Chapter Five
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When Connor got back to Two Willows, Sadie was washing lunch dishes in the kitchen and from the way she was banging them around as she did the chore, she wasn’t happy. He’d missed lunch, he realized. He’d stayed too long chatting with Cab, forgetting that if they didn’t all eat around the same time at the ranch, it made more work for Sadie. He’d have to make amends.
It didn’t help that Cab’s words kept ringing in his head, or that he felt guilty for his casual flirtation with Mae. He’d never thought about the careless way he flirted with women when it helped him reach some goal. Trotting out his accent was something he did in his line of work—another tool in his toolkit.
He’d have to keep that particular weapon in its holster.
“I could use some help out back this afternoon,” he said cautiously.
“I’ve got plenty to do already.”
“Look, I’m sorry I was late for lunch. Don’t suppose there’s a sandwich for me in that fridge.”
“If there is, you’ll have to make it. And then you’ll have to clean up after yourself; I’ve done enough of that today already.”
She was pissed. Connor wondered if something had happened while he’d been gone. “Has someone come to bother Jo again?”
“Bother Jo? Why would you ask that?” She spun around from where she’d been drying silverware and putting it away in a drawer. “Who’s been bothering Jo?”
“Bothering is probably too strong a word,” he amended. “A man was here this morning. Looking to buy a puppy. I didn’t like the look of him.” Especially because it had been obvious the man was flirting with her, and Jo needed to hang on until Hunter got here.
“She doesn’t have any puppies to give away like that anyway,” Sadie said, turning back to her task. “She has a waiting list a mile long.”
Connor didn’t tell her he’d managed to jump to the head of that list.
“I’ll just grab something—”
“I waited,” she blurted out. “For you. To have lunch. Until it was damn clear you weren’t coming.”
“You waited?” He hadn’t expected that. “Sadie—”
“Forget it. I’ve got to get to work.”
Connor decided he’d have to forego lunch or lose his chance with Sadie today. She was acting as if he’d stood her up for a date—and maybe he had in a way. With a last, longing look at the refrigerator, he followed her outside and into her garden, where she began to walk up and down the rows, examining the plants carefully.
She’d waited for him. And he’d let her down. He didn’t want to do that. He wanted Sadie to feel like she could depend on him.
“About the walled garden,” he tried again. “I think we should begin to think about what to plant there. You’ll want to order any trees ahead of time—” He cut off when she turned a scathing look in his direction.
“Trees? I’m not planting trees. I’m not planting anything. I told you I intend to travel as soon as Cass gets back.” She straightened, shaded her eyes and sighed. “Damn it,” she muttered, and before he could answer, she strode off toward the carriage house where an old silver truck had pulled in.
Connor made to follow her, but felt a light touch on his arm, and looked up to find Alice standing next to him. He’d seen her at meals, of course, and around the house, but this was the first time she’d made an effort to seek him out. “Give her a minute,” she said. “Something’s going to happen.” Like Sadie, she was dressed in jeans and a plain shirt. Her hair was done in a loose braid that fell halfway done her back.
Connor bit back an expletive—if something was going to happen, he needed to be with Sadie, but Alice’s grip on his arm tightened. “She’s in no danger.”
Connor relaxed a little when a middle-aged woman climbed out of the vehicle and made her way to meet Sadie. The two of them talked, the woman gesticulating and placing a hand on her forehead. Sadie listened patiently and nodded at first, but then shook her head.
Connor expected the conversation to end, but the woman wasn’t put off that easily. In fact, the more Sadie shook her head, the more her visitor talked. Alice folded her arms over her chest as she watched her sister. Finally the stranger threw up her hands and climbed back into the truck.
“I’m sorry,” he heard Sadie call after her, but the way the woman backed out, spun the wheel and roared off told Connor she wasn’t satisfied with the exchange.
“I’ve never seen her do that before,” Alice said in a soft voice.
“Do what?”
