* * *
SAVANNAH DIDN’T HAVE to exaggerate about Chip’s cooking. The ready-made sides may have been courtesy of the market, but the ribs were outstanding. “I swear, Chip,” she said, patting her mouth with a napkin, “you are a genius with a smoker. How did you learn to cook like this?”
He preened a bit. “It’s got to do with timing and the right kind of wood.”
Mike cleared his throat.
Chip rolled his eyes. “It’s my dad’s recipe. He got it from his dad and so on. He put the ribs on yesterday. I finished them here this morning.” He glanced at Mike. “Come on, it’s not like all I did was heat ’em up. I had to brush on the sauce and everything.”
“I didn’t say a word.” Mike patted his stomach. “Savannah’s right. They’re good.”
“That’s an excellent legacy,” she said. “I bet your girlfriend loves that you can cook.”
“She’s always telling me I should expand my horizons. But that’s because the only thing she knows how to cook is enchiladas and breakfast smoothies.”
“Not that you mind,” Mike said before giving Savannah a smile. “He talks a lot about her, smoothies notwithstanding.”
“Yvette works real hard, is all. She’s not only going to be a hairdresser, she’s learning to do manicures and, after she saves up, to do permanent makeup.”
“Good for her. Are you two planning on staying in Blackfoot Falls?”
“We’d like to, especially now that Mike bumped me up to full time. It’ll be hard on Yvette, though. She’ll have to drive to Kalispell to work in a salon.”
“I don’t know if Mike told you why I’m here,” she said, and Chip nodded. “I’ve recommended that the town step up their services in order to accommodate tourists. Many of the business owners have been receptive, so I wouldn’t be surprised if more work opportunities open up for people like Yvette.”
“That’d be great.” Chip looked from Savannah to Mike and back again. “Can I tell her?”
“Remember, nothing’s written in stone, but sure.” Savannah had been careful with her wording. Her suggestions were public knowledge, but she couldn’t speak for the merchants, and she certainly didn’t want to give anyone false hope.
“I appreciate it, Savannah. She’ll be totally excited.”
“I don’t know about you two,” Mike said, “but I’m stuffed. How about you and I go over and check up on Buddy? We can drive, unless you want to brave the horses.”
“No, the truck is fine. But I should help Chip—”
“No, ma’am,” Chip said. “I’ll clean up, and then I’ll take care of the water troughs.”
“Thanks, Chip,” Mike said, nodding. “Lunch was really good.”
Savannah walked out of the kitchen a little more slowly than she should have. It was such a nice, homey space. The curtains looked handmade, and were beautifully done. The table was one Mike’s dad had built himself and later, in his teens, Mike had built the matching hutch. Every trinket, every decoration, and even the plates, had some kind of story behind them. The family and the home seemed inseparable.
“Hey, you okay?” Mike had stopped ahead of her, just off the porch. “I’m sure Buddy wouldn’t mind if we didn’t go see him until tomorrow.”
“No, I’m fine. Better than that, actually. Thanks for showing me the house. It’s so nice.”
“It’s not going to win any design prizes, but yeah, it’s cozy.”
“It’s a home. A real home. One that must have been wonderful to grow up in.” She heard the wistfulness in her voice and hoped Mike hadn’t.
“Didn’t you say you had a condo in Denver?”
“Yeah,” she said, as they continued their walk to the truck. “I like it. Open floor plan, lots of windows. I wouldn’t call it a home, though.” Where had the sudden lack of enthusiasm come from? She really did like the place she’d searched months for. “It fits my needs for now.”
Mike nodded. Thankfully, he didn’t voice the question in his eyes.
She didn’t want to think about the old cabin, or the apartment that had lost its luster in the span of a few minutes. Whatever was wrong with her, she’d better snap out of it.
Chapter Twelve
About twenty minutes into the drive, the urge to take Savannah’s hand still wouldn’t leave Mike. He glanced at her again, and she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the scenery. It was beautiful out here, something he took for granted too often.
Lunch had been easy, and even though he’d been robbed of a couple of hours, he’d done some chores so he had more time to spend with her now. He couldn’t wait to see her reaction to Buddy. He’d put on a lot of weight once he’d found his mama.
“Have you really been to the Denver stockyards?”
It took him a second to recall what he’d said at the Full Moon. “Yeah. I’ve been to a couple of rodeos because of my mom, actually. She’s got a brother out there, and he’s one of the managers of the stockyards.”
“I think they have quite a few annual rodeos around that area, but I’ve never been.”
As they passed the road to her family’s cabin, he saw her head turn. “I was gonna ask,” he said, “if you’d like to drive by the old place. Take a look at it. I don’t think it’s in great shape. No one’s lived there since you left. But it’s still standing.”
Her forehead crinkled a little. It might have been a risky question, but it didn’t seem as though she minded. Just that she wasn’t sure.
Before she could answer, her cell phone rang. She dug it out of her pocket, and the little crease on her forehead deepened. “It’s someone from work. I’ll call back later.”
“Don’t mind me. Go ahead, if you think it’s important.”
Savannah shook her head. “I doubt it’s critical,” she said, then put the phone back in her pocket. “It’s also my day off, and I’m busy enjoying the drive.”
