Open Skies (13 page)

“That must have been rough.”

“It was. But it had to be done.” He shrugged. “And it wasn’t as bad as I thought. It was actually kind of nice, in a way, being around the things that mattered to him.”

They were at the Big House now, and they stood waiting for Rob to arrive and unlock the door.

Jake touched her again and she looked up at him, startled. “If you start to feel like it’s too much, you just say the word. I’ll get you out of there, take you for a breath of fresh air. OK? You promise me?”

“I promise.”

The others arrived now and Rob produced the key from his pocket. “You want to do the honors?” he asked her.

She shook her head. “No, go ahead.”

He unlocked the door, swung it open, stood aside. “OK. Whenever you’re ready.”

Julie stepped in to her father’s home, now her home. She looked around slowly, taking in a large living room, kitchen and dining area. There were windows everywhere and she looked out at her mountains, trusting them to encircle her right now, at this moment that she needed their strength and serenity.

Calmer now, her trained and impartial interior designer eye started to take in details. The furniture was large and solid, the colors on the walls were bright and airy and cheerful. There was good space in here, space to breathe and move. Lots of books, photos, personal items like paintings and bowls on tables full of keys, spare change and batteries. She smiled at the laid-back feel of it all: comfort mixed with style. She walked to the kitchen, stood next to the island in its center and inhaled the scent of coffee and bacon and spices. The whole open space was warm and homey, and spoke to happy times spent in it, to a loving marriage lived in it.

Julie turned around and saw the men standing close to the door, barely in the house. Their faces were worried and watchful and she felt a burst of affection for them, these almost-strangers who had loved her father but who were now concerned about her as she stood in her father’s home.

She smiled at them, a large and lovely smile that set them at ease immediately. “It’s OK, guys. Come on in.”

She both felt and heard their relief as they entered, carrying her bags.

“OK, the main bedroom is upstairs,” Rob said. “But there are two guest rooms as well. Do you want to stay in the main room, or one of the guest ones?”

“I’m not sure. Let’s go look.”

“This way,” Rob said, leading her through the living room and to the stairs. She followed him up, the men behind her carrying all her things.

At the top of the stairs was a small landing with a table and a large window. A wide hallway was off the landing, and Julie saw five doors.

“OK,” Rob said. “Main bedroom, two guest rooms, a bathroom, an office.” He led her to the last door on the left. “This is the master bedroom.” He opened the door, and stepped aside again. “You want to take a look?”

“Sure.” She walked down the hall and stood in the doorway, looking around the room. It was gorgeous and not overly masculine, she was surprised to see: the large bed was in the middle of the room, the ceiling was high, the carpet was thick and soft. She went in and saw the door to the attached master bathroom. When she walked in, she gasped: the shower was incredible. There was no tub, instead there were three glass walls stretching almost to the ceiling, and the shower floor was level with the floor in the room. She would be able to just swing the glass door open, and step in. It was so large that she could extend both arms and turn in a circle and not even touch the walls. It was decadent and sexy and she had always wanted one, and now she had one. At least for a little while.

“So, what do you think?” Rob asked her.

“I think it’s great,” she said. “I think I’ll stay in this room.”

“Yeah?” Rob was pleased. “OK. We’ll put your bags in here, then, and we’ll start to take everything out of the closet and dressers. We can move it all to one of the guestrooms, if you want.”

“Perfect. Thank you.”

Phil appeared in the bedroom doorway. “OK, so how about you go on down to the kitchen, make us some coffee, look around a bit? Mattie and Constance are going to bring over all the food from your other place, and I know Manny’s sending over a box of stuff from the kitchen for you, too. You can wait down there ‘til we’ve moved all the stuff out of here, then unpack your things. While you’re doing that, we’ll clear whatever you don't want from the living area downstairs. OK?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

She passed Jake on her way back down the hall. He stopped her, his eyes dark. “You doing OK?”

She looked up at him and smiled again. “I really am.”

