He also couldn’t leave when he hadn’t found the lockbox. He’d been so sure it would’ve been stashed away at the cabin somewhere. Where had his dad left it?
“Just hold off on the flight, Rita.”
“Will do, sir. Just let me know and I’ll get everything lined up for you.”
“I appreciate that,” he said. There was another pause. Usually, Rita ended calls with punctuality. She was all business, and he liked that about her. “Am I missing anything?”
“I also expect a bonus for every cancellation you’ve had me make the past few weeks.”
He grinned at her facetious tone. Undoubtedly, it wasn’t boding well for his reputation, but he wasn’t sure what else he could do. They both knew he paid her well enough, though. She really was an amazing assistant. A good sport about things.
“I’ll be sure to bring you a lollipop.”
She chuckled. “Have a good day, sir.”
“You, too. Thanks, Rita.”
Adrian hung up as he veered toward the outskirts of town. He peered in his rear view mirror, making sure Goldie’s white truck was in view. She was tailing right behind him. The sight gave his heart a little hiccup.
The other reason he hadn’t wanted to leave Goldie on some random front step had been sheer sympathy. He’d believed her when she’d claimed to be lost. Then, when she’d rang the doorbell at the address she’d given him when no one had answered, she’d seemed completely alone. Adrian could tell she’d been trying to hide how hurt she was. When she’d turned around, genuine disappointment had streaked across her face.
His heart had gone out to her, foolish as that might seem. His mom couldn’t fault him for not wanting to abandon a woman in need.
Oh, shoot. His mom.
Adrian dialed her number as he turned toward the dirt road which would eventually lead to Rustic Ridge. “Mom, hey.”
“You’re back?” she said. He hadn’t told her why he’d gone up to the cabin, and she didn’t ask. “Perfect. Did you call Danica? I spoke with her mother not long ago. She thought Dani was available and would be so pleased to be asked by you. The girl has been waiting for a phone call since you returned to town. I’ve always thought you two were perfect together. I’ll never understand why you ended things—”
This was a conversation they’d had one too many times. “Mom, I’ve met someone. I’m bringing her home with me.”
A silent pause filled the other end of the line.
“Mom?”
“You know how I feel about these pranks you and your brothers like to play.”
“It’s not a prank. She’s great. We’re headed there now, actually. I thought you might want a heads up.”
“You can’t get out of the fundraiser tonight, Adrian. Danica is a lovely girl, why don’t you just call her? Give her another chance, sweetie. Maybe this time things will work out between you two.”
He’d given that relationship as much resuscitation as he’d ever hoped. Sure, they’d tried. The entire town thought he and Danica would wind up married once they’d graduated high school. It’d been one of the many lectures his father had given him, to take care not to go around breaking hearts. They’d gotten back together again after he’d finished business school, but she’d wanted to stay in Two Pines and had absolutely refused to move to Chicago where he’d needed to be for his budding business.
“You can just do that here,” Danica had insisted.
She’d sounded so much like his father, it was like a puncture. All at once, the path with her opened up before him in a way it never had. He’d seen exactly what would have happened had he done what was expected. Married her. Settled down. Given up on his dreams.
If she’d been the right one, the decision to end things wouldn’t have been so easy to make. So he’d made it without question, and he’d never looked back since. He wasn’t about to go opening that can of worms again. He didn’t want to give Danica false hope.
“I’m serious,” Adrian said. “Her name is Goldie. She’s coming home with me as we speak.”
“You make her sound like a stray dog. It’s not a dog, is it? You know how I feel about that. We’ve already got your dad’s Lab. We don’t need another one around here.”
“Mom,” he said, trying not to get exasperated. “I told you, this is for real. She’s a person.”
“Are you two dating?”
“I—yes, we are.” He cringed at the lie, but he wanted his mom to take him seriously since the truth obviously wasn’t doing it. He almost laughed at the irony.
He wasn’t sure how to get his mom to believe he was blowing Danica off for a total stranger, though, or why he was vying for said stranger to have a room at their B & B. On top of that, he couldn’t exactly tell her how he and Goldie had met. He hadn’t wanted to call the police over Goldie’s breaking and entering, but he wouldn’t put it past his mother.
“Please tell me you have a room for her.” Something he should have checked before he made the offer to her, but still.
His mom’s tone was cautious. “What did you say her name was?”
“Goldie.”
“Goldie? Like the actress?”
“Like the actress.”
“She’s blonde too, isn’t she?”
Adrian laughed. “I guess you’ll see when we get there.” A nugget of guilt wriggled into his stomach. He didn’t mean to lie, but he didn’t want to pull it back now, not when she’d thought he’d been teasing her. Maybe he could work something out with Goldie, to see if she would agree to be his girlfriend while she was here. It would make things easier for him, at least. Maybe it would help her too, depending on her situation.
His mom sighed loud and long. “Danica will be disappointed,” she said in a singsong kind of guilt-tripping way.
“She’ll get over it, I’m sure.”
After hesitating, his mom said, “A few rooms are available.”
“Thanks, Mom. We’ll be there soon.”
He turned the corner, passing fields on either side of him and fighting away the pessimism this sight always instilled in him. The dilemma inside him was such an oxymoron. He’d felt more sequestered and caged within these open fields than any cubicle in his life in Chicago. It was Murphy ’s Law, he supposed, to have something get in his way every time he tried to return to his business, to where he really wanted to be.
The sight of Goldie’s truck in his rearview mirror held a small dose of comfort, though. This was the first time he could remember not completely dreading the return trip home. Now he just had to present the whole girlfriend thing to her.
CHAPTER SIX
GOLDIE ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE AND keep her eyes on the road—and Adrian’s tail lights—all while bending lower over her steering wheel for a better look at the amazing view. Everywhere she gazed was open fields and grassland. A mountain rose up in the distance, and she suspected it’d been the one to hold her hostage the night before.
She’d seen The Horse Whisperer. She knew just how far-spread Montana’s rural land was, but it was always different thinking she knew how something should look based on a movie, and seeing it for herself. She couldn’t get over the lack of trees—there were trees clustered at every turn back home. This was nothing but vast, open space, allowing the sky to dominate and spread its cloak far and wide. It took her breath away.