Montana Wrangler (11 page)

“Trust me, cowboy. When it comes to hardware, I'm an old hand.”

Both chuckling, Jay wrote a note to Roy about their “purchase” and they left Roy's shop.

“You know something?” Jay slung his free arm around Paige's shoulder as they walked back to the truck. “Shopping with you is a lot more fun than shopping with a guy.”

Her smiled broadened, and she was inordinately pleased with his comment.

Once in the truck, Jay asked, “You need anything else for this project?”

“Not if you've got a good assortment of tools. We should be good. Besides, I don't want to leave Grandpa alone too long.” Although, deep down, she was sorry to end their excursion. She liked shopping with Jay, too. Very much so.

* * *

Paige needn't have worried about Grandpa.

They found him sitting on the front porch in a wicker rocking chair. Sprawled on the floor beside Grandpa, Archie was keeping him company. The dog opened one eye to gaze at Paige.

“You get what you needed?” Grandpa asked.

“We did. Jay took me to Roy Taylor's shop. Did you know he leaves it open? People could come in and take anything they want.”

“Yep. That's how the old coot likes to do business.” He eyed Jay and the gauge he was holding. “You gonna help the little lady install that thing?”

“I get the sense she knows what she's doing. I'll just hang around in case she needs some manly assistance.”

“In your dreams, fella.” She headed for the toolshed, her head held high with the knowledge that Jay had recognized she had some skill as a handy-woman.

Removing the old gauge wasn't as easy as she'd hoped. But with the help of a lot of Rust-Oleum, she managed.

After she installed the new gauge, she asked Jay to switch the fuse back on. She held her breath while she waited.

With a hum, the pump started to work.

“We've got water!” she shouted.

Jay came trotting back. He checked the pump. “Well, isn't that something! Congratulations.”

He picked her up and twirled her around.

She screamed and laughed. “Put me down!” But she didn't really mean it. She liked the feel of his strong hands around her waist. The press of his chest against her. The breadth of the shoulders she clung to.

Carefully, he lowered her to her feet. “Nice work, Miss Barclay.”

She was about to thank him in return, but before she could speak, his lips covered hers. His lips were gentle yet determined. It made her heart soar to be in his arms. To be kissed so thoroughly by such a strong, thoughtful man.

Yet she knew that being with Jay, being held in his arms for more than just this moment, was a fantasy that could never come true.

* * *

At dinnertime, Jay relished telling Bryan about Paige's accomplishment installing the new gauge. He was as proud of her as if she'd won a couple of blue ribbons in a rodeo.

“It wasn't that big a deal,” she insisted between bites of steak. “It's not like I climbed Mount Rainier all by myself.”

“I didn't think girls could fix stuff like that, Aunt Paige,” Bryan said with a hint of awe in his voice. He checked with Jay. “Do you know how to change a gauge thing?”

“Sure. I had to supervise her, of course. Didn't want her to make a mistake.” He winked at her.

Paige sniffed with ladylike disdain. “Girls can do lots of things, Bryan. At the hotel where I work, you'd be surprised what I've had to fix, everything from microphones and loudspeakers to toilets that were overflowing. That isn't my favorite chore.”

“I imagine not.” Jay frowned. What kind of classy job did she have anyway? “I thought you coordinated conferences, not that you were the maintenance guy.”

“Unfortunately, maintenance guys aren't on duty 24/7.” She shrugged easily and reached for the butter for her potato. “When a conference is going on, I'm pretty much there all the time.”

“Wow. You've gotta be smart to do all that stuff,” Bryan said.

Her laughter floated around the room like a fresh mountain breeze. “I'm probably more stubborn than smart, honey. You gotta do what you gotta do.”

Something tightened in Jay's chest. Before now, he wouldn't have guessed she was a woman unafraid of getting her hands dirty. All he had known about her was that she was afraid of horses and had a high-powered job in Seattle. He hadn't given her credit for having plenty of guts and determination. If it weren't for Bryan's wish to stay here in the mountains with Henry, and his threat to run away, Jay knew her strengths would make Paige a great guardian for the boy.

