Page 39 of Montana Heat

“This place is amazing. Do all your friends live here?”

“All the guys used to when they were single. Now, since they’re either engaged or married and a couple have kids, most have moved off property. Daniel and Emma still live on-site with their little boy, Tyson.”

Suddenly, the lodge doors were thrown open, and the two women I’d met the first day at Deja Brew stood there with huge smiles to greet me. The shorter woman with the bright clothes and multicolored hair—Lena?—pulled me into a quick hug.

A laugh sounded at my side, and I turned to see Evelyn shaking her head at her friend. “Sorry, Lena’s a hugger. It’s good to see you again, Kenzie.”

Lena scrunched up her face. “Yeah, sorry about that. I should have asked first. But I’m so happy to see you here with Jensen. He’s never brought anyone with him before, so it’s extra exciting that you’re here.”

My eyes widened at her announcement, and I glanced over my shoulder and met Jensen’s gaze. He didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed at Lena’s statement. The opposite, in fact.

I felt my cheeks heat, but that had nothing to do with embarrassment either. Although, I hoped no one would notice.

“Come on, you two. Get in here,” a male voice called from inside. I thought it was Daniel. I had spent a lot of time talking to him yesterday.

“Yeah, it’s almost time to eat. We don’t want everything getting cold,” Liam replied from the kitchen.

The inside of the lodge was just as impressive as the outside—warm and inviting. We were the last ones to arrive, soeveryone made their way to the dining area, carrying dishes of all shapes and sizes. The amazing scents wafting through the air had my mouth watering. I wasn’t much of a cook, but I loved to eat.

But even better was the gathering itself. There was really no rhyme or reason to anything. It was a happy, loving, chaotic mess of good conversation and laughter among friends who were obviously as close as family.

There were kids around too, although I couldn’t necessarily tell who belonged to whom since whenever a child needed something, the nearest adult handled it. All the kids were obviously as comfortable with every adult present as they were their own parents, because not one of them balked.

The chatter and cheer never waned as they all passed dishes around. Even Jensen was talking, his face as relaxed as I’d ever seen it.

And they threw me right smack in the middle of all of it, never treating me like a victim or asking me questions about my case. I was just one of the family. For someone who’d grown up with no siblings, it was a little overwhelming, but in the best way.

Conversations grew quieter as the men started clearing off the table and taking dishes to the kitchen and returning with dessert. My eyes almost bugged out of my head at the thought of eating more.

But, of course, I did. Because I was not going to miss out on homemade apple pie when it was available to me.

After dinner, the talk became a little more subdued. Evelyn and Emma disappeared to put their little ones down in one of the bedrooms. The guys, once again, started removing dishes from the table and stayed in the kitchen for cleanup.

I sat at the table, still finishing my dessert, when Lena sat down next to me. “How are you holding up, Kenzie?”

“I’m doing all right. Stuffed, though. The food and companywere both excellent. I can’t thank you all enough for letting me crash your evening.” I smiled, taking a bite of pie.

“You’re welcome here anytime you want to come. You don’t even have to be Jensen’s date—although we love that you are.” Lena smiled in kind. “He’s never brought a date here before.”

“Yeah, the owner of the bar where we ate yesterday seemed pretty shocked to see Jensen staying, especially with company in tow.”

“Oh, I know Clive and Patti were thrilled. Patti was gushing about it at her salon today. News is already getting out about the hot new couple.”

I felt my face heat. “Jensen and I aren’t a couple.”

She grinned. “Maybe not, but don’t doubt that we all saw him looking at you way more than was necessary tonight. He’s pretty enamored of you.”

“I don’t know about that. He’s just the type of person to help someone out if he has it in his power to do so.”

“True, true. Jensen is definitely that way. Hell, all the Resting Warrior guys are. But it’s more than just that with you for him, believe me.”

I didn’t know how accurate that was. But I did know that I couldn’t stop thinking about my handsome mechanic.

I dropped my volume. “Even if that’s true, Jensen and I are too different.”

“Oh honey, there’s nobody in the world more different from me than my Jude.”

I raised one eyebrow at her. “You mean because he doesn’t have purple and teal streaks in his hair?”

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