Sizzling Summer Nights

“I’ll admit, I called in a chit from our college days. She wasn’t all that anxious to get up there. But she’s fearless. I knew she’d do it.”

A blonde waitress walked past them, waving an order ticket.

Seth didn’t recognize her, but then he’d been gone most of the last ten years. She gave him a sassy smile, and he smiled back. But she had to be a local and he didn’t want to go there, so he broke eye contact quickly. Too bad about Hannah being Rachel’s friend.

“Kristen, same thing?” Nikki got a nod and grabbed the tequila from the back shelf. “Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll get Hannah to the Sundance,” Nikki said, and started toward Kristen waiting at the end of the bar.

“Thanks,” Rachel said. “Oh, Seth, how about you? If you’re still around and Nikki has to close, any chance you can give Hannah a ride?”

He heard Nikki laugh, caught a brief glimpse of her giving Rachel an eye-roll. So maybe Hannah being a friend wasn’t a problem at all. “Sure,” he said. “Count on it.”

2 (#u03e99d7c-248d-59b5-a9b4-3e9fd30a920f)

NOT LONG AFTER Rachel left, Hannah took Seth up on his offer to drive her to the Sundance. She’d resisted at first, not wanting to impose, but it seemed he wasn’t going to leave the bar without her. Once they were outside, he gestured to the right. “My truck’s that way.”

Hannah hesitated. “Tell me the truth,” she said giving it a final try. “Did Rachel twist your arm? Because, honestly, I don’t mind waiting for Nikki.”

“Nah, I figured I’d play hero and rescue you from the masses.”

She still wasn’t sure she believed him, and she would’ve told him just that, if it weren’t for that ridiculously charming smile of his. It was a tad crooked, the corner of his mouth hiking up slightly higher on one side. The adorably boyish look was an amazing contrast to the dark intensity of his eyes. “Those guys had to be pretty drunk to ask me for an encore.”

Seth chuckled. “That’s downtown Saturday night for you. Up ahead is the Full Moon Saloon. Been open almost a year now. Before that, we had only the one bar.”

“Wow. The Watering Hole is kind of small, too.”

“The Full Moon is supposed to be a lot bigger. I heard they have live music some nights and a mechanical bull in the back.”

“You haven’t checked it out yet?”

He shook his head. “I’d been away for a while. I moved back seven months ago but I don’t come to town much.”

Hannah got the feeling he didn’t really want to talk about himself so she held her curiosity at bay. Anyway, she could get all the information she wanted from Rachel. “Well, Montana is beautiful country, so green, and the mountains are breathtaking. I don’t understand how you could’ve left in the first place.”

“It won’t be all that green for much longer. Not with the heat we’ve been having.”

“Well, I’m from Dallas, and it’s been exceptionally hot for a couple years now.”

“Yeah, Rachel mentioned you’re from there.” He was over six feet tall, with long legs that could probably go much faster but he stayed at a nice comfortable pace that better suited her.

“I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Texas, but excuse me for not being sympathetic when you say it won’t be green much longer.”

“I’ve been there,” he said. “I seem to recall some nice areas.”

“Of course there are, mostly in the Hill Country, but overall it’s been so dry and just...brown and ugly.”

“Yep, the drought has hurt a lot of folks—ranchers, farmers and ultimately the consumer.” He gestured to a sign posted in the window of a bakery. “As a matter of fact, there’s going to be a town meeting on the topic.”

Hannah had been too busy looking at the bakery’s name. The Cake Whisperer. Cute. She caught only a quick glimpse of the handwritten sign as they walked past it. “Grazing permits. What does that have to do with the drought?”

“Cattle have to eat,” he said. “If you don’t have enough grass on your own land, you have to find some. It just so happens the government owns a good deal of prime grazing land,” Seth said, with an enigmatic smile that revealed nothing of his political leaning.

Something that Hannah understood. Discussions about politics and religion always made her edgy. “So, the local ranchers can get a permit and let their cows graze on government grass?”

“For a fee, yes. And not just local ranchers, some of whom have been using the land for decades without a permit. Hence, the emergency meeting. It’s a touchy subject around here. That’s why I stay out of it.”

“Huh.” She wondered if her father knew anything about grazing permits or had thought about looking beyond Texas. Depending on shipping costs, leasing land here could solve his problem. Maybe she’d poke around and get some info.

Right now, though, she was more interested in Seth. His language surprised her. With his scuffed boots, worn jeans and blue T-shirt, he looked like a typical cowboy. Sometimes he sounded like one, and other times not at all. Now she really wanted to grill Rachel about him. What had she said about him having issues?

“Ask me,” he said with an air of amusement.

At the sudden realization she’d been staring, she blinked. “Ask you what?”

“Whatever it is that’s got you thinking so hard.”

Tempting, but no, she’d wait for Rachel. It was possible the night could end really well and she didn’t want to mess things up. “Where did you park? The next county?”

Seth stopped and opened the passenger door of a late model, dark gray truck. “Here we go.”

“Is this yours?”

“No, but it’s closer,” he said, pulling the door wide. “Go ahead. We’re all friends here. We swap vehicles all the time.”

Hannah opened her mouth to ask if he was joking, then closed it without a word.

He laughed. “Of course it’s mine.”

“I knew that,” she said, glaring up at him.

Humor lit his eyes. He really was very good-looking and it was all she could do not to touch his dimpled chin.

Before she gave in to the impulse, she looked up at the June sky filled with stars. So many that she couldn’t keep count if she tried.

“Sorry,” she said, when it registered that he was waiting for her. “The sky is so beautiful out here.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” His gaze swept the vast expanse of inky backdrop. “I’ve visited a lot of different places, and so far nothing beats a Montana sky. Probably why I loved astronomy so much as a kid.”

“Really? Not anymore?”

“Ah, you know...” He shrugged. “Life happened.”

“I get it. Oddly enough, I was just thinking about how stargazing had been one of my favorite things to do as a little girl. Now I can’t remember the last time I slowed down long enough to look up.”

“Did you grow up in Dallas?”

“No. My parents own a small ranch a couple hours west of the city in the middle of nowhere.”

“A ranch?” His brows went up. “No kidding?”