Montana Wishes

by Amy Vastine

  “I don’t know. Does it matter?”

  “Yes, it matters. If I had to hear everyone’s thoughts all the time, it would be so overwhelming. I also don’t want to know what some people are thinking because...ew. Some people are gross.”

  This was why he loved her. Amanda didn’t make the mistake of rushing into anything. It made her an excellent business partner, and she had also kept him out of trouble a time or two because sometimes she forced him to be more cautious.

  “You make some excellent points. Let’s say you can choose whose mind you invade.”

  “Great, you made it sound creepy. Now I don’t know which one to pick anymore.” She frowned and turned her head. He was about to tell her she wasn’t a creep because he would love to be able to read her mind, when she shouted, “Watch out!”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  THE CAR IN front of them had slammed on the brakes, definitely hit something and proceeded to keep on going. Amanda was sick. How could someone show such little regard for an animal’s life?

  Blake carefully maneuvered to the side of the road without hurting Clancy in the back seat. Amanda didn’t hesitate to jump out of the car. The animal that had been struck by the other car was lying on its side motionless. She didn’t have to get very close to know that the gray wolf had not survived.

  “Be careful,” Blake said, coming to her side.

  “Poor thing. What is a wolf doing out here by the highway in the middle of the afternoon?”

  “I don’t know.” Blake surveilled the area. “But we both know that wolves run in packs. It’s most likely not alone. We should go back to the car and call the police.”

  The police would contact the proper local authorities to come and remove the deceased animal. Amanda hated the thought of any animal in pain, but wolves were so much like dogs that this seemed all the more tragic. This wolf would be missed by another wolf tonight. The thought got her choked up. That was when she heard the little yelp from the long grass on the side of the road. Blake must have heard it, too, because he was already moving in that direction.

  Not too far off the road, two playful gray wolf pups were wrestling with each other. “Oh no,” Amanda said. “Do you think that was their mom?”

  Blake shrugged. “Probably. I can’t imagine they would be this far away from their den with anyone other than their mother. The rest of the pack can’t be too far. One of the adults will find them and take them back.”

  “What if they don’t?” Her heart pounded in her chest. “These two aren’t very old. They won’t be able to survive out here by themselves. And what if they wander out into the road like their mother? We can’t leave them here, Blake. We can’t.”

  “Let’s call the police and we’ll tell them there are pups.”

  “Or we can take the pups and find a sanctuary for them once we get to the ranch.”

  “Amanda, we can’t take these two wild animals with us. Clancy will go nuts.”

  Thankfully, Amanda had been prepared with the perfect solution. Since it was possible she might have to fly home with Clancy, she had brought along his travel crate. “We can put them in Clancy’s crate in the back to protect them and us. We can’t leave them here. They could get hurt this close to the road. After what happened to their mother, it’s way too dangerous.”

  Blake was a sucker for animals just as much as she was. The only option was to rescue them or wait for hours for someone from animal control to come out, because Amanda was not leaving these two alone.

  “I’ll set up the crate, but remember wolves aren’t as people friendly as dogs, Harrison. Good luck getting them to come to you.”

  Amanda had been so focused on getting Blake to agree with her plan that she hadn’t considered how difficult it might be to convince the little pups that coming with her was the best option. She knelt down near where they played.

  One of them took notice of her before the other. He or she stared at her with clear distrust. The other one, who was still a bit oblivious, took its sibling’s distractibility as an open invitation to pounce. The two of them rolled around until the second one also realized there was a stranger in their midst. They both got to their feet and stared her down.

  “Hello there. I know I’m probably a little bit scary.” This was one of those moments when she wished that she really did have the ability to speak to animals. It would make this a whole lot easier. How in the world would she convince them that she meant them no harm?

  As if they not only could understand her but also read her mind, the two pups stumbled over to her completely unafraid. They sniffed her and let her run a hand across their backs. She picked them both up, one in each hand, and carried them over to the car, where Blake was on the phone and the trunk was open with the crate all set up.

