Montana Cowboy

by Jillian Hart

  “This is our last big celebration together.” Anna Louise trudged ahead, bouncing with happiness. “At least until my wedding.”

  “Not that we won’t text like crazy,” Honor pointed out.

  “And talk on the phone,” Kelsey added.

  “And we can always fly the friendly skies when we can’t take being part another minute.” Anna Louise rushed ahead. Tom, the piano tuner, gave her a besotted look. “Hey, handsome. Wanna take me to dinner?”

  “Gladly.” Tom offered Anna Louise his arm. Kelsey hurried to join them as they headed toward the restaurant on the pier. Which meant she was alone with Luke, with her beloved.

  “This is pretty great.” He held out his hand to her. “Are you sure you don’t want to live in California? My offer still stands. I can move out here. This ocean view isn’t so bad.”

  “We can always come visit, how about that?” She loved the feel of her hand in his, their fingers together. “But from now on, I’m always going to be a Montana girl.”

  “Always. I like the sound of that.” He strode beside her, adjusting his gait to match hers. Tomorrow bright and early they would head home with her possessions packed into a little moving truck. Already Luke’s sisters had found her an apartment not far from Colbie’s home, and she’d even applied for a job at the Prospect school district. It would all work out, she knew, because their future was safe in God’s hands.

  “I think it’s only fair to warn you, Honor.”

  “Warn me about what?”

  “It looks like we’re heading for a happy ending.” He pulled her into his arms.

  “Yes, we are. It’s going to be the happiest ever.”

  His kiss was proof of that. Infinitely tender. Flawless. The perfect start to their happy ending. As if heaven agreed, the sunshine brightened like a blessing, casting them in pure gold.

  Yes, a definite happy ending.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt of The Promise of Home by Kathryn Springer!

  Dear Reader,

  The McKaslin Clan stories are like coming home for me. When you pick up this book, I hope you feel the same way. I’ve had Luke’s story in mind for many years, just waiting to be told, a tale about two people who meet online at a book reader’s site and strike up a friendship. Luke is hoping for more, although Honor is in no way ready for another relationship. Of course, the minute you make plans in life, they are bound to change. I hope you enjoy this tender love story of two deserving hearts.

  Thank you for choosing Montana Cowboy and for returning to the McKaslin family with me.

  As always, wishing you love and peace,

  Jillian Hart

  Questions for Discussion

  What are your first impressions of Luke? How would you describe him?

  What are your first impressions of Honor? What do you learn about her from the way she handles Jerrod? Treats her friends? What does this tell you about her character?

  Why do you think Luke has developed a crush on Honor, even when their only contact has been over the computer? Have you ever had this happen to you?

  Why isn’t Honor a Montana girl at the beginning of the book? What influences her? How does this change?

  What do you think Honor expects when she first meets Luke face-to-face? How does meeting Luke and his family change her?

  Why do you think Luke is so shy about sharing his feelings? What is at the core of this?

  Family and friends speculate and meddle in Honor and Luke’s relationship. What part do they play in the budding romance? How does this affect Honor? Luke?

  What makes Honor begin to fall for Luke? When do you think she really falls in love with him?

  What are Luke’s strengths? What are his weaknesses? What do you come to admire about him?

  What values do you think are important in this book?

  What do you think are the central themes in this book? How do they develop? What meanings do you find in them?

  How does God guide both Honor and Luke? How is this evident? How does God lead them to true love?

  There are many different kinds of love in this book. What are they? What do Honor and Luke each learn about true love?

  We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired story.

  You believe hearts can heal. Love Inspired stories show that faith, forgiveness and hope have the power to lift spirits and change lives—always.

  Visit Harlequin.com to find your next great read.

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  Chapter One

  “Please follow the highlighted route—”

  Jenna Gardner tapped the tiny screen on the GPS and silenced the voice of her invisible navigator once and for all. Not only because the high-tech gadget seemed to be as confused as she was by the tangled skein of roads winding around Mirror Lake, but because Jenna was tempted to take its advice.

  She wanted to follow the highlighted route right back to her condo in the Twin Cities.

  “You passed it, Aunt Jenna!”

  A panicked cry reminded her that going home wasn’t an option. Not for awhile, anyway.

  Jenna glanced in the rearview mirror. Once again, she experienced a jolt at the sight of the two children in the backseat.

  Silver blond hair. Delicate features. Wide blue eyes.

  Jenna had met Logan and Tori for the first time only three days ago. The children were practically strangers.

  Strangers who were the mirror image of her younger sister, Shelly, as a child.

  For a split second, Tori met Jenna’s gaze. Then she buried her face in the tattered scrap of pink flannel that doubled as a blanket.

  Jenna pressed her lips together to prevent a sigh from escaping.

  One step forward, two steps back, she reminded herself. The five-year-old girl was adjusting to the idea of having an aunt the same way Jenna was getting used to the idea of having a niece and nephew.

