Summer in Snow Valley (Snow Valley Romance Anthologies Book 2)

by Cindy Roland Anderson

  So I tried to limit my involvement in rallies after they threatened to take away my scholarship, but I still support the Whaleman Foundation every chance I get.

  “Please tell me you’re not one of those save the whales, kill the males types.” Luke was only half-joking. He got really annoyed with people who thought the environment was more important than people. The Lord had said that the earth was made for man. Of course people should take care of the earth, but the extremists rubbed him the wrong way. Especially after living in LA and dealing with a lot of fanatics who had never left their concrete jungle but had all kinds of opinions about how animals in the wild should be treated and preserved.

  I had a dog tag in high school that said that very phrase. She smiled up at him, and Luke was pretty sure he could love her no matter how different their opinions on this subject were. She started writing again. An issue I’m pursuing right now is the wolves that have been taken off the endangered species list, but really should still be on it. Please tell me you aren’t one of those ranchers who would shoot them.

  Luke nodded, debating what to tell her. Their relationship was still so new, but he couldn’t lie. “Porter and I killed four wolves this week.”

  Her eyes widened. She gripped her pen so tightly, her knuckles turned white. She wrote and then shoved it at him.

  That’s so awful. I hate the laws here in Montana. You can kill anything you term as a predator as long as it’s on your property, correct?

  She looked up at him with fire in her eyes, and Luke had to bite his lip. He hoped she could understand his point of view, but her feistiness was really cute. He wished he could kiss her, but the timing was definitely not in his favor.

  He stood. “Come on a ride with me? I’d like to show you something that might change your mind about the wolves.”

  Her mouth twisted as she pondered, and then she finally wrote, Okay. I’ll come with you, but don’t plan on changing my mind. I can’t stand the inhumane treatment of any animal.

  “Neither can I,” he muttered. “Especially my innocent calves who get ripped apart by wolves.”

  Annie arched an eyebrow but didn’t reply to his comment. They cleaned up the food and took the leftovers to her apartment, then climbed into his truck. For the first time, their silence was uncomfortable. Luke hated it, but he wasn’t going to back down on this. He drove too fast out of town and toward his property, bouncing down the road past his mom’s house and up to the valley where he was building his cabin. It had been almost a week since he and Porter had shot the wolves, but he’d found a dead calf yesterday. The wolves were still in his little valley, and he was pretty sure he could find carnage.

  The cattle scattered as he drove through the meadow. He parked the truck and hurried around to open Annie’s door. She let him take her hand but her entire body was stiff. They walked through the long grass in the waning sunlight, avoiding cow pies. He saw a fresh kill, and tugged Annie toward it. The calf was only a yearling and had been ripped to shreds by the wolves. The smell of blood and rotting meat filled the air.

  Annie’s hand went slack in his. He turned to her just as she swayed and almost went down. Luke wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, studying her face. “I’m sorry. Maybe there was a better way to explain my point of view, but I couldn’t think of it.”

  Annie ripped herself from his grasp, rushed toward a tree, and bent down. She vomited. Luke hurried to her side, holding her hair back and then using the bottom of his T-shirt to wipe her mouth clean.

  He moved her away from the tree and back to his truck, offering her a water bottle. She took it, swished and spit before taking a long drink. Luke wasn’t sure what she was thinking or if he should push his advantage, but he started talking. “The wolves aren’t indigenous to this area and since they were set loose here, they’ve destroyed not only sheep and cattle—a man’s livelihood—but also trophy animals like deer and elk as well as innocent little animals like cats, dogs, and bunnies.” Jack rabbit was probably a better term, but bunnies sounded better for his purpose. “They hunt in packs, shred, and destroy.”

  She held up a hand and hurried to the truck, returning with the notebook from her purse and popping a breath mint in her mouth. She wrote quickly.

  Please, I don’t want to hear or see anymore. You were right. I’ve always fought to protect different animals because I hate the thought of anyone being hurt. I had no idea what the wolves were capable of. This is going to sound stupid, but I’ve always felt like that little animal that no one fought to protect. Obviously the wolf isn’t an animal I want to protect. They’re the animals that are hurting and destroying.

