Montana Dreaming

by Judy Duarte

  Bernadine turned to take papers from the printer on the stand behind her. “Wow, you’re really getting the hang of this.”

  “Riley’s the one who’s been learning it all and filling me in.”

  “A good right-hand man, eh?”

  Right hand. Left hand. Good with both hands. Lisa simply nodded.

  Bernadine took her to the Hitching Post for lunch. The place was filled with customers this time, and nearly all of them recognized Lisa. She was greeted with stares, wide-eyed interest and even a few friendly hellos.

  Today’s front page of the Nugget had already been framed and hung over the bar, near the painting of Lily.

  “Well, if it isn’t the Lucky Lady herself!” the bartender called from behind the polished cherrywood bar.

  Several people clapped and cheered as Lisa and Bernadine made their way to a booth. Lisa smiled and gestured with what turned out like a parade wave—at least to her. Feeling silly, she dropped her hand.

  Her cheeks felt flushed. “This is the first time I’ve actually let people see me,” she said, in awe of their reactions. “I’ve been so caught up in hiding and running from the cameras, avoiding people in general, that I guess I just didn’t know what their reactions would really be.”

  “You’re the town celebrity.”

  “For now.”

  They ordered and ate. Occasionally someone stopped by their table to talk to Lisa or congratulate her. When Bernadine asked for their check, the waitress told her their lunch was on the house.

  They headed for the mine in the lawyer’s car, while Lisa grappled with her newly discovered status in town.

  Lisa showed her ID to the security guards along the route, and when they arrived at the mine site, several cars were already parked there. Lisa recognized the Douglases’ silver Town Car.

  Riley was standing with a group of men, some in casual business dress, others in jeans and work shirts. He saw Lisa and Bernadine approach and turned to greet them. Her body tingled with intimate remembrance when he shook her hand.

  He made introductions, and Lisa had to fight the urge to look up at him and gauge his expression. She’d dressed the part of a professional, in her navy pinstripe suit and white blouse. The men were treating her with respect, and she wasn’t about to make a fool of herself by looking at Riley and revealing the emotions threatening to resurface.

  He gave her curious sidelong looks she caught from the corner of her eye, but he kept up the professional front.

  “What are they doing now?” she asked, shading her eyes against the sun. A group of men had moved away.

  “Checking the pumps that will suck water from the mine’s lower levels as we look for another vein.”

  “When will the actual mining begin?” Bernadine asked.

  “As long as everything passes today’s inspection, the mining will start first thing tomorrow.”

  A thrill of anticipation passed through Lisa. “It’s really going to happen.”

  Riley nodded. “It is.” He glanced at her. “You remember we have a meeting day after tomorrow?”

  “It’s on my calendar.”

  “You need to have a plan for how you’re going to proceed with profits.”

  So much to think about and plan for, she thought. “Who knew a lot of money would be so much work to handle?”

  “I’m going to strongly urge you to roll back initial profits into mine improvements and then acquire other mine properties in the vicinity.”

  “I’m sure you know best.” There was no way Bernadine could know by their conversation or careful expressions that they’d been more than business partners last night. Nine hours ago they’d been naked and wrapped around each other like the strands of a licorice twist. The sun seemed warmer all of a sudden, and Lisa fanned herself with the checklist he’d handed her.

  The men returned with their reports, and all were favorable. Riley thanked them and the different groups walked toward the cars.

  “Lisa.”

  She stopped at Riley’s call and motioned for Bernadine to walk on to the car ahead of her.

  “I just wanted to ask how you were doing.”

  “I’m doing fine.”

  He glanced around. “We need to talk.”

  She refused to meet his eyes. She knew exactly what he wanted to talk about and she didn’t feel the same compunction. “Poor timing, Riley.”

  “Not here. Will you meet me tonight?”

  “I can’t.”

  “Tomorrow, then?”

  “I’ll call you.”

  “Okay.”