  “You have to turn around,” Logan insisted.

  “Are you sure?” Jenna tipped her Ray-Bans down and tried to peer through the hedge of wild sumac that bordered the road. “I don’t see anything.”

  “Uh-huh. It’s back there.” Logan, the self-appointed spokesman for the two siblings, nodded vigorously.

  Under the circumstances, Jenna was willing to give the boy the benefit of the doubt. She put the car in reverse and began to inch backwards.

  In Minneapolis, a dozen horns would have instantly chastised her for the move. But here in the north woods of Wisconsin, the only complaint Jenna heard came from a squirrel perched on a branch near the side of the road. More than likely voicing its opinion on her presence rather than her driving skills.

  She spotted a wide dirt path that could have been—if a person possessed a vivid imagination—a driveway.

  Pulling in a deep breath, Jenna gave the steering wheel a comforting pat as she turned off the road. Her back teeth rattled in time with the suspension as the vehicle bumped its way through the potholes.

  Logan leaned forward and pointed to something up ahead. “There it is.”

  Well, that explained why Jenna had driven right past it.

  She’d been looking for a house.

 
The weathered structure crouched in the shadow of a stately white pine looked more like a shed. Jenna’s gaze shifted from the rusty skeleton of an old lawn mower to the faded sheets tacked up in the windows.

  Oh, Shelly.

  Why hadn’t her younger sister admitted that she needed help? Why hadn’t she accepted Jenna’s offer to move in with her after Logan was born?

  Throughout her pregnancy, Shelly had claimed that she and her musician boyfriend, Vance, planned to marry before the baby arrived. But when Jenna had visited her eighteen-year-old sister in the maternity wing of a Madison hospital, there hadn’t been a ring on Shelly’s finger. Not only that, she’d been alone. Faced with a choice, Vance had decided that a gig at a club in Dubuque was more important than being present for the birth of his child.

  Shelly had made excuses for him—the same way their mother had made excuses for their father every time he’d walked out the door.

  While Jenna was pleading with Shelly to return to Minneapolis with her, Vance had sauntered into the room. The guy might have been a mediocre guitar player, but his acting skills were nothing short of amazing. He’d apologized to Shelly for not being there and promised that she and the baby could travel with the band as their “good luck charms.”

  When Jenna had asked her sister if she was willing to sentence her child to the nomadic lifestyle they’d experienced while growing up, Vance had turned on her. Accused her of being a troublemaker. He’d convinced Shelly that Jenna was jealous of their relationship and didn’t want them to be happy.

  The stars in Shelly’s eyes had blinded her to the truth. She had embraced Vance—and turned her back on her only sister.

  Jenna hadn’t seen or heard from her again. Had no idea where Shelly was or even how she and Logan were doing.

  Until last week.

  She’d been sitting at her desk, sipping an iced vanilla latte and working on her next column for Twin City Trends, when she received a telephone call from a social worker named Grace Eversea.

  It didn’t matter how gently the young woman had tried to break the news, each piece of information had punctured a hole in Jenna’s heart.

  A house fire. Shelly in a rehab center for prescription drug abuse. Seven-year-old Logan and Tori, the niece Jenna hadn’t even known existed, in temporary foster care.

  As the children’s closest relative, Jenna had been asked if she would be willing to help. She could think of a dozen reasons why she shouldn’t get involved and only two—very small—reasons why she should.

  Forty-eight hours later, after being granted a temporary leave of absence from the magazine, Jenna had packed her bags and driven to Mirror Lake, a small town where people knew each other’s name and each other’s business.

  The kind of place she had deliberately avoided for the past ten years.

  Her plan had been to take her niece and nephew back to Minnesota. But when Jenna met with Grace Eversea, the social worker had explained it would be in Logan and Tori’s best interest to remain in familiar surroundings for the time being.

  Jenna could see the wisdom in Grace’s suggestion—especially after learning that Tori and Logan had run away when they’d heard that she was on her way to Mirror Lake to meet them.

  Jenna and the children had already spent several days at the Mirror Lake Lodge at the invitation of Abby and Quinn O’Halloran, the couple who owned the charming bed-and-breakfast, but she didn’t want to impose on the newlyweds’ hospitality any longer than necessary.

  Until Shelly returned, Jenna decided that her only option was to move into the cabin where the family had been living before the fire. She’d been assured there had been only minimal damage to the interior and the local fire chief had pronounced the structure safe and sound.

  But now, looking at the place her niece and nephew had called home, Jenna wasn’t sure she agreed with either description.

  “Are we getting out, Aunt Jenna?” Logan ventured.

  Jenna realized she hadn’t moved.

  “Of course we are.” Forcing a smile, she slid out of the driver’s seat and went around to open Tori’s door. “You’re first, Button.”

  A corner of the blanket dropped, unveiling a pair of periwinkle eyes that stared back at her with guarded apprehension.