  Luke swallowed and smiled. “Thank you, Annie, for being willing to listen and understand.”

  But this doesn’t mean I want to hear about you killing them, and don’t even think about asking me to go hunting with you.

  Luke laughed and pulled her close. “Don’t worry. I would never ask that, and I won’t talk about hunting them either.”

  She gave him a squeeze before writing more. You’re building your house in this valley. What if the wolves hurt your children someday?

  Fire spread through him: for some reason all he could picture was having children with Annie. He could feel the protectiveness and love he would have for all of them. “Don’t worry. Between Porter and me, the wolves will be taken care of before I have children.” He arched his eyebrows at her. “Were you worried because you’re hoping they might be your children too?”

  You assume too much, Mr. Wilson. I was envisioning a bunch of towheads that took after their Momma.

  Luke scowled, took the notebook away and tossed it back into the truck. “I guess I’ll have to convince you that the children I’m envisioning have curly hair and dark eyes.”

  Annie’s eyes widened, but she didn’t stop him as he pulled her close and spent an extra long time convincing her that he wasn’t being facetious.

  Chapter 9

  Thursday night, Luke was antsy thinking about Ty and Kazlyn coming late tonight. He couldn’t wait to introduce them to Annie and kept praying that she and Kazlyn would hit it off.

  “You’re going to love Kazlyn…” He paused, then asked even though he probably shouldn’t. “Do you want me to warn her not to try to use her training on you?”

  “T-training?”

  “She’s getting her master’s in speech pathology. I don’t think she’ll try anything, but I don’t want her to offend you if she does.” He exhaled and shrugged his shoulders. “I’m messing up what I want to say. Does it upset you when people try to help?”

  She brought out her paper and wrote.

  When someone stutters past childhood, it is very rare that any treatment will be effective. I’m sure your sister knows that if she’s been studying in the field. If she’s anything like you, Porter, or your mom, I’m sure she won’t offend me. I’ve been judged by so many people, I’ve developed a pretty thick skin.

  “If anyone gets to know you, they’ll realize how smart, funny, and hard-working you are. They probably just can’t get past the gorgeous face and body.”

  She laughed and gave him a soft kiss, and Luke leaned in, hoping for more, but she grabbed her paper again.

  Most of the time people just ignore me because they don’t know how to respond to the stuttering or they get uncomfortable with the silence. They think I’m intellectually slow and don’t try to find out about the real me. That’s why you’re so great.

  “One of the many reasons.” He winked.

  “Th-that’s right.”

  “I know how it feels to have people judge you without knowing you.”

  She tilted her head. “T-t-tell me.”

  Luke reached for her hand, stroking the soft fingers as he talked. “I got my master’s at Purdue. I loved it there, felt a lot like home. I was so excited when I received the job offer from Boeing. California seemed like a dream to me. The job was great and I loved the ocean, but everyone tried to stereotype
me as this hick cowboy from Montana. I heard all the time about how I was the ‘Hot Cowboy’.” He shrugged. “It bugged me. So I stopped wearing boots and Levi’s and tried to dress all corporate, and I worked my tail off to prove how smart I was.”

  He studied the ground before meeting her eyes. “My family thinks I came home to save the ranch. The truth is, if I hadn’t had an excuse to come home, I would’ve burned out or been committed to the psych ward. I worked so hard and didn’t do anything for myself. My boss loved me, which has turned out well with him letting me do work from here and fly down every few months, but I would never go back to California. I hated the concrete jungle. My heart’s here.” He played with her fingers for a minute. “Even though I quit for supposedly noble reasons, I was so happy to quit. Does that make me a quitter?”

  She pulled her hand free and grabbed the pad of paper. Luke smiled. He loved when she had a lot to say.

  There’s nothing wrong with knowing where your heart is. This is an amazing spot, and you have an unreal family. You would be crazy not to want to be here. You are definitely not a quitter, and if you can keep the stress level under control, with help from an amazing massage therapist, you seem to have it all. You can work in your field and be on the ranch. I think you’re pretty smart, Luke Wilson.

