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“Forcing him into the friend zone is all about control and rules.”
“Maybe I don’t want this with Quinn to blow up. He is a seriously nice guy.”
“And hot, and sexy, and successful, and financially stable.”
“I don’t care about money, so please stop talking about his portfolio.”
Amanda laughed, and then her smile faded. “He’s not too good for you. If anything, he’s not good enough for you, Charity. You are one of the best human beings I know.”
For a long moment, there was just silence, and the silence made Charity incredibly uncomfortable. She gulped her wine and deliberately changed the topic. “So tell me about the Stroll. How was it this year? Did I miss anything?”
*
An hour and a half later, Charity quietly let herself into her parents’ house on Chance Avenue. The house was small and square and painted a faded blue. Charity and Mandy had tried to repaint it but their mom and dad apparently like the shade and didn’t want them to spend even twenty dollars on a couple cans of paint to freshen up the trim, so the house remained as it had been for years—blue and unbearably forlorn.
Charity discovered her mom was still up watching TV, so she gave her a hug and said good night and was about to slip to her room when her mother asked about Amanda, and how she and Tyler were doing.
“Good,” Charity answered vaguely, feeling guilty they hadn’t discussed Amanda and Tyler’s relationship very much, but Amanda seemed happy—as well as determined to get Charity set up with Quinn. “Mandy seems happy. Work has been busy and her day spa is getting great reviews. She has picked up new business with her new masseuse.”
“Any mention of babies?”
Charity rolled her eyes. “No, Mom. But it hasn’t even been six months since they married. Give them time. I’d think they’d want a couple years just to enjoy being together before kids come along.”
“I had Jenny right away.”
“You married Dad because Jenny was on the way, and you and Dad were stressed out of your minds. No one else wants that life.”
“We were happy,” her mom answered defensively. She must have noticed the arch in Charity’s brows. “We did the best we could.”
“I know that. We all know that. But if Mandy and Tyler want to wait five years, or ten years, before having children, then they should. The point of falling in love isn’t to immediately reproduce. It’s to make a life with your best friend—” Charity broke off, aware of what she’d just said.
A life with your best friend.
Your friend.
Immediately, her thoughts went to Quinn and then she shied away.
“What were you saying?” her mother asked, smothering a yawn. “You didn’t finish your thought.”
“Nothing important,” Charity answered. “I’m heading to bed. I have an early morning meeting so I’ll be up and gone early.”
“For work?”
“No. It’s the Christmas tree auction.”
“Again?”
“We meet weekly, Mom, and it’s coming up in just ten days.”
“Is Mandy helping this year?”
“She’s not on the committee but Sadie convinced her to donate a tree.”
“Let me guess, it’s pink?”
“You know your baby girl.” Charity returned to her mother to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Good night, and don’t stay up half the night watching TV. Even you, Mom, need sleep.”
Chapter Five
After dinner at Rocco’s, Quinn returned to his house in Paradise Valley. When he’d left for dinner, the dozens of west-facing windows reflected the setting sun, the glass glazed with pink and red light. Now it was dark, clouds obscuring the moon, blanketing the valley in darkness.
Fortunately, he’d left on a light in the kitchen and the house glowed yellow as he parked in the driveway. He sat for a moment, engine idling, looking at the front exterior with the big beam trusses, long covered porch, and river rock chimneys. It was handsome and expensive, but far from festive. A different owner would have put lights up by now, and added greenery to the mantel, candles on tables, and a towering Christmas tree in the great room. A different owner would know how to make the house homey.
A family would also make this house homey. Baking in the kitchen. High chairs at the island. Kids with toys and noise and small plush blankets forgotten on the stairs.
Quinn thought of Charity, and pictured her here, blonde hair in a ponytail as she stirred something at the stove, before crossing to the kitchen’s gas fire and flicking the switch, making the huge hearth glow.
She was what this house needed. She was what he needed. She was sweet and warm, and incredibly down-to-earth. She was also heartbreakingly pretty but by far the best thing about her was her smile. When she smiled, her eyes shone, her lips curved, her face softened. It would be so easy to fall in love with her. He was already smitten. More than smitten. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since she left Little Teton, and seeing her today just confirmed his feelings. She was his. He just needed time to convince her that she belonged with him, and until then, he needed to keep other men away.
