Page 30 of The Way to a Cowboy's Heart

“If they’re anything like you, I’m going to love them all,” she said before she thought better of it. Heat rose to her cheeks. “I-I mean—”

“I know what you meant. C’mon. Let’s get outta here. You must be tired after this long day of travel. I want to get you settled in your cabin before dinner tonight, which my mom is hoping to impress you with after she heard about your skill in the kitchen.”

“Oh, please.”

He laughed as they walked out of the diner. “So… what made you finally decide to come?”

She chose her words carefully as he opened the truck door for her. “Well, there was your invitation…”

He smiled.

“And I thought, if I get back to England without seeing for myself—” She broke off before she finished the thought.

“Seeing Montana?” he asked.

“Yes. Montana. And then, of course, I needed to see for myself if you were telling the truth about your cowboy skills.” She grinned at him. “For all I know, you could secretly be a banker.”

He made a face and slyly pulled his cell from his pocket. “Oh, damn. I guess that means I should cancel my three o’clock with my branch manager.” He pretended to text. “Dead giveaway.”

She laughed. “Seriously, though. I mean, how could I face my friends if I returned from America without a firsthand proof that I met a real American cowboy? So, you see, I must see you in action.”

“Mmm,” he said around a bite of food. “That right?”

“I won’t be denied. I’ve come all this way.”

“Then, I’ll see what I can do.”

It took almost forty-five minutes to get to the ranch, but it was so worth the drive. Everywhere she looked, from the snow-capped mountains to the stands of pines and whispers of spring flowers beginning to sprout through the winter brown, reminded her of screen savers on her computer that had never been anything but faraway places she’d probably never see.

The Hard Eight ranch was settled into the lee of the Absaroka Mountains alongside the shallow, fast-moving river Liam told her was the Yellowstone—an iconic American river. And the air… she couldn’t get over the sweetness of the air. She rolled the window down and pulled in a deep breath.

He smiled at her. “It’s different.”

“Amazing. I can’t believe I’ve been in this country for so long without ever seeing this part of it,” she said. “And you just… live here amongst all this.”

“You like?” he asked.

In awe, she nodded. “It literally takes my breath away.”

“It’s a far cry from the city, that’s for sure.” He pointed up the road to the Hard Eight sign poised over the long drive to his home. “Here we are.”

She took in the huge expanse of land surrounding them. “Which part is yours?”

“All of it. Far as you can see, to those mountains over there and all the way down to the river.”

“You own part of the Yellowstone River?”

He laughed. “Nobodyownsthe Yellowstone. But we have grazing rights up to it. It feeds our land and waters our cattle. That and a fresh spring up in the foothills up there,” he said pointing to the mountain.

She saw those cattle grazing in the distance along with the guest cabins and glamping tents scattered to the west of the pastures, not far from the main house—a pretty log-fronted structure with a big front porch, complete with Adirondack chairs and a front-yard fire pit. It looked exactly as she’d expected a Montana ranch house to look.

Her stomach churned at the prospect of meeting his family. She had no idea how this would go.

“You ready?” Liam asked as he pulled to a stop in front of the house.

“As I’ll ever be.”

His smile made her feel like she could do anything.

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