Chapter 2
two
EWAN
While the world moved in slow motion, I felt as though I should have seen this whole thing coming.
The gorgeous woman with blonde hair and bright blue eyes had caught my gaze from the moment I’d stepped into this park. Her smile had pulled my attention as well, even though I’d been trying to focus on my friends.
But every once in a while she would speak to her daughter, and I couldn’t help but look over at her, trying to act subtle. Considering I was six foot five, broad shouldered, and hadn’t bothered to change out of my boots from when I had driven down from the ranch, I already stood out. I wasn’t good at being subtle.
Yet the woman had been in my peripheral vision for most of the afternoon. Even when I had tried to do my best to catch sight of the little girl’s father. Only I hadn’t seen a ring on that woman’s finger, and my odd relief was a kick to the chest that didn’t make a lick of sense.
But all of that didn’t matter in the end. Because I could see what would happen next in slow motion and vivid pictures.
The little girl was trying to be so strong, a big girl as she said, throwing away her own trash. The mom wasn’t that far away. Honestly, she could have taken two steps and grabbed her kid.
But when the bicyclist went off the trail, I moved . I didn’t even realize I was moving away from my friends as somebody shouted behind me, and I took two large steps toward the little girl. At first, I hadn’t wanted her to hit her head or scrape her knee, and then the horn honking from beside me filled my gut with dread.
As the little girl tripped over the curb and toward a car ready to parallel park, I gripped the back of her overalls and tugged her toward me. The shift of momentum and gravity had me falling backward myself, and I hit the ground, the little girl clutched to my chest.
I held back the curse that echoed in my mind as I tried to keep my heart rate calm. In that moment, the little girl froze in my hold. She held her breath, looking down at me with wide, slightly panicked eyes. Then everything moved back to real time.
“Amelia!”
“Oh my God, Ewan!”
Other people screamed as the driver of the car got out, her hands over her mouth. “I didn’t see her. She just fell into the street. Is she okay?”
“Amelia,” the blonde woman shouted.
I sat up, the kid wrapped in my arms, then the little girl was plucked from my hold, and the blonde woman held her child to her chest, rocking her back and forth.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m okay, Mommy. I’m okay.”
I found myself still sitting, arms resting on my knees as I looked up at the little girl who was patting the tears off her mother’s cheeks. I didn’t realize I was surrounded by others, heat crawling up my neck, until a familiar voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Ewan?”
I looked up into that familiar face as Crew held at his hand. “How the hell did you move so fast?”
I put my hand in his as he helped me to my feet, and I tried to ignore the group of people surrounding us. I really didn’t like crowds. “She’s smaller than a calf, so I’ve had practice.”
The other man looked like he wanted to laugh, but I still saw the gray pallor beneath his skin. I didn’t know how Crew knew the little girl, but he seemed to have been as scared as the mom.
“Ewan, so glad that you were there,” Jackson said from my side, and I looked over at my friend who ran his hand through his beard. “I knew you were fast, but damn.” My friend, and the reason I was down in Colorado Springs, winced. “Sorry ma’am.”
The little girl’s mom let out a shaky breath. “We curse a lot in this family. It’s fine. Seriously, thank you so much,” she directed at me.
I finally forced myself to look at the blonde woman with pixie-like features and blue eyes that were even more startling close up.
The girl in her arms was like a little clone of her mother. Adorable cheeks, same eyes, and straight blonde hair—though her mother’s seemed to have a bit of a curl. Her pigtails had come out when I had pulled her back, so she looked a little bedraggled, but not too badly.
“I’m just glad I saw her in time. Did that cyclist really leave?” I looked over my shoulder, scowling when I didn’t see a single biker in sight.
“Yes, he just left.” Her jaw tightened before it looked as if she forced herself to relax marginally. “And I’m never letting you out of my sight again.” She continued to press kisses all over her daughter’s face, who just giggled and looked none-worse-for-wear. If anything, all the adults looked like they had lost ten years off their life, while she seemed perfectly content.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another familiar face go over to the woman who had stopped parking halfway and led her into her spot. It wasn’t her fault; she was following all the rules of the road, but accidents happened. She came over quickly and said she was sorry, and then ran off to her appointment in the business center across the park.
Everyone talked very quickly, and I just stood there, hands in my pockets beside Jackson.
“So Ewan, what are you doing down in Colorado Springs?” Crew asked, and I realized the man who had gone over to the driver had to be Lexington Montgomery. It had been a while since I had seen these two guys, but they hadn’t changed in the past year or so since they had come up for the rodeo.
“Jackson’s wedding prep,” I said, pointing my thumb at the other man. “I don’t know if you guys have met.”
“Can’t say that I have,” Jackson said as he held out his hand. “It’s good to meet you two. Maybe after better circumstances. You guys are the Montgomerys right? The ones that came up to help Crew’s family?”