He smiled, looked at her hand on her thigh and resisted once more. He wanted her to set the pace today.
She stared out the side window, leaving a pleasant silence between them. But not five minutes later, her phone rang again. She didn’t seem thrilled.
He kept his eyes on the road in front of him.
“It’s my boss. Sorry.” She answered, “Hi, Porter.”
Mike did his best to ignore the few brief comments she made, although he couldn’t mistake the tone.
“We discussed this,” Savannah said, her voice a little louder. “Besides, I’m not done here. I might not even leave until Tuesday.”
There was a pretty long stretch of silence before she said, in a much quieter voice, “We’ll have to discuss it another time. I’ll let you know as soon as I’m back at the office. All right? Okay, bye.” She scowled at the cell before putting it away.
Her mood had definitely shifted.
Mike hoped she didn’t want to return to the motel.
“Sorry,” she said finally.
“Don’t apologize. It’s work. I get it.” Damn, he hated asking, but... “Look, do you need to go back to town? If you do, I understand.”
“No. Absolutely not. I deserve this time off.”
“From what you’ve said, today’s meeting was a success.”
“That’s true.” She gave him a smile that reached her eyes. “And I can’t think of any other way I’d rather be spending today than with you.”
* * *
SAVANNAH TURNED AND leaned against her door so she could watch Mike.
“Cows are really good mothers,” he said. “His momma was distraught that she’d lost him in the chaos of the herd being moved, and we knew the second she scented him at The Rocking J. She started bawling, and Buddy bleated right back. They didn’t quit the conversation until he was in the pen. She licked him so hard, she knocked him sideways twice.”
“That’s so sweet. I
wish I could’ve seen that.”
“Oh, you’ll see plenty. We’re less than ten minutes away.”
She listened to the cattle lowing, but her thoughts returned to earlier in the drive, when she’d considered asking Mike if he was planning another trip to Denver. Of course, that was when Porter decided to call. Why was he trying so hard to get her to Paris? Did he think she’d let down her guard, forget he wasn’t divorced yet and sleep with him? He was a persistent man, but she was losing her sense of humor. It was especially tricky trying to talk in front of Mike, who was as courteous and attentive as Porter wasn’t.
She’d always known he didn’t like being told no, although until now, she’d thought she was the exception. Getting involved with him, no matter how innocently it had begun, was beginning to feel like a mistake. He wasn’t just her boss, but the CEO. It wouldn’t be pleasant, but as soon as she could manage a face-to-face, she needed to have a talk with him.
Returning her attention to Mike helped her feel relaxed and, oddly, inspired. “Does Twin Creeks do any advertising? Like for their motels or restaurants? I didn’t see anything online, but I wasn’t surprised. I know it’s smaller than Blackfoot Falls.”
“I haven’t been there in a while, but I don’t think they have a motel. I heard someone opened a barbecue joint. And maybe a pawnshop. They’ve always had a small grocery store and a hardware store that supplies the nearby ranches. I doubt they’ve spent anything on advertising.”
She’d only taken a cursory look at the surrounding towns, because they were so tiny and remote, but now that she was here, it wouldn’t hurt to poke around. “What about Greenville and Munson?”
He smiled. “Oh, man, they make Twin Creeks look like a big city. Again, it’s been a while. Greenville has a gas station that also sells soda, snacks, sandwiches, that kind of thing. There’s a counter in the back that serves as a post office.”
“How long since you’ve been there?”
“A couple of years.”
“What about Munson?”
“Same deal. I remember going to Munson on a field trip in middle school to look at the dinosaur tracks.”
“Dinosaurs?”
“Dinosaur, actually. There are only two footprints. Granted, they’re big ones. They said T. rex, but I don’t know.”
“See, now, they can make something out of that. Are the tracks on private property or on government land? Are there signs?”
“Public land. I think there’s a sign pointing in the general direction, and for a buck you can buy a map. Once you get a few yards past the tracks, there’s a marker that explains there were dinosaurs all over northern Montana. Though I happen to know most of the noteworthy excavations have taken place farther east, around the Hell Creek Formation.”
“I vaguely remember hearing something about that.” Savannah’s mind was already working double-time. All of these little extras in the area could help Blackfoot Falls. It was a stretch but she had the time to investigate.
“Like I said, though, it’s been a while. But if you want to check Munson out, we can drive over there now. There’s also an abandoned gold mine about fifty miles south. Or we can take a longer trip there tomorrow.”
She almost told him to head for the highway, but thought twice. “I’m really excited to see Buddy. And I don’t want to cut that short. That being said, I don’t want to monopolize your day tomorrow either.”
Mike smiled. “You think about when you’d like me to pick you up in the morning, and we’ll be tourists together.”
“What time will you be done with chores?”
“Early. Shortly after daybreak.”
“Oh, that is early.” She was looking forward to spending more time with him. She wasn’t going to say that, though. Not with the echo of Porter still in her head.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“Not at all, why?”
“That sigh was pretty big.”
She hadn’t even noticed. “No, I’m fine. Just thinking.”
