LITMIR.BIZ

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and Dylan’s comments about taking on the twins and the ensuing responsibility were a reminder of what came with Hannah. The history he would have to compete with. Besides, Hannah didn’t seem very interested.

      He left to see where his father was. He strode up the graveled walk to his parents’ house, a two-and-a-half-story home built into a hillside and surrounded by pine trees.

      He knocked on the large double doors, then, without waiting for an answer, walked inside. The open foyer was piled with old boots, clothes and boxes of various sizes. All evidence of an ongoing cleaning operation his mother had undertaken in the past few months but was having a hard time finishing. He toed off his boots and dropped his hat on top of a pile of boxes labeled Jennifer and Sophia. His sisters who were both living in Denver.

      His mother sat at the eating counter of the kitchen to the right of the entrance, hunched over her iPad, her elbow resting on the granite countertop, supporting her chin.

      “Where’s Dad?” he asked, looking past her to the open living room that took up most of the house. His father’s leather recliner, sitting on one side of the rock-covered fireplace, only held a stack of papers. His mother’s, on the other side, held her latest project, a scarf she had been knitting under Julie Shaw’s tutelage.

      “He headed out to check the high pasture,” she said, flicking through a series of pictures. “He took the old ranch truck.”

      “He’d better not be moving cows,” Brody said, frowning. His father had recently had a bout of heart issues and though he claimed he was feeling better, Brody didn’t want him doing the hard work he used to.

      “Dad said he would wait until Lewis was back, which won’t be until after next weekend.” His mother swiped her finger over the screen of the iPad again, smiling at what she was seeing.

      Lewis was their hired hand. He had gone to Helena for the weekend courting a woman he had met at the rodeo held in Jasper Gulch a couple of months ago.

      “What are you looking at?” Brody asked, pulling a tall stool up beside her.

      His mother sighed lightly and turned the iPad toward him. “Aunt Kirsty sent me some pictures of her newest grandson, Owen.” This was said with a sigh tinged with envy. “The newest of six.” She looked up at him and emitted a second sigh meant to create a hint, but Brody simply patted her on the shoulder and grinned.

      “Sophia sounds like she and her guy are getting serious,” he said, hoping to shift his mother’s attention from him to his sister. “Someday they might give you grandkids.”

      She looked back at the picture of the chubby baby boy sucking on his fingers wearing a blue-and-white-striped shirt. “So, how was your morning? Did you get your stuff all set up for the fair?” Hopefully the shift in topic meant that was the end of that train of thought. His mother had been getting all nesty lately, dropping hints left and right.

      “Yeah. Looks like it will be a big deal. Lots of exhibitors.”

      “This centennial sure has made a lot of people busy. The rodeo, the baseball game, the fair.” She sighed and her smile grew wistful. “The Old Tyme wedding next month.”

      She angled her head and Brody knew his mother’s mental train had merely taken a short side trip and was back on track.

      “Maybe you could participate.” Her tone was teasing, but Brody sensed the hope behind it.

      For some reason, his mind immediately went to Hannah, imagining her as a bride.

      Really? He shook the thought aside.

      “Yeah. Like I’m going to find someone by that time,” he returned with a grin.

      “Your father and I met and were married in two weeks,” his mother said. “You’ve got time. Mayor Shaw has a couple of real nice daughters. Pretty, too.”

      “Julie is engaged,” he said.

      And he was sure Mayor Shaw, a man very protective of his daughters, would not allow Book-it Brody to have anything to do with Faith, his last single daughter. Besides, while Faith was pretty and fun, she didn’t hold any attraction for him.

      An image of Hannah slipped into his mind. How she bantered with him. How her eyes had lit up when they’d had that conversation in the café.

      “What are you smiling about?” his mother asked.

      Brody gave his mother a wry glance. Trust her to catch the tiniest shifts in his mood.

      “Nothing,” he lied.

      “Well, you better start thinking about my need for grandkids. I want to have them before I’m too old to enjoy them.”

      Brody laughed and patted his mother on the shoulder. “Just give me time,” he said. “Things will work in God’s own good time.”

      His mother sighed. “I know. I just wish God would let me know when that time will be. So I can start a new knitting project. Julie Shaw just put some new wool up on her website that would be perfect for a baby sweater.”

      “Whoa. Stop there,” Brody said. “One step at a time.”

      “I know. I’m just nudging you a little toward that first step,” she said, turning back to her iPad.

      Brody looked over at the pictures and smiled at the toothless grin of the little boy. Of their own accord, his thoughts shifted to Hannah and her twins.

      And on the heels of that came Dylan’s comment about taking on that responsibility. He wasn’t so sure he was ready for that.

      * * *

      “I’d like to call this meeting to order,” Deputy Cal Calloway announced, glancing over the gathering. Rusty Zidek sat across the table from Hannah, fingering his long, gray mustache as he looked over the agenda in front of him. Abigail Rose sat beside him, frowning at Hannah. “And I would like to thank Mrs. Douglas for agreeing to take over from Miss Rose to be our new secretary. Abigail asked to step down, stating her obligation to the Centennial Committee, but we’re glad she decided to stay with us.”

      This netted Hannah a wink from Rusty and a sigh of relief from Cord Shaw. Cal gave her a quick smile of thanks, his blue eyes twinkling at her, then he returned to the agenda.

      The meeting was being held in one of the smaller rooms adjacent to the council chambers. As Hannah opened the laptop she used to take minutes for the town meetings, she glanced at the time on the top of the screen.

      Hannah had promised her mother she would be home by five. It was three-thirty now and she needed to stop at the pharmacy to pick up medication for Chrissy, whose teething pain still hadn’t settled. Plus, she needed more laundry detergent. And juice and a new mop. Her old one had broken on her as she rushed around the apartment last night cleaning up while the twins were sleeping.

      As her mental list expanded, Hannah felt another resurgence of sorrow mingled with anger at David’s death. If they hadn’t gotten married so quickly she wouldn’t have gotten pregnant and she wouldn’t be rushing around right now juggling all these obligations on her own.

      Hannah dismissed that thought as quickly as it was formulated. She loved her babies. Fiercely. It was just that she wished her babies had a father and that they could have known David.

      Her thoughts were broken off by the door opening. As it had the last time, she saw Brody Harcourt, and her heart gave a little jump. It had been almost a week since he had come into the town hall and somehow, ever since then, he had been on her mind. The fire station was only a couple of buildings away and she had caught the occasional glimpse of him when she returned to her place for lunch. But he hadn’t come back to the town hall since that day.

      Then, to her dismay, he pulled out the empty chair beside her and sat down. She gave him a nod of acknowledgment, then dragged her attention back to the flickering cursor on the blank screen. She typed a header for the document. Deleted it and started again when she realized her fingers were on the wrong keys. Seriously, she had

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