Forever After (Montana Brides) (24 page)

“What do you mean you have to go? You’ve just told me you miscarried our daughter, and then you tell me you’re walking out of my life. You can’t leave.”

“At the moment I’m one of your problems, Sam, and I don’t want to be. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t keep coming back into your life and hoping that this time it might be different. That this time you might actually love me for longer than your haircut cycle.” She turned in her seat, reaching for the door handle. “Goodbye, Sam. I hope you have a happy life.”

He sat back, stunned by what Nicky had said. She almost ran down the sidewalk, disappearing into a crowd of people. He threw his door open, pulled himself out of the truck and tried to make sense of what had happened.
 

He’d almost been a father. Almost had a girlfriend. And almost had a life that didn’t revolve around what he thought he needed.
 

When Nicky had first slid into the booth in the café, he’d thought the hardest thing about their coffee date would be leaving the café at the end. He was wrong. Leaving the café was the easy part. Getting on with his life would be more difficult.

Nicky put her cell phone on speaker. She didn’t know what was worse; listening to her grandfather growl at her with her ear pressed to the phone, or listening to him rant in technicolor clarity throughout her office.
 

“Granddad, calm down. It can’t be as bad as all that.”

“Don’t get smart with me, young lady. Of course it’s as bad as all that. I wouldn’t be calling and poking my nose into your business unless it concerned my company.”

Nicky rolled her eyes. Sam had apparently been hammering everyone with his bad temper and foul mood. It had been three weeks since their disastrous coffee date in Bozeman. Three weeks of sleepless nights and second guessing her stubborn refusal to meet him half way. If her granddad didn’t quit screaming at her soon, she’d turn into a miniature Sam and start growling right on back.
 

“I don’t know what you think I can do about him.”

“I was given a pair of eyes for a reason, Nicky Scotson. While you were in Montana, Sam practically planted himself beside you. You can’t tell me nothing happened. He was alright before he left for Cheyenne last month,” he growled. “And the retirement project’s going to plan, so it must be you.”

“Gee, thanks granddad. You sure know how to make a girl feel special.” She could feel hot steam shooting down the phone at her.

“Whatever’s going on between the two of you better get sorted soon. He’s flying to Denver in three days to meet a project manager he wants to hire. I want you to be at the interview, then stay with him for the rest of the day. I’m not letting any of those number crunchers at the office away with anything. Giles might think he knows about numbers, but he knows diddly-squat about people. I want to know my company’s safe and the person Sam hires is the best person for the job.”

“You’ve got to be joking,” Nicky spluttered. “I’ve got things planned. I’m not dropping everything to babysit a man who thinks I’m a box of cereal with a best before date.”

“Cereal? What the hell are you talking about?”

Nicky stared at the phone. “Forget I said that. I’m not helping him and that’s all there is to it.” Sam Delaney could take a flying leap as far as she was concerned. He had a perfectly good Human Resource team. They could sort out the new recruit.

“Tomorrow’s Saturday. Change whatever you need to, but you’re going to that interview.” He took a deep breath. “Do this for me, Nicky.”

Oh, that was great. He’d switched tactics so fast she hadn’t seen it coming. Her grandfather managed to lay on the guilt so thick that she could almost feel fatty calories oozing down the phone.
 

“Remember what we talked about at your father’s house. Don’t ignore the obvious, Nicky. We all come with a few rough edges. It’s amazing what a little tender loving care can do. Sometimes those edges are part of the charm of a person and not the problem.”

Her grandfather had absolutely no idea just how rough Sam’s edges were. Her heart had already been cut to shreds, and she wasn’t inclined to go back for another try. “I didn’t know you were a philosopher, granddad.”

“Honey, you get to my age and there’s nothing much left but philosophy. I can see when a man’s hurting, and Sam needs you. If I know anything, I know the gleam in your eye whenever he was around meant something. Do this one thing for your granddad. If you still think he’s a hopeless case then I won’t pester you again.”

“Fine,” Nicky growled. “I’ll do it. Consider it my early birthday present to you.”

Her grandfather chuckled down the phone. “The grandbabies can be my birthday present.”

