Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Zinnia would have loved to drift off to sleep with Monty, but she’d resisted the urge. Once he’d conked out, she’d left the bed, pulled on her pjs, located her flip-flops and tip-toed out of the room.
She’d found a pad and pen in the kitchen and written him a note thanking him for a lovely evening, wishing him a happy birthday, and letting him know her sister had Sunday night off. She’d signed the note with an XO, the middle ground between sincerely and love.
She’d been jubilant on the way back to the house, but creeping inside had given her a mild case of guilt.
Despite that, she’d fallen gratefully into bed, half asleep as her head hit the pillow.
If nothing else, she and Monty would temporarily cure each other’s insomnia on the nights they spent together.
The minute the alarm on her phone chimed the next morning, Tex barreled into her room, eyes shining with excitement. “You gots to get up, Mommy! We gots to get ready!”
“The party starts at four this afternoon, sweetie.” She sat up.
“How long before we gots to go, Mommy?”
She gazed into that innocent little face. Her mild sense of guilt from last night had been replaced with guilt that had the kick of a mule.
She picked up her phone from the nightstand and turned it toward him. “What time is it now?”
“Six-o-five.”
Her son had talked endlessly about the party at dinner last night. He’d been incandescent with joy at the prospect of seeing his idol today and giving him a birthday present.
“Then let’s count the hours.” She held up her hand. “Count with me. Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. How many hours is that?”
He consulted his spread fingers. “Five.”
Switching hands, she continued the countdown. “Twelve, one, two, three, four. How many hours is that?”
He groaned. “Five again. Can we go early? Mister Monty wants to see me. I know he does.”
“I’m sure he does, but if we go early, they won’t be ready for us. They’ll still be setting up.”
“We could help!”
“Not this time, sweetie. We’re just getting to know the Bridgers, and—”
“Where’s my wrangler?” Uncle Graham’s voice drifted down the hall. “Time to feed the herd, buddy!”
“Yes, sir!” Tex glanced down at his pjs. “Uh-oh. I gots to get dressed. You too, Mommy!”
“I’ll be ready in a flash.”
“Me, too!” He raced back to his bedroom.
She hurried through a quick sponge bath before throwing on some clothes. She’d be the last one down to the barn, but that was fine. No client appointments today.
Some coffee would be nice, too. Mari would have made a pot and left her some. The whir of an electric mixer told her two things — waffles were on the breakfast menu and her sis had lingered in the kitchen to get the 411 on last night. Made her smile.
When they’d lived in Great Falls, they’d divided the chores. Mari had done most of the cooking and Zinnia had handled the bulk of the cleaning. They’d continued the system here. Relieving their uncle of that work was the least they could do to thank him for taking them in.
Mari shut off the mixer when she walked in. “Hey, there.”
“Hey.” She grabbed a mug, poured herself some coffee and pretended not to know why Mari was still in the house. “You’re going down to the barn, right?”
“Absolutely. I can’t wait to see that cutie-pie. I just wanted to mix the batter first, so we’re ready to roll when we all come back in.”
“Then making the batter has nothing to do with you itching to find out how things went last night?”
She laughed. “You know me too well.”
“And you know me too well. You were right about this matchup. It was awesome. He’s awesome.”
“Woo-hoo!” Mari spun away from the counter and rushed over to give her a hug.
“Watch the coffee, watch the coffee.”
“I am.” Her sis gave her a quick squeeze and stepped back. “I’m just happy for you. I assume you’re going back tomorrow night?”
“Probably, although we didn’t confirm it and I snuck out while he was asleep. I left him a note, though, so he’s aware you’re not working Sunday night.”
“He fell asleep?” Returning to the mixer, she dropped the beaters in the sink. “That surprises me.”
“I almost did, but I decided to leave and make sure I’d get back in plenty of time. Besides, we both needed sleep. He’s an insomniac, too.”
“What you just said makes no sense.” She tucked the batter in the fridge. “Two insomniacs should be up all night doing it like bunnies.”
“Well, it appears that good sex is a cure.”
“I’ll be damned.” Mari picked up a half-full mug from the counter and raised it in her direction. “See? You were made for each other.”
