Page 15 of Moonlight Over Montana

She shook her head. “Thanks, but no. I’ve talked with my parents. They wanted to come back, but I told them to stay in Arizona. There wasn’t anything they could do at the moment.”

“Did you tell them what the sheriff said?”

“How do I say that arson is suspected and it might be because I turned down an offer to sell the place? That would not only scare them half to death, but we don’t know yet if it’s true.”

His gut was telling him it had to be arson. As he had replayed last night over and over again, he kept thinking about what he had tripped on in the alley. Maggie never let anything build up there. She didn’t want to attract any critters to the restaurant. She kept the place tidy both inside and out. After Susie’s lesson, he’d call Tye and mention it. It might be nothing, but he wanted to be sure.

She pointed at him. “I know that look. The way your eyes get narrow when you’ve got something bugging you. Does it have to do with the fire?”

He didn’t realize she knew any of his facial expressions, let alone the one he guessed had just played out across his face. “I was thinking about the vet coming today. We’ve got a couple of pregnant mares, and I am hoping all is okay.” He hated lying to her, but she had the weight of the world on her slight shoulders, and until he knew something to be fact, there was no sense dropping conjecture about anything in the alleyway.

She gave him a side-eye look. “Are you sure?”

“When I have any facts, I’ll share them.” That wasn’t a lie and he felt comfortable waiting on telling her. “Do you want to come riding with us? I know you’re comfortable in the saddle.” Annie had mentioned in passing a while back that Maggie used to spend quite a bit of time out here riding when they were in school together.

“I haven’t been on a horse since before I got pregnant with Susie.” A frown crossed her face.

“Does that mean you want to come with us?”

“Not today, but maybe another time. I have to make some more calls, and if Susie’s with you, it’s one less thing I need to worry about. Anything that keeps her mind occupied on good stuff is a huge help.”

“Then another time?” His heart thudded in his chest. It almost sounded like he had asked Maggie on a date to go riding. Would she see it that way too?

A slow smile slid from one side of her pretty mouth to the other. “Now that sounds like fun.” She took in the wide expanse in front of her and inhaled deeply. “I had forgotten how much I love being out here in the middle of the day. It’s so beautiful.” Nodding, she said, “I will take you up on that ride as soon as I get some free time.”

That smile seemed to dance in her blue eyes. “You know I’m gonna hold you to that.”

She gave him a saucy wink. “I hope you do. It’s been a long time since I felt the wind whip my hair as I galloped through an open field.”

He chuckled. “It’s been sixteen years and you’re already talking about galloping?”

“I’d expect it’s like riding a bike. Once you know how, it comes back to you after a minute.”

Color flushed her cheeks. Was she flirting with him? It had been so long since any woman had, he wasn’t sure if she was or if it was wishful thinking. Before he was able to continue this playful banter, the door flung open and Susie rushed out, the soles of her new boots clicked against the porch floor as she approached.

“How do I look?” She twirled around, dressed in jeans, a sweatshirt, and her blond hair in a single braid down her back. She reminded Jed of a picture he had seen of Maggie at that age on a table in Annie’s office.

Maggie gave her a high five. “Like a cowgirl ready to ride.”

Jed said, “Let’s go, Suz.” He gave Maggie a wink the minute Susie’s back was to them. No sense involving the whole ranch in his mild flirtation with her. “And I’m holding you to that ride.”

He jogged after Susie and he could have sworn he heard Maggie say, “See that you do, cowboy.”

8

Maggie was sitting at the small wooden table, her laptop open in front of her, her cell phone within reach. It had been a never-ending afternoon between phone calls to the insurance company, checking in with the sheriff’s department, and talking to her parents. On top of that, she was racking her brain, trying to think if she had ticked anyone off enough for them to want to burn down the diner with her and Susie upstairs. But she kept coming up with nothing. It had to have been an accident. Maybe it was all about robbery and whoever it was didn’t know she never kept money in the register.

A chill raced down her spine. If that was the case, maybe the fire was a distraction to flush them out of the apartment and whoever it was waited in the shadows to rob her as they fled from the burning building. Shaking her head at the fanciful notion, she circled back to it being an accident. There was no way she was going to accept that anyone had tried to hurt them.

Shadows began to creep in from the corners of the living room. Glancing at the time, she realized Jed and Susie had been gone for almost three hours and it was time to rustle up something for dinner. After being outside all afternoon, her daughter was going to be ravenous. Some things never changed with kids.

Peering into the refrigerator, there was plenty of food, but nothing really struck her fancy and it wasn’t like she could serve up today’s special. It was going to be chicken pot pie with biscuits and she had planned to bake a triple layer cake with chocolate icing. That was always popular with her customers. Closing the refrigerator door, she sank to a stool at the counter. Her cell rang and she jumped up to get it. Maybe there was news.

“Hello?”

“Maggie, it’s Mack.”

She bobbed her head. Dang it, she never called him to see how he was doing. Mack had been her cook at the diner for a long time and he deserved better than how she’d treated him today.

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