A Love Worth Waiting For

“So, what will you do with this place?” He said it casually as he set the glass of lemonade in front of her.

“Oh, I thought about renting, but you know how that is. I’d worry someone wouldn’t take care of this house I love so much. Your sister has her own home and I’m sure as can be you don’t want this land—” She stopped midsentence and squinted at him. “Do you?”

“You know I love New York.”

“I just knew you were going to say that. Well, you said it yourself, so I guess my only choice is to sell.”

“Sell?” Noah didn’t like the sound of that. “Is this your idea?”

“And whose would it be? It’s just common sense, young man.” She took a sip of lemonade. “Now, before you start, I realize there’d be taxes to pay, but that’s your job, handling my finances for me the way you do.”

“But you don’t want to sell?” he asked carefully.

“How could I want to sell? I have wonderful memories in this house, but it’s time to start something new for me. Maybe what this old place needs is a nice young family to fill these empty rooms. What do you think?”

“You’d make money off the place.” A few million, Noah didn’t add. “I suppose you and this Harold have talked about that.”

“No, we truly haven’t. We haven’t had the time. With the new house and our wedding plans, I’ve been a busy bee, I tell you.”

Just as he expected. Nanna didn’t suspect a thing. She didn’t even consider that the Harold she loved could be a fortune hunter.

“Would you be using the money from the sale to build the new house?”

“Noah, you and that finance mind of yours.” Nanna stood, and her chair scraped on the linoleum. Her hand settled on his arm. “I swear you’ve been working so hard and so long, you don’t know how to take it easy. ‘…all our busy rushing ends in nothing.’ My dear boy, stop trying to accomplish so much. When you’re in this house, you don’t need to prove anything to me. I love you just as you are. Perfect.”

She planted a kiss on his cheek.

His heart filled with tenderness for this spry, lively woman who loved him without condition. As he loved her.

“All right, I know you’re dying to tell me about bridesmaid dresses and colors of tablecloths or whatever it is you brides get to decide.” He took her hand and led her back to the table. “Are you happy now?”

“Overjoyed.” Nanna sparkled like a rare gem. “Sit and let me grab my books. I’ll show you the picture of the wedding dress I picked only yesterday.”

“I’d love to see it.”

For his grandmother, he’d do anything.

Noah took a sip of lemonade, wishing it was a double latte, and watched his grandmother hurry from the room in search of her wedding magazines. Alone in the kitchen, with the rain tapping at the windows, a rare peace swept over him. A comfort so strong, he was sure he was doing the right thing, watching out for his grandmother.

The pink and gold decorations were airy and romantic. The glitter streamers winked like stardust. Candles waited, ready to be lit, and the fresh flowers emitted a gentle, rose scent that made the room a dream.

Julie took a final look at their handiwork and satisfaction filled her. “This is like something out of a fairy tale. I couldn’t have done this without my friends.”

“Your grandfather is going to love it.” Susan put her arm around Julie and gave her a quick hug.

“Everyone is going to be wowed,” Misty added. “And speaking of impressing people, I’ve got to fly. If I want to impress the handsome, rich bachelor who’s going to be in this very room in just over two hours, I’ve got to beautify. I’m wearing that blue silk swirly dress I bought in Missoula. It’s the best thing I own.”

“Thank goodness I got my red shift dry-cleaned last week,” Susan enthused.

Julie couldn’t believe it. All this fuss over one man? “Just because he’s rich doesn’t mean he’s nice.”

“He could be nice. We don’t know that he isn’t,” Misty reasoned. “He might be a good dancer.”

“It’s an engagement party, not singles’ night.”

“It’s a Friday night. There’ll be a band. That means we’ll have to dance with him.”

“It’ll be tough, but someone’s got to do it.” Susan looked determined to suffer. “My theory is that you never know what God has in store for you. In my case, why not a billionaire?”

Julie laughed, she couldn’t help it. “Okay, believe Mr. Ashton is going to be your knight in shining armor. I’ll make sure to introduce you to the billionaire. Satisfied?”

“Absolutely.” Susan waggled her brows, looking full of trouble. “Maybe I’ll get my hair done, too. Since I’m getting dressed up, it wouldn’t hurt to dazzle him.”

“Why bother? I’m sure Mr. James Ashton has his pick of beautiful women,” Misty teased.

