Beneath Montana Skies. Mia Ross

on the old floorboards, and Ty got the feeling of standing in front of an old-time sheriff, waiting for some kind of judgment on his character.

      Sliding a quick glance at his daughter, JD leveled a cool glare at Ty. “I oughta run you offa this place at the end of a Smith & Wesson for what you did to my girl.”

      “I’m very sorry for everything that happened,” Ty began, trying to keep his voice steady. He respected JD for many reasons, feared him for others. Right now, he was just trying to hold his ground and remember that he was nearly thirty years old and not the dumb kid he’d once been.

      “Did you apologize to my Morgan?”

      Ty loved the way he said it, as if she was a little girl still in need of her daddy’s protection. Someday, if he was ever fortunate enough to have a family of his own, he’d be as fiercely protective of them as JD was of his.

      “Yes, sir, I did.” Looking over at her, he added, “I’m hoping she’ll find a way to forgive me someday.”

      The lady in question didn’t say anything, but she wasn’t glaring at him anymore, either. He took that as a positive sign.

      Apparently, JD had noticed the same thing, because the old wrangler chortled. “I don’t see any fresh holes in your hide, so you must’ve done all right. Are ya thirsty?”

      “Parched. I left Denver around six this morning and didn’t stop till I got here.”

      “Long drive.” After a quick trip inside, JD came back with three glasses of lemonade. He handed them out, then settled onto the porch swing and crossed his boots on the porch floor in front of him. “So, what’ve you been up to?”

      Ty nutshelled the past couple of years for his host, skimming over the worst of it to avoid a lot of questions he’d rather not answer just yet. Throughout the conversation, Morgan was unusually quiet, and he kept casually glancing her way to gauge her reaction to what he and JD were saying. Mostly, her face was maddeningly unreadable, and he found himself back in high school, wondering what was running through that quick mind of hers.

      She’d always had a great poker face, and it seemed that she’d improved it over the years. Why she’d felt the need to do that, he couldn’t imagine. While it wasn’t any of his business, he couldn’t help wondering what had caused her to cultivate such a close-to-the-vest attitude.

      Suddenly, Skye bounced to her feet and darted off the porch to begin an easy herding lope up the long driveway toward the road. When a yellow school bus appeared in the distance, Ty chuckled. “Her hearing’s better than mine. I never heard it till just now.”

      “I’m convinced that dog can tell time,” JD announced confidently. “No matter what the school schedule is, she always seems to know when the girls are coming home.”

      “Girls?”

      “My girls,” Morgan explained, emphasizing the word my for some reason.

      “I didn’t know you were a mom, too. Is there anything around here you can’t do?” Ty said, hoping to soothe her ruffled feathers with a little well-placed admiration. It wasn’t all that hard, he mused. She was still the same remarkable woman she’d always been. There wasn’t a day that went by when he didn’t kick himself for leaving her behind.

      “Not so far,” she replied, arching an eyebrow in the haughty expression he recalled vividly. He’d been the target of that look far too many times to count, and it was burned into his memory forever.

      The girls in question took their time walking up the driveway, with Skye flitting from one to the other in typical Aussie excitement. Ty got the impression that she was herding them toward the house, and he smiled at the picture. Country girls under a big, beautiful sky. Life didn’t get much better than that.

      As they drew closer to the house, he noticed something about them that made him stare over at their mother in surprise. “They’re twins.”

      Morgan didn’t respond, but JD proudly chimed in, “Allie and Hannah. Every bit their mama’s girls, that’s for sure. Hannah’s sharp as a tack, and Allie’s got a real way with critters, big and small. That’s how we ended up with Teddy.”

      “Teddy?”

      “The alpaca,” JD clarified, nodding toward the odd animal Ty had noticed on his way in. “A friend of hers had to move away, and the family couldn’t take livestock to their new neighborhood. Allie begged us to take him in, and—”

      He ended with a shrug, and Ty laughed. “You couldn’t tell her no. Why does that sound familiar?”

      “Hey, now, that’s not fair. He told me no plenty of times,” Morgan protested.

      “I was talking about your little sister, Jessie,” Ty clarified, taking a drink of his lemonade to sell the comment to her. That got him the raised eyebrow again, and he couldn’t keep back a grin. To his relief, the look mellowed slightly, and while she didn’t exactly smile back, at least she wasn’t glaring at him anymore.

      When they saw who was sitting on the porch, the girls broke into a run, although one of them lagged behind by a few steps. As she got closer, Ty could see that she was doing her best to keep up with her faster twin but couldn’t quite manage it. In response, Skye slowed her pace and circled around the girl, as if encouraging her to keep going. Something about that twanged his heart deep inside, in a way he’d never felt before.

      Shoving away the baffling reaction to someone else’s child, he waited for JD to make the introductions.

      “Girls, this is Ty Wilkins, an old friend of ours who’s back for a visit. Ty, this is Hannah—” he pulled one of them close “—and Allie.” With her, JD paused a moment to let the comment sink in before smiling at her. After a couple of seconds, she answered with a faint smile before moving past him to where Morgan was sitting.

      Ty didn’t have much experience with kids, but he knew a shy girl when he saw one. Standing, he took off his hat the way he’d been taught and smiled at each of them in turn. “Ladies, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

      Hannah thrust a hand at him, shaking his with a firm confidence that reminded him of her bold mother. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

      Wow, that was a kick in the teeth, he mused. Made him sound ancient. Then again, to her he probably was. Allie didn’t venture out to follow her sister’s lead, and he settled for another smile in her direction. “Your grandpa’s been telling me about how you ended up with an alpaca named Teddy. It was real generous of you to give him such a good home.”

      “He’s a good boy,” she allowed in a voice so quiet, he had to strain to hear it. After that, she patted Morgan’s cheek and drifted into the house without another word.

      Obviously, there was something different about her, but he’d never dream of asking what it might be. Fortunately, her twin filled in the blank for him. “Allie has a-tism, so she’s shy around people. It was nice of you to talk about Teddy, ’cause she really likes him.”

      Following that very straightforward explanation, she skipped inside, Skye right on her heels.

      The revelation hung in the air, creating an awkward silence that Ty had no clue how to fill. Morgan looked especially uncomfortable, and JD reached over to grasp her hand in a reassuring gesture. “Both our girls are special. That’s what we focus on, right, honey?”

      “Right.” She made a valiant attempt at a smile that fell woefully short. Standing, she said, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to check on things inside, then unload that feed I bought in town. Hope you enjoy your visit, Ty.”

      He suspected that she didn’t come close to meaning that, but as she disappeared inside, he couldn’t really blame her for not welcoming him with open arms. She’d told him she’d never forgive him, and he believed her.

      “Well, I’d best get over to my place and see how bad that old cabin looks,” he said, putting his hat back on before