Chapter Twenty #2
Thank you for sending me that video. While it’s certainly a disappointment that we’ll have to relocate the River Bend Resort project, the timing couldn’t be better.
We need you in Greensboro to keep that project from tanking.
I had Joyce go ahead and buy us plane tickets—you fly out of Fort Wayne Sunday at 4 p.m. Wanted to make sure you had a few extra days at home, since I know you have quite a mess on your hands.
See you soon,
Steven
“ Noooo. ” She ran a hand into her hair as she read it again. “No, no, no!”
Was it too late to change her flight? Joyce was a magician when it came to such things. Surely, she could find a way to push that flight back a few more days.
But I need to go back to Marietta. The mayor’s expecting me at tomorrow’s rescheduled hearing , Natalie emailed back, struggling not to end every sentence with a dozen exclamation marks.
Corporate thinks it best if we have our environmental team and legal contact the mayor , he responded, oblivious to her distress. “ Where we really need you is Greensboro. ”
“But I left things unsaid in Montana,” she whispered to her otherwise empty home.
She dropped onto her bed, feeling completely helpless. Because what could she possibly tell Steven that wouldn’t mean he either A … came up with workarounds to her scheduling excuses or B … learned that she’d fallen for the River Bend Resort project’s biggest opponent?
Her vision swam. The one thought that had helped get her through the past few days was that she’d be back out to Montana in no time.
And the minute she got back, she was going to tell Sam how she felt about him.
About them. About how she wanted more than anything to try to make things work between them, however it looked.
These weren’t conversations she wanted to have over the phone—they were ones she wanted to have while held in his strong yet gentle arms, getting lost in those inviting green eyes with the blue flecks.
Now, she had no idea of when—or even if—that would be. Worse yet, Sam would be expecting a call.
What was she supposed to tell him?
*
Sam disconnected his call with Natalie and stood in the hallway outside the lodge’s family kitchen, staring down at his cell phone.
She’d called with good news. He’d gotten what he wanted—the resort was no more.
And while he should be doing backflips across the kitchen floor; the desire wasn’t there.
How could it be, when the one person he wanted to celebrate most with, the person who had ultimately helped spare their ranch, wouldn’t be coming back?
“Well?” Gramps asked as Sam returned to the breakfast table. “What did she say?”
Sam’s gaze fell to the plate of flapjacks before him. They’d tasted so good only a moment ago. Now, his appetite had gone. “Terakion is pulling out. The lodge is safe.”
His grandfather let out a whoop as Gran came over to hug her husband. “I knew ole Natalie girl wouldn’t let us down.”
“You did put a lot of faith in that woman,” Gran agreed. “Although, for the record, it was my idea to get her on our side.”
“But I knew the moment she dumped that punch all over Samuel that she’d make things right,” Gramps countered. “So, when’s she coming back so we can properly thank her and do some celebrating?”
“She isn’t.” The words spilled from his numb lips.
Silence descended on the room.
“What do you mean, she isn’t?” Gran asked.
He shook his head, still trying to process it himself. “Her boss decided that since this job was over, they would shift her to another project she’d been helping with the past week. She flies to Greensboro on Sunday.”
“Then have her fly out here for a few days in between,” Gramps said. “There’s plenty of time—”
“She can’t leave there, Gramps, she’s got a mess she’s still trying to clean up from the storm last weekend.” Sam pounded a fist on the table. “Dammit! If her house weren’t all torn up, I’d pay for tickets to get her out here myself!”
He raked a hand through his hair, trying to rein in his emotions. It wasn’t the storm’s fault that he’d put off having the talk with her about continuing to see each other after her job here was done—it was his. He’d kept postponing it out of fear. He’d been a damned coward.
Now, he wanted to kick himself.
Was she missing him as much as he was missing her? He hoped she was. But then, he hadn’t told her how he felt about her—about them—before she’d left. Would she wait for him, or would the flame flicker and go out before their relationship had time to make roots and grow?
“Well, maybe you could go out there,” Gramps said. “See how she’s doing.”
Sam gave him a dark look. There wasn’t time to drive out there, and flying wasn’t going to happen.
Gran took a seat at the table. “Samuel, I know this isn’t how you’d hoped things would go, but just because she had to go home for a little while doesn’t mean it’s the end.”
The end —those words echoed in his head. Was that what this would turn into? Maybe he should start to consider that option instead of the alternative.
“I suppose if she keeps this job and is traveling all the time, it won’t work anyway. I want a woman who can be here by my side, not halfway across the country.”
“You knew what you were getting into from the start, so don’t act like this came as a surprise.
” His grandmother smirked. “Sounds to me like you two have some talking to do. And that might require some patience on your part, tough as that will be. Just don’t give up on her the second she leaves town—that wouldn’t be fair to either of you, not before you two agree on where you’re headed.
Natalie’s good for you; she makes you happy.
And that makes us happy. So, find a way to make this work. ”
“But what if she doesn’t want to do the long-distance thing?” he asked, the question slipping out softly.
