Chapter 23
Chapter
Twenty-Three
P aisley stepped out of the Missoula airport and adjusted her backpack straps as she squinted in the afternoon sun. She’d parked her car in the far reaches of long-term parking, and it was a bit of a hike from the terminal.
“Hey.”
She pivoted. Her favorite cowboy straightened from beside the nearby pillar. “Weston!” She flew toward him.
His arms tightened around her as he spun her around. “Paisley.”
She shivered at the gravelly tone in his voice, then her lips found his. This time, she didn’t hold back like she had that night. Had over a week passed since then? Crazy. It seemed like forever ago. And yet, like no time at all had passed.
“Oh, Paisley.” Weston rested his forehead against hers while his hands roved her back. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too. Every minute of every day, I wished you were there beside me. ”
“I wished the same. Next time, I will.” He swallowed hard. “I’ve never flown.”
She blinked and looked up at him. “Really? Never?”
“There was never anywhere I wanted to go where my truck or my horse couldn’t take me. Until you broadened my horizons.”
“You’re not afraid of flying, are you?”
“Maybe?” Weston wrinkled his nose. “It’s not very appealing to think about miles in the air with only a tin can to keep me from falling and splatting.”
“It’s safer than driving.”
“So they say.”
Paisley giggled, but then Weston’s lips covered hers, distracting her from every other thought but how good it was to be cherished by him. She’d been right to see the cowboy behind the gruff exterior all those months ago. He was worth every minute of the torture he’d put her through.
“Fly with me sometime?” she whispered against his mouth.
“Oh, we’re going to fly, sweetheart. We are so going to fly.”
She shivered at his intense promise. He wasn’t talking about jets anymore. Knowing the kind of man he was, he wasn’t talking about a short-term hookup, either. He was pledging much, much more.
Paisley might have started this whole thing over a year ago when she wouldn’t leave him to his surly existence, but she wasn’t quite ready for how far the pendulum had swung so quickly.
She pulled back a little. “I have my car here, you know. ”
“I know. I just couldn’t wait any longer to see you. How about I follow you to Jewel Lake? May I take you to dinner at the Golden Grill?”
“Are you asking me on a date, Mr. Grumpy?”
He nipped at her lips. “Who are you calling grumpy?”
Mercy. Her legs were turning to rubber. “Not you.”
“Yes, a date. I want to be official for all the world to see.”
“You know what they say about Estelle at the Golden Grill?”
“Enlighten me,” he growled.
“She’s into everyone’s business and the town’s biggest gossip.”
“Sounds like the perfect place for a date, in that case.” Weston studied her, suddenly seeming pensive. “I think there’s something I should tell you first.”
Uh oh. Paisley angled her head and lifted her eyebrows.
“Did I tell you about Rayna? I once thought I was in love with her. I know now I wasn’t, not even close, but that’s what I thought back then.”
“Okay?” It wasn’t like Paisley hadn’t had a boyfriend or two herself back in the day. Not so much since she’d begun her vagabond existence, though.
“She left for California after my dad died and my mom lost the ranch. I think she figured I was a loser, and she could do better.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah. She… well, she gutted me. Kinda glad now, though.” He pecked Paisley’s lips.
“There must be more to the story.”
Weston chuckled. “There is a bit more. She heard via the grapevine that my fortunes had changed, and she tracked me down a few days ago.”
“How mercenary of her.”
“Exactly. She worded it differently, assuming I’d be thrilled to see her and invite her back into my life. But, of course, that is never going to happen.”
“Right. So how did she come into the current conversation?”
He sighed. “She’s serving at the Golden Grill.”
Paisley took a step back and disengaged her hands from his. “You want her to see us together?”
“Secondary benefit after spending time with you.” Weston stepped back into her space and cradled her face between his hands as he studied her intently. “There’s no better restaurant in Jewel Lake, I want to take you out for dinner, and I want the world to know I love you. I’d feel the same if Estelle wasn’t a gossip and if Rayna didn’t work there.”
Paisley rested her fingertips on his wrists as she searched his eyes. “Okay.”
“I don’t want to hide anything from you. Rayna’s in my rearview mirror. Her future isn’t linked to mine in any way. My future is determined by you. You and God.”
“Thanks for trusting me with that.” How was she supposed to feel right now? Everything inside her was a jumble of emotion, but maybe that was mostly the turmoil of the past week talking. Weston was her anchor. He might have been hard to catch, but now that they were on the same page, he was all in and taking the lead. Wasn’t that what she wanted ?
Yes. Yes, it was.
Weston’s hands still held her face, his thumbs caressing her cheeks as he leaned slowly in and touched his lips against hers.
She closed her eyes, letting the gentle current settle over her. Yes. Weston was the man for her.
“I’m parked right beside you. I’ll follow you to Jewel Lake. Okay?”
“Okay.” She linked her hand with his — oh, how right it felt — as they made their way through the parking lot toward her little car. If only she could leave it here and ride with Weston! If she’d asked him to drive her to the airport last week, she could’ve. Instead, she’d run away without telling him.
That would never happen again. Not now that she’d found the other half of her heart.
Weston followed Paisley’s car all the way to Jewel Lake. She exited the Interstate and soon pulled into the angle parking near the duck pond. He parked beside her and met her behind the vehicles.
“I missed you.” He twined his fingers with hers.
“You just saw me at the airport. You’ve been staring at the back of my head ever since.”
“You could feel that? Like daggers?”
“More like Cupid’s arrows.”
