Chapter Thirteen
The next morning, Holly came into Maureen’s bathroom to borrow a brush.
“What’s wrong with your brush?” Maureen was annoyed with her hair. The cowlick in front was totally out of control.
“Nothing, except I can’t find it.” Holly sorted through the wicker basket containing Maureen’s makeup and pulled out a lipstick. She snapped off the lid and inspected the color. “Gross. It’s like, brown.”
Maureen held out her hand. “That’s cappuccino cream. And it’s the perfect color for a thirty-three-year-old woman on a hot summer day.”
“Whatever.” Holly recapped the tube and dropped it into her mother’s palm. “Why are you going to all this fuss just to sit at your desk and work all day?”
“Since when is brushing my hair and putting on lipstick a fuss? I do these things every day. Especially now that we each have our own bathroom.”
“Yeah. That is one good thing about this place,” Holly conceded. She moved to the adjoining bedroom and opened the window blinds. “I wonder what Jake’s doing this morning.”
Maureen rubbed her lips together, smoothing out the cappuccino cream. She was beginning to suspect that this matchmaking stuff of her sisters had rubbed off on her daughter.
“I have no idea what Jake’s doing.”
“He still likes you, you know.”
“Really?”
Suddenly Holly’s posture shifted from loose and restless to tense and excited. She cranked open the window and pressed her nose flat against the screen. “Hey, Jake!”
Maureen ignored an impulse to move so that she, too, could see out the window. Instead, she picked up a small bottle of perfume and sprayed behind her ears.
Jake called back a reply, his words too muffled for Maureen to hear. Holly had no trouble, though.
“Great! I’ll get my scooter and be right down!” Before passing through the bathroom door, she paused to tell her mother, “You know, those scooters are a lot of fun. You should get one, too.”
The suggestion was enough to freeze Maureen to the spot for several seconds. If she was ever going to stop being the outsider with her daughter, she had to start somewhere. Maybe this was just the place.
*
Maureen had to try three different stores before she finally found an adult scooter.
By the time she drove back home, Jake and Holly were no longer on the street.
She found them on the deck at the back of Jake’s town house.
They’d abandoned their scooters—now propped up against the side wall—for the lure of soft drinks and home-barbecued burgers.
Holly was sitting on a bench by the picnic table while Jake was manning the grill. Lewis had positioned himself by the grill where he was watching Jake with hopeful eyes. Maureen stopped to give the dog a few scratches.
“Still no luck finding his owner?”
“We’ve tried everything. Put up posters at all the local vets and shelters. I’ve even gone door-to-door in a four-block radius. I’m beginning to think he’s mine now,” Jake admitted.
“Jake even bought him a dog tag,” Holly said.
Maureen checked the collar. Sure enough, a metal tag shaped like a bone had been engraved with “Lewis” and Jake’s cell phone number.
“Congratulations, Lewis. You’ve found yourself a good home. Have you taken him to the vet? He might need shots. Plus you could get him microchipped in case he strays again.”
“Done. Cathleen and Rose took him the other day. The vet said she thought Lewis was probably just a year old. She updated his shots and said he looks to be in perfect health.”
“So strange that the people who owned him haven’t tried to find him,” Holly said.
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Jake said. “I’m wondering if they deliberately left him behind. Maybe they had to move to an apartment that didn’t allow dogs, or something like that.”
“I hate to think anyone could be that heartless.” Maureen framed Lewis’s face with her hands. He was so gentle and trusting. “You’re such a sweet boy, aren’t you? I hope you’ve got a burger on the grill for him, too, Jake.”
“Actually, I do. And an extra for you, as well, if you’re interested.”
“Definitely. They smell great.” Maureen went to the cedar table, where all the fixings had been unceremoniously laid out. Cheese slices still in plastic wrap, catsup in a squeeze bottle, mustard with a knife in the jar.
“I’ll get another plate,” Holly volunteered, dashing into the house in an unfamiliarly helpful move.
“I enjoyed dinner last night,” Jake said. “You’ve got a great family.”
“They have their moments.”
“Are you free for tennis any day this week?”
Before she could reply, Holly came back out with a plate and a tin of iced tea, which she gave to her mother.
“Thank you.” Jake seemed to bring out the best in Holly. Maureen wished she could tap into the same vein.
“Lunch is served.” Jake put a plate of grilled patties on the table then turned off the gas to the barbecue. “Load up, everyone.”
The burgers were just as delicious as they’d smelled.
“What do you put in them?” Maureen asked.