  Blake finished his call and shook his head. “Seriously? They just came to you, didn’t they?”

  Amanda shrugged. “Maybe animals can understand what I say.”

  “You’ve always had the magic touch, that’s for sure. Someone from animal control will come and take care of their mom. You better hope that someone at the Blackwell Ranch knows what to do with two baby wolves. They are not coming back to San Diego with us.”

  There was no worry about that. Lily had told Amanda all about the Blackwell cousins. One of them was a vet. Ethan Blackwell supposedly ran a clinic right out of the ranch. He would at least know how to care for them until Amanda found a place that would be able to return them to the wild.

  Clancy was quite interested in their new travel companions. The wolfhound wanted nothing more than to be friends with the wolves. Amanda chose to sit in the back seat with him to keep him from trying to climb into the third row with the pups. The wolves, however, were not big fans of cages or riding in cars. They started howling about an hour into the drive and didn’t stop even when they drove under the Blackwell Family Guest Ranch arch.

  Amanda craned her neck to take in all the sights. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected this place to be. She’d never been to a guest ranch or even a regular ranch. She had looked at pictures of it online, and it seemed more like a mountain resort than anything else. Whoever put their website together did a very good at making it look like an upscale retreat.

  “Did you text Lily to let her know that we have Clancy and two wolf pups with us?” Blake asked as he pulled into the parking lot marked for guests. “Maybe she should come out here and meet us. Along with whoever is going to take these howlers.”

  Amanda texted Lily and hooked on Clancy’s leash. “Can you take Clancy for a bathroom break? I’ll handle the pups.”

  “You made it!” Lily came running from the direction of one of the barns nearby. Hearing her voice put a lump in Amanda’s throat. It had been over a month since she’d seen her sister, a month when Amanda had needed her the most.

  All of her frustration with her sister evaporated as soon as Lily wrapped her arms around her. “I’m glad to see you’re really alive and well.”

  “I am alive and very well. Never been better, actually,” Lily replied. She let Amanda go and took a good look at her sister. “How was the drive? How are you?”

  “Drive was long and I am happy to see you. I have been really worried about you.”

  “No reason to be worried, sis. I am happier than I’ve ever been and I cannot wait for you to meet Conner.”

  “What about me? Are you excited for me to meet Conner, too, Lily Pad?” Blake asked. Clancy, who was probably excited to simply be out of the car, nearly yanked Blake’s arm off trying to get to Lily.

  “Clancy!” The Irish wolfhound almost knocked her over. “Good to see you, too, big boy.” Amanda took the leash from Blake and settled Clancy down. Lily opened her arms. “Mr. Collins, I hear congratulations are in order.”

  “I guess I could say the same.” Blake embraced Lily, and Amanda felt the faint tug of possessiveness th
at always appeared when Blake and any of her sisters interacted. Growing up in a family of five girls only a few years apart in age meant never really having anything that could be called their own. The girls shared everything from hairbrushes and makeup to shoes and clothes. Blake, however, was hers.

  “Yeah, congratulations. You two have successfully stressed me out.”

  Blake took a step back but threw his arm around Lily’s shoulders. “Oh, Harrison. You love that the two of us keep things interesting. Without us, your life would be so boring.”

  That was true and why it was so painful that their marriages were going to change things between them.

  “You do not have to stress over me. I have more than enough people here to help me with this wedding. You get to come back in December and just enjoy the party,” Lily said.

  “We’re flying back in December,” Blake said, stretching his arms above his head. “I cannot deal with your sister’s need to play road-trip karaoke.”

  “How about her ability to attract animals in need?” Lily dipped her head to peek through the window at the rambunctious wolves. “Ethan—that’s the Blackwell who’s the vet—said you really should have left them where they were, but he’s got a friend who can take care of them.”

  “Well, Ethan wasn’t there, and he didn’t see how close they were to the highway. They would have ended up like their mother if we hadn’t rescued them.”

