Page 63 of Choosing the Montana Cowboy

At his comment, she looked up, her head turning in his direction. This was it, the moment of truth. Would she be glad to see him, or would her reception be lukewarm?

On a squeal, she launched off the porch and came running, crashing into him so hard that he nearly lost his Stetson from the impact.

“Sam! I can’t believe you’re here!”

She wrapped her arms around him and damn near squeezed the life out of him. His heart swelled. There was nothing lukewarm about this reception.

“Howdy, darlin’.”

He lifted her chin and kissed his girl soundly. She moved closer, her body curling into his. After a moment, though, she drew back, her brows pinched together.

“But I don’t understand. What are you doing here?”

He shrugged. “When a little lady needs help, a cowboy should step up.”

“Wait—did you get on aplane?”

“Sure did. Took some coaxing by my fearless daughter, but here I am.”

“I’m so proud of you!” Natalie wrapped her arms around him once more. “Remind me to thank Madison when I see her next.”

Sam liked hearing that. He kissed the top of her crown, savoring her lavender scent. “God, I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you, too. Funny how someone I just met can feel like someone I hate to be without.” She raised a hand to his cheek. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get a chance to tell you goodbye.”

“Me too. Unfortunately, we were both chasing emergencies that day.” His gaze shifted to her house. “How’s it going here?”

“Better, I guess. Restoration company stopped by, looked over everything, and came up with a game plan.” She shook her head. “Unfortunately, after they left, I realized they can’t fix what it needs to feel like home.”

“Really? What’s the fix?” Sam asked.

“You.” A grin stretched across her pretty pink lips. “I’ve been dying to come home and enjoy my house for months, but it wasn’t until you showed up on my sidewalk that it actually feels like somewhere I want to be.”

Those backflips he’d wanted to do when they learned about the ferrets? Natalie’s confession just about made him do one now. But since she hadn’t said she was moving west, he decided to play along for another minute before he started begging in earnest.

“No?” His gaze shifted to study her home. “It looks like a pretty nice place to me.”

“Oh, it’s a great home, for the right person. Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer the same views that I had in Marietta.”

Sam liked where this was going. He met her gaze once more, the excitement in her eyes giving him the courage to keep going. “You know, if there’s one thing we have in Montana, it’s plenty of rooms with a view.”

“Really? Do you think you could maybe reserve one of those rooms for me? I won’t need it right away, since I’ve got one more project to finish up before I shift into my newremoterole at work.”

Hot damn. “You got the promotion?”

At her nod, he picked her up and spun her around, whooping like his grandfather. “Woohoo! Sounds to me like it’s time we do some celebratin’.”

Natalie laughed. “This—this is what I love about you. All the support and celebrating.”

“You love me?” He set her down carefully, warmth like he hadn’t known in years radiating through his chest.

She reached up to tug on his Stetson. “Yes, cowboy, I sure do.”

“I love you, too, city girl.” He cupped her cheek. “Been afraid to say it for a while now, didn’t want to scare you off for coming on too strong.”

“Youcoming on too strong? I was the one falling into your arms on day one!”

Sam brushed a thumb over her cheek. “I knew you were a force to be reckoned with from the moment we walked in that night. Just didn’t know it was my heart that you’d eventually win.”

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