Good Together (16 page)

As soon as he’d spotted her, he headed for the empty stool next to her.

“Hey, Mattie. Were the girls home for Thanksgiving?” Ryan was a tall, reed-thin man, with very curly, sandy-colored hair. His trendy, dark-framed glasses gave him an intellectual appearance, but Mattie knew he loved fishing every bit as much as his beloved books.

“They were. I just drove them back to the airport this morning and I miss them all ready.”

He shook his head. “Hard to believe you have kids in college.”

Mattie was used to comments like this. She and Wes had started their family young—not necessarily on purpose, but she had no regrets.  “How are your kids doing?” The older boys were Murray and Shane. She couldn’t recall his daughter’s name.

“Ah, you know. Teenagers.” He gave a rueful shrug. “The boys were bad enough, but Katie just turned fourteen and wow. All of a sudden I can’t do anything right. I used to be her hero.” He paused, then added, “They’re with their mother for the holiday.”

Mattie remembering hearing that he had a complicated joint custody arrangement with his ex, Amanda, who lived about forty-five minutes away in Big Fork. She wondered if Ryan’s current predicament would one day become hers. Was she going to have to share her daughters with Wes in future? Right now, it seemed impossible to predict.

Ryan held out a hand to signal Blake. “Rye and ginger, here.” Then he glanced at Mattie. “Can I buy you a drink?”

Mattie hesitated. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had anything with alcohol. Maybe champagne last New Year’s Eve? But—she’d had a really bad day, topping off a dreadful month. And she could always call a cab to drive her home.

“Sure. I’ll have the same.”

So now, coming out of the washroom, Mattie slipped up onto the barstool and took her first sip of the drink. It tasted pretty good. “When’s the next meeting of the Flathead Lakers?”

That got Ryan started. And after fifteen minutes’ discussion of the latest conservation initiatives, he ordered them both a second drink.

And suddenly the conversation stopped being so serious. Mattie found it easy to laugh at Ryan’s jokes. And to make a few of her own.

Then a local band, a guy on a fiddle, a female with a banjo, and another guy on bass, took their places on a small stage, and started playing bluegrass. Soon couples were getting up on the dance floor, and when Ryan held out his hand, Mattie smiled and thought,
why not?

It was good fun, at first.

But after three heel-kicking numbers the bass line slowed and the fiddle turned soft and sweet. All of a sudden Ryan was holding her a little too closely. Mattie realized she must have been sending out the wrong signals. She pushed back on his chest. “How about we sit this one out?”

Ryan didn’t look pleased.

* * *

I
t was just past dinner, when the phone rang. Eadie had left for the day and Nat took the call in his office, door open to the foyer. He sank into the leather chair that had once been molded to his father’s frame and now to his. Not that there was much difference between his father and him. They’d both topped six feet, had strong frames, broad shoulders, and a metabolism and work ethic that kept the accumulation of pounds to a bare minimum.

Nat put his feet up on the walnut desk and stared at the oil painting over the fireplace. His mother had commissioned a local artist to paint the scene that he saw every morning when he went out to start his day—Mission Mountains at Sunrise.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Nat. Wes Bishop here.”

Nat felt a knot form in his gut, but he kept his tone relaxed. “What’s up?”

“I’m checking back to see if you’re interested in Bishop Stables. You asked for a week, I’ve given you a month.”

He’d weighed the pros and cons and had come up with this: the purchase didn’t make sense, given his goals to downsize. But if he didn’t buy the land, Mattie would almost certainly lose her home.

“I’m interested.” He named a price that was borderline acceptable.

Wes swore. “You’re low-balling me.” He named a higher figure.

Nat held firm. “You won’t get a better offer.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Wes hesitated, then added, “I have another interested party. I’ll check in with him and get back to you.”

“Fair enough.” As he disconnected the call, Nat worried that he may have been foolish to gamble. His instincts told him Wes was bluffing. But what if he wasn’t? What if he really did have a second prospective buyer interested in Bishop Stables?

Nat decided he had to talk to Mattie about this. Did she even know how close Wes was to closing a deal on the property? He dialed her home number, and when there was no answer, he felt a pinprick of worry.

