Chapter 6
Dinner was everything Owen had hoped that it would be, and as wonderful as the food was, the best part of the night was that he found himself opening up to Tabitha. He talked about Australia and growing up on a sheep ranch. He even talked about his parents, something he hadn’t done much since they died. He talked about how much he hated change, but was learning to embrace it rather than fight it.
“I know it sounds strange, but you are part of the reason I’ve learned to embrace change Tabitha; you’ve helped me see that good things can come from change, not just bad.” He said, running his thumb over her cheek. “Just promise me that you’ll be patient with me, I’m trying.”
“Owen, please know that you don’t ever have to change for me. I like you just the way you are, but I do like it that you’ve been sharing your life with me tonight.” Tabitha said, meaning every word of what she said.
“I like it too.” Owen said, lowering his mouth to hers, thinking about all the other things they might share.
When his lips found hers, the passion between them exploded as it had never done before, had they been alone Tabitha knew exactly where the kiss would have led. But the waiter appeared with their deserts, quietly clearing his throat until they reluctantly parted. Tabitha was embarrassed by their behavior, but the waiter pretended that nothing was out of the ordinary, then disappeared.
“That was embarrassing.” Tabitha said, with a little giggle, unable to wipe the silly grin off her face.
“Not nearly as embarrassing as it could have been.” Owen said, then ran his hand up the inside of her leg, making her gasp.
The ride home was quiet, but Tabitha didn’t mind the quiet this time. She’d just had one of the most romantic nights of her life. When they got back to the park and the four-wheeler, he helped her on then said, “I’d invite you back to my house, but I’m sure Flynn is home.”
Tabitha wasn’t ready to go home with Owen as much as she wanted to, it just seemed too soon. “That’s okay, I have an early morning tomorrow.” She said, as they rode toward Cedar Ridge.
“But I still owe you a trail ride and know you have the right clothes, which by the way I’ll bring over tomorrow.”
Tabitha had completely forgotten about all the clothes she’d bought that day. “Oh, I forgot about them.” She said, making Owen laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“You’re the only woman I know who would have forgotten about 2,000 dollars’ worth of new clothes.” Owen said, slowing down to give her a quick kiss on the lips.
Tabitha was so shocked by the amount of money she’d spent that she couldn’t reply for a second. But after it had sunk in, she said, “Owen, that’s too much…...”
But he interrupted her before she could finish, “I thought we settled that, it was a gift Tabitha, no strings attached and just know that I’ll probably do it again. I like taking care of you.” This time completely stopping the four-wheeler and turning her around so he could look into her eyes.
Tabitha had never really had anyone take care of her before, her parents had always given her everything she needed, but there had never been much extra money. “It’ll take some getting used to but I’ll try.” She said, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him until he relaxed against her.
When they’d started towards Cedar Ridge again, Owen asked, “When is your next day off? It’s time to get you on the trail.”
“I don’t have another day off until next week. I think Monday will be my day off for a while, it’s the slowest day at the restaurant.” She said, already excited about riding the trail.
“Then next Monday it is.” Owen said. “But we need to leave in the morning if we want to have time to get where I want to go, better yet is there any chance you could arrange to have Tuesday off too?”
Tabitha’s heart skipped a beat, he wanted her to spend the night with him, without even hesitating she said, “I might be able to, I’ll have to talk to Joe.” Then snuggled deeper into Owen’s arms, but she could sense that Owen was tense again and she wasn’t sure why.
When they got back to the restaurant he walked her to the door, and waited while she unlocked the door. “Looks like Joe’s already gone to bed.” She said, when they stepped into the dark restaurant.
“I’m surprised he didn’t wait up for you.” Owen said, unable to hide the jealously in his voice.
Tabitha was shocked by the tone of Owen’s voice at first, then realized what the problem was. Owen was jealous, it shouldn’t have made her as happy as it did, since Joe was her best friend but it did. “Owen, Joe and I are just friends.”
“It didn’t look like it the other night.” Owen couldn’t help himself.
“What are you talking about?” She asked, confused.
“I came back to talk to you last Friday and you two looked pretty cozy.” Owen said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Owen’s jealousy quickly went from amusing to annoying, not only was he way off base, he’d been spying on her. “I shouldn’t have to defend myself, but just so you know we were talking about you.” Tabitha said, then turned and walked over to the door to the apartments. “I’m going to bed, thank you for a wonderful evening.” Then disappeared up the stairs.
He stood in the middle of the dining room for several minutes getting his emotions under control. Then he realized that he’d let his jealousy ruin a perfect evening, now he’d have to find a way to fix what he’d done. Cursing his stupidity, he locked the door and headed home, trying to figure out how to bridge the new gap he’d created between them. With a big sigh, he realized he was going to have to talk to his brother again, an unpleasant prospect, but he needed help, again.
Flynn roared with laughter when Owen told him what he’d done, when he’d finally gotten himself under control, he said, “First, you have to realize that not all women care about your money and what it can buy them. You probably made her really uncomfortable with that big of a gift. Then you got all possessive on her, that’s what jealousy is you know. A form of possessiveness.”
