Chapter Five
As Willow closed the front door, her phone rang again. This time, it wasn’t her mother but Laura, Hayden’s wife. She adored her sister-in-law, but she couldn’t talk to anyone right now.
As soon as the ringing ended, it started up again. This time it was Annie, Becket’s wife. This was her mother’s doing, she just knew it. She let it ring. Again, as soon as the ringing stopped, it started again. Rose this time.
Nothing was wrong; her brothers were fine and she would’ve known if her mother had had another mini stroke. Her mom had given all of them quite a scare when she’d had her first one a while ago.
Sighing, she stared at her phone. If she didn’t answer, though, they’d just continue to ring.
Irritated, she answered. “What?”
Nobody spoke, but there was giggling in the background.
Rolling her eyes, Willow groaned out loud.
“Okay, yes, Hunter and I are going to try a relationship, I supposed that’s why you are all calling me.
But it probably won’t work out so please tell Mom not to book the church or hire a band or place an order for flowers and whatever else she might do. ”
At least the giggling had stopped.
“Sorry, already done,” her mother said, sounding very happy. “Oh, Willow, I’m so, so happy for you.”
“Mom!” Willow cried out. “I don’t have time for this right now, I have another painting to finish.”
“So, just to be clear, you are engaged but you don’t know whether it would last?” asked Annie.
“Exactly, I don’t have time for anything else. We’re not making any plans till after the exhibition, okay.”
“It’ll be Christmas by the time you’re back,” her mom said, sounding very disappointed. “You know,” she added excitedly again, “there is nothing like a Christmas wedding!”
“Mom, please! I can’t focus on other stuff now, just give us time, please? Thank you. See you all tomorrow morning!”
Quickly, she ended the call. With another groan, she rubbed her face. She should’ve known her mother would start organizing a wedding the moment she’d heard the word married.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm down. The whole thing would be over by next weekend, she would just have to keep smiling until she was boarding her plane.
Her fingers touched her lips. Hunter Grant had kissed her, touched her. Inside her body, passion had coiled into a tight, throbbing ball of fire, desperately looking for an escape. Without conscious thought, she moved toward her studio.
The light in his eyes, a light she’d put there, wasn’t something she’d ever be able to forget.
Her mind already picturing what she was going to paint next, she took down the painting of Hunter on his horse against the Montana landscape and put it against the wall.
It was one of the best things she’d ever done.
It shouldn’t be changed. Somewhere over the last few hours, she’d come to that conclusion.
Picking up another clean stretched canvas, she put it on her easel. With her eyes on the clean surface, she picked up tubes with different colors, emptied what she wanted on her palette and picked up her favorite brush.
Within minutes her hands were moving, and the brush was flying over the cotton.
Minutes later, she was staring at Hunter’s face, at the expression in his eyes. Her heart lifted, hovered somewhere outside her body before it fell shudderingly back in place.
In that moment she knew: she’d gone and done the stupidest of things. She’d fallen in love with Hunter.
Dumbfounded she stared at the brush, then the familiar face partly covered by a cowboy hat she’d painted. When had this happened? A year ago when she’d ended up naked in his bed? Or had it been way before that?
Before she’d seen him for the first time?
*
A loud knocking on the door woke up Hunter on Saturday morning.
Bleary-eyed, a part of him still in the sexy dream he’d been having about Willow, he pulled a T-shirt over his head as he staggered to the front door.
It wasn’t difficult to guess who’d wake him up at this ridiculous hour on a Saturday morning.
The three Weston brothers were standing on his porch, and if the look on their faces were anything to go by, they were not impressed with what had happened the previous night.
He opened the door wider. “Come on in, I’ll make coffee.”
Silently, he waited for the brothers to into his house before he closed the door.
He started the coffee machine, took out mugs before he turned to look at them. “I’m listening.”
“You and Willow,” Hayden said. “We didn’t even know you were seeing her, let alone that you’re making plans to marry her.”
“It wasn’t planned, it just happened.” That much was true.
“Asking a woman to marry you doesn’t just happen,” Becket said.
Cooper cleared his throat. “You haven’t spent any time together. You have feelings for her?”
The coffee machine pinged. Thank goodness. He couldn’t answer that. Nothing that came to mind would be something her brothers wanted to know.
Quickly, Hunter turned his back on the brothers. “Yesterday you asked me to pick her up, Cooper. Things … happened.”
“What things?” Hayden asked.
Hunter poured the coffee and put the mugs on the table. “I’m not discussing what happens between Willow and myself with you.”
“She’s our sister, damn it,” Becket snarled.
Leaning against the kitchen counter, Hunter nodded. “I know.”
“You have a ring?” Hayden wanted to know.
A ring. Not something that had even entered his mind. Damn, this fake engagement was getting more entangled by the minute.
“I’ll be in Bozeman this morning when the shops open.” He looked at Hayden. “I’ll speak to the team and make sure the cattle on the winter-feeding grounds will get more hay like you asked today.”
Hayden nodded but continued to glare at him.
Becket cleared his throat. “You don’t treat her right or hurt her, you’d better move as far away as you can get, you know that, don’t you?”
“I know.”
“So, what happens when you move back to Colorado?”
“I don’t know. As I’ve said, this wasn’t planned. Obviously, we’ll talk about it.”
“Talk to me before you make plans, okay?” Hayden said as he got up.
Within minutes, the brothers had left without even touching the coffee mugs. Exhaling slowly, Hunter walked toward his room.
He’d always like the Weston brothers. They were good people and treated him as an equal.
He’d worked on enough other ranches to know that wasn’t always the case.
Today he’d seen a side to them he didn’t care to experience again, but if it meant he could spend a few more days with Willow, he’d happily suffer the consequences.
Besides, he understood how they felt, he also had a sister.
