Montana Cowboy

“He spent the whole way giving me advice. We don’t have big concrete tube things in L.A. At least not one I’ve met on the road.” She stopped to take a breath, clearly nervous, too. “I was afraid we’d be late for the wedding. I bought a gift, but it’s in the car. I didn’t want to bring it in for the service.”

“I told you it wouldn’t matter,” Jerrod added in a friendly way. He looked like a good kid.

“I know, but I was worried about all the crackling. You know, the wrapping paper? Luke knows because I told him that I tend to be a klutz.”

“I think you exaggerate.” After seeing her grace and charm, he didn’t believe for one moment her funny stories she’d typed at him were true. “You’ve been misleading me all this time, haven’t you?”

“Me, mislead you? No way. I’ve been totally honest.” She hesitated, bit her bottom lip and rolled her eyes heavenward, perhaps aware God was watching her especially close in church. “Uh, I’ve been mostly really honest,” she corrected.

Making them all laugh. Making him like her more.

“I’m Colbie,” his sister spoke up, apparently eager to start the introductions.

Sure, he thought, nodding. Easy to read the hope on his sister’s faces. He stepped up, finishing the introductions. “Meet the twins, Brianna and Brandilyn.”

“Hi,” Bree and Brandi chorused identically.

“My brother, Hunter. And Brooke, the bride.”

“Good to meet you, Honor.” Brooke was the only one in the group who knew about his correspondence with Honor and, he suspected, understood his feelings about her. Brooke gave a toss of her dark hair, smiled and grabbed the arm of the man beside her. “This is Liam, who is about to become my husband in thirty minutes.”

“And you’re not even dressed yet.” Honor looked concerned. “Do you need help? I come with experience. I’ve pitched in at all my sisters’ weddings.”

“I’ll take you up on that.” Brooke nodded, looking as if she liked Honor very much.

In fact, all his family did. Not hard to figure why. They had hopes for him—marital hopes—except for Hunter who stood in the back, practicing his scowl.

“You’d best come with us, dear.” Lil reached out her hand.

“I saved the best for last.” Luke cleared his throat. “Lil is a gem.”

“So I see. So good to meet you.” Honor took Lil’s hand with a warm squeeze as she addressed the woman in the wheelchair. “Luke has told me about you all, but especially you, Lil. It’s easy to see why he has such a soft spot for you.”

Lil beamed at the compliment. “He’s the special one. Luke is always there when we need him.”

“That doesn’t surprise me at all.” She shot a glance at the tall, sandy-haired man blushing a little from the compliment.

“She exaggerates,” he confessed.

“So I see.” Now she had something else to like about Luke. He was humble. Wouldn’t that be a change for the better? She thought of her dad—always extolling his superiority in the boardroom, on the golf course or at the dinner table. Her brother was a chip off the old block. And Kip? She winced at the memory of her rocky year dating a man who turned out to be exactly like her father.

“Oh, there’s the music lady,” one of the twins called out. Standing side by side, they were identical from their sleek blond hair, heart-shaped faces all the way to their black heels. They wore different dresses—one blue and the other lilac—but the style was the same.

“I’ll go help!” The twin in lilac broke away, tapping down the aisle toward a woman hefting a cello case.

“Well, kids.” Lil clapped her hands. “Time to get this show on the road. Hunter, you have your checklist?”

“I’ll get busy.” The darker, burlier version of Luke gave a grim nod, pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and left.

“Luke? You’ll make sure the musicians are set up?” Lil gave her chair a turn. “The rest of you, come with me.”

“Jerrod, why don’t you…?”

“Sit here and finish reading A Farewell to Arms?” he finished, crooking one eyebrow.

She laughed. “You are a funny kid. I was going to say why don’t you go sit outside?”

“Really?”

“As long as you stay close, I don’t see why not. Keep within sight of the front door.”

“Cool.” He reached in his pocket and hauled out his iPod.

“I can keep an eye on him.” Luke’s voice rumbled near her ear. “I’ll be seating guests.”

“I’d appreciate that. I was hoping there would be kids his age here.”

“Bree’s fiancé, Mac, has a teenage brother. Probably a few years older, but Marcus is a good kid. They might get along just fine.”

“Good. I like your family, Luke.”

“They’re all right. I’ll keep ’em.” A faint blush crept across his high cheekbones. “Although I am sorry. They took a lot of interest in you. I’m afraid they think—”

“—that you and I are an item?”

“Yep. And when they get you alone, they might, uh—”

“—try to sell me on you for my boyfriend?”

He nodded, relieved that she understood.

“Don’t worry. I’m from a big family, too. I totally get it.” She tried to ignore the pinch of pain she felt every time she thought of her family.

“You haven’t written about your family much.” His tone dipped pleasantly. “At least you haven’t shared them with me.”

“Guilty.” Another painful pinch. “Let’s just say my parents aren’t happy with me. I feel the same toward them.”

“Ah, I’ve been there.” The pinch of sadness creasing his face spoke the truth, but she couldn’t picture it.

“I don’t believe it. Your family is great.”

“I’m talking about my folks. Mom—” He hesitated, as if needing strength to talk about it. “Let’s just say we don’t know if she’s going to show up today for Brooke’s wedding. She wanted Brooke to come to Miles City to get married. And then there’s Dad—”

He fell silent and shook his head. A muscle jumped along his jaw. “Dad got out of federal prison not too long ago. He’s made bad choices in his life, and one of them is how he treats people. We’re praying he doesn’t show up today.”

“Nothing can hurt like family.” She reached out to squeeze his hand, meaning to let him know he wasn’t alone, she knew exactly how that felt, but a snap of awareness jolted through her at the first brush of her skin to his. His strong fingers curled around hers, holding on, and the snap deepened. It became an emotional hook that dug into her heart.

Really weird, she thought. What was happening? Before she could analyze it, Luke released her hand, unhooked her heart and the snap of awareness faded.