Black Hills Angel (Black Hills Series) (16 page)

"Show me what you want, Matt." Her command was but a breath on his cheek, and he instinctively reacted to her. Words were over for the moment. What he had to say to Andy could only be felt and he meant to make her feel every bit of his meaning and then some. Taking her lips in a hard, possessive kiss, Matt set about loving her as thoroughly as he could.

Chapter Sixteen

Clearly those blue eyes ran in the Johnson family. Andy fought against squirming uncomfortably in the chair. Matt's sister, Nora, was not exactly as she had expected her to be. Where Garrett and Matt were tall, Nora was not. At five foot six inches, she seemed rather harmless and unassuming, if that could be said. The brilliant blue eyes and brown hair was the extent of the shared traits. You would never have guessed that she was raised on a cattle ranch in South Dakota!

Nora sat across from Andy in her own chair's double. She wore a black leather mini-skirt with an almost see-through blouse and red high heels. If that wasn't shock enough, Matt's sister had her hair cropped short and had earrings that trailed down the curve of each ear.
All she's missing is the nose ring!
Andy tried to fight the embarrassed blush from that internal comment. It wasn't fair to categorize people. If anyone should know that it was definitely her! Still Andy was wondering if Nora was more of a wild child.

"You look surprised. I'm not exactly what you thought of as Matt and Garrett's sister, right?" Nora crooked a brow, her eyes glowing in good humor. Andy swallowed hard before answering.

"I made an assumption as to how you would look. I'm sorry." Andy lowered her head, knotting her fingers in her lap. Harper was busy rocking in the swing Matt had brought home for her.

"No worries. I know exactly what you mean. You aren't exactly what I pictured either." Nora shrugged, taking a sip of her soda. It was Andy's turn to raise a brow in question. "He had a talent for dating the sleek, sophisticated women. Don't ask me why, because he doesn't run in those circles. They just find him
entertaining
for a while and then it's over. Poof! They disappear." Nora smiled.

"I've met one of his old girlfriends. They are definitely nothing like me." Andy smiled ruefully. Even after her makeover and Matt's unmitigated approval, Andy still felt like the black sheep.

"Monica. I heard. She's a piece of work. I've met her a couple of times and I told Matt she was no good. I guess by then she had her hooks so deep into him, he didn't want to hear anything bad." Nora took a sip again and looked thoughtfully at Andy. Andy fought the urge to squirm again. "My little brother has a hard time seeing the worst in anyone, Andy. He always wants the best and he always wants to fix things he probably has no business fixing. It's just his way."

Andy swallowed hard. A guilty lump formed in her throat and she did her best to choke it down. It didn't work very well.

"Matt is a good man." It was all she could think to say. If she opened her mouth again, confessional bile would come tumbling out and if that happened, it would be messy and awkward. Nora measured her with her circumspect gaze. A quick nod and she changed the subject.
Thank God.

"It isn't easy being a single mother." Nora spoke as she watched Harper swing. The baby's downy head bobbed in her little doze.

"No, it's not. Matt is very proud of his nephew, Drew. He speaks of him often." Andy added as she flipped the top of her soda can open and took a sip. The carbonation tickled her nose. Nora smiled.

"Drew thinks his uncles are just the
thing
! Of course they spoil him mercilessly and I am the bad guy when I tell them to stop. Secretly I like that he has older males to look up to." It wasn't hard to picture. Andy liked the way Matt and Garrett made her feel safe and welcome. She especially loved seeing Matt with Harper. He had such a way with her daughter. You'd think that Harper was his own baby girl.

"I don't have any siblings. I was an only child. I didn't realize what I was missing until now." Andy smiled uncomfortably, realizing how much she had let loose. Information just fell out of her mouth!

"I used to
wish
that I was an only child." Nora chuckled, her eyes bright with memories. "My brothers tormented me to no end! I got tired of frogs, snakes, bugs and mud! I would have loved having a sister." Nora looked at Andy, her eyes softly comforting. Andy didn't like feeling uncertain. Certainty was at a premium and she wasn't sure how to get it. Steering this conversation was beyond her. She was afraid if she spoke in uncharted territory, the confessional bile would just keep spilling out until she was laid bare for the whole world to see. In reality, Nora would be the only one seeing her stripped of her secrets, but it might as well have been the whole world.

