Forever Cowboy (Montana Brides, Book 5) Page 5

  Alex kept his head low as they passed the crazy buggy rides and the beekeepers. Trent didn’t say much and the silence they shared suited Alex fine. The closer they got to the food tables, the slower the foot traffic became. He gave up moving anywhere when a family of ten decided to debate the merits of hot dogs versus waffles in the middle of the walkway.

  Trent moved back a pace to let one of the kids wiggle his way into the center of his family’s conversation.“I heard you’re presenting the prizes at the supreme bake-off award. Must be a challenge for a man who wants to keep a low profile.”

  Alex spotted a break in the crowd and kept moving. “You can say that again. I’m not looking forward to announcing the winner.”

  Trent grunted. They’d both been in the finals last year and it hadn’t been a pretty sight. “What’s your mom baking this year?”

  “Sweet cherry pie.”

  “Sounds all right. Do you think she’s got a chance against Doris and Tess?”

  Doris Stanley and his mom had been arch rivals on the bake-off circuit for years. When Tess arrived in town last year, she’d slam dunked the whole competition with her coconut and lemon curd cupcakes.

  “Mom heard that Tess is sticking with blueberry muffins this year. Doris is trying her hand at lemon meringue pie. Between you and me, mom’s quietly confident she’ll get into the finals.”

  Trent shook his head. “What if your mom comes a close third to Tess and Doris again?”

  “Then I’ll give her a hug and run fast. Dad’s there for moral support, so it should be fine.”

  “Better you than me,” Trent said. “Although I’m a bit concerned about Gracie. She must have made her chocolate cake a dozen times before she’d perfected the recipe. Not that the ranch hands were complaining.”

  “You should have been at mom’s house,” Alex added. “She made sweet cherry pie every night for three weeks. Next year we should rotate the samples.”

  Trent stepped sideways and shouldered his way through a group of teenagers. “That’s if you’re here.”

  Alex didn’t have a clue where he’d be next month, let alone next year. But he did know one thing. The wine tent was about twenty feet away.

  “Is that Emily?” Trent asked.

  Alex craned his neck, trying to see over the guys stacked in front of the sales table like pins in a bowling alley. The crowd parted and Alex saw some of the reason why no one was moving in a hurry.

  Emily wore the tightest, whitest, t-shirt he’d ever seen. Plastered across her chest was Randy Jackson’s Wild Rose Winery logo. With her red hair catching the sunlight and her smile catching his heart, Alex knew he was in trouble.

  Trent moved in close and tipped the brim of his hat in Emily’s direction. “I thought you’d be in the bake-off tent with Gracie and Tess.”

  “I’m going there in five minutes. I put my name down as a festival volunteer and one of Randy’s staff called in sick. Sales have gone crazy.” She finished wrapping two bottles of apple wine and handed them to the man in front of her.

  “We’re heading across there soon,” Trent said. “We’ll wait for you.”

  Emily’s gaze locked on Alex. She didn’t look all that happy to see him. “I’m okay. You go on ahead.”

  “It’s no bother. Before we leave, you can sell me a couple of bottles of whatever you’d recommend.” Trent pulled his wallet out and Emily grabbed two bottles from behind her.

  “Strawberry Cider. There’s no alcohol so Gracie can enjoy a glass as well.”

  Alex cleared his throat and joined Trent. “Better make that four,” he said. “I’m heading across to mom and dad’s place tomorrow and I’ll take them with me.”

  Emily nodded and wrapped the bottles in paper, taking his money before he got the chance to say another word. “You don’t have to wait for me, you know. I’m more than capable of getting across to the bake-off tent on my own.”

  “It’s no bother,” Trent said. “In fact you’d be doing Alex a favor. Everyone wants a piece of him today. Between the two of us we should be able to keep the crowds away.”

  “It must be hard being famous,” Emily muttered.

  “Ouch,” Trent said. “Sounds to me like you’ve been standing in the sun for too long.”

