LITMIR.BIZ

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the woman with the torch was a double for Ryan’s wife, Kristen.

      Ryan kept talking. “Kayla is the recently outed mystery gossip columnist known as—”

      “Judging by the sash, I’m thinking the Rust Creek Rambler?”

      “Right. Kayla had us all fooled. No one suspected she could be the one who knew everyone’s secrets and put them in the Gazette. Kayla’s quiet, you know? She’s the shy one. Nothing like my Kristen.”

      Carson tuned his friend out. The sweet stork with the wailing blue bundle had all his attention once again.

      As he stared, she actually seemed to feel his gaze on her; her slim body went perfectly still. Then, slowly, she turned her white, billed head his way—and bam! Just like in some sappy, romantic movie, their eyes collided and locked. And damned if it didn’t feel exactly as they always made it seem in the movies. As though she had reached out and touched him. As though they’d just shared a private, way-too-intimate conversation.

      As if they were the only two people in the world.

      He gaped, and she stared back at him with her sweet mouth hanging open, clearly oblivious in that moment to everything but him, though the band across the street played loudly and badly and some kid nearby had set off a chain of firecrackers and the baby in her arms continued to wail.

      What was it about her?

      Carson couldn’t have said. Maybe it was those big, shining eyes, or that slightly frantic look on her incomparable face—a face that reminded him of his perfect girl-next-door fantasy and some bold gypsy woman, both at the same time. Maybe it was the stork costume. Most of the women he knew wouldn’t be caught dead dressed as a stork.

      But whatever it was about her that had him gaping like a lovesick fool, he had to meet her.

      Her float rolled on past. Next came the Veterans of Foreign Wars float, with men and women in uniform holding babies in camo and waving way too many flags. As the band launched into “The Ballad of the Green Berets,” Carson tried to figure out what had just happened to him.

      Slowly, reality crept in—reality wrapped in a blue blanket and wailing.

      The woman had a baby, for God’s sake. Carson liked his women free and unencumbered. And there was not only the baby to consider but also the real possibility of a husband.

      Was he losing his mind? He would never make a move on a woman with a baby. If she had a husband that would simply be wrong. And if she didn’t, well, there would still be the baby. If he’d wanted kids, he wouldn’t be divorced.

      You’d think he’d been sampling the magic moonshine that had brought him to Montana in the first place, the magic moonshine created by a local eccentric named Homer Gilmore. Carson wanted the moonshine formula for Drake Distilleries. So far, he’d gotten nowhere near his admittedly out-there goal.

      Which was why he’d just about convinced himself to give up and go home.

      But the sight of the girl changed all that. The sight of the girl had him thinking that he didn’t really want to give up. He just needed something to go right; that was all. He needed a win.

      Meeting the adorable girl in the stork costume would definitely cheer him up, even with the damn baby—as long as there was no husband involved.

      So then. First and foremost, he needed to find out if she was already taken.

      At least that was easily done.

      He asked Ryan, “Did you see the girl in the stork costume?”

      Ryan gave it right up. “Tessa Strickland. Lives in Bozeman. She’s visiting her grandparents at their boardinghouse.”

      Tessa. It suited her. “Married to...?”

      Ryan shot Carson a narrow-eyed, you-can’t-fool-a-lawyer look. “You’re interested in Tessa. Why?”

      “Ryan, is she married or not?”

      His friend shoved back that shock of sable hair that was always falling over his forehead. “Tessa’s single.”

      “But with a baby.”

      “You are interested.”

      “Would that somehow be a problem?”

      Ryan smirked. “No problem at all. And Tessa’s got no baby.” She’s single, no baby. Things were definitely looking up. Ryan added, “The baby is Kayla’s—you remember, Kristen’s sister, the Rust Creek Rambler in the Lady Liberty costume?”

      Not that it really mattered but... “How do you know who that baby belongs to?”

      “I will repeat, Tessa doesn’t have a baby, whereas Kayla is married to Trey Strickland, and they have a son. Little Gilmore is just two months old. Kayla gave up her job writing the gossip column last year. She and Trey live down in Thunder Canyon now, but they come back to visit often. Somebody else writes the Rambler column now. Nobody knows who, but apparently someone talked Kayla into riding on the float. For old time’s sake would be my guess.”

      “Props to you, man. You’re here six months and you know everything about everyone.”

      Ryan extended both arms wide. “Welcome to my new hometown.” Actually, Ryan and Kristen lived in nearby Kalispell, but why quibble over mere facts? And Ryan was smirking again. “The baby’s named Gilmore. Get it?”

      Carson stared at him, deadpan. “You’re not serious.”

      “As a guilty verdict.”

      “They named their baby after Homer Gilmore?”

      “Yes, they did.”

      “Who names their kid after a crazy old homeless guy?”

      Ryan leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Kayla and Trey first got together last Fourth of July...” He arched a dark eyebrow as he let the sentence trail off.

      Carson took his meaning. “You’re telling me that they ‘got together’ over a glass of Homer’s moonshine and in the biblical sense?”

      “You said it—I didn’t.” The previous Fourth of July, a lot of women had drunk the famous moonshine, left their inhibitions behind and ended up pregnant—thus, the current Baby Bonanza. Ryan added, “As for why Tessa was holding Kayla’s baby, I’m guessing that managing the torch and the baby was too much for Kayla, so she got Tessa to carry Gil—and you’re definitely interested. Just admit it.”

      “I have another question.”

      “Carson. Admit it.”

      “Wait. Listen. Kayla’s husband is a Strickland, you said, same as Tessa. So then, Trey Strickland must be Tessa’s brother, right?”

      “Wrong. Trey and Tessa are cousins and—Carson, what are you up to here? We’ve been friends a long time. I’m happy to introduce you around and tell you everything you need to know. But you’ve got to be up front with me. I care about what happens in this town. What do you want with Tessa?”

      Carson met Ryan’s eyes—and admitted the truth. “I think she’s gorgeous, and I want to meet her. Is there something wrong with that?”

      Ryan made a low, self-satisfied sound. “I knew it. Rust Creek Falls is getting under your skin.”

      “No, it’s not.”

      “Yes, it is. You’re just like the rest of us.”

      “Uh-uh.”

      “Oh, yeah. You’ll fall in love with Tessa, and you’ll never want to leave.”

      Carson had to make an effort not to scoff. “I just want to meet the girl. Can you make that happen?”

      “Consider it done.”

      * * *

      Tessa rocked the crying baby and ordered her racing heart to slow

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