Forever in Love (Montana Brides) (15 page)

“Interesting how?” Amy asked.

“Aidan Mason.”

“Good grief, news travels fast in Bozeman. How do you know we saw Aidan?”

“He came over to Charlie’s Bar and Grill after he left Jay-Jays.”

Amy wondered what else Matthew had heard. If Aidan had been there, then Brett probably was too.
 

“He’s still got a bee in his bonnet about Rachel,” Matthew said. “If you ask me, the man spends far too much time thinking about that woman.”
 

“You’d better not eat all the cake.” Nathan walked into the kitchen.
 

Amy held her breath as he rinsed a coffee mug under the faucet. Her gaze followed the long line of his back and wandered over his well-worn jeans.
 

“Does anyone else want a drink?”

“Me.” Matthew headed over to the counter and took a mug out of the dishwasher. “Coffee with two spoons of sugar.”

Nathan raised his eyebrows. “I take it that means you had a late night?”

“About as late as Amy. I slept at Sally’s apartment and she got home just after me.”

Coffee sloshed over the handle of Nathan’s mug. He flicked his fingers, muttered something under his breath and held his hand under the cold faucet.
 

Matthew held the dishtowel out to him. Even from across the room Amy could tell that Matthew was fit to burst with information that she didn’t want anyone to know about.

Nathan glared at his brother, snapping the fabric out of his fingers. “How was your night, Amy?”

“Great.”

Matthew grinned.

Amy scowled.

Nathan looked between the two of them. “Is there something you’re not telling us?”

“If you want cake you need to get yourself a plate, Nathan. Amy had a lovely night with her friends.” Jenny moved around the table, pulling a cardboard box off the seat of a chair. “I’ve started a quilt for Catherine. What do you think?”

Jenny held a beautiful patchwork quilt in her hands. Soft pink fabric with fairies dotted across the surface had been stitched together in blocks to form a star pattern. Amy ran her hands over the design, knowing it must have taken hours to sew everything together. “It’s lovely.”

Jenny pulled another parcel out of the box and dropped reels of silver thread into her hand. “This is for the border. I’m going to do some free-form stitching with the thread. Doris made a similar quilt for her granddaughter and I thought it might look nice on Catherine’s cot. I should have it finished in a couple of weeks.”

Amy stood up and gave Jenny a hug. “It’s beautiful.”

“So what happened last night?” Nathan bit into his cake. His gaze never left Amy’s face.

Amy cleared her throat, sitting down before her knees gave out. “Nothing. We had a great time. Plenty of dancing and lots of fun.” She felt a blush skim along her cheeks. The harder she tried to ignore Nathan’s stare, the warmer her face grew.
 

“Weren’t you going up in Ian’s helicopter this morning, Nathan?”

He turned toward his dad. “In about an hour. Sean found more of the McGill herd in with our cattle. Fences must be down somewhere.” Nathan leaned against the kitchen counter. He lifted his mug of coffee to his mouth. His gaze stayed pinned on Amy.

Matthew leaned across the table. “Tell him.”
 

“No.”

“Go on,” Matthew muttered. “You know he won’t leave you alone until you tell him.”

Jenny dropped her quilt box back on the seat. “That’s enough. If you can’t be civil you can go outside and find something else to do.”

Matthew frowned at his mom. “But we’ve only just arrived.”
 

“I don’t care. Behave yourself or go.”
 

Nathan walked across to a cupboard and pulled out a thermos. “Sean and Dave are in the back pasture. I’ll take some coffee to them before Ian arrives.”

Paul stopped chewing. “How are you getting over there?”

“I’ll take one of the four-wheelers.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.” Nathan poured hot water into the thermos and added a few spoons of coffee and sugar. “It’ll only take me twenty minutes each way. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Just be careful. Your shoulder and back are still healing.”

“It’s been over seven months now, dad. I’ll see you soon.” Nathan strode out of the kitchen without a backward glance at anyone.

“Damn boy’s going to get himself killed one day if he doesn’t slow down.” Paul pushed his coffee away. He stood at the kitchen window watching sunlight break through the clouds.
 

Matthew emptied the last of his coffee down the sink. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t take the bike that needs its brakes replaced.” He grabbed another piece of cake before vanishing into the hallway. Within minutes they heard Nathan growling at his brother, just before the front door closed with a bang.