“You don’t think he’ll take a second look at me. Is that it?” Susan pretended to be offended.

“He could be looking at me instead.” Misty flicked her hair behind her shoulder. “Maybe the billionaire likes blondes.”

Susan and Misty laughed together, and Misty said goodbye. The outside door clicked shut as Julie snapped off the lights.

“I’ll be back in an hour to direct the caterers.” Susan grabbed her coat and purse from the dark corner. “Don’t you worry about a thing. You just make sure your grandfather is here on time.”

“You can count on that. Thanks, Susan.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Together they turned off the rest of the lights and closed the doors behind them. The fat raindrops became a downpour the minute they stepped into the parking lot.

“I hope this is just a temporary thing,” Julie called over a sudden gust of wind. “I’d hate to have to row people across the parking lot.”

“Joke all you want, but it’ll all work out.” Susan shouted to be heard over the drum of rain as she headed to her car. “Drive safely.”

“You, too!”

The sky let loose with a violent torrent of icy rain. Great. Just when she didn’t think it could get worse… She took off running. Gravel crunched at her feet and rain knifed through her thin jacket. She flung open her truck’s door and collapsed on the seat. With hands stiff from the cold, she found her keys and started the engine.

“Please, don’t tell me it’s going to be like this all afternoon.” She flicked the defroster on high, but only chilly air sputtered from the air vents.

Rain pinged on the roof and streamed down her windshield. She shivered and swiped a circle of fog from the glass. Tree branches swayed violently in the wind. Twin beams cut through the downpour as Susan’s car eased out of the parking lot and out of sight.

With her mind on the party, her grandfather and the billionaire showing up, Julie put her truck in gear and crept through the storm, keeping a close eye on the road.

“It was good to finally meet you, Mr. Renton.” Noah shook the older man’s hand. He hadn’t found any obvious reason not to trust the man.

There was an honest glint in Harold’s eye, that was for sure, as he grabbed his battered Stetson and headed for the door.

Harold may appear to be kind and decent, but Noah had learned the hard way that people were not often what they appeared.

“I’ll look forward to seeing you at the party, son.” Harold nodded in the way men from the country did, his drawl unassuming as he tugged open the door. “Looks like the storm isn’t about to let up. Hey, that’s Helen’s car in the driveway. She must have just pulled up.”

“Wonderful!” Nanna clasped her hands together, obviously overjoyed. “She’s going to help me fix my hair. You drive safe, Harold, my love. Guess I’ll be seeing you in a few hours.”

“I don’t see how you can get much prettier, but I’ll be lookin’ forward to it.” Blushing, head down, the older man cleared his throat.

Noah blushed, too, realizing Nanna and Harold were waiting for him to leave so they could be alone. Well, he could take a hint. He headed for the living room to give the couple privacy.

Okay, so he sort of liked Harold. He was a well-preserved man, who spent his retirement running his ranch and seemed to love doing it. And the way Harold looked at Nanna—well, it did look like true love.

Don’t jump to conclusions, Noah warned himself, pacing the room, listening to the fire pop low in the grate and the bushes scraping against the windows.

Trying not to listen to the murmur of his grandmother’s voice in the entry hall, Noah whipped out his handheld computer. The little electronic notebook was his life support, and somewhere in the files he’d begun a list of everything he had to remember for today—

There it was. He scrolled down the list. Flowers. He’d forgotten flowers for his grandmother.

There was plenty of time. He’d just take Nanna’s car and zip into town. It wasn’t that far away. Hadn’t Nanna shown him pictures of the bridal flowers she’d selected? This town, as small as it was, had a florist shop.

“Where are you going?” Nanna demanded when she caught up with him in the kitchen. “My friend Helen is here, and your sister will be by any second to help me get ready for the party. Are those my car keys?”

“If you let me borrow them, I’ll bring you home a surprise.”

“All right, then, fine. Take my car, but you be careful, young man. My Chevy is older than you are, so show her some respect. And absolutely no speeding.”

“I’m not a teenager, remember?” He kissed her cheek. “I’ll be good. I promise.”

He said hello to Nanna’s friend, pocketed the car keys and escaped out the back door while he had the chance.