“I’m the Montgomery. He’s just the add-on.” Lexington grinned as Crew rolled his eyes.
“So you three know each other?” the mother said as she stared at me, confusion in her gaze.
“A little bit. Good timing, it seems.” I looked down at the little girl in her arms and tried to smile. I wasn’t great with kids, as they tended to be afraid of the big beard and tall stature. But she just grinned up at me, those blue eyes wide. “You doing okay?” I asked, trying to keep the gruffness out of my voice. The whole incident had scared the shit out of me even though I hadn’t let myself think too hard about that.
“Uh-huh. Mommy says to say thank you.”
My lips twitched as the woman winced. “Well you’re welcome.”
“Thank you.” She beamed at me, and I just shook my head, a smile finally playing on my face.
“She sure does look like you,” I said, surprising myself.
The woman widened her eyes before she cleared her throat. “I think so most days. I’m Livvy by the way. Livvy Montgomery.”
I stole a glance at Lex who just shook his head. “Cousins. One of the two hundred of us.”
I held back a laugh at that—ignoring the relief she wasn’t Lex’s wife. “I did hear that you guys pretty much cover the whole state of Colorado. It was odd to find one of you in Wyoming for a minute.”
“Oh, you’re the cowboy,” a younger man said as he held out his hand. “I am John Montgomery. Livvy’s brother. Lex’s cousin. Usually we have name tags for this sort of thing.”
The older couple introduced themselves as Livvy and John’s parents, the little girl’s grandparents, and everyone began talking at once, continuing to thank me. The onlookers not related to the group finally dispersed and I was grateful as I didn’t really like being the center of attention. I took a step back slightly, afraid that I was going to reach out and brush Livvy’s hair from her face. That would be ridiculous since I didn’t even know the woman. But there was just something about her that captivated me. But doing anything about that would just end in trouble. Especially with her parents staring at me.
“Did I hear you compare my daughter to a calf earlier?” Livvy asked.
I blushed once again. “Yes ma’am.”
“Oh, don’t start with the ma’ams,” Crew said with a chuckle. “The girls get annoyed with that here.”
“Maybe he’s just a little more polite than you are,” Livvy said a little sharply to Crew, who just smiled widely.
“Maybe, but they like me rough.”
Nearly everybody scowled at him as Amelia held out her arms. “Uncle Crew?”
He winked, completely unrepentant, as he plucked Amelia from her mother’s arms. “I’m going to go take this little girl for a walk, far away from the trail. It’s nice to see you again, Ewan. We should catch up if you’re in town for long.”
“Yeah. My number’s the same.”
And then he headed off with John and the grandparents, leaving me standing alone with Jackson, Lexington, and Livvy.
“Seriously, I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I was just in the right place at the right time. And you would’ve caught her.”
She shuddered. “Not fast enough. It was just the worst set of circumstances. I’m never letting her do anything on her own again.” She looked past me to where Crew had taken her and I knew if she could, she’d have taken her daughter back and tried to never let her go.
“I wouldn’t say that,” I said quietly and winced. “Not that it’s my place. But I learned the more you try to hem them in, the more they want to get out and be free.”
“Are you comparing my daughter to a calf again?” she asked, her lips twitching.
There it was, that sparkle in her eyes. Maybe she wasn’t as scared as she had been before. I could count that as a blessing.
Lexington gave me a look, and I barely resisted the urge to shake my head. I did not live here, and I wasn’t going to encroach on the Montgomerys. I couldn’t help but be enraptured by the woman at my side.
“I truly owe you. If there’s anything I can do, or any of the Montgomerys because I will throw them into the lot with that, let me know.”
“I can do that,” I said, knowing that I wouldn’t. I wasn’t even going to use this as a moment to get her number. I wasn’t that smooth to be honest.
An awkwardness settled in and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say. Finally she let out a breath.
“I need to go check on her because she’s probably finally starting to realize that we were scared and wants her mom.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Livvy Montgomery.”
She smiled softly, a little bit of confusion mixing with that fear, before she headed back toward the picnic area.
Lexington cleared his throat. “Anyway, thanks for playing hero and saving my niece. I don’t really want to think about what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been there.”
“But I was there. Best not think about the worst things when you have the future to worry about.”
“Somehow that’s reassuring and scary all at once,” the other man said.
“I do my best.” I stood there awkwardly, doing my best not to look over at Livvy. That would just be too obvious, and ridiculous. I was never going to see that woman again.
I ignored the disappointment that shouldn’t have been there to begin with.
“So, why are you down here again?” Lex asked.
Jackson smiled wide. “All my pre-wedding festivities.”
“So you’re in the wedding then?” Lexington asked.
I nodded. “Yep. His bride-to-be and all of her friends are doing a whole event.” I tried to hide the annoyance in my tone, but I didn’t do a very good job since Lex just snorted.
