Chapter Six

Once they turned off the highway onto Circle D land, Derek led the way in his pickup along the winding dirt ranch road past the main house, the barn and the bunkhouse.

Amy followed him, bumping along, trying her best to avoid the ruts. They skirted a pretty, rolling meadow. The house stood on the far side of the meadow, with a big cottonwood in the front yard. Sided in natural wood, it had a long front porch and three gabled windows breaking up the roofline.

Derek circled the cottonwood and parked facing back toward the highway. She followed him around the tree and pulled to a stop behind him. It was about eight by then, still light out. But the sun had gone behind the mountains and the pale moon rode high in the blue expanse of the Montana sky, the orange fingers of sunset beginning to color the wisps of clouds above the crests of the distant peaks.

An almost-white Labrador retriever came down the front steps, tail wagging. Derek, already out of his pickup, stopped to greet the dog, who gazed at him adoringly as he scratched the ruff at the animal’s neck.

Amy got out and shut her door. “I didn’t know you had a dog.”

“I don’t. Meet Buster. He belongs to Willa and Collin, but every once in a while, he takes off down the mountain and comes here or goes to the Christensen place.”

The Christensens were Willa’s family. Actually, Willa and Collin were kind of an unexpected match: Willa the good-girl kindergarten teacher and Collin Traub, who never met a rule he wouldn’t break. “I was surprised when Eva told me that Willa and Collin got married.”

“So were a lot of people. They got together during the big flood.” The flood had swept through Rust Creek Falls and the surrounding valley. Half the town had to be rebuilt afterward. “And now Collin and Willa have a son named Robbie and a dog who likes to wander.” He grinned down at Buster.

“He’s a beautiful dog.” Buster seemed to preen at her praise. He sat back on his haunches and stared up at her expectantly. She knelt to pet him.

“Watch out. He’ll drool all over your dress.”

“I don’t mind.” She scratched his head and let him swipe his big tongue across her cheek. “Why don’t you have a dog of your own? Seems only right, now that you have your own place.”

His gaze scanned her face, a look both slow and appreciative. “I’m at the saddlery half the time now. Wouldn’t be fair to keep a dog cooped up there.” He held down his hand to her. She took it, loving the warm, intimate feel of his fingers closing around hers. “Let me show you the house.”

Buster trailing along in their wake, Derek led her up the steps. At the door, he ushered her in first. The dog slipped around them both and headed off down the hallway that opened up to what looked like a great room at the far end.

They stood in the small foyer area for a moment. She admired the handsome oak staircase accented with iron balusters and asked, “How many bedrooms are up there?”

“None right now. It’s an unfinished attic. I figure I can fix it up, divide it into bedrooms, even put in another bath if I ever need more living space.”

If he ever needs more space...

Her mind went where it probably shouldn’t—to the idea of Derek, married. Maybe with children.

Uh-uh. She blinked the thought away. It was too dangerous on too many levels.

“This way,” he said.

He ushered her into the dining room, to the left of the entry and through there to the kitchen, breakfast nook, great room and two bedrooms. The furniture was basic, in a mishmash of styles.

“It’s really nice,” she said, “comfortable and inviting.” There was even a big-screen TV above the natural stone fireplace.

He reached out and slid a hand under her hair, curving his strong, work-roughened fingers around the nape of her neck and pulling her in close to him. His lips brushed her cheek and his breath was warm in her ear. “You smell like heaven. Always did.” An arrow of pure happiness darted straight through her heart at his whispered words. They shared a long, sweet kiss and then he lifted his head and captured her gaze. “Are you hungry?”

“A little.”

At their feet, Buster whined and wagged his tail.

She leaned her head on Derek’s shoulder. “I think you’d better feed Buster first.”

He pressed his lips into her hair. It was an absolutely lovely moment and she let herself revel in it.

Too soon, he released her to fill one bowl with water and another with kibble. “Yeah,” he replied to the question she hadn’t even asked. “Buster stops by a lot and so I keep food on hand for him.” He set the full bowls down and Buster went right to work gobbling his dinner. “I’d better let Collin know that his dog stopped by for dinner.” Derek took out his phone and sent his friend a text.

