Chapter Twelve
At six that evening, Priscilla opened the door and as Roark watched, a beautiful older version of the woman he loved entered. She had the same copper colored hair only it was straight and cut in a short bob around her ears. The same mole sat above her upper lip. Roark could see where Priscilla had gotten her looks because her mother was beautiful too. However, he thought it strange that she also looked vaguely familiar as if he knew her, only where he knew her from, he had no idea.
She hugged her daughter then saw him and her eyebrows rose.
“Roark Outlaw Callahan,” she said as she walked to him with her hand out.
“You know who I am?”
“Of course, I do. I’m a bull-riding fan. It’s wonderful to meet you.” She turned to Priscilla. “You didn’t tell him what I said, did you?”
“Not yet.” Priscilla laughed.
“I have no problem with you telling him.” She turned back to Roark. “I’m Jackie Butler, and I told Cilla when I first saw you, I wished that I was twenty years younger. I first saw you ride in Cody, Wyoming.”
“Thank you. Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Butler.” Roark laughed.
“Jackie, please. Congratulations on your win in Butte.”
Roark grinned. “Thanks.”
“Let’s sit down and eat then we can all talk,” Priscilla said.
They walked to the dining room and Roark held the chair for Jackie while Priscilla went to the kitchen to get the lasagna and garlic bread.
“Do you need help?” he called out.
“No thanks. I got it. Please sit down.”
Roark didn’t sit. He stood beside the table and waited for her to come back in.
Jackie smiled up at him. “I’m really wondering why you’re here.”
Roark chuckled. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
“You shouldn’t tease like that, Roark.”
“What are you teasing Mom about?” Priscilla asked as she entered the room carrying a hot dish of lasagna then returned to the kitchen and brought back a plate with garlic bread on it. Steam rose from the dish and Roark’s stomach growled.
“I asked him why he was here and he said I’d find out soon enough.”
Roark watched a blush stain Priscilla’s cheeks. He held the chair for her then took his seat across from her mother. Priscilla cut the lasagna and handed them each a slice then held the plate out with the garlic bread on it. Roark waited until they both took theirs then he got his. He lifted his fork and took a bite then groaned as the flavors hit his tongue.
“This is great,” he said after he swallowed.
“Thank you. I can cook,” she said, shrugging.
“But yet, you let me do all the cooking,” he said, narrowing his eyes at her.
Priscilla laughed. “Yep.”
“Someone want to tell me what’s going on here?”
“In a minute, Mom, I forgot the drinks.” Priscilla started to scoot her chair back but her mother waved her down.
“I’ll get them, honey.”
After Jackie left the room, Roark touched Priscilla’s hand. “Are you all right?”
“I’ve been thinking. I just don’t know how she’s going to take it. Me moving away, I mean.”
Hell! Roark hadn’t thought of that. He’d be separating mother and daughter, and anyone could see they were close. “Where do I know her from?”
“She’s a best-selling romance author. Her books have been made into several movies.”
“Really? Well, that’s something. I must have seen her on TV or something.”
“Probably. She’s been on several talk shows.”
“You know, we have transportation other than wagon train reaching Montana these days. I’m sure she can come visit us, darlin’.”
“She’d probably love that. I’m not sure if she’s ever been to Montana.”
“If who’s been to Montana, honey?” Jackie asked as she returned to the table with drinks on a tray. She set them down and handed Roark and Priscilla theirs then took her seat.
“You.”
“Me? Actually no, I haven’t, although I’ve always wanted to visit. I hear it’s beautiful.”
“It is. The mountains are amazing.” Priscilla smiled.
“And why would I be going to Montana?” Jackie folded her arms and glanced back and forth between them.
“Uh, because I want to marry Priscilla, so she’ll be moving there to be with me. With your blessing, of course.”
“Marry her? Oh! This is wonderful. Of course, you have my blessing and I would love to visit.” Jackie jumped up and hugged Priscilla then walked around the table to hug Roark .
“Thank you,” he said.
“You’re very welcome. I had a feeling something was up. Why else would you be here?” She laughed.
Roark blew out a relieved breath. Who knew asking for permission to marry the woman he loved would be so stressful? He was glad that part was over. As the night wore on, they talked until Jackie said she had to leave. She hugged them both again, congratulated Roark, and then left.
As soon as the door closed, Roark looked at Priscilla but she needed no encouragement from him.
“Come on, cowboy. Time for bed. You’re leaving me in the morning so we need to get to bed early.”
