LITMIR.BIZ

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Full Moon Saloon looked like the place to be. Only seven thirty on a weeknight and it was hopping. Mostly locals, from what Savannah could tell as she and Ron searched for a table.

      Nina was already sitting at the bar and being chatted up by a cowboy. She didn’t look too put out by the attention, or by the loud jukebox blaring country music several feet from her. Though if it drowned Ron out, Savannah wouldn’t complain. They’d been in town only one day, and she’d had it with him. Maybe it was time for them to have a big public argument so she could call off the engagement. Send him back to Denver without anyone at the motel getting too nosy.

      Just thinking of the possibility was enough to cheer her up. In fact, she’d misjudged the scope of the job. They’d never had a small town client before, and it really didn’t require three people. He’d claimed he wanted a shorter assignment. Maybe she could find a way to justify sending him back early.

      The place hadn’t grown much. To an isolated teenage girl, Blackfoot Falls had seemed much bigger and more exciting. And maybe it had shone a little brighter years ago. But so many shops on Main Street had closed during the economic crunch. The mayor wanted to give reluctant would-be shop owners a little boost, convince them it was time to take another chance.

      “Check it out,” Ron said, nodding at the stage and dance floor. “I wonder if they do the hokey pokey here. I bet they give lessons.”

      “Don’t be an ass,” she muttered and then hurried to a table that had just been vacated.

      She took the seat that gave her a good view of the bar and then kicked the leg of the other chair so Ron wouldn’t sit too close to her. Of course, he just dragged it closer.

      “Sit across from me,” she said, just as the waitress squeezed through behind him. “You’re in the way.”

      “We’re supposed to be engaged.”

      Savannah glared at him, even though the woman probably hadn’t paid any attention at all. “You need to watch it.”

      “Oh, I am.” Grinning, he slid his arm along the back of her chair. “I like that blouse. Did you wear it for me?”

      So annoyed with him that she’d forgotten what she was wearing, she glanced down at the silky denim-like shirt. A gap offered a small peek of her pink bra. Sighing, she adjusted it, using the opportunity to dig her elbow into Ron’s ribs.

      He just laughed. “Shouldn’t we be holding hands and making out or something?”

      “Yeah, why don’t you try it?”

      “What’s up with you, anyway?” He leaned back to look at her. “Every single woman in the office would go out with me in a minute. But not you, Miss High-and-Mighty.”

      Unbelievable. “Why haven’t you gotten fired yet?” Savannah studied him. “That’s not a rhetorical question. I honestly want to know how you’ve managed to keep your job.”

      “The clients love me.”

      “Maybe,” she said grudgingly. “But don’t be so sure about the women in the office.”

      His frown of disbelief was cut short when his phone signaled a text. Fine with her. She checked her own phone then scooted her chair several inches over and glanced around.

      A few cowboys were playing pool in the back and trying to impress a group of women she guessed were from the Sundance dude ranch. She’d learned all about the place while getting a mani-pedi at the Cut and Curl earlier that day. Which was exactly what she’d hoped for. Even though she’d done her research and the mayor had given her a rundown, nothing beat the local beauty shop for getting the real feel of a town.

      It had surprised Savannah that the McAllister family, who owned the Sundance, had gone the dude ranch route, since they were in the business of raising cattle. But the new venture had been wildly successful. So another ranch owner had followed their lead, while two smaller operations were thinking of opening B & Bs.

      The waitress stopped at the table just as Ron put his phone away. “Sorry, folks. Hope you haven’t waited too long,” the brunette said with a friendly smile. “What can I get you?”

      “Do you have champagne?”

      “Oh, God, Ron, would you—” Savannah cut herself short when the woman glanced at her.

      “Well, excuse me for wanting to toast my bride-to-be.” Ron shrugged, looking to the waitress for sympathy.

      “Oh, that’s so sweet,” she said. “I’m sorry, we don’t have champagne. We do carry a couple of decent wines, though.”

      “You’re right. That was very sweet.” Savannah forced a smile and touched Ron’s hand. “I’ll take a beer. Whatever you have on tap.”

      The woman nodded and looked at Ron.

      “Be right back,” Savannah said, withdrawing her hand and making a break for it before he could say anything.

      She dug several bills out of her jeans pocket to get some change then leaned on the bar near the jukebox while she waited for the bartender to finish pouring a line of shots. Another hour with Ron and she was going to be ordering some of that tequila herself.

      Nina was two bar stools away, still laughing it up with the long-haired cowboy. When she noticed Savannah, she said something to the guy, and he disappeared. Left his mug of beer, though, so he couldn’t have gone too far.

      When Nina gave her a questioning look, Savannah realized her mistake. She’d only wanted to get away from Ron and to browse the jukebox selections. Hopefully find something that wasn’t country. But now Nina thought Savannah was trying to get her attention.

      The bartender glanced over at her. “Be with you in a minute,” she called out from halfway down the bar.

      “Take your time,” Savannah replied. “And I mean that with all my heart.” She smiled at Nina. “My fiancé is driving me nuts. So I’m ditching him for a while.”

      “Ah.” Nina dialed down her grin. “Well, if you’re only at the engagement stage, there’s still time.”

      “Don’t I wish.”

      “My heart goes out to you.”

      “Thanks.” Savannah laughed and peered down the row of customers sitting on the stools. Mostly cowboys in their twenties and thirties. Nobody she recognized, but she really didn’t expect to see anyone she would remember. Or who would remember her.

      Earlier, at the diner, she’d bumped into an older woman who looked familiar, and that had put Savannah on edge. But it was just nerves, which she suspected had more to do with Ron and how he seemed to be shadowing her every move.

      “Are you visiting?” Nina asked, just as the bartender was approaching.

      Savannah nodded. “You?”

      “Yep. I’m from Nebraska. On my way to Glacier National Park.”

      “Traveling alone?” Savannah asked conversationally.

      “Yep.”

      The bartender smiled at Savannah. “What can I get you?”

      “Change for the jukebox, please.”

      “You got it.” She opened the register and glanced at the dollar bills Savannah laid on the counter before she started digging out quarters. “Couldn’t help overhearing,” she said. “For what it’s worth, men outnumber women two to one in this county.”

      “Wow.” Nina’s eyes lit up. “Good to know.”

      “Yeah, lucky you. Hey, my fiancé is pretty good-looking,” Savannah said, as the bartender dropped the coins in her palm. “I’ll trade you.”

      Both women grinned.

      A waitress called out, “Mallory,” and the blonde bartender gave her a nod. “You guys need

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