  Jenna recognized the look of someone who no longer trusted easily, and her heart wrenched. Within the space of a few weeks the little girl had been separated from her mother and then from Kate Nichols, the foster care mother she’d become attached to, before being placed in Jenna’s care.

  “It’s okay, Tori.” Logan patted his sister’s hand and the sweetness of the gesture pierced Jenna’s soul.

  How many times had she comforted Shelly when they were growing up? Protected her from danger—both imaginary and real?

  Jenna mentally pushed the thought away. Her life was different now. She was different now.

  She reached for the buckle on the booster seat but Tori shrank back.

  “Don’t wanna get out!”

  Jenna hesitated, wondering if the little girl was remembering the night of the fire. Once again, the reality of what she’d agreed to flooded through her, eroding her confidence. She wasn’t a child psychologist. She wasn’t even the type of person that small children flocked to.

  When it came right down to it, Jenna knew she was everything that two traumatized children didn’t need.

  But right now, she was all they had.

  “What’s the matter, sweetheart?” Jenna summoned the bright, confident smile that had taken her from proofreader to Twin City Trend’s most popular columnist.

  Tori leaned over and whispered something in her brother’s ear.

  “She’s afraid of wolves.” To his credit, Logan didn’t laugh.

  Jenna bent down and looked her niece in the eye. “You don’t have to worry about wolves, sweetheart. They stay away from people.”

  Tori’s gaze fixed on something over Jenna’s shoulder. “Even that one?”

  That one?

  Jenna whirled around and felt her knees buckle.

  An enormous animal, its shaggy coat a mottled patchwork of grays and browns, was slinking down the shoreline.

  Keep going, keep going.

  Almost as if it had heard Jenna’s silent plea, the creature paused for a moment and lifted its nose to the wind.

  The wedge-shaped head swung in their direction.

  Jenna’s breath gathered in her lungs as the animal changed direction and started to lope toward them.

  * * *

  Devlin McGuire had just finished unloading the last of the gear from his SUV when he heard a muffled shriek near the lake.

  Definitely human. Unmistakably feminine.

  Mirror Lake, both the town and the small body of water it had been named after, didn’t attract many tourists in the summer but Dev had noticed lights in the windows of the vacant cabin next door the last time he’d been home.

  He had hoped his new neighbors would have moved on by the time he returned, but apparently they were sticking around a little longer. Soaking up some sun and enjoying the peace and quiet of the lake.

  Something Dev would have appreciated himself right about now.

  Shouldering his canvas backpack, he took a step toward the cabin. Less than ten yards away, a shower with hot water waited. And a porterhouse steak in the freezer…

  Another shriek. This one sent a flock of crows swirling into the air like smoke from a black powder rifle—and carried a distinct edge of panic.

  Dev decided the porterhouse could wait a few more minutes.

  Making his way through the narrow strip of woods that separated the two cabins, he caught a glimpse of a vehicle parked in the driveway. As he stepped into the clearing for a better look, he stoppe
d short at the sight that greeted him.

  A young woman sat on the hood—the hood—of a sleek, charcoal gray Audi, peering down at something…

  Oh, no.

  At the base of the front left tire, Dev spotted a large animal stretched out on the ground.

  Adrenaline surged through his veins and carried him forward. He sprinted across the yard, boots crunching over the patches of sun-scorched grass.

  The woman’s head jerked up.

  A shimmering curtain of silver blond hair parted to reveal the kind of face that ordinarily graced the cover of celebrity magazines. Porcelain skin. High cheekbones. Big blue eyes that, if it were possible, seemed to get even bigger when he skidded up to the car.

  “What happened?” Dev ground out.

  “It…it just came out of nowhere—”

  Tourists.

  Dev wasted a precious second to scowl at the woman. “How fast were you going, anyway?”

  “Fast? I wasn’t…I didn’t hit it. I was—” A low growl snipped off the rest of the sentence and the woman skittered backward.

  Dev dropped to his knees and the shaggy head snapped around, fangs bared around the object locked between its jaws.

  Relief mixed with the adrenaline as Dev came face-to-face with a pair of intelligent, albeit guilty, brown eyes.

  “Violet, no. Drop it.”

  “Violet?” the woman squeaked.

  “That’s her name.” Dev held out his hand and received a soggy shoe with a ridiculously high heel in return. He scrubbed a thumb over a tooth mark in the leather, winced when it didn’t come out. “I’m sorry she scared you. Violet might be the size of a Volkswagen Bug, but she’s harmless.”

  “It…it looks like a wolf.”

  Which explained why she’d taken refuge on the hood of her car. Sort of.

  “Your average timber wolf doesn’t wear a collar.” Dev buried his hand in the thick ruff of fur around the dog’s neck and jingled a pink, heart-shaped tag as proof.

  “I thought she was going to attack me.”