  He grinned and kissed her. “Now if I can just talk an amazing massage therapist into staying in podunk Montana instead of leaving me for the beautiful beaches of Maui.”

  She visibly cringed. Don’t worry. I have no intention of leaving you or Montana.

  “Even when it’s twenty below?”

  She set her book down. “M-maybe then y-you can take me s-somewhere warm.”

  Luke winked. “I’ll take you anywhere you desire.”

  “Sounds good.”

  He leaned toward her, but stopped before kissing her. “You’re not stuttering much anymore.”

  “As I g-g-get more c-c-comfortable I st-tutter less.”

  He touched her cheek. “I just made you uncomfortable bringing attention to it.”

  She shrugged.

  He cupped her jaw with his palm. “I want to do something else that I hope won’t make you uncomfortable.”

  “W-what?”

  He lowered his head until his mouth was inches from hers. Annie smiled and covered the distance. The way she responded made Luke think she wasn’t uncomfortable at all.

  Chapter 10

  Annie tried not to stress about meeting Luke’s sister and boyfriend. Ty was going to bring Kazlyn in for her massage and foot zone, and then they were all meeting for lunch at the street fair happening at the park. She wouldn’t have been nervous, but Luke had texted half a dozen times wondering if she wanted him to come with Ty and Kazlyn. She assured him she’d be fine and he should get his work done so they could hang out the next day and a half. Why was he acting so overprotective?

  The door whooshed open, and Annie had to hide a grin. Luke’s sister and boyfriend were exactly like he’d described. They came in mid conversation and were so lost in each other that they didn’t stop. Ty was a very good-looking, tall, black man and his eyes twinkled as he looked down at Kazlyn and said, “Luke told me I could steal the massage gift certificate because I’m nicer to him.”

  The tiny, beautiful blonde grinned up at him with almost worshipful eyes. “You have to be nice to him, you haven’t gotten approval to marry me yet.”

  Ty grabbed her and she squealed with delight. Annie didn’t even try to hide that she was staring as Ty picked Kazlyn off the ground and kissed her. “And whose fault is that?”

  Kazlyn giggled and leaned against him after he set her down. She turned to grin at Annie. “Hi, Annie. I’m so excited to meet you.”

  Annie came forward and extended her hand. Kazlyn shook it, and then Ty unwrapped his arm from Kazlyn to give Annie a firm handshake. “It’s great to meet you, Annie, I’ve never seen Luke so happy or animated about anyone or anything.”

  Annie blushed. “H-he’s too n-nice.”

  Ty chortled. “Nice? Luke Wilson is definitely not nice. He tried to deck me the first time we met.”

  Kazlyn elbowed him in the side and smiled sweetly at Annie. “We’re supposed to make him look good.”

  “That’s your job, love. I’m just the annoying future brother-in-law.”

  “You hope.”

  Ty bent and kissed her again. It was like he couldn’t help himself. Kazlyn half-heartedly put a hand on his chest. “You’ll embarrass Annie.”

  “N-n-no,” Annie protested. “I l-like it.” Then she blushed again. She was watching them like they were a romantic movie. Was this how she and Luke acted when they were together? She thought about his kiss and the heat in her face grew.

  Ty pulled Kazlyn closer. “See? Annie likes it. We better keep going.”

  “Stop.” Kazlyn laughed.

  “Okay.” Ty sighed and headed for a chair in the waiting area. “Guess that’s my clue to play Soccer Stars while you two giggle and get all relaxed.”

  Kazlyn came forward and grabbed Annie’s arm. “That’s right. Good thing you know your place.”

  “As you wish, my love.”

  She blew him a kiss and then turned to Annie. “Where to, my friend?”

  Annie couldn’t help but grin in return. She didn’t know the last time she’d taken such an instant liking to someone. Oh, wait, she could remember. It was a week ago when Kazlyn’s perfectly handsome brother had first walked into her life.

  ***

  Luke saw a text from Ty before he jumped in the shower.

  Can hear Kaz and Annie laughing from the treatment room. Good job, man, she’s great.

