Page 26 of Choosing the Montana Cowboy

He looked to his beer, glad he was only on his first. “In person?”

“Yes. I can come out there if you like,” she said. “Save you a trip into town now that I know the way.”

Did he dare ask if she wanted the rest of the family to be there? And was this trip for business or pleasure? He glanced behind him. Madison was inside doing her homework. Pleasure wasn’t really an option at the moment.

“Uh, yeah, that’s fine. I’m at the house, though. Do you want me to drive over to the lodge?”

“Whatever you think is best.”

This was sounding less and less like a pleasure run, for which he tried not to feel disappointed. Even so, his selfish side wanted her here all to himself, where they could talk without being interrupted by Gramps’s teasing or Gran’s stern looks. “Here is fine. My grandparents are probably settled in for the night.” A lie—there was a 99 percent chance they were sitting on the lodge’s back porch, enjoying the sunset, same as him. “And I’m not exactly sure where Norah is.” Also a lie—she’d be down at the stables, having spa time with her horses.

“Okay. So, how do I get there?”

“Drive out the same as you did last night. But when you first turn onto the Flying J’s main drive, watch for a mailbox with the numbers 201 on it. That’ll be our road.”

“Great, thanks,” she said. “I’ll see you in about twenty.”

“See you then.”

Sam hung up, took another long pull from his beer, and sat back in his rocker. What could she want to talk about this late on a Thursday night? The project? The ferrets? The ranch?

That was when he realized they had company coming for the first time in ages. And guess who hadn’t cleaned up the dinner dishes just yet? On a soft curse, he hurried for the door.

Chapter Nine

Natalie squinted intothe setting sun, its blazing orange glow resting on the horizon, nearly blinding her. By some small miracle she spied the 201 mailbox and managed to turn down the gravel trail leading away from the Flying J’s main lodge. The bigger miracle was that she’d been able to catch Sam on the phone tonight. Sunnie hadn’t answered hers—though it was possible the number listed on the town’s board of works webpage could have been outdated—and Sam’s number was the only other one for the Miles family that Natalie had.

Could they have discussed all of this over the phone? Yes, but this way she could watch his reaction to the proposals she’d been sent to offer. If he wasn’t receptive to them, well, then she and Steven would have to go back to the drawing board.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.

Up ahead, a modest-sized ranch slowly came into view, its wooden style similar to that of the lodge and yet different. The chimney was stone but more refined, and the darker accents on Sam’s home were more modern and geometric. The custom railing around its broad porch echoed that modern, geometric feel, but the wooden rocking chair that sat upon it spoke of earlier days. And was that a porch swing off to the side?

The front door opened as she pulled to a stop, and out stepped Sam. He was more casually dressed than she’d seen him before, wearing khaki cargo shorts, a blue T-shirt, and camo HeyDudes. Dressed like that, he could have been from anywhere. Even her hometown in Indiana.

“Hey there, stranger,” he said, coming down the front steps. “Find the place okay?”

She stepped from her car on a nod. “Yep. Sun about blinded me, though. Out here, there’s nothing to block it.”

“That’s how we like it.” He winked and closed the door behind her before turning for the front porch. “Thirsty? I’ve got water, iced tea, beer.”

“No, thank you, I’m good. And I won’t stay long. It’s getting late, and something tells me that cowboys tend to get up a little earlier than the rest of us.”

“Can’t deny that.”

Sam motioned for her to take a seat on the porch swing, which Natalie gladly did. They’d had a porch swing at one of the houses she’d lived in growing up, and she’d spent countless hours on it, reading, drawing, watching thunderstorms roll in. If the porch had been screened in, she would have camped out there overnight, too. Without the screening, though, the mosquitoes would have eaten her alive.

As he settled into the nearby rocking chair, she scanned the view around them. Dusk was on the brink of twilight, the oranges nearly gone from the sky. Above them, brilliant stars were already beginning to appear.

“It’s gorgeous out here.”

“Sure is. Morning, noon, and night. Eventually, we’ll get you out here with a little more daylight left. If you’d like to be, that is.”

It was the perfect opening for their conversation. Like to be. Need to be…

“Something tells me that’s going to happen sooner as opposed to later.”

“Oh?” Sam’s gaze grew curious. “So, what’s got you driving all the way out here on a Thursday night?”

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