“Turn away a customer. Something’s wrong.” She closed her eyes as if she was listening to something far off. “It’s like…the tie that binds Sadie to Two Willows is disintegrating. She’s trying to leave.” Alice opened her eyes, her lips parted in shock. “Did you know that?”
“She told me she wants to,” he admitted. “When Cass gets home.”
“You have to stop her.” Alice got that far-off look again, but a moment later, she shook her head. “I can’t see what will happen, but I know she’s not supposed to leave—not for good.”
“She’s a grown woman. She can do whatever she wants.” Connor shrugged, although the gesture cost him. He didn’t want to lose Sadie either, but he didn’t know how to tell Alice that.
Alice stared at him. “She can’t leave,” she said again. “That’s perfectly clear. We Reed women have to stay.”
“Only one of you at any given time.” Brian had explained the women’s superstition, and with his Irish background, Connor had been prepared to go along with the whimsical fancy of it, but this was taking it too far.
“For short periods that works, but that isn’t what we’re talking about. We’re talking about Sadie leaving—for good. She can’t do that.”
Alice had gone so pale Connor placed a hand on her elbow to steady her. “Look, I don’t want that—”
Alice jerked, swallowed, swayed—and grabbed hold of him for support. Just as quickly she wrenched away from him again and scrambled back a few feet.
“Alice?”
She held out a hand to stop him when he tried to approach. He could almost see the thoughts running through her mind. “You—” She straightened, and the shock on her face faded. Her color returned. When she smiled, he thought he saw triumph mixed with her relief. “You’re—” She didn’t finish her sentence. Just lifted a hand to cover her mouth and turned to look at Sadie, who was still staring in the direction of the departed truck. Connor got the sense she was holding back laughter. Alice dropped her hand and waved toward her sister. “Go be with her. Sadie needs you.” She shook her head, becoming serious again. “We all need you.”
Just like that, she left him standing in the garden, more baffled than before.
She’d never turned someone away before, and it felt worse than Sadie had imagined. Nora Ingram’s headaches were exactly the kind of thing her herbal cures could treat, but she didn’t have the correct tonic on hand, so now the woman would probably take some over-the-counter pain medicine that might wreak havoc with her digestive system over time.
Sadie realized she’d taken her skills for granted all these years in a way that made it doubly bitter to lose them. Why hadn’t she expressed her gratitude more often? She was selfish. Self-centered—
In disgust, she turned back toward the garden, but nearly stumbled over the uneven ground when she found Connor striding toward her. Was that the answer? Was she meant to help Connor step into her shoes?
And if so, why didn’t he show some interest in gardening—?
Sadie’s shoulders sagged. He had, hadn’t he? And she’d cut him off. But he’d been talking about trees and decorative plants, not healing ones.
What am I supposed to do? She sent her petition up to the sky, not knowing who she was asking. What would her mother have done in this position?
The answer came clearly.
Listen.
She needed to stop thinking so hard; stop trying so hard. She needed to pay attention.
The garden will tell you.
It was as if her mother had spoken aloud.
Of course.
Sadie squared her shoulders and went back to meet Connor. For the next several hours she obediently did as he asked, listening to his plan for how to build the wall now that the footer was in and the stone delivered. Discussing which ornamental trees and dwarf fruit trees might thrive within its walls when they were done. Debating if the warm, inner, south-facing walls could support something that usually only grew several states south of here.
Despite herself, Sadie warmed to the task, and the walled garden began to take shape in her mind. “We could espalier a peach tree against the south-facing wall,” she told him. Peaches would be delightful if they could pull it off.
“I think it would need more shelter,” he said, and explained his own ideas. He might not be a gardener, Sadie thought, but he was an enthusiast.
He could be trained.
Was that what she was meant to do? Train Connor to take her place? Train him, and then stay on as his assistant—
No. She’d have to be truly tone-deaf if she thought that was the answer. It was clear she needed to leave, but she had three weeks to teach Connor to listen to the plants and grow to love them.
