Chapter 2
T ony Dalton had never made it down the street without being stopped. It happened so often he’d long ago started calculating the extra time into his route. Seemingly every time someone saw him, they needed a word about something. And because they couldn’t jump right in with their own selfish requests, they started with him. How is Elena? How is Elliot? How is Missy? How are the girls? How’s the shop? How’s your…mother? Once the niceties were over, they could finally say what they needed to say. Last year the snowplow dumped twelve feet of snow in front of my driveway. Took me three weeks to dig myself out. You ought to talk to them about that. Or, Now, far be it for me to gossip, but my sister in Ontario mailed me some maple cookies and they arrived half-eaten. You know Jody at the post office loves maple, can sniff it like a tracker hound. I’m not making an accusation, I’m saying it’s awfully suspicious. If it happens again, I’m smelling her breath.
He had never been elected mayor of the town. Try telling that to the town. Somehow everyone assumed he ran things. The truth? He kind of did. Mostly because he was that sort of person, the nosy sort with his finger in every pie.
So now, after making pointed small talk with every person on Main Street, he finally arrived at his destination. He opened the door to his wife’s shop, smiling when the bell jangled merrily. Her business partner, and one of Tony’s best friends, was also in the shop today, a pleasant two-for-one coincidence when he had juicy gossip to spill.
“Hello,” Tony said, his heart doing the flippy-flop thing at the sight of his wife. No matter that they’d been together forever, first as friends, the sight of her still made him happy, still made his heart flood with love. Her return smile said she felt the same as she leaned over the counter and kissed him. “Mrs. Montgomery,” he added, nodding at Maybe as she regarded him in amusement. Though they’d been married for nearly a decade now, she never got over her joy at seeing him and Elena finally together.
“’Sup,” she said, tossing him a nod.
“Apparently you’re not aware they recently changed the law. It’s now illegal to use rapper language after you become a grandmother,” Tony informed her.
“It’s because I’m a grandma I’m talking like this. Kept the kids last night. So sleepy.” She scrubbed a hand over her face. “I think Baird faked working cattle to go on the range somewhere and sleep. Seriously forgot how exhausting babies are.”
“The memory is fresh for us,” Tony said, shuddering. Their twin girls were three, young enough that they still occasionally had the rough sleepless night.
“So, what brings you?” Elena said, rubbing her hands together expectantly.
“Can’t I come to see my favorite girl? And one of our favorite people?” He encompassed Maybe in his look. Both women remained staring at him, waiting. He grinned. “Someone new moved to town. You’ll never guess where.”
“Jones Orchard,” Elena guessed.
His face fell. “How did you guess?”
“Because it’s been for sale for the last fifteen years. Statistically someone had to buy it eventually.”
“You’re no fun,” he pouted.
She leaned over the desk and whispered something in his ear, changing his frown to a smile. “Point taken, mind changed.”
Maybe raised her hand. “Hi, outsider here. I have no idea what Jones Orchard is. We have an orchard here? Why is this not common knowledge? Or, wait, are you talking about that abandoned farm on the edge of town, the one with all the gnarled trees? ”
“It hasn’t been an orchard since we were kids. The Jones family settled here eons ago and passed it down and then sort of died out. I’m guessing most of the trees died, too. The property has to be in rough shape, along with the house,” Elena said.
Maybe grimaced. “It’s not another rich person from California, is it?” The wealthy from the coast had become a scourge, buying up cheap land and creating demand that made it ridiculously expensive, far out of reach for most people. Baird had become so tired of strangers showing up and offering to buy the ranch from under him that he’d put up a “Trespassers Will Be Shot” sign. Maybe wasn’t certain it had actually helped deter people, but it at least alleviated a bit of Baird’s annoyance.
“Look at you, talking like a local,” Tony said proudly. He folded into the cushy chair across from Elena’s counter, one she’d kept specifically for him the last fifteen years. He’d sat in it so often the sag in the middle conformed to his backside. “I have no idea who it is. Some woman.”
They blinked at him, processing. “A woman? Alone? All the way out there? Is she some kind of trapper?” Elena asked. There were a few trappers who still lived far afield and kept to themselves, hunting mink and fox pelts to sell to foreign markets where there was still a demand. Some of them were women who were unusual, to say the least. Hale, hardy, and eccentric didn’t even begin to describe. Heaven help the man who ran afoul of one of them in a temper.
Tony shrugged. “Don’t think so. I’ve been waiting for her to come to town so I can politely ogle and discern, but so far she hasn’t. No idea what’s she’s doing for supplies.”
Maybe clapped her hands excitedly together. “Can you imagine if she gets the orchard going again? Wouldn’t that be amazing? Fresh apples and cider. Apple picking, apple dumplings.”
“Now you sound like a grandma,” Tony said, pointing his finger at her like a gun.
She wadded a piece of paper and tossed it at him, pinging it off his temple. “Think of what it could do for the community. What an amazing draw that would be.”
“We don’t need any more draws. Too many city people are getting the wrong idea and trying to settle here, completely misjudging how harsh it is,” Elena said with uncharacteristic disdain. “I hope she at least has some sense of what she’s doing in those backwoods. Otherwise things could go very, very poorly for her.”
“I’m sure she does,” Tony said smoothly. “It’s hard to imagine any woman who isn’t capable packing up and moving to Montana, completely ignorant of our ways with no plan on how to take care of herself.” He darted Maybe a conspicuous look, then faked a cough. “Oh, right. Sorry, Maybe.”
“I knew what I was doing,” Maybe argued.
“You knew you were ensnaring a big, strong cowboy?” Elena guessed.
Now it was her turn to be pinged by one of Maybe’s rolled up papers. “I had a plan.”
“To marry the neighbor?” Tony piled on.
“I hate both of you,” Maybe said. Her gaze landed on the giant diamond on her ring finger. “Although I guess all’s well that ends well. Hopefully the new woman will be as lucky.”
“I bet she has a plan,” Elena said.
“She totally knows what she’s doing,” Tony added.
They stared at each other a few beats in silence before Maybe spoke again. “Should we send Elliot to go check on her?”
“I already gave him her name and address,” Tony said and the three friends high fived.