  “Wolves run in pretty tight-knit packs. The adults in the pack look out for the young, even if they aren’t the parents.” A man in jeans and a plaid button-down seemed to have come out of nowhere. He tipped back his cowboy hat and showed off one heck of a chiseled jaw and some soulful brown eyes.

  “You must be Ethan Blackwell,” Blake said.

  The guy shook his head. “No, sir. I would be Conner Hannah. You must be Blake and Amanda.”

  Conner. The Conner.

  “Well, if it isn’t the man who stole our Lily Pad’s heart.” Blake held out his hand. “Good to finally meet you.”

  “Lily Pad?” Conner raised a brow.

  Lily rolled her eyes. “Blake is fond of nicknames. Some are better than others.”

  Conner nodded and turned his attention toward Amanda. “Welcome to Falcon Creek.” He stepped in her direction. “Boy, you sure do look like your sister.”

  The awkwardness jumped up five notches. Should she hug him? Shake hands? He seemed just as unsure of how to proceed. If he was going to be her brother-in-law in a couple of months, she probably should hug him. Of course, the first thing he’d said to her was that she was an idiot for rescuing the wolf pups. Handshake it was.

  Amanda stuck out her hand just as he went in for the hug. “Nice to meet you, Conner. We get that a lot. Seems people don’t expect identical twins to look identical for some reason.”

  He shook her hand and then shoved his hands in his pockets. “I grew up with the Blackwell twins—Ben and Ethan, that is. They also look freakishly alike. Tyler and Chance are fraternal. They look like brothers but not the same. I guess I never know what to expect when someone says they have a twin.”

  Freakish? Had he just called Amanda and Lily freakish? Amanda was not going to leave her sister in Montana with someone who thought they were freaks.

  “Not that I think you guys look freakish,” he backpedaled, clearly reading her horrified expression. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “Hey, we also have a fraternal triplet, Georgie. We kind of are freaks,” Lily said, trying to make it better for him.

  “I am usually much better at making a first impression than this, but I think I am really nervous. I’m sure that you have a lot of questions and want to make sure your sister is making the right decision by settling down with me. Lily and I are moving at light speed. That probably raises a bunch of red flags.”

  At least he wasn’t oblivious to how their rash behavior might appear to those on the outside of their little love bubble.

  “I’m making the right decision. There’s no doubt,” Lily said, entwining her fingers with his and kissing him on the cheek. Amanda didn’t miss the way Lily looked at him with pure adoration.

  “Well, I know you feel that way, sweetheart, but it would be nice if we had your family’s blessing.”

  “Amanda doesn’t need convincing. She’s always been the one who knows me best. It won’t take her longer than two seconds to see that you are the very best and I am the luckiest girl in the world that Big E asked you to be my chaperone.”

  They shared another kiss that lingered. It was almost too much. The way they smiled at each other made Amanda uncomfortable. It was like they had known each other forever. Both of them were completely smitten. No one had ever looked at Amanda that way—like no one could or would ever compare.

  “Right, sis?” Lily asked, putting her on the spot.

  Before she could respond, Clancy caught sight of a couple approaching and pulled Amanda across the parking lot to make their acquaintance. The blonde woman was visibly pregnant and the dark-haired man was quick to step in between her and the overeager monster dog coming their way.

  “He’s friendly. Maybe too friendly,” Amanda assured them as she tried to hold her ground. “Clancy, chill.”

  “He’s beautiful. What kind of dog is he?” the woman asked. She knelt down and gave Clancy a good rubdown. She was now his favorite person here.

  “Irish wolfhound. He’s huge, but don’t let his size fool you. He’s a lover.”

  “You must be Lily’s sister,” the man said. “I wouldn’t be able to tell you two apart if it wasn’t for the fact that my ranch hand and your sister are always attached at the hip instead of, oh, I don’t know, working.”

  “Hey, now. Are you calling me a slacker?” Conner asked with his hands on his hips. “Because I have been working my butt off. Hadley can attest to that.”