Owen thought about Flynn’s words and realized he had probably gone too far, “I was just trying to make her happy. I probably should have just bought her a pair of boots.”
“Now you’re thinking. And?”
“And I need to get to know Joe.” Owen said, then smiled when Flynn gave him thumbs up.
“That’s a good place to start.”
“Why does this have to be so hard? I like her and she likes me. All this other stuff just confuses me.” Owen sounded so vulnerable it was hard to believe that he was talking his brother for a second.
“All the other stuff as you call it is what building a real relationship is all about. You have to work at it.” Flynn said, then stood up and added, “I’m going to bed and so should you, things won’t look so bad in the morning.”
When Tabitha awoke the next morning, she was still annoyed with Owen, he’d acted like the typical man. First, he’d assumed that because Joe was a man they couldn’t be friends. If he’d been a woman, the scene he’d witnessed wouldn’t have made him jealous. Then there was the issue of his jealousy, something Tabitha had never had to deal with before. Most of the men she’d lived with over the years wouldn’t have cared if she’d slept with someone else, as long as she was paying her share of the rent everything would have been fine.
She had no idea how to deal with it, part of her was pleased that he cared enough to be jealous, but she also knew that jealousy had a way of destroying an otherwise healthy relationship. It was frustrating that every time they made a step forward, they seemed to take a step backward, and for a second she wondered if Owen Montgomery was worth all the heartache he seemed to cause.
To her surprise, he showed up at the end of the morning, looking sheepish when he sat down at the counter. She let him sit there stewing for a while before she came out of the kitchen. He looked nervous when he saw her and she realized that she was nervous as well. How he handled last night would affect where their relationship went from there, so she waited for him to speak.
“I’m sorry about last night, I jumped to conclusions and I shouldn’t have. I…um…. well I got jealous.” He finally said, not able to meet her eyes.
He looked so sad Tabitha was tempted to let him off the hook, but she wasn’t quite ready to let it go. “There are so many reasons I should be mad about last night, but the one that bothers me the most is that you instantly jumped to the conclusion that there’s something going on between us.”
“I’m sorry Tabitha, I’m not usually a jealous person, honestly I don’t know what I was thinking. I’d like to meet Joe and get to known him, if that’s okay with you.” Owen said, hoping that he’d been able to convince her to forgive him.
Tabitha’s heart melted, Owen seemed so genuine she couldn’t help but take him at his word. “Okay you’re off the hook, but next time promise me that you’ll trust me.” Tabitha said, glad that they’d talked it through.
Just then Joe came out of the back, and headed straight over to Tabitha, “Hey, I was looking for you. We’ve got an hour before the next tour arrives, I’m going to grab something to eat.”
Tabitha looked from Owen to Joe, clearly thinking that now would be the perfect time for them to get to know each other. As if he’d read her mind, Owen said, “I’m starved, would you mind if I joined you?”
Joe looked at him suspiciously, then shrugged his shoulders, “I guess that’s okay, but I’m just eating the leftovers from breakfast.” Joe said, then headed for the kitchen, not sure if he really wanted to share his breakfast with Owen, who until now had been just on the edge of hostile toward him.
Owen followed him, stopping as he went by Tabitha to give her a kiss, something he’d been wanting to do since he’d walked in the door. “Wish me luck, I think I’m going to need it.”
“You might.” Tabitha said, knowing that Joe wasn’t going to go out of his way to become buddies with Owen.
When the two men emerged more than an hour later, the lunch rush was just starting so she didn’t have time to talk to Owen, but they were both smiling, so she knew that it couldn’t have gone too badly. After they’d served the first round of customers, Joe came back to the kitchen and Tabitha couldn’t wait another second to know what had gone on between the two men.
“So, what happened?” She asked, practically jumping up and down with nerves. If Joe didn’t like Owen it was going to make her life extremely complicated.
“I hate to admit it but I like him. He’s a bit stuffy for my taste, but if you like him that’s your business.” Joe said, then laughed when Tabitha breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Was it that important that I like him?”
“I guess it was. Now that you’ve given him your seal of approval, I was wondering if you might consider covering for me next week. Owen wants to go on an overnight trail ride.” Tabitha could feel herself blushing and knew that Joe wouldn’t miss it.
“Oh, I see.” Joe said, with a wink. “Hmm, I might need to check my schedule, I have so many pressing engagements next week.”
Tabitha knew that Joe was teasing her and she blushed even deeper. “Joe, knock it off. This is weird enough as it is.”
“Okay, sorry. I just couldn’t help myself.” Joe said, then crossed the kitchen and gave her a hug. “Just so you know, I warned him about what I would do to him if he hurts you.”
Tabitha was touched, but also a little bit alarmed by Joe’s threat. “Oh, Joe you didn’t have to do that. I want you two to be friends.”
