Читать книгу A Match Made in Montana - Joanna Sims - Страница 9

Chapter Three

Josephine didn’t really think that Brice had deliberately tried to spoil her first homecoming in years. But that’s what it felt like on her end. He had called specifically to tell her that he thought it was best if they took a break from their relationship. He had basically broken up with her, and left her dateless for her own twin’s wedding in the span of five minutes. Brice had said what he called to say and then got off the phone. He had been between appointments when he called.

After they’d hung up, she had stared at the phone for a while, wondering what to do next. Pretty quickly, she decided it would be best if she pretended, for a while at least, that the phone call had never happened. What if this whole thing blew over in the next couple of days and she had been bemoaning their breakup to her family the entire time? Her family didn’t need one extra piece of ammo against Brice. So, pretend she did...

She smiled all the way through their mini family reunion at the Helena airport. She smiled her way through the long ride home to Bent Tree, the family ranch. And she smiled and laughed her way to the end of dinner and clearing the table and loading the dishwasher. And she didn’t stop smiling and pretending until she could retreat to her third-floor bedroom. This was the bedroom of her adolescence, the bedroom that she had shared with Jordan. She switched on the antique Tiffany lamp next to the door and gently pushed the door shut. The room smelled of cedar and cinnamon, and the nostalgia for her uncomplicated youth made her start to tear up.

She wiped the tears out of her eyes and said sternly to herself, “Stop that!”

Josephine worked very hard not to cry while she unpacked her suitcase and carefully hung up her clothing in the small closet. Undergarments and jeans were neatly folded into a dresser drawer, a nice variety of shoe options was neatly lined up in the closet, and toiletries were put away in the small en-suite bathroom. Josephine had stowed her empty suitcase beneath the bed and began to unpack her books.

A quick, loud knock on the door startled her. Before she could react, the door swung open, and Jordan barreled into the bedroom with the family cat, Ranger, flung over her shoulder.

“Okay if we come in?” Jordan asked.

“I think you’re already in, aren’t you?”

“Good point.” Barefoot, her sister sat cross-legged on the bed and gently put Ranger down on the mattress. Ranger, a big coal-black cat with bright golden eyes, immediately flopped onto his side and began to wash his long, black whiskers.

“So...what’s wrong, Jo?”

Josephine looked over at her sister, gave her a weak smile. She knew she had to tell her twin about Brice now; lying to Jordan was a waste of time. They had never been able to keep secrets from each other.

“Brice and I are...going through a rough patch.”

Jordan moved over to one side of the bed and patted the spot next to her. “That’s what I figured.”

Josephine kicked off her shoes and joined her sister and Ranger on the bed. She sat cross-legged, facing her sister with Ranger sprawled out between them, belly up.

“This is just like old times, isn’t it?” she asked Jordan. “Except we had two single beds in here instead of this queen-size bed.”

“I had a picture of Ian from his modeling days hanging up right there.” Jordan pointed to the spot just above the rolltop desk.

“And now you’re marrying him, Jordy...the man of your dreams.” Josephine smiled right before she felt new rash of tears starting to form.

Jordan saw the tears swimming in her eyes. “Tell me what’s going on, Jo.”

Josephine pressed her lips together tightly, looked away for a moment to gather her emotions before she said, “Brice called and told me that he isn’t coming to the wedding. He thinks we should use our time apart this summer to reflect on our relationship in order to make a prudent decision about our future”

“Wait a minute...he dumped you?” Jordan’s eyebrows collapsed together. “The knuckle dragger dumped you?”

“He didn’t dump me exactly. He just wants us to reflect...”

“Oh, my God, Jo! Don’t defend him!” Jordan nearly yelled those words.

Josephine jumped off the bed and shut the door. “Could you keep your voice down, please? I don’t want anyone else to know! This whole thing could just blow over tomorrow.”

“Why would you even want it to blow over?”

Josephine sat back down on the bed. “Because I love him, that’s why. We’ve been together for over five years. I’m not just going to throw that all away just because there’s a little bump in the road.”

“This isn’t a tiny little bump, Jo, this is a ginormous frickin’ crater!”

Josephine scratched Ranger beneath his chin and on the top of his silky head. “I know you’ve never liked Brice, Jordy.”

“I never once said that I didn’t like him.”

Josephine looked up at her sister. “You call him ‘the knuckle dragger’ more than you call him Brice.”

“Fine, so I don’t like him. But that’s just because he thinks he’s better than us, Jo. He thinks he’s better than you, with his family money and country club and connections to Beverly Hills, like any of us could give a rat’s behind.”