  “Or not long enough.” Alex knew when he wasn’t welcome and Emily definitely didn’t want him around. “I need to get across to the bake-off.”

  “Wait up,” Trent said over his shoulder as Alex pushed his way through the crowd. “I’m coming with you.”

  Alex kept walking, ignoring the curious looks from everyone around him. Just like he’d done two years ago.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Emily said goodbye to everyone from the Wild Rose Winery and headed across to the bake-off tent.

  She’d been short-tempered and mean to Alex. She felt bad, and she hated feeling bad. For most of her life, she’d tried her best to be kind to people. She’d worked hard to smooth off the rough edges left from living with a father who didn’t know what kindness was.

  Today she’d let herself down and that was almost unforgivable. As she dragged her feet through the bake-off tent, she knew there was one thing worse than being unkind. It was not being able to say sorry.

  Six hours after first stepping inside the tent, Emily hardly recognized it. Tess had brought her across to the Festival in her 1969 Mustang convertible. They’d roared into the parking lot like a Thelma and Louise reincarnation, Tess’ blond hair blowing in the breeze and Emily trying to untangle the mop of red curls flying around her face.

  When they’d first arrived, people had been dashing everywhere, filling the empty tent with all kinds of furniture. Between an army of volunteers and a hire company, the area had soon taken shape and everyone seemed happy.

  Tables were now straining under the weight of pies and cakes and everything in between. The noise from the people crowded inside the tent made Emily’s ears ring.

  “Welcome to the craziness,” Gracie yelled from behind her. “What took you so long to get here?”

  Emily turned around, smiling at Gracie in her pretty peach dress. “Sales went berserk and I couldn’t get away. Randy sold out of most of his wines about half an hour ago. It took ages to pack everything up.”

  “You missed your category,” Gracie said. “Sally Gray won with her raspberry ripple cupcakes.”

  “Did my frosting stay upright?” Emily had worried all morning that her cupcakes had been too warm to frost. She’d twirled the soft vanilla cream over them like a seasoned pro, sprinkling candy confetti on top for a hint of color. It didn’t matter how pretty they’d looked at the café. If they’d melted on the judging table, she wouldn’t have stood a chance against anyone’s baking.

  “They looked great. My chocolate cake on the other hand, failed miserably.”

  “What happened?”

  “Gooey center,” Gracie sighed. “Not to worry, there’s always next year. They’re about to count the last round of votes for the supreme bake-off winner.”

  “Who’s in the finals?”

  “Tess won the commercial category with her blueberry muffins, and Alex’s mom won the pie section. Sally Gray, Emma Addington, and Amanda Andrews all made it through, too.”

  “How did the judges score them in the first round?” An excited ripple passed through the audience as Alex stepped onto the stage. Everyone seemed to stop talking at the same time.

  “It’s close,” Gracie whispered. “Anyone could win.”

  The temporary stage decorated with sponsors’ logos was now filled with judges. Alex walked over to a table in the center of the stage and picked up a blue box.

  “Erin’s a guest judge,” Gracie whispered. “She said Tess’ muffins were the best, but she’s only one vote out of five. I can’t see what’s happening.” She poked the man in front of her. “You’d think people would stand at the back if they were built tall.”

  Trent turned around and grinned at his wife. “Do you want to stand in front of
me, short-stuff, so I can cuddle you?”

  Gracie’s cheeks turned a soft shade of pink. She rested her hand on her tummy. “Too much cuddling got us in this state in the first place. Will I be able to see the stage from in front of you?”

  Trent bent his knees until he was cheek to cheek with Gracie. “Nope. You’ll have to grow a foot taller.”

  “Stand beside me,” Emily said. “All I’ve got in front of me are kids.”

  Gracie moved closer and pointed toward the edge of the stage. “Tess is over there somewhere.”

  Emily stood on tippy toes. “She looks nervous.” Alex’s mom didn’t look much better. She’d clasped her hands together as she watched one of the judges pull pieces of paper out of the box.

