A Love Worth Waiting For

“I was only a kid at the time, so don’t hold it against me. Now I like baseball. Do Montanans like baseball?”

“What kind of question is that?” She nodded toward the minor league cap on the dash. “Okay, so I won’t toss you out on your ear, but only if you never mention polo again.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Miss Renton.” He winked at her.

With his hair wet and slicked away from his face, and his jacket clinging to every contour of his remarkable chest, he looked like a dream come true.

He’s trouble, Julie. Big-time, one-hundred-percent trouble. A sensible woman would keep the Continental Divide between them—and that’s exactly what she was going to do.

As soon as she got Hailey home.

Heaven was kind to her, because she spotted the Coreys’ driveway and eased off the road. The tires churned up the steep lane. No sooner had she slid to a stop in front of the carport, there was Mrs. Corey, arms outstretched, taking Hailey from Noah’s arms.

“I can’t believe you found her. Praise be, Julie, you’re a lifesaver.”

“Not me. I just did the driving.” Julie gestured toward the strong man, holding the back door open for Mrs. Corey. “Noah here is the hero. He saw Hailey fall from her horse and stopped to help.”

“No! Say you didn’t.” Mrs. Corey paled as she set Hailey down on the chair in front of the pellet stove and turned to stare at the handsome stranger. “Aren’t you Noah? Of course, I’ve heard of you. Goodness, won’t this be a story to tell. Hailey, my girl, you’re hurt.”

Noah knelt down, carefully taking the wet blankets. “We splinted her arm just to be safe. She should see a doctor.”

“I’ll call my nephew. He’s a medical doctor and he’s out looking for this little one, right along with the others. I’ve got to run and get hot water started. Julie, be a dear and call them on the radio.”

“Sure thing. I’ll send someone after Hailey’s horse, too.” As she left the room, she smoothed wet locks of hair out of her face and tucked them behind her ear.

A graceful gesture, and Noah couldn’t look away as she crossed the room. Her jeans and sweatshirt were baggy and stained with mud from the creek.

She was no fashion statement, but there was something that made him look and keep looking. She was simply beautiful. Not made up or artificial, but genuine.

“Miss Renton’s awful nice,” Hailey whispered to him while they were alone. “She got a broken heart.”

“A broken heart?”

“Cuz she had to give the ring back. A really pretty one. It sparkled and everything.”

Hmm. A broken engagement, huh? Noah couldn’t help turning his attention to Julie. She stood in the kitchen, visible above the countertops, where she was signing off on a handheld radio.

“Mrs. Corey, do you mind if I borrow your phone?” she called down the hall. “I’ve got to get a hold of Pastor Bill. I’m guessing that the party is canceled.”

“What? You can’t let the storm get in the way of an important celebration.” Mrs. Corey marched into view, with a warm blanket outstretched. “Look, the snow’s already stopping.”

Julie Renton. Noah thought about that. She had to be related to Harold Renton, the man he’d met today. The man ready to marry his grandmother and her money.

“I’ve got a bath running.” Mrs. Corey tapped into the room and scooped Hailey from the warm chair. “We’ll warm you up and get you into some clean clothes, and by that time the doctor will be here. Thank you again, Mr. Ashton.”

“No problem, ma’am.” He straightened. “Just make sure Hailey’s going to be all right.”

“She will be. Thanks to you and Julie.”

Julie appeared, frowning. “Pastor Bill has promised to clear the walkways right away. I guess the party is still on.”

“We’ll try to make it, dear. You drive safely now, and thanks again.” Mrs. Corey gave her a hug and, carrying Hailey deeper into the house, disappeared from sight.

“Did I hear her right?” Julie asked the minute they were in the truck. “Did she call you ‘Mr. Ashton’?”

“Some people have been known to do that.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s my name.”

The gleam of the dash lights showed the shock on her face. “You’re Nora’s grandson, the billionaire.”

“True.”

“James Noah Ashton the Third.” She closed her mouth and put the truck into reverse. “What should have been my first clue? That you know how to play polo?”

“You’re Harold’s granddaughter, the one he kept calling his angel.”

“I’m no angel. Granddad is just—” She wiped the fog from the rear window and backed up. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Why not?”

