Chapter Thirteen

She would get through this. One way or another.

And she would do it by keeping herself busy. There was still a lot to be done on the Hartman ranch, and she was throwing herself into the work. They hired the interns, and she was frequently assigning them tasks and showing them what to do. They were finally getting on track with the schedule.

To top it off, Jones Construction was rocking. The rumor that the Hartmans were repairing their ranch had circulated around the community, and Gus was getting a number of calls asking if Jones Construction would have time to work on their homesteads. More work meant they could hire more people. The company was growing, she was taking on more responsibility, and things were looking up.

It was the quiet, slow moments that were the hardest. The pause between work where she needed a break. That was when she would notice the pain that hollowed out her heart.

Colton tried to call four days after he left. Repeatedly. She let it go to voicemail every time. And Colton never left a message. It got to the point that she just turned her phone off, so she’d stop checking it.

She understood. Really, she did. Colton didn’t want to be stuck in Montana. He’d told her dozens of times over the months he had been here. But Garnet Valley was her home. Her life was here, her father was here, her friends were here. There wasn’t a shadow of a doubt in her mind that this was where she belonged. So there was no point in dragging their relationship out. It wouldn’t have a chance to go anywhere, but that didn’t mean she wanted to hear him speak those words.

She’d rather just accept the truth silently and move on.

She pulled on her work jeans and a light-blue plaid shirt. Her fingers were numb as she pulled the buttons through their holes. Finger-combing her hair into place, she pulled it up into a ponytail. Today she was taking a break from Rocking H and going into town to see her dad to work on financial planning.

Twenty minutes later, she stepped into the tiny office of Jones Construction. Her dad was at his desk, looking at his computer monitor. He was already surrounded by papers and three partially empty coffee cups.

“I can’t believe how much the price of timber is going up. George Gallows is going to have a fit at the price of the deck he wants us to build,” her dad muttered, keeping his eyes on the computer.

It was such a normal thing for her father to say. It was like nothing had changed.

“Does he want his backyard landscaped?” she asked. Her throat felt tight as she asked the question, but she was determined to make this day normal.

Her dad shrugged. “We can ask.”

Finally, he broke away from the screen and whirled around. Standing, he went over to her, a broad smile on his face. “Speaking of landscaping, I have great news for you.”

“You do?” What news could he possibly have for her? “News or gossip?”

“News,” he said, his smile broadening. “I heard from the park board, and they were really impressed with your interview.”

Every bit of blood seemed to drain from her face. They weren’t supposed to call for another couple of days.

“They said they tried to call you, but they couldn’t get past your voicemail.”

“What did they say?” she whispered, her heart pounding so hard, she thought she was going to throw up. She knew she wanted this project more than anything, but the impact of nearly tossing her breakfast made her realize just how badly she wanted it.

“They loved your ideas, and they really like the idea of a hometown woman working on it. They want to see execution, though. So they said they would wait until after the dance to make a decision. They said if the decorating goes well and aligns with the ideas that you have shown, they think you have what it takes for the park project to be successful.”

She blinked at him once. Twice. “I might have the project?”

“You’ve got the project. You just have to pull off the dance next week, and you’ve got it. I know you can do it, sweetheart.”

Her chest expanded. This was it—her chance to launch the landscape side of Jones Construction. Granted this was one project, but it was a significant one for Garnet Valley, and it would be enough to get her started down the path of adding this service to their company. All she had to do was demonstrate her skills when it came to decorating for the dance, which she and Steph had designed with a number of temporary landscaping-type features.

“I can’t believe it.” Her voice cracked at the last word. Oh gosh, was she really going to cry?

Sam’s head snapped up. His eyes were wide with concern as he looked his daughter over. “Are you okay, Gussy?” He stood from his desk and peered down at her face. “No, you’re not. What happened?”

Before she could answer, her dad wrapped her in a hug so tight, she could barely breath.

Resting her head against his shoulder, she gave up, and let the tears flow.

Tears that her mom couldn’t see her success. Tears for Colton leaving. But more than that—tears that all she had had worked for was finally worth it.

“I wish Mom could see this,” she said finally.

Her dad nodded and continued to hold her. “I know. She would be so proud.”

A week later, Gus was scrambling to gather all the supplies to decorate for the dance. The big event was tonight, and at noon today, they would all be gathering to set up the park.

Her truck was loaded with plans, fairy lights, plants, tablecloths, napkins, and more decorations than she knew what to do with. Other volunteers were bringing in the folding chairs, tables, dance floor, and odds and ends.

She liked being busy. It distracted her from the fact that tonight was supposed to be her last chance to impress the deciding board for the park project. And it distracted her from Colton. Which was something she desperately needed. Colton still called every few days. Apparently, he wasn’t going to break up with her via message, but he also wasn’t taking the hint that she just wanted to move on.

She pulled together her clothes and makeup that she wanted to wear tonight. She had decided to go all out—favorite dark jeans, a snug top, and smoky makeup. She threw everything into a duffel bag so she could get ready at Steph’s.

Everything so far was going smoothly. Her horses did not get out, she had everything loaded up in her truck on time, and when she locked the door to her house, she still had two minutes to spare.

The truck started with her second try. It had become more difficult to start these days, and she had an appointment to get it into the shop next week, but as long as she got to the park on time, that was all that mattered.

With a quick fist pump, she directed the truck down her driveway and onto the small highway. In her mind’s eye, she envisioned the park, fully decorated. Knowing how important the final result was going to be, she wanted to pay even more attention to the details. She didn’t want to miss a thing.

Quickly glancing in the rearview mirror as she headed down the highway, she caught flashes of tissue paper flapping in the breeze, ready to blow out any minute.

That wasn’t good. The truck was already stuffed to the max with little room to fit a box inside.

Pulling over, she turned off the truck and got out. Sure enough, the top to the box was missing. She spotted it a ways down the highway.

With a sigh, she maneuvered the boxes inside the cab until she had just enough room to shift the box to the front passenger seat. She could feel the adrenaline pumping as she hurried back around the truck to get behind the driver’s seat.

Now she was fifteen minutes behind.

If she hurried, she wouldn’t be too late. Just a little late.

Adam’s warning when she was late to the first park meeting popped into her head. That no one would think she was taking this seriously if she didn’t arrive on time.

“I do take this seriously,” she said out loud, her voice sounding stark in the silent cab. She inserted the key into the ignition and turned.

The engine rolled over, groaning in effort.

Then nothing.

Again she turned the key. The truck whined and groaned, but the starter wouldn’t catch.

Her diaphragm ticked, impulsively jumping as her breath became shorter.

She tried the key once more.

No response.

No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening.

Not now. Not today. Her mechanic had been booked through to next week but thought she would be fine until then.

Apparently, he was wrong.

Grabbing her cell, she dialed Steph’s number. Silence.

Gus stared at the screen, the connection stubbornly refusing to go through. She checked her level of service and dropped her phone in her lap.

She was stuck on an empty highway in the one stretch with no cell service. The same spot she had found Colton with his flat tire months ago.

She could start walking, but this was Montana. She was miles to the nearest neighbor, and by the time they got back to her truck, she’d be beyond late.

They had carefully timed the decorating so that there would be enough time to get ready, head home to change, and then come back. They were relying on her to pull this scheme off, and she wasn’t going to be there. She had everything. Even if someone went looking for her, it would be at least an hour off their time to pull everything together.

Her chest felt like a rock was crushing her lungs, and she choked back a sob.

Unless someone drove down this empty highway anytime soon, she was going to let everyone down.

And she was going to lose her park project.