From City Girl To Rancher's Wife. Ami Weaver

only for six weeks. She was tough. She could do pretty much anything for six weeks. Even learn how to live in the wilderness of Montana.

       Chapter Three

      Josie called the rental company while her aunt went to finish packing for her trip and made sure she could drop the car off earlier than planned. The problem was, she’d need a ride back from Kalispell. Would a taxi come out this far? It didn’t seem likely.

      Luke came in the kitchen. He tipped his head in her direction as he headed to the sink to wash his hands and then over to the fridge, where he started pulling out the fixings for a sandwich. “Got the car. It’s fine. Some grass and dirt stuck up under the front bumper, and it’s muddy, but no actual damage.”

      Josie expelled a long breath and relief slid through her. She wouldn’t have to worry about the money, then. “Oh, good. Thank you.”

      “Did you talk to the car company?”

      Josie turned back to the potato casserole she was preparing for dinner. She’d pop it in the fridge until it was time to put it in the oven. “I did. I can return it anytime.”

      “Do you want to go tomorrow? May as well get it taken care of.” When she hesitated, not wanting to put him out any more than she already had, he added, “I’ve got to pick up a part for the tractor over there anyway. May as well take care of both things at once.”

      She nodded. “Okay. As long as you’re sure. I can probably make other arrangements.”

      He chuckled as she covered the pan in tin foil. “No, you couldn’t. It’d cost you a fortune.”

      She sighed. “That’s what I was afraid of.” And money was at a premium right now. She’d sunk most of it in the restaurant, only to lose it to Russ.

      He touched her shoulder as she picked up the heavy casserole pan. She almost fumbled it in surprise. He’d been so cool toward her she’d never expected him to actually touch her. Even if he pulled his hand back awfully fast. “You’ll have to get used to it. It’s nothing like where you’re from.”

      Before she could say anything, Rosa came in the kitchen, and Luke gave her a hug. They exchanged goodbyes, and before Luke left, he asked Josie, “Is eight okay tomorrow? I’d like to get the part before eleven.”

      “Eight’s fine,” she said and tried not to notice Rosa looking between them curiously. Luke left and Josie smiled at her. “Are you ready? You have everything?”

      Rosa patted her shoulder bag. “I think so. And the boys gave me a tablet for the trip, so I can watch movies and read. Wasn’t that nice of them?”

      “It was,” she agreed. “I’m sure Kelly can’t wait to see you.”

      Rosa gave her a big hug. “I can’t wait to see her and meet my new grandbaby. But I do wish I had more time here with you. Enjoy your time here. Relax.”

      Josie hugged her back. “I wish we did, too. But Kelly’s waiting for you.” She didn’t touch the “relax” portion of the comment, since it’d been so long since she’d really relaxed that she wasn’t sure she knew how to anymore.

      “Give Luke time,” Rosa said as Josie walked with her through the house. “He’ll come around.”

      Josie laughed. Aunt Rosa was determined to make her point about Luke. “Oh, no. Not going to happen.”

      Rosa gave her a little smile, then sighed. “I know. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to keep bringing it up. I just want to see you happy. Him, too.”

      Josie stopped in her tracks and looked around for Alice. The last thing she needed was Luke’s mother hearing any of this. “Oh, Aunt Rosa. That’s nice of you to say, but there’s no way I’m staying here. My life is in LA.” What was left of it, of course. But she had every intention of salvaging what—if anything—she could and starting over. She didn’t need a celebrity chef to give her credibility.

      * * *

      The next morning she had breakfast done and cleaned up in time to leave. She made sure there was sandwich stuff in the fridge from the leftover roast the night before, since she wouldn’t be back in time for lunch, but the men had taken box lunches with them when they went out that morning. She heard Luke asking his mother if she’d be okay while they were gone. Patty, the wife of one of the ranch hands, would be in the house, watching TV with her, but Josie understood his hesitation. He didn’t want anything else to happen to her.

      She waved him off. “Luke. I’ll be fine. We are just going to watch True Blood and knit. It’s not as if you’re leaving me for a week to fend for myself. I’m healing well and this place is crawling with people.”

      Josie shrugged into her sweatshirt with a smile. Luke might be grumpy toward her, but he clearly had a protective streak a mile wide when it came to his mother.

      She stepped out on the porch to wait. It was a lovely morning, but not what she was used to. When was the last time she’d stood outside and appreciated the morning? It wasn’t really quiet—the birds were chattering up a storm and she could hear some of the hands down by the barns, their laughter carrying on the still morning air. The grass was damp with dew and the air smelled—fresh. No exhaust, food scents, the general smell of a city in a hot climate. Nothing like what she was used to. It wasn’t eighty degrees already—in fact, it was cold—and there was no smog or traffic noise.

      It was a little unsettling. As was the fact she’d nearly overslept. Again.

      The door opened and closed behind her and she turned to see Luke standing there. “Sorry about that. I just had to make sure Mom was okay.”

      She smiled at him. “No problem. I understand.” She wondered what her own mother was doing right now. Of course, her own mother was much younger than Luke’s. She must have had the boys at a much older age.

      “Let’s go, then. You’ll need to follow me. It’ll be easier for you.”

      Josie got in the little rental car and followed the big truck down the lane to the road. He was absolutely right that this kind of car wasn’t suited to this area. But the SUV she’d reserved at her aunt’s suggestion had been given away when she hadn’t made it to the rental place before the cutoff time. This was what they’d had left.

      The trip in the daylight was eye-opening. The views were killer and she could see, after they’d gone a half hour before seeing another vehicle as they neared the small town of Powder Keg, just how remote the Silver River was. The roads near the ranch were rough, too. She wondered if that was by design, to help discourage people from tracking Luke down. Or if it was simply that the county had other things to do than maintain roads that were hardly driven.

      They drove through the little town with its general store that, from the signs on its front, advertised it sold everything, including animal feed, groceries and clothing. There were two bars, a diner, a bakery, a drug store. A couple churches. One stoplight. The streets were wide and the little town seemed to crouch down in the shadow of the mountains. It was a working town, not a tourist town, but Josie thought it had an Old West appeal all its own.

      Having left Powder Keg behind, it was another fifteen minutes before they reached the highway that took them to Kalispell. Josie spotted a couple huge elk grazing off the road and figured a collision with one of them would end badly for all involved. Especially in this car, which probably weighed less than one of those elk.

      Kalispell was much busier. A tiny fraction of the size of Los Angeles, but traffic was one thing she knew how to navigate without problems, and there was plenty of it here. The town was charming, something she hadn’t appreciated when she’d first arrived, thanks to all the drama she’d endured. Luke pulled in the rental car place at the airport and she parked the car beside him. He opened the door to get out but she shook her head at him. “This will just take a minute.”

      She ran in and went through the process.