Her Montana Twins

“Which gives us more reason to talk to Lilibeth. L.S., to be precise,” Brody said. “So if you can come with a few crumbs to give her from the minutes of the meetings, maybe we can get her to talk.”

“Or you could turn on that Harcourt charm?” Hannah said with a teasing grin.

Brody pointed a finger at her. “Don’t you start.”

Hannah’s grin widened, but she resisted the urge to make another quip.

He looked as if he wanted to say something more, then his gaze ticked over to David’s picture and he dropped his hat on his head, turned and walked away.

Hannah released a careful sigh as she watched him go with a feeling of regret. For a moment, just a brief moment, she’d felt like a woman. Not a mother of two children and the widow of a hero.

She looked back at David’s picture and made a face. “You put me in a real bind when you proposed just before you shipped out.” But no sooner did she speak the words than she felt the usual guilt that seemed woven through her memories of David.

Yes, she had loved David, but in the weeks leading up to their wedding there were times that she wished she could slow everything down. Step back. Take a breath.

But she had agreed to everything David had wanted because she loved him and he was a soldier going to fight for his country. She had agreed to the bare-bones civil ceremony with only Julie and his friend as attendants. Had agreed to the simple honeymoon in Bozeman at a bed-and-breakfast.

And then in a matter of heartbeats it was over. David had shipped out and she was left wondering if the wedding had happened at all.

Hannah sloughed off those pointless thoughts. Regardless of how it came about, she had married David and now was his widow raising his twins. This was her reality. She just had to go with what life brought her.

* * *

Brody drummed his fingers on the table of the booth at the back of the café. He wished, for the fifth time since he’d come here, that he hadn’t agreed to this meeting with Hannah and Lilibeth. First off, the whole idea that Lilibeth Shoemaker had anything to do with the time capsule theft was crazy. Sure she was upset, but she didn’t seem that vindictive. Second, meeting with Hannah was also not a good idea. He was having such conflicting thoughts about the girl. On the one hand, he was attracted to her. On the other, he thought of the complications that were a part of her life. Widow of a hero. Mother of twins.

The door of the café opened again and Hannah stepped inside. Her plain white T-shirt was enhanced by a cluster of silver dangly necklaces, fitted blue jeans and large black purse that gave her a simple but classy look.

He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest as Hannah walked toward him. She gave him a careful smile and then slipped into the seat across from him.

“Lilibeth not here yet?”

“Not yet.”

Hannah set her purse to one side and pulled out a file folder and set it on the table. “I managed to glean a few things from the minutes I thought might interest Lilibeth.”

“We’re not breaking some privacy act with this?” Brody asked.

Hannah shook her head, a hank of dark hair falling across her cheek. She tucked it back, looking at the folder she was flipping through. “No. In fact, Mayor Shaw read through the minutes himself to find what I might need. He thought I was too busy to do it myself.”

“He’s taking quite a personal interest in your involvement,” Brody said. An edge of anger entered his voice when he thought of Mayor Shaw. The man’s use of Brody’s nickname the other day and his apparent protectiveness toward Hannah still irked him. As if Brody had no right to show any interest in the man’s secretary.

“He knows I have a lot going on,” Hannah said, sounding defensive. “He’s been busy, so I really appreciated his taking time to help us with this.”

“Of course he’s busy,” Brody said, hoping to assure her. He was being oversensitive and he knew it. “There’s been a lot going on with the centennial and there’ll be even more happening over the next few months.”

“I just hope we can get this time capsule thing solved. I know it will take a huge load off his mind,” Hannah said, folding her hands. She released a light sigh, tapping her thumbs together as she glanced at her watch, looking everywhere but at him. She clearly wanted to be somewhere else.

“Have you seen Lilibeth?” Hannah asked finally. “She wasn’t working at the ice-cream parlor today.”

“I came here right from the ranch.”

Mert came with menus and set them on the table, then poured coffee for both of them. She raised one eyebrow, winked at Brody, then left. He stifled a sigh, guessing Mert’s knowing look was a result of her promise to find him a wife the last time he’d been here.

But her wink and look made him suddenly overly aware of Hannah. And, even more disconcerting, suddenly tongue-tied. Brody liked to pride himself on being able to chat up women, but something about Hannah sucked all the smart out of him.

Hannah cleared her throat and looked as if she was about to break the awkward silence, when he heard the sound of someone clearing his throat.

Brody fought down a beat of frustration as he glanced over at Ethan Johnson standing beside them. He wore his usual blue jeans and a sweatshirt that was ragged at the cuffs. He certainly didn’t look like a pastor.