Quinn stepped from his truck and was in the middle of unlocking the front door when his phone rang. For a split second he wondered—hoped, actually—it might be Charity.
Instead it was Alice, and as he closed the front door, his spark of enthusiasm faded.
“Hi, Alice. What’s up?”
“I haven’t heard from you since you arrived in Wyoming. Just wondered how the week went.”
Quinn peeled off his coat and dropped his keys on the kitchen island. “It was good. I was impressed by Little Teton.”
“You’re going to invest.”
“I haven’t decided.”
“You know Dad wants it.”
Of course Leo did. Anytime Leo smelled blood, he’d rush in for the kill. “Peter hasn’t decided to sell it,” Quinn answered carelessly, deciding then and there to cut Peter a check so he didn’t have to deal with Sterling Enterprises salivating at Peter’s doorstep.
“We’ll see. You know my dad, and he usually gets what he wants.”
“Oh, I know.”
She paused. “He’s invited you to join us for Christmas. It’ll be another white Christmas at the Jackson Hole house. Please come. It won’t be Christmas without you.”
“I’m going to be spending Christmas this year in Marietta with family.”
“You say that every year.”
“I’ve just confirmed my plans with my sister. I’m not going to disappoint McKenna.”
“Marietta isn’t half as fun as Jackson Hole.”
“Marietta is really charming, especially in December. Ice skating, gingerbread competition, caroling on Main Street.”
“You make it sound like a Hallmark movie,” she said, and from her tone it wasn’t a compliment. “Nothing is that cute.”
“It’s pretty cute right now and it’s not even Christmas.”
“You’re in Montana?”
“Arrived today, but I’m on a flight out of Bozeman tomorrow.”
“Want me to pick you up at the airport?”
“Thank you for offering,” he said politely, “but my car’s there.”
“Oh.”
He held his breath, certain her next question would be a suggestion that they meet for dinner, or grab drinks at Canon. “Listen, Alice, I hope you’ve begun dating again. You should be. You’re a beautiful woman—”
“I miss you, Quinn.”
“Sweetheart, we’re not going to get back together.”
“We were good together!”
“I don’t think we were, not really. We stayed together because it was just easier than going through a breakup and having to start fresh.”
“That’s not true. I love you, and I know you loved me.”
“I will always care for you, but we weren’t a good fit. We weren’t even that compatible. I like your dad, and he was always kind to me, but I couldn’t ever work for him, and Seattle isn’t my home. Montana is. This is where I want to r
aise my kids. This is who I am.”
“I know I got upset that time about Montana, but I’ve thought a lot about it and there is no reason we couldn’t go back and forth. The kids would of course go to school in Seattle, but we could summer in Montana, even though summer is the nicest time of year here and I love our house on Vashon—”
“Alice, any kids I have, will go to school here.”
“Baby, you went to elementary school in a one-room schoolhouse.”
“I did. And it was fantastic.”
“That’s not the education kids need today to get into top colleges. It’s competitive out there. They need the best schools, and I appreciate you were a great athlete, so that helped you, but I don’t want my kids spending valuable learning time being taught how to hunt and fish and whatever else they taught you.”
“Reading, writing, math, history, science.”
“History meaning, Montana history.”
Quinn rubbed his temple, trying to rub away the ache. It seemed like every other call with her ended like this. She wouldn’t let him go and yet she didn’t want what he wanted. She wanted him, without wanting the true him. “I don’t want to do this anymore,” he said quietly. “I can’t do this anymore. You need to let go and move forward. I am.”
Her voice was muffled when she spoke again. “You’re dating other people?”
He paused before answering, “There is someone.”
“Is it serious?”
“I like her, and that’s all I’m going to say.”
“Where does she live?”
“Alice, we’re not going to discuss it.”
“Is she in Montana?”
“Take care of yourself. Try to be happy. Goodbye.” And then he hung up and turned his phone off to keep from having to deal with frantic calls from Alice because he knew how it’d go. She’d call back teary and desperate, and then she’d become angry and bitter, and he hated conflict, and hated the fights. Alice had perfected arguing.
His good mood gone, Quinn turned the TV on in the great room to Sports Channel but he was too keyed up to sit. Instead, he returned to the kitchen and filled a glass with water and then wandered around downstairs as the broadcasters talked about highlights from tonight’s NBA games.