She headed downstairs to her kitchen, to make coffee and sandwiches for her guests. She hummed as she did.
**
Six weeks later, Julie was down in the stables at four o’clock in the morning, watching Phil tend to the new baby horse. The mother, Millicent, was observing Phil closely. Julie turned to Mattie.

“So, what do you call a baby horse? A – a foal, is it?”

Mattie grinned at her. “Wow. You really
are
new to this, huh?”

“Indeed. I’m a city girl, through and through.”

“Well, we call horses ‘foals’ until they’re a year old. Males are colts, and females are fillies.”

“OK. And so this is a filly?”

“Yep. We’re thinking of calling her Twinkle.”

Julie looked back at the baby nestled up against her mother. “That’s kind of cute, actually.”

“I see you’re down here meeting the newest member of the Open Skies family.” Jake’s deep voice was directly behind her, and she jumped.

She turned to look at him. As always, she felt her breath catch a bit when she took in his face and shoulders and arms. Jake was just so gorgeous, even more so now that he had dropped his defensiveness. He was looking down at her with that hot glint of interest in his eyes.

She cleared her throat. “Yeah. Twinkle, right?”

Jake came over and stood next to her. Her body seemed to strain toward him; it remembered what it had felt like to be pressed up against him and it wanted to be back there.
God, Julie. Get a hold of yourself.

“Right,” he said. “Maybe you want to help us with her?”

“Oh. Oh, no. I don’t know anything about horses. I’d be sure to screw it all up somehow.”

He shrugged. “Not much to it with the babies, really. She’ll be suckling her mother for the next four or six months, but we’ll put her on solids in about five weeks.”

“Five weeks? Isn’t that soon?”

Phil came over now. “Foals aren’t anything at all like human babies, Julie. In fact, I expect Twinkle to be up and walking any minute now.”

“What?” Julie exclaimed. “But she was only born – what? – an hour ago?”

Jake looked over at the filly. “Yeah. Foals are born with the ability to escape danger quickly.”

“They are? But why?”

Jake leaned against the fence. “Well, in the wild, horses are considered prey on the food chain. They’re vulnerable to wolves and coyotes, for example, and they’ve adapted to the danger in a few ways. Foals are almost always born at night – it’s safer to give birth in the wild under the cover of darkness, see. And they’re able to get up and suckle within an hour of being born. They can walk and canter in about three hours. Most of them can gallop at a day old.”

Julie was stunned. “But that’s incredible.”

“Oh, look!” Phil said. “Here she goes.”

Twinkle was clearly trying to get to her feet – she was struggling to get her impossibly long and skinny legs under her. She lunged forward and up, fell down. Another attempt, another fall. Her mother stood up next to her and nudged her a bit with her nose, obviously encouraging the baby to try again.

It happened so fast that if Julie had blinked, she would have missed it: Twinkle pushed herself forward on to her front legs, got them under her, and whipped her back legs up too. In three seconds, she was standing, wobbly and uncertain, but she was standing. Millicent watched placidly as her daughter braced her legs under her, quivering with the effort to keep her balance. She shuffled to the left, to the right, back again.

“Oh,” Julie said under her breath.

Jake looked down at her. Her lips were parted and her eyes were bright as she watched the foal stumbling around, trying to find her way up and around this new world. As usual, he had to fight down the urge to touch her: everything about her ripe, lush body almost begged for him to run his hands over its curves and softness. He hadn’t forgotten what had happened in her office a few weeks earlier, when he’d held her against him, just for a few minutes. He still woke up at night, his cock rock-hard and straining for her.

Twinkle had gained confidence now, and she staggered toward her mother. Millicent moved forward to greet the filly. She nuzzled her, ran her nose up and down Twinkle’s head and back.

“And there we are,” Mattie said. “She’s OK. Strong and healthy.”

Julie shook her head. “I just don’t believe it.”

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Julie glanced up at Jake. “It is.”

“Maybe horses aren’t so bad, huh, Julie?” His gray eyes were warm and teasing.

