby because they hadn’t wanted her to worry. The reason they took naps each day was to make sure her father got the rest required of him, and the only way her mother could make sure that happened was to rest along side of him.

According to her mother, her father was determined to live, at least until his daughter was married off. And if Abby was to tell him of her change of plans regarding not going to college and marrying Larry, such news might push her father over the edge and kill him for sure. She could not let that happen. Defying her parents to be with Corey could cost her the life of one of her parents.

That night she had cried in Corey’s arms after they’d made love for the last time. She told him she loved him but had to do what her parents wanted her to do and pleaded with him to understand and let her go. When he offered resistance, and went so far as to say he’d stop the wedding if she had one, that only made her cry even more.

When he saw how much of a toll being torn between him and her parents was taking on her, he finally calmed down and relented and by the time he returned her back to her place, she knew she was giving up a love women only dreamed of having.

“Want some company?”

Abby turned and glanced over at Sheila. No, she really didn’t want company but company was what she needed. She didn’t want to think about what happened in the past any more.

She forced a smile to her face and said, “Yes, I want some company.”

She was here with her two closest friends to celebrate their birthdays and she was determined that no matter what, she was going to push the memories to the back of her mind and enjoy her vacation.

“Hey Corey, how are things up on your mountain?”

Corey smiled at the man as he slid into the booth at Joe’s Place, one of his favorite eating places in the lowlands. “Everything is good, Joe. How’re Martha and the boys?”

“They’re all fine. What’s this about Thorn getting married? Hell, I remember when he was knee-high, ornery and moody as the day was long.”

Corey chuckled. Joe would remember that. When Corey’s nephews were kids Corey would invite them to the mountain for the summer, all eleven of them. For good behavior Corey would bring them off the mountain down to Joe’s Place as a treat. Martha made the best peach cobbler and would serve it with some of her homemade ice cream.

Corey leaned back in his chair as Joe placed a cup of coffee in front of him. “Yes, Thorn married a few weeks ago, over Memorial Day weekend,” he replied. “It was a beautiful wedding and there’s no doubt in my mind that he and Tara will be happy together.”

“Glad to hear it. I’ll go ahead and put in your order. You want the same thing you usually get, right?”

“Yes, there’s no need to change now after thirty plus years.”

After Joe walked off Corey glanced around. The place was crowded for a Wednesday night, but with this being June it was vacation season for many folks, which meant an increase in tourists. Joe had expanded the size of the restaurant a few years back, and what had once been a small café was now a huge eating establishment. Martha’s skills in the kitchen was known far and wide and highly recommended. You couldn’t make a trip to Yellowstone without trying one of her mouth-watering meals before you left.

Corey was just as bad as the tourists. Whenever he came off his mountain to get supplies he would make a point to stop by Joe’s Place as well. He loved Martha’s Montana beef stew and the hot melt-in-your-mouth biscuits she served with it. And to give Joe credit for something, the man made the best coffee this side of the Rockies.

As he sat there waiting on his food, he glanced across the room where three women were sitting at a table. Two of the three were openly staring and had been since the moment he’d walked in. They were probably tourists and although they looked pretty decent enough, he wasn’t interested. Not tonight anyway.

It wouldn’t be the first time a group of women got together and made their way to Yellowstone to check out the park as well as any man they thought they could pick up. He’d had to turn down a number of offers during his lifetime, and he’d admit to accepting a few.

He took another sip of his coffee and shifted his thoughts away from the women and back to Thorn. If anyone had told Corey six months ago that come June, Thorn Westmoreland would be a married man he would not have believed them. But the wedding a few weeks ago had confirmed it. And it was pretty damn evident Thorn loved his wife Tara.

Now Corey could claim two married nephews and there were many more single ones to go. Stone was the next oldest of John and Elizabeth’s offspring, but the only thing on Stone’s mind these days was penning his next adventure novel under the pseudonym Rock Mason.

Corey had gotten a call from Durango a few days ago saying Stone would be coming for a visit. The boy was probably feeling the heat now that his two older brothers had gotten married and was hoping no one took a notion that he would be next.

And Corey figured you sure as hell could forget about Storm and Durango ever settling down. He wasn’t sure which of the two were worse in the womanizing department. Storm had acquired quite a reputation on the east coast and Durango had carved out a name for himself in the Rockies.

Joe delivered the food in a timely manner and Martha came out of the kitchen long enough to give him a huge hug and to hear all about Thorn’s wedding. Everyone knew that in addition to being a good cook, Martha was also a romantic. More than once she’d tried fixing him up with a woman, but everyone in these parts knew that although Corey might date women, none would set foot on his mountain –unless she was a relative. They never understood why, they just accepted it as being the gospel. Of course, some women saw it as a challenge and had tried just about everything to get up there; to claim being the first. But they’d failed miserably.

He shifted his gaze back over to the table where those same two women were still staring. That made him curious about the third one who hadn’t bothered to glance his way. He couldn’t see her facial features since her back was to him, but there was something about her that snagged his attention, and as he continued to stare at her back, he suddenly felt a deep stirring in his gut.

