Montana Cherries (33 page)

“That’s his story.”

She looked from her dad to his fiancée, and a comfortable smile of her own began. Her brothers—and her father—intended to cook Thanksgiving dinner for them. That was an event she never would have imagined.

But it was also something she found herself very much looking forward to experiencing.

“In fact,” Gloria began, “I’m glad you made it in early. Sadie and I were thinking we’d do it up right. Girls’ night Wednesday night in Missoula, not coming back until Thursday. We’ll stay out of the boys’ way. I hope you’ll join us?”

“Girls’ night?” Dani echoed.

“Your dad’s paying.”

A chuckle slipped past her lips, and she gave her father one last hug. “Then I’m in.”

chapter twenty-eight

T
he knock came at Dani’s Main Street apartment door just after seven Tuesday evening, and her first thought was that whoever it was had to be looking for someone else. No one knew where she lived. But then, Birch Bay wasn’t that big. Probably anyone who wanted to find her could.

But who would want to find her?

Her next thought was,
Ben
.

Her pulse sped up as she set her unfinished dinner on the side table and shoved her laptop off her thighs. She hurried to the door, checking herself in a wall mirror as she went—on the off chance that she was right—and pulled herself up short when she reached the door. What if it
was
Ben?

She hadn’t talked to him since she’d sought him out Friday, and she knew that he
had
gone out Saturday night. This knowledge came from her dad and Gloria being on babysitter duty. Though thankfully, it hadn’t been overnight.

Still, it probably wasn’t Ben on the other side of her door.

But just in case . . .

She calmed her nerves, said a silent prayer for him to be standing there, and pulled open the door.

“Aunt Dani!”

Jenna lunged into Dani’s arms, and Dani had to admit, that surprise might just be better than if it had been Ben. “Oh, sweetheart.” She hugged her niece tight. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Over Jenna’s head, Dani took in her brother. Tall, dark, and handsome.

And exhausted.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him, as she pulled back and drank in the sight of her niece. Three and a half months, and she’d swear the girl had grown half a foot.

“Jenna didn’t want to go to the house until she saw you.”

Dani smiled broadly. “Well, I’m glad she did. I’m way more fun than Pops and Gloria, anyway.” Jenna giggled as Dani tickled her ribs.

Dani had filled her oldest brother in on her whereabouts when they’d talked a couple of days, she just hadn’t expected him to pay her a visit. Nor had she anticipated them arriving in town this soon.

She moved aside and let him into the small one-bedroom she’d lucked out in finding the first day she’d looked, and peeked behind him as he passed. No Michelle. She’d thought they were
all
flying in for Thanksgiving.

“Michelle . . .” She let the question fade away.

“Mom didn’t come with us,” Jenna informed her. Dani’s eyes went back to her brother’s.

He lifted a shoulder. “Had a couple friends she wanted to hang with this weekend.”

So, Michelle hadn’t changed. It remained all about her.

“Well, that only means you get to eat more turkey,” Dani teased Jenna. The girl giggled again, causing Dani to do the same. Jenna had yet to let go of her aunt, her thin arms twined around Dani’s neck, and it was one of the greatest feelings in the world. Now that Dani was back for good, she only wished she had her brother and niece permanently there with her, as well.

They settled on the small couch and recliner that had come with the apartment, and when she caught Jenna eyeing her half-eaten burrito, she passed over the plate. “Have at it, kiddo.”

Jenna dug in. “We didn’t get dinner yet.”

Gabe explained that they’d come straight from the airport after more than one delay due to weather. Thunderstorms in California, and early-season snow moving through Idaho.

“You want something to eat?” she asked Gabe. “I could fix something real quick.”

He looked at her tiny connected kitchen before shaking his head. “No, I’m fine.” When he turned back, he asked, “So, you’re really back for good?”

“I am. And along with this spectacular little living arrangement, the office below me is mine, too. The whole setup is for sale if I decide down the road that I want to buy.”

He eyed her peculiarly. “You might buy the building?”

“Who knows? I’ve already reclaimed my previous local client list, and I’ve been up and running for only two days. I can’t take on work from major companies until the noncompete clause I signed with BA expires, but I have enough work for now. And in the future? Why make it just my thing? I could expand. Hire an assistant and another marketing exec. Create a real business.”

It was something she’d thought about since deciding to come home. She not only had local potential, but long distance as well. She’d made a name for herself in the field, and she intended to expand on it.

She’d bring in a receptionist to start. That way clients would no longer get a recorded message instead of a live person when she was in meetings. She wanted to be official. And professional. She wanted to do it right.

She’d loved running her own business before; but now she intended to make
it
the dream.

“And this is what you want?” Gabe asked, still sounding stunned. She’d told no one her plans until she’d gotten back. “What happened to New York?”

Ah. It wasn’t just Jenna who’d wanted to stop over and see her. Her brother had had to see for himself that she was okay.

She grinned at him. “I’m good, Gabe. Trust me. Never better.”

He nodded slowly. “I see that.”

“You see a difference in me? After only ten minutes?”

He nudged his chin toward the kitchen. “I don’t think you’ve cleaned up in there all week.”

She laughed at his observation. Mostly because it was true. There were dirty dishes stacked in her sink, as well as on the counter beside it. She’d developed an aversion to cleaning. “I’ve worked really hard on me,” she told him. “I’m ready to live in the future instead of the past.” She winked at him then. “And my future might just include a cleaning service.”

“Dani.” Gabe simply spoke her name as he once again took her in. When he seemed to believe what he saw, he added, “You’re really good.”

She nodded. “I really am.” She’d never been more pleased with herself or her life.

