Montana Love Letter. Charlotte Carter

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, spray misted her face. The water felt cool and refreshing, the air crisp and untouched by pollution. Over the years, she’d ridden in boats on Puget Sound and on Lake Washington and had even tried her hand at waterskiing. Not too successfully, she mentally added.

      But on this high-elevation lake, everything seemed clearer, the sights and sounds more distinct. She inhaled deeply and smiled. What a refreshing interlude.

      After a bit, Adam let Hailey drive the boat at a modest speed. Then he asked Rae if she wanted a turn. Without a moment’s hesitation, she hiked herself up on the chair and took the wheel.

      A rush of love filled Janelle’s chest. In this new place, Raeanne had already moved miles away from her fears and the trauma of her father’s death. Her speech might not have returned, but her zest for life was definitely on the rebound.

      Thank You, Lord.

      When Rae’s turn was over, she came racing into Janelle’s arms. Her grin was as big as the quarter moon that was rising over the hills on the far side of the lake.

      “You really liked driving the boat, didn’t you, sweetie?”

      She nodded enthusiastically.

      Janelle pulled her daughter more fully into her arms. If only Rae could express herself with more than a nod or a silent gesture.

      Give her time, she reminded herself. That’s what the counselor had said and what she prayed for every night.

      * * *

      Worn out by all the excitement, Rae was asleep by the time they docked. Hailey talked Janelle into letting Rae sleep in her bed in the main house for now. When Janelle retired for the night, she or Adam could carry Rae to the cottage. That seemed reasonable. Janelle wasn’t ready for bed yet, and she wanted to enjoy the night air.

      Once the girls were settled in Hailey’s room, Janelle relaxed in an Adirondack chair on the deck.

      The clouds that had lingered over the mountains had vanished and stars were beginning to appear in the darkening sky. Bats flitted from treetop to treetop in search of a tasty morsel for their supper. On the far side of the lake, lights appeared in cabins nearly hidden by the trees.

      Closer at hand, country-western music wafted across the still water.

      The sliding door opened and Adam stepped outside. “Nice night,” he commented.

      “Hmm, perfect.”

      “When it gets full dark, there’ll be a lot of stars. On a clear night like this when the moon’s not full, the Milky Way lights up the sky.”

      “Seattle isn’t real good for stargazing. Too many city lights and too overcast.” Raised in the northwest, she’d been used to Seattle weather, but today had been gorgeous. The night even more spectacular.

      He settled in the Adirondack chair next to her. “I couldn’t help but notice you’re not wearing a wedding ring. Are you divorced?” He spoke softly, letting his voice match the quiet hum of the breeze in the treetops.

      “No. Widowed. My husband died of an aneurysm seven months ago. He collapsed in our kitchen. By the time the paramedics arrived, he was already gone.” Recalling that morning tightened a knot in her chest. Although Raymond’s death had been shocking, it was what she’d learned while cleaning out his desk that had stunned and hurt her the most. He’d had a mistress on almost every university campus he visited as a guest lecturer. His betrayal had cut so deeply, she wasn’t sure the wounds would ever heal.

      “Hey, I’m really sorry. That’s tough.”

      Tears burned at the backs of her eyes, more for herself than for Raymond’s sudden death. “Thank you.” Her voice caught.

      “What about your folks?” he asked. “Are they still in Seattle?”

      “My father passed away when I was thirteen. My mother tried to hold things together, but I don’t think she ever recovered from losing him. She died the summer before my freshman year in college.” Maybe if her mother had been around and her father had lived longer, Janelle wouldn’t have fallen for Raymond. Would have seen that he wouldn’t be faithful.

      “Losing both your parents had to be hard for you.”

      “Yes, it was. I felt adrift looking for an anchor.”

      They were both silent for a moment before Adam said, “Here comes the North Star.”

      She followed the direction he was pointing and cleared her throat. “Hard to miss, isn’t it?”

      “That’s why sailors used it for navigation for centuries before the compass was invented.”

      “Are you into astronomy?”

      “Strictly amateur, but yeah. How could I not be, living in big-sky country?”

      A smile curved her lips, matching the smile she heard in his voice. “Then I guess I’d better take up astronomy.”

      “You’re really planning to stay, then? Here in Bear Lake?”

      “If I can find a house to buy at a price I can afford.” She’d sold the house in Seattle and came away with more than enough for a substantial down payment on a new place. Raymond’s insurance money would cover expenses for a while. “After school starts, I’ll look for some sort of job, probably part-time initially.”

      He picked up a cluster of dry pine needles and tossed them off the deck. “What kind of work do you do?”

      “I have a degree in anthropology, which is entirely useless in terms of job hunting.” A degree she’d gotten because that was Raymond’s specialty and he was head of the department. She’d become enamored with Professor Raymond Townsend in her first anthropology class and had been deliriously happy when he began paying extra attention to her. She should have known right then that a relationship between a professor and an undergraduate was forbidden for a reason. “But I had a couple of years of accounting before I changed my major, so I’ll probably look for a bookkeeping job.”

      “Year-round jobs aren’t real easy to find in Bear Lake. Everything’s tied to the tourist trade. But I’ll keep an eye