Gramps reached over and gave his fisted hand a squeeze. “Then you convince her otherwise.”
If only it would be that easy. Sam excused himself then headed for the stable. He needed to get away, to give himself space to think. So, he did what he’d always done when his heart was stinging from love…
He found his horse Whiskey and went for a long ride.
Past the corrals, past the feed lots. Past the foothills and the creeks and the meadow.
He rode until he reached Snake’s Bend, then stopped to let his horse rest and get some water.
There, he sat beneath the tree he and Natalie had spent the afternoon under, catching their breath, talking, and making love.
It swayed overhead in the morning’s warm breeze, sending a chill of loneliness through him.
Gone.
Would it be for good? Could they make a long-distance relationship work? Hell, would she even want to try?
Sam placed a hand on the sandy soil beneath him, missing his girl. He’d known from the start that this working out was a long shot. How many times had he told himself to just live in the moment? To enjoy the here and now? And what had that gotten him?
Left behind.
Again.
Still, he wouldn’t have traded his time with her for the world.
And, as Gran had pointed out, it wasn’t over with them yet.
That thought eventually helped him to get back to his feet and back onto Whiskey.
Somehow, he managed to make it through the day, putting on a good face for his family and Neil.
He settled into his rocking chair on the porch that evening and texted back and forth with Natalie, trying to savor every bit of attention she threw his way.
But eventually she wished him sweet dreams so she could get some shut-eye. Damn that time difference.
But my dreams aren’t nearly as sweet when you’re not here.
“You miss her, don’t you?”
He looked up to meet his daughter’s gaze.
She’d come out to sit on the porch swing a short while ago, claiming the fresh air would help her study better for finals.
Sam knew damned well she’d really come out to keep an eye on him.
But tonight, he didn’t have the energy to hide his hurt. Or to lie. He simply nodded.
“Then why don’t you do something about it?”
Sam snorted. Oh, to be young and full of optimism. “It’s not that easy, sweetheart.”
“Isn’t it? There’s a flight from Bozeman to Fort Wayne that leaves tomorrow at eight in the morning. One short layover in Chicago. You’d be to her place by dinnertime.”
A plane. Like he would ever get on a plane. Planes crashed. Planes killed people.
That was the real reason he hadn’t pursued being an astronaut, though he’d never admitted that to another soul.
He’d watched a plane go down in Livington just before the end of high school while there with his father to meet another rancher who was flying in.
Had watched the emergency personnel racing to the burning wreckage, watched terrified families huddled together inside the gate. There’d been no survivors.
Though that’d been twenty-some years ago, and there hadn’t been a crash at that airport since. Studies had shown flying was substantially safer than driving. And yet he’d never been able to convince himself otherwise.
Then again, before now, he hadn’t needed to.
“Sweetheart, I appreciate you saying that, but—” Sam stopped as Madison lifted her phone from behind the books he thought she’d been studying, a familiar airline logo clear on its screen. “You looked it up?”
“Of course I did. Want me to get your credit card?”
Sam studied his sweet daughter, his little girl with the old soul, admiring her boldness. She was a mini-Sunnie, only she smiled a whole lot more. If she could be so brave, why couldn’t he?
Why couldn’t he?
“Are you sure you understand what you’re asking me to do?”
She grinned. “Dad, there are way more things here on the ranch that are statistically more likely to kill you than flying on a plane. Also, I get on planes to go see Mom, and I’ve made it back just fine every time.”
All true. But for the first time in forever, flying wasn’t what scared him most. Putting his heart on the line did.
“That’s not what I mean.”
Madison stared at him for a moment before understanding took hold.
She moved her books aside and patted the empty space on the porch swing beside her.
Craving connection, he rose and went to sit beside her.
She curled into his side like she had since she was little, resting her cheek on his shoulder.
“If you’re asking me if I’m going to be okay having a stepmom someday, the answer is yes. I mean, I already have a stepdad—why not round it out?”
Sam frowned. “Thanks for the reminder.”
“Whatever. Listen, Natalie is awesome. She’s great for you, and she fits in great with the rest of us. And you know Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Jaxon are all going to love her, too. So, what’s holding you back?”
She was right, of course. His parents would adore her.
And Jaxon would be treating her like a second big sister in no time.
But this wasn’t about who out here would love her; it was about Natalie choosing them.
Choosing him, here. That had to be her decision.
He couldn’t go through moving another woman to Montana only to watch her ultimately walk away.
Madison turned her face upward to meet his gaze. “She’s different, Dad. And she’s worth it.”
He wrapped an arm around his wise daughter and rested his cheek on her crown. God, he wanted to believe Madison. Wanted it all to be true. He knew the road ahead wouldn’t be fast or easy, but the more he thought about his daughter’s words, the more he believed them to be true.
Natalie was different, and she was definitely worth risking his heart for.
“How about you run inside and get my wallet, kiddo?”