Nicky cringed. He was going senile. “This conversation has just taken a sudden nosedive. What time is the interview?”

“How should I know? I may be wise, but I’m not a mind reader. Call him and find out.” He disconnected the phone.

Nicky stared into space. Mind reading might not be his specialty, but manipulation was. What on earth was she going to do now?

“Sam Delaney speaking.”

Nicky’s heart stuck halfway up her throat. Her pulse throbbed in her neck. She needed to get a grip fast otherwise this call would be shorter than a sneeze.

“Hello?”

“Sam, it’s me. Nicky.”

“Nicky?”

“Scotson.”

“I know who you are,” he growled.

Nicky nearly put the phone down. Her palms had gone all hot and sweaty. “Granddad asked me to be on Monday’s interview panel for the new project manager.”

“It’s not a formal interview. I’m going to see if Bill’s interested in joining the company. If he says yes, I’ll get everything organized after that.”

 
“I promised granddad I’d be there.” And boy, did she regret that promise. “I know it’s not how things are usually done. If you don’t want me there, you’ll have to deal with my grandfather yourself. He’s not listening to me.”

He didn’t answer.
 

“Sam?”

“I’ve planned another meeting after I see Bill.”

“That’s okay.” Nicky picked up a pen and started doodling on the edge of her open notebook. Three droopy flowers stared back at her.

“By the time I’ve finished my meeting with Bill, it’ll be a three hour round trip out to Aurora. Are you sure you want to spend that much time with me?”

Nicky ignored the edge to Sam’s voice. She didn’t want to spend any time with him, but that wasn’t going to happen. “Granddad wants me to spend the day with you until your flight leaves.”

“You’re joking?”

“I wish I was.”

A heavy sigh floated down the phone. “It’s a waste of your time. If Bill’s interested, Dianne will organize a formal interview in Bozeman.”

“Try telling that to my grandfather.”

 
“You’re willing to spend the day with someone you think is a self-centered bastard just because your grandfather asked you to?”

Nicky cringed. “Pretty much.” She hadn’t called him a bastard, but she’d thought it. Even if his attitude to life was dismal, there was nothing wrong with his powers of deduction.

“Fine. The meeting is scheduled for eleven o’clock.”

“Thanks. Well I guess I’ll see you on Monday morning.”

“I guess you will.”

She gripped the phone tight. “Bye, Sam.”
 

“Nicky?”

“Yes?”

“You can always stay for the meeting and then leave. Your grandfather will never know.”

“Are you serious? I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s got spies planted around Denver to make sure I keep my end of the bargain. I’ll see you Monday.” Nicky ended the call. Too much of a good thing was bad for you, and her four minute conversation with Sam had given her a stomach ache.

Sam walked through the crowd of people heading toward the luggage collection area. The only good thing about being in Denver for the day was not having a suitcase to worry about. Nicky on the other hand, was a huge worry that he hadn’t stopped thinking about.
 

As soon as he’d finished the call with her, he’d rung her grandfather. Michael had been unrepentant. After the heated discussion they’d had about butting into people’s personal lives, Sam had left the office in a worse mood than he’d arrived.
 

Swinging the strap of his laptop over his shoulder, he headed through a set of white frosted glass doors. Nicky stood against the far wall of the room, her blonde hair pushed back from her face by a pair of sunglasses anchored on the top of her head. Her black skirt and red shirt didn’t look out of place with the other people milling around. But the scowl on her face definitely wasn’t an accessory anyone else wore.
 

His gaze never left her face as he moved across the room. She looked tired. Tired and grumpy. “It’s not too late to change your mind,” he said. “I can get a rental.”

“Do I look that bad?”

Sam took a closer look at her face. “Not bad exactly. But not happy to be here.”

“It’s not you…well, sort of not you,” she sighed. “A friend brought around some wine last night and I drunk a couple of extra glasses more than I should have. I had some tablets before I left home, but the pain relief hasn’t kicked in yet.”

 
“I thought you’d sworn off alcohol for life.” Just like she’d sworn off him.

Tilting her nose in the air, she said, “I forgot.”

