Forever Cowboy (Montana Brides, Book 5) Read online

  “No.” Sam laughed. “I’m interfering.” Sam and Alex bumped cans together, toasting his interfering ways.

  “So Sam’s interfering, Nicky wants a baby-friendly office, and Alex is looking for something to keep him out of everyone’s way for a few months.”

  “I’m sure there’s a point to this conversation,” Alex muttered.

  “Brilliance takes time. Especially when you morons need to let your brains play catch up with your mouths.”

  “Hey, watch who you’re calling a moron,” Sam said. “I managed to beat Nicky at scrabble the other night.”

  Alex reached for another slice of pizza. “You’ve been married for about a year and a half and you play scrabble? What’s wrong with you?”

  “We’ve got our own set of rules.” Sam grinned. “And you won’t hear any complaints from me.”

  Alex shook his head. “That’s too much information for the only single guy in the room. Can we start the next round of poker?”

  “Give me two more minutes, then you can tell me to shut up,” Trent said. “What if you and Sam go thirds in the building with Emily? Nicky can use part of the space for her business and Emily gets the rest. You get a remodeling project and I get an excuse to eat at Tess’ café.”

  “I can see where you’re going with everything else, but what’s Tess’ café got to do with the deal?” Sam asked.

  “I don’t want Alex getting lonely. He needs some male bonding time so I’ll meet him for lunch at Angel Wings Café. Nicky’s great at a lot of things, but cooking isn’t one of them.”

  “Excluding your stomach, you’re forgetting one thing,” Alex said. “I don’t want to buy another building.”

  Sam shrugged his shoulders. “You’re not buying a building. You’re buying a dream.”

  Trent made a gagging sound. “Pardon me while I choke. That’s one of the worst reasons I’ve heard for investing in a property.”

  Alex picked up his cell phone. “It’s not my dream, it’s Emily’s. And she sure as hell won’t want to share. Why did Gracie text me?”

  Trent dropped his cola, spilling it over the table. “It’s not the baby is it?” He stood up and started searching his pockets. “Where’s my keys?”

  “Don’t panic, daddy.” Alex laughed. “Gracie wants you to bring home a tub of chocolate caramel ice cream. She didn’t want to stress you out in case you thought something had happened, so she sent me a text instead.”

  Trent sank back down into his chair. “I don’t know if I’m going to survive the next couple of months.”

  A roll of paper towels hit Trent’s chest. “Of course you will,” Sam said. “Just focus on what’s happening now and forget about tomorrow.”

  Alex pulled the cards toward him and started shuffling the deck. “And right now there’s another round of poker about to start.”

  Sam leaned back and smiled at Alex. “What do you say about a little bet to see how persuasive you can be?”

  “Tell me you’re joking?”

  “Nope. Nicky showed me Emily’s business plan and I saved it on my computer. I’ll send it through. You’ve got twenty-four hours to figure out if it looks as good as I think it does. If you want to invest in the building, I’ve got two hundred bucks that says you can get Emily to agree to a three-way split in the building and remodeling costs.”

  “It won’t work,” Alex said. “She trusts me about as much as a skunk with its tail in the air.”

  “If anyone can make the air smell sweet it’s you,” Sam said. “Just use your cowboy charm on her. Before you know it, she’ll sign on the dotted line. At least that way Nicky will stop pestering me about doing something to help.”

  Alex’s cowboy charm had gotten him into trouble two years ago. That, and one too many beers, had ended with a woman wrapped around his waist, whispering sweet nothings in his ear. Someone that wasn’t Emily.

  He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Sounds to me like you’re more concerned about keeping your wife happy, than my safety

  “You could be right.” Sam grinned. “But it’s a solid investment.”

  Alex started dealing the cards. “I’ll take a look. I’m not promising anything, though.” He’d made more than one promise to Emily and it had ended in disaster. And he knew he wouldn’t get any second chances, no matter how good the investment seemed on paper.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “Absolutely not.”

