Page 13 of A Montana Secret Admirer
“Leo. My brother,” he clarified. “For some reason, those chickens do not like him.” He chuckled as he appeared to relive a particular memory and shook his head. “Yep, those chickens are happy with nearly every other individual, but him. He refuses to go anywhere near that coop unless he absolutely has to.” Reese turned to the boys. “What do you say? Want to see where we get all the eggs?”
Jessi seemed more interested than Tegan, but her oldest didn’t argue.
The boys wandered ahead as she fell into step beside Reese. She glanced at him several times, wondering how she could bring up the flower without it sounding obvious. “How many people work here?” she asked.
He glanced up at the sky in thought for a moment. “I dunno. Two dozen?”
“And most of them are family?”
“A little over half, I’d say.”
She nodded. “And how many of them are single?”
He slowed and stared at her in a way that had heat blooming beneath the surface of her skin. She laughed to cover upher embarrassment but failed miserably. Especially when he murmured, “Why, are you looking?”
“What? Goodness, no.” She could feel her blush deepening. Gah! How was she supposed to bring up the flower without sounding like an idiot now? And if it wasn’t him? What would he do if he found out someone else was interested in her?
“No…” he drawled.
She covered her face with her hands. “It’s nothing. I was just curious.”
They’d made it to the chicken coop, and she watched as Reese shifted his focus to her boys like nothing had happened. He taught them how to reach beneath the chickens who were still seated on their eggs and where to look if there weren’t any in the nesting boxes.
“It’s like an easter egg hunt!” Jessi exclaimed with excitement.
Reese chuckled, and his eyes locked with hers. Warmth spread through her middle. Every time he looked at her like that, it was made even more clear that he was attracted to her.
The thing that bothered her was the fact that she was attracted to him, too. She simply knew she wasn’t ready for more. She looked away, focusing instead on her boys. After they’d gathered all the eggs, they set off toward the main house where they were to store the eggs in their kitchen.
Serenity’s thoughts shifted again to the flower, and she attempted another tactic. “The landscape here is beautiful.”
He glanced at her again. “I’m sure it’s different than the city, but for the most part, you’ll find everything that grows out here will grow anywhere in Montana.”
She nodded. “True. I’ve always loved going to nature parks. The flowers are my favorite.”
No reaction. Not a single twitch of his eye or tug from his lips.
“Do you know if there are any botanical gardens around here?”
He pursed his lips. “No, not that I can think of. But there is a floral shop in town. And there are parts of this property that have loads of wildflowers.”
She frowned. No lotuses, then. They grew in muddy waters, not dry pastures. And based on the look of the lotus she’d received, it wasn’t something farm grown and sold in a shop.
“Something wrong?” Reese prodded.
Serenity shook her head. Nope. She wasn’t even going to mention the lotus. That was too much detail. If Reese had anything to do with it, he would have shown signs. Based on how at ease he was talking about this, she could almost guarantee he had nothing to do with the flower she’d been given. She offered him a smile as they reached the house. “I’m good. Just thinking.”
“Anything I can help with?”
Once again, she shook her head. “I’ll be taking the boys on a walk before lunch. We should watch for those wildflowers you mentioned.”
“My mother has a lot of vases at her disposal. Tell the kids to gather their favorites, and you can enjoy them back home.”
“I’ll do that,” she said with a genuine smile. The idea wasn’t half-bad.
The rest of the day went off similarly to the day before. Serenity stood behind the enclosure made for horse riding lessons andwatched as Tegan continued to improve his riding abilities. Then she held her breath as she watched her baby boy do the same.
True to what Reese had said, Tabitha the horse was as meek as they came. She slowly ambled around the perimeter without a care in the world and no desire to move any faster. Each and every time Jessi rounded the side where Serenity stood, he beamed at her like he had won the lottery.