  “He has. Be nice, Tyler.” Hadley Blackwell stood back up and nudged her husband. Lily had mentioned her to Amanda a bunch whenever they spoke on the phone. Hadley and Tyler ran the guest ranch, and Hadley was also helping Lily plan the big wedding. “We want to help Conner make a good impression. Hi, I’m Hadley. We are so excited that you’re here. Lily talks about you all the time.”

  “That’s funny. She talks about you all the time, too.”

  “That’s so sweet. It’s been fun getting to know each other. It’s nice not being the newest member of the family anymore. I mean, Katie was actually the last one to marry into the family, but she’s practically been an honorary member of the Blackwells since she was a kid. Being a Blackwell can be a little overwhelming, so don’t be afraid to come talk to me if they get to be too much.”

  Amanda stiffened. She was not a Blackwell. She would never be a Blackwell. That wasn’t why she was here.

  “Hey, Harrison. You gonna introduce me or do I have to do it myself?” Blake asked, coming up alongside her. He clearly noticed her visceral reaction to what Hadley had said. His use of her last name was exactly what she needed. She was a Harrison. She always would be.

  “This is my friend Blake. He’s about as shy as the dog.”

  Blake shook hands with Tyler and Hadley. “This is quite the place. I told my fiancée that I would have to check things out and see if you guys live up to your reputation of being the premier wedding destination. Nadia loves horses.”

  “We’ve got those,” Tyler said with a grin. “And my wife and I have worked very hard over the last year to earn all the accolades. If you are looking for the dream wedding experience, you came to the right place.”

  “My husband should have mentioned that his brother also helped put us on the map,” Hadley said as another man joined them. “Speak of the devil. Ethan, come meet Lily’s sister.”

  Ethan Blackwell was tall and lean. He had the same gorgeous blue eyes as his brother but wasn’t as polished as Tyler. The sleeves of his shirt w
ere rolled up to the elbows and his jeans were covered in dust. “The sister who has a thing for rescuing wolf pups?”

  “Guilty as charged. I know we probably should have waited for animal control, but they were so close to the highway, I didn’t want to leave them there and risk them suffering the same fate as their mother.”

  “Amanda is the ultimate softy when it comes to anything with four legs. She might love animals more than you do, Ethan,” Lily said.

  “That doesn’t surprise me, coz. Does she have the magic touch with horses like you?”

  “No one has the magic touch like my fiancée,” Conner replied, giving Lily a squeeze.

  What kind of alternate universe had Amanda landed in? Did Ethan call Lily coz? Why did she suddenly feel like a complete outsider? These Blackwells had sucked Lily in faster than Amanda could imagine.

  “Looks like she brought her own horse,” Ethan said with a laugh as he greeted Clancy, who was happy to get some more attention. “Who is this big guy?”

  “This is Clancy. I hope it’s okay that I brought my dog. I hate leaving him in a kennel, and with my dad gone on this trip with Mr. Blackwell, and Blake here with me, I didn’t have my usual pet sitters to stay with him.”

  “Big E would hate being called Mr. Blackwell,” Ethan said with a snicker.

  “No worries,” Hadley assured her, pulling some keys out of her pocket and handing them to Amanda. “I don’t know if Lily told you, but we set you guys up in one of the two-bedroom guest cottages instead of the lodge. We figured you would prefer to have some privacy and a little more room, as well. Clancy is more than welcome in the cottage.”

  “I’ve been staying in the one right next door.” Lily linked arms with her sister. “We’ll be neighbors.”

  Amanda had to control her facial expression as she stared down at the key chain labeled Green Forest. She had to hide the shock that the plan was for Amanda and Blake to share a cottage. She had assumed that the sisters would be roommates not neighbors. How was she going to convince Lily to come back to San Diego if they couldn’t have their late-night heart-to-hearts as they were drifting off to sleep? That was when Lily was her most honest and her least defensive.