  Emily’s heart dropped when she saw how tired and uncomfortable Alex looked. For someone used to the glare of publicity, it seemed like he wanted to be the center of attention as much as most people wanted a ten-inch injection.

  He put the blue box back on the table and nodded to a lady standing beside him.

  “This is it,” Gracie whispered. She closed her eyes and crossed her fingers in front of her.

  After a few minutes, another judge handed Alex a red envelope. He stood in front of the microphone. “The winner of the Supreme Bake-Off Award is...” He opened a slip of paper and smiled. “Kristina Green with her sweet cherry pie.”

  The people around them clapped hard enough to lift the tent pegs out of the ground. Kristina graciously accepted the bouquet of flowers and ribbon her son handed her, then headed off the stage.

  “Alex must be so proud.” Gracie wiped a tear from her eye.

  “I’d say relieved,” Trent added with a smile. “At least sweet cherry pie will be off their dessert menu for a few months.”

  Emily looked around the tent, trying to find Alex in the swarm of people heading toward the bake-off tables. “Did anyone see where Alex went?”

  Trent’s gaze skimmed over the crowd. He put a protective arm around Gracie’s shoulders and held her close. “Hard to tell with all these people in here. His mom’s standing by the opening of the tent. Maybe he’s over there somewhere.”

  “I’ll go and have a look,” Emily said. “If you see Tess, give her a big hug from me and tell her I won’t be long. I’ll meet her beside the Mustang.”

  She started moving toward the front of the tent, only it was hard to see beyond the people milling around her. Everyone was waiting to get close to the bake-off tables to buy the cakes that hadn’t been sampled by the judges.

  After more time than she would have thought possible, she finally made it across the tent. Kristina Green had gone and Alex was nowhere in sight.

  “You looking for someone, little sister?” Cody had one arm looped around a large purple dinosaur and the other around Jacinta, his girlfriend. They’d been dating for over a year and in Cody’s life that amounted to a record.

  “Have you seen Alex?”

  Cody raised his eyebrows. “I thought you weren’t talking to him?”

  Her brother had the most annoying habit of being right most of the time. After last weekend’s botched barbecue effort, she’d sworn never to speak to Alex again. Only she had, and now she felt guilty.

  “I’ve changed my mind.”

  “Hallelujah for that,” Cody said. “I thought nothing would get past the hunk of wood stuck between your ears.”

  Emily crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I’m not letting him part-own the library building if that’s what you’re getting at.”

  Cody rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t dream of thinking you’d use your common sense. Now if you’ll excuse me, Jacinta and I have some serious shopping to do.” He started moving away and then stopped. “Alex was standing by the fence over there about five minutes ago.”

  Emily followed where he was pointing with the dinosaur. “Thanks.”

  Cody nodded and disappeared into the crowd of people going inside the tent. She walked toward the fence and looked left, then right. Alex was slowly moving toward the parking lot behind the festival tents. She moved fast, dodging poles and ropes so that she could catch up with him.

  “You should have brought your crutch.”

  Alex turned and glared at her. “I’m doing fine without it. Aren’t you supposed to be in the bake-off tent?”

  “I missed most of it. You’re limping.”

  “I’m going home.” He started moving away.

  “I want to apologize.” The only reply she got was a snort of disbelief. She’d always found it hard to say sorry and today wasn’t any different. The fact that Alex didn’t want to listen made it even more difficult. “I keep snipping at you. I’m sorry.”

  “Apology accepted. Now that you feel better you can leave me alone.”

  Emily pushed her lips together so that she didn’t say something she might regret. She kept moving with Alex, watching him out of the corner of her eye. “What are you doing stalking along the fence line? I thought you’d be in your element signing autographs?”

  “Is this in addition to your apology or are you heading toward another one?”

  If Emily had been more of a drama queen, she might have stomped her foot. But she was trying to act like an adult and not get grumpy all over again. “I know you think I’m an idiot for not going into business with you and Sam, but I’ve got my reasons.”