The defroster in her pickup couldn’t keep up with the fog. Julie swiped at the windshield with the cuff of her jacket sleeve, watching the endless curtain of gray rain that obscured the road ahead. What was that up ahead? She squinted to make out the faintest red glow flashing in the thick gray mists. Taillights. Someone was in trouble.

Julie braked, easing to a stop in the road behind an old sedan. She hit her flasher as thunder cracked overhead. Her pulse kicked high and fast in fear, and she reached for her purse, feeling for her cell phone.

There was no sign of anyone anywhere. Maybe the driver was hurt. Maybe—

A movement in the shadows caught her attention. The tall, broad-shouldered form became a man, rain drenched and awesome, as the lightning cracked behind him, zagging like a crooked finger from the sky to the top of a nearby knoll.

What was he doing out there? Didn’t he know it was dangerous?

As thunder clapped, Julie bolted into the storm, ignoring the cut of ice through her jacket and the sting of rain on her face. “Hey! Get back in your car—”

Lightning splintered the sky the same second the man turned. The earth began to shake like a hundred earthquakes beneath her feet. As the thunder boomed like cannon fire, Julie saw it all in an instant. The bright streak of light overhead, the man leaping toward her and the spark of fire as a tree beside the road flashed with flames.

All she could feel was the steel-hard impact of his shoulder, the dizzying spin of rain as it knifed from the sky and the drum of cattle racing by. She hit the muddy earth with a breath-stealing thud.

Pain rocketed through her body and her head smacked on the rocky earth. The man’s hand curled around the back of her head, cushioning the shock. Fighting for air, she was only dimly aware of the lightning and thunder, the cold and wet. The man’s face was a blur as he crouched over her. A tree limb crashed to the ground at her side. Fire licked at the leaves, even as the rain made the flames smoke and die.

“Are you all right?” he asked in a voice as deep as night, as powerful as the storm.

She gasped for air but couldn’t draw it into her lungs. Fighting panic, she knew she wasn’t hurt seriously. All she had to do was relax—

“You’ve had the wind knocked out of you. You’re going to be fine.” The rumble of his voice was comforting as he lifted her from the ground and leaned her against his chest.

What a strong chest it was, too. Sitting up, Julie felt a little better. Cold air rushed in as her lungs began to relax.

Thankful, she breathed in and out. She felt nauseated, but she wasn’t going to be sick. Icy rain stung her face, the wind buffeted her and thunder hurt her ears.

“We’d better get you inside your truck.” He took her hand, helping her to her feet. “You’ll be warm there. I don’t want you to drive, just sit and get your bearings, okay?”

Her toe caught the edge of pavement and she stumbled. His iron-strong hand curled around her elbow, catching her before she could fall. “I can make it.”

“Good. I’d help you, but I think someone is in trouble. That’s why I got out of my car.” He let go of her hand. “You’ll be all right?”

“Who’s in trouble? What did you see?”

“All I know is that there’s a horse with an empty saddle in that field. I was going to take a look when you pulled up.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Lightning flashed the same moment thunder pealed. “It’s dangerous. I want you safe in your truck so I can go help who’s in trouble.”

“Safe? Well, you’d be safer if you stayed in your car, too.”

“I’m a risk taker,” he told her. “A dangerous sort of guy. I don’t need safety.”

Thunder rattled the ground beneath her feet and seemed to shake her very bones, but it didn’t distract her from the man’s dazzling grin.

Dangerous? Oh, yes. He was handsome and confident and a complete stranger. There would be time later to ask who he was and where he was from. Right now someone might be in trouble. She scanned the field. “Where did you see the horse?”

“There.” He gestured toward the far rise as lightning singed the air around them.

Julie could barely make out the bay pony in the downpour. “I know that horse. That horse wouldn’t run off and leave his rider.”

She took off at a run as the rain turned to hard balls of hail. Ice struck her like boxer’s gloves as she raced across the field and over a knoll to the creek below rapidly swelling with runoff. The bay wheeled with fear as lightning and thunder resounded across the sky.

“Hailey!” Julie called, snaring hold of the gelding’s reins. She couldn’t make out anything in the gray and white storm.

“There.” He spotted the child first, a small dark shadow on the other side of the creek. “That water’s rising fast.”

