Page 9 of Moonlight Over Montana

“Good. I’ll just call up to the house and let Mary and Annie know we’ll be along shortly.” He placed his hat on his head, tapped the brim, and stepped onto the front porch, closing the door behind him.

Maggie stared for a moment. Did he think he needed to be outside while they got ready for breakfast? She could hear his deep voice but couldn’t make out the words. Not that it mattered. She needed to get dressed. Her stomach was groaning loud, demanding food. This was the first non-holiday morning she wasn’t taking care of customers at the Filler Up Diner since she had Susie. Well, they did take a couple weeks every year for vacation, but this was the start to what was going to be a very hard and long day.

She heard the front door open and Jed call out, “Mags, Annie said to come up if you can’t find something to wear. She and Daphne said you can raid their closets and Susie too.”

How many more times today would someone extend her a kindness that would make her want to cry? She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Five minutes and I’ll be out.”

“No rush.”

Susie tapped on her bedroom door. “Momma, I’ll be on the front porch with Jed.”

She placed her hand over her heart. When was the last time her baby girl had called her Momma in regular conversation?

“Four minutes, Susie.” She pulled open the small door on the closet and to her surprise, there were more clothes hanging than she had at home. Well, what she had before yesterday.

5

Jed hadn’t been surprised with the spread Annie and Mary had laid out at the main house for Maggie and Susie. Linc came in as did Daphne and it was an upbeat atmosphere while Susie dove into a heaping mound of crisp bacon, light-as-air waffles, and hot maple syrup. Jed made short work of a stack of waffles, bacon, and sausage, a couple of eggs, and home fries which should tide him over until supper. Even Maggie had polished off a plateful as well. As they lingered over coffee, conversation had inevitably turned to the fire.

Annie asked, “What’s up first, the sheriff’s office or the diner?”

Maggie ran her fingertip around the edge of the coffee mug. Her words came out without hesitation. “I’d like to go to the diner. See for myself how bad it is and hopefully I still have a vehicle. Then we’ll track down the sheriff and see if he knows what happened. Once I have that information, I can figure out our next steps.”

“There’s one thing you don’t need to worry about.” Annie placed her hand on Maggie’s. “You have a roof over your head for as long as you need it. That cabin has been vacant for a while, and we don’t need it for any ranch hands until spring.”

“That’s generous of you, Annie, but if we do end up staying here, no matter how long, I want to pay rent. It’s only fair.”

Jed could see the glint of steel like fortitude in Maggie’s eyes and he sipped his coffee with two strong women basically negotiating terms for housing right in front of him. Most days he’d never bet against Annie, but Maggie Brady was no pushover. She had to be strong to be successful in her business and in raising a daughter as a single mom. He caught Linc’s wink as the women eyed each other.

“Maggie, we can figure that out later. For now, let me”—she glanced at Linc and Mary—“let us give you a hand up. It’s not a handout.” And before Maggie could refuse, Annie continued. “I know Pops came into the diner every week and you looked out for him when I lived back east.” She bobbed her head in Mary’s direction. “And Pops told me how you’d always come out to the ranch and drop off a pie or cobbler when you were making deliveries.”

Maggie’s face softened. “I liked your grandfather; he was a good man.”

“The mold he came from was shattered into a million pieces after he was born,” Mary said. “And I should know; he and Annie’s grandmother took me in when my husband died and after all these years, I’m still here. Generous hearts are raised on this ranch.” She gave Maggie a pointed look.

She held up her hands in mock defeat. “Fine, you win, but hopefully Susie and I will only be here a night or two at most. And if Mary would lend me her kitchen, why don’t I make dinner tonight as a small token of thanks.”

With what this woman was going through, she still offered to cook dinner. Jed wasn’t surprised. “Darlin’, with all you have going on today, why don’t you put that idea on simmer until you have some time.”

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “I see what you did there with the simmer thing. You’re pretty clever.”

Susie said, “What time are we leaving? I was hoping I could go down to the horse barn for a while before we go.”

Jed gave Susie a wide grin. “Now you’re talkin’ about one of my favorite subjects.” He pushed back from the table. “Come on. I’ll take you down and you can see Annie’s pride and joy. Bowie’s a beautiful palomino and she has a foal named Beau.”

Before Susie had a chance to ask her mom if it was okay, Maggie said, “A quick visit. I’d like to leave in fifteen minutes.”

Jed pushed in his chair and had Susie go in front of him as they headed to the back door. Over his shoulder, he said, “I’ll be back to pick you up.” He stuck his hat on his head as he walked outside. “I didn’t realize you liked horses.”

Gushing, Susie said, “Are you kidding? I love them, but living in town, it’s hard to have one of my own. When I was a kid, I tried to talk Mom into putting up a shed in back of the diner, but—well, you know that’s not practical.”

They approached the barn and Jed slid the large door open. “No, that wouldn’t have been any life for a horse.” He gave a low whistle and Bowie’s head popped over a stall door. “And there she is, Miss Bowie.”

Gushing she said, “Wow she’s beautiful.”

Jed grabbed a carrot from the bin as they drew closer to the mare.

“Can I give her the carrot?”

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