Montana Cherries (12 page)

Oh, geez, she was leaving in only seventeen days. Nerves hit her again.

Gabe kissed her on the forehead and set her back from him. “I love you, dumbass. Knock ’em dead in New York, will you?”

She nodded. “I will. And I love you, too.”

“Now, can you please try to enjoy harvest this year? It’s the heart of us. Who we are. Slow down for once and take pleasure in it.”

“I always take pleasure in it.” And she didn’t disagree. It was the heart of them. Some of the best times in her life had been during the middle of summer on their family farm. But slowing down wasn’t an option.

“
Enjoy it,”
Gabe stressed. “Because you’re about to be a big-time New Yorker.” He shot her a wink. “And who knows if
you’ll
make it back next year.”

“I’ll be here,” she told him defiantly. She couldn’t imagine not being home for harvest.

“Maybe. But this year, treat it as if you won’t.”

He opened the door and walked out, and Dani stared after him. Fear gnawed at her. So much was changing. Gabe was moving to the West Coast? What would happen to the orchard? She’d held it together in front of him, but real fear rooted her feet to the floor. Her family—her world—was collapsing around her.

She needed Ben.

His strong face came to mind, and she wanted to go to him. Only, he wasn’t there.

And for the first time in her life, she didn’t think that ice cream or staring at the big Montana sky was going to soothe her heart.

She could text him.

Before she changed her mind, she grabbed her phone and tapped out a message:
How are things tonight?

He answered almost immediately.
Good. We went shopping again. She bought you something.

I’ll love it.

You don’t even know what it is.

I’ll love it anyway.

Of course you will. You’re good like that.

She didn’t immediately reply, because she didn’t know what else to say. She wanted to tell him about Gabe leaving, but that didn’t seem like a text kind of conversation. But she also wasn’t ready to let the connection drop.

Her phone chimed once again.
I wish you were here.

She smiled.
To take care of Haley?

LOL. No. Because you’d like it. And because you could use a break. Come down. Take a vacation before you start your new job. We can hang out down here for a few days.

Go to New Mexico with Ben? And Haley? She shook her head.

I can’t just leave. I have work to do, and we start picking Wednesday morning. Plus, we’re having a family meeting tomorrow night.

Everything okay?

A few things going on. I’ll tell you about it when you get back.

Anything I can help with now?

The band constricting her heart loosened.
You just did.
She included a smiley face emoji.
Thanks for the chat. Tell Haley I said hi.

Will do.

Her phone chimed once more as she set it down on the desk.

I’ll be done here in a couple of hours. Call if you need to talk?

Unexpected dampness appeared in her eyes.
I’m good. Thanks.

She put her phone down and dropped her face into her hands. She was so
not
good. How had it come to be that she got a little bad news and she couldn’t function without talking to Ben?

That wasn’t good at all. That was scary.

chapter eleven

B
en stood face-to-face with the formidable set of double doors to his mother’s seventy-five-hundred-square-foot Hollywood Hills mansion, and let himself go back twenty-four years to the very first time he’d been in this spot.

He’d been seven, and the last thing he’d wanted to do was move to California.

Especially when a stranger had picked him up at the airport to bring him here.

Today he was a grown man—a father—and had spent years in a rewarding and lucrative career. He’d reached impressive heights, won awards, gained international acclaim, and had people worldwide willing to pay big money for the opportunity to be photographed by him. He was somebody.

Yet standing there, he once again felt like that same seven-year-old kid. Hesitant, scared, and not wanting to open the doors and go in. As well as desperately clinging to the hope that his mother might show a little love.

Only this time, his wish was for that love to be directed toward his daughter.

“Are we going in?” Haley asked quietly at his side. She stood, hand in his, probably just as nervous. They’d decided on a quick detour back from New Mexico so she could meet her grandmother; however, since landing at LAX, Haley had fallen silent. Nothing about that had changed during the thirty-minute trip in the rental.

“We are going in,” Ben confirmed. He glanced down at his daughter. “I just need a minute before we do.”

He took in the very special outfit she’d picked out all by herself, and could already imagine his mother’s response. Haley wore her new pink cowboy boots, carried a child-size green purse with a stuffed animal hidden inside, and had on a pink T-shirt and an orange tutu over her green leggings. The leggings and T-shirt matched her purse and boots respectively. This had been highly important.

She also sported a new hair bow with hearts on it that was half the size of her head. He’d had to ask the saleslady how he was supposed to attach that thing to her hair, and this morning he’d patted himself on the back for getting the job done.

Of course, it was crooked now, and her hair once again looked as though he hadn’t bothered to comb it. But he was getting better. And Haley didn’t seem to mind his lack of skills.