Wonder filled his features as he scanned over the remainder of the tiny space she’d rented for the next six months. Sure, she’d prefer something larger, but at the moment she didn’t need larger. Her focus was her business.

And Ben.

But her options looked slim when it came to the man she wanted in her life, so the job currently got all her attention.

“You talked to him yet?” Gabe asked.

Her smile faltered. “Now, why’d you go and ruin a perfectly good reunion?”

He just looked at her.

“I talked to him Friday,” she told him. Gabe was aware they hadn’t ended on the best of terms, though she’d given him little to no details. She had no idea what Ben might have said. “He’s seeing someone,” she added.

“Who’s seeing someone?” Jenna jumped into the conversation. The burrito was gone, with only traces of sauce left on her face.

Her dad reached over and tapped her nose. “Go check out Aunt Dani’s bedroom, sport. See if she even has a bed. I’ll bet she doesn’t.”

Jenna laughed, and hopped down from the couch to determine the state of Dani’s bedroom.

When she disappeared from the room, Gabe turned back to Dani. “Did you tell him you’re back for good?”

She shook her head. She hadn’t seen the point.

“He should know.”

“Why?” she asked. “He made his lack of interest clear when I spoke to him.”

“He was hurt before.”

“Of course he was hurt. I left him.” She swallowed. “And he wanted more. I messed things up, and now he’s moved on.”

“But you had to mess things up. You
needed
to go.”

That didn’t seem to matter in the grand scheme of her relationship with Ben.

They could hear Jenna laughing from the bedroom as she bounced on Dani’s bed.

“Tell him,” Gabe said. “It might matter.”

She stared at her brother. She wanted to believe him. Because she hadn’t been joking with Ben. She wanted a second chance. She wanted
him
in her life.

But she struggled to see that happening at this point.

“So, what are you saying?” She spoke in a teasing voice, hoping to lighten the mood and get the attention away from all she’d lost. “That you now
want
me to be with your friend? Because the last time I checked, you didn’t want him anywhere near me.”

Gabe rose from the chair. “I want you to be with someone you love.”

“And you think I love Ben?”

Jenna came skidding into the room. “She does have a bed, Daddy. And a television too. I turned it on, but couldn’t find the good shows.”

Gabe turned a fond eye to his daughter before returning his gaze to Dani. “I think you do.”

Damned perceptive brother.

“I think you did when you left, and that hasn’t changed.”

“I had too many issues when I left,” she argued.

He eyed her. “But the feelings were there.”

Dani’s jaw clenched as she stared at him. She wanted to say more, yet at the same time wanted to say nothing at all. Yes, maybe she had loved Ben when she left. But she’d still had to go. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t be where she was today. She wouldn’t be ready for more.

But how did she go about winning back the man she loved, when the last time they’d had a real conversation she’d walked all over his heart?

“Anyone tell you he’ll be at the house Thursday?” Gabe asked.

It took a second for his words to have meaning, and when they did, Dani rose to stand beside him. “What?”

Gabe nodded and picked up Jenna.

Ben would be at the house? Thursday? For Thanksgiving?

Would his girlfriend be there, too?

Panic threatened to take hold, and when she caught her hands shaking, she shoved them in her jeans. “Why?”

“Gloria and Dad invited him. He’s always been like family,” he reminded her.

Right. It wouldn’t be the first holiday Ben had spent at their house.

“They invited who, Daddy?” Jenna turned her daddy’s face to hers, and Gabe placed a kiss on her forehead.

“Your best friend,” he answered her.

Jenna gasped. “Haley? Where’s she gonna be?”

“With Pops. At the house.”

“Then let’s go. I haven’t seen her in forever.”

Gabe winked at Dani. “Lost out to a five-year-old, sis.” He turned back to Jenna. “You won’t see her until tomorrow. You and Haley get to go shopping with Aunt Dani and Gloria, and then you get to spend the night in a hotel with a pool.”

“While you cook, I understand,” Dani interjected.

She’d tried hard to keep the hurt out of her voice, but she’d picked up on a key fact from her brother’s words. The women would be taking the girls with them . . .

Which meant that Ben would be free for another overnight date.

“That’s what I hear.” Gabe stepped closer then, and in an unprecedented move, wrapped Dani in a huge hug. He muttered into her hair, “It’s good to see you again, sis. It’s good to have you back where you belong.”

Though her heart was breaking over Ben, it was full of love for her brother.

She wasn’t sure Gabe was aware of it yet, but he was different, too. He and Jenna were closer, and he seemed to care less about the state of his marriage. That was both sad and a little joyous. Dani had grown tired of watching Michelle walk all over him.

He moved to the door with Jenna, but looked back before heading out. “Tell him,” he repeated.

The thought sent her heart on a race, but she just might. Because whether he was spending his nights with another woman or not, Ben was worth fighting for.

Dani led the caravan of cars back to the house the late Thursday afternoon, with Aunt Sadie in the vehicle with her, seated in the passenger seat of Dani’s sedan. Dani had her own car back now—her dad had gone with her to return the rental to the airport earlier in the week—and she glanced in her rearview mirror to see the empty spot where a child’s safety seat had been strapped in for more than four years. Today, that seat was in another vehicle.

Both Jenna and Haley were riding with Haley’s grandmother, who’d been waiting for them outside the mall last night.

Angelica Denton was even more beautiful in person than in the movies.

She’d flown in with a bodyguard, and had rented a Cadillac Escalade for which her bodyguard also served as driver. Haley and Jenna had been taken with the idea of riding around with a “driver” whom they didn’t even know, and according to Gloria, this had been fine with both Ben and Gabe. She’d called to check once they’d found out that the elder Denton would be accompanying them.