But being tempted didn’t mean it was the right choice. I still had responsibilities and a life to get back to.
The clerk in the records department helped me find all the information I needed in about five minutes. I took the next half hour to read through it all at a small counter and then read it all again. After I was done, I called Sally and asked her some questions to make sure I’d understood the details. Real estate law was fascinating, especially since I had such a personal case.
As I hung up from Sally, I knew any hope of being an overnight millionaire vanished before my eyes. No fancy apartment in New York. Turned out Charlie’s water rights were not only senior, but affected most of the ranches in the county. What was done to Charlie’s land had long term, lasting impacts. Basically, by taking Buck’s offer, I’d be screwing over all the properties downstream of Charlie—and that was most of the land west of Bridgewater.
I left city hall just before closing and headed straight toward Sam’s place downtown. I’d been warned about being late, but that wasn’t why I rushed. I had my answers. While I didn’t know what to do with the land, it didn’t matter. Not right this second. Truth was, I couldn’t wait to see them again. God, I couldn’t be away from them for an hour without missing them.
About halfway to his place, my cell rang and I answered it on speaker without looking to see who it was. The streets were straight and I only passed a few cars, but I still didn’t want to take my eyes from the road. I should have looked. I really should have checked.
“Just called to say thank you, Catherine.”
Roberts. Crap.
A call from the case stealing lawyer was exactly what my day did not need. But it was his nasally New York accent that filled my car and had my hands clenching the steering wheel in annoyance. “What do you want, Roberts?”
“No need to bite my head off.”
There was no way I’d give him the satisfaction of asking what he was talking about. His smug tone said enough. I didn’t cut him off quickly enough, because he continued uninterrupted. “I guess you heard that I settled the Marsden case. Farber was pleased with the outcome, as I’m sure he told you.”
Fuck. I slammed a fist against the steering wheel. “That’s my case.”
“Was your case.” There was no denying the laughter in his voice. “Thanks again for taking a vacation. Please, feel free to stay as long as you’d like. Where are you? Bumfuck, Montana? I hear cow tipping’s tons of fun. I’ve got your cases handled, so just—”
I hung up on the prick before he could finish. My fingers gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white, my blood pressure probably on its way to stroke level. I had to get back. Now. The sooner the better. I couldn’t waste any more time in the middle of nowhere while my cases were being stolen out from under me. Panic made my heart race. Every minute I was here was another chance for Roberts to take credit for my work. If I didn’t get back now, I’d lose out on the partnership for good.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Goddammit, breathing exercises were a useless waste of time when I was seething with anger. No amount of controlled breaths would give me the release I needed.
But Sam and Jack could. They knew how to make me forget, make me let go of all the shit in my life and just… be. Just come again and again. Yes, I needed to fuck. I needed orgasms. Thank God I was headed to them now or I might combust. And when I was back in New York? What would I do then? Book a flight to Montana every time the stress got to be too much? It was a long way for a booty call.
I could quit. The thought resonated like a gong. I could say goodbye to the stress and the competition and live life like the people of Bridgewater—surrounded by friends, enjoying life. Being loved.
I could be a lawyer in Montana. Sam did it. Why couldn’t I? But would I? It would mean giving up everything I’d been working toward, everything I’d thought I’d wanted for so long. Was I ready to make that sacrifice for the Kanes?
As I pulled into Sam’s driveway, I still didn’t have an answer.
***
SAM
Jack and I hauled a truckload of boxes out of Charlie’s house and took them to the dump before coming back to my place to wait on Katie. Manual labor had been a great distraction from the elephant in the room but now we had nothing to do but sit and wait.
“You don’t look nervous,” I said. Not that Jack typically looked nervous; he was easygoing by nature. But this was hardly a normal situation. It wasn’t every day we asked a woman to be ours. We hadn’t used the word wife, not yet at least, but it was implied. It was what we meant and what we wanted. Katie as our wife, mother of our children.
I couldn’t remember the last time I wanted something more. This was nothing like Samantha Connors, my high school sweetheart. I could see now that Jack had been right to turn away from that. She hadn’t been the one for us.
Katie was.
“That’s because I’m not nervous,” Jack said. He sank into the couch and sprawled out, stretched his long legs out in front of
him. “Katie loves it here in Bridgewater. She’ll stay.”
I kicked his boots off the couch so I could sit too. “I wish I had your confidence.”
He arched an eyebrow at me. “You don’t think she loves it here?”
“I know she does. But deciding to stay means getting out of her own head for more than two seconds and listening to her gut.”
Jack gave a little grunt of agreement. He knew I was right. Did Katie love Bridgewater? Hell, yes. Did she enjoy spending time with us? Absolutely. That woman couldn’t doubt that she was our perfect match in bed—and out—at least. We’d made our point there… we’d showed her just how good it could be. But just because she enjoyed hot sex didn’t mean she was ready to admit that she belonged with us. It sure as hell didn’t mean she was ready to commit to being with us for the rest of her life.