Forever Wishes (Montana Brides, Book 4) Read online

  Jake passed Ethan the placemats before he pulled the cutlery drawer open. “This will only take two minutes. You put those out and I’ll do the rest.”

  Ethan groaned, but started laying the mats on the table anyway. In no time at all, the table was ready, complete with the flowers Erin had brought.

  Lucy waved a spoon in the air. “Off you go you two. Erin can help me in here. Dinner will be ready in five minutes and remember…”

  “I know, I know. Wash your hands.” Ethan grinned at Jake, making a grab for his Uncle’s hand. “Come on, it’s out here.”

  Jake gave Erin a ‘will you be okay?’ look. She nodded and watched him disappear with Ethan. Talk about stepping into the enemy’s camp without back-up. She hoped like crazy Lucy would be gentle with her.

  “There’s a small dish in the top right-hand cupboard, Erin. Would you be able to pour the gravy into it while I put the vegetables on a plate?”

  Erin opened the cupboard Lucy pointed to and walked across to the stove. “I love your home. It’s beautiful.” She stared around the room, looking at all of the homemade decorations. They made the kitchen feel like the most important place in the house.

  “My grandparents lived here when they first got married. Mom and dad built another house on the ranch. By the time Dan and I moved in, no one had been living here for over twenty years. Each room needed to be completely remodeled. Jake helped with a lot of the work, thank goodness.”

  Erin put the gravy on the dining room table and turned back to the kitchen. “What’s next, boss?”

  “The meat.” Lucy laughed. “That can go on the table as well. No one’s called me boss for so long, I’d forgotten the word existed.”

  “What did you do before you became a mom?”

  “I trained as a social worker and eventually managed a team of eleven staff. I worked with kids from pretty unhappy backgrounds. It was hard work, but I loved every minute of it.”

  Erin picked up a yellow and red tile sitting in a holder above the fridge.

  “Ethan made that for me when he was about four-years-old. It’s a picture of old McDonald’s farm, with sheep and cows around the edges.”

  Erin put it back where she’d found it, smiling at Mr. McDonald’s long arms and huge eyes. “It’s very special.”

  “Yes, it is,” Lucy sighed. “It hasn’t been easy raising Ethan on my own. Dan and I had our lives all planned out, but I guess that’s the problem with plans. They usually don’t work out how you think they’re going to.”

  Erin thought about the baby-making plans she’d agreed to with Jake. On the surface, it seemed like a sensible solution to her problem. But Erin had a feeling a whole lot of not so sensible things would happen if she didn’t think things through very carefully. “How long were you and Dan married?”

  Lucy poured a tin of boysenberries into a bowl. “Four years. The day we got married it rained so hard that we thought the church was going to flood. We’d planned an outdoor reception, but all eighty-five guests ended up squashed inside mom and dad’s place.” The smile on her face disappeared. “Ethan was only two-years-old when Dan died. I don’t know what I would have done without my family to help me.” A tub of yogurt joined the fruit.

  Erin nodded, leaning her hip against the counter. “Jake and Ethan seem to get along really well.”

  “They do. Sometimes too well. I was worried about Ethan after his dad died. But Jake started spending more time with us and it’s made it a lot easier for my little man. Jake’s a good person, Erin.” She looked around the kitchen. “Could you pass me the whipped cream off the counter behind you?”

  Erin turned around and passed the bowl of cream to Lucy. She knew Jake cared about his family and she knew he cared about her. She just needed to trust him enough to let him show her how much he cared.

  Lucy mixed the cream with the boysenberries and yogurt, along with a plate of chopped marshmallows and some chocolate chips. “Ethan’s the best part of my life.” She grinned. “But the second best thing is late at night, when he’s sound asleep. It’s about the only time I get to enjoy some quiet time.”

  “You’re lucky you’ve got each other.”

  “That’s what I keep telling myself on the hard days. So tell me about you. Do you have any brothers and sisters?”

  “No. It’s just me, but I’ve got a couple of friends who double as stand in sisters. Nicky’s getting married in a few weeks, so everything’s a bit crazy at the moment.”

  “It’s the best kind of crazy,” Lucy said. “Especially when you find happy-ever-after.”

