Montana Wrangler

Jay slid another plate of pancakes onto the table and sat down. “I’ll drive you.”

Her mouth gaped open. She hadn’t expected him to volunteer to take her to church. She wasn’t sure she wanted to spend time with him alone after the animosity he’d shown her last night. Besides, she was perfectly capable of driving herself.

She sat at the table opposite him. “That’s all right. There’s no need. I drove my car here.”

He crooked a single dark brow. “No sense to take two vehicles.”

“Don’t you have a trail ride this morning?”

Jay swallowed his bite of pancake. “Nope. Sundays are a day of rest for us and our horses. So it’s all settled. We’ll go to church together.”

Bossy cowboy! She closed her hands around her coffee mug, letting the heat seep in. “Fine. As long as you promise not to wear Grandma Lisbeth’s apron.”

He looked down at himself. Color darkened his ruddy cheeks. “Yeah, I think that’s a promise I can make.”

Suppressing a smile, Paige lowered her gaze. Sometimes a little teasing went a long way to smooth troubled waters. Or to gain the upper hand.

As soon as Bryan finished his pancakes, he was out the door heading for the stable and his horse.

With a grimace, Grandpa gathered himself and stood. “Think I’ll go have a sit-down in the living room.”

“Can I get you something for the pain?” Worried, Paige hopped up to take his elbow and walked with him into the living room.

“Don’t worry your head about me, girl. A little sit-down and I’ll be right as rain.”

Paige didn’t share his optimism. “Has the doctor given you a prescription for your arthritis?”

“Doc Johansen’s not much older than Bryan and still wet behind the ears. He’s as like to poison me as not. I keep my distance from that youngster. There’s not much he can do anyway about me getting old, is there?” He eased himself into the recliner and let out a sigh.

Smoothing the few strands of gray hair on his balding head, Paige crouched down beside him. “Maybe I shouldn’t go to church. I could stay home with you.”

“Nonsense.” He waved his hand like he was shooing a fly away. “I’m fine. You and Jay go on to church. It’ll do you both good.”

“If you’re sure...”

“Go on, girl. I’ll be fine.”

Reluctantly, Paige agreed to leave him on his own. She’d only be gone for a couple hours at the most.

But what would happen when she returned to Seattle? Who would take care of him then? At least when Krissy was alive, she had been around to watch out for Grandpa.

When she returned to the kitchen, Jay had already put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and cleaned up the counter. A handy man to have around.

“You ready to go?” he asked.

She checked her watch. “I guess so. I’m worried about Grandpa, though.”

He glanced in the direction of the living room and lowered his voice. “He really took Krissy dying hard. He’d been pretty lively before. Now...” He shrugged. “I’ll go change and meet you at my truck in ten minutes.”

He strolled toward the back door and plucked his hat off the peg.

“Jay,” she called after him.

He looked back over his shoulder.

“Your apron?” She worked to keep a straight face.

He rolled his eyes, yanked off his apron and hung it on the peg where his hat had been. “Ten minutes.”

The screen door slammed behind him as he left.

Telling her grandfather they’d be back as soon as they could, Paige went out the front door.

Bryan was in the corral alongside a horse with a blond coat and mane. Impressed, she watched as Bryan hefted a saddle onto the horse’s back, then ducked down to grab the cinch and pull it tight. He seemed to know what he was doing.

In all honesty, Paige couldn’t imagine herself saddling a horse as expertly as that twelve-year-old did. Or at all. She’d be terrified the horse would step on her. Or kick her.

Bryan seemed unaware of the potential danger. That was doubly amazing considering his mother had so recently died horseback riding.

Paige bit her lip and hurried toward Jay’s truck. She had to make up for the way she’d failed her sister.

* * *

It wasn’t far from Grandpa’s place, around the north end of Bear Lake, to Highway 93 that went through town. Although the tourist season hadn’t officially started, the road was heavily traveled to and from Glacier National Park during most of the year.

Motels were mixed in between fast-food restaurants, diners and traditional businesses such as the local general store and barbershop. One cute shop, Love 2 Read Books and Bakery, had a clever caricature on the front window of a baker with a puffy white hat reading a book.

Nowhere did Paige see anything resembling an upscale resort facility with beach access to the lake. Only one restaurant, Sandy’s, seemed to offer something resembling fine dining, their specialty fresh fish and steaks.

Of course, being in such close proximity to Jay distracted Paige from her survey of the town. She couldn’t detect the scent of an aftershave, yet his masculine pheromones seemed to be doing a number on her, filling the truck cab and setting her on edge.

Or maybe it was his strong profile, a straight nose and determined jaw. Firm lips. Or even the way the wind blowing in the window teased his midnight-black hair, ruffling the strands like a woman’s fingers. Everything about him had her thinking in ways she shouldn’t.

“How come you were so excited to go to church this morning?” Jay asked. “Krissy sure didn’t have any interest.”

His question slammed the door on her wayward thoughts.

“Our folks didn’t attend church, either. The hardware store was open seven days a week. I helped out on weekends including when I was going to college.”

“That must’ve cut down on your social life.”

As if she’d had one. “When I finally moved away from home, I found I needed...something. I started going to a small neighborhood church. I felt welcome, maybe for the first time, and loved for myself.” Her cheeks flushed hot and she looked away. “That sounds hokey, doesn’t it?”

“Not really.”

She felt him looking at her and nausea roiled her stomach. Of all the dumb things to say, implying that she hadn’t ever been loved. Of course her parents had loved her. Her teachers, too. She was the good sister.

“So how about you?” she asked, determined to shift the spotlight away from her. “Do you go to church regularly?”