  She walked to where Bernadine waited in the driver’s seat of her car.

  “What did you say to him?” the lawyer asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “He looks like you told him his dog died.”

  “He doesn’t have a dog.”

  “Hmm. Deduct points for that, huh?”

  Lisa glanced from Bernadine to Riley as he strode toward his chauffeured car. Her stomach dipped a little at the sight of the man…at her intimate personal knowledge of the man…and at the indelible memory of what they’d shared.

  She’d known going into that experience that it wasn’t leading to a relationship. She’d been fine with that, as long as she had the experience…and the memory.

  How did other women handle casual affairs? How would Lily have handled a lover? What should the new and improved Lisa do?

  Lisa corrected her thinking. Riley was not her lover. He was a man to whom she’d been attracted. A man who’d never paid her the time of day until she’d inherited a fortune. And a man with whom she’d slept because she’d wanted to and because she could.

  She could do anything she wanted. She could sleep with him again. She could choose not to.

  She didn’t have to do anything. Except be true to herself.

  But there was something she could not do. And it was imperative she remember she was not Julia Roberts. She could not fall in love with Riley Douglas.

  Chapter Eight

  Emelda Ross’s home was located on the western outskirts of town. The only places farther out than hers were the ice rink and the Douglas ranch. Lisa still had unanswered questions in her mind, and the only person she knew of who was left to ask was the elderly lady who told stories to children in the library.

  A dog barked from inside the house as Lisa parked and approached. The elderly woman peered out the door, then stepped onto the porch. A small Jack Russell terrier darted from behind the skirt of her long floral dress and yipped as Lisa got closer.

  “Hi, fella.” Lisa knelt and held out her hand.

  The dog loped down the stairs and stood sniffing the air warily. It then trotted over to Lisa and licked her wrist and her fingers.

  She scratched the animal’s ears. “What’s his name?”

  “Dog. What’s yours?”

  “Lisa Martin.”

  “Lisa Jane! Well, why didn’t you say so? Look at you! Come on in. I have applesauce cake.”

  She stood and climbed the stairs. Dog’s nails clicked on the porch stairs as the pet followed her. “I tried to call, but only got a busy signal.”

  “I take the nuisance off the hook when I nap.” Miss Emelda led the way into her house and ushered Lisa into a huge kitchen that was as outdated as her own. She cut slices of cake and poured Lisa a glass of milk as though she was still ten years old. “What are you reading now, Lisa Jane? You were never big on the classics, as I recall.”

  Lisa smiled as she said, “I like romance novels and cozy mysteries.”

  Miss Emelda chuckled. “I’ve read a few of those myself.” She seated herself on a nearby chair. “I see your picture in the paper every day.” She winked. “I especially liked the red dress.”

  “Thanks.”

  “What brings you clear out here?”

  Lisa tasted the cake, paused in reverence and let her taste buds recover before she replied. “I’ve been digging into my great-great-grandmother’s past.”

&nb
sp; “Aha. Lily.”

  “I visited with Tildy Matheson, and she had journals that belonged to Catherine Douglas. I read those, and what I’m reading and hearing are entirely different slants to what is commonly told about Lily.”

  “I’ve heard the old stories myself,” Miss Emelda said with a sage nod. “I had an aunt who was friends with the Hardings’ daughter.”

  “Lily and her husband’s daughter you mean?”

  “Yes. Everyone still refers to her as Lily Divine, but she lived out her life married to a Harding. Their daughter would have been your great-grandmother.”

  “That’s exciting. Did your aunt ever speak of the Harding family?”

  “Oh, my, yes. Lily Harding was a headstrong woman, ahead of her time and subject for much discussion over the years. Seems she had a sorry lot in life before she came to Thunder Canyon. Not sure about the whole of it, but the story goes that she didn’t think a woman’s plight should be birthing a baby every year or being cook and laundress to a husband and his hired men. Lily saw too much abuse and too many women treated as property, and it was her mission to help women in need of a new start.”