The only person making a sound in the kitchen was Catherine. She gurgled around a mouthful of fist, dribble spilling down her face and bib.

Jenny joined her husband at the window staring at her two sons as they stomped across the back yard. “Matthew will make sure he doesn’t go off in a huff and forget something.”
 

 
“He’s been testing himself too much and it’s all my fault.”

Jenny wrapped her arm around her husband’s waist. “Don’t blame yourself. Nathan’s going stir-crazy. He wants to be out on the land, doing what he’s always done. He needs to prove to himself that he can manage the ranch before we leave.”

“You’re leaving?” Amy’s gaze flicked between Jenny and Paul.

“In about two months.” Jenny moved back across the room. She sat at the table, resting her hand over Amy’s. “My arthritis is getting worse and the cold winters make me as stiff as a board. When we were in Florida we bought an apartment just around the corner from my sister.”

Amy stared between Jenny and Paul. “But the ranch is your life.”

Jenny squeezed Amy’s fingers. “Our family is our life. We love the ranch, but we love you all even more.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “Just think of all the holidays you can have with us.”

Paul looked out the window, directly at the barn. “Nathan’s put a helmet on. At least his head will be okay.”

A lump settled in Amy’s throat. Jenny and Paul were leaving the land they loved and Nathan was off doing something foolhardy to prove a point. She bit her bottom lip, determined to ignore the tears skimming across her eyes. Everyone’s life was changing, moving in different directions. So much had happened over the last few months that she still woke up some mornings trying to figure out when all the chaos had begun.
 

She wiped Catherine’s chin, remembering seeing Nathan for the first time after his accident. She was used to trauma patients, used to the drips, drains and tubes the hospital used to save lives. But she’d never taken any notice of the noise. The constant beeps and groans of people and machines. As she’d sat beside Nathan’s bed, she’d begun to take comfort from the noise; the constant motion of the intensive care unit, the hushed whispers of the families keeping vigil beside their loved ones.
 

When she’d arrived back in Chicago she’d been exhausted and worried. Her apartment had been too quiet, too far away from the people she cared most about in the world. Too far away from Nathan.
 

Nothing could have prepared her for Catherine’s arrival a few days later. Or the disappointment that had weighed her down when she’d seen her mom for the first time in years.

Jenny gave Amy’s hand another squeeze. “Let’s take Catherine through to the front room. She can show us how clever she is at walking.”

 
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Paul said. He walked toward the hallway. “A letter arrived for Amy yesterday and I put it in the office.”

Amy lifted Catherine out of the highchair and followed Jenny into the front lounge. As soon as her sister spotted a fluffy orange cat curled in front of the fire she let out an excited squeal.
 

Jenny smiled at Amy. “Sally came back from the animal shelter last week with Oscar. The poor thing was on death row and I just couldn’t say no. He’s a gentle old boy.”

Oscar stood up and stretched his round body. He looked at Catherine with amber eyes, then headed out of the room with his fluffy tail pointing in the air.

“It looks as though Oscar knows when it’s time to leave.” Amy put Catherine on the floor and watched her crawl as fast as a bullet train across the room. The fluffy orange ball took one look at her sister and ran out the door.

Paul bent down and turned Catherine around. “This way, little one.” He handed Amy an envelope. “Here’s your mail. I’ll let you know if anything else gets sent here.”

Amy glanced down at the brown envelope, then looked again. She tore it open. “It’s from Catherine’s case manager. Child Protective Services are sending someone from their Bozeman office to review our living arrangements.” Her eyes skimmed over the text, stopping at the last paragraph. Her heart leaped in her chest. “They want to discuss something about Catherine’s custody arrangements.”

“It’s probably just a formality,” Paul said.

Amy walked over to the couch and dropped into the seat. “But we talked about what needed to happen when I became Catherine’s caretaker. What if mom wants Catherine to live with her?”

“I don’t think she’d be able to do that.” Jenny sat on the couch and rubbed Amy’s arm. “She agreed to Catherine moving here.”

Amy’s hand shook as she re-read the letter. “What if she can? What if I have to move back to Chicago? I can’t look after Catherine there.”
 

