Montana Homecoming

“Oh, the trial. Of course.” He snapped his free hand, the one not holding on tightly to the Lab’s leash. The dog leaped up and down and pulled at his tether, scenting the air. “Oscar’s looking for the ham. He’s incorrigible.”

“You’re going to keep him, aren’t you?” She inched close enough to stroke her fingers across the animal’s soft head. She thought of the shelter, of caged doors and windowless walls, and shivered. She thought of no hope, no escape, no freedom. “You’re not going to take him back to the pound?”

“No way. Gram was just joking. I hope.” He patted his dog on the back. “Oscar’s just a little excited, and I’m not exactly sure, but I don’t think he’s ever been left alone with a ham before. He lost his head and grabbed it before I could stop him. Next time he’ll know better.”

“Or run faster.”

“A possibility.” He chuckled. “Oscar catches on pretty quick. He likes you.”

“Something tells me he likes everybody.” A lock of dark hair tumbled across her face like a curtain, but it couldn’t mask her beauty. She had a delicate heart-shaped face, deep violet-blue eyes and fragile features. She was petite, lost in the size-too-large sweater and jeans she wore. Brooke McKaslin reminded him of a spring dawn, so still a man might miss it entirely unless he really took the time to look.

When he did, nothing before had ever seemed as beautiful.

Funny he would take notice of her like this. The humiliation of his recent broken engagement normally kept him far away from most women. It was just plain crazy talking to this gorgeous woman. His shattered heart and crushed pride hadn’t recovered from the last one. He’d been down that road, thanks. Not interested in going there again.

So why was he riveted by her? His heart rattled against his rib cage as he searched for an explanation and came up with nothing. A light flashed on and a screen door rasped open. Colbie McKaslin stood in the doorway, a worried frown on her face. The sisters did look remarkably similar, with sleek dark hair and delicate faces, but he would never confuse the two. There was something innately amazing about Brooke, something that drew him whether he wanted to admit it or not.

“Oh, there you are!” Colbie called across the front yard. “Jeopardy’s over and I’m making cocoa. I thought you might want a cup, but I can see you’re busy. Hi, Liam. Is that a dog?”

“It is.” He took a few steps toward his truck, eager to go. “It’s a long story.”

“Didn’t mean to interrupt. Sorry!” Colbie waved before she disappeared behind the closing screen door. Apparently she worried she’d interrupted a moment, but there wasn’t one.

Not that he wasn’t grateful to the lady for catching his dog.

“Oscar, you be a good boy.” Brooke slipped away, nothing more than a faint outline in the shadows of the lawn. “Don’t run from your master again.”

At the sound of his name, the dog wagged his tail and hopped up and down, eager to race up to the pretty lady and follow her inside. She disappeared behind the screen door with nothing more than a final wave. The Lab whined, tipping his head side to side, not understanding why she had abandoned them.

“It’s just you and me, buddy.” He opened the back door for the dog to jump up. “Come on, get in. Don’t worry. Maybe our paths will cross hers again.”

Thinking of tomorrow’s trial, he had a feeling they might.

* * *

“So, you met Liam.” Colbie closed the marshmallow bag with a rustle. “Isn’t he a total wow?”

“I guess.” Noncommittal, that was the best way to go. No doubt Colbie’s well-meaning radar had ramped up to high. The last thing she wanted to do was to spend the rest of the evening discussing a man, especially when she was firmly, devotedly single.

“You guess?” Colbie’s brows arched and she shook her head in disapproval. “I can’t believe we’re related. You can’t tell me you don’t notice gorgeous men when they happen to cross your path.”

Brooke followed the aroma of steaming milk and dissolving cocoa powder into the kitchen, where three large mugs stood on the counter, topped with melting marshmallows. “I’m not looking for a man, gorgeous or otherwise. Are you?”

“Not especially. I’m thinking solely of you. You have to leave your possibilities open, sister dear.” Colbie stuffed the bag into a pantry shelf, dark hair swinging. “You never know when true love will walk in and change your life.”

“Or mess it up.” She hid her smile as she chose a mug and turned on her heel. “It’s my opinion men cause wreck and ruin wherever they go.”

“Some men. I can’t argue that. But that’s no excuse to turn into a spinster.”