  “Had Lily been mistreated herself?”

  “That I don’t know. All the stories I learned about her are from after she settled here. Lily’s daughter said Lily inherited a bordello from a dear friend and turned it into a saloon and boardinghouse. When Thunder Canyon sprang up as a small mining town, she used a golden opportunity to make herself a modest fortune by selling liquor to the miners.”

  This story made more sense to Lisa. She listened with fascination.

  “Now, Nathaniel Harding was a bounty hunter, a man tired of roaming, and he hired on to clean up the town and the saloons. Nate and Lily butted heads a good many times before they fell in love and got married. My guess is they butted heads a few times afterward, as well,” she said with a wink.

  “What a romantic story.”

  Miss Emelda chuckled. “Your favorite kind.”

  “Was Lily ever truly a prostitute?”

  “I really don’t know what her life was like before she took over the Shady Lady and met Nate Harding. And if’n it was true, she wouldn’t have told her daughter now, do you think?”

  “No. I guess not. But even if that was in her past—and I might never know for sure—she made a fresh start and did a lot of good in her life.”

  “She did at that.”

  “Thanks, Miss Emelda. You’ve been a big help.” She stood.

  The older woman bustled to remove their plates. “You know I like to tell stories about the old days. Maybe you’ll be the one to pass this one on.”

  “I will.”

  “Take some cake home with you. I have too much and I don’t get a lot of company. If I put it on this plate, you’ll have to bring it back soon.”

  “I’ll be glad to do that. And anytime you need someone to take care of Dog for you, you just call me.” Lisa fished in her purse for a business card and placed it on Miss Emelda’s counter. “That’s what I do, you know.”

  “I don’t go out much, but if I do, I’ll call.”

  Lisa carried the plate of cake to her Blazer and waved to Miss Emelda and Dog. The old woman’s stories had always delighted her in her childhood, and this one had been even more special than all the rest because it revealed truths Lisa longed to know.

  Even if she never knew the complete truth about Lily, she was never going to be ashamed or embarrassed to be related to her again. The woman had been smart enough to run her own business, compassionate enough to help other women, bold enough to think women should vote and confident enough to wear a red dress.

  Lisa smiled to herself as she drove toward home.

  Among a dozen messages on her machine was one from Riley: “Lisa. Can we get together? Call me.”

  His voice affected her as it always did, making her stomach dip. Should they get together? That was the question, but she didn’t have a good answer. Lisa wasn’t about to take any chances with her heart where this guy was concerned. She had to keep her wits about her and stay one step ahead of his game. She wasn’t hoping for a happy ending with Riley Douglas. Maybe the wise thing would be a friendly ending. The sooner, the better.

  Riley tossed a signed stack of papers on Marge’s desk just as his cell phone rang. He reached in his jeans pocket and dug it out. Lisa.

  “Hey.”

  “Hi. You called?”

  Marge glanced up at him. He stepped into his office and closed the door. “Can we get together? How about dinner?”

  “We have a meeting tomorrow. We’ll see each other then.”

  “I know. This isn’t business.”

  “I don’t know, Riley.” He sensed the hesitation in her voice.

  She was giving him the brush-off? His head was so mixed up, he couldn’t wrap a coherent thought around the woman. She’d shown up in that red dress and he’d lost his mind. What was wrong with him? He didn’t get involved. He didn’t lose his cool and he never, never deflowered virgins.

  In his defense, he hadn’t known she was a virgin until he’d seen the telltale signs afterward. It still made him a little weak in the knees when he thought about it. She’d waited all these years to have sex and then she’d chosen him. The fact stunned him. She didn’t want to talk about it. Hell, she didn’t even want to have dinner with him.

  He got a little defensive. “Are you giving me the big kiss-off here? If I did something, let me know what it was, will you?”

  “You didn’t do anything I didn’t want you to do,” she answered.

  “Are you talking about sex?” he asked.