  “Come on, Emily. It makes good business sense.” Alex had almost given up convincing her that what he was proposing was a good idea. He’d looked over her business plan and he agreed with Sam. She’d done well so far, but she needed help. Without their financial backing, she’d never be able to grow her business beyond where she was now.

  “I don’t care how much sense it makes. I’m not going into business with my sister’s husband and you.”

  “I’m not the plague,” he hissed. “I own six commercial buildings across three States. We’ll be business partners, nothing more. Sam and I will help with the purchase price and remodeling costs. When you’re ready to sell, we’ll split the sale price three ways.”

  Emily glanced over her shoulder. Her family’s barbecue was in full swing. “I’m not selling the building. Ever. I don’t care how good an investment you think it is. I know it’s a good investment, only I can’t make it work.”

  “Exactly.” Alex threw his hands in the air and stepped back. Right off the edge of the garden. With about as much grace as a dancing elephant, he fell to the ground, landing in the middle of a bunch of lavender.

  “Are you okay?” Emily stepped over his legs, kneeling beside him with a worried look on her face. “Mom’s going to kill you for squashing her plants.”

  He didn’t know why he started laughing, but he did. Great bellyfuls of laughter filled his chest and tumbled out his mouth. After months of everyone tip-toeing around his beaten up body, Emily had done the unthinkable. She didn’t care about his leg or his bruised ego. All she was worried about was the sweet smelling lavender crushed under his body.

  He stopped laughing long enough to wipe his eyes and glance at her. She grinned back, and the smile on his face had nothing to do with looking like an idiot.

  “Do you need a hand getting up?” Cody appeared at Alex’s feet looking more worried than anyone.

  He tried moving, but the pain shooting through his leg held him in place.

  “Take it easy, son,” Emily’s step-dad said. “Cody, get on the other side of Alex. Between the two of us we should be able to stand him upright.”

  Emily jumped out of the way, giving Alex an up close and personal view of tanned legs and itsy-bitsy running shorts. She’d be the perfect woman if she changed her attitude. Agreeing with him wouldn’t hurt either. But that had never happened, and wouldn’t be happening anytime soon.

  “I’m okay,” he muttered, rolling onto his good side so at least the lavender could bounce back with dignity.

  Emily watched him with half-closed eyes, looking like she was about to explode with bent up fury. He didn’t know what her problem was. One minute she was as sweet as apple pie, then in the next breath she looked as though she’d sooner rip his head off and shove him under a cold shower.

  Cody’s hand appeared in front of his face. “You’d better let me help. Just don’t move too fast in case you’ve broken something.”

  Alex stretched out his leg, wincing as pain tore up his back. There wasn’t a lot left to break that hadn’t been pinned together with metal rods, so he figured he didn’t have much to lose.

  Emily’s step-dad stood at his shoulders and with Cody’s help they hoisted him out of the garden.

  Maureen, Emily’s mom, came running toward them with his crutch in her hand. “Don’t move until you have this,” she said. “Cody, go and get an icepack.”

  Alex took the crutch and limped toward the house. Emily hadn’t moved. He could feel her gaze on him, watching each pathetic step he made as if it would be his last.

>   Maureen raced ahead and lifted a chair onto the edge of the patio. “Sit here. If I pull it any closer, it will sink into the grass.”

  “I’ll be okay.” Alex lowered himself into the chair and gritted his teeth. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to look as though everything was normal. As if he hadn’t suddenly become the center of attention when all he wanted to do was fade into the background. Something cold landed on his knee.

  “Hold this,” Cody said. “The meat’s burning.” Alex opened his eyes and watched Cody run to the barbecue.

  “You’ll need this too, or your bald spot will burn.” Emily handed him his hat. Her lips were tilted into what could have been a smile. Or a smirk. He didn’t know if she was being serious or trying to be funny.

  He ran his hands through his hair, feeling nothing but the sharp prickle of his buzz cut. He didn’t know if he had a bald spot or not. No one had ever mentioned that old age was creeping up on him. But then most people only ever saw him with his battered cowboy hat pulled low over his head.

