Denise rose and crossed to her. “Nevada came to help me weed.” She turned her gaze to the baby. Hannah grinned broadly and waved her arms, wanting to get to her grandmother.
“Look at you,” she said, taking the baby and cuddling her. “All pretty and happy. How’s my girl?”
Her granddaughter snuggled close, obviously loving the attention.
Dakota had adopted the six-month-old girl in early June. While the adoption itself wouldn’t be final for a bit longer, the whole family had bonded with Hannah. She was affectionate, curious and growing like crazy.
Dakota plopped on the grass next to her sister. “This grandmother thing is pretty fabulous. I get free advice and a built-in babysitter.”
“It seems to work for Grandma, as well.”
“It does,” Denise said happily, then nuzzled Hannah’s neck. “Let’s go inside. It’s getting warm out here and I don’t want her getting too much sun.”
“Of course you don’t,” Nevada teased. “Meanwhile, we could fall over from heatstroke and that would be fine.”
“Probably not fine,” Denise told her. “I’d be worried. I’d probably turn the hose on you at the very least.”
They went into the kitchen. Nevada got out glasses and plates. Dakota collected the pitcher of iced tea, and cookies from the jar on the counter. In a matter of a minute or so, they were in their familiar places at the big kitchen table.
“How is it having Kent and Reese in the house?” Nevada asked before biting into a homemade chocolate chip cookie.
“Wonderful. This is too much house for me. I like having family around.”
Dakota looked at her. “You’re not thinking of selling, are you?”
“No. All of you live in town, except for Ford. We need the space for our celebrations.” With luck, her youngest son would also move back when he finally left the military.
They talked about what was going on with Ethan and Liz and how Kent had been offered the job teaching math at Fool’s Gold High School.
“Is Montana still seeing that doctor guy?” Nevada asked. “She hasn’t said anything to me when we talk and I don’t want to bring it up.”
“I think so,” Denise answered. “Although I’m not sure what’s going on there. She mentioned she was showing Simon around town as a favor for Mayor Marsha. Do you think it’s more than that?”
Her daughters exchanged a look. “He’s pretty appealing,” Nevada said. “Handsome and scarred. Which I guess makes him both beauty and the beast. Montana seems to be spending a lot of time with him.”
“I suppose the best plan would be to simply ask her,” Denise murmured. “Any volunteers?”
“I’ll do it,” Dakota said. “Finn is up in Alaska, finalizing his sale of his business, so Hannah and I are on our own. We’re going to the Summer Festival tonight. I’m sure Montana will be there. We can talk then.”
“Be sure to tell her we’re not prying. We’re concerned.”
Her daughters laughed.
“It’s a thin line, Mom,” Nevada reminded her.
“But an important one.”
MONTANA LOVED THE QUIRKINESS of her town. Most places held Summer Festivals during the day. Not Fool’s Gold. While the celebration would continue all weekend, it started Friday evening, with live music, dozens of stands selling food, and a fireworks display when it was dark.
She moved through the growing crowd, greeting people she knew. There were a lot of tourists who came every year for the Summer Festival, filling local hotels and motels. Always a good thing. The restaurants would be crowded and there would be too many bikes on the path around the lake, but the residents were used to that. As the various festivals drew mostly families, there were rarely any problems.
She bought a carnitas taco from a stand and ate it standing up, then tasted a couple of types of wine at a different booth. Searching for dessert, she found herself in front of the place that sold elephant ears. Although she usually enjoyed the treat, tonight it made her think of Simon.
Silliness, she told herself. The man was a complication she didn’t need in her life. Not that telling herself that helped.
Even as she ordered an elephant ear, she found herself glancing back toward the main part of town. It would be easy to go to his hotel room on the pretext of inviting him to the festival.
She didn’t for two reasons. First, she wasn’t sure she could act normally around him. Knowing about his past made her even more curious about him. She wanted to talk about it, hear what he’d gone through, learn how he’d figured out how to be so strong. The second reason she didn’t go to his room was because she wasn’t that interested in bringing him to the festival. And she’d never once gone uninvited to a man’s bed.