“I know that’s how he seems to you, to all of you, but do you really think that I’d be with him for five years if he wasn’t a good guy?” Josephine said pointedly. “There’s a lot more to Brice than any of you really know because none of you have given him an honest chance. Dad’s always so stiff around him and Mom has refused to warm up to him just because I decided...” She put her hand on her heart. “I decided to spend the Christmas after Daniel died with his family instead of coming home.”

“Well, Brice knew your brother had just died. It was stupid of him to even invite you to his parents’ La Jolla beach house in the first place.”

Josephine sighed from frustration. “Just promise you won’t tell anyone. Okay? If they need to know, I’ll tell everyone myself.”

Jordan pretended to lock her lips and toss the key over her shoulder. Her sister stood up, wrapped her arms around her shoulders, and gave her a tight squeeze.

“Now, come on, let’s go downstairs. There’s no sense in you sitting up here by yourself moping, especially if you don’t want anyone to pick up on the fact that something’s wrong,” Jordan said. “Besides, nothing’s better for heartbreak than family.”

* * *

As it turned out, Jordan was right. Spending time with her family had helped get her mind off Brice’s sudden, and unexpected, desire to end their relationship. And the plans for Jordan’s wedding were the best kind of distraction for her. Her mom had turned the family library into “Wedding Central,” and once she went back downstairs, she spent hours in the library with Jordan and her mom looking through all of the wedding regalia. She was blissfully surrounded by cake toppers and invitations, seating charts and stacks of RSVPs that needed to be answered. There were scrapbooks filled with all of the selections that had been made for the wedding and Josephine immersed herself in looking through each and every one. She spent hours, laughing and talking with her sister and her mother, and she was stunned when she realized that Brice had barely crossed her mind.

But afterward, when she was alone in bed, in the dark, all she could think of was Brice. Her mind just kept on going over the last several months of her relationship over and over again. Had there been signs that she hadn’t seen? Red flags that she had willfully ignored? Yes, he had been distant and unavailable, but he had just been handed the biggest case of his young career. This case could make or break his career in the field of environmental law. He needed to be focused and she had understood. But now that he had suggested that they take a “break” from their relationship and left her without a wedding date, the idea that his withdrawal from their relationship was only work-related was no longer a plausible explanation. So, what was it?

“Another woman?” Josephine queried quietly aloud.

It feels like another woman.

That’s what her head was saying. That was what her gut was saying. But her heart just couldn’t accept it just yet. Another woman meant that everything that they had been working toward together for years was over. Done. A horrible waste of time for the both of them.

Knowing that she wasn’t going to be able to go to sleep with all of these questions buzzing around in her brain, Josephine got out of bed and quickly pulled on some sweatpants and matching sweatshirt. Josephine tiptoed down the wooden stairs and she was careful to avoid the creaky boards. Life on the ranch started before dawn, so bedtime was early. Chances were, she’d have the downstairs to herself, which was exactly what she wanted. At the bottom of the stairwell, by the dim light streaming in from the library lamp that was always left on, Josephine stopped to straighten the picture of her brother, Daniel, in his Army uniform. She had three older brothers, but everyone knew that Daniel had been her favorite. After he was killed in Iraq, it was hard for her to imagine the ranch without him. It still was.

After one last look at her brother’s portrait, Josephine continued her quiet route to the front door. The front door was always unlocked, so she slowly turned the knob, and pulled the door free from the frame. Once that was accomplished, she carefully pushed the squeaky screen door open a crack, slipped through, and stepped out onto the front porch. She’d started suffering from insomnia when she was in high school, and when she couldn’t sleep, she had always found her way to the giant rocking chairs on the front porch. Still holding the screen door open, she closed her eyes and breathed in the cool, fresh Montana air. She had missed that smell; it was clean and crisp.

“You’re not out here alone.” A male voice in the dark made her jump.

Startled, Josephine let go of the screen door handle and it slammed back into place. Her heart gave one hard thud in her chest; she placed her hand over her heart.

“Sorry,” Logan said in a loud whisper. “I didn’t want to scare you.”

“Your attempt to not scare me scared me,” Josephine whispered back.

“Sorry,” he repeated.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Josephine hesitated for a second before she decided to join him. It wasn’t ideal; she wanted to be alone. But she wanted to sit outside in her favorite rocking chair more than she wanted to go back upstairs. She sat down in the rocking chair, glad that Logan wasn’t occupying it, and sighed more loudly than she had intended.