“Mm.” Avoiding her sister’s gaze, she sipped her coffee.
“What’s wrong?”
“I told myself I wasn’t taking anything away from Tex by going over there, but—”
“You’re not. He’s asleep and you’re doing something for yourself for a change. And curing your insomnia in the process. Win-win.”
“If it’s win-win, why do I feel so rotten about sneaking off to spend hours alone with the cowboy he idolizes? Why do I cringe at the thought of him finding out? He would feel betrayed.”
“He won’t find out. Besides, you don’t want him spending a lot of time with Mister Monty, remember? You’re afraid he’ll get too attached.”
“I know, but when he came into my room this morning all bubbly and eager to go over there today, and I’d just had a wonderful couple of hours with the guy….”
“Zinnia Dawn.” Setting down her mug, Mari took her by the shoulders. “You and Tex are two separate people. You need closeness with Monty and Tex needs some daylight.”
“But—”
“You can nobly sacrifice your needs if you must, but that won’t help Tex wean himself away from Mister Monty. Only time can do that.”
She gazed at her little sis. “You’re right. Again.”
“Of course I am.”
“I hope you know you’re flipping the script. I’m supposed to be the wise older sister giving you advice.”
“Don’t worry. The script will flip again one of these days.” She smiled. “C’mon. Let’s go see how many layers of cuteness that little guy has added since last night.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.” As they walked down to the barn, Zinnia vowed to spend the next several hours focused on her son, her mare, and the new baby.
She failed miserably. Tex kept bringing up Mister Monty and the impending party.
On top of it, Speckles’ adorable foal was his namesake.
By the time she settled Tex in his car seat and climbed into the passenger side of Uncle Graham’s fancy red truck, her excitement about seeing that cowboy again rivaled her son’s.
They didn’t live far away, and when Tex got a load of the imposing metal gate decorated with a running horse, his eyes widened. When they drove through and her uncle announced they were now on ranch property, her son went supernova.
“All this?” He spread his arms wide. “All this is Mister Monty’s?”
“Not just his.” She turned from the passenger seat to look at him fully. His car seat was helpful since the elevation gave him a better view. “It belongs to his whole family.”
“Look at all the trees! They have so many trees!”
“They do.”
“Mommy, Mommy!” He pointed to his right. “I seed a horse over there. And another one! They’re loose!”
“They’re wild, buddy,” Uncle Graham said. “But they’re not loose. There’s a fence. You just can’t see it very well because it blends into the trees.”
He gasped. “They’re wild? Like in The Black Stallion?”
She nodded. “Like that.” A couple months ago she’d decided he was old enough to watch the movie, and he’d loved it, even if the boy in it wasn’t strictly speaking a cowboy.
“Whoa. Why do they gots wild horses?”
“They rescued them.”
“Why?”
“To keep them safe.” It was more complex than that. Uncle Graham had told her that horses, though beautiful, weren’t native to Montana. They created issues for native grazers like deer and antelope. The Hearts and Hooves Sanctuary provided an elegant solution.
“Safe from bears?”
“Yes.” The fence likely kept out bears. After they’d moved here, she’d done her best to warn him about wild creatures without making them sound so scary he’d be afraid to go outside.
“Smokey wouldn’t eat a horse.”
“Because he’s a tame bear.”
“Yep.” His attention shifted as they approached the turn-off to the ranch. “Another gate?”
“This is the last one, buddy.” Uncle Graham braked beside the keypad and punched in the code. “Once we get around that bend, you’ll be able to see the ranch.”
“Ohboyohboyohboy.” He bounced in his seat. “I’ve been waiting forever.”
She felt like bouncing in her seat, too. Around that bend a certain cowboy was watching for her.
Surrounded by his loving family, he’d be laughing and talking with everyone, maybe wearing a new shirt someone had bought for him, maybe sipping a beer. But he’d be keeping his eye on the road.
Her stomach quivered. Mari’s words hadn’t banished her guilt. It was still there, especially whenever she glanced at Tex.
But she knew one thing for sure. Guilt wouldn’t stop her from driving back over here on Sunday night.