Page 31 of The Way to a Cowboy's Heart

A woman who looked like she could be Liam’s mother appeared on the porch, waving, and she headed down the steps toward the truck. She was lovely, really, with shoulder-length dark-blonde hair, half pulled back from her face, and hazel-green eyes like Liam’s. She was one of those women, Emily suspected at first glance, who had never looked her age, but always looked youthful.

“Welcome, welcome, Emily,” she said, embracing her before Emily could think to resist. Her hug was warm and quick. She pulled back to look at her. “Liam’s told us all about you. And I must say, you’re every bit as pretty as he told us you were.”

Thrown, Emily stammered a response. “I—Th-thank you.”

Liam gave the woman a kiss on her cheek. “Emily? This is my mom, in case you hadn’t guessed already. Sarah Hardesty? Emily Quinn.”

“I’ve heard lovely things about all of you as well,” she said. “Thank you for having me on such a short notice.”

“Of course. Of course. We’re thrilled to have you. Liam told us all about your unlikely meeting in New York and, well, his friends are always welcome in our home. And, for the record, I adore your accent. Darling,” she said to Liam, “isn’t it just somewhere between Keira Knightly and Emma Thompson?”

Liam leaned in. “My mother is a Jane Austen movie fan, in case that got by you.”

Emily laughed. “I have met Ms. Thompson. She’s lovely. She and my father were in the same class together at Cambridge.”

Sarah’s eyes widened like a starstruck Hollywood tourist. “Oh, my goodness.”

“It’s my mom’s dream to meet her one day,” Liam said. “The only celebrities we ever see up here in Montana are the ones who come up to buy up all the prime lakefront land or build their McMansions on fallow ranch land. But we are hoping to attract a few of those Montana dreamers here on the guest ranch one day.”

“From the looks of it, I’m sure you will,” Emily said, taking in the gorgeous horses mingling in a nearby corral alongside a small donkey. “I mean, who wouldn’t want to come here, just to… to experience it?”

An older man came out the door just then, coming down the porch stairs to greet them. Sarah hurried to pull him into their circle. His hair was gray and neat, and he seemed older than Sarah by a bit. “Emily, this is Ray. Ray Lane, my fiancé. Ray, meet Emily, Liam’s friend.”

Perhaps she’d been too long in the city, but the easy warmth from Liam’s family reminded her that not everywhere in America was as buttoned down and unfriendly as New York, where eye contact was patently avoided. This friendly welcome was a little disorienting but, at the same time, welcome.

As they walked toward the house, she took in the beautiful front porch with its white wicker chairs and cozy outdoor rug. She could almost imagine the place decorated for the holidays and how beautiful it would look.

“Emily is going to be staying at the Bluebird cabin, and she’ll be our first official guest,” Liam told them.

“I’m afraid I must insist on paying my way,” she said, stubbornly.

But at once, they all said, “No.”

Sarah explained, “Our cabins aren’t even officially open yet, so you’re doing us a favor testing this one out for us. We still have about a month before our guests begin to arrive. You’ll no doubt enjoy having your own space and a kitchen of your own, too. Though we tend to have big family meals here to which you are welcome. Tonight, for example, most everyone is coming.”

Emily tried to keep the deer-in-the-headlights expression from her face. “Lovely.”

“But don’t worry. Promise, they don’t bite. And you’re our guest,” Sarah said. “Please, just relax and enjoy this beautiful place. It must be good to be out of the city for a bit.”

Emily inhaled deeply, feeling the edge of the city softening inside her. “It is. It truly is.”

The cabin Liam showed her to was cozy and perfect. Not too rustic nor too modern, but just the right touch for her imaginings of what a ranch cabin should be. There were two bedrooms in this one, a small kitchen with all the amenities, a cozy living room with a river stone fireplace and warm rugs underfoot, and a closeted washer and dryer. Of course, the bathroom was lux with a steam shower and a freestanding claw-footed tub.

He was proud of this place, she could tell, and all the hard work they’d all put into it. “I love it,” she told him. “It’s perfect.”

“You must be tired. I’ll let you get settled,” he told her. “Dinner’s at five. And don’t worry about my family. They’re easy.”

“They’re lovely, too.” She smiled at him as they stood awkwardly in the cabin doorway.

Close enough that the scent of him—soap and leather and some fragrance that belonged to him alone—stirred something in her belly. Good Lord, it had to be pheromones, because every time he got near her, something inside her went crazy.

“See you later?” He gave her another kiss on the cheek and left it at that, walking back toward the main house.

Shaken, she leaned back against the doorjamb, contemplating the wisdom of asking him for another real kiss.

After Liam left her, Emily sprawled on the cushy living room couch and stared at the cabin around her, taking in the woodsy fragrance and the carefully selected furnishings. Nothing was overdone and everything reminded her that relaxation was the point of this place.

Aside from the last nearly two months of unemployment where she’d been relentlessly hounding agencies for a job, she hadn’t taken an actual holiday in years. And, certainly, never one in a place like this. She’d never been camping, glamping, or anything close. But this cabin suited her perfectly, even though it was a far cry from the lux hotels she normally stayed in when traveling for business.

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