Which she went back to doing, although on a different subject. She already knew the population of Blackfoot Falls as a whole wasn’t terribly enlightened. If anything could be launched in that place, it would all have to come down to individual efforts. Or, if they were really smart, they’d reach out to the other towns and expand the improvements-by-committee ideas across the board. Supporting each other so that all of them could win.
“Not too far now. Have you seen Buddy yet?”
Savannah laughed. In the distance, she could see a large number of cows that, according to Mike, were the first-calf heifers and the more mature cattle, who wouldn’t compete for the feed. To her, that just meant lots of babies, but she was sure she’d be able to spot Buddy. She secretly hoped he’d spot her first.
“How do you tell the cattle apart?”
“We don’t. We watch out for the breeders, replacement heifers and calves, of course, and make sure the whole herd stays healthy. This is a stressful time, preparing for winter. You probably remember how bad it gets around here, and cows don’t like the wind.”
“What, you put them all inside when it gets really awful?” Too late she realized it was a stupid question, but Mike didn’t laugh or anything.
“No. There are natural windbreaks, and we also have portable shelters. We give them different feed, enough to build up their fat stores, and we lay bedding so they don’t get too cold. But these cattle are bred here and they grow thick coats.”
“Are the babies going to be outside all winter?”
“We’re extra cautious with them. When it’s not too bad, they’ll learn to get tough.”
“This is much more interesting than I’d imagined.”
“Yeah, like watching paint dry.”
“I’m serious. I’m a bit distracted because of Buddy, but I’d love to hear more.” She spotted a calf and grinned. “Will you know him on sight?”
“I might,” Mike said, but she heard his hesitation. “He’s still scrawny, so he shouldn’t be too hard to find.”
He slowed down on the rutted road next to a big pen. It was larger than the one she’d seen that morning at his ranch. There were a lot more cowboys working, too. Mike parked the truck on a scraggly patch of grass.
She got out but waited for him to come around, and then he walked her not to the pen but to the corral behind it. There were about fifteen cows there and the same number of calves. She saw two runts, but she knew Buddy immediately. “There he is.”
“That’s him, all right.”
Savannah had gone to her knees to reach in and touch the calf, if only he would look her way and come closer. “Buddy,” she said, her voice high, the way she called to dogs at the park. “Here, Buddy. Remember me? I carried you to the creek. When you were lost. If you come here, I’ll pet you, you big boy.”
She knew Mike was behind her, but when she turned to look at him, he wasn’t alone. Two other cowboys around Mike’s age were standing with him. All three had their arms folded across their chests, and two of them were trying to hold back their laughter. Mike’s pressed lips told her they’d been teasing him before she’d turned around.
If they thought they could embarrass her, they had another think coming. She went back to talking to Buddy.
Behind her, though, she heard Mike say, “Shut it, Larry.”
“Hey, I didn’t say nothin’.”
“Say nothin’ quieter. Even better, go back to work.”
Her next call to Buddy got him to look at her. He bleated. Loudly. She was thrilled. “Come here, baby. Come, let me pet you, honey. Remember me? I helped you find your mommy. Who is very, very pretty.”
Mumbled laughter wafted over her, but she ignored it in favor of watching Buddy take several sturdyish steps toward her. Some of the larger calves were scampering around and taking a few running steps, and she worri
ed they would knock Buddy over. “Come here, sweet pea. Come on.”
He came toward to the fence, bawling and bleating the whole time. Every step, he said something else. Maybe that he remembered her. And when he got closer, Savannah ducked partway under the rail, leaning in far enough she was able to scratch his little head.
It must have surprised him, because he shook like a wet dog, but then he took another small step and let her scratch him again.
That was all, because Mom came to investigate, and she didn’t seem pleased to see Savannah. So she wormed backward out from the corral and took Mike’s hand as he helped her up.
“He came right to me,” she said, keeping her voice low so the other guys wouldn’t make fun. “Did you see? He let me pet him.”
“I know. I think he did remember you.”
She couldn’t help her excitement, and before she even thought about it she’d grabbed hold of Mike’s shirt and kissed him right on the lips. He kissed her back, slowly at first, and then what had started as a thank-you turned into something a lot more intense.
She felt one hand go to her nape as the other settled on her waist. She let go of his shirt to slide her arms around his neck. When she parted her lips, he slipped his tongue inside her mouth, slowly stroking hers.
The sound of someone clearing their throat in a vulgar way made her pull back.
“Thank you,” she whispered, keeping her lips close to Mike’s ear. “Thank you so much. Not just for bringing me, but for not making me feel foolish.”
“Who, me?” he said as soon as he could look her in the eyes. “I’m a total sucker for newborns and calves. Chip calls me an old softy.”
“Not that you’re old, but I already guessed you were a softy.”
“You did?”
“It’s one of the things I liked about you way back and even more now.”
“Huh,” he said. “I’ll remember that. Despite the human company, it was well worth the trip.”
“Are they friends of yours?”
“Sort of. They’re just jealous. Probably never saw a woman as pretty as you.”
“Ah, now you’re just sweetening the pot,” she said, stepping back. “And trust me, you don’t need to.”
Her Cowboy Reunion Page 12