  ***

  Ethan pulled Jake across to the side of the porch. Lying in an old ice cream container was a dead mouse.

  “Mad Max found it today. Mom said it had died, so I gave it some grass and cheese to eat.”

  “Well,” said Jake. What did you say to a kid who’d decided to feed a dead rodent? “That was very thoughtful of you. What are you going to do with him?”

  “I wanted to put him beside my bed so I could watch him go to heaven, but mom said he would be happier out here. But he might get cold. What do you think, Uncle Jake?”

  “I think your mom’s right. He looks pretty happy to me.” If a rigor mortis mouse could be happy, then this little rodent had a great afterlife waiting for him.

  Ethan carefully put the lid on the container. “I don’t want Mad Max to see him. He might want to play with him again.”

  He looked down at Ethan’s serious expression. Mad Max had probably contributed one hundred per cent to the mouse’s early demise. As well as mouse, Mad Max was particularly partial to cheese, so covering the container was a smart move. “Good idea. Come on. We’ll go and wash up before dinner.”

  “Race you.” Ethan tore off into the house, hurtling around the corner and into the bathroom.

  Jake followed in hot pursuit, picking him up at the bathroom door in a big hug. “Gotcha.” Ethan squealed with laughter, wiggling like a worm as Jake blew a big raspberry kiss on his neck. Carrying him into the bathroom, he plonked him down in front of the sink. “It’s time for some serious hand washing.”

  Ethan and Jake scrubbed their hands till they were pink and ready for inspection.

  “I love you, Uncle Jake.”

  Jake swallowed the lump in his throat, “Love you, too.” He picked Ethan up for another cuddle. As he breathed in the soft scent of strawberry shampoo and felt Ethan’s little body against his chest, he realized what a privilege it was to be part of his life.

  Jake felt like someone had just poked him with the biggest stick they could find. That’s what Erin had been looking for. She wanted to feel what he already had with Ethan. She wanted baby shampoo, cut knees, and kid’s clothes that were always one size too small.

  He’d been so wrapped up in his own life that he hadn’t stopped to really work out why she’d been so set on having a family of her own. Even when the idea of a baby contract had started mulling around in his brain, he hadn’t realized the impact it would have on her life. Or on his.

  “Let’s go and see what your mom’s cooked us for dinner.” Jake lifted Ethan onto his shoulders, carrying him into the dining room.

  “Look, mom and Erin. I’m taller than both of you.” Ethan waved his arms in the air, laughing at the two of them.

  Jake glanced at Erin and frowned. He hoped his sister had behaved herself.

  “My big boy just got bigger.” Lucy smiled at Ethan and gave Jake a searching look. “Everything okay?”

  “Yep.” Jake lifted Ethan down, swooping him into a chair. “Let’s eat. I’m starving.”

  As everyone helped themselves to dinner, Ethan kept them all amused with stories of school. Jake’s gaze kept flicking across to Erin.

  She looked worried. And distracted. And so damn kissable that he had to stop his hand from reaching out and touching her.

  She sent him a questioning look. A tight smile tugged at his lips. “I was wondering if my sister’s interrogation had been gentle?”
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  “Jake.” Lucy groaned. “How can you think I’d do such a thing?”

  “I’ve known you for thirty years. Interrogation is your middle name.”

  Erin smiled. “Lucy told me some family secrets. If I were you, I’d keep a low profile over the next few days in case I decide to experiment with my new-found knowledge.”

  “Is that a dare or a promise?”

  With a smile in her eyes and a soft blush skimming her cheeks, she said, “It could be anything you want it to be.”

  ***

  Erin balanced on a stool in the middle of Bella’s Bridal Boutique as Mrs. Perkins, dressmaker extraordinaire, pinned the hem of her bridesmaid’s outfit.

  “Stop fidgeting. You’re nearly finished.” Nicky tisked and tutted as Erin wiggled on the stool.

  “My feet have gone to sleep and I’ve got pins and needles running up my left leg.” Mrs. Perkins stood back as she stamped her feet. “Okay, keep going. But please make it quick. I need to go to the bathroom really bad.”