"I am glad to see you are getting along." Matt grinned as he came into the room, his eyes resting on his sister. She gave him a dirty look and then rolled her eyes and shook her head. Andy felt the weight lifted off her shoulders at his entry. It was starting to get too close to the surface and now she could focus on pushing it back down. Matt had been working on her for weeks now. One interview with his sister and Andy was about ready to spill all her secrets. Internally she was more than a little freaked out!

"I am not the wicked witch you have made me out to be, little brother." Nora sniffed in irritation.

"Hardly a witch, Nora." Matt added, a broad grin breaking across his face when his sister's eyes widened with mock disbelief. "Well you can't say you aren't wicked, dear sister."

Andy looked from one sibling to the other and didn't fail to miss the fond teasing. What would sound somewhat vicious to her was just play banter between brother and sister.

"You may have a point there. I'm sure Randy would agree with you." Nora fingered the diamond ring on her left, third finger. It sparkled in the light. Andy felt a jolt of jealousy. She beat it down.

"Randy White is Nora's fiancé. He is the foreman for the Crossing Pines." Matt told Andy, taking a seat on the arm of her chair. She tilted her head to the side in question.

"Crossing Pines?" Andy asked, feeling out of the loop. Nora smiled at her.

"Our parents' ranch." Matt offered, taking a swallow of Andy's soda.

"Did you tell her why the ranch is named Crossing Pines, Matt? It is a very moving story."

"Our grandfather, my dad's father, started the ranch some sixty odd years ago. Before he was a rancher, Samuel Johnson worked odd jobs on other ranches; drifting from place to place. Well when he got to Hot Springs, he met our grandmother, Ida Mae Lynch." Matt shifted his seat, trying to find a more comfortable spot. Nora listened quietly. "From all that we have been told, Ida was a spitfire and definitely not the
meek and mild
that society dictates. Samuel absolutely fell head over heels for Ida, but Ida's father wouldn't give his consent to a drifter with no future." Matt shifted again.

"That sounds bad." Andy murmured from her cushion. Matt nodded.

"So Samuel got on his horse and just started riding with no intended purpose. Instead some distance into the Black Hills, Samuel's horse was spooked and it threw him to the ground. Dazed and his bell ringing, he lay flat on his back on the ground. Opening his eyes, he said all he could see was the brightest light he had ever seen. It shone in a brilliant white." Matt stood from his seat. Andy squeaked in surprise as she was pulled and lifted from her seat on the chair. Matt replaced her and then pulled her into his lap. Her eyes widened in surprise and anxiety. He only chuckled and held her firmly there. Nora tried to hide her grin as she continued the story.

"The white light was only interrupted by two crossing lines. Samuel said he could swear that God was talking to him, although he had never been a religious man. The lines that formed the cross in the light happened to be two huge pine trees. So recovering from his fall, Samuel returned to Hot Springs to find that the section of land he had his misfortune on, was actually for sale. Using every bit of money he had saved up and accepting a small loan from the bank, Samuel Johnson bought the Crossing Pines Ranch and it goes without saying, Ida Mae Lynch became Ida Johnson." Nora's eyes were wide with romantic wonder. Andy had tried to focus on the story, but her bottom was sitting on Matt's lap. All of her thoughts tended to travel down a very steamy road. She blushed.

"The pine trees are still there. If you lay on the ground and look up, you can see how they cross in the sunshine." Matt added, his thumbs finding a gap in between the hem of her shirt and the top of her pants to rub against sensitive skin. Andy fought the urge to squirm. Casting him a side glance, she knew Matt understood what he was doing.
Just wait until later!
Later would be good. Andy smiled.

"That is where Randy and I are getting married. Oh, less than three weeks from tomorrow!" Nora groaned, slumping back into her chair. Matt chuckled at Andy as he pressed a quick kiss to her neck.

"You are actually going to go through with it this time, Nora? I don't know how you get Randy to keep coming back time after time. Poor guy is like a puppet on a string!" Matt feigned desolation as he received a murderous look from his sister. He used Andy like a human shield.