  Then he wondered why he gave a damn. He’d busted his leg under a raging bull and spent weeks being poked and prodded by a team of doctors. A bald spot should have been the least of his worries.

  “Ignore her,” Cody yelled from across the patio. “She thinks she’s being funny.”

  Emily smiled sweetly.

  Alex jammed his hat on his head. “One day, Emily Scotson, someone’s going to teach you a lesson you won’t forget.”

  The smile slipped off her face. “Someone already did. And I definitely won’t forget it in a hurry.”

  Before Alex could stop her, she spun on her heels and disappeared into the house. He sat back in his chair, feeling sick to his stomach. Coming here had been a mistake. In fact getting anywhere near Emily Scotson was a mistake.

  She could sort her own issues out. He had enough of his own to keep him busy for the next six months. Investing in a burned-out building wasn’t why he’d come home. And the sooner he remembered it, the better off he’d be.

  ***

  Gracie ran her hands down the soft peach fabric draped around her body. “I feel beautiful. I still can’t believe you made this dress for me.”

  Emily poked another pin in the hem. “You deserve it. Carrying that baby of yours around can’t be the easiest thing in the world. Hold still for a couple more minutes. I’m nearly finished.” She adjusted the fabric and slid the last pin into place. “There, all done. I’ll hand sew the hem and then you can take it home.”

  “I don’t know what I would have done without you,” Gracie sighed. “All of the maternity clothes I found were built for people with long legs and long arms. I look like a butterball.”

  Emily laughed. “You’re not a butterball. Come here.” She opened her closet door so that Gracie could see her reflection in the full-length mirror.

  “Wow. It looks even better than I thought it would.” She turned left and right, looking at herself from all angles. “I’m going to wear this dress on Saturday at the Wildflower Festival. Do you still want me to pick you up on my way through town?”

  Emily shook her head. “Tess convinced me that I need to enter the bake-off competition. We’re going to meet at her café and make some muffins before driving across to the Festival.”

  Gracie twirled one last time before unzipping the dress. “I’m glad you hid the zip in the side seam, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to get it on and off on my own.” She watched Emily close the closet door and pick up her pins. “Have you heard anything more about the library building?”

  Emily shook her head. “No one’s made an offer on it. I’m hoping the County might drop their asking price the longer it’s left unsold.”

  “Alex seemed to think it was a good investment.”

  “He’s not the only one. Nicky wants to open her own office in the building with me. I’m not convinced a management consultancy firm and a fashion boutique have that much in common.”

  “Just think of the free advice she could give you. Before you know it you’ll be on the Forbes Rich List, mixing with the glitterati of Hollywood.”

  “No thanks.” Emily laughed. “Nicky’s more interested in getting her hands on the clothes I’m designing. Talking about clothes...” Emily walked into the kitchen and opened her laptop. “Becky O’Donaghue’s sister’s coming over from Ireland for a vacation. Becky wanted to know if I’d be interested in asking her to take photographs of my latest collection. What do you think?”

  She turned her laptop around and Gracie stared at the slide show in front of her. “Her sister took these?”

  Emily nodded. “Molly’s worked with some of the best-known fashion designers in the world. Last summer, she traveled with Vogue on assignments all over Europe.”

  “Sounds expensive.”

  “I thought so, too,” Emily said. “But Becky said her sister’s happy to trade a couple of my dresses for her time.”

  “I’d say it’s too good a deal to turn down. What about the models?”

  “Well, that’s the thing. I thought a cute redhead might want to pose in my new maternity range?”

  “Me?’ Gracie squealed. “I’m not a model. I’m five-foot-one. And in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m about to pop at the seams.”

  “But you won’t be popping in the next two weeks, so we’re okay. You’ll look super adorable in the clothes I’ve made. What do you think?”

  “I think you’d better show me the clothes,” Gracie said. “How long have you been planning this?”