“We can cross it.” Julie saw the gelding was in good shape and uninjured, but too panicked to ride through the fast-moving current. She tied him quickly to a willow branch, so he wouldn’t injure himself further. He’d be safe, for now.

“Be careful,” she shouted. “The water’s rising and it’s more dangerous than it looks.”

The stranger was already at the steep bank. “Stay here where it’s safe. I’m going in.”

“No, wait!” Julie called, running full out, but the effects of her earlier fall held her back. She wasn’t up to one hundred percent. “The current’s fast—”

As if he didn’t hear her or understand the danger, he plunged off the bank and disappeared beneath the muddy water coursing dark and deep.

Chapter Three

Knowing the flooded creek was powerful enough to knock a man down and keep him there, Julie grabbed the rope from the saddle and ran. She could feel her lungs straining—they were still tight—and air gasped in and out of her throat, but she pushed harder.

She wasn’t about to let him drown.

The water pulled at her shoes as she secured the rope to a fence post. Her fingers felt clumsy as she tested the knot, but it held. The creek licked at the rope, sucking it out of her hands. She wrestled it back, held tight and leaped into the rising creek.

The shock of the water turned her skin to ice. Lightning flared so close she could feel the crackle in the air. Thunder crashed, rattling her very bones. Above the hammering hail, she heard the thin wail of a frightened child.

“It’s okay, Hailey,” she called to the little girl, but the wind snatched her words and tore them apart.

“Where is he?” The current pushed like a bulldozer at her ankles, then her knees. He’d fallen in right here. Where was he? What if she couldn’t find him? What if the current had swept him downstream? Lord, please help me find him….

“Toss me the rope!” a deep voice boomed above the roaring storm. “I can get across, I know it.”

Julie stumbled. Thank God! There he was, climbing out of the water onto a snagged stump in the middle of the creek. The powerful current buckled around him. He looked muddy, soaking wet and blood oozed from a cut on his forehead, but from where she stood, he looked invincible.

Since she wasn’t a blue-ribbon roper for nothing, she tossed the line, watching it uncoil as it sailed through the air and into the man’s outstretched hand.

“Good throw!” he shouted. “Stay there where it’s safe.”

One thing about this stranger was really starting to annoy her. He was bossy, and she wasn’t staying anywhere. “If Hailey’s hurt, you’ll need my help.”

He glanced over his shoulder at her. Through the driving wind and thick hail, she could see surprise flash in his dark eyes.

Handsome guy. She didn’t get the chance to think on that any further because the current knocked her feet out from under her. The rope held her as she kicked her way across the swollen creek. She surfaced just in time to see the big man kneel on the ground beside the fallen child.

“Are you all right, little girl?” His voice was kind, and it was amazing to watch how calm he was, how steady. “I’m Noah. What’s your name?”

“H-Hailey,” the child sobbed.

Julie secured the rope and dropped to the girl’s other side. “Hi, there, cutie. What are you doing out here in the storm?”

“Miss Renton!” Hailey flew off the ground, burrowing into Julie’s middle. “I wasn’t supposed to be riding Bandit, but I didn’t know it was gonna storm. Honest. He fell real hard. Is he hurt?”

“He looks perfectly fine to me.” Julie soothed the little girl who’d been in her kindergarten class two years ago.

“Are you hurt anywhere, Hailey?” The man— Noah—leaned close, dripping mud and creek water on Julie’s sleeve. “Tell me what hurts.”

She cried. “My arm.”

“Sounds like it’s pretty bad.” He leaned close, and even though he’d been at the bottom of a creek, he smelled wonderful—like an expensive aftershave, spice and molasses rich. “Let me take a look.”

“Are you a doctor?” Hailey sniffled.

“No, but I broke my wrist once, so I consider myself an authority.” Noah gently cradled Hailey’s thin forearm and pushed her sleeve up over her elbow.

“Ow,” she cried again.

“That could be a break. Look at the swelling.” Noah’s eyes met Julie’s and there was concern in them. “It would be best if we can stabilize it.”

“Just what I was going to say. We can use small branches from one of the cottonwoods.” Julie cradled the girl in her lap, protecting her from the wind and hail. “Do you hurt anywhere else, Hailey?”

“Nope.” She snuggled closer, whining a little in pain.

“Good. We’ll get you home soon, I promise.”