 
“It’ll be alright. When did the case worker say they were coming to see you?”

“In a couple of weeks.” Tears gathered in Amy’s eyes. “What am I going to do?”

“You’re going to do exactly what you’re doing now. You’ve found a lovely home for Catherine and you’ve got us to support you. She’s safe and happy. That’s all that matters.”

“But what if they think Catherine needs to spend time with mom? She can’t go back to Chicago. Mom will disappear and I’ll never see my sister again.”

Catherine crawled over to Amy. She pulled herself up against the couch, wobbling like a drunken sailor on her little legs. She grinned and banged her hand against Amy’s leg. “Ma ma.”

Amy lifted Catherine into her arms and gave her a big hug. “We’re going to be okay.” She took a deep breath and put Catherine back on the floor. “You’re right. It’s probably a formality. If mom has changed her mind they can’t take her request seriously, not with her past.”

Paul sat down beside Amy. “Do you want us to meet the case worker with you?”

 
“I’ll give the person a call on Monday. They might just want to visit the house and Catherine’s daycare. If it’s anything more I’ll let you know.”

“You do that, honey.” Paul patted her knee. “I’m going to make us all another hot drink and bring what’s left of the cake in here. I think we deserve it after that letter.”

Nathan jumped clear of the helicopter, wincing as pain shot along his back. He pulled his hat down low, holding onto the brim to stop it blowing into the blades roaring above his head. The cold midday air tore through his jacket. It froze his aching body until all he felt was stiff and sore.

He’d proved one thing in his jack-ass decision to drive halfway across the ranch. He’d turned into an idiot. The four-wheeler had jarred every bone is his body and made a mockery of the recovery he thought he’d made. By the time he’d made it back, Ian had been waiting for him, giving him an earful about how damn stupid he’d been.

“How did the flight go?” Matthew jogged across the yard. Benny, his three-legged dog, hobbled along beside him.

Nathan kept moving toward his parent’s house. “The storm tore down a section of fencing at the back of the ranch. Sean’s moved up the ridge with Dave to fix it. Evan’s going to meet them in about an hour.”

“Do you want me to head up there too?”

Nathan shook his head. “Sean can sort it out. I’ll need you to round up the cattle in the eastern pasture with Toby tomorrow and bring the herd further down into the valley. Snow’s thick up there and the feeds getting scarce.”

Benny yapped and took off across the gravel, heading back into the barn as fast as his three legs could carry him.

“Mom’s put lunch aside for you.” Matthew stuffed his hands into his jacket. “Amy’s still here if you want her to take a look at your back.”

Nathan clenched his jaw. “What are you talking about?”

“A blind man could see you’re in pain.”

“There’s nothing wrong with me that a hot shower won’t cure. Did you get the engine fixed?”

“I need to get some parts from town.”

“Don’t let me stop you.”

“You’re not. I promised dad I’d follow Amy home in case the weather turns bad. Steve’s workshop will be closed by the time I hit Bozeman so he’s taken the parts I need back to his place and I’ll pick them up from there.”

Nathan grunted and followed his brother up the porch steps. “What happened last night with Amy?”

“Nice try.” Matthew scuffed his boots against the mat outside the front door. “She made me promise not to say anything.”

“That hasn’t stopped you before.”

“Yeah, but your promises don’t come with food attached. She’s going to make me a double-crusted apple pie. Tess gave her the recipe she uses at her Café.”

Even Nathan had to admit that Tess made the best apple pie he’d ever tasted. If you didn’t get to Angel Wings Café early you missed out. And surprise, surprise, Matthew always headed straight there when he went into Bozeman.
 

Nathan wiped his feet, then shut the door behind him. His boots felt hard and stiff, like they’d been stuck to his feet. The warm air inside the house made his nose run and his skin tingle. And his back throb like merry hell.

His mom appeared in the hallway, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. “I thought that must be you boys. We heard Ian’s helicopter leave a few minutes ago. Is everything okay?”

Nathan unbuttoned his jacket with numb fingers that felt clumsy against the thick sheepskin. “There were a few more fences down than we thought. We haven’t lost too much stock, and what has gone is probably over at the McGill’s. Sean’s heading into the hills to do some repairs.” He peeled off his jacket, holding back a groan.