“Lots of garlic, Parmesan and lemon juice.”
“They’re fabulous.”
With Holly in a good mood and such delicious food, Maureen found herself enjoying the lunch very much. Several times she caught Jake looking at her, as if he was waiting for a sign that she was willing to do more than just play tennis.
Or maybe she was just projecting her own secret desires on him.
“Hey,” Jake said, “did you hear the news about Beth Gibson?”
Both Maureen and Holly stopped chewing to listen.
“She’s leaving Mountain Realty. Going to work for Max Strongman and Thunder Valley Developments full-time.”
“That’s interesting.” Maureen glanced at Holly, wondering what her daughter would make of this. But Holly resumed eating her burger without any comment.
After lunch, Holly helped Jake clear the table, then asked if they could go out on their scooters again.
“You bet!” Jake straddled the cedar bench, then hopped down to the lawn. “Want to watch Maureen?”
“Actually…I’d like to join you. I bought myself a scooter this morning.”
Holly stopped in her tracks. “No! You didn’t!”
When Maureen nodded, Holly whooped. “Mom bought a scooter!”
“You’ll have to teach me how to use it,” Maureen cautioned.
“Be glad to,” Jake offered.
“Should I get out my first aid kit?” Maureen asked.
Holly and Jake laughed at her.
“It’s not that hard, Mom. Seriously.”
Her concerns about catching on to the scooter proved unfounded. Riding it was actually simple. Soon she was joining in Jake and Holly’s races, and even managed to win one. Holly emerged triumphantly as the overall champ, however.
Later, Maureen sliced watermelon for dessert, which they enjoyed on their new front porch. After two slices Holly asked if she could meet her friends Mads and Adam at River Park.
“We’re going to take our scooters out on the river pathway.”
“Sure. Can you be back at five? Remember Kelly asked if you could babysit Billy and Mandy this evening.”
“No problem.”
Once her daughter left, Maureen expected Jake to go, too, but he lingered. When she raised her eyebrows questioningly, he said, “I’ve got a few things I’d like to discuss with you.”
Intriguing. But also a bit intimidating. “Such as?”
“Us. Our futures.”
Maureen folded her hands in her lap and fixed her gaze on him. “You’ve got my attention.”
*
Jake had been doing a lot of soul searching since his conversation with Dylan.
He was at a crossroads in his life. The big question was…
where did he want to be five years from now?
Still running Grizzly Peaks, spending his winter playing and working in the mountains and back in Whitefish for the summer?
It was hard to picture any woman, let alone Maureen, fitting in to that sort of lifestyle.
Maybe, just maybe, it was a lifestyle he had finally outgrown.
“Dylan made me an incredible offer the other night.”
“Oh? I thought you guys looked pretty serious.”
“He’d like me to buy in to the Thunder Bar M and help him run the place.”
Maureen’s eyes rounded. “Really?”
He nodded. “I’ve worked on and off at the ranch for years. Plus I’ve got experience starting and running a small business. I think I’ve got the skills.”
“But what about Grizzly Peaks?”
“That’s just it. I’d have to sell and invest the proceeds in the ranch.”
Maureen was silent for a few moments. “So I’d be silent partners with someone else? A stranger?”
Jake took her hands. “No. I’m asking you to come to the ranch with me.”
“You mean invest my money?”
He took a deep breath. This was it. He was taking the plunge. “I mean invest your everything. Your money, your heart, your soul. We could get married, build ourselves a big house out on the ranch.”
For once Maureen was speechless. She stared at him, lips parted, eyes wide and incredulous.
“I was a perfectly happy bachelor until you came along. Now the very idea of being without you scares me more than anything.”
He felt the pressure of her hands squeezing his. Tears pooled in her eyes but didn’t fall.
She was listening, at least.
“Would you do me the honor of marrying me, Maureen? I promise you my love and my faithfulness. I’ll cherish and protect you and Holly as long as I live.”
What else could he offer? He wanted to give her everything. All that had been missing in her marriage to Rod. All that she could possibly dream of for her future.
*
“Jake, that was the sweetest proposal I could imagine.” Maureen’s head was spinning with all that he’d thrown at her. Investing in the ranch, building a home together, getting married.
In her heart she was thrilled. She’d fallen for him hard. He was great with Holly, and even more important, he was great with her.
But her head was a lot more cautious. “You’re talking about a lot of changes, Jake. I’m worried if you give up Grizzly Peaks for me you’ll end up resenting me.”