When he stuck the phone back in his pocket, she said, “I want to help with the food.”

“Works for me.”

He made pasta with marinara sauce and Italian sausage. She tossed a quick salad with the lettuce and vegetables he had in the fridge, set the table and grated the parmesan.

Her phone buzzed with a text as they sat down to eat. She would have ignored it, but he said, “It could be important.”

So, she checked. “It’s Eva. She says we should have fun.”

“Let me guess. There’s a winky emoji followed by about ten hearts.”

“I’m beginning to think you know her as well as I do.”

He laughed. “Tell her I said hi.”

As she typed a quick response, another text came in. She sent her reply to Eva and brought up the new message.

She tapped out a quick reply. Sorry. Out of town for a few weeks.

She hit Send and glanced up to find Derek watching her. “A friend in Boulder. We play video games sometimes. He didn’t know I was out of town.”

Those green eyes were cool suddenly. “This friend got a name?”

“Jonas Baldwin.” She picked up her fork again. “I met him in graduate school. We’ve stayed friends in a casual way.” Derek just went on looking at her, his mouth a flat line. She thought of Myra, back at the Ace, and of how much she’d needed his reassurance that he had nothing going on with Myra. “Honestly, Derek. Jonas and I are in no way, shape or form, a thing and we never have been. We double-dated once—he took the girl he was dating at the time and I went with a friend of his. I see him maybe five or six times a year. He’ll call and if I’m not doing anything, we get together, him and me and my Xbox One.”

Derek just went on looking at her for several extremely uncomfortable seconds. Annoyance sizzled through her that he didn’t believe her when she was telling the truth. He had no reason not to take her word for it—not to mention, he had zero right to be jealous. They’d only been exclusive for about two hours.

But then he asked, “Who wins?” and his mouth curved into that panty-melting grin.

Her heart lifted. “Are you kidding? I wipe the floor with him every time.”

He tipped his beer at her. “Now, that’s what I wanted to hear.” The doorbell chimed. “That’ll be Collin looking for Buster.” He got up and pushed his chair in. “Be right back. Come on, Buster.” The dog followed him down the central hall.

Amy let them go—and then felt uncomfortable. As though she was hiding there in the kitchen. From Collin Traub, of all people. Back in high school, Derek was every girl’s handsome heartthrob. Collin was the dangerous one, the forbidden fantasy, with his jet-black hair and dark, knowing eyes. Just as many girls dreamed of him as wanted Derek.

Not Amy. It had always been Derek for her.

And right now, what mattered was that she knew him, knew Collin, and even if she and Derek were keeping this thing just between them, the least she could do was show her face at the door and say hi to an old schoolmate.

She slid her napkin next to her half-finished plate, pushed back her chair and followed the sound of men’s voices to the front door.

Collin, just outside the door with his dog waiting patiently at his feet, caught sight of her first. “Amy Wainwright.” He gave Derek a strange, narrow-eyed look, then aimed his killer smile at her. “How you been?”

“Hi, Collin. I’m doing well, thanks.”

As she stepped up beside him, Derek shot her a questioning frown, which she’d kind of expected after she’d made such a big deal back at the saddlery about the two of them keeping their relationship on the down low.

Amy shook Collin’s hand. “Good to see you.”

“Must be your Audi, then,” he said, shooting another significant glance at Derek.

Derek grunted. “Why are we standing here at the door? Come on in. I’ve got a longneck with your name on it.”

“Better not. I have to get back.” But Collin stayed where he was and his gaze shifted her way again, his dark eyes watchful. “It’s been a long time.”

“Yeah.” She rushed into the usual chitchat, the stuff you say to people you never knew all that well and haven’t seen in more than a decade. “So, you and Willa Christensen, huh?”

“That’s right.”

“I always liked Willa—and I know this is long overdue, but congratulations, Collin.”