She pursed her lips as if in thought before nodding in a very grown-up fashion.
“
 ’Cause you’re scared.”

“I’m not scared,” he immediately denied, but he saw that Haley seemed scared herself, and he had to admit that she had a point. “Maybe a little,” he confessed. His daughter was smart.

“Me too,” Haley said. “I think she might be mean.”

At this, Ben had to chuckle. “She’s not mean, sweetheart.”

Just, maybe not exactly loving.

“Okay.” Haley didn’t sound like she believed him. “But can we go home soon?”

That was pretty much his thought, too. He wanted to go home soon. To Montana. To Dani.

But after a surprisingly good two days spent with his daughter, he’d been thinking about the fact that he had yet to introduce her to his mother. In fact, he had yet to speak to his mother since he’d learned Haley existed. Which was sad on both their parts. She had to have wondered about a granddaughter herself, given the rumors that had been flying.

So he’d decided a quick flyby could take care of the problem, and hopefully get them in and out without drawing attention to themselves. He’d called his mother’s assistant, gotten an appointment on her schedule, and rebooked their flights.

And now here he stood. Too chicken to open the door.

“I’m tired of standing here, Daddy.”

Before he could decide whether to laugh, climb back into the SUV, or knock, the door swung open.

“Mr. Denton,” one of his mother’s female staff greeted him formally, stepping aside to let them in. “Ms. Denton is waiting for you in the sitting room.”

Haley’s face turned up to his, her eyes round.

“That’s not her,” he said in a low voice and gave her a secretive wink. “Your grandmother is even scarier.”

His teasing seemed to help, and the two of them moved together into the house. They arrived at the airy room with the twelve-foot ceilings that his mother often used for interviews, and as he’d feared, there was a reporter sitting anxiously on the settee.

“No,” Ben said, the word coming fast and harsh. He turned, Haley’s hand still in his, and immediately headed for the front door.

“Benjamin,” his mother called out behind him.

“I warned you, Mother.” He didn’t look back. This was not an opportunity for a media plug, and he wouldn’t let it be one. He’d made that clear to her assistant.

He reached the door, and surprisingly, his mother was only two steps behind. The reporter had not come out of the room.

“Ben,” his mom tried again, “please. I didn’t see the harm. He’s from
People
.”

She said the name of the magazine as though that was supposed to matter to him, and Haley inched closer, one small arm winding around his leg.

“And I don’t see the good,” Ben countered. “I made it clear, no press.”

“It’s not like it’s a tabloid,” she said, sounding exasperated.

He gave her a dry laugh. “And it’s not like anything but you matters.”

She was a piece of work. She stood before him, her shoulders pulled back and her hair and clothes prepped for a photo shoot, proving why she routinely still made the lists of Hollywood’s most beautiful people.

Putting one last dagger in Ben’s heart, she had yet to glance at her granddaughter.

Well, he’d tried. He could give himself credit for that.

“Good seeing you, Mother.” He turned for the door.

“I’ll send him home. Just come back in. I’d like to meet your daughter.”

Ben slowly turned. Haley was more than his daughter.

“She’s
your
granddaughter.” He said the words gently, but with a stern point, and in a rare moment, Angelica Denton focused her attention on someone other than herself.

She took in Haley, at first looking horrified at the child’s colorful choice of clothing, but then something interesting happened. Ben watched her eyes and the planes of her face soften. She must have realized that her granddaughter looked a surprising amount like her.

And unlike seeing that same resemblance in her son, she seemed taken aback by it.

“Mom,” he said. He was already here. He might as well stay. “Meet Haley.”

Haley did not release his leg.

“Now you have about ten seconds to escort your guest out of the house,” he added, “or we leave. And make sure he doesn’t pass by us on his way out.”

She nodded, looked at Haley again, and instructed another staff member to see the reporter out via the side entrance. All the while, Ben and Haley stood stiffly on the marble in the foyer. He looked down at his daughter and shot her a comforting smile. Once they had the all-clear, they moved through the halls.

It wasn’t exactly a pleasant visit, but it was a visit. Haley met her grandmother. His mother met her granddaughter. And Ben was reminded of why he rarely sought out the company of his only living relative. There was nothing warm and fuzzy to be gained from it. No indication he was welcomed or wanted.

Just an item on a checklist.

It was good to ground himself in reality once in a while. He’d been on the verge of hoping there might be something more to her than seeking the spotlight.

Fifteen minutes later they were back in the rental and heading down the drive.

He looked into the rearview mirror. Haley hadn’t said much while inside the house, and since coming out she’d said nothing at all.

