Page 27 of Hiding in Montana

Clint said, “No, you’re going to learn how to shoot a gun in case you need to defend yourself. Our goal will be to get Fish and Game out here to set traps to capture the mountain lions and return them back to where they should be hunting. We don’t want anyone in the position to try and kill any sort of animal. However, being defenseless is just asking for trouble. If nothing else, you can shoot a warning shot in the sky for help.”

She exhaled with a sigh of relief. She didn’t want to have to even think about killing anything. “That makes a lot of sense and knowledge is key to all situations.” She stood, unsure if she was ready to start her day, but taking a sip of the now tepid tea, she tasted the mint schnapps and she squeaked out a laugh. “Nice touch, Quinn.”

He inclined his head and winked. “Keeping with the theme and all.”

Asking no one in particular, Polly said, “So, who’s lucky enough to be my babysitter for today?”

Annie hopped up. “That would be me for a while. I need some exercise so you can put me to work, too. Then this afternoon, I’ll have Rory take over until Clint is back.”

“You know I’m in a fenced-in garden.”

Annie smothered a smile. “It’s only four feet, mainly to keep out deer and rabbits. Mountain lions been known to jump as high as fifteen feet, so we’re still going to be a bit cautious.”

She swallowed hard and murmured, “I never had this problem living in Portland.”

Clint slung his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “This is country living, darlin’. But don’t worry, you’re safe.”

All this talk of shooting guns and the incident of being stalked by a real-life mountain lion was unnerving. “Quinn, any chance I could get a large cup of hot coffee? Herbal tea is tasty, but a shot of caffeine is just what I need to steady me right now.”

He smirked. “A shot? You got it, Polly.”

With a shake of her head, she said, “An appropriate word choice given our topic of conversation.” She laced her hand with Clint’s. “But I’m not shooting any animals, right? Just a warning shot to let people know I need help?”

“That’s right.” He clasped her hand tighter and finally the color was coming back to his face, too. This had taken a lot out of both of them.

After a busy morning weeding with Annie, Polly had made it through her first target practice with Daphne and now they were walking into the main house. Mary had promised them lunch, and she knew from experience she wasn’t about to miss any meal prepared by the long-term housekeeper and mother hen to everyone on the ranch.

Polly and Daphne joined Annie and Mary on the back patio where the table was set for four. It was complete with a vase of flowers that Polly guessed came from Mary’s part of the garden. She had happily turned over growing most of the vegetables to Polly that were needed for the ranch, which included all she wanted for cooking except for her herbs and some flowers.

Annie looked from Polly to Daphne and back. “So how did it go at the range?”

Daphne jammed a thumb in Polly’s direction and grinned. “She’s a real Annie Oakley. Quick learner and hit the mark almost every time.”

Polly felt the heat rush to her cheeks under Daphne’s accolades. “Beginner’s luck.”

“Me, on the other hand, well, let’s just say I can hit the broad side of the barn if it doesn’t matter where I need to shoot.” She was still smiling and didn’t seem to care that she wasn’t that great of a shot. “I’d be just as happy having a cowboy around if I need to go out and about until this thing is settled.”

Annie nodded. “I’ll talk to Linc and see who can be on call for you if you have to go to the construction site. With so much activity, I’m sure it would be an animal-free zone, but getting there could be another story.” She handed a pitcher of lemonade to Polly. “I talked to Fish and Game. They’ll be out tomorrow with traps and said to be careful in the meantime.”

Polly poured her and Daphne a tall glass and she took a sip. It was sweet with a hint of tart, just the way she liked it. “This is good, Mary. Thank you.”

She puffed up with the praise and lifted the lid on the casserole dish in the middle of the table and then, for dramatic effect, folded back the white tea towel over a plate. “I hope you’re hungry for lunch. I whipped up some Pork Chili Verde complete with corn tortillas. That should give you stayin’ power to get through the rest of the day.”

Polly’s mouth watered as soon as Mary lifted the lid. No one cooked like Mary and that was saying something since Quinn was a superb cook and she had eaten in some of the best restaurants in Portland when she was married to Matthew. She paused as she scooped some of the pork into a tortilla. Why did she think of her old life? It was shallow and empty when she compared it to her life now—a friendly town to live in, good friends, and her relationship with Clint.

“Hey, Polly, are you going to let us have some too?” Annie’s voice jarred her back to the present.

She handed Annie the spoon. “Sorry, I guess the day is catching up to me.” Well, really, ever since she had gotten the text from the mystery person, she’d been a little off-kilter.

Annie gave her an understanding smile. “It’s not every day you discover a mountain lion was watching you and then you get a 9mm put in your hand and we discover you’re a natural. Or did you have practice in your previous life?”

And there it was, her past coming back to haunt her. Matthew had insisted she learn how to handle a gun in the early days of their marriage. He always said it was in case of a home invasion and she needed to be able to protect herself, but she realized, it was really in case his work came after her. And it had.

14

Clint paced Linc’s office. “With mountain lions prowling around, we’ll need two pairs of men on watch posted throughout the barns tonight.”

Linc sat at his desk, his fingers tented as he let Clint blow off steam. He was really venting about the bigger threat to Polly, but how could he tell Linc what was eating at him? He didn’t want to betray her trust, but Linc needed to know, just in case someone came around looking for her. What happened this morning brought reality home. She was vulnerable.

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