A Fall She Won’t Forget (Seasons in Montana: Fall #1)

Chapter 1

K elly Miller sat in the back office looking over the events planned for the year at the bookstore and cafe in Storyville, Colorado, where she and her family lived.

She grew up in the smaller building, helping her parents stock shelves and learning how to make coffee in middle school when she worked the counters as a barista.

Now she was the event planner, scheduling different authors to come do signings, arranging for book club meet-ups, and any other event she could think of to keep business coming into the store.

She sighed and scrubbed her eyes. It was already dark outside, and she felt like she had been at this for hours.

She loved living in Colorado and being near her family, but she always wondered if there was more out there for her.

When she began event planning for the bookstore, she had expected it to be more exciting—more challenging.

But there was nothing challenging about hosting a book club.

The hardest part of her job was convincing big authors to come to their small town.

“Hey, what are you still doing here?”

Kelly looked up at her sister, Michelle, who stood in the doorway.

Her blonde curly hair flowed around her, making her look angelic.

As the youngest of her siblings, she worked as a floater in the business, always picking up where she was needed.

Deep down, Kelly knew Michelle wanted to be the event coordinator.

She was always involved in every bookstore event and took great interest in everything Kelly did.

If they were in a bigger town, she would share her job with Michelle, and they could double-team it.

But there just weren’t enough events to plan to keep her busy full-time, much less to include another person.

“Just brainstorming,” Kelly said. “Why are you here?”

Michelle shrugged. “Just bored. Thought I’d peruse the books to see if I wanted to read something.”

Kelly laughed under her breath. “Always an avid bookworm.”

Michelle walked into the room and dropped into a seat across from her. “You know me. Can’t sit still.” She tilted her head to the side. “Are you doing all right? You seem… off. Upset maybe?”

Kelly closed the lid of her laptop and leaned back in her seat. “Do you ever feel you aren’t content here?”

“Like at the bookstore or in Storyville?”

“I don’t know. Both, maybe?”

“Not at all. I love being here.”

Kelly sighed. Michelle was a happy-go-lucky person who loved everything and was content no matter the situation. Kelly wished she could have that outlook on life.

“I feel like I need to get away. See if there’s something else out there.”

“Then do it.”

Kelly’s eyebrows raised. “What?”

“Do it. Go. Have fun. I can cover for you while you’re gone.”

A smile pulled at Kelly’s lips. “You just want my job,” she teased.

“I won’t lie and say I don’t.” Michelle giggled.

The two sisters shared a smile, and the thought of leaving turned over in Kelly’s head. “You know what? I think I will.” Kelly pushed the laptop across the desk. “It’s all yours.”

Michelle’s eyes widened. “Seriously? Just like that?”

“There’s no time like the present.”

The loud patter of feet running down the hallway had Miles pulling the comforter over his head. His bedroom door creaked open, and he shifted under the covers, hearing his daughter’s giggle as she “snuck” up on him.

He shifted some more just for show and smiled. Emma loved sneaking up on him in the mornings. It was their routine, and he was usually already awake by the time she came in. So he made it a habit to stay in bed reading until she got up. Then he hid under the covers for her to scare him.

The bed dipped as her little body climbed onto the bed, and he could feel the shift of the mattress as she worked her way up to his pillow. Then she grabbed the comforter and pulled it back.

“Boo!”

He made a frightened face and let out a soft yell. “Oh my gosh! You scared me!”

Her giggles filled the room when he snatched her and tickled her.

“Daddy! Stop!”

He stopped tickling her and pulled her down into his arms. “You ready for some breakfast?”

“Can we have waffles with chocolate chips?”

“I think I can manage that.”

He sat up, pulled Emma up with him and then easily put her feet on the floor before stepping out of bed himself. “Why don’t you go brush your teeth, and I’m going to do the same?”

“Okay, Daddy!” She rushed out of the room and into the bathroom.

Miles smiled and walked into his own attached bathroom and brushed his teeth.

He scrubbed the remaining sleep out of his eyes and then walked out of his room and to the kitchen, where he pulled out all the ingredients to make waffles from scratch.

Emma bounded into the kitchen and immediately pulled a chair over to the counter.

Without asking, she pulled out the measuring cups and began scooping ingredients into the mixing bowl.

He smiled as he watched her, clearly having made enough waffles with her that she had to ask for very little help.

Miles mixed the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and then pulled out the waffle maker.

When he turned back around, Emma was trying to quickly stir the batter.

He raised an eyebrow. “What’cha doing there, peanut?”

“Just mixing it,” she said.

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. An enormous pile of chocolate chips sat on top of the batter being swirled around in the middle as she stirred fiercely. “I see. You wouldn’t have happened to add the chocolate chips when I wasn’t looking, did you?”

“I measured.” She stirred faster.

Miles crossed his arms and watched her trying to immerse the evidence in the batter. “And how much did you measure?”

A guilty look crossed her face. “Um… maybe a lot?”

“May I?” He held his hand out for the spoon, and she heaved a heavy sigh as she relinquished it to him. He stirred the batter, which was heavily dosed with chocolate. “I don’t know. This seems like more than a lot.”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted extra.”

He squatted down to look into her bright blue eyes, which looked a lot like her mother’s. “Next time, how about you let me know you want extra and we can add it just to your waffle? And at a more reasonable amount. Deal?”

