Good Enough (Meet Me in Montana #3) - Kelly Elliott Page 0,122

steps back and watched Tanner interact with the horse. Everything I had been through had brought me to this very moment. The only thing I needed in my life was this man. This wonderful, caring, amazing man who was starting his own journey in life, and bought a freaking house and land so that I could start a dream I’d had for so long. The one person I knew I was destined to spend the rest of my life with. There was a reason he had pushed his way into my heart, and I wasn’t afraid to take the leap with him. Not anymore. Faith and trust were the two things that stood out when it came to Tanner Shaw.

“We could do this together,” I softly whispered.

“What was that?” Tanner asked as he looked up at me and let the horse’s leg down.

“Nothing, I was just thinking out loud.”

He smiled, and I couldn’t help but smile back. “Do you think you’ll have time to maybe work him with me?”

Tanner’s smile morphed into a wide grin. “I was hoping you’d ask. I’d love to work with him. He looks like he could be a great horse. If you wanted to get back into dressage competition, he’d be perfect for that. I can see it in his eyes.”

I looked at the pathetic-looking horse. He looked tired, and only someone who truly loved horses could look past what was on the outside to see what potential this horse had. I sensed it the moment I stepped into the stall with him, and clearly Tanner had as well. “If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to call my father.”

Tanner looked surprised. “Right now?”

I nodded. “Yes. Right now.”

Chapter Thirty-One

TIMBERLYNN

My heart pounded so loudly, I was positive everyone in the Missoula airport heard it.

“Don’t be nervous,” Tanner whispered as he pulled me closer to him.

“I can’t believe he agreed to come.”

“And why wouldn’t he?”

Slowly, I shook my head. “Because he’s never come to anything. Ever. Tanner, he wasn’t even at my high school graduation.”

Tanner frowned. “He wasn’t?”

“No! Or my college graduation.”

Without saying a word, Tanner kissed me on the forehead. “Well, he’s here now.”

I blew out a breath and mumbled, “He’s about eighteen years too late.”

My breath caught in my throat as I saw my father heading down the escalator. He scanned the area, and when he saw me, he smiled. I smiled back, almost without meaning to. Things had been tense between us the last few years, but that one smile gave me the slightest bit of hope. I wasn’t going to go crazy, though. My father had let me down so many times in my past, and I knew this feeling was only temporary.

“There he is,” I softly said as Tanner dropped his arm from around my waist.

In a minute he was there. Standing in front of me, the smile still on his face. He truly looked happy to see me.

“Dad,” I said as I walked up and kissed him on the cheek. I was stunned when he pulled me into a hug and held onto me.

“Timberlynn, I’ve missed you so much, sweetheart.”

Then he let me go and looked at Tanner.

Tanner stuck out his hand to give him a firm shake. “Mr. Holden, I’m Tanner Shaw, it’s a real pleasure to meet you.”

My father gave Tanner a good once-over. His smile was still there, yet it had faded ever so slightly. “Tanner, it’s good to meet you. It’s also good to put a face to the name.”

I smiled nervously.

“Your luggage will be coming off of this belt,” Tanner stated.

“I carried mine on, learned my lesson a time or two.”

Tanner laughed an honest laugh, while I let out a nervous-sounding chuckle. My father turned to look at me, and I forced myself to smile wide. “Did you have a good flight?”

He nodded.

Tanner reached for his suitcase. “Let me take that for you, sir. I hope you don’t mind, but my parents have planned a small lunch with my two older brothers and their wives to welcome you to Montana.”

My father kept the pleasant smile on his face. “That sounds nice.”

As we walked out of the airport, my father stopped. I turned and looked at him.

“Dad? What’s wrong?”

He stared straight ahead, and I heard Tanner chuckle. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” Tanner said.

With a slow nod of his head, my father replied, “They don’t look real. It looks like a picture.”

I turned to see where he was looking. The mountains. They were covered in a fresh