  He released a sigh he hadn’t known he was holding. Of course Annie and Kazzy would hit it off, but he’d still worried. He was so overprotective of Annie. He couldn’t stand the thought of anyone not treating her right. Not that he’d worried about that with Ty and Kazlyn, but there was always the fear.

  He drove quickly into town. He had to park behind Annie’s shop as there was a lot more activity in town today with the street fair and farmer’s market. He hurried around to the front and jerked open the door. Ty stood and stretched slowly, setting down a magazine.

  “Glad you’re here. There’s far too much sisterly bonding going on.”

  Luke smiled. “Sisterly? Liking that.”

  Ty strode toward him. “Figured you would.”

  Laughter spilled from the treatment rooms, and then the women exited. Annie’s face was lit up and Kazlyn looked relaxed and happy.

  “Annie is absolutely amazing. She said you needed to get a full-body massage sometime soon, Luke.”

  Luke’s eyes widened at the thought as Annie started to protest.

  “I’m just kidding.” Kazlyn squeezed her arm. “You are amazing, though. Thank you so much and thank you, Luke; that was the most thoughtful present.”

  Ty crossed the room and took Kazlyn’s hand. “That’s just because you haven’t seen my present yet.”

  “Oh?” Kazlyn glanced up at him and he started hugging her.

  Luke focused on Annie. “Hi.”

  “Hi,” she said, beaming at him.

  “You ready for the best corndog of your life?”

  “Th-that’s a b-big c-claim cowboy.”

  Luke couldn’t resist wrapping his arm around her and leaning down to whisper in her ear. “If we were alone I’d give you the best kiss of your life.”

  Her brown eyes twinkled at him. “Y-you already h-have.”

  Luke’s chest swelled. “Maybe we’d better try again to see if I can improve upon it.”

  “M-maybe.”

  He leaned down, but Ty’s throat clearing interrupted him.

  “Whoa,” Kazlyn said. “We’re still here.”

  “You didn’t notice we were here a minute ago,” Luke said, his lips next to Annie’s cheek, but the moment shattered and she drew away.

  Ty chuckled.

  “As much as I’d like to watch this show,” Kazlyn
said. “I really need some grease to counteract all the good stuff I’ve done for my body today.”

  They all laughed and walked out into the bright sunshine and across the street to the park, where they bought corndogs, funnel cakes, and iced lemonade. After enjoying the food and great conversation, they wandered the booths. Sweat trickled down his back, but Luke didn’t want this carefree afternoon to end. Annie’s hand in his made him jut his chest out with pride. He was so happy to be with her and loved each chance he had to introduce her to someone and even more each chance he had to steal a moment alone.

  They’d been wandering for about an hour when Kazlyn and Annie decided to try on sundresses over their heads behind a booth. They giggled like teenagers, and he and Ty just sat there smiling at each other. Thin arms suddenly snaked around his middle.

  “Whoa.” Luke spun, but the arms stayed tight against his body.

  Missy grinned up at him. “Hey, handsome. I know you’ve been busy, but I’ve been waiting for you to come see me again.”

  Luke worried about her fragile state. He didn’t want to pull away and hurt her feelings, but he also didn’t want Annie to see him hugging his ex-girlfriend. Ty’s eyebrows had almost connected with his hairline. It would’ve been comical if Luke weren’t the cause of it. He managed to disengage from her arms, but she grabbed his hand.

  “Ty, this is my friend, Missy.”

  “Friend,” Missy scoffed and leaned against his side. “We’ve always been more than friends.”

  Luke heard a sharp intake of breath and saw Annie and Kazlyn come from behind the tent. He jerked himself free and hurried to Annie’s side, wrapping his arm securely around her. “Missy, you remember Annie?”

  Missy’s happy smile drooped. “It’s good to see you again, Annie.” Her voice said otherwise, but she offered a genuine smile to Kazlyn. “How are you, Kazzy?”

  Kazlyn walked over and hugged Missy. “Great. Did you meet my boyfriend, Ty?”

  “Yes. You are one lucky man, Ty.”