“Thanks.” Collin’s guarded expression relaxed a little. “She really is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“And I understand you have a little boy—oh, and you’re the mayor now, too?”

He smirked. “Never saw that coming, I’ll bet.”

“True.” After all, Collin had been the classic high school bad boy. He partied hard, broke a lot of hearts, drove too fast and got in trouble with the sheriff more than once. “You never seemed like someone who would get into politics.”

Collin laughed at that. “Talk about an understatement. Most of my life, not only would I never have considered running for public office, I never would have believed that anyone would vote for me.”

“So, what changed?”

“I married Willa,” he said with pride. “I had ideas for what I thought needed fixing around here and my wife decided I should step right up and make it happen.”

“You’re happy,” Amy said softly, glad for him. “It’s good to see how well things worked out for you.”

“Can’t complain.”

Derek started to say something, but Collin went on before he got a word out. “What took you so long to come back to town?” He was looking faintly disapproving again.

“Long story,” she said, and left it at that.

Collin’s dark eyes seemed to look right through her. “I think I heard someone say you’re here for the wedding?”

“I am.” She rushed on. “It’s been so good to see Eva, to get a chance to reconnect with old friends. Delphine and Calla and their families will be here next Friday. I can’t wait to see them.”

“And after the wedding, then what?” Collin didn’t sound hostile, exactly. Just skeptical—and wary, too.

Derek muttered, “Come on, man.”

Collin locked eyes with him and said almost gently, “It’s a reasonable thing to ask.”

Amy answered Collin’s question, more or less. “I live in Boulder.”

“So, a month in Montana reconnecting with old friends. Then back to real life.” It was the truth, even if Collin Traub made it sound like something downright shady.

Before she could reply, Derek muttered, “Enough.” He and Collin shared a look that seemed to speak volumes—about what, exactly, Amy couldn’t be sure.

Collin took a step back. “You’re right. I should get moving. See you Monday. Amy, you take care now.”

“Thanks. You, too.” She gave him a big smile. Because she really had nothing against Collin. No need to make an issue of his weirdly disapproving attitude.

Collin went down the steps, Buster at his heels, headed for the crew cab parked beside her SUV.

Derek shut the door.

She faced him. “Let me guess. Collin remembers that we used to be together in high school.”

“Yeah.” Derek headed to the kitchen. She fell in step behind him.

They took their seats at the table. He sipped his beer and she debated trying to go on as if the conversation with Collin hadn’t happened.

He made the decision for her. “Go ahead. Ask me.”

She took a fortifying sip of ice water and set the glass down with care. “How much does Collin know about you and me?”

He drank again. “That you were my girl and it ended when you moved away.”

“That’s all? He seemed a little too suspicious of me, like I did something bad to you.”

“Maybe you’re imagining things.”

“Am I?”

He stared at her across the table for a few seconds that seemed to go on forever. And then he admitted, “The night I heard that you and your family had left for Colorado, I went out drinking.”

“With Collin?”

“At some point, I met up with him. By then, I was really blasted. We ended up at this bonfire with a bunch of kids from Kalispell. I might’ve said a few stupid things to him and he might’ve gotten the idea that you ripped out my heart and chopped it into tiny pieces.”

She had a strong urge to defend herself, to argue that he wasn’t the only one who’d ended up with a ripped-out heart. But they’d been there, said all that—twice, as a matter of fact. No reason to hash it out all over again.

Instead, she asked, “So then, that night you got so drunk, you told him we’d been married?”

“No. I don’t think so.”

“You don’t know?”

“Didn’t I just say I got really drunk?” He glared at her. “In case you haven’t heard, drunk people sometimes say and do things they later can’t remember.”

Did she blame him for being annoyed with this conversation? Not really. He had to be sick of rehashing the past. She certainly was. But she did want to understand Collin’s attitude at the door. “So, you might have told him we were married, but you doubt it.”

“That’s right. I can’t be absolutely sure of what I said or didn’t say. But if I’d slipped up and mentioned that we’d run off and gotten married, I’m thinking he’d have brought it up to me by now.”

