Page 48 of Choosing the Montana Cowboy

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Natalie had nosooner returned from her meeting with Chuck than a familiar knock sounded at her door. Grinning, she closed the laptop she’d literally just opened; the email update to her boss could always wait. It was Sam at the door, as she’d guessed, but the furrowed brows were unexpected.

“Hey there, handsome.”

The frown remained. What was going on?

“Afternoon, beautiful. Mind if I come in?”

“Be my guest.” She stepped aside, curious as to what had him frowning, then closed the door behind him. “So, what’s up?”

With a Stetson in one hand and a to-go container of food in the other, her larger-than-life cowboy’s presence, as usual, shrank the space. But as he studied her in silence, fear crept into her veins. Was Sam here to break things off?

She’d woken this morning worrying that things between them seemed almost too good to be true. Heck, she felt a closer connection to Sam after a week than any of the longer relationships she’d had. And because those had all eventually fizzled, she expected this magnetism between her and Sam to do the same. She just wasn’t ready for it all to be over.

“Does corporate know about our planned photography project?” he asked.

It was her turn to frown. “I mean, my boss helped me set it all up, so I can’t imagine that they don’t. Why?”

Sam set his things down by the tiny kitchenette in her room and retrieved his phone. After a bit of tapping and scrolling, he turned the screen around for her to see. It was a large, white sign with her company’s logo displayed in the upper left and Marietta’s town logo in the upper right. She stepped closer to get a better view.

“What on earth?”

“So, you didn’t know about this either?” he asked.

“No.” She met his gaze. “Where did you see this?”

“On the Nelson property, just now.”

“I can’t believe someone just dropped this onto the site without telling me.” Natalie ran a hand over her hair. “No more wondering if someone has been tampering with my project. This is proof, and Iwillget an answer.”

She went to her laptop and composed an email to her boss, requesting that he call her as soon as he was able, citing concerns with her current project. She was about to hit send when Sam’s hand caught her arm.

“Thank you.”

“Of course.” These mishaps weren’t just affecting her or Sam but ultimately how people could view the company. “I’m so sorry we got hit by another surprise. This is just unacceptable.”

“Hopefully, your boss can get things figured out. I can’t stay long—there’s plenty more emails and invoices to look over for my father. But I’d needed a break and had hoped to make this a lighthearted visit. Then I saw the sign and… well, got a little preoccupied.”

Natalie placed a hand over his. “Preoccupied or not, it was a wonderful surprise to find you at the door.”

He pulled her to her feet and pressed his lips to hers. They lingered there, the long, slow kiss growing needier. God, she was going to miss this, miss him. Though there was no sense in wasting opportunities to enjoy him while she could.

Natalie met his gaze. “You don’t have to rush offrightthis second, do you?”

Thankfully, he did not.

Also, midafternoon quickies were becoming one of her favorite things.

Half an hour later, Sam kissed her goodbye—again—and headed back to the lodge to finish his work before dinner. And, yes, she’d quickly accepted the invitation he extended to join them again tonight. But until then, she had some work to do of her own. Specifically, investigatory work.

Who on earth was trying to sabotage her Marietta project?

Steven was just as surprised to hear about the sign as she was. He promised to place a call with corporate to have it removed immediately but set aside in case it was needed later. Then he listened to her update from the brunch meeting with Chuck.

“Sounds like Mr. Banyard is a staunch supporter of this project. Keep me posted on any further conversations you have with him,” Steven said. “Oh, and if you can, pass along to the mayor and representatives for the Miles family that corporate is prepared to buy out their lease for this year and pay them that amount times one and a half the next two. Hopefully by then, they’ll have found another supplier or another plot of land.”

Natalie scribbled down the information. But what the Miles family really wanted was for a few little ferrets to go on camera at the end of the week and avoid having to find another supplier. “Great, I’ll pass that along.”

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