Chapter Seven
S am couldn’t remember the last meal his family had shared that involved so much laughing and storytelling.
If any of their guests had walked into the back kitchen, they would never have guessed it was Natalie’s first dinner with them.
Whatever shyness or reservation she’d had when she was first introduced to Norah and Madison had quickly dissolved.
By the end of the appetizer, the three had identified they all loved the same television bake-off show.
By the end of the main course, they’d all shifted their attention to Sam.
Specifically, poking fun at him.
“There I was, crying about my missing hamster, and Dad sees the open window and says, ‘Well, now, honey, snakes gotta eat, too.’ Like that was going to make me feel better?”
Sam hung his head as Madison’s story brought a fresh round of laughter to the group. That hadn’t been his shining moment as a father, but it made his heart feel good that they could laugh about it all these years later. And, damn, his poor heart had been through more than enough.
“Did he at least buy you a new one?” Natalie asked, eyes bright with interest as they had been throughout the evening.
“Oh, trust me, I tried,” he confessed. “But Madison had decided it was time to move on to bigger and better pets. I told her we had several hundred head of bigger and better animals.”
Norah leaned forward, grinning. “So Auntie Norah stepped in. I took her up to Bozeman that weekend, and we went looking for pet stores. Found a cute one not too far from the Montana State University campus with all sorts of critters.”
“That’s where I fell in love with Milky.” Madison released a dreamy sigh.
Natalie looked between the two women. “Milky?”
“My albino silkie guinea pig. He was so cool. Used to run around my room, popcorning, then he’d get tired and come snuggle with me.”
“Popcorning?” Natalie laughed. “Is that a thing?”
Sam nodded. “Trust me, it is. Guineas get all excited and have these spasm-like hops when they’re happy. Madison must have had the happiest damn guinea pig on the planet. That thing popcorned all the time. Would scare the crap out of me when I’d go walking by her room.”
“He was awesome, but he didn’t last very long.” Madison frowned.
Natalie’s expression turned sympathetic. “Another open window?”
“Nah, they just don’t live very long,” his daughter replied. “Milky lasted about three years.”
“And after all those tears, I said no more animals in the house,” Sam said.
Madison grinned and leaned toward Natalie. “Aunt Norah said if I wanted another pet, we could just add it to our lodge’s petting zoo. Now we have cats and dogs and ducks and chickens and goats and even two mini-Highland cows. We can go out there after dinner if you want to see them!”
Sam watched their guest, whose gaze flashed to his. Just like when he’d first arrived, the hint of fear lingered in her hazel eyes. What had happened to make her so nervous around animals?
And why did he feel the sudden need to protect her?
“While I’m sure Miss Natalie would love that, you’ll have to have her come back during the daytime for introductions, before the animals burrow into their stalls for the night.”
“Yeah, they aren’t much fun when they’re all sleepy like they will be after dinner.” Madison’s features brightened. “Next time, you’ll just have to get here earlier in the day. Oh, and the horses—we have lots of those. I can show you those while we’re out, too.”
Next time. Sam liked the thought of that more than he should. Hell, maybe it was time to stop fighting this damned attraction and just roll with it. Tonight, that idea didn’t seem nearly as treacherous as before.
Except he still didn’t have a clue as to how Natalie felt about him. Sure, she teased him back when he teased her, and she seemed extra smiley this evening. But they all did—even Gramps and Gran. So, how to know?
“Earlier would probably be better,” Natalie said.
“I’m not used to seeing that many different animals in one place.
In fact, I’m not used to seeing a lot of things you have out here.
Speaking of which, is there a story behind the place on the other side of the Nelson property?
When I drove past earlier, I swear I saw a big purple riding mower covered in goats. ”
Eli nodded. “That would be the Dixon Ego1375.”
“The what?” Natalie asked.
Gran rose from the table, chuckling.
“The Dixon,” Sam said. “It’s a brand of mower.
We had a traveling salesman roll through town a number of years back, claiming they had the best mower for yards like ours.
Old man Jenkins was the only person in town who bought into the salesman’s claim and forked out a small fortune for one.
Guy said if it ever needed so much as a tune-up to call the number on his card.
Guess it worked great for a year, but when it started bellowing smoke, Ben Jenkins called that number.
Disconnected. Tried calling the company. Sold.”
“Oh no.” Natalie grimaced.
Sam nodded. “Ben kept at it, though, and eventually found someone still connected to the company. Since it was still under warranty, they offered to send him a replacement. Figuring it would end up like the first one did, he asked for his money back instead. They only ever gave him a partial credit.”
“So, Ben drove that pile of junk out to the middle of his goat pen and left it there for all to see,” Eli continued. “It’s a reminder for us all to stick to the brands—and the people—we know and trust.”
Natalie shook her head. “Wow.”
“It gets better.” Madison leaned forward, grinning. “At Christmas? He decorates it with lights. And on Independence Day, he rigs it to shoot glitter bombs into the air.”
“You’re kidding me.”
Madison laughed. “Nope. The goats love it. Hang on, let me find the video of it. I’m pretty sure I saved the snap from last year.”
“That’s… unreal,” Natalie said. “And sort of explains your general distrust for outsiders.”
She leaned closer to Madison and watched the video she’d queued up on her phone.
It wasn’t lost on Sam the way those two had instantly hit it off.
