Page 21 of A Montana Secret Admirer
Sammie stared down at the note with curiosity.
“Seriously, Sammie. Do. Not. Read. It.”
She smirked at him then. “How would you know if I did?”
He threw back his head with another groan, hating that she could affect him this much with her teasing. “You need to leave a yellow lotus with it. There’s one at my house in the fridge. Just ask my mom for it, and she’ll get it for you.”
It was at that moment something started to click for her. A wide smile spread across her face, and she placed a palm to herchest. “Well, Reese, as I live and breathe. Are you courting Miss Serenity Giles?”
“Shhh!” he hissed, tossing a nervous look over his shoulder. “No, I’mnotcourting her. She’s not ready for anything serious. These are just… friendly notes.”
“Uh huh.” She smirked some more, a hand on her hip. “Friendly. Tell me, Reese. Since when do lotus flowers mean friendship?”
“They mean new beginnings, okay?”
“Reese!”
He jumped and glanced over his shoulder to see Noah beckoning to him. Serenity was talking to Jane, and the boys were sitting in the grass with popsicles. When he glanced back to Sammie, her smile was softer, sweeter.
“Good for you.”
“Hmm?”
She shrugged. “It’s about time you found someone suited to you. And I couldn’t have picked a better person than Serenity.”
He rolled his eyes. “Just remember?—”
“Not a word, I know.”
Reese shook his head. “Wait ‘til midnight.”
“Oh, right.”
The tripto New York had been exhausting, but only due to the fact that Leo and Kat butted heads like there was no tomorrow. Reese had lost track of how many times he gave Jane a pleading look. This wasn’t going to end well if the two of them had to work so closely together.
Noah wasn’t any help whatsoever. He seemed utterly amused by the whole thing.
Now that he was back on Montana soil—more importantly, Sagebrush land—Reese had one thing in mind. He wanted to see Serenity. He needed to hear her voice, laugh with her, smell her perfume.
He shook his head. He’d been gone a solid two days, and already he was suffering from withdrawals. How was that possible?
Reese had pulled out his phone to send her a message that first night, then he’d thought better of it. At first, he’d tried to come up with something simple and funny to say. Then he’d thought he could ask her how the sunset looked. Then he’d tossed his phone into his suitcase and given up because none of it sounded right.
The second he stepped out of the car, his eyes shifted to the houses where he and his cousins lived. He didn’t know what he’d expected to see. Serenity with the boys out front? That would have been ridiculous. She didn’t belong to him, and she probably hadn’t missed him nearly as much as he’d missed her.
“Thanks for coming, Reese. I hope you know how much I appreciate it.” Jane’s voice ripped him from his focus on the house, and he gave her a wan smile. His eyes flicked to Leo, who was already halfway to the house. Then he lowered his voice andleaned closer to her. “Are you sure you want to let him work with Ms. Jerris? It didn’t look like they got along all that well.”
She made a face. “I know. But we’re going to have to let them work it out. From what I understand, her father is insistent that she take a big role in this project, and Bo doesn’t want to put anyone else on the team.”
Reese groaned. “That’s going to be a nightmare. I hope you’re ready for it.”
This time, she smiled somewhat. “I’ve had to deal with nightmares before. This will be fine.”
He nodded and turned toward the house.
Bo had said he could take the day to regroup after the travel time from New York, but Reese felt restless. He wasn’t about to stay holed up in his room for the day. New York had been loud and busy, and being back here? With the wide-open spaces and the smell of freshly cut hay? Home had never felt so good.
He dropped his duffle right inside his room and headed out to find Serenity. Unfortunately, he discovered that she’d taken the boys to town to play at the local arcade. Mack had insisted on taking the boys to do something fun, since their uncle wasn’t home to take them himself.