She poked at a slice of sausage with her fork. “He seems like he’s a really good friend to you. A true friend, you know?”

“Look.” His voice was hard. “Just tell me. Are you pissed off that I might have told Collin you married me once?”

“No. If you did tell him, I understand why.”

“You sure?”

“Positive. I mean, it was a bad time. You probably needed to talk to someone and Collin’s your friend.” She thought of Eva. Of Delphine and Calla. They were her true friends, yet she’d never told them the truth about the past. Guilt jabbed at her, that she’d kept the secret for so long, that she would probably go right on keeping it. “At the door just now, Collin asked about my car. What was he getting at?”

“Before you decided to come say hi to him, he asked if I had company. I said, just a friend. Wasn’t that what I was supposed to say?”

“I’m not criticizing you, Derek. I’m only trying to understand why he seemed suspicious of me—and protective of you.”

“Yeah, well, you could have avoided all that by staying in here until I got rid of him.”

She swallowed. Hard. He had a good point and she needed to explain herself. “It seemed tacky somehow, you know? To hide in the kitchen while you sent away someone we both went to school with.”

“Amy, it’s what you asked for. To be ‘secretly, exclusively together.’ Am I right?” And then he added, under his breath, “Whatever the hell all that even means.”

She set down her fork with care. “You’re upset with me.”

“Yeah. You’ve got me all turned around here. You say we’re keeping what we’re doing a secret. Then you come strolling down the hall to greet Collin at the door after I’ve tried to cover for your being here. I don’t know what you want.”

“I guess I didn’t think it through, when I proposed how we would be together. I just meant we wouldn’t explain ourselves, okay?”

His strong jaw was set. “Uh-uh. Still don’t get it.”

“Well, I mean when we’re together, we’re together and people are going to see that. I don’t want us to lie.”

“Yeah, you do. You want us to lie and say we’re just friends when we’re more than friends and we always will be, whether we move on to benefits or not.”

We always will be.

Her heart pounded harder and her skin felt too tight. He was right, and she knew it. And it made her ridiculously glad—that after more than a decade apart, she was still important to him.

She tried again to explain herself. “I only meant that we could just skip the PDAs and the declarations of our relationship, or whatever. We can just tell everyone we’re friends and leave it at that. I didn’t mean we would hide or pretend I’m not at your house when I am.”

He pushed his plate away. “Okay. No PDAs and we tell everyone we’re friends. And when your car’s parked outside my house all night, we just say you stayed over and let them think whatever they want to think.”

“Yes. That’s it. Exactly.”

“So, there is no secret, really. There are just zero explanations.”

“Yeah. Is that wrong somehow, Derek?”

“We might as well get real about this. If we’re not keeping our getting together a secret, they’re going to talk anyway. In case you didn’t notice, it’s Rust Creek Falls.”

“I’m just saying that this is none of their business. We’re none of their business. It’s just between us and they can talk all they want, but we’ll just ignore them.” He didn’t reply so she pressed him. “I’ll ask again, do you think that not explaining ourselves to other people is wrong?”

“No, I don’t think it’s wrong. And I do want to be with you, however we can make that work.” He stared across the table in her general direction, but he wasn’t really meeting her eyes.

“Well, okay, then.” She waited for him to look directly at her so that she could try a coaxing smile.

But he only lowered his gaze and turned his empty beer bottle in a slow circle, staring at it as though deep in thought. “You realize I said ‘When your car’s parked outside my house all night’ and you didn’t argue with me. You didn’t remind me that at this point, the two of us making love is still more of an if than a when.” He looked up at last. His eyes said it all. He wasn’t mad.

And he wanted her to stay.

* * *

After the uncomfortable moments with Collin at the door and the difficult discussion over dinner, Derek was a little afraid that Amy might decide it was time for her go.

She didn’t act like she wanted to go, but he couldn’t be sure. Maybe he was reading her all wrong and any minute now she would start edging toward the door.

As she helped him clear the table and load the dishwasher, he considered the various ways to get her to stay.