“I wish I wasn’t. Come here. Time for bed is right but not for sleep.” He grinned and pulled her into his arms then slung her over his shoulder making her laugh as he headed for the bedroom where he tossed her onto the bed.
****
Priscilla walked into the offices where her desk sat. She smiled at her coworkers as she made her way to her desk. Opening the bottom drawer, she put her purse in then walked to Earl’s office and knocked. She entered when he yelled to come in.
“Where’s the article?” he asked barely giving her a glance.
“I want to do some tweaking to it before I hand it in.”
“Then what the fuck are you doing in my office?” He moved his cigar to the other side of his mouth making her wish he’d choke on it.
Taking a deep breath, she spun on her heel, walked calmly out of his office even though her head was about to explode with things she’d like to say to the bastard. When she reached her desk, she pulled her chair out and took a seat. Having already written the piece, she’d told Earl the truth about wanting to tweak the article a bit. First, she would upload the photos she wanted included with the text. As she uploaded the photos, she saw the one of her and Roark that Devin had taken. Anyone looking at it would know the two people in it were very much in love.
Opening the file containing her notes, she looked it over to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything pertinent. She began reading and revising her article, careful to keep it sounding professional. This would be a good article for the magazine. She bypassed the personal stuff about Jaxon but did mention the Bur Oak, and that Devin and Jaxon owned it together.
When she finished, she printed it out then pushed her chair back and stood. She never understood why Earl couldn’t read a file on his computer like everyone else did. The article would be printed from a file with pictures added electronically anyway. She walked to Earl’s office and since the door was open, she entered and laid the pages on his desk. He glanced up at her.
“I’ll get to it later.” When she didn’t move away, he stared up at her. “What else?”
“I’m giving you my two weeks’ notice—effective immediately.”
“Really? To go where? You aren’t that good so I know no other magazine hired you.”
She clenched her hands into fists. “I have a much better offer. I’m marrying Roark Callahan.”
His cigar fell out of his mouth and he quickly grabbed it when it fell into his lap .
“Well, apparently you were doing more than following him around on his ranch for research. Must have followed him into his bedroom too.”
“Don’t be so crude. We fell in love, although I seriously doubt if you know what that’s like.”
He slowly stood. “Go back to work. You may be quitting but I am still your boss for now.”
Priscilla narrowed her eyes at him then spun on her heel and walked out of his office. She made the rounds to her coworkers to tell them she would be leaving in two weeks. Most of the women were ecstatic that she was marrying Roark.
Later that night, she smiled when her phone rang and she saw it was Roark. She answered. “I miss you.”
“You’d better have caller ID,” he growled.
She laughed. “I do.”
“Remember to say that in front of the priest. Hey, I forgot to ask, where do you want to get married?”
“Can we get married in Spring City?”
“Yes, ma’am. We can get married in the same church as Reid and Lucy are getting married in.”
“I really wish I could go to the wedding. He’s got me covering some playground unveiling.”
“Me too, darlin’, but you have an ass of a boss.”
“You got that right. I told him about marrying you and he made some crude remark about me doing more than just following you around the ranch. Apparently, I followed you into the bedroom too.”
“Son of a bitch. I’ll make a trip there just to kick his ass.”
“No need. I’ll be out of there soon enough. He’s going over the article tonight so I’m hoping it will go in Wednesday’s edition. ”
“Great. I can’t wait to see it in the magazine. I’m sure everyone in the family is anxious to see it too.”
“Yes. I hope everyone likes it since they were all mentioned in it.”
“They’ll love it, sweetheart. So what do you want to talk about now?”
"Well, I could talk dirty to you," she whispered.
Roark snorted. "Go for it."
"Um, okay. Let me see…"
"Christ, Priscilla. You can't stop and think of what to say. You just say it." She could tell he was trying not to laugh.
"Do you have experience in this, Callahan?"
His laughter came across the line. "No. But… I believe I'm right about this. Do you think of what you're going to say when we have sex?"
Priscilla giggled. "No. That just… comes to me."
Roark groaned. "Okay… that was bad." He chuckled. "Talk to me, darlin’."
"Um, okay. Let’s see. I love you. I love when you nibble on my neck and take my bottom lip between your teeth—"
"Priscilla?"
"Yes?" she said in a whisper.
"Baby, you're supposed to be talking about what you want to do to me, not what I do to you."
"You do have experience in this!"
Roark muttered. "I don't and at the rate this is going, I never will."
Priscilla burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, love. Do you want me to try again?"