He knew she’d driven the girls to the airport that morning. Even if she’d done some shopping in Missoula, she would have been home hours ago. It was late for chores, but maybe she was still out in the barn?

Her cell phone rang through to messages.

He thought for a minute, and then called Jake.

“She isn’t home? That’s odd,” Jake said, when Nat asked if he knew where Mattie was. “She mentioned something about going for dinner at the Smoke House. But I had some business to attend to. I wouldn’t think she’d go alone.” He thought a moment, then added. “I hope she hasn’t had a fall or some kind of accident at the ranch.”

“I’ll swing by her place and check,” Nat offered.

“Thanks. Keep me posted.”

“Will do.”

As he talked, Nat was already walking to the mudroom, where he found his coat, boots, and car keys. He fed Buffy, and turned on the radio to keep her company, then went out to his truck.

Only the light above the door was on at Mattie’s house. And her SUV was missing. He slipped his vehicle into park with the headlights aimed into her driveway. He could see what looked like fresh tire tracks in the snow.

Maybe she’d gone to the Smoke House, after all.

If so, she was probably fine. But he needed to talk to her about Wes’s phone call. So he decided to keep driving into town.

Twenty minutes later he was at the Smoke House, pushing open the door of the Montana styled log building and finding himself being greeted by a cute young woman in dark jeans and a button-up black shirt with a discreet Smoke House logo.

“Here for dinner? Or the bar?” she asked, looking behind him, to see if there was anyone with him.

Nat’s gaze scanned over the diners on the left hand side of the building. No one sitting alone there. Then he checked out the bar. And the dance floor.

And there she was, dancing with Ryan Garry, looking about as pretty as a woman could be. But not very happy. She was pushing Ryan away, and Ryan, in turn, was scowling back at her.

Nat didn’t think about what he was going to do, he just did it. Brushing past the hostess, he strode to the dance floor where he put a hand on Mattie’s shoulder, insinuating himself between her and Ryan. “Hey Mattie. My turn now?”

No denying the relief on her face as she smiled at him and said, “Why not?”

Ryan backed off, with a modicum of grace and Nat placed his other hand at Mattie’s waist. The song was slow and romantic, and the temptation was to pull her petite, curvy body up close to his. She was always a lovely woman, but he had to admit, even more so with her hair styled and a little color on her lush, kissable mouth.

Carefully he held her at arm’s length, none of his actions betraying his inner yearnings.

“You and Ryan on a date or something?”

“Hardly. I needed to get out of the house. And ran into him here.”

Her words came out a little slurred. He noticed then that she was leaning on him, to keep her balance. In all the years he’d known her, he’d rarely seen her take a drink. And never more than one. “Have you been drinking?”

“Just two.”

“You do know they serve doubles on Monday evenings?”

Her eyes widened. “So I’ve really had four?” She looked shocked. Then giggled. “No wonder I feel so... strange. I forgot to have dinner, also. That was silly, huh?”

“For you, I’d say this classifies as a full-on bender.” And if anyone deserved to let loose a little, it was her. When the song ended, he walked her back to the bar. Ryan Gerry had left, and Mattie looked a little concerned about that.

“I hope he isn’t upset. I’m afraid he might think I was leading him on.” She frowned. “But as far as he’s concerned, I’m a married woman, right?”

“Legally, that’s true.” Nat signaled to the bartender, one of the Coffey kids, he couldn’t remember his name. “Could we get a plate of nachos here? And some water?” He was fine with Mattie letting off some steam. But he was pretty sure she didn’t want to get totally plastered.

“You think people around town know Wes and I are... separated?”  She leaned forward on her stool to whisper that last word into his ear, and almost slid to the floor.

He put an arm over her shoulders to steady her. “Yeah. Judging by how fast Gerry moved in on you, I’d say they know.”

“Oh.” She sounded deflated. But she perked up when the plate of food was set in front of her. She ate a few nachos, took a sip of water “He sold our horses today. Fourteen of them, gone, like that.” She tried to snap her fingers, not quite pulling it off.

He’d noticed the big trailer driving down the road around three o’clock. No wonder Mattie was drinking. She loved her horses, and loosing fourteen in one day. “I’m sorry.”