A ring. His ring on Willow’s finger. Something warm spread inside of him. He’d loved to see that. Damn it, he should remember this whole thing was very temporary.
Images of the previous night flashed before him—her impossibly soft skin, her warm, intoxicating lips, her slender body curling willingly into his.
He’d probably be a dead man by next weekend, but he wasn’t walking away. He couldn’t. It was as simple as that.
*
“Saw Hunter. He better behave.”
Irritated, Willow put her phone away. The text was from Hayden, but she’d had similar texts from Cooper and Becket as well.
She dearly loved her brothers, but they turned into fierce protectors every time a man so much as looked in her direction.
While she was at school, she found it funny, touching, really.
At this point, though, she seriously didn’t appreciate it.
It was still early; Hunter was only picking her up later.
Just about her whole wardrobe was lying on her bed, because she had trouble deciding what to wear.
Her slightly boho-style of clothes wasn’t something everyone liked, but it had never bothered her.
This morning, though, she kept second-guessing herself.
So stupid. Besides, it was winter, she’d be wearing layers over whatever she put on, plus boots, so why had it been so difficult to pick something to wear?
Because, Hunter. Those damn indigo blue eyes had haunted her throughout the night. Sleep had been a problem and the few times she’d managed to drift away, his feverish look was there, roaming over her while those clever hands were all over her body.
She hadn’t gotten to bed before the early hours of the morning, anyway. Behind her eyes were bags of sand, but it had been impossible to stop painting before the fire burning inside of her had finally subsided.
The end result had taken her breath away. It was different. It was one of the best things she’d ever done, but she didn’t think she could ever share it with the outside world. It was too personal, revealing way too much of herself.
She’d fallen in love with Hunter. It was still difficult to believe, but it was there, in every brushstroke she’d made.
At least she now knew just because she’d fallen in love with someone, didn’t mean she’d be able to read him, to know when he was hurting. It should be a relief, so why was she left with this feeling of restlessness?
Hunter wanted her, that much she knew. He made no secret that he liked touching her and kissing her. He wasn’t staying, though. Even if she were to change her mind about getting married, there was no future for them. He was returning to Colorado.
How was she ever going to say goodbye to him, knowing she was in love with him? Sighing, she hugged herself. They had another week and a bit. It would have to be enough.
The painting she’d done, she’d taken down from the easel and had put in another room so that it could dry. Nobody else, especially Hunter could ever see it.
*
Looking for the entrance of the jewelry shop, Hunter strolled through the Gallatin Valley Mall. He’d earlier checked online where one was supposed to buy a ring in Bozeman before he’d left the ranch. It’s not his usual to-do list for Saturdays.
Every window was shouting Christmas, and a tired-looking Santa underneath a huge Christmas tree in the middle of the Mall was doing his best to bring cheer. It was still early, but the place was already full of people.
He hated cities. He hated crowds. To get that ring, though, he had to swallow down his irritation and find something. Walk over hot coals if need be.
As he rounded the next corner, he saw the shop. His steps faltered, his palms felt sweaty. Oh, boy. He couldn’t remember ever having entered a jewelry store before. Buying a ring for a woman wasn’t something he’d even considered before.
Outside, he hesitated. What the hell was he doing? It was a damn fake engagement, and he was only here to please her brothers and to help her out. He’d get something small and simple and get the hell out of this circus.
Minutes later, he was in front of a huge display of rings, his hat in his hand.
“Can I help you?” a friendly voice asked behind him.
He turned around and nodded at the shop assistant, an older woman with a kind smile.
“I have to buy a ring.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Have to?”
“It’s for a woman.”
The corners of her mouth twitched ever so slightly. “Of course. And what kind of ring are you looking for?”
“Something plain. We’re … sort of engaged.”
“Sort of?”
“It’s complicated.”
Her smile lit up her face. “It always is, my dear, it always is. Do you have something specific in mind?”
“I’ll know it if I see it.”
“Tell me about her?”
Looking down at his hat, images of Willow darted through his mind. “She’s beautiful. Long, dark hair, Irish blue eyes. She’s an artist but also helps out around the ranch during busy times. Stubborn, hardworking, gorgeous legs …”
A soft chuckle brought him back to earth. “You love her deeply, don’t you?”
Stunned, he stared at the woman. “We’re … we’re engaged.”
“So, you’ve said. It would depend on your budget, of course, but let me show you what I think would suit your Irish beauty.”
His Irish beauty. An apt description.
She walked around the counter and took out two trays filled with rings. There were all kinds of rings, but his eyes zeroed in on just one—on a pretty gold band a beautiful white stone, with blue stones the exact color of Willow’s eyes on either side, winked at him. He picked it up.
“That’s a beautiful ring,” the woman said. “Do you want to see anything else?”
“This is the one.”
“What about the size?”
He turned the ring. It would fit her slender fingers; he was sure of it. “It’s perfect, I’ll take it.” Putting his hat on the counter, he took out his wallet.
“I like a man who knows what he wants. Let me put it in a box for you.”
Half an hour later, he walked out of the mall, the ring burning in his pocket. He’d very nearly swallowed his tongue when he’d heard the price, he’d never bought anything as expensive in his life before. He could’ve bought two, maybe three stud bulls for the price.
It wasn’t as if money was a problem. Even when he didn’t take his investments and the property he’d bought over the years into account, he had more than enough in his current account.
Apart from his grandpa’s inheritance, he’d also invested most of what he’d earned over the past twelve years and had regularly bought and sold property. Spending so much on a ring for a woman who was never going to be his wife, though, was just insane.
Chuckling, he hurried to his truck. Then again, he’d been slightly insane from the first time he’d seen Willow.
He could always sell the ring after this charade was over and buy those bulls.