Montana Cowboy

“I play on my church team. Or I used to, before I moved here.”

“Okay, now you have to come. Because Brooke is a whiz at volleyball and she thinks she has tomorrow’s game won hands down.”

“Volleyball at a wedding reception?”

“Now you think I’m hokey and you wouldn’t get near me with a ten-foot pole.” Dimples tucked into the corners of his generous smile.

A perfect smile. Good thing she wasn’t interested or she might be a little dazzled. “I make no judgments,” she reassured him. “You’ve just talked me into it.”

“Yeah? Good.” His smile broadened. His dimples dug a little deeper.

Wow. The impact was enough to knock her off her chair. She glanced over the top of her computer screen, totally forgetting her charge. Jerrod sat seemingly engrossed in his book on the porch. The poor kid needed a change of scenery, too. “Is it okay if I bring a guest?”

“Bring anyone you want. The more the merrier. I’m looking forward to meeting you in person, Honor.”

“Me, too.” She tried to ignore the dazzle of his dimples one more time. “You’ll email me directions?”

“Absolutely. Whoops. That’s my brother. It’s milking time. I’ve got to head to the barn. The cows are waiting.”

“Okay. Give Nell a pat for me.”

“Will do.” He leaned in, sincere. “Goodbye until tomorrow, Honor.”

“Goodbye.” She closed the lid of her laptop, realizing she was smiling. Really, truly smiling.

Montana might have a highlight, after all.

“Hey, Jerrod,” she called. “How would you like an outing tomorrow?”

Chapter Two

“Is that Honor?” His sister, Colbie, elbowed Luke in the ribs, her quiet whisper startling him out of the minister’s sermon.

Keeping one ear on the service, he glanced over his shoulder. A lean woman with sleek blond hair closed the church door carefully, making little noise as she took a step.

“That’s her.” He’d know her anywhere. Her heart-shaped face, her graceful movements and the openness in her big blue eyes as she scanned the sanctuary. His heart kicked when their gazes met.

A tentative smile touched her lips. Recognition roared through him so hard, he gripped the pew back for support. The lanky teenager who was with her led the way to the back row, where they quietly took a seat.

“She’s really pretty.” Colbie waggled her brows, her attention focused on the pulpit. “And she drove all that way. That’s all I’m saying.”

“She doesn’t like me like that,” he whispered in argument, knowing what his optimistic half sister was thinking. Honor was lonely, that was all, he wanted to make that clear, but this wasn’t the time or the place. He tried to concentrate on the message, but the minister’s words echoed in his head, which had strangely emptied the instant Honor Crosby had walked through the door.

Across the aisle his other half sister, Brandi, gave him two thumbs-up.

Yikes, he thought. Couldn’t a man invite a lonely lady to church without everyone leaping to conclusions?

Fine, those conclusions may be right, but two months of chatting online at a book site and through email didn’t make for anything more than a friendship. Just because he was a little sweet on her didn’t mean she felt the same way. How many messages had she written where she mentioned being homesick? Tons. No, Honor Crosby wasn’t sticking around. After her job was done, she would be jetting back to Malibu where she so obviously belonged.

“Let us pray,” intoned Pastor Bill. Rustling filled the sanctuary as heads bowed and hands clasped.

“Love her shoes,” Brooke whispered, his other sister leaned in, pressing against his other elbow.

“Did you see her handbag?” Brianna added.

“Shhh!” Lil, tucked in her wheelchair, gave them a withering look, reminding them this was the Lord’s house. They all fell silent.

Colbie reached over to pat her mother’s hand. They were a mishmash family these days, a combination of the remains of three families divorce and deceit had broken. Luke thought of his father, ground his teeth and added a prayer of his own. Lord, please help Dad to stay away. Brooke deserves a happy, trouble-free day.

Amen chorused through the sanctuary. Beside him, his sister the bride beamed as the first notes of the final hymn rang out. He couldn’t concentrate the way he usually did because he kept listening for one voice, a voice he’d heard only once last night during their video chat. Her presence tugged at him like gravity and no matter what he did, it remained, a pull on his heart he couldn’t stop or explain.

Finally. The last chorus. His tongue stumbled over the familiar words while his pulse galloped unsteadily. A few more moments and they would meet face-to-face. He’d be with her, in the same place, in person, and the prospect made his palms sweat. The woman who’d caught his attention with her funny remarks on Good Books. The woman who typed with him back and forth during a chat on a bestseller they’d both loved and it took more than an hour before either of them realized they were the only ones left in the chat room. It had ended and everyone else had left and they hadn’t even noticed.

He hadn’t noticed because he’d been smitten. Instantly. When he’d known nothing about her but her sense of humor and her opinion on a book. Her personality had shone through the words she’d typed, and he’d been interested. Not that he wanted her to know. It wouldn’t be wise to get involved with a woman who wouldn’t be sticking around and who, in no way, felt the same. How many times had she called him a friend?

He’d learned the hard way that was the hint women used when they liked you, but didn’t see you as boyfriend material and never would.

“Luke?” Someone nudged him in the ribs. Colbie, this time, and laughter danced in her eyes. “Earth to Luke. Come back to the planet.”

“I wonder what has his attention?” Brooke asked from his other side, laughing, already knowing the answer. “Or who?”

Couldn’t a guy keep one little crush a secret? He shook his head. This was the downside of a big family. Everyone was in your business. He did his best grimace. “For your information, I’m concentrating. I’m a very pious man. This is church, Colbie.”

“Right.” Laughter bubbled out of her. “Your scowl doesn’t come close to scaring me.”

“Not at all,” Brooke agreed. “Hunter has a much better one.”

“Thank you,” came a gruff acknowledgement from the pew behind them. Older brother, Hunter, cracked a rare smile. “I’m proud of it. I do my best.”

“It shows,” Lil quipped from her chair. Multiple sclerosis may have slowed her body, but her spirit was as bright as ever. “That’s why you don’t have a single pretty lady coming to see you.”

“She’s coming for the wedding,” he corrected for the tenth time that morning. “She’s a friend. Nothing more.”

“Sure, you don’t want to put that kind of pressure on it.” Middle-aged and with a sleek cap of dark hair, Lil was a substitute mom and a good one. “You just let it happen naturally.”

“How many times?” he asked, raising his eyes to the ceiling. “Friend, not girlfriend.”

“I certainly hope not,” laughed a melodic alto as warm as a summer morning.

He’d know that voice anywhere. Honor. She swept up the aisle in a pretty summer dress, looking amazing. His crazy pulse lurched to a stop. He turned, not daring to breathe but her nearness stuck him, anyway, like a punch to the gut.

“I’m not ready for anything that serious. I’m a free bird these days.” Honor’s warm, flawless smile made it impossible not to like her. “Hi, Luke. This is Jerrod. Sorry we were late.”

“No problem. You never know what is going to delay you on a Montana highway.”

“That’s the truth! We got behind this huge semi carrying the biggest concrete tube thing I’ve ever seen. It must have been for a water or irrigation system or something, but it went twenty-six miles an hour and was nearly impossible to pass.”

“She’s a California driver, too,” the teenager added with an eye roll. “Fearless. She tried passing like six times. Good thing she decided against it or we’d be in a ditch.”