“Well, if you guys have any time before you head out, let us know. Maybe we can get you a beer or something in thanks.”
I shrugged though part of me wanted to see Livvy again—an irrational thought. “I didn’t do much. No need to do that. But it was good to see you again.”
“Yeah, Ewan. And it’s nice to meet you, Jackson.” Lex finally went over to the picnic area where the others had gathered.
Jackson shook his head. “That scared the shit out of me. And I didn’t even see all of it.”
I’d do my best not to think of those scenarios at all, though I had a feeling I’d have a few nightmares over it. “Well, she’s safe. And now we can head on to whatever is next on the list.”
“I don’t know why you don’t sound excited about it. I’m getting married.”
“And I’m somehow your best man. Didn’t you have other friends?” I asked, shoving at his shoulder. We made our way to the other side of the park over the hill where Jackson’s friends and family were situated. And I did my best not to look behind me. Because if I did, I would want to see if Livvy was watching me.
And I wasn’t quite sure which answer I wanted to that question.
Jackson immediately moved to his fiancée, Kandi’s, side, and dipped her into a kiss that had all of the women swooning.
“What took you so long?” she asked as she stood up, her cheeks blushed.
“Well this cowboy Ewan over here had to go save the day.”
At their curious glances, he explained it all, making me sound far more heroic than I was.
Kandi looked over at me, wide eyes. “And she’s okay? That little girl?”
“It wasn’t anything. She would’ve been fine.”
Although she had been damn close to that car, and I tried not to think about it. I had a feeling it was going to echo in my dreams for far longer than I wanted. Same with the scream that had ripped from Livvy’s throat.
I couldn’t imagine how scared she had been, but I didn’t have to imagine anything else. Because Amelia was safe. And I wasn’t going to look back at the Montgomerys. No good could come from that.
“Well, where was the mother?” Trish asked, and I did my best not to sneer or growl at the maid of honor. Trisha decided because we were walking down the aisle together, we had to do everything together. I was trying to be a good sport about it, but honestly, it hurt my brain to think about being alone in a room with her for longer than thirty seconds. Everything she said sounded like a complaint, even if she was trying to be nice about it. And I wasn’t quite sure Trish knew how to be nice.
She hadn’t liked the flowers Kandi had chosen, hadn’t liked the setting, and was the reason we were down in Colorado Springs doing a local brew tour and celebration rather than up in Wyoming seven hours away where the wedding was going to be.
Jackson’s family owned the spread next to my family’s. While Jackson’s was far bigger than ours, we had over five thousand acres, and it wasn’t as if we were anything small. We each raised cattle, and shared water rights on some of the boundaries, and had grown up together.
Kandi and Trish as well as the other bridesmaids were born and raised in Cheyenne. And while it wasn’t the huge metropolis Denver felt like, they still didn’t like ranch life. I had a feeling Kandi was going to fit right in once she found her footing, but Trish hated everything to do with having the wedding on Jackson’s ancestral family home.
It didn’t make any sense in the grand scheme of things considering she constantly tried to get me alone and in bed. It wasn’t as if I was going to move away from my ranch anytime soon.
“She was right there. It was just poor circumstances the little girl fell the wrong way.”
“Well, that sounds like poor parenting. She should have been right by her little girl the whole time. Someone should do something about that.”
“You’re going to want to back away from that, Trish,” I warned, and hadn’t realized my voice had gone dangerously low until her eyes widened slightly.
Jackson cleared his throat as he wrapped his arm around Kandi’s waist. “It was just an accident. But this hero here made sure the little girl was safe and is going home safely with her single mother.”
My gaze shot to Jackson. “What?”
Jackson gave me a wink. “I was asking the right questions, and it seems that Ms. Livvy is currently single.”
I cleared my throat. “She seems to be raising that little girl right. Even with having to do it all by herself.” I hoped I sounded nonchalant, but with the way that Jackson and Kandi were both grinning at me, while Trish and the others glared, I had a feeling that I wasn’t doing very good about that.
“Maybe she can be your date to the wedding,” Trish said, her voice sickly sweet.
I froze, my shoulders tightening. Because I had forgotten I had lied to them and said I had a date. It wasn’t that I couldn’t get one, I just hadn’t had time. And Trish had been angling for that position.
Jackson gave me a look, and I just swallowed hard, trying to look like I wasn’t lying. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be there with bells on, and you don’t have to worry about my date. She’ll be there too.”
A complete lie, but that just meant I was going to have to fix that soon. Because Trish and Kandi and the others weren’t going to take no for an answer. Meaning I would have to find a date within the week to drive up with me to Wyoming for a wedding. Totally easy. Not insurmountable.
And it would be better off for everyone if I pushed the thought of Livvy and that beautiful smile of hers out of my mind.
Because I was never going to see Livvy Montgomery again.