“Well, the baby ones aren’t. It’s just a matter of time before she’ll become a snorting, puffing, stampeding death monster, though.” She sighed in mock sadness. “So tragic.”

They all laughed.

Chapter Five

List of things I know about my father:

He married a woman named Margaret. They were happy together

He was there for her while she died

He was a talented interior designer

He liked to sail and play golf

He cared about the staff. They were like family

He loved horses

Julie looked down at her list, thinking. It still wasn’t very much, was it? She had looked at all the photos in the office, the ones that she had hidden away, and she saw a man with a boat, who played golf, who rode horses. There were lots of photos with Margaret – on a beach somewhere, drinking wine at a party, celebrating Christmas. Lots with the staff: at barbecues and eating dinner and riding. But what else? What else could she find out?

She glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost three o’clock. The group of kids from the youth center would be here soon. She got up from her desk and headed down the hall to the reception area.

As she passed the offices, the staff all looked up at her. Julie exchanged greetings with everyone, paused at each doorway to ask how things were going. Rob grinned at her from his desk, holding his phone to his ear. She nodded back and mimed drinking a cup of coffee. He mouthed, ‘Twenty minutes’. She nodded again and kept on walking.

Maria and Andrea were on reception today. They both smiled at her and returned her greetings.

“How’s it going, ladies?”

“Good, Julie.” Maria was fluttering around nervously, as usual. “Did you – did you want anything in particular?”

“Nope. I’m just heading down to say hi to the kids.”

Maria blinked. It still took her by surprise that Ms. Everett – no, Julie – had turned out to be so different to how Maria had expected her to be. She was still a bit reserved, to be sure, and she played her cards close to her vest, never giving too much away all at once. But she was funny and kind, and Maria had come to think of her reserve as shyness.

She was, Maria reflected, like a woman discovering who she was, in some ways – cautious and unsure, stumbling a bit as she found her way. It made her more likeable, somehow. Sweet. And ‘sweet’ wasn’t a word that Maria (or anyone else) would have used to describe Julie Everett just seven weeks ago.

Julie put on her lined jacket and pulled up the hood. It was the first week of November and the wind from the Rockies was amazingly chilly. She loved its crisp, fresh smell, though, and she breathed deeply as she headed down the long road to the stables. She enjoyed the walk, taking her time, looking up at the mountains. She had come to love them, a crashing and overwhelming love that had caught her by surprise.

The thought of leaving them behind, of returning to the noise and lights and bustle of New York was becoming less and less appealing as time passed. She didn’t even miss interior design as much as she thought she would: she had always loved the creative part, but the demands from the clients had always been hard to deal with. On big jobs, she had barely slept from the worry and stress.

But here, she slept like a rock. She fell in to bed at ten o’clock most nights, and didn’t move again until six o’clock the next morning. She had got in to the habit of waking early and watching the sunrise with a cup of coffee and a bit of fruit or yogurt. Some days she wrote a ‘to do’ list, but she felt the need to do so less and less often.

Some mornings, she took her coffee upstairs to the guestroom where the guys had stored all her father’s and Margaret’s things. She sat on the floor in a bright patch of sunlight, slowly going through the boxes and piles of clothes and stacks of photos and letters. She ran her fingers over her father’s shirts, and tried to guess where photos had been taken. She read about how much he and Margaret had loved each other, and sometimes found herself in tears at their written endearments. She was getting to know David Reid, she was starting to like him. Maybe she was even starting to think about forgiving him, just a little bit.

At about seven o’clock she got ready and headed over to the restaurant for 7:30 or so. She’d chat with Manny, the waitstaff, and the guests. She was also eating far too many pancakes with maple syrup, but somehow that seemed just fine too: she found that she had a huge appetite, all of a sudden. Mattie told her it was the mountain air making her hungry and helping her sleep well, and Julie thought she was probably right.