The conversation went on and on about how to talk dirty, but it never actually got around to them talking dirty. They hung up after telling each other goodnight. She couldn't wait to go home. Home, she liked the sound of that. Home to her cowboy.
****
A week later, Roark entered his house to grab a drink of water. He filled a glass with ice then water and took a long drink. It was damn hot and the fridge in the barn was empty. When he finished quenching his thirst, he’d take some out with him, and restock it. When he lowered the glass, he saw the brown envelope lying on the table that the mail carrier had delivered but he didn’t have time to look at it right now. He figured it was the magazine containing Priscilla’s article and he was anxious to see it but he just had too much to do right now. He had already read the draft, so he knew it was good. When his cell phone rang, he looked at the screen to see it was Jaxon calling.
“Hey, Jax,” he said in way of an answer.
“Did you see the article?”
“Not yet. Is it good?”
“Good? Why the hell did you tell her about me?”
“I didn’t think mentioning the guest ranch would bother you.”
“Not that. The part about Bethany.”
Roark’s heart hit his stomach. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Jax.”
“Read the fucking magazine. You had no right, Roark. No right at all.” Jaxon hung up without another word.
Roark stared at the blank screen for a moment trying to make heads or tails of what Jax was talking about then walked to the table and reached out a shaky hand to pick up the envelope. He opened it and pulled the magazine out then flipped the pages until he came to the article. Skimming over it, he clenched his jaw when he read about Jaxon, about how he’d lost his wife and how it still emotionally affected him. Son of a bitch!
Roark flung the magazine across the room then pulled his cell phone from his pocket and called Priscilla.
“Hey cowboy! Do you miss me? The office is throwing me a goodbye party. It won’t be long now and I’ll be coming home to you.”
“Don’t bother,” he growled.
“Don’t bother what?”
“Coming back. How could you do that? Jaxon just called me. He’s so upset and it’s my fault because I trusted you. You promised, Priscilla.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispered. He knew her coworkers were nearby but didn’t care.
“The hell you don’t! Is it or is it not your article?”
“Yes, but—”
“There are no buts,” he shouted. “We’re done. I can’t believe I trusted you. You lied to me. Goodbye.” He hit End, drew his arm back, and threw the phone across the room, hitting the wall and breaking the screen.
****
Priscilla took a seat at her desk and reached for the magazine. She hadn’t had a chance to look at it because Earl had her doing all types of crap jobs around the office. She flipped through it until she came to the article. She had titled it, The Life of a Bull Rider. She ran her finger along the words until she came to Jaxon’s name. She gasped in horror drawing the attention of some of her friends.
Oh. My. God! She looked at Earl’s door, which was shut, and knew he had done it. She stood up so quickly that her chair rolled back and hit the desk behind her then she stormed to Earl’s office, opened the door without knocking, and shoved it making it slam into the wall behind it. Earl looked up and scowled.
“I’m in a meeting,” he said as he came to his feet.
“I don’t care. How dare you change my article,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Get out, Andrew,” he said without taking his eyes from her.
Andrew walked past her and she pushed the door closed behind him, strode to Earl’s desk, placed her hands on it, and glared at him. “You had no right.”
“I have every right. I’m the editor in chief here and it lacked substance.”
“I’m talking about putting the private information in there about Jaxon. That was off the record and just exactly how did you get it?”
“I’m the editor in chief, like I said. I have access to everyone’s computer. It was in your file containing research notes.”
“Didn’t you even wonder why I’d left it out, if it was in my file?” she shouted.
“No. I just figured you were in a damn big hurry. You have no clue what it’s like to write for a magazine. I polished it up for you. You should be thanking me.”
“Thanking you, for what? You ruined any chance I had with Roark,” she said and quickly blinked back tears.
“My heart bleeds. Just get out. You don’t need to be here any longer. Get your stuff and go.”
“You’re a real piece of work, Earl.” She leaned over the desk and looked him straight in the eye. “You will regret this. ”
Spinning on her heel, she walked to the door, opened it then walked through and slammed it so hard that she was surprised the glass didn’t break. She walked to her desk, retrieved her purse from the bottom drawer, threw the last of her things into the box she’d been packing with her belongings, picked it up and without saying a word to anyone, she walked out of the offices to head for the elevators.
Once she stepped inside, and the doors closed, she leaned against the wall and slid to the floor as tears rolled down her face. When the doors opened again, she pushed herself up and exited then made what felt like a very long walk outside to her car. Unlocking the door, she set the box on the backseat then climbed into the front. She laid her head against the steering wheel and sobbed. She’d lost him. She’d lost the love of her life.
