Page 25 of Moonlight Over Montana

She lifted one shoulder. “I had some time on my hands and needed something to do so I worked on a few new recipes that I might be able to sell during the holiday season if folks are having parties. Maybe someone would want to buy a tray of appetizers.” She took a sip of beer. “I want you to taste all of them and let me know what you think, and honesty is critical.”

He sat next to her and took a pull on his beer. Grinning, he said, “Darlin’, there isn’t anything that you’ve made that I haven’t devoured with gusto. I’m sure whatever is on that tray won’t be any different. But I promise to be honest.”

“Good. Start with the little pizza.” She withdrew a piece of paper and small pencil from the back pocket of her jeans. “I’m taking notes.”

He did as she asked and popped the little pizza in his mouth. It was surprisingly spicy, but there was a hint of sweet which seemed to cool the afterburn. “This is good.”

“It’s my honey hot pizza.” With pencil poised over paper, she said, “Rate it on a scale of one to five with five as the best and what was the thing you didn’t like about it?”

“Four point seven five. Add a dash of red pepper flakes to amp the heat or at least have them on the side.” He picked up a round of thinly sliced bread. “What’s this?”

“Apple and cheddar crostini. I used apples from River Bend Orchard and the cheese is from Flathead.”

She laughed as his eyebrow shot up, and he said, “I like that you’re using Montana-based products. Support the locals and all.”

“Fresh ingredients are key and small businesses supporting other small businesses is beneficial to everyone.” She watched as he popped the tidbit into his mouth.

“It’s good too.” He picked up a small cup of what looked like berries in a tiny pie shell. “What’s this?”

“I’m calling it huckleberry bacon tart. It has a couple of kinds of cheese, bacon, and huckleberries.” Something in the distance drew her attention, but she continued by saying, “I’ve been playing around with the concept so it might not be that great.”

He bit it in half and chewed slowly. There was a sweet, smoky tang that proceeded the crunch of the flaky crust. He ate the other half quickly and then one more. “Mags, this is a five plus. I hope you wrote the recipe down since this is the best of the bunch.”

Her eyes widened and she smiled. “What makes this one a hit over the others?”

“I’m a sucker for berries and bacon and the cheese has a sharpness to it that offsets both. Now remember I’m not a gourmet; I just like dang good food.”

Her focus was still laser-like on the darkness beyond the porch and he guessed it was Susie.

“So that one is definitely a keeper?”

“They all are, but that is my favorite. In fact, I’ll sample a couple more just to make sure.”

She laughed softly but she didn’t look at him. From the corner of his eye, he could see Susie emerge from the darkness. As she drew closer, he could see her face was blotchy and her eyes were red too.

Stopping at the bottom of the porch steps, she said, “Hey.”

Jed held up the soft drink. “Just in time.”

Her sneakers didn’t make a sound on the wooden steps as she took the can. “Thanks.” Perching on the porch railing, she popped the top with a snap. “Any more snacks?”

“Plenty. I’ll just go next door and refill the tray.”

Maggie stood, but Susie said, “I’ll go, Mom.” She set the can down and picked up the tray. “Does anyone need anything else?”

“I think we’re all set,” Maggie said and he nodded in agreement.

When she closed the door to their cabin behind her, Jed flashed a look at Maggie, his eyebrow arched in question.

“This is her way. When she comes back, she’ll apologize and we’ll talk about what happened later.”

He went to get up. “I’ll go inside.”

“No, please. Stay. Besides, after she eats something, we’ll could go down to the barn if you still think it’s a good idea.”

“We can do that. But I haven’t wanted to ask what happened. If you want to talk about it, I can be a good sounding board.”

She glanced at the other cabin. “In a nutshell she hates the ranch and wants to go back to town. I think in some way she’s blaming me for the fire.”

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