"Matthew Johnson, you had better be at my wedding too! It will not be funny if you don't show up like the last time!" Nora dug around in her oversized purse, pulling out a thick ivory envelope.
Wedding invitation.
Andy caught it as Nora tossed it across the short space between them.

"I didn't come because Randy said you called it off. As for coming for this one, you have to promise me two things." Matt raised a brow at his sister who narrowed her eyes. "First, you cannot call this one off! You have to commit this time." He didn't wait for Nora's acceptance. "Second, Andy has to be my date. I'm not coming if she will not go with me." Matt was as serious as a heart attack. Andy felt her mouth open as she swept a glance at him. Matt's eyes were locked on his sister's. Clearly he saw Nora backing out of the wedding as more of a possibility than Andy not accepting his request. She wasn't sure how to felt about that.

"No backing out of this one, little brother. You do know that I can't force Andy to come with you. That would mean she would be meeting our parents and friends." Nora's blue eyes softened as she brought them to hold Andy's startled green ones. "Maybe she isn't ready to take that step with you." Nora's soft sympathy was disarming. As different as Matt's sister was, Nora seemed to know just what she was saying. Andy felt the now familiar squeeze of panic.

"You have the weekend to convince her, sister of mine!" Matt expelled a breath and leaned back into the chair. Andy already felt that she was on shaky ground without being shifted and tossed. Her head hurt.

***

Andy hadn't expected to like Nora Johnson, but she did. She hadn't expected to
want
to open herself up to someone, but for the first time, she thought Nora might understand. It was more than being a single mother to a child that didn't know its father. It was finding out that making a decision or rather every decision alone was earth shattering. She didn't have someone else to share her worries and burdens. She didn't have someone to confide all her questions, hopes, and dreams for her child. She was the only parent. Alone.

"You seem in a faraway place. Day dreaming?" Nora asked as she rounded the corner into the kitchen where Andy was washing dishes. There was a perfectly good dishwasher, but the busy work cleared her mind.

"Day dreaming?" Andy asked absently. Nora rolled her eyes and grinned.

"You have it so bad, girl! You don't even know what's hit you yet." Nora opened the fridge door and started to put the leftovers away. Andy could have sworn the air left her lungs like someone had punched her in the gut. She felt those words so physically. Was she that easy to read? Was she really that far gone? She knew that she was falling for Matt, but could she already be irretrievable?

"Is that what Matt's told you?" Andy had to know. Maybe Nora wouldn't tell her what her brother had said. Maybe it was some sibling code that you didn't reveal heart to hearts. She didn't know.

"Matt says many things, but even without words I can tell how much you mean to him." Nora fished out the chocolate pie from the fridge. Andy creased her brow.
Well that wasn't saying much.
She scrubbed a couple more plates, rinsed them off and stuck them in the dish rack.

"He is a great guy and for some unknown reason, Matt has picked Harper and me." Andy's voice was tentative, where her thoughts were rioting in her brain. Nora slowed her pace, pursing her lips as she found the disposable cake plates and forks. Her expression seemed almost sad.

"Matt said that you and I had a lot in common, Andy. I don't think I realized just how much until now." She took the cover off of the pie and set it aside on the countertop. Taking a deep breath, Andy wanted to stop the spinning in her head. This was so beyond what she knew how to deal with. A mirror image was making her depth of determination to carry-on by herself that much more difficult to maintain. Andy pulled the stopper on the sink and let the dirty dish water disappear down the drain. She couldn't help but watch it swirl away.

"Andy, I have never revealed Drew's father to anyone. No one knows the truth, but me. I did it to protect my son. Someday, if or when the time is right, I will revisit the decision to tell Drew when he is older and can handle it. For now, I have to live with the fact that he is five years old and daily asks me why he doesn't have a father." Nora drew a stool to her and she perched carefully on top. Her hands were pressed against the counter and she looked both determined and scared. "I love Randy so much. He has been through some tough times with me and Drew, but I'm still afraid to commit to him. I have absolutely
no
idea why he has stayed with me, but he has. It isn't that I don't think I deserve love or someone to stand beside me. It's more because I don't understand why anyone would want to." Nora looked down at the counter. The kitchen felt heavy and raw with emotion. It bothered Andy. It really was too close to the truth and to think that she wasn't alone in her thoughts was even more overwhelming.