LITMIR.BIZ

      Chapter Two

      “Who’s that singing?” five-year-old Ford Cardwell asked as he and his father followed the sound.

      Jackson Cardwell had parked the rental SUV down by his cousin Dana’s ranch house when they’d arrived, but finding no one at home, they’d headed up the hill toward the barn and the van parked in front of it.

      “I have no idea, son,” Jackson said, but couldn’t help smiling. The voice was young and sweet, the song beautiful. “It sounds like an angel.”

      “It is an angel,” Ford cried and pointed past the barn to the corrals.

      The girl was about his son’s age, but while Ford had taken after the Cardwell side of the family with his dark hair and eyes, this child had pale blond hair and huge green eyes.

      When she saw them, she smiled, exposing two deep dimples. Both children were adorable, but this little girl was hands down more angelic-looking and—Jackson would bet—acting than Ford.

      She wore cowboy boots with a pale green-and-white-polka-dotted, one-piece, short jumpsuit that brought out the emerald-green of her eyes. Jackson saw that the girl was singing to several horses that had come up to the edge of the corral fence.

      The girl finished the last of the lyrics before she seemed to notice them and came running over. “If you’re looking for my mother, she’s in the barn working.”

      Next to him, Jackson saw that his son had apparently been struck dumb.

      “I’m Nat,” the girl announced. “My name is really Natalie, though.” She shifted her gaze to the mute Ford. “Everyone calls me Nat, so you can if you want to.”

      “This is my son, Ford.”

      Nat eyed Ford for a moment before she stepped forward and took his hand. “Come on, Ford. You’ll probably want to see the rest of the animals. There are chickens and rabbits and several mules along with all the horses. Don’t worry,” she added before Jackson could voice his concern. “We won’t get too close. We’ll just pet them through the corral fence and feed the horses apples. It’s okay. Mrs. Savage showed me how.”

      “Don’t go far,” Jackson said as the precocious Nat led his son toward several low-slung buildings. The girl was busy talking as they left. Ford, as far as Jackson could tell, hadn’t uttered a word yet.

      As he turned back toward the barn, he saw the logo on the side of the van: Weddings by Allie Knight. The logo looked old as did the van.

      The girl had said her mother was working in the barn. That must be where the wedding was going to be held. His brother Tag had mentioned something about his wedding to Lily McCabe being very Western.

      “You mean like Texas meets Montana?” Jackson had joked.

      “Something like that. Don’t worry. You’ll feel right at home.”

      His brother’s wedding wasn’t what had him worried. After talking to Tag for a few moments on the phone, he’d known his brother had fallen head over heels for Lily. He was happy for him.

      No, what worried Jackson was nailing down the last of the plans before the wedding for the opening of a Texas Boys Barbecue joint in Big Sky, Montana. He had hoped that all of the brothers would be here by now. Laramie and Austin hadn’t even flown up to see the space Tag had found, let alone signed off on the deal.

      From the time the five brothers had opened their first restaurant in an old house in Houston, they’d sworn they would never venture outside of Texas with their barbecue. Even as their business had grown and they’d opened more restaurants and finally started their own franchise, they had stayed in the state where they’d been raised.

      Jackson understood why Tag wanted to open one here. But he feared it had nothing to do with business and everything to do with love and not wanting to leave Montana, where they had all been born.

      Before the wedding had seemed the perfect time for all of them to get together and finalize the deal. Hayes had come here last month to see if the restaurant was even feasible. Unfortunately, Hayes had gotten sidetracked, so now it was up to the rest of them to make sure Tag was doing the best thing for the business—and before the wedding, which was only four days away.

      He hoped all his brothers arrived soon so they could get this over with. They led such busy lives in Texas that they hardly ever saw each other. Tag had said on the phone he was anxious to show him the building he’d found for the new restaurant. Tag and Hayes had already made arrangements to buy the building without the final okay from the other brothers, something else that made Jackson nervous.

      Jackson didn’t want this move to cause problems among the five of them. So his mind was miles away as he started to step into the dim darkness inside the barn.

      The cool air inside was suddenly filled with a terrified scream. An instant later, a black cat streaked past him and out the barn door.

      * * *

      JACKSON RACED INTO the barn not sure what he was going to find. What he found was a blond-haired woman who shared a striking resemblance to the little girl who’d been singing outside by the corrals.

      While Nat had been angelic, this woman was as beautiful as any he’d ever seen. Her long, straight, blond hair was the color of sunshine. It rippled down her slim back. Her eyes, a tantalizing emerald-green, were huge with fear in a face that could stop traffic.

      She stood against the barn wall, a box of wedding decorations open at her feet. Her eyes widened in even more alarm when she saw him. She threw a hand over her mouth, cutting off the scream.

      “Are you all right?” he asked. She didn’t appear to be hurt, just scared. No, not scared, terrified. Had she seen a mouse? Or maybe something larger? In Texas it might have been an armadillo. He wasn’t sure what kind of critters they had this far north, but something had definitely set her off.

      “It was nothing,” she said, removing her hand from her mouth. Some of the color slowly returned to her face but he could see that she was still trembling.

      “It was something,” he assured her.

      She shook her head and ventured a look at the large box of decorations at her feet. The lid had been thrown to the side, some of the decorations spilling onto the floor.

      He laughed. “Let me guess. That black cat I just saw hightailing it out of here... I’m betting he came out of that box.”

      Her eyes widened further. “You saw it?”

      “Raced right past me.” He laughed. “You didn’t think you imagined it, did you?”

      “It happened so fast. I couldn’t be sure.”

      “Must have given you quite a fright.”

      She let out a nervous laugh and tried to smile, exposing deep dimples. He understood now why his son had gone mute. He felt the same way looking at Natalie’s mother. There was an innocence about her, a vulnerability that would make a man feel protective.

      Just the thought made him balk. He’d fallen once and wasn’t about to get lured into that

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