A great mother for any child.

That thought pulled him up short.

In his eagerness to deter her from being Bryan's guardian, he hadn't thought of her as a mother.

As tough and strong as his own mother. A woman he admired above all others. Except his Annie. She'd been brave, too. Even as he had driven her to the hospital. Even in so much pain, Annie had tried to reassure him everything would be all right. She and the baby would be fine.

She'd been so terribly wrong.

He wiped his mouth with his napkin to mask the emotion that welled up in him. A need that was sharp and painful. An ache that made it hard to swallow. A yearning that he'd long since suppressed to the furthest reaches of his awareness.

It dawned on Jay that he didn't want Paige to leave, to go back to Seattle. She was the kind of woman a man needs around, someone to lean on. Capable. And loving. He'd seen that in how she treated her grandfather and now how she looked after Bryan. For a moment, he was envious of the kid.

The fact that sooner rather than later she would leave struck him like a winter blizzard. He was chilled to the bone with the sense of emptiness.

He had no idea how to get her to stay.

* * *

The following morning, Paige went back to the bittersweet chore of cleaning out Krissy's room. She intentionally kept her feelings in check. Compartmentalizing her mind separate from her heart and the ache of emotion that filled her chest. She'd found a scrapbook with pictures of Bryan and his mom together as well as school report cards and pictures he'd colored as a young child. She set those aside to keep for Bryan.

As she was working, her cell phone chimed. She stuffed the contents of one of Krissy's dresser drawers into the third plastic bag she'd filled for the thrift shop and grabbed her cell. The number registered as her boss. She stifled a groan.
What now?

“Yes, Mr. Armstrong?”

“Good morning, Paige. How are things going with you?” His voice was smooth and cosmopolitan with just a trace of a British accent.

She knew he was asking when was she coming back to the hotel. The grief she experienced with every bit of Krissy's life she threw out wouldn't concern Mr. Armstrong.

“The court hearing about the guardianship is still scheduled for tomorrow.”

“After that you'll come home, right?”

“I imagine so. We'll have to gather up whatever Bryan wants to take with him to Seattle.” Friday was the last day of school. She'd need to get his school records. Current medical records, too. “The move may be difficult for him. It's a little more complicated than simply stuffing a few things in a suitcase and away we go.” That was a huge understatement. Paige prayed she could pull it off without too much trauma or drama.

“The thing is, Paige...” He hesitated. “Betsy's been filling in for you.”

Paige waited for him to continue.

“She slipped in the hotel kitchen yesterday and had to go to the emergency room. She broke her ankle.”

“Oh, I'm so sorry. Betsy's such a nice young woman.” If some days less efficient than Paige would like.

“Yes, well, she's been doing a fine job filling in, too. But the truth is, I need you back this weekend. The National Association of Innkeepers is coming in on Friday. We've got to be on our toes, make a good impression. It's important for the image of Elite Hotel properties.”

“Yes, I know.” She'd booked the innkeepers' event and knew they were particularly fussy. One dust bunny under somebody's bed, and the news would hit Twitter like a tsunami. Elite Hotel's name would be mud in the world of innkeepers.

“Does that mean you'll be able to get here by Friday?”

“I'm not sure.” How could she possibly pack up Bryan and leave early Friday morning? “Friday is the last day of school for him. Bryan's only twelve, Mr. Armstrong. This will be a big change for him.” And when she thought about it, going back to Seattle wasn't quite as enticing as it had once seemed. She'd miss the clear mountain air. The scent of pine trees.

And Jay, she admitted, her throat tightening at the thought.

“If this conference doesn't go well, it could cost us both our jobs.”

The implied threat shook Paige. Taking time off for a personal crisis shouldn't cost her a job she loved, a career she'd spent years training for. She had hoped the hotel management would be flexible.

“So can I count on you being here by noon on Friday?” Armstrong asked, although it sounded like an order.

“I'll try my best, sir.”

“Fine.” He disconnected the call without saying good-bye.