Weston fake-gagged.
“Too much?” She giggled.
“Nah.” He winked. “I just don’t want to seem too different from the guy you fell for.”
Paisley shook her head, but she was smiling just a little. “Right. Well, I’m starving.”
“Handy we’re in a place where we can eat then.”
He glanced both ways and led her across the street to the restaurant.
They were a bit ahead of the supper crowd, and only a couple of tables were filled. Still, the sign said, ‘Please wait to be seated,’ so they paused in front of the hostess desk.
Rayna sauntered around the corner from the kitchen, her eyes widening as she took in their joined hands.
“A table for two, please.” Weston couldn’t help the feeling of satisfaction, nor did he want to.
“Window or not?”
“We’d like a little more privacy than that, thanks. The booth in the back corner would be great.”
She pressed her lips together as she gathered two menus and two bundles of flatware. “Right this way.”
Instead of sitting across from Paisley, he nudged her and slid into the booth beside her.
“I’ll be right back with two waters.” Rayna flounced away.
“You’re laying it on thick,” Paisley murmured.
Was she upset? He glanced at her, but she was smirking even as she opened her menu. Whew. “Too thick? I want you to myself.”
“While making sure we’re seen.”
“Duh. Of course.”
She giggled. “You’re incorrigible. ”
“It’s sexy when you use big words like that.”
Paisley’s gaze flew to meet his, and there might as well have been no one else in the room. “Did you call me…?”
“Sexy?” He bobbed his eyebrows. “I sure did. It means attractive. Seductive. Alluring, even.”
She fanned her hand in front of her face.
Two glasses clunked on the table. “Are you ready to order?”
Weston didn’t turn toward Rayna. “Give us five.”
“Sure. Whatever.” Her footsteps faded.
Paisley watched Rayna storm away. “She’s pretty. She probably has it all together, except for the hitting on you part. I-I’m a mess.”
“I’m partial to your kind of mess.”
She rolled her eyes. “You sure know how to make a girl swoon.”
“Great. It worked, then.” He tapped her menu. “What would you like for dinner?”
“I suppose more kisses aren’t on the menu.”
“Unscripted dessert. Food first. Their mozza sticks are incredible, as are the stuffed mushrooms. What do you say?”
“I say you pick whatever appy sounds good to you.” She pushed her menu toward him. “Then I’ll have a Reuben and fries.”
“Sounds good.” He stacked both menus on the end. “We can come back for lunch after church and have something else then. Will you come to church with me?”
“This isn’t my weekend off.”
“It is now. You start back Monday.”
“Wow, nice to be around someone who can pull strings.”
He glowered at her. “I’ll have you know they would have done the same thing for anyone who asked. And was related to them.”
“Are you ready to order?” Rayna stood at the end of the table with a pen poised over an order pad.
“Sure. We’d like an order of mozza sticks and another of stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer. Then we’d each like a Reuben and fries.”
“Coming right up.” She marched away.
“How long do you think she’ll stay in Jewel Lake?” Paisley whispered.
“As long as any of the Sullivans are single, I’d imagine. Jude’s onto her, but who knows about Bryce or Maxwell?”
“I thought Max was pining away over Heather.”
“Maybe. His love life is his to deal with. Unless I need to warn him about Rayna.”
“And here I thought you were turning into a romantic.” Paisley rested her head against his shoulder.
Weston savored the gentle pressure and her sweet trust. “I have become a total sap with a finely tuned focus. Only you, my love. I couldn’t care less about anyone else’s love life but ours.”
“I admit to a certain amount of vague curiosity about your cousins. Bryce has dated half the girls on staff, and the other half probably turned him down.”
Weston guffawed. Paisley likely wasn’t far off the mark.
“Maxwell… he seems different since Heather left. And then there’s Jude. How long do you think he and Kaci are going to hold to the ‘just friends’ line? ”
“Hmm. No clue.” His kid brother was the only one Weston was the least bit concerned about. “Jude will be away all the winter, so nothing will happen until next year, if it’s going to happen at all. Maybe he’ll meet someone in Chicago.”
“Maybe. Did Kaci stay at the ranch over last winter?”
Weston frowned. “Yes? We had some guests in the lodge here and there all year. She kept to herself a lot, though.” At least, he had a few vague memories of her being around. Tate had hosted some games nights at his place. Hadn’t Jude said he and Kaci had gone to those? Weston hadn’t. He’d still hated people.
Funny what love did to a guy. It couldn’t be that everyone else was suddenly nicer than they used to be, could it? Nah. It was him.
This past week with Paisley away, he’d even hung out with Graham and Cadence, and not only while they were puzzling out the Fourth of July stuff. Graham was a decent guy when he wasn’t neck deep in spreadsheets. Not only that, but he was also a reader, and they’d exchanged views on series they’d both read. Ha. Like a cowboy book club.
“Here are your appetizers.”
“Thank you.” Weston looked up to see the café owner, Estelle Mulligan, eyeing them with unabashed curiosity.
“So, you two are an item?”
Weston grinned at her. “We sure are. Paisley’s amazing. Isn’t it crazy what love can do to a person? I’m sure you find the same thing with your husband?—”
“Leo,” she supplied.
“He must think he’s a lucky guy.”
Estelle fluttered her fingers as her cheeks pinked. “Oh, I’m not so sure about that.” She turned away.
“Who are you, and what have you done with Weston Kline?”
“Can’t stand to see me happy?”
Paisley studied him. “I think maybe I can live with it.