Pulling her cell phone from her purse, she tried calling Roark but it went straight to voicemail. She knew he wouldn’t answer if he saw the call was from her. She called her mother instead.
“Mom,” her voice cracked when she tried to speak.
“What is it, Cilla? Are you all right?”
“No. Can I come see you?”
“Of course you can, honey. I’ll get some tea ready for us.”
Priscilla almost laughed. Her mother thought tea was the cure all for everything. Driving out of the parking lot, she headed to her mother’s condominium in Santa Cruz. It would take her about forty minutes, but she needed her mom. When she finally pulled into her mother’s spare parking spot, she was on the verge of a full-blown hysterical cry, but pulled herself together, stepped from her car then walked to the door, and rang the bell. It opened almost immediately and the tears broke loose.
“Hi, honey. Oh dear, come in.” Jackie helped her inside and had her take a seat on the sofa. “Here’s your tea.” She handed Priscilla a cup.
Priscilla reached for it but she had to set it back down because her hands were shaking so badly. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“Sorry for what, honey?” Jackie smoothed Priscilla’s hair in that motherly way that always seemed to soothe everything from bruised knees to being sick, but a broken heart was a very different hurt.
“Roark doesn’t want to marry me.”
“What? Why not?”
“Earl changed my article to include some stuff about Jaxon that Roark had told me in confidence.” She told her mother what Roark had told her about Jaxon and how she’d promised not to divulge it.
“But Earl put it in the article? How did he get it?”
“It was in research notes on my computer. He says he has access to all the computers and thought my article needed polishing so he added it without asking. Now Jaxon is hurt and mad at Roark. Then Roark called me and said we were done because I betrayed his trust.”
“You didn’t try to explain? I’m sure he’d listen.”
“No, he won’t. I tried to call him back but he won’t answer. Damn Earl Sanders. Now, I’m out of a job. I’ve lost Roark… and all because Earl thought I wasn’t good enough.”
“Then call Jaxon.”
“I don’t know that he’d listen either. ”
“Try.”
“I suppose… I will in a few days. I’m sure he’s too angry at me right now.”
“Well, I’m calling Eric right now.” Jackie stood and reached for her phone.
“Who’s Eric?”
“Eric Fulton. He owns Western Cowboy magazine and I want him to know what Earl is doing.”
“Mom—”
“Hush, Cilla. This needs to be done. Earl can’t do this. He may be the editor in chief but he has no right to go into your files and add something without permission. Didn’t he even use his head that if it wasn’t in the article, it wasn’t supposed to be? It’s very possible Jaxon could even sue the magazine.”
“Wow, I hadn’t thought about that. Earl said he figured I was just in a damn big hurry and that I have no clue how to write for a magazine—” She quieted when her mother put her hand up.
“Eric? It’s Jackie. We need to discuss Sanders. He has done something completely despicable as well as hurt my daughter. I want his balls on a platter.”
For the first time since talking to Roark, Priscilla smiled as she listened to her mother tell Eric about Earl. Once she ended her call, she took a seat beside Priscilla on the sofa.
“He’s not at all happy. Earl has been a pain in the ass lately, according to Eric and this was the last straw. I’m so sorry, honey.”
“I know, Mom. Is there something between you and Earl that I’ve screwed up?”
“Ha! He wishes. No, I met him at a dinner I attended with Eric. Earl flirted with me but I never gave him any encouragement. I told Eric how much you’d like to write for the magazine so he had Earl call you. Earl had nothing to do with you getting the job. In fact, I suppose he’s been angry with Eric because he made him hire you when he wanted to hire his nephew instead.”
“I hate that man. I know I’m not supposed to hate but he is just a cruel man and now because of his interference, I’ve lost Roark,” Priscilla said then burst into tears.
“Give it a few days then call Jaxon. Start out by apologizing. He’ll listen, I’m sure.”
“Maybe it was my fault. If I’d deleted the stuff about Jaxon then Earl wouldn’t have seen it and put it in the magazine—”
“Stop blaming yourself, Cilla. Earl had no right to put that in the magazine. At least, not without checking with you first as to why you didn’t put it in there. It’s his responsibility to verify information too, you know. Call Jaxon in a few days and clear this up.”
Priscilla nodded but couldn’t say anything. What could she say? If Jaxon wouldn’t listen then she’d never have a chance of making Roark understand she hadn’t written that part of the article because he’d never answer any calls from her.