Page 33 of A Match Made in Montana

He remembered Aunt Janice talking about the history of the town. When copper was found in the nearby Butte, miners and prospectors, all eager to get rich, flooded Marietta. Turned out, though, the copper in Copper Mountain was more like fool’s gold and the mining ceased within ten years. The few folks who had stayed behind after most had left, as well as immigrants from Europe, started putting down roots, raising cattle and working the land and today Marietta was a thriving community.

Annie should put something about this on her website.Quickly, he got out his phone and left her a voice note.

He hadn’t really seen much of the town so far. During his previous visits, he’d mostly been around the family and Annie. And well, this time round, things hadn’t really changed. Somehow he was still always around Annie.

A sign sayingJava Cafécaught his eye. Coffee was always a good idea. As he got out of the car, he noticed the pharmacy on the opposite corner. Before he had his coffee, he should pop in there. If he were to spend time with Annie, as she’d told everyone this morning, they’d probably end up in bed at some point. He had to be prepared. Though how it would be possible was another question—there were always family around.

In the pharmacy, he quickly found what he wanted and joined the short line waiting to pay. It went slowly. The woman behind the till seemed to know everyone and didn’t finish a sale until she’d gathered a lot of info from her customer. Nobody seemed in a hurry, so he tried to relax.

From behind him came a low chuckle. He turned around. A pretty woman with dark curly hair and laughing brown eyes was eyeing the three packages in his hand.

“Sorry,” she said. “You’re new in town, aren’t you?”

“Visiting.”

“Any relation to Aiden and Riley O’Sullivan?” Motioning toward his hair, she grinned. “Quite distinctive. I’m Risa Davison. I own the flower shop in town. For in case you also need to apologize to someone, like your cousin did.”

“Um… thanks, I…”

“Next!” the woman behind the till called.

Relieved, Craig stepped forward. He wasn’t quite sure how to respond to the woman behind him. Putting the package on the counter, he reached for his wallet. Probably good to know who owned the flower shop, though. As she’d said, for in case.

The woman behind the counter raised her eyebrows. “You want all three boxes of condoms?” She seemed to have only one volume and that was very loud.

“Yes, please,” Craig said, his thoughts already back to the flower shop. What kind of flowers did Annie like? He still knew so little about her. She was beautiful and kind and cooked like an angel. He didn’t know what flowers she liked, though, or what her favorite song was or…

“Thank you,” said the woman and he grabbed the packet, heading for the door.

What he did know was that Annie Miller did something to him he didn’t quite understand. Trying to figure out why was driving him nuts. She was beautiful, but he knew many pretty women. She was sexy, but so were many other women. There was just something about Annie that kept her in his thoughts. It was unexpected. Also disturbing, if he were honest.

Java Café was busy. He took a seat at a table near the back. A paper laid on it, upside down.Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Picking up the paper, he grinned. Who still read an actual paper? He placed his order for coffee before he opened it.

The main news article was about a big federal funding for a project to thin trees and treat noxious weeds on public and private land around the Gallatin Valley.

His coffee arrived. As he closed the paper, his eye fell on the property section—office spaces for sale. As he picked up the paper again, someone cleared his throat close by. Craig turned his head.

A big man was standing next to his table. “You thinking of staying here?” the man asked. “You should stop at the real estate office down the street, corner of Main and First.”

“Thanks, but I’m just reading the paper,” Craig said.

“Hear you’re helping Annie Miller with marketing. If you’ve got time, I’d like to talk to you.” Not waiting for Craig to answer, the man pulled out a chair.

*

It was nearlyfour o’clock before Riley was happy. Dylan was just waking up from a nap he’d had on the couch. Annie was so tired, she dropped down on the first chair. She’d smiled and posed for hours.

During the time her hair and makeup had been done, Riley had also found time to set up an account for her on Instagram. Riley, Marlene, and Sienna all thought that was the best platform for the B and B. It looked quite easy, but whether she’d have something to post every day, was another matter.

“Wow, that was intense,” she got out.

Looking still as radiant and unflappable as she had early this morning, Riley put her camera down. “You were great. I think Craig will be so happy. Are you sure about tonight? You’re not too tired?”

Smiling, Annie jumped up. “Of course not. Cooking energizes me, it makes me happy.”

Before she’d finished speaking, Riley had picked up her camera again and was merrily clicking away. “You literally light up when you talk about cooking.” Riley smiled. “Sorry, I had to take those.”

“I love it, always have.”

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