She popped another chip in her mouth, then wiped her mouth delicately with one of the small paper napkins stacked on the bar. “He didn’t even warn me first. This truck just shows up out of the blue...”

Tears welled in her eyes, and she dabbed them with the same napkin.

“That reminds me. The driver was supposed to send me a message...” She fumbled for her purse, and he leaned over to snag it off the back rest, then held it steady while she fished inside.

Finally she found her phone, and turned it on to check her messages. “Some stupid reality TV star bought the horses for his ranch. I wanted to know whether the people working for him know what they’re doing.”

“Looks like I have a message...” She fumbled with the touch screen, then handed it to him. “Could you read it, please?”

“Sure.” He studied the screen. “The one from Guy Medley?”

“Yes. He was the truck driver.”

“Okay, he says,
Checks out OK. Don’t worry.
”

“Well, thank the lord for that, at least.” Mattie carefully extracted a chip loaded with melted cheese and guacamole. “These are tasty. Thanks, Nat. I’m starting to feel more like myself.” She smiled, rather sadly. “Though it was nice to sort of forget all my problems there for a while.”

“Does that mean you’ve had enough of Polson’s exciting night scene for now?”

She smiled faintly. “Yeah. I suddenly feel absolutely beat. Do you think you could give me a lift home?”

“That was my plan,” Nat pulled out some bills to settle the tab, then helped Mattie off her stool. “If you pass me your keys, I’ll have a couple of my hands drive into town in the morning to fetch your vehicle.”

“Thanks, Nat. What did I ever do to deserve a good neighbor like you?” She was leaning on him as he walked her toward the door and he didn’t mind a bit.

“Yeah, I’m quite the guy.”

She giggled, which sounded cute, though he preferred her normal throaty laugh.

Outside the cold night air sobered her a bit more, and she sucked in a breath. “Darn it’s frigid.”

“Yeah, that storm’s coming in.”

Already it was snowing lightly. The delicate flakes looked pretty now, but soon they’d be dealing with a full-on blizzard. Mattie’s high heels were useless on the slick surface of the parking lot and he wrapped his arm around her waist to hold her up as they made their way to his truck. He buckled her in, then got behind the wheel and headed for home. They hadn’t been on the road for five minutes before she slumped against the door, head tipped against the window, and fell asleep.  When her yard light came into view, he slowed.

He didn’t feel right about leaving her at home, alone, in this condition.

“Mattie, how about we pick up Tuff and the two of you sleep over in my guest room tonight?”

He had to repeat his offer a few times before he got an answer from her.

“Tuff...” a few mumbles he couldn’t decipher, then, “... barn.”

“Okay. Hang on a sec while I get her.” He left the truck running and jogged through the fresh layer of snow to the main barn. The radio was playing, set to the local country music station. He walked up and down the central aisle, noting all the empty stalls. The place was deserted. Finally he located Tuff, sleeping soundly in a cordoned-off area in the feed room, a plump tabby cat curled up next to her.

Damn, they were cute. He lifted the little border collie gently and Tuff immediately perked up. He let the pup outside to pee and chased her through the snow a few minutes, playing the little thing out before picking her up again and carrying her to the truck.

Mattie was back asleep. Or maybe she’d never even woken up.

At his place, Nat helped Mattie to the guest room, while Tuff and her sister celebrated their reunion with a little tussle.

“Nat?” Mattie was sitting on the bed, her posture slumped, her eyes closed.

He’d already pulled off her heels and removed her jacket. He had no plans to touch that dress. She’d have to sleep in it and deal with the damage tomorrow.

“Yes, darlin’?” He pulled down the covers for her, quite certain that she’d remember none of this in the morning.

“Stay with me?” she mumbled, as she fell back to the pillow.

Had he heard that correctly? Nat couldn’t be sure. But did he want to curl into that bed beside her? Hell, yes.

Instead, he pulled the quilt up to her chin, hesitated, then kissed her forehead. “Sleep well, Mat.”

He sure wouldn’t.

M
attie hadn’t had much experience with hangovers. A fact she was profoundly grateful for the next morning when she woke up staring at the wood plank ceiling in Nat’s guest bedroom. She felt like she had the flu, but at least she remembered where she was, and how she got here.