Staring at the silent phone, Paige sat down heavily on Krissy's bed. Maybe she could run to Seattle for the weekend and be back at Bear Lake by Monday. That would give Bryan an extra day or so to adjust to the reality of moving to Seattle. With a little luck, she might find time to rearrange her home office into a bedroom that would do until she could find a bigger place for them.

Yes, that could work.

Leaning her head back, she tried to rub the tension from her neck. Two weeks ago the boss needing her would have been a thrill. One more step forward on her career path. She would have changed any appointment, any obligation, to race back to the hotel. To make any conference a grand success.

Now she wished the innkeepers would cancel their annual affair.

With a sigh, she decided she needed some fresh air.

Grandpa had been feeling much better this morning and had gone out to the barn to putter. Nathan and Jay were both working nearby, so they'd been keeping an eye on Grandpa.

Still, she hated the thought of leaving Grandpa when he wasn't one-hundred-percent well.

The warmth of the sun hinted at an early summer. So did the purple lupines and wild alpine daisies that had sprung up almost overnight in a nearby open field. She inhaled deeply and caught the suggestion of flowers perfuming the air.

Around the hotel, the flowers were all hybrids engineered to be easy to care for, and the only natural scent that came along was when the lawns were freshly mowed. She'd always enjoyed that smell.

Now, to her dismay, she preferred the scent of wild flowers and pine trees.

The smell of horses and manure not so much, she thought as she walked into the barn.

“Hey, Paige.” Jay, standing in Thunder Boy's stall, touched the brim of his hat. “You come out to take a ride on Peaches? It's been a couple days.”

She glanced around, spotting Nathan cleaning a nearby stall and Grandpa sitting by the tack room polishing a saddle.

“Not really.” She didn't want either Nathan or Grandpa to see how awkward she was on a horse.

“Go ahead, girl. Sweet Peaches won't hurt you,” Grandpa said.

Jay ducked out of Thunder Boy's stall. “I'll get her saddled and ready for you.”

“No!” Her sharp retort stopped Jay in his tracks and embarrassed Paige. She wasn't afraid of Peaches. Not like she had been before. She didn't want Jay and Grandpa to think she was. She'd been the target of their amusement one too many times. At least Bryan wasn't here if she made a fool of herself. Again.

Raising herself to her full five feet five, plus the height of her boot heels, she said, “I'll saddle Peaches myself, thank you.”

She marched into Peaches's stall and led the horse into the corral, looping the lead rope over the railing. Archie immediately showed up as if she knew something special was about to happen.

“I know what I'm doing,” she said under her breath as much to herself as to the dog. “I'm not going to fall off this time.”

Archie's only answer was to increase the beat of her wagging tail.

She hauled the saddle, bridle and blanket from the tack room, acknowledging Grandpa's wink and smile with a quick nod. Sweet Peaches accepted the bit without any fuss.

When Paige hefted the saddle onto the horse, Peaches danced sideways a couple of steps. Paige stopped her with a curt
whoa
and settled the saddle into place.

All the while she was aware of eyes following her every movement. Nathan. Grandpa. And most assuredly Jay.

Paige would only be here a few more days. She vowed she wasn't going to leave them with an impression of her incompetence on a horse. Or any other way.

Mounting easily, she reined Peaches around to circle the corral. That would show them. She was no scaredy-cat.

Out of nowhere, Jay showed up right next to her on Thunder Boy.

She started, jerking the reins sideways. “What are you doing?”

Jay's grin flashed white teeth. “Going for a ride with you.”

“I don't need an escort, thanks. I'm taking a turn around the corral. That's all.”

“I thought I'd take you to a place I know. You'll like it.” They'd reached the gate. Jay leaned over, unlatched it and pushed the gate open.

Paige hesitated. He wanted her to ride out of the corral? On Peaches? A thousand scenarios, all of them potentially disastrous, flicked through her imagination like an old movie when the film started flapping off-kilter. How could she—

“You coming or not?” He tipped his hat back. His eyes zinged her with a challenge.

She licked her lips. “All right. But we shouldn't go far. Grandpa—”

“He's fine. Nathan will keep an eye on him.” Taking his hat off, Jay waved her through the open gate as though ushering her into a fine restaurant.