If his daughter hadn’t been fond of Natalie, he’d know that she was faking interest. But there was nothing phony about their laughter now as the glitter bombs were erupting on-screen.
“We’re not opposed to outsiders,” Gran corrected as she returned and began passing around plates of her famous sheet cake. “But we’ve learned to do our homework when people roll into town with news that sounds too good to be true.”
A light pink tinted Natalie’s cheeks. She made to respond, but then something on Madison’s phone screen caught her attention.
“Wait—was that a ferret? You have those in your petting zoo? I had a friend who had ferrets growing up. Her first one was so sweet, but man, the second one she bought bit just about everyone.”
“Yeah, that’s why Dad said I couldn’t have one, either. Because they can be mean.” She threw him an annoyed look. “But these aren’t pets. I took this video last fall, over by the fencerow that separates our ranch from Mr. Nelson’s.”
Natalie leaned closer to the screen. “So, there are wild ferrets in Montana?”
“Yeah, they’re, like, way endangered, though. Right Dad?”
Natalie’s smile dimmed. “Endangered?”
Sam nodded, his thoughts going back to the first time they’d seen the ferrets and the Google searches that had transpired afterward. “Yeah, I guess disease nearly wiped them out a while back. They were reintroduced in Montana back in the nineties, so it was kinda cool to see them on our land.”
“But you only saw them that once?” Natalie asked.
Why was she suddenly looking so dazed and confused?
“No, we’ve seen them a few times now,” Madison answered.
“This is the only video I have, but I have pictures from other times. They’re kinda grainy, though, because usually if we get too close, they duck into their holes and hide.
Did you know they eat prairie dogs and then basically take over their burrows? Isn’t that wild?”
“Yeah,” Natalie said, leaning back in her seat, the earlier excitement about ferrets gone from her eyes. “Have… other people seen them on their land, too?”
Madison nodded, reaching for her plate of cake. “A bunch of my friends have. And Dad and Norah and Howie.”
“Howie?”
“One of our ranch hands,” Sam supplied, still watching her closely. “He was out with me when—”
A song started playing from somewhere nearby. Natalie dug into the purse she had hanging over the back of her chair. She rose, mumbling an apology, and stepped from the room. Sam watched her go, frowning. Beside him, Gramps bumped his elbow.
“Going pretty good, huh?” The old man chuckled. “We’ll have her ready to pack up and move west in no time.”
“This isn’t about convincing her to relocate. This is about saving the ranch.”
Gramps shrugged. “To-mA-to, To-Ma-to.”
Gran shushed them both. “If you two weren’t yapping so much, I could hear what—”
Footsteps sounded and then Natalie reappeared, looking less dazed but still not quite back to her usual, smiley self.
“I apologize for the interruption, everyone. That was my boss, and it seems we’ve had something come up at work. I’m afraid I need to get back so I can help him make this deadline.”
Disappointment washed over Sam. And suspicion. Was that really why she was leaving, or did it have to do with the ferret discussion?
He shook his head. Just because Sasha had fed him lies didn’t mean he should go around thinking everyone else would, too. “I’ll see you out.”
“That’s al—Actually, I’d appreciate that.” She offered him the smallest sheepish grin and collected her purse. “Thank you all for the amazing dinner and wonderful conversations.”
Gran smiled. “You’re more than welcome, dear. Come back anytime.”
“Yes!” Madison chimed in. “And earlier in the day, remember? So we can show you the animals.”
“And the land,” Gramps added with a wink. “There are some amazing views of Big Sky country when you get closer to the foothills.”
Sam watched Natalie offer them all polite nods, then guided her to the door. He wasn’t sure what had caused that shift in mood, but something was definitely bothering her. Did he ask, or should he let it go?
It’s not a date.
CC and Larwill were gone from the porch when they stepped out, giving Natalie pause as she scanned the porch and front yard looking for them.
“They’ve probably gone around back for the night. We’ve got a breezeway they lay in until Gramps lets them in for the night.”
She offered him a relieved smile and followed him down the steps and to her car.
“Thank you again for the tour and lovely dinner,” she said, clicking to unlock her vehicle.
Wait—she’d locked it? Out here? He grinned at the city girl.
And damn, she sure looked pretty tonight.
Even prettier outside beneath the fading sunlight.
The sleeveless top she wore put her lightly tanned, smooth skin on display, while those capris hugged that cute ass of hers just right.
Add in the wedge sandals and those painted pink toes, and it’d been a struggle not to stare; Sam had always had a thing for cute feet.
So he’d trained his eyes on hers, watching the deep oranges of dusk dance in her hazel eyes.
Had this been a date, now would have been the perfect time to pull her close for a goodbye kiss. His fingers itched to do just that. His brain gave them a cease-and-desist order.
“You’re very welcome. Everything all right?” Damn it, he hadn’t meant to ask.
Her gaze shifted from his. “Oh, yeah. Just… gonna be a long night. Lots of research.”
With one last forced smile, she climbed into her car, gave him a small wave goodbye, and drove off.
Something was definitely up. But what? As Sam watched her taillights grow smaller and smaller, it hit him: the ferrets.
If there was an endangered species on the Nelson property, what impact could that have on Terakion’s development?
Enough to shut it down? It looked like he had some research to do tonight as well.
“Yes, Virginia, there just might be a Santa Claus.”