Page 17 of Choosing the Montana Cowboy

Sam rose from his seat on a groan. “You two are incorrigible.”

“And you wouldn’t have us any other way.” Gran tipped her head toward the door. “Come on, Eli, we’ve got a stop at the grocery store to make.”

“Wait—I thought you said Ren Fletcher would be ready for us this afternoon.” At his grandmother’s look of mock innocence, Sam sighed. “You made that up, too?”

“He was ready for us,” she said as they all stepped out into the afternoon heat. “Unfortunately, it seems he had another kidney stone episode midday. His secretary assured me that she will call us to reschedule as soon as he’s back in the office.”

Sam’s irritation burned brighter. Another fib or the real deal? He wanted to know where their lease stood and whether or not they should be shopping around for more land or digging into their reserves for more money to spend on someone else’s crops.

And just like that, the good mood he’d been in when Natalie was here evaporated.

“Dad!”

He turned to find Madison and her friends walking toward them. Now that she had friends with driver’s licenses, she rarely rode the bus home after school. Because he knew these girls and their families, Sam was fine letting the kids be kids while they could. And right now, seeing his baby girl was about the only thing that could pull him out of this sour mood with a single glance.

“Hey, punkin. How was school?”

She stepped away from the others to come give him a quick hug—he loved that she hadn’t outgrown that yet. “Boring. All our teachers are trying to cram in a few more lessons before finals, and it’s so annoying.”

“Annoying or not, you’ve gotta keep working hard and finish the semester strong.”

She gave him theduhlook. “Iknow. So, what are you all doing here?”

“Your grandmother needed a ride into town, and—”

“Oh! So, her plan worked? Hang on, I wanna ride home with you and hear all the deets.”

Sam frowned as he got behind the wheel of his Ram. Even Madison knew about this?

She trotted back to her friends, exchanged a few words, then rushed back and climbed into the front passenger seat. “Now spill!”

Sam shook his head. Once that girl had her mind made up, there wasn’t much he could do to change it; since she got that from him, he couldn’t much blame her. He backed carefully out of his parking space and steered for home.

“Well, since you already know about your grandmother’s deceit, I guess I can skip that part.”

Madison patted his arm. “She did it because she loves you.”

“People who love each other shouldn’t lie to one another. And now I’ll have more work left to do on the fence tomorrow because today’s work got interrupted.” He hated how that complaint came out sounding like a whine. But, dammit, he had been making good progress. “Anyway, yes, I ended up having coffee with Natalie, and yes, Gramps came in pretending it was completely by coincidence.”

Madison giggled. “So? Is she coming to dinner?”

He leveled a dark look her way. How was it that she’d been let in on this crazy ploy but he hadn’t? “Six o’clock.”

“That’s awesome.” She looked to the windshield. “I’ll help you pick something out to wear for dinner.”

“Wha—Madison, this is not a date, honey. This is your grandparents trying to help save our ranch.”

“Why can’t it be both?”

“Because. Dates don’t generally involve having your entire family there.” He reached to up the AC. Why was it so hot in here? “And, also, this woman works for our archnemesis.”

“You don’t trust her.”

A statement, not a question from his daughter with the old soul. “She hasn’t given me reason to yet.”

Madison’s brows furrowed. “Has she given you reasonnotto?”

Sam looked from his daughter to the road ahead, picturing the home they were headed to. His grandparents had gifted him that plot of land when he’d turned twenty-five; they’d done the same for his father at the same age, as well as for Norah and Jaxon. Uncle Frank, of course, declined. Still, three generations were spread out across the frontage of five hundred acres at the foot of Copper Mountain, each of their homes surrounded by picture-perfect views. His heart ached at the idea of ever losing that place, of losing their ranch. It was as much a part of him as his DNA; he wouldn’t know how to survive anywhere else. Wouldn’t want to. The answer to his daughter’s question wasn’t a simple one.

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