“Hannah. Brody.” Pastor Ethan’s deep brown eyes flicked from one to the other as if assessing the situation. “Nice to see you two here.”

“Oh, we’re not together,” Hannah said, cutting off anything Pastor Ethan might have to say with a quick wave of her hand, her comment and action extinguishing the faint spark of encouragement Brody had felt. “Brody and I are here only on time capsule business.”

“Time capsule business,” Ethan said, his smile growing. “Sounds official.” He then reached into his back pocket. “I stopped at town hall but read your note that you would be here. I’m donating a basket to the auction. A food basket.”

He set a completed application in front of Hannah.

“Really?” The surprised word came out before Brody could stop it.

“Don’t sound so shocked,” Ethan said, grinning at Brody. “Baking and cooking are manly occupations.”

“I didn’t say they weren’t,” Brody spluttered. “Just seems...interesting. Not something I would have associated with you.”

“Actually, it was a dare from Cord Shaw,” Ethan said. “We were talking about the basket auction and I asked him if he was going to bid on someone special’s basket. He kind of sneered about it. Said there was no one special for him and he wasn’t bidding on any basket unless it was to see if the person bidding was serious. So I told him if I donated a basket he had to bid. He laughed, agreed but said I wouldn’t do it. So here I am. Proving him wrong.” Ethan stood back and folded his arms over his chest, smiling down at Hannah.

“That’s very generous of you.”

“Maybe you could bid on it,” Ethan suggested to Hannah.

Was that a twinkle in his eye? Brody wondered. And was Hannah actually toying with her hair? As if she was flirting with him?

Jealousy twinged through Brody. Ethan, a pastor, would be exactly the kind of person Hannah should be with. Good-looking. A good man and well respected in the community he’d joined only a few months ago.

Someone who could probably hold a candle to David’s memory.

Brody clenched his hands under the table, wishing that didn’t bother him as much as it did.

“Trouble is, I can’t,” Hannah said as Brody focused his attention on his coffee. “I’m organizing it, so I would know who made which basket and it is supposed to be a secret.”

“Too bad,” Ethan said, looking from Brody to Hannah, his faint smirk showing Brody that he didn’t believe Hannah’s quick protestations that she and Brody were not here together. “But I won’t bother you anymore and shall leave you two alone.”

And before either Hannah or Brody could correct his assumption, he turned and walked away, stopping at a table farther on to chat with Chauncey Hardman and Rosemary Middleton, who sat at their table with their tea and knitting.

Brody watched as Ethan smiled and chatted, charm personified. A good man.

Like David.

The kind of man Brody wasn’t.

Chapter Four

Hannah shot a quick glance at her watch, then at the menus still sitting on their table. Everywhere but at the tall handsome man across from her.

He made her fidgety and she found herself far too aware of him.

“Lilibeth better show up quick or I’ll have to grab something and run,” she said finally, breaking the awkward silence that fell after Pastor Ethan left.

While she and Brody had been sitting here, she had seen four people come to the door of the town hall, read her note and walk on. If she went back to the office without eating now, chances were she wouldn’t have an opportunity until the office was closed.

“Why don’t we just order now,” Brody said, picking up the menu. “Maybe Lilibeth will come soon.”

“Mayor Shaw did say I could take a longer break than normal because I’m on town business,” she said, feeling as if she had to justify her time here. “And I didn’t have time to eat breakfast.”

“Busy morning?” Brody asked.

“Chrissy has been a little bear. She’s teething and doesn’t want to settle down. I think she cried for an hour last night. I’m not sure what to do for her.” Hannah stopped the flow of meaningless chatter. A single guy like Brody wouldn’t be the least bit interested in the trials and tribulations of a single mother. She cleared her throat, picked up the menu and frowned at it, as if trying to decide what she wanted. She knew she should go with healthy but right now what she craved more than anything was a burger.

Finally Mert showed up, looking from Hannah to Brody. “You two lovebirds ready?”

Hannah was about to correct her when Brody spoke up.

“I’ll have a quesadilla with sour cream and guacamole on the side and salad instead of fries,” Brody said, folding his arms over his chest, staring at Mert as if he wanted to tell her something.

“Salad. How very healthy of you,” Hannah said, glancing over at him.

He shifted his attention from Mert to her. “Cowboys got to keep up their strength.”

“So what do you think you’ll have, sweetie?” Mert asked as she refilled their coffee cups.

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