  Nicky rolled her eyes. “Erin Reynolds, I swear if you weren’t my friend I’d superglue you to the stool to stop you moving around so much.”

  After a few more minutes, Mrs. Perkins threw her hands in the air and yelled, “Done.” She quickly unzipped the dress and Erin jumped over the top of it, bolting down the hallway to the bathroom.

  Coming back into the room in her petticoat and high heels, she made a beeline for the plate of chocolate chip cookies on the table. Emily was already standing to attention, getting her hem finished. She didn’t look even a tiny bit bored with the whole process.

  “How do you manage to stand so still?” Erin asked, marveling at Emily’s zen-like trance.

  “Years of waiting in lines that I can’t see the beginning or end of,” she laughed. “Being directionally challenged teaches you the art of patience.” She sent a pointed look in Erin’s direction.

  “Okay, oh patient one. Tell me something I don’t know. I realize I’m not the most patient person around here.” And then with a wink she added, “But then I’m not the most directionally challenged person in the room either.”

  Emily stuck her nose in the air. “We all know good things come in small packages.”

  “That’s enough you two.” Nicky grinned. “I’ve still got my fitting to go and I know for sure the waistline’s going to have to be expanded again. By the time I walk down the aisle, I’ll be the size of half an elephant.”

  Erin gazed at Nicky’s pencil slim body. Only the merest hint of a Mommy-tummy showed through the skirt she was wearing.

  From her perch on the dressmaker’s stand, Emily looked down at her step-sister. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. If that’s half an elephant I’d be concerned about the elephant having an eating disorder.”

  Erin passed Nicky a chocolate chip cookie and bent her head to Nicky’s tummy. “Don’t you listen to Auntie Emily and mommy, baby. Auntie Erin will make sure these two eggheads keep you well nourished.”

  Groaning in delight, Nicky took another bite of her cookie. “And if Auntie Erin keeps baking these delicious treats this baby’s going to be born with the biggest sweet tooth in the northern hemisphere.”

  When Emily’s dress was finished, she lightly jumped down from the stand.

  Erin rolled her eyes.

  Emily giggled. “Seven years of ballet training, size five feet, and an empty bladder made that move possible. Now pass those cookies over here before our mommy-to-be eats the lot.”

  Nicky tried to look insulted.

  Erin passed Nicky a napkin. “Next time you want to look offended, it might pay to wipe the chocolate frosting off your face first.”

  As Nicky dabbed her mouth, she looked at her wedding dress and sighed. “I’m eating rice crackers at our next fitting.” Stripping to her underwear, she stepped into her wedding dress, scrunching her face into a tight knot.

  Erin tilted her head sideways, trying to work out what she was up to. “Why do you look like you’ve just bitten into a sour lemon?”

  Mrs. Perkins tugged on the bodice.

  “I’m waiting for the zip to stick in the middle.”

  All they heard was the soft swish of satin meeting satin as the zip rolled into place.

  “The zip. It actually moved.” Nicky’s jaw dropped and she wobbled on the stand. “Do you think the baby’s okay? We had to let the seam out two weeks ago and it still fits. Maybe the baby hasn’t grown since then?”

  Mrs. Perkins put her hands on her hips. “Don’t you worry about a thing. I left some extra grow room in those seams after the last time I let them out. You’ll look as pretty as a picture on your wedding day.”

  Emily chuckled to herself. “I saw how much grow room Mrs. Perkins allowed, and we aren’t talking single digits either.”

  Nicky scowled at Emily. “Don’t talk too soon little sister. Your time will come and I’ll be the first to remind you of your ever increasing voluptuous figure.”

  Emily blew her a kiss and helped herself to another cookie. “At the rate I’m going, no one will be having babies in my house.” With a theatrical groan of desperation she said, “Where have all the medium sized, sexy men gone?”

  Mrs. Perkins coughed and Nicky looked down at her. “My apologies, Mrs. Perkins. You’re doing a great job of anticipating my fuller figure and putting up with my scatterbrain bridesmaids. Pin away.”

  Nicky looked across at Erin. “Talking about sexy men, how’s that hunky-spunky Jake doing?”