He knew one surefire method: offer to play video games. She’d always loved them and apparently, she still played them with some dude named Jonas in Boulder.

Yeah, she’d probably mop the floor with him. She used to beat him every time no matter what they played. Zelda, Call of Duty, Super Mario Kart, you name it.

But that was then. Maybe that Jonas guy just wasn’t all that good a player. Maybe Amy had lost her touch playing with guys who didn’t challenge her—not that he, Derek, was all that much of a challenge to her.

Still, he would like a rematch after all these years, a chance to beat her for once.

He shut the dishwasher door and started it up.

“Well,” she said, looking gorgeous and nervous and not sure what would happen next. “I guess maybe I’d better be—”

“Grand Theft Auto V?” he asked.

Worked like a charm. Her grin was slow and full of evil. “It’s your funeral.”

They went into the great room, kicked off their boots and played.

Just like old times, she whipped his butt.

And then whipped it again.

After two hours of ending up riddled with bullets, buried in a pile of rubble game after game, he dropped his controller onto the coffee table and put up both hands. “I surrender. You win.”

She cupped a hand to her ear. “What did you say?”

“You heard me.”

“Yeah, but I want you to say it again.”

“Amy, you win.”

“Yeah!” She dropped her controller next to his, let out a squeal of triumph and did a double fist pump.

“Why don’t you go ahead and tell me how you really feel?”

She squealed again and stomped her stocking feet on the floor. “Who’s the man?”

“You’re the man.”

“Say it again! Say it again!” She bounced up and down on the couch, hair flying, eyes squinty, pumping both fists for all she was worth, her red skirt rising temptingly high on her smooth thighs.

Cutest thing he’d ever seen. Strangest girl he’d ever known.

He could not resist her. And why even try? They were together, right? In a nondeclared, open-ended, nobody’s-business sort of way. For the next two weeks, at least.

Suddenly, it seemed like a bad idea to waste a single second of the time he might have with her. To hell with waiting. If she was willing, there would be benefits tonight.

He caught her fist in mid-pump. She let out a yelp followed by a goofy giggle as he dragged her close, cupped the back of her head and claimed that delicious mouth of hers.

Another sound escaped her then, breathless and wanting, as she pulled her hand free of his grip and wrapped it around his neck. Her hair was everywhere, glorious and wild around her flushed face, which he cradled between his two palms so he could kiss her some more.

Long, wet kisses. Short, hard kisses. Kisses light as a fleeting touch turning to kisses so deep he drowned in them.

How had he lived all these thirteen endless years without the taste of her mouth, the feel of her silky hair sifting through his fingers, the touch of her velvety skin beneath his hands?

He guided her down on the couch cushions, kissing her, touching her, smoothing her hair only to spear his fingers in it and mess it up all over again.

She gazed up at him, her eyes full of something he’d never thought he’d see in them again. “Oh, Derek,” she whispered, as though his name said it all.

His pulse thudded in his ears and his blood seemed to burn in his veins. “Amy, I...”

“Tell me,” she commanded.

“I need to touch you. All of you.”

“Yes,” she said, so eager. So sure. “Yes. Touch me. All of me. Please.”

He wasted no time giving them both what they wanted. Slipping the skinny straps of her little red dress down over her shoulders, he eased the cups of her bra out of his way and buried his face between her soft breasts. She moaned and held him closer.

He needed so much.

All of her.

Naked.

In his hungry arms.

He lifted his head and looked at her, with her dress pulled down, her bra half off, her eyes dazed and dreamy. Her cheeks were a gorgeous shade of pink, her hair in a tangled halo across the nubby cushions of the old couch.

It was the finest sight he’d ever seen.

Something shifted within him. Something opened up wide.

One way or another, they were making it work this time. One way or another they were taking this hesitant, friends-with-benefits second chance all the way to forever.

He didn’t know how exactly. Not yet.

But they were older now, and wiser, weren’t they? All grown-up and ready to make the big choices and take the important chances, at last.

This time, somehow, they would get it right.