“You okay back there?” he asked. He wasn’t sure what to say or do. Maybe visiting his mom had been a mistake.

“I didn’t like her,” Haley announced.

Join the club.

“She’s a little different,” Ben acknowledged.

“Do we have to see her again?”

“Not if you don’t want to.”

He crossed through the security gates on the property, tossed the guard a wave, and turned onto the street. As he made the turn, he took another look at Haley. She’d gone quiet again, and she was staring out the window. The expression on her face ripped at his heart. It reminded him of those first few weeks. He’d been unable to break through to her, and she’d seemed constantly miserable.

“How about some ice cream?” he asked. They’d passed a creamery on their way in, not far from the house.

She nodded, but didn’t take her eyes off the trees.

When he pulled into a parking spot a few minutes later, Haley finally turned her green gaze to him. “Can we go see my mommy now?”

Oh, shit.

“Well . . .” he stalled. He put the car into park and cut the engine. “How about you come up here and we talk about it?”

She nodded and he reached into the back to unbuckle her seat belt. After she crawled to the front, she surprised him by climbing into his lap. They’d made huge progress over the past couple of days, but this was a first.

She didn’t say anything else, just waited for an answer, her eyes locked on his.

He took a deep breath and said the only thing he knew to say. “She’s not coming back. And I’m sorry about that.”

Haley didn’t move at first, but he could see her thinking about his words. Finally, she asked, “Is she lost like Miss Dani’s mom?”

He was completely inept in handling situations like this.

Which made him think about Dani’s suggestion. He really needed to call that therapist.

He probably should have seen one himself as a kid.

“She’s not lost, sweetheart,” he began. “She’s just . . . not coming back.” Dani’s words, warning him that Haley might be worried her mother had left because of her, echoed through his head. That she might fear making the same mistake with him. “It’s not because of anything
you
did,” he stressed to her. “Nothing at all. You were
perfect
. Your mother just . . .” He paused. What was he supposed to say? Has other things to do? Better things to do? He decided on another approach. “It’s just you and me now.”

Silent tears appeared and began rolling over her cheeks, and her fingers twisted in the tulle of her skirt. Ben did the only thing that came to mind. He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her to his chest.

They sat there like that for several minutes, and Ben couldn’t help but worry he’d messed everything up. They’d probably have to start over at square one by the time he got them back to Montana. He just hoped Dani could help him fix it again. Thankfully, they’d return tonight.

After her soft sobs ended, Haley sniffled and sat up in his lap. She pushed her hair off her face and asked, “Can we get a dog, then?”

The shock of her words nearly had him laughing, but deep-seated fear kept him quiet. This wasn’t over, and he’d been blind not to think about these issues before. He’d been too focused on simply getting her to be okay with him. But her problems were rooted so much deeper than whether he could be a good parent or not. He had to ensure she got the help she needed.

But to start with, if a dog would help . . .

“How about we look into getting a dog as soon as we get a house of our own?”

“We’re getting a house?” she gasped. “Of our own?”

He’d meant renting a place, but yeah, why not buy a house? And why hadn’t he thought of that before? Stability was what Haley needed. He nodded, excited with the prospect. He’d never had a house. “We’re getting a house,” he declared.

“With Jenna?”

Oh.
Dang, the kid could burst a bubble faster than anything. “Not with Jenna, baby. She has her own place to live.” How did he tell her that her best friend would be leaving her too?

They needed to get that dog soon.

“Can we talk about finding you some more friends?” he asked. They hadn’t yet broached the subject about what had happened at the festival.

“I don’t want any. I just want Jenna.”

“Jenna will always be your friend,” he explained. “But she may not always be
with
you. Especially when we get a new house.”

Haley studied him carefully, and he could see her once again thinking. Her brow wrinkled the tiniest amount when she did.

“And you remember that Miss Dani is moving, right?” he reminded her. Might as well make sure she didn’t forget that. “You won’t get to see her, but she’ll still be your friend, too. She’ll call you on the phone. Or we can do FaceTime.”

He hadn’t asked Dani to call, but he knew she would. He liked that about her.

Tears appeared out of nowhere again, and this time Haley’s bottom lip trembled. “I don’t want them to go,” she whined.

“I know, sweetheart.” He stroked her hair. “I don’t either. But we’ll be okay. We have each other now.”

“Are you going to leave, too?”

He shook his head because he couldn’t get words out at first. “Never.” The single word came out hard, and he hugged her tiny body to his. “Never,” he repeated more softly.

Additional tears escaped from her now-spiky lashes. “My mommy
left.” Her voice wobbled against his chest.

“Yes, she did.”