“I did and I’d do it again. But don’t worry, it was all friendly.” Joe said, laughing.
Owen rode away from Cedar Ridge with a smile on his face for a change. It was amazing how far the simple truth could go. He’d been honest with Tabitha and it had been the right thing to do, no matter how hard it was. But his talk with Joe had made him realize that it was time to tell Tabitha about Sarah, and he had to admit he was a little bit curious about Tabitha’s past as well.
She never talked about ex-boyfriends, which made him all that much more curious, he couldn’t imagine a woman like her hadn’t had a serious relationship before. Just thinking about it made his jealousy flare, but he quickly got it under control by reminding himself that whatever happened in the past was in the past. There was nothing to be gained by thinking about the other men that might have been in her life.
His plan to take her to a little cabin high in the mountains suddenly took on even more importance. What had started out to be a chance for Tabitha to test her riding skills had quickly become an opportunity for them to spend some time alone, which after their night in town seemed even more important to him. He’d never minded being with Sarah in a crowd, in fact they’d spent very little time alone, if he was honest with himself, but with Tabitha it was different. He didn’t want to share her with anyone. It was a strange and possessive feeling that he was going to have to learn to deal with, but for now he was going with it.
He had a week to get ready and with all the other things he had to do, it would barely be enough time. More than anything else, he wanted their night together to be special, but before that happened, he’d have to tell her about Sarah. Tabitha had a right to know about her, as uncomfortable as it might be. Deep down, he knew that he was over her, but it hadn’t been that long since she’d married Mike and it still hurt to think of her deception.
Pushing those thoughts from his mind by reminding himself that Tabitha was nothing like Sarah, he headed for the barn and the work that awaited him. Jack had been home to Australia, his first trip with Chloe and he would be demanding a full update on the sheep. He’d been gone for weeks and much to his surprise he’d missed his brother. Maybe living in America permanently wouldn’t be so bad. He still missed Australia, but not as much as he used to, and Tabitha was here.
By the time the day of their ride finally rolled around, Tabitha had worked herself into a serious case of the nerves. She was pacing restlessly around the kitchen, feeling a little strange in her new clothes. It had been years since she’d worn a pair of jeans, and although she’d been wearing the boots around home to get them broken in, they still felt stiff. For a moment she panicked, wondering what she was doing going up into the mountains with a virtual stranger.
But just as the panic started to get the better of her, Joe poked his head back into the kitchen and said, “Your Romeo is here.” When he saw the look on her face, he stepped back into the kitchen and pulled her aside. “Hey, relax. You look like you’re going to the dentist not on a romantic trip to the mountains. He’s a good guy, it’s going to be fine no matter what you decided to do up there.”
Tabitha felt the anxiety drain away. She hadn’t realized that she’d been worried about what might happen if she didn’t sleep with Owen, but hearing Joe’s words both identified the problem and fixed it. One thing she was certain of was that Owen wouldn’t force her to do anything she wasn’t ready for. Feeling much better she gave Joe a quick hug, and smiled at him.
“Thanks Joe. I needed to hear that. I’ve never been this worried about sex before, it’s weird.” She admitted.
“That’s because this time it means something. Now stop worrying and go have fun.” Joe said, and pushed her toward the door.
When she came out of the kitchen carrying the saddle bag that Owen had given her to pack her things in, he was standing in the middle of the empty dining room waiting for her. His eyes swept over her, taking in the jeans and shirt that they’d bought in town, desire lighting up his eyes and making her heart beat so loudly she was sure he could hear it. All her doubts vanished when their eyes met, the connection that seemed to bind them all that much stronger that day.
Owen’s heart swelled at the sight of Tabitha, a part of him had been afraid that she’d change her mind. Asking her to stay in the mountains for a night had been a risk. They were both adults and knew exactly what would happen if they spent the night together, and he didn’t know how much longer he could resist her. The desire he felt for Tabitha was like nothing he’d ever felt before, it was overpowering and consuming, but he had prepared himself for the possibility that she wouldn’t be ready. As hard as it might be, he was willing to wait until she was. It wouldn’t be easy, but it would be worth it in the long run.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he said, “You look like you’re ready for a trail ride.”
“More than ready.” Tabitha said, with a big smile.
“Then let’s get this show in the road, we’ve got a long way to go by tonight. I hope it’s not going to be too much for you since it’s your first ride.” Owen said, taking the saddle bag from her.
“Well, the worse that can happen is that I’ll have a sore rear. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” She said, leading the way outside.
Owen stopped at her words, thinking that they could be taken several different ways. When he caught up with her, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Then he looked down at her and said, “I hope so.”
Tabitha immediately understood that Owen wasn’t talking about riding, he was talking about them and she felt thrill run through her. This man did something strange to her, just being in his arms made her feel safe and protected, but there was more to the feeling than just that. He made her feel loved, she realized with a start, then decided that it wasn’t such a bad feeling. Unable to tell him that, she snuggled deeper into his arms, hoping he understood how happy she was with him.