He raised his eyebrows, and she blushed. He glanced out of the terminal windows, determined to change the subject. A few rays of half-hearted sunshine streaked between the clouds. If he didn’t know better he’d swear it was about to rain. “I’m all ready to go. Do you want to head somewhere for breakfast before we make our way to the retirement village?”

“Sounds good to me.” Pulling her sunglasses over her eyes, Nicky led the way out. “I’m parked over here.”

He followed her long-legged stride out of the terminal, dodged a lineup of taxis, and headed toward a bright pink Toyota Hybrid. “You can’t be serious?”

“Totally,” she smiled. “Sam, meet Harriet, my state of the art, environmentally conscious vehicle that chews through more electricity than gasoline.”

“But what about the color,” he scowled.
 

“It’s pink.” She unlocked the trunk, smiling at him. “I can stop a block away from the retirement village if you’re worried about anyone seeing you get out of Harriet.”

He straightened his shoulders, and nearly choked on a ball of laughter when he spotted her seat covers. “Frogs too?”

“Goes with the environmental theme I’ve got going.” She slammed the trunk closed and stared at him over Harriet’s roof. “What’s it going to be? Harriet or an uninspired rental that’s guaranteed to kill a few more ozone layers?”

Sam pulled his sunglasses out of his pocket and slipped them on his face. Harriet turned raspberry. He moved across to the passenger door. “It looks as though Harriet and I are going to get to know each other a little better today.”

“Don’t worry, Sam. We’ll take good care of you.”

That’s what worried him. After three weeks of second guessing his entire life, he’d come to some uncomfortable conclusions about himself. He didn’t blame Nicky for running away. He’d been doing the same thing his entire life; running away from anything that involved trusting another person. But that was about to change.
 

It was just as well his sunglasses covered his eyes, otherwise Nicky would leave him at the airport. He was determined to find out if she still cared about him before he left for Montana tonight. If he could salvage even a small part of their friendship he’d be happy. If he could salvage more than that, he’d be booking another flight to Denver within the week.

Nicky turned the page in her book, enjoying the cool breeze drifting through Harriet’s open doors. Murder and mayhem in eighteenth century England kept her mind occupied while Sam met with a building contractor at Cherry Creek.
 

When they’d left the airport she’d driven them across to Market Street and found a café on Larimer Square. Over pancakes, fresh fruit and yoghurt they’d watched tourists walk in and out of the boutiques and galleries lining the street, and joggers enjoy the morning air.
 

More than once Nicky had taken a deep breath, pushing Sam a little further away from her heart. This was new territory for both of them. She was determined not to get lost in the easy banter that brought a smile to her face and a catch to her heart. It would have been all too easy to fall back into old habits. And she wouldn’t be falling for Sam again.

After breakfast they’d driven out to Aurora, meeting Bill Jenkins, the project manager that Sam wanted to hire for Scotson Construction. They’d toured the half-finished retirement village in fluorescent yellow hard hats and borrowed steel capped boots. Every conceivable sports activity, housing requirement and service had been taken into consideration when the architects’ had planned the stress-free lifestyle for over two hundred and fifty residents. If she hadn’t been too young to join, she would have signed on the dotted line for a townhouse.
 

She’d liked Bill. He knew what he was talking about and had a good reputation in the building industry. After the issues they’d had with Patrick, Nicky had called in a few favors and done some research of her own. She’d talked with people Bill had worked with. All of the projects he’d managed had been completed without any major dramas. Bill was a straight-shooter and someone even her grandfather couldn’t find fault with.

The sound of voices drifted across the parking lot. Sam was heading back toward Harriet, deep in discussion with another contractor he’d wanted to meet. His yellow hard hat bobbed on top of his head, and he’d wound the sleeves of his navy shirt up to his elbows. She smiled at the scuffed boots on his feet. He looked happier than he’d been this morning. And a whole lot more dangerous.
 

He disappeared inside a temporary office and reappeared a few minutes later with no hard hat.
 

“All finished?” she asked.

“Nope.” He opened the passenger door, folding his long frame into the seat. “I’ve got to head back into the city. We had an issue with one of our contractors.
 
I want to meet the manager of the new company working for us.”