Spending time with Connor was no hardship, either. He was funny, for one thing. Nice to look at. He asked her question after question to coax a detailed plan for the walled garden from her. She couldn’t remember anyone taking such an interest in the growing things at Two Willows since her mother had passed away.
Of course, she touched Connor every chance she got—to get information about the soil, nutrients and growing conditions for the plants that would someday grow here.
And because she felt so alive when she did.
Back in the house later that afternoon, Sadie found herself humming as she did Cass’s chores. She ran down into the basement, pulled out a load of sheets and towels and folded them neatly on a table placed there for the purpose. Upstairs again, she delivered fresh towels and sheets to each room. Her sisters could remake their own beds, but she’d do up Connor’s out of courtesy since he was a guest.
The buzz of a cell phone had her patting her pocket as she entered the guest bedroom, but it wasn’t hers. She caught sight of Connor’s sitting near the edge of his desk. She went to push it to a safer position and couldn’t help seeing the messages that lit up his screen. There were three of them.
I’m in the tub. Remembering Milan. Lila
Come on, handsome. Are you really going to blow me off? Bridget
So excited about your wedding. Just found my mother-of-the-groom dress! Mom
The sheets and towels slid from Sadie’s hands.
Connor was already involved with two other women.
And he was marrying one of them.
When Connor rounded the door into his bedroom and found Sadie there ahead of him, his first impulse was to take her in his arms and kiss her.
And he followed it.
He knew he was taking a chance, but after the wonderful afternoon they’d spent together, he figured his odds for success were much higher than they’d ever been previously.
So when Sadie answered with an uppercut that would have split his lip if he hadn’t automatically blocked it, he couldn’t have been more surprised.
“Who’s Lila?”
Too late he spotted his phone on the desk. Even as he watched it lit up with a new message. Lila—and even Bridget—wouldn’t leave him alone. And there was always the chance some other woman he’d dated could text him out of the blue. He could only imagine what Sadie had seen. It had never meant anything. He’d stopped answering when he’d come to Two Willows and met Sadie. He’d lost interest in flirting with anyone else. That didn’t stop the messages, though. If anything, they’d picked up.
“She’s no one,” Connor told Sadie. “Just a girl.”
“Just a girl? Does she know about Bridget?”
Connor stifled a curse. This was worse than he’d expected. “She doesn’t need to know about Bridget. Bridget’s nobody—”
“Right. So which one is your fiancée?” Sadie looked mad enough to spit—or to hit him again.
Connor couldn’t keep up. “Fiancée?”
“Fiancée! As in, your future wife?” Sadie glared at him. “The one whose wedding your mother can’t wait to attend?”
“Oh!” Clarity crashed over him. His fiancée. Right. He supposed he couldn’t tell Sadie he was staring at her right now. He might not be the smoothest of men, but he was smart enough to know this wasn’t the way a lass would like her proposal to play out. “Let me explain.”
“When a man starts with let me explain, it’s hopeless.” Sadie tried to push past him, but Connor caught her, and as always when they touched Sadie sucked in a breath. He affected her; he knew that. He couldn’t let her run out of the room thinking he was the bastard she thought he was right now.
But how to explain it all. He was who he was because of how he’d grown up, but he didn’t want to dwell on that. He wanted to change.
“My mother and father are still in love,” he blurted.
Sadie stopped struggling. “What does that have to do with—”
“They’re still in love. At least, I think they are. Neither one has moved on. Both keep asking about each other,” Connor said, hoping like hell he could make her understand. “I’m tricking them.”
She watched him warily. “How?”
“If they think I’m getting married, they’ll both come to Montana. Short of my funeral, it’s the only way they’ll agree to be in the same place at the same time. They’ll have to talk to each other face to face.”
“You think that will make them patch things up? After what—twenty years?”
When she put it like that, it became clear how ludicrous the idea was. “No.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Yes. I don’t know. I have to try. I told them both I was marrying in five weeks.”
