Slow Hand (Hot Cowboy Nights, #1)(71)

“Because I’m scared!” Nikki cried. “He might be the best thing that ever happened to me and I was too afraid to even give it a chance. Now it’s probably too late.”

“Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t,” Shelby said. “There’s only one way to find out.”

“I know. That’s why I’m going,” Nikki said. “I’m probably setting myself up for a horrible fall, but I have to know if it’s really over. Seeing him face-to-face is the only way I’m ever going to know for certain.”

“And then what?” Shelby asked. “What happens if he does want to pick it back up again?”

“I’m going to cross that bridge when I come to it. I don’t want to get my hopes up when he might not even want me anymore.”

“If he doesn’t, he’s a dumb-ass.”

“No. I was. You don’t know how I treated him.” Damned fool that I was, I let him go. No, that wasn’t true either. Wade had accused her of pushing him away and he was right. She had actually pushed him away—the only decent man who’d ever wanted her. She had many regrets and wondered if she could ever make it up to him. She hoped she’d get the chance.

“Why don’t you come with me, Shelby? I don’t like the idea of leaving you alone with that psycho Dwight still on the loose.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Consider it an early Christmas present.”

“Can we stay at one of those plush ski resorts?” Shelby asked.

“You don’t know how to ski.”

“Then I’ll snowboard. How hard can that be? Besides, that’s what lessons are for—preferably with a really hot instructor.”

“It isn’t a vacation, Shel.”

“Why not make it one? I don’t get you at all, Nikki. You’ve got all this money now. Why don’t you enjoy some of it? Have some fun for a change?”

“Your idea of fun usually ends with a tattoo or a jail cell.”

Shelby made a face. “Not all the time. C’mon, Nik, just a couple of days. I’ve always wanted to go skiing.”

“All right. You win,” Nikki conceded. “We’ll spend the weekend at Big Sky.”

*

“Are you really sure about this move, Wade?” Allie leaned against the doorjamb as he taped up his last box. “You’ve worked so hard to build this practice. I can’t believe you’re just walking away from it.”

“I’m not walking, Allie,” Wade answered dryly, “I’m running. Now that Dirk has scored that organic foods contract, I don’t feel chained to the ranch anymore. If he wants to buy me out, I’m happy to let him.”

“But why give up this practice too?”

“Because I need a change. I’ve needed one for a long time. I feel like I’m suffocating here.”

“But Helena of all places? There’s nothing in Helena.”

“There’s a job with the DOJ in Helena.”

“At what…a third of your present salary? You really need to think this through, Wade. Even though things didn’t work between us, Daddy still thinks you’re one of the best associates he has. Given a few more years, the Denver practice could still be yours.”

“It’s not all about money, Allie. Maybe once I thought that’s all I wanted—a lucrative private practice and a loaded bank account—but a lot of things have changed.” He hated to admit it, but Nikki was no small part of that.

She stood up and wiped her hands. “All the more reason to come to Denver.”

Wade shook his head. “Maybe I’m not obligated to the ranch anymore, but that doesn’t mean I want to abandon my family altogether.”

“But you’re wasted here in Montana,” Allie insisted. “There’s so much more opportunity for a man of your talents in Colorado.”

He propped a hip on his empty desk in his empty office—empty of all but the neatly stacked boxes. “Maybe not the kind of opportunity I’m looking for. This job with the DOJ will allow me to make the contacts I need so I can do what I really want to do.”

“And what’s that?”

“I want to make a difference to the people here. We’re one of the poorest states in the country, but have some of the most abundant natural resources. I’m sick and tired of all the bureaucrats dictating how we manage those lands and resources at the expense of the people like my family whose roots stretch back four and five generations. It’s not right, damn it!” He slammed a fist on the desk. “It’s high time we reclaimed what’s ours so we can have a shot at a better future. That’s what I really want.”

Allie stared at him incredulously, and then clapped her hands. “Sign me up as the campaign manager. That was quite a speech, Wade.”

“Just tellin’ it like it is. It’s about time someone spoke up.”

She arched a brow. “So this lousy paying job you’ve taken is really just a stepping stone into politics?”

“Maybe.” Wade grinned. If anyone could cut to the chase, it was Allie.

She stood in front of him and reached out to straighten his tie. “You know Wade, if you change your mind and want to make a political career in Denver, I’d make an ideal politician’s wife.”