Love on the Horizon (A Northern Woods Novel) (29 page)

“So what do you think?” Nick
asked.

“About what?”

Her reaction amused him, and he
laughed aloud. “You know darn well what – and who I’m talking about.”

She tried to stifle her giggle.
When he laughed, he seemed ten years younger. There hadn’t been much to laugh
about lately, and it felt wonderful.

“I guess you’re referring to
Nattie, or possibly Jake,” she said and batted her eyelashes. “So… what do
you
think about the two of them? Would it be possible that they already have
feelings for each other?”

“That’s what I’m trying to ask
you. You’re a woman, and usually good at reading into these things.”

She finished drying the last
plate then swatted him with the dishtowel.

“Hey!” he yelped, pretending to
be hurt. She jumped back and he chased her around the kitchen table, caught her
by her arm and spun her about, to face him. He stretched his hand over her
buttocks, gripped gently, and with the warmth of personal contact, their lips
met sweetly. He softly blew the hair from her neck. She leaned back and gazed
into his eyes.

“Want to go to bed, cowboy?” She
hung up the towel, then walked slowly, her sexy hips swaying as she strolled
toward the bedroom.

When they reached their doorway,
she turned to face him. She placed her finger to her lips. “Shhh… don’t wake
the children.” She stood before him and began to unbutton his shirt, pressed
her body against his, and invited him to join her.

* * *

The next morning they were up
before the sun rose. They sat together at the kitchen table with a cup of
coffee, and enjoyed the peace and quiet. They loved to sit and talk while the
little ones slept. Nick was about to head out to the stable.

“Really now, Mariah, do you think
Jake and Natalie have any feelings for each other?”

“Oh, I don’t know, but I do think
they’d be good for each other after everything the two of them have been
through. Although I think it’s a little early for that, don’t you? It’s only
been two weeks since he realized who she was, and it took a couple more days
for her to break down and admit her identity to him. Other than that, yes I do
think they’d make a good couple. We’ll have to wait and see.” She touched his
cheek, gave him a kiss and walked him to the door. “Now scoot. You have work to
get to, and I want to get dressed before the kids wake up. Have a nice day,
cowboy,” she said sweetly.

“I hope it’s as wonderful as last
night was,” he whispered. She felt a delightful shiver run through her entire
body when he reminded her of the romantic fire that blazed between them the
night before. She smiled and closed the door behind him.

* * *

When Jake arrived at the office
early Monday morning, he appeared to have had the relaxation he needed.

“Mornin’ Nick.”

“Hey Jake, you’re lookin' great.
I’m glad you had a nice vacation.”

“So am I,” he said, with a
special glint in his eyes.

“Go get yourself a mug of coffee
and come back and talk with me. We need to go over the future plans that came
about while you were away.”

“I hate to ask you on my first
day back, but Nattie needs me to accompany her to the courthouse at one p.m.
Would you mind if I take off at noon?”

“You go right ahead. She needs
you.”

“I hope they’ll allow me to stay
by her side. She’s been a nervous wreck. At least my lawyer will be present; he
met with us on Friday.”

Natalie decided never to return
to the house. After meeting with the lawyer, she signed papers for the mortgage
company, who foreclosed on the home. She was glad to be rid of everything that
reminded her of the most horrendous years of her life.

“I’m sure it’ll go smoothly. Now
fetch your coffee.”

“I’ll be right back.”

Nick took a drink from his own
cup as he watched Jake walk out the doorway, and then looked down at the papers
sitting before him.

When Jake returned, Nick said,
“Pull up a chair. I have a list made up. Your stable needs a lot of work
completed before winter arrives, or those rescue horses won’t survive.”

Jake leaned forward and looked
over the agenda, then up at Nick. “I think we can handle it all. My men are
fast workers, and they’re good at what they do. I don’t think there’d be a problem.”
He grinned with a smile Nick had never before seen on his face, and he
continued while he drank his coffee.

“You sure look happy. Whatever
else went on at the resort, it brought a big change. You seem to be a happy
camper. If you ask me, you and Nattie were meant for each other. You’ve both
been through some extremely rough times.”

“That’s for sure.”

“I just thought of something.
Mariah and Sarah had been talking about planning a barn dance over in the
modular outbuilding. Now would be the perfect time. Everyone in the community
would be invited to welcome Nattie home.”

Jake frowned, ran his hand across
his chin, and shook his head slowly.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know if she’s even
staying. She seems to want to go back to the cabin.”

Nick thought about it for a
minute. “We’ll have a barn dance. I’ll see if Mariah and Sarah can put all the
plans together for next weekend. Tell Nattie it’ll be a welcome back party – or
a back to life party, since everyone now knows she’s still alive. When she sees
how happy everyone was once they heard the good news, she may decide to stay.”

“It’ll be worth a try. I’ll get
out to the stable and let the men know which job to begin first. Then I’ll have
to leave by noon.”

“Okay, but tell Nattie that the
party is already on, and it’s going to be great fun. I’ll let Mariah know. She
and Sarah will get right on it.”

“It just might work, Nick.”

“We’ll
make
it work. Now
get movin’ and good luck at the courthouse.”

“Thanks.” He put his Stetson back
on and hurried out the door.

Nick picked up the phone and
dialed Mariah’s cell. It didn’t take her long to answer. “The party’s on,
Mariah; give Sarah a call and get busy. It has to be set for next Saturday, and
you have to contact everyone in the community, and also the wives of the ranch
hands.”

“Why so soon?” she asked.

“Looks like the best way to
convince Nattie to stay. Jake said she’s thinking about going back to the
cabin. We have to show her that everyone wants her to stay here. I’m sure you
and Sarah can do this. You have five days, so get started.”

