Montana Love Letter. Charlotte Carter

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      But she didn’t live here, she sternly reminded herself. She and her daughter were guests staying in Grandma’s cottage, nothing more, and only for one night. Tomorrow they’d find another temporary place to stay. Then they’d start some serious house hunting so they’d have a home of their own.

      * * *

      Adam had spent the past two hours laboriously going over his tax forms. They made less sense to him now than when he’d filled them out in April.

      He should’ve hired someone to do his taxes. But his receipts and invoices were all crammed in a box. He could barely make out what was what. Anybody else would’ve laughed himself silly over his record-keeping and walked away in disgust—or asked far too many questions that Adam would’ve had trouble answering.

      Lisa, his late wife, had wanted them to keep his problem to themselves. She was afraid he’d lose business if others knew he couldn’t read.

      With a headache threatening, he decided he’d call it a day. He shed his overalls and work boots and washed up in the restroom in the garage. Time to get home to fix dinner for Hailey...and his houseguests.

      His steps suddenly a little lighter, he locked up the garage and walked back to the house. The temperature had cooled and birdcalls trilled through the treetops. The distant sound of a motorboat hummed across the lake.

      The moment he walked into the house, he caught the scent of garlic and oregano, and his stomach rumbled. He found Janelle bending over a pot on the stove, tasting the spaghetti sauce.

      “My sauce never smells that good,” he said.

      She jumped back from the stove and shoved a lock of her brown hair away from her forehead. With a nervous laugh, she said, “I didn’t hear you come in.”

      “Sorry I startled you.” Seeing her in his kitchen, a drying towel tucked in the waistband of her slacks for an apron, brought a lump to his throat. It had been a long time since anyone except his aging, once-a-week cleaning lady had cooked dinner for him. And she was likely to leave a tuna casserole and broccoli with cheese sauce. Not his favorites.

      “I hope you don’t mind that I added some spices to the sauce. I found them in the cupboard.”

      He sauntered farther into the room. “Of course not. But I didn’t mean for you to have to cook for Hailey and me. You and Raeanne are our guests.”

      “I knew the girls would be getting hungry soon.”

      “Yeah.” He took the spoon from her hand and dipped it into the simmering concoction. Blowing on the spoonful of red sauce to cool it, he sampled it. “Hmm, tastes homemade.”

      “I’m not exactly an Italian chef, but I do like it spiced up a bit.”

      They were standing so close he could see tiny golden flecks in her brown eyes. “Where are the girls?”

      Her tongue peeked out and dampened the fullness of her bottom lip, leaving it shiny. “They’re playing board games in Hailey’s room.”

      “Great. Hailey gets pretty bored on her own when I work late.” And he got bored and lonely during the long nights alone with no one to talk to, no one to share with, no one to care for or tell about his day.

      A pan of water heating on the stove reached a full boil and bubbled over, sizzling on the burner.

      Her face flushed, Janelle jumped back and lowered the flame. She wiped up the spill with a corner of her towel.

      “If you’re ready to eat, I’ll put the spaghetti on to cook. You can tell the girls to clean up and we’ll eat in about five minutes.”

      Regret that the connection between them had been broken forced a sigh from his lips.

      “I’ll let them know.”

      Not that the connection mattered or was even real, he thought as he walked down the hallway. Janelle and her daughter would be gone tomorrow. The only actual relationship they had was based on a crumpled car and a cracked radiator.

      Chapter Three

      When Janelle had the last of the dinner dishes in the dishwasher and the leftovers in the refrigerator, she was ready to sit down to enjoy the evening.

      Evidently Hailey had a different idea. She’d planted herself next to where Adam was sitting on the couch, his legs stretched out in front of him. Raeanne stood beside them.

      “Dad, we promised Raeanne a ride in our boat.”

      “We did?”

      “When we invited them to stay in the cottage. Remember? It’s still light outside. Can we go now? Can we? Raeanne really, really wants to go for a boat ride.”

      Adam muttered something that resembled a groan.

      “Don’t feel you have to take Rae for a boat ride.” Janelle stepped into the living room. “You must be tired from working all day.”

      He levered himself up from the couch and ruffled Hailey’s hair. “Getting some fresh air is just what I need. Right, Peanut?”

      Knowing she’d won an easy victory, Hailey grinned.

      “Okay, everybody get a jacket. It gets cold out on the water.” He looked right at Janelle. “You’re coming, aren’t you?”

      “Why, I...” She tucked a strand of wayward hair behind her ear. “Sure. It’ll be fun.”

      “We’ll meet you down at the dock,” he said.

      Janelle hurried to the cabin to get jackets for herself and Raeanne, stopping only long enough to freshen her lip gloss. Although why she’d taken the time to do that wasn’t something she wanted to examine too closely.

      When she reached the dock, Adam presented her and Raeanne with life vests.

      A sixteen-foot bowrider with an open cockpit, the boat was sleekly styled and painted red and white. The pilot and one passenger had swivel chairs. A bench along the back provided room for two or three additional passengers, and there were two cutout seats in the bow for the more adventurous or those who wanted to sunbathe.

      “Do you use this for fishing or waterskiing?” Janelle asked as Adam helped her climb aboard, his hand firmly holding hers.

      “More for fishing, but I don’t get out as much lately as I used to. I haven’t tried waterskiing since I was a kid.”

      “Well, then, it’s doubly nice of you to take Rae and me for a boat ride.”

      His lips hitched into a smile and he nodded toward Hailey. “Hard to fight that kind of pressure.”

      Chuckling, Janelle settled down on a bench at the back of the cockpit while the girls hovered close to Adam as he pulled away from the dock. Completely at ease, he looked very much the sea captain in charge of his vessel and all on board.

      The breeze picked up, making Janelle’s hair dance and whip around. As the boat speeded up, СКАЧАТЬ