  “What are you talking about?”

  He thrust his fingers into his hair and gripped his scalp in frustration. “I’m talking about you avoiding me now. Since we had sex.”

  “I’m not avoiding you.”

  “What do you call it when you hedge a dinner invitation?”

  “I’m sorry, Riley, did we make some sort of a commitment that I don’t know about?”

  Her words gut-punched him more effectively than if she’d been standing in front of him and swung a fist. He was sounding like a clingy high school girl, and she’d just given him the we’re-just-friends line. He was swimming in uncharted waters here and he was concerned his sense of direction was going to get him lost. This had never—ever—happened to him before. “Never mind. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Riley snapped his phone shut and stared at his office wall for a full minute, collecting himself. Fine. So she wasn’t enamored yet. He’d be damned if he was going to let that deter him. Her lack of enthusiasm wasn’t part of the plan.

  But he still had a plan. And he was nothing if not persistent in getting what he wanted.

  She couldn’t help herself. Lisa hung the beige suit back on the hanger and dressed in a pair of black hipster pants with a cute silver chain belt and a blouse that only buttoned up as far as her cleavage. She had these Lily boobs, she might as well show them to their advantage.

  Now the shoes took some getting used to. After living in tennis shoes, these backless little heels took some practice. But she was getting the hang of them. She’d spent an hour on her toenails last night and finally decided on red. Red went with everything and, well, it just plain looked sexy.

  The bank loan Riley had helped arrange for her had gone through, and after their meeting today she was going to buy a car. She didn’t know the first thing about car buying. Should she ask for advice? She was too frugal not to want to avoid being taken advantage of.

  She drove the Blazer to the Douglases’ downtown office, where Riley had asked her to meet him, thinking as she did that she wouldn’t be driving the familiar beast much longer. No more breakdown worries. No more dead batteries in winter or repair bills she couldn’t afford. The enormity of her new situation still took some getting used to, and she had to remind herself all the time.

  A checkbook-size folder held closed with a rubber band lay on the console. Inside were all
the coupons she’d clipped and filed and saved. For days she’d been looking at it, considering throwing it out, but had been unable to. Fifty cents was still fifty cents. Lisa laughed at herself and imagined the looks she’d get if she presented a coupon at the Super Saver Mart now that everyone knew she was the millionaire heiress.

  She parked in the small lot and concentrated on walking smoothly all the way inside and up to the receptionist’s desk. She did pretty well, if not breaking an ankle was any indication.

  “Lisa Martin?” The slender, dark-haired woman greeted her with a smile. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Connie Gray. Mr. Douglas asked me to show you right into his office.”

  Connie opened a gleaming wood door and ushered her into a room similar to Riley’s home office.

  Riley stood from behind a glass-topped desk. His gaze swept over her from head to toe and he seemed to struggle to maintain a professional expression. “Good morning, Miss Martin.”

  This was only the second time she’d seen him since the other night, and she was bound and determined not to show any reaction or weakness. “Good morning.”

  “There are drinks set up on the table over there,” Connie told her. “And I put out rolls and sandwiches. Please help yourself.” She smiled and closed the door behind her.

  “Is it just us?” Lisa asked.

  “Yes. You look great.”

  “Thanks.” She made her way to the long table and placed two of the delicate sandwiches and a cinnamon roll on a gold-edged white china plate. “Ever heard of disposable plates?”

  “Connie takes care of all that.”

  “Like Marge does at your other office.”

  “Yes.”

  “Do they know each other?”

  “Yes, why?”

  She seated herself at a table and tried a sandwich. “Mmm, awesome chicken-and-walnut mixture.” Then answered him with, “Just wondering. What are we deciding today?”

  He brought a couple of folders and an envelope from his desk and sat across from her. Within half an hour he’d explained financial details regarding the mine’s initial operation and advised her on the best courses of action. “You do still trust me to advise you, don’t you, Lisa?”