“This is going to be exciting,
Nick. Sarah and I will start on it right away.”

“I knew you would, darlin’,
that’s just the way you are. Another thing I love about you. See you at dinner
time.” Nick looked at the receiver and frowned. He didn’t know when, but Mariah
had already hung up. He doubted she even heard what he said. He laughed and
picked up his pen to start a new agenda for his own men to complete before the
first snowstorm arrives.

Chapter
Forty-four

The Monday following the party
Mariah and Bess sat out on the deck, enjoying the wonderful temperature of
seventy degrees. With Nicky at school and the twins down for their nap, they
relaxed in the peace and quiet.

“Can you believe this remarkable
weather?” Mariah murmured. She leaned her head back on the lawn chair, closed
her eyes, and soaked up the sun. Birds were chirping happily, but any day now,
winter would arrive, bringing the cold heavy winds along with the snow and icy
precipitation.

“The barn dance was wonderful,
don’t you agree?” she asked Bess.

“Mmm… I believe everyone had a
grand ‘ole time. How did you ever get the country band on such late notice?”

Mariah smiled, and her eyes
remained closed. “I offered them twice the amount they would have asked for,
but when I explained who it was for, they played for free.”

“You are so good at coming up
with ideas at the last minute, Mariah. You and Sarah are masters at those
things.  It was a lot of work on your part, only having a few days to put it
all together, but it was well worth it. Did you see how happy Nattie was when
she learned of the many people who truly cared about her?”

“Yes, and I’m so glad.” Her cell
phone started to ring, and she reached over to the small redwood table where
she’d placed it.

“Hello?” she answered, and
immediately beamed.

“Mariah, this is Nattie. I wanted
to call and thank you for the wonderful party. It was so much fun. When Jake
and I returned to his place, we had a long talk about whether I’d live here, or
go back to the cabin.”

Mariah sat up straight with an
excited, yet concerned look on her face.

“What’s going on?” Bess mouthed
quietly, with an anxious expression.

Mariah held up the palm of her
hand to Bess and continued to listen to what Nattie had to say.

“It felt good to once again be
with my two best friends. It brought back so many memories of our high school
days and all the fun the three of us had.”

“And…?” Mariah asked softly, her
fingers crossed.

“I’m going to stay here, Mariah.
It was so wonderful to see you and Sarah after all these years. We’ll spend
time up at the cabin whenever we can.”

“We? Who does the “we” refer to,
may I ask?”

Natalie laughed and said, “Why
Jake and I, of course. He’s a real sweetheart. I’d be out of my mind if I went
back to the resort and left him behind.”

“Yes!” Mariah shouted. She jumped
from her chair and raised her fist in the air, then nodded to Bess with a happy
smile. “That’s the greatest news I’ve heard in quite some time Nattie! Wait
until Sarah hears about this. We’ll all be together again.”

“I’m going to call Sarah now,
Mariah. Let me have the fun of telling her myself. I just wanted to thank you
for showing me how happy I can be right here in Pinewood Hills and Huntington.
My life has turned around, thanks to my two best friends.”

“Does this mean you’re staying
with Jake?”

“You better believe it. I’d be
crazy not to.”

“Oh Nattie, I’m so happy! When
you talk to Sarah, set up a day we can get together. We’ll take you shopping
for a new wardrobe to replace everything you lost at the house.”

“Don’t worry about that. Jake
already bought everything I’ll need for the next twenty years.”

“Yes, Jake is a good guy, Nattie.
You won’t be sorry. Now call Sarah, and set up a day for the three of us to get
together.”

Mariah hung up the phone, and
smiled at Bess. When they walked into the house, they heard the sound of the
twins gurgling to each other in their cribs.

* * *

Jake stepped into the office at
the same moment Nick completed a business call. He nodded at Jake, hung up the
phone, and motioned him into the room.

“That was a terrific party,
boss,” Jake said.

“You and Nattie looked like you
were having the time of your lives.” Jake smiled and sat back in his chair,
hands clasped behind his head.

“Well, it worked.”

“What worked?”

“Your plan to convince Nattie to
stay; she’s one heck of a woman, Nick. We have a lot of fun together. She’s
going to live with me, and we’ll head to the cabin every chance we get.”

“That’s great, I’m happy for you.
I had a feeling the two of you would make a terrific couple. It’s a good thing
she decided to stick around, too. Don’t know what I would have done without you
if she wanted to live up north. I need you here. You’re one of the best
employees I have.” They both stood, shook hands, and Nick patted him on the
shoulder as they left the office together. “Let’s call it a day,” Nick said,
and they walked out of the stable with a grin on their faces.

Epilogue

The following year Jake and
Natalie’s wedding took place – at the fishing pond. Nick was Jake’s Best Man,
and Nattie considered herself blessed to have both Mariah and Sarah as her
Matrons of Honor. Sam had the privilege of being the Ring Bearer and stood next
to Jake, holding the wedding bands in a black velvet box attached to his
collar.

* * *

Two years later…

“Jake, you have to sit down and
help me. I can’t decide this on my own. I want to do this together.”

Jake walked over and sat at the
kitchen table. He grabbed the sandwich Nattie made for him, took a big bite and
smiled at her.

“What do you think of Kaitlin?”

Jake only stared at her with a
grin on his face. To get his complete attention she added, “Or maybe Petunia?”
She watched him carefully. He began to have trouble swallowing, and then burst
into laughter.

Natalie snickered. “Well
that
sure
made you take notice.”

“Petunia? You can’t be serious.
You aren’t, are you?” he asked with a straight face.