“Deal.”

Miles cooked the waffles and sat down with Emma at the table. She practically inhaled her food.

“This is the best waffle ever!” A rim of chocolate appeared around her mouth as she smiled up at him.

“I bet it is,” he said. He opted to make himself an omelet and avoid the sugar rush first thing in the morning.

It was a rare weekend that he had off from work.

He had been trying to pass off more of his duties to his staff, rather than being controlling of the kitchen where he was the chef at his family’s resort in Wintervale, Montana.

Now that Emma was in school full time, he wanted to spend the weekends with her and work during the week.

His phone buzzed, and he fished it out of his pocket as he cleaned up the kitchen from breakfast. Emma was in the living room watching cartoons. He had recently appointed a new manager of the restaurant, and her name flashed across the screen.

“Hey, Savannah,” Miles said.

“Hey, Miles. I’m sorry for bothering you on your day off,” she said.

“It’s okay. What’s going on?”

“Roger called in sick. He’s been throwing up all morning. Apparently, there’s a flu going around town.”

Miles squeezed his eyes shut. He hated flu season. It always posed a challenge for the resort when it was short-staffed. Roger was a talented chef in their kitchen who took over when Miles wasn’t there. If he were out, the kitchen would lack help.

“I’ll be there soon.”

“Thank you, and I’m sorry.”

They ended the call, and he peered into the living room where Emma sat and sighed. He hated missing out on spending time with her, but she understood… as much as a six-year-old could.

He shot off a group text to his family.

Miles: Anyone able to watch Emma? Roger has the flu.

The entire family worked for the resort, everyone specializing in their own areas.

Karen, his mom, did the accounting and helped at the front desk when they were short-staffed.

James, his dad, did miscellaneous tasks around the resort, including most of the maintenance.

His brother, Jackson, handled the resort grounds.

His brother, Noah, worked on the mountain with the ski patrol in the winter and ran the first aid tent during the summer activities.

His brother Ethan was the adventure guide for the resort, running the outdoor activities.

They all pitched in for each other when they could, but no one else in the family could really help in the kitchen aside from his mom, but even then, she wasn’t a chef.

When the kitchen was short-staffed, Miles usually had to pick up the slack and rely on his family to help with Emma.

Only recently was he also relying on his brothers’ significant others for help as well, but only when absolutely necessary.

Jackson’s wife, Mia, was the local librarian.

Noah’s girlfriend, Jessa, worked remotely, but traveled a lot with work.

And Lily, Ethan’s girlfriend, was a famous romance author.

Karen: I’m sorry, honey. Your dad and I are dealing with maintenance issues right now. Several rooms have leaks, and we are trying to move guests.

Jackson: I’m balls deep in lawn mowing.

Mia: Yeah, you are!

Miles grimaced. He wasn’t sure if that was a sexual reference, but it sounded disgusting. He ignored them, although he knew his mom would reply.

Karen: Keep it in the bedroom.

Mia: But for real, Jackson is already at the resort, and Lily and I are out of town this weekend for her book signing in California. Sorry!

Ethan: I’m about to take a group on a hike. Sorry, dude.

Noah: We are short-staffed up here on the mountain. I can’t leave.

Jessa: Me, me! Pick me! I’d love to spend the day with her!

Miles sighed in relief. He was worried he’d have to take her to the restaurant and keep tabs on her all day, which would be hard enough in itself while also cooking for the entire restaurant.

Miles: Thank you so much, Jessa. Emma will be excited.

Jessa: Of course! I’ll be at your house in fifteen minutes?

Miles: Perfect.

Miles set his phone down and looked into the living room. “Hey, peanut. I need to head into work.”

Emma looked up and jutted her lower lip out. “Does that mean I have to sit in the kitchen again?”

Unfortunately, he had had to bring her with him far too many times in the past, and she didn’t enjoy it at all.

“No, Jessa is going to come hang out with you.”

Emma jumped up and threw her hands in the air with a cheer. “Yay! I’m so excited!”

Miles smiled. Leaving her made him feel less guilty when she was excited to hang out with whoever was watching her. “Why don’t you run and get dressed? I’m going to take a quick shower.”

Emma took off for her room. Miles took a shower and got dressed just before Jessa knocked on his front door. He pulled it open and smiled, letting her inside.

“I can’t thank you enough for this. Nachos for lunch? I’ll have them delivered,” he said.

Her eyes widened. “I wasn’t going to ask for anything, but if you insist. You know how to make a woman happy.”

He chuckled. When Jessa first came to town earlier in the year, she constantly ordered his nachos and raved about how they were the best she had ever had. They were still the most ordered item on his menu by her, and he wasn’t entirely sure she had ever tried anything else from the restaurant.

“Auntie Jessa!” Emma cheered and launched herself into Jessa’s arms. “I’m so excited. Let’s play.” She pulled her hand and Jessa let herself be led down the hallway.

Miles looked after them. “Emma, don’t you want to kiss me goodbye?”

She stopped and then let go of Jessa’s hand, ran to Miles, pressed a kiss to his cheek, and then continued pulling Jessa to her room. “Bye, Daddy. Love you.”

“Love you. Thanks again, Jessa!”

She only laughed and waved in response as they disappeared inside Emma’s room.