“Because he’s simply wonderful. And I’m telling you right here, if you don’t treat him with respect, you and I are going to have serious problems.”

“I’m not looking for trouble.” He did his best to sound innocent. “Not unless it’s already there.”

“What does that mean?” She jammed the gear-shift into first and held it while she eased out the clutch. “I knew it. This is what I’ve been afraid of all along. You’re going to cause trouble because you don’t think my decent, wonderful grandfather is good enough for a billionaire’s grandmother.”

“Where did you get an idea like that? I only want what’s best for Nanna.”

Only want what’s best? Julie didn’t like the sound of that. “Then you mean my granddad isn’t?”

“That’s not what I said. I’m trying to keep an open mind.”

“Trying?” She popped the truck out of gear on the steep slope, gripping the steering wheel so tightly, her knuckles were white. “Tell me you haven’t come to try to stop the wedding.”

“Why would I do that? I won’t break my grandmother’s heart unless there’s a good reason. If your grandfather is the decent man you say he is, there will be no problem. You have my word on that.”

Something troubled her, but Julie couldn’t figure out what as she applied steady pressure to the brakes and turned into the spin as the truck slid. “Then you’re here only to help celebrate this engagement? You’re not against it? You don’t dislike my granddad?”

“I came all the way from New York just to make my grandmother happy by attending her party. That’s all for now. You can’t blame me for wanting to protect her. Aside from my sister, Nanna’s the only family I have.”

“Then you understand how I feel about Granddad.” Julie’s blood pressure crept back down to normal, and she didn’t hold the wheel quite so hard as she pulled onto the main road. “All my life he’s been there for me. Supportive. Understanding. Someone I could depend on. I don’t intend to let anyone hurt him.”

“Then we agree.” The deep lines etched in Noah’s forehead vanished and he relaxed against the seat. “No mother or father?”

“No. Mom ran off when I was in eighth grade, and three years later my dad was thrown from a horse and killed.” She swallowed hard, but the pain after all those years was still there. Would always be.

“I’m sorry for your losses. That had to be tough.”

“With the Lord’s help and my granddad, I managed to get through all right.” She didn’t tell him how lonely she’d been, living with relatives, always feeling as if she didn’t belong. “Granddad’s guidance made all the difference in the world to me when I was growing up.”

“I know just how you feel.” He nodded once, his gaze pinning hers.

She felt an odd connection between them. Suddenly the truck’s passenger cab seemed to shrink and he was way too close. She was alone with one of the richest men in the country—probably on the planet—and he wasn’t at all what she expected or what she would have predicted him to be.

“There’s Nanna’s car. It’s a classic, she tells me. I think she’s fooling herself because a refrigerator would be warmer than that heater she has.”

Julie shifted into neutral and coasted to a stop. “If you want, I can give you a ride to her house. You’re as wet and cold as I am.”

“I’m tough.” He flashed her a megawatt smile. “I guess I’ll see you in a few. At the party. Save me a dance, will you?”

“Sure. No problem. I’ll fit you in between the corporate raider millionaire I’m seeing and my supermodel ex-boyfriend.”

He laughed, deep and rich, and there was something about him. He was like a flawless diamond and she was a cubic zirconia.

“Later.” He’d meant it as goodbye, but it sounded more like a promise.

The door slicked shut. The fog and ice on the windshield had completely cleared away, giving her a perfect view of Noah’s confident, powerful gait. As if the cold couldn’t touch him, he moved easily, without hurry, and stopped to fish the keys from his trouser pocket.

She waited until the car had started before she put her truck in gear. As she passed by, Noah rolled down his window and waved to her.

Her pulse skipped an entire beat. And why was that? she asked herself as she negotiated the icy road. What she felt was not attraction. She simply refused to be attracted. Hadn’t she learned her lesson? Hadn’t her heart been broken enough?

True love wasn’t God’s will for her, and she accepted it. Plain and simple.

As for that little skip in her vital signs, she’d simply forget it ever happened. She had a party to host. A grandfather to see married. For the first time in a year, she was standing on level ground. She was happy. She wasn’t going to mess that up by wishing for a man who was out of her league.

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