  Alex let out a deep breath and rubbed his hand over his face. “We want to go thirds in the building because it’s a good investment. If it helps you and Nicky, then that’s an added bonus. What you do with the boutique after that is your concern.”

  “I can’t work you out. I haven’t seen you in two years and all of a sudden you’re offering to buy a building with me. It doesn’t make sense.”

  “Tell me about it,” Alex muttered. He stopped walking and turned to her. “I didn’t come to Montana looking for anything other than rest. I thought I’d be back on the circuit by now, but nothing’s going to plan. If you don’t want my help, that’s fine.”

  The growl in Alex’s voice didn’t scare her. But the gray sheen to his skin did. “You need to sit down and rest for a few minutes.” She grabbed his hand, pulling him toward a wooden bench overlooking a neighboring property.

  Emily ignored the way his fingers curled around hers. Ignored his rough skin sliding against her palm and leaving a ball of warmth deep in her chest. “Did you bring any pain medication with you?”

  He shook his head and Emily sighed. He looked as though he was about to throw up.

  “Stay here.”

  “I’ll be okay.” He sat down and swallowed deeply.

  Emily glanced around for something he could be sick in. She disappeared between two tents and came back with an empty box that someone had left on the ground. “If you’re going to throw up, use this.”

  Alex leaned his elbows on his thighs, bending his head forward until all Emily could see was the back of his neck. She put the box between his legs and shoved her hands in her pockets. She wouldn’t give in to temptation and rub his back and tell him it would be okay. She just wouldn’t, no matter how bad he looked.

  She sat beside him, waiting until he could lift his head and tell her what was going on. The minutes dragged by. Behind them, people were packing up their tents, putting unsold goods into boxes and carrying them into their trucks.

  “You don’t need to stay with me.”

  Alex’s voice startled her. She’d been thinking about the library building. About her step-dad and how different her life had turned out. She shrugged her shoulders and buried her hands deep in her pockets.

  “I can stay for a few more minutes. How did you get to the festival?”

  After the briefest of hesitations, he said, “I brought my truck.”

  “Do you think you should be driving?”

  “Not at the moment, but I don’t have a better plan. I’ll sit here for a while and make my way home when I’m ready.”

  “You could have an accident. Do you want m
e to find your family?”

  “Mom and dad left about half an hour ago.”

  “I can drive you to your parents’ place. If one of the ranch hands can’t bring me into town, I’ll get a ride to Gracie’s and someone will give me a ride from there.”

  “I’m not staying with my parents. I moved to my ranch last week. I was on my horse yesterday and over did things.”

  Emily took a few minutes to think about what he’d just said. “You have a ranch?”

  Alex slowly nodded. His eyes were guarded. “About thirty minutes east of Bozeman.”

  “I thought you were...” Emily didn’t finish the sentence. She’d thought he was happy to move around the country, never staying longer in a town than the latest rodeo. It never occurred to her that he might have found somewhere to call his own. Somewhere to call home.

  “Do you want me to drive you to your ranch?” she asked.

  Alex gazed across the pasture. “I’ll be okay. I just need a few minutes to catch my breath.”

  Emily doubted that’s all he needed, but she wasn’t about to argue with him. “When did you buy your ranch?”

  “A while ago. I have a foreman who looks after things while I’m competing.” Color snuck up the edge of Alex’s collar. He was blushing something fierce and Emily didn’t know why.

  “I heard the library building’s still for sale?” he asked, changing the subject with about as much subtlety as a bull in a china store.

  Emily nodded.

  “The other day you said something about your father. Is he the reason you won’t ask your mom and step-dad to help with the boutique?”

  It was Emily’s turn to look away. She was hoping he’d forgotten about her father, just like she’d tried to do.

  “You never talked about your dad when we were dating.”

  “There isn’t much to say. Mom divorced him when I was eleven and I’ve only seen him a couple of times since then.”

  “That must be hard.”

  “Not really. If you’re feeling better, I’ll go.” She felt like a coward, running away from a conversation that she didn’t want to have. “Tess will be waiting for me.”