“Won’t they be furious when they find out you lied to them? Or are they used to that?” Anger tightened her features. “How about Lila and Bridget? Are they used to that, too?”
“They both know the drill.” Fuck. Had he really just said that?
“So you’re a cheat as well as a liar. I should have known. All men are.” Sadie kicked the pile of towels on the floor and sent them flying before she shouldered past him and out the door.
Dinner tasted about as good as she felt that night. She’d burnt the fried chicken. Poured too much milk into the potatoes before she mashed them. She swore the lettuce in the salad had wilted in her hands as she prepared it. Her sisters picked at their food, then escaped from the kitchen one by one. Sadie refused to acknowledge Connor manfully cleaning his plate.
“We need to talk,” he said after the meal when they were alone.
“We don’t need to do anything. You need to head back to Texas—or Ireland—anywhere but here!”
She pushed back from the table and stood up. As she began to collect the dirty dishes and scrape the leavings into the trash, Connor stood up, too, and crossed the room to touch her.
She batted him away, and a wet chunk of mashed potato flew from the fork she held and stuck to his shirt.
“None of those women mean a thing to—”
Sadie had heard enough. All she could remember was Mark dancing with Tracy Jones at the Boot. Flirting with her. Going home with her. Leaving Sadie there to find her own way back to Two Willows. She’d never told her sisters about all the ways Mark had humiliated her. She hoped they didn’t know. Doubted it; this was a small town and people talked.
She wasn’t going to let this… man… come and do it to her again.
“Sadie, I mean it. You’re different. You’re special—”
You’re special. Hadn’t Mark said the same thing when he was wooing her?
She had to stop Connor. Stop those sweet words that had fooled her once and couldn’t fool her again.
“Come on, honey. Give me a chance to—”
In a fury, she scooped the pile of potatoes Lena had left on her plate and threw them at Connor. “Get away from me!”
The white mess stuck to his chin and the stubble of his beard. His expression darkened, but Sadie didn’t care. She grabbed a chicken bone from Jo’s plate and tossed it at him. It bounced off his head.
She was done with men. Done with them.
“Sadie!”
Past caring. Past listening. No one cheated on her. No one—
She lifted the salad bowl, still more than half full, and flung its contents at the airman—
But she lost her grip and the bowl followed.
Connor caught it in one hand. Thumped it down on the table in a shower of lettuce, carrots and cucumber.
Came after her.
Sadie shrieked, but Connor hooked her with an arm around her waist and dragged her close. “Stop throwing things at me, woman.”
“Don’t you woman me—”
Connor cut off her words with a kiss that electrified Sadie down to the tips of her toes, even if it did taste like mashed potatoes. The world, muted since they’d left the garden, came to life in vibrant sound and color. “I need you,” Connor said and kissed her again.
Shocked all over again at the buzz of the connection between them, Sadie couldn’t pull back. She wanted more—needed more—needed to get that connection back for good. She lifted her arms and twined them around his neck, the taste of salad dressing and mashed potatoes on her lips.
She was hungry for him, she admitted to herself. Or maybe just hungry, she thought with a desperate inner laugh. She kept kissing him, even though she knew she should pull back. Should still be furious with him. She should have run.
“Sadie, you’re amazing,” Connor whispered.
Some instinct told her he was speaking from his heart. Still, how could she trust him after what she’d seen? Men played with women. Used them.
So even if she felt more alive in Connor’s arms than she had in months—years—she couldn’t give in to it.
“No!” Sadie came to her senses and tore herself from his grasp. “No—I won’t play this game.” This was a man who juggled women like bowling pins, who thought it perfectly acceptable to play them off each other. A man who’d make up a wedding to trick his parents. Or who maybe really was getting married, and only lying to fool her.
She’d been a fool for far too long.
This had to stop now.
“Don’t ever touch me again,” she hissed at Connor and walked out the back door to deal with the farm stand.
Let someone else clean up the mess.