Lately, she’d been thinking about staying here, in Colorado. Of making a real go of running the ranch and the hotel. OK, yes… she still knew next to nothing about the stables or horses and she understood very little about Mattie’s reports to her. But she had come to understand that between Mattie, Jake and Phil, she didn’t
need
to be an expert on all things horse. The three of them were competent professionals – more than competent, really. They were excellent.

She had instead focused on the hotel and restaurant. Much more her speed, and easier for her to learn quickly. Rob had been amazingly patient with her, and the Sales and Marketing staff had been very open to her desire to be included in projects and meetings. They met twice a week now, the whole ‘back room team’ as Julie called them, and talked about ideas over coffee. Julie found that she looked forward to those meetings with them; she enjoyed listening to them, and she respected their interest and creativity.

She had even asked the reception staff to help her learn more about what they did. Maria had almost passed out when Julie had shown up one morning in a uniform, with a small name tag and a big smile, ready to be trained on the front desk duties.

“But...but, Ms. Everett – I
can’t
boss you around all day.” Maria had been about five seconds away from dissolving in to nervous tears.

“First of all, it’s Julie.” Julie pointed at her name tag. “See? Julie. Second, yes you can. Tell me how to do this job, OK? I really want to understand what you do. Can you teach me?”

Maria had gazed imploringly at Jake as he had walked in for a coffee. “Jake? Help?”

He had walked over, his eyes widening at the sight of Julie in a fitted pair of black pants and white blouse, with the hotel vest covering those stunning breasts. “What’s going on here?”

“Good morning, sir,” Julie said. “Welcome to Open Skies.”

He blinked, astonished.

“Are you here for a stay? We have some lovely cabins… very comfortable, with amazing views of the mountains.”

He had stared down at her, torn between wanting to hug her for being so damn cute, and wanting to take her to a cabin and rip her clothes off.

“Umm. Well, actually, I’m just here for a coffee. Maybe you can escort me to the restaurant?”

“My pleasure, sir.” She came out from behind the desk and beckoned. “If you’ll just follow me.”

And he had, watching that firm ass the whole way. She stopped at the door of the restaurant and gestured. “And here you are. Enjoy your stay!”

He laughed then, charmed. “Thank you very much.”

She winked saucily and walked off, back to Maria; unbeknownst to her, she’d left Jake with a raging hard-on.

It was all possible, she realized now. She could stay here and do what Rob had suggested about expanding the hotel and building some new cabins. The main accountants who handled all the tax matters and major transactions had come for meetings twice in the past two weeks, and they had confirmed Rob’s numbers. It was a challenge, and it was exciting. It was
possible
.

She was at the stables now, and there were the kids. Brushing the horses, feeding them, putting on the lead ropes, adjusting the saddles. She stood back for a few minutes, just watching them.

Ranging in age from seven to about eighteen, the kids were from the youth center in Clarity. This was the program that Mattie had told her about, the one that Margaret had started. These kids were from what could delicately be called ‘rough home situations’. Their parents had addiction issues, and most of the kids had experienced some form of abuse. Many had one parent only, usually their mother. They all shared poverty and uncertainty and chaos, and all struggled in school. They all had behavioral issues, and had been labelled ‘problem kids’. Julie understood them well – far better than she had let on to anyone quite yet.

Working with the horses had taught them discipline and responsibility, though. They had learned how to be gentle with the animals, to care for them. And the horses had responded: they gave the kids genuine affection. Julie had even seen the horses act in protective, coaxing ways towards the children, especially the younger, more timid ones. It was a touching, magical thing for Julie to see the kids and animals interact with such trust and compassion and openness. She came down here every chance she could when the kids were at Open Skies.

But if she were being completely honest with herself, she’d also have to admit that she came down here to see Jake with the kids. She was amazed by his patience and calm with them. Even the littlest ones seemed undaunted by his massive height and size and strength, and despite the fact that many of them had every reason to fear and mistrust men, they weren’t afraid of Jake.

