Page 36 of Moonlight Over Montana

“Thank you. That’s nice to hear. When we reopen, waffles are on me.” As Maggie was talking, a dark-gray dually pickup drove past, going very slowly. The windows were tinted, but a shiver raced down her spine. She immediately thought of Cash, but she pushed that thought away. There was no way Cash Gordon would ever set foot in River Junction again. He’d made that abundantly clear the day he left.

“What’s wrong?” Tasha touched her arm. “You look like you saw a ghost.”

She glanced at Tasha but couldn’t shake an ominous feeling. “I’m just chilled.”

18

Later that week, as Jed promised, he had talked with Tate about coaching Susie. The bigger issue was her having the right mount. He was on his way to Stone’s Throw Ranch to talk with Ford Shepard. At one time the man had a knack for the right mount for a specific person. If anyone could help Jed find the right horse, it would be Ford.

It was midafternoon when he drove through the gate of Shepard’s ranch. It had been a while since he’d been over this way. There was always so much to do with the expanding horse enterprise at GSR. After talking with Henry Shepard, Ford’s dad, Jed knew to head down to the ranch office where Ford would be working.

He parked the truck outside the barn and near a door with the sign OFFICE next to it. Lights shone inside so Ford must be waiting for him.

The door burst open and a boy maybe six years old came running out and ran straight into Jed. “Hold on there, little dude, where are you going in such a hurry?”

The boy looked up at him. “Going to the house. Dad says I have to do my chores before I can ride my pony.”

Nodding solemnly, Jed stepped aside to let the boy pass. “Then go on now.”

The child took off running as fast as his short legs could carry him. He walked into the office and Ford was sitting behind an enormous wood desk. “Yours?” He nodded in the direction of the door.

“Yes, that’s Toby and he likes to see how far he can push me before I’ll cave. But when it comes to chores, I never give in. They have to get done before he can take out Dusty, his pony.” As if that needed further clarification.

He gestured to the empty chair across the desk. “Have a seat. Coffee?”

Jed shook his head. “No thanks on the coffee.” He sat down. “I hope I’m not wasting your time, but I’ve heard you’re like a matchmaker for horses and people.”

He chuckled and leaned back in the old-style wooden office chair. “Now that’s interesting. I’ve never been called a matchmaker.” A thoughtful expression came over his face. “I guess I could see why some might say that. But why do you need my help in finding a horse?”

“It’s not for me. You know Maggie Brady?”

He nodded. “Too bad about the diner. But I heard construction has started so that’s good. Has the sheriff caught the person who’s responsible?”

“Not yet, but he will.” Jed spoke with a confidence that he believed, but he was also feeling more pessimistic with each passing day. Not that he could ask Tye the status since it wasn’t his business, but from what little Maggie had shared, there were no new leads.

“Good. It’s a downright shame that some jerk went after Maggie and her daughter. But talking about the fire is not why you came over. How can I help?”

“It’s Susie, Maggie’s daughter. She’s been learning to ride and is interested in barrel racing. We don’t have a mount at the ranch that is suitable for a beginner so I was hoping you’d know of a few that Maggie and Susie could check out, see if one would make a good match. We’ll board her at GSR.”

He gave him a thoughtful look. “If she’s new to riding, who’s going to teach her to race?”

“You know Tate Dunn; he worked with his sister and is prepared to help Susie.”

Ford steepled his fingers and said, “Give me a couple of days and I’d like to go with them to meet the horses. I can guide Susie to the best mount for her.”

Jed grinned. “Like a matchmaker.” He stood and extended his hand. Giving him a hearty shake, he said, “Thanks for your help and Ford, good to see that you and Toby have settled in. I know you haven’t had it easy. Being a single parent and all.”

“Thanks. Sharon hasn’t even bothered to see Toby since we moved here. She barely calls, and when she does, it just gets him riled up so I guess for now it’s better this way. He’s got my parents along with Renee and Hank. He loves hanging out at the orchard too. It’s a far cry from when we were living in Tennessee where we had no family around. And he’s made friends at school so life has definitely improved for us both since Hank talked me into moving back.”

“It’s good to have family around.” He pulled open the office door. “I’ll look forward to hearing from you.”

“Happy to help and you say Susie’s comfortable on a horse?”

Jed paused in the doorway. “Not that I’d say this to Maggie, but the girl inherited something from her father. He’s on the rodeo circuit and you’d swear Susie had been on horses her entire life. I’ve never seen anyone who was born to be in the saddle as that girl.”

“Good to know. It helps me narrow things down.”

“Thanks again, Ford.” Jed crossed to his truck and got in. Just mentioning how good it was to have family around was like a gut punch. After his parents disowned him for making the decision to be a ranch hand instead of going into the family grocery store business, he’d never looked back. The only connection he had to his parents was the occasional walk into a Big Sky Market, which was a part of the chain of food stores his family owned in the western half of the country. He gripped the steering wheel, remembering their last argument when his father announced since he had no desire to learn the ropes, they would turn everything over to his younger sister, Julie. That had been sixteen years ago, and he’d never looked back. He pushed the rest of the memories away and started the truck. He had better things to do than dwell on what would never change.

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