  Putting her glass of orange juice on the table, Erin looked at her friends. “Do you want the censored or uncensored version?”

  “Better make it the censored version,” Emily mumbled, talking around a mouthful of chocolate chip cookie, “otherwise I won’t be able to look him in the eye again.”

  “Don’t worry. I’d never kiss and tell. Well, maybe just a little to you guys.”

  “Did you wear the black lace dress the other night?” Nicky asked.

  Emily’s ears pricked up at the words ‘black’ and ‘lace’ in the same sentence. “What black lace outfit? Have you guys been shopping without me again?”

  “You know the outfit, Emily,” Erin laughed. “The black dress Nicky wore when Sam fell head over heels in love with her.”

  “Oh. That dress.”

  The dress in question was a floor length, sheer black lace creation, with a plunging back, scooped to the waist. The fitting under-dress was flesh toned, hinting at bare skin, but giving nothing away. A few crystal beads scattered over the fabric completed a knockout dress that left every male within ten feet salivating.

  Emily reached for her drink. “What did Jake say when he saw you in it?”

  “It wasn’t exactly what he said, but what he did.”

  Emily sat forward in her seat, juice forgotten. “Go on. Don’t keep me in suspense.”

  “He told me I wasn’t going to any National Lawyers’ dinner in that dress. When I told him it was totally respectable, he just gave me the ‘are you insane’ look and started hunting through my wardrobe for something else for me to wear. Of course, he didn’t find anything.”

  “What did you do with all of your other clothes?”

  “I hid my only other semi-respectable dresses in a suitcase in the garage.”

  “Remind me to hire you when I’m looking to drive a man crazy,” Emily said. “You have a battle plan that would have made Winston Churchill look like a moose.”

  Erin laughed. “He asked me very nicely to wear my silk wrap.”

  Nicky grinned from the dressmaker’s stand. “Ha. I bet that really worked.”

  “Yep. Through to the dancing, then it came off. Jake kept me plastered to his body for the rest of the night in case some other male got the impression I was up for grabs. I think it gave him a really big wake-up call.”

  Emily giggled. “Well, it would have given something a really big wake-up call.”

  At which point all four women, including Mrs. Perkins, burst into laughte
r.

  Nicky wiped tears from her eyes. “I bet he never thought a librarian would stoop to something so low to get his hormones on red alert.”

  Erin smiled. “He knows now.”

  ***

  Jake wasn’t looking forward to the bachelor party Sam’s brothers had organized. They were going to one of the newest and most exclusive restaurants in Bozeman. That wasn’t the problem.

  And it wasn’t the secret after dinner activities that fazed him either. What worried him the most was that the girls were going out at the same time for their bachelorette party. And Emily had organized it.

  She seemed like a really nice, sweet person, until a man got to know her. Then you realized why Emily, Erin, and Nicky enjoyed each other’s company so much. They were as bad as each other in the time-honored way women have evolved to drive sane men crazy. And not only did he have Emily’s overactive imagination to worry about, but he had Sam staying with him for the night.

  “Hurry up, Sam. You’ll wash yourself down the drain if you stay in the shower any longer.”

  The water stopped running. A few minutes later, a dripping head poked itself around the living room door. “What’s the rush? We’re not due to meet the guys for another hour.”

  “I want to see Erin before she heads out.”

  Sam laughed. “I don’t think they’ll want to see us. Are you worried about what she might get up to?”

  “More worried about what they all might get up to.”

  “You’ve got it bad, my friend. Take it from me, you’ll be a lot less stressed if you don’t know what they’re doing.” Sam disappeared down the hallway. “I’ll be ready in ten minutes.”

  Throwing his jacket on, Jake thought about Erin. So far their baby contract had been working out fine. More than fine. They’d shared breakfast, lunch and dinner most weekends, and met up after work during the week. Erin had gone with Nicky to a lot of pre-wedding appointments over the last couple of weeks, but they’d still managed to spend time together.

  Except this last week. With Sam and Nicky’s wedding only two days away, there’d been a last-minute rush of wedding arrangements that Erin and Emily had been helping Nicky with. And he’d been busy with other things the girls knew nothing about.