She had seen him be tough with them, though. One time two of the older boys had been arguing and the argument turned in to a fist fight. Jake had stepped between them, one massive arm holding each boy back easily, and dragged them outside by the backs of their necks to talk it through. Afterwards, he had comforted a few of the younger ones, who had been badly shaken by the shouting and the violence. Julie had felt her respect for him increase, and she liked him more and more every time she came down and watched him with the kids.

Jake spied Julie standing next to the door and took the opportunity to look her over without her noticing. She was in jeans and boots, wearing a large coat that covered up all that shape. But her face was soft as she watched the kids, and he smiled. She just didn’t know how beautiful she was, did she? At times like this, when she was calm and relaxed and quiet and still, she just glowed.

She turned her head suddenly, and caught him watching her. Their eyes met and she blushed and looked down.

He walked over to her. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“You down here to see the kids?”

And you
. “Yes.” She forced herself to look up at him. “And actually, Jake…I wanted to talk to you. Not now, if you’re busy, but – maybe later?”

“Now’s OK,” he said. “Is something wrong?”

“No, not really. Can we go somewhere private?”

“Sure.” He led her in to the office, tucked in to the back of the stable area. He gestured to the large chair next to the desk. “Sit down.”

She sat, biting her lip.

“Are you OK?” he asked, watching her.

“Um. Sort of. I just – I have something to ask you, and I’m worried that it will be uncomfortable.”

Uh-oh. Is this about me staring at her ass all the time?

“I wanted to ask about – about Dave. About my father.”

He was surprised. “Really?”

“Yes. You were close to him, I know. And I’m wondering – can I ask you something about him?”

“Sure.”

“I’ve been going through his things upstairs, in the guestroom. I feel like I’m starting to know him a little bit, and I think I know the kind of man that you saw when you looked at him. I know you guys all loved him… I mean, really loved him. And I’m just trying to understand – how can a man that treated you all with so much love and respect have treated me and my Mom the way he did? I just can’t figure it out, Jake, this disconnect between the guy who did that to us, and the person whose stuff I’m going through.” She looked up at him. “Can you help me with that?”

Jake leaned back. “Honestly? No. The man that I knew for seven years would never have done that to you. He’d never abandon anyone, let alone his own flesh and blood.”

“Oh.” She looked down at her feet.

“But he told me things about himself,” Jake said. “He said that he was – he was an asshole when he was younger. He said that he was a selfish and spoiled kid and young man, and he made some big mistakes. He never said what they were… but I’m guessing that walking out on you and your Mom was one of them.”

Julie was looking at him quietly, waiting. She needed to hear this, he could tell.

“The truth is, Julie, that he got too rich too quick, and then lost it all on partying and women and drugs. He had it all when he was thirty, he lost it all by the time he was thirty-two. He hit bottom. He was homeless and all his so-called friends just up and disappeared.”

She nodded.

“He got himself together when he was about thirty-five or so, I think. Just started from zero. Worked and saved and worked some more. Fought his way back with everything he had. He met Margaret, and she was good for him. He spent two years drawing up the plans for this place, and when he was about forty, they got married and managed to get a small loan to start it. He spent ten years building it up, expanding it. He made it successful. He should have been totally, completely happy. But he wasn’t.”

“Why not?”

“I never really knew. All’s he ever said was that he had one thing to make right. One mistake to fix. One last one.” Jake looked in to those amazing green eyes. “I think it was you.”

“But if it was me, he
didn’t
make it right, Jake. The lawyer in New York, he told me that my father had hired a PI five years ago to track me down. The guy found me, no problem, and for five years, he was giving my father reports about me. I found them when I was going through the home office… my whole damn
life
was in there, Jake. He could have announced his existence at any time, and he didn’t. Why not?”

“Maybe he was ashamed?” Jake suggested softly. “What he’d done was pretty awful. It wasn’t as simple as an ‘I’m sorry’, right?”

“Maybe that would have been a good start.”

“But it was more than that, right? More than abandoning your Mom and you when he was twenty and a stupid, selfish little brat.”

“What do you mean?”