“Taking a break from your studies?” Logan asked.

Obviously, he’s going to insist on talking.

“Insomnia. Chronic.”

“It takes me a while to get comfortable in a strange bed.”

Josephine nodded silently.

“I wanted to get to bed early so I could get up early to hike. I suppose I’m going to have to plan on covering less ground tomorrow.”

For the first time since she had joined him, Josephine turned her head his way. “You like to hike?”

Logan moved over to the rocking chair next to her so he could talk to her in a quiet voice. “Hiking, mountain climbing, rock climbing, anything outdoors...if you can name it, I’m probably into it. How about you? Growing up in a place like this, you must love to hike.”

“I used to hike all over these mountains when I was a kid. No matter how old I get, I think I’ll always love these mountains the most.”

“Well...” Logan stood up. “I think I’m gonna give sleep another try. But if you want to join me, I’m thinking about heading out around seven, seven-thirty.”

“There’s so much to do around here with the wedding. But thank you, though.”

“Sure.” Logan headed down the porch stairs, using the light of the moon to light his footing. At the bottom of the steps, Logan paused to look back at her.

“If you change your mind, I wouldn’t mind the company.”

“I’ll let you know. Good night, Logan.”

“Good night.” Hands in his pockets, Logan strolled in the moonlight the short distance back to Tyler’s bachelor cabin.

She had wanted him to go; she had been relieved when he got up to leave. But now that she was alone on the porch, and alone with her thoughts, Josephine suddenly regretted that Logan had left. He had distracted her, temporarily, from her melancholy and now it was back. Instead of staying on the porch, as she intended, she crept back inside, popped some over-the-counter sleeping aids, and took a steaming hot bath. If she could just get herself to sleep, if she could just demand that her body go to sleep, things would most likely appear less crappy in the morning. Josephine got into bed with that hope. She punched her pillows, kicked at her sheets and blanket, and finally, stiffly, flopped onto her back, hugged one of her pillows to her chest, and closed her eyes. She had already made up her mind that she was going to stay right where she was until she fell asleep. Even if it took all night.

* * *

The next morning, Josephine wasn’t surprised when she awakened before the alarm went off. Even with insomnia, she had always been an early riser. Ranger had meowed at her bedroom door until she had finally relented and let him in. Why he had picked her, she couldn’t be sure, but he had curled his body around the top of her head and she had fallen asleep to the rhythmic sound of his loud purring. After she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, Josephine sat up slowly, scooped Ranger into her arms, and hugged him. He started to purr again, and she kissed him on the head before she set him gently on the bed. She could hear her family already stirring downstairs and she wanted to join them.

“Let’s go see what everyone is up to,” she said to Ranger.

Josephine got dressed quickly and headed downstairs.

“Good morning.” Josephine walked into the kitchen with Ranger trotting along beside her.

The smell of homemade biscuits, sizzling butter, sweet bacon, and eggs permeated the kitchen. Mom was at the industrial-grade stove, frying up more eggs. Her father, Hank, was in his usual seat at the head of the long rectangular table that could seat up to twenty ranch workers if necessary. The family dog, a German shepherd named Ilsa, was sitting to Hank’s left, patiently waiting for her father to sneak her a piece of bacon. Tyler was at his father’s right hand, guzzling down a large mug of coffee loaded with cream and sugar. Logan sat to Tyler’s right, quietly eating his breakfast. It was strange for her to see someone else occupying what had been Daniel’s favored seat at the table. Logan nodded his head and smiled at her; she gave him a quick smile in return.

“Good morning, sweetheart, did you sleep well?” Barbara Brand tilted her head a bit so her daughter could give her their customary kiss.

“Once I finally fell asleep, I slept like a rock.” Josephine wrapped her arms around her mom’s shoulders from behind, gave her a quick hug, and a kiss on the cheek.

No matter what time in the morning, Barbara was always put together. Her mom smelled faintly of her signature perfume; her hair, blond streaked with silver, was pulled back off her classically pretty face into a chignon, and her makeup was light and flawlessly applied. The woman never gave up. She had lived with dirty cowboys and cows for over forty years, but she had refused to let go of her sophisticated, big-city Chicago roots. Her mottos were Simplicity Is Elegance and A Woman Can Be Stylish Anywhere. And she lived those mottos on a daily basis.

“Orange juice is on the table. Scrambled or fried?” Barbara pointed to the eggs with her spatula.

“I think I’m just going to grab coffee and a banana.” Josephine put her hands lightly on her mom’s shoulders. “Can I help?”