He decided to examine with care the features he could see whenever she glanced over at the person sitting beside her. Her dark hair was tied in bun and her complexion was of creamy cocoa. If only she would turn around so he could see her face. He was suddenly filled with a need to see if …

He pulled in a deep breath and shook his head thinking he was going crazy. He had thought about Abby so much lately that now he was beginning to imagine things. There was no way that woman sitting across the room could be Abby. But then…why was he feeling things he’d only felt around her? Things he hadn’t felt in years?

He shook his head and began eating, determined to put the stupid notion out of his head and enjoy his meal. He would stay over at Durango’s place tonight and head back up the mountain sometime tomorrow after visiting with Martin and Morning Star.

He and Martin had become best friends and roommates while in college, and now Martin was a retired judge who spent his days fishing, hunting and living for their Thursday night poker game.

A short while later, after completing his meal Corey wiped his mouth, pushed his plate aside and his gaze was automatically drawn to the table where the three women sat. The two were still staring over at him. And again it was the third one who wasn’t paying him any attention that aroused his curiosity.

“You want anything else, Corey?”

He glanced up at Joe and then back over to where the women sat and made up his mind about something. He wouldn’t embarrass himself by approaching their table, not wanting to give them the wrong idea about anything, but if he had to sit here and drank coffee for a while, at least until they finally got up and left then he would. Like him they had finished their meals and were drinking coffee. He was sitting not far from the door and they would have to pass by his table on their way out.

He was determined to find out why he was attracted to a woman whose face he couldn’t even see.

* * *

“Don’t look now but that good looking man is still here and he’s staring over here at us.” Sheila said leaning close to the table and whispering.

Abby took a sip of her coffee and glanced over at her friend and smiled. Sheila and Jackie had noticed the man the moment he had walked into the restaurant. “And your point?” she asked.

Sheila rolled her eyes. “Since you’re the only single one among us, I’d think you’d make it your point to check him out. I can’t believe you aren’t curious enough to even sneak a peek at him. He looks to be in his early fifties, and is handsome and sexy. We’ve been here for twelve days and I think he’s the best looking thing I’ve seen yet.”

“I’m still not interested,” Abby said, rolling her eyes before taking another sip of her coffee.

“You wouldn’t know unless you looked,” Jackie chuckled and said. “Besides, I think you should move on from Ron Carmichael. There’s nothing there between the two of you. Whenever you go out with him the two of you look like the odd couple.”

Abby didn’t say anything, but Jackie didn’t have to tell her that regarding her and Larry’s former business partner. Usually, when she went to social functions she would attend with Ron, a widower. What Sheila and Jackie didn’t know was that Ron was gay. It was a secret he had shared with her and Larry years ago and she wouldn’t tell Ron’s secret to anyone.

“Well, he’s still looking over here,” Sheila was saying.

“Let him look,” Abby said, suddenly feeling annoyed with her two friends. They had tried fixing her up with men before and would get frustrated because the men they were attracted to did nothing for her.

“Don’t look now but he’s getting up. Look how he fills out those jeans. I think he’s going to the men’s room or is about to leave. He’s still looking over here at our table,” Jackie was saying, and all but drooling while talking.

“Mercy!” Sheila was saying, beneath her breath. “Look how tall he is and those dark brown eyes. And I usually don’t go for a man with a moustache, but he is definitely a handsome devil. I can’t say that enough.”

Tall and handsome with dark brown eyes and a moustache.
Abby placed her coffee cup down when she suddenly felt a tingling sensation in her fingers and then in the pit of her stomach. Blood rushed fast and furious through her veins and goose bumps began forming on her arms. Something stirred within her and she pulled in several deep breaths.

She suddenly felt fearful of what she might find if she finally broke down and checked out the man Sheila and Jackie had been discussing all through dinner. There was only one man who could tap into her passionate side. A man who was tall and handsome with dark brown eyes and a moustache.

What if …

She slowly turned her head and the moment her gaze collided with the man’s dark, intense eyes, her breath hitched and she fought the urge to moan his name out loud from deep within her throat. But nothing could stop her entire body from responding to the intensity of his gaze as if it was a personal caress to every part of her.

“Abby, are you okay?”

She broke eye contact with him and quickly stood up. “Yes, I’m fine, but I do need to go outside for a moment to get some fresh air.”

Sheila grinned. “Hey, trust me, I understand He took my breath away as well. If only I wasn’t married.”

Abby barely heard her friend’s last words as she made her way to the exit door, and she knew that Corey Westmoreland would soon follow.

Abby was waiting when he walked through the door.

Corey met her gaze and reacting on primal instinct and sexual chemistry combined, they quickly moved to a darkened area of the porch. As if thirty-two years hadn’t stood between them, he drew her into his arms. She came willingly. No questions. No resistance. It was as if this moment for them was meant to be. Needed to be captured.

The moment their lips touched passion exploded and a burning need to mesh into every aspect of her ripped through Corey. He fought for control but found he didn’t have any. All he could think about was that this was the woman he’d loved for thirty-two years. This was the woman he still loved. The woman he had pined for and the only woman capable of releasing his inner passion in a way that stripped him of the ability to think logically.