“A spinster? Isn’t that like something out of the eighteen hundreds? There are no spinsters these days. Honestly.” She strolled the short distance into the little living room and set the mug down on the end table within easy reach for Lil. “There’s nothing wrong with being a woman in control of her life. Right, Lil?”

“Sorry, I can’t help you, dear. I agree with Colbie.” The pretty woman looked up from her wheelchair, her spirit bright in spite of the hardships life had dealt her. “Yes, a man can cause all sorts of havoc, but it all comes down to the kind of man he truly is deep inside. Seeing that inner truth of a man takes a lot of time and investment. Good men are hard to find, but they’re out there. My prayer is that one of them finds you.”

“Thanks, Lil, but save your prayers for Colbie.” Brooke squeezed the hand of the sweet lady who was like a mother to her. “She needs them.”

“I wouldn’t mind a tall, dark, handsome hunk to stroll into my life.” Colbie swept in carrying both mugs and set them on the coffee table. “On the other hand, he might get in the way of time spent with my mom, so maybe I’m better off without him.”

“See my point?” Brooke dropped onto the couch and waited for her sister to plop down next to her. “Dudes change things. When it comes down to it, our lives are good. Who needs change?”

“My sentiments exactly.” Colbie picked up the remote control and handed it to her mother. “Mom, your turn to pick. What are we going to watch?”

“Oh, you know I love that travel race show.” Lil clicked a button and the screen flashed to a market scene in China. “I always meant to travel the world when I was you girls’ age. I had such plans.”

It wasn’t just the wheelchair that had put a crimp in the woman’s dreams. Sad, Brooke took a tentative sip of frothy cocoa, hot enough to nearly burn her tongue but good and sweet and comforting. She definitely needed the comfort. She knew what it was like to have life change suddenly and dreams evaporate. She blinked back images of a courtroom and the grim faces of a jury.

That dog had put a smile on her face tonight. She thought of Liam. He was so gorgeous. It was easy to picture him and Oscar trucking through the dark across town to wherever they lived. It would be easy to wish for a good man to love her. But that dream had been lost the moment the police had shown up at her door more than nine years ago. Life took you down paths you never imagined and all a person could do was deal with it. This was her dealing.

If her heart gave a little sigh over Liam she ignored it, counted her blessings and let the reality show carry her away.

Chapter Two

Liam headed down the sidewalk into the bright morning sun, feeling guilty at leaving his new dog home alone for the first time. He couldn’t get the sound of Oscar’s howl out of his head. Trying not to imagine how the poor dog was feeling, he focused on his work. The courthouse looming up ahead helped to remind him of his responsibilities.

He had to stop worrying. Oscar would be all right. He was safe in the house. Come five o’clock, Liam would walk back through that door and the dog would see he hadn’t been abandoned. All would be well. Right?

Right.

“Oh, dear. Oops.” A woman’s good-natured trill caught his attention. He rounded the corner to see Lil in her wheelchair with her back to him, gazing down at her purse on the sidewalk.

“Hi, beautiful.” He knelt to swoop up her leather bag. “Don’t you look fetching? You are going to turn heads in court today.”

“Liam, you are a charmer.” Lil accepted her handbag with a nod of thanks. “What good timing. Brooke, Colbie, look who I found walking the street.”

“That makes me sound iffy. Like I’m up to no good.”

“Oh, I suspect you are up to something very good.” Lil’s eyes twinkled merrily. “I hear you got yourself a dog.”

“Guilty. It seemed like a good idea at the time. What can I say?” His few working brain cells decided to fail the moment Brooke circled around the back of the SUV and into sight. He opened his mouth intending to say something about Oscar but he forgot what.

Soft golden sunlight tumbled over her like a promise, glinting in sleek mahogany hair and caressing the curve of her delicately cut face.

Don’t look, he instructed his brain, but his neurons didn’t obey. Neither did his eyes, which could not stop taking her in. At first glance she seemed fragile, fine-boned, as if a brisk wind could carry her away. But when she leveled him with her hyacinth-blue gaze, an inner strength shone through, impressive and distinctive.

Wow. She’d been beautiful in the starlight, but in the full day words failed him. Stunned, frozen, his jaw slack—did he look like a dolt?

Good thing he wasn’t interested. Nope, not one bit. Her beauty bounced off him like rain on a roof. He remained unaffected.

“I hardly recognize you without your dog.” Brooke didn’t meet his gaze. “How is Oscar?”