  “I’ve been working on the maternity line for about four months. Becky’s offer came at the right time.” Emily walked into her spare room and pulled some clothes off the rack she’d built on the back wall. “I haven’t finished the entire range yet, but these clothes will give you an idea of what it’s going to look like. There’s a wrap dress, two shirts, two pairs of pants and a skirt that will look really cute on you. And this...” She pulled an evening dress off the hanger and held it against Gracie. “This is going to be divine. I bought the lace from a supplier in Italy. What do you think?”

  Made of the softest fabric Emily could find, the pale pink dress would hug Gracie’s body like a second skin. The off the shoulder lace capped sleeves framed a sweetheart neckline and a champagne gold silk sash sat delicately above the empire waist.

  Gracie stared at her reflection in the mirror. “I think that unless Becky’s sister’s pregnant, I want to buy this dress when it’s finished. It’s beautiful.”

  “We’ll work something out,” Emily promised. “But in the meantime I want to hear how the plans are going for your baby shower.”

  Gracie groaned. “Never let Nicky plan a party. She’s made lists of lists and project managed the whole evening down to ten-minute intervals. I’m going to go crazy if she asks me one more time what tea I want to serve.”

  “Tea? I thought we were going to Joe’s Bar and Grill?”

  “Exactly,” Gracie said. “She’s convinced Jo that we won’t be happy without a few gallons of tea to drink. The poor man must think we’re a bunch of weird females.”

  “Blame the hormones. Anyone would think Nicky was pregnant again with all of the strange ideas floating around her head.” Emily blinked at Gracie. “You don’t think...”

  “No...” Gracie shook her head. “She would have told us if she was going to have another baby.”

  “Maybe.” Emily thought about the crazy things her sister had been doing. She’d only visited her Denver office once since Christopher had been born. And then there was the family barbecue that Alex had been invited to. Only a desperate sister would use an ex-boyfriend to try and make her change her mind about buying the library building. Especially when Nicky knew how much Alex had hurt her.

  “There’s only one thing for it...” Gracie walked across the room and slid her feet into her shoes. “We’re going to Scotson Construction and asking her if she’s pregnant.”

  Emily smiled at the determined gleam in
Gracie’s eyes. “It won’t do much good. She’s in Great Falls with Sam and Christopher.”

  Gracie bit her bottom lip and frowned at the clothes on the rack. “I’ll give her a call tonight, then. Who else were you going to ask to model for you?”

  “I thought Nicky and Tess might be interested. What do you think?”

  “I think that’s a perfect combination. Have you asked them?”

  Emily shook her head. “Not yet, but if you’ve got a few minutes to spare we could go down to Angel Wings Café and see Tess?”

  “I’ll buy hot chocolate to celebrate our modeling debut,” Gracie said. “As long as this baby doesn’t decide to come early, I’m all yours.”

  ***

  Alex pulled his hat low over his head, hoping the next wave of parents and kids wouldn’t recognize him. He’d spent the last thirty minutes signing autographs and as soon as one person left another had arrived.

  He thought he might have been able to disappear into the crowd of people enjoying the Wildflower Festival. Each year, the Festival drew thousands of people into town. Between live music, plant sales, craft booths and the famous Bozeman Bake-Off, there was something for everyone.

  “Looks like you could do with a bodyguard.”

  Alex looked into Trent’s smiling face. “I need something, but it sure as heck doesn’t involve someone else’s muscle power. Where’s Gracie?”

  “She hot-footed it over to the bake-off tent with a cake. When she heard that Tess and Emily were entering the muffin category, she decided to enter as well.” Trent looked over Alex’s shoulder. “There’s a bunch of folks heading this way. I’d suggest we move fast if you don’t want to be cornered again.”

  Alex took his friend’s advice and started walking.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Anywhere that isn’t here,” Alex mumbled. “And if we end up by the wine tent I’d be the happiest man alive.”

  “Turn left up ahead at the soap table. It must be down there somewhere. I saw Cody heading back to his truck with enough blackberry wine to last all year.”