“Here.” Noah reappeared with two fairly straight branches, stout-looking enough to stabilize Hailey’s arm.

They worked together, as the wind strengthened and the temperature dipped. The hail turned to ice. Freezing wherever it fell, it turned the landscape to a white wintry world.

“Here, give her to me.” Noah took the child in his arms as easily as if she were a doll, and tucked her beneath his jacket. Snug against his chest, at least Hailey would be as warm as possible.

The creek had risen to a dangerous level. There was no way to go around, so they went straight through. Noah held on to the rope, and Julie helped him keep Hailey out of the water. Julie fell once and Noah slipped, but the taut line kept them both upright. Exhausted, they made it to the opposite bank.

“Is there a hospital nearby?” Noah shouted to be heard over the fierce storm. “She’s cold. Too cold.”

“Her grandmother lives just up the road. We’ll take her there.” Julie slipped and slid through the icy field until the pavement was safely under their feet.

She took one look at the sedan off to the side of the road, taillights flashing eerily through the thick white curtain of snow. “Let’s get her into my truck. I’ve got four-wheel drive.”

“Something tells me we might need it.” Noah cradled the child out of the wind.

Julie yanked open the door, threw the seat back to grab a couple blankets stashed there.

“You get the truck started.” He stole the blankets from her. “We’ve got to get her warm.”

That was what she was about to do, but she didn’t waste time arguing. She ducked her head into the wind, scrambled across the snow and ice to the driver’s side, and turned the key in the ignition. The engine leaped to life and tepid air puffed out of the vents. Julie turned the heater on high. At least the engine hadn’t cooled off completely—she was thankful for that.

Hailey’s tears echoed in the cab. Wrapped in two blankets, shivering in Noah’s strong arms, she looked small and vulnerable. But safe.

Julie smoothed the girl’s tangled curls. “You’re going to be warm soon, I promise.”

“Want my d-daddy.”

“We’ll get you to him, I promise.” Julie tugged the cell phone from her purse and tried dialing. “With the luck I’ve been having, I should have known this wouldn’t work. It’s the storm. I’ve got to scrape the windshield—”

She got out of the truck and slammed the door shut, not needing his instruction. Cold had settled like pain in her midsection and, being wet to the skin, she actually couldn’t get much colder. As she dug the scraper into the stubborn frozen mess on her windshield, she fought the driving ice with each swipe. Her hands were numb and she kept working until she’d pried the windshield wipers free.

The truck was mildly warm, but she couldn’t feel the heat or her feet as she pushed in the clutch. “Hailey, how are you doing?”

“Still want my d-daddy.”

“We’ll find him for you, don’t you worry.” With a prayer on her lips, Julie backed onto the road. She couldn’t see much, but there were no headlights coming her way.

Everything she’d fretted over and worried about today was insignificant now as she clenched her teeth to keep them from rattling. She wrapped her numb fingers around the steering wheel and peered through the veil of white hiding the road from her sight.

All that mattered was getting Hailey home.

Over the rasp of the wipers on the windshield and the whir of the heater, Noah’s low, melted-chocolate voice seemed to drive away the fury of the storm. He was talking to Hailey, assuring her that her horse would be all right, and asking her questions about the animal. What was his name? How old was he? Was he a good horse?

Hailey answered quietly in a trembling voice. As the minutes passed and warmth filled the cab, the girl stopped shaking and climbed onto the seat between them. She told how she’d been racing Bandit for home to beat the lightning, but he got real scared.

Out of the corner of her eye, Julie couldn’t help watching the big man who seemed to fill up half the cab. He had to be well over six foot, by the way his knees were bent to keep from hitting the glove box. It had been something how he’d taken care of Hailey.

“I had a pony once, too,” Noah told the girl. “I rode him to play polo.”

“Polo?” Julie had to question him on that. “No respectable Montanan plays polo. Rides broncos, maybe, ropes calf, definitely. But polo?”

“I was only a kid at the time, so don’t hold it against me. Now I like baseball. Do Montanans like baseball?”

“What kind of question is that?” She nodded toward the minor league cap on the dash. “Okay, so I won’t toss you out on your ear, but only if you never mention polo again.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Miss Renton.” He winked at her.

With his hair wet and slicked away from his face, and his jacket clinging to every contour of his remarkable chest, he looked like a dream come true.