“No, honey, I’m just doing my thing. Go spend some time with Dad before he disappears for the day.” Barbara started to flip the eggs over one by one.

Next, Josephine greeted her father with a hug and a kiss.

“Mornin’, Princess. You’re up with the rooster.” Her father squeezed her hand affectionately.

Henry “Hank” Brand had Montana ranching in his blood. His family had owned the Bent Tree Cattle Ranch for four generations. Raising cattle was what Hank loved to do; he was in his early sixties, but he was tall and lean and could still sit straight in the saddle with the youngest ranch hands. He had thick silver hair, usually hidden beneath a cowboy hat, and he had bright blue trademark Brand eyes, deeply set, that stood out in contrast to the tanned skin of his narrow face.

“Sit right here next to me.” Hank leaned over and pulled the chair out for his daughter to join him.

Josephine grabbed a cup of coffee and then headed back to the table. Before she sat down, she hugged Ilsa around the neck; the shepherd was definitely starting to show her age. Ilsa was graying around her muzzle and eyes. Josephine took the seat next to her father and reached for a large ripe banana from a bowl of fruit. Tyler stopped chewing for a second to smile at her with closed lips; he nodded to the pitcher of fresh-squeezed orange juice. She held out her glass for Tyler to fill it for her.

“So what you were saying, Logan, is that we might be able to relocate the chapel?” Hank pushed his plate forward and reached for his mug full of steaming black coffee.

“I don’t know why we’re even discussing this.” Barbara walked back over to the table, her hands resting firmly on her hips. “We aren’t changing the venue for the wedding. I’ve been killing myself for over a year with all of these arrangements. We’ve paid the deposit, the invitations have been sent out...” Everyone in the kitchen, including the dog, was focused on Barbara now. “St. Peter’s is where all of my children were baptized, St. Peter’s is where Dan is buried, and St. Peter’s is where the wedding is going to be held!”

Hank reached for his wife’s hand. “Barb, we’re just talking about relocating the chapel. Jordan knows that the chapel is out of the question for the wedding.”

“Oh, I missed that part.” Before Barb turned back to the stove, she pointed to her son. “Tyler, how many times have I asked you to not to feed Ranger at the table?”

Josephine looked across the table at her brother; Ranger was sitting on Tyler’s lap waiting for a morsel to come his way. Tyler winked at her and smiled, but didn’t move Ranger.

“I haven’t been up to the chapel in years.” Josephine remembered playing wedding there with Jordan when they were girls. “Are you really thinking about moving the chapel, Dad? How? And where would you put it?”

Great-grandpa Brand had been a full-time rancher and a part-time preacher. He’d built a small chapel on the ranch with his own hands, and had a small congregation that would come on Sunday morning to hear him preach. It had sat abandoned, unused, for decades.

“I don’t really know.” Hank snuck Ilsa a full strip of bacon from his plate. “I haven’t been up there in years. I couldn’t tell you if it’s even still standing.”

“It’s standing,” Tyler said. “But it’s rough. Real rough.”

“I’d be willing to take a look at it for you, sir,” Logan offered. “My uncle’s a contractor. He had me framing houses before I could drive. I could take some pictures and get my uncle take a look at them.”

Hank stood up and grabbed his hat off the back of his chair. “I’d appreciate that.”

Ranger hopped down to the ground when Tyler stood up and grabbed his hat as well. “I can take him up there so he can get a look around.”

“No, I need you supervising the work on the north fence today.” Hank grabbed his plate and utensils, stacked them in the sink, and then kissed his wife.

It hit her out of the blue, but the only thing Josephine wanted to do with her morning was see the chapel. She didn’t want to spend the morning cooped up with a bunch of textbooks. She wanted to get out in the fresh air, get out into the sunlight, and get her blood pumping by hiking her way up to the ninety-year-old chapel.

“Mom? Jordan’s not going to be ready to tackle wedding stuff until after noon. If you don’t need me, I could take Logan up to see the chapel.”

“That’s fine, honey. Just make sure you take plenty of water and bug spray.” Her mother never took a break from being her mother.

Josephine looked at Logan. “If you don’t mind...I’ll take you to the chapel.”

Logan had been sitting across the table from Josephine, trying not to stare at her. There was just something about her that got his attention and held it. Would he mind spending the morning hiking in the mountains with the most beautiful woman he’d seen in a long time?

Heck, no!

Logan did his best not to look like a kid who had just been handed the keys to the candy store when he casually said to Josephine, “No, I don’t mind.”