Six Months in Montana (Montana Sweet Western Romance Series)

by Kelley, Pamela M.

  Their waitress came right over and Christian ordered a bottle of red wine, an Italian Merlot. While they were looking over the menu, Molly thought she overheard several people at a table nearby speaking Italian. She glanced at Christian in surprise and he explained, "This place is out of the way, but has a great reputation for being really authentic. Almost every time I've come here I've heard someone speaking Italian."

  "That sounds like a good sign."

  "It is. I stumbled onto this restaurant years ago, and have been coming back ever since."

  Molly saw a plate of cheese ravioli and meatballs go by, and decided to order that once the waitress told her the pasta was homemade and a specialty of the house. Christian ordered the chicken parmesan. The waitress warned them that there might be a little bit of a wait, as the kitchen was backed up. She brought out a basket of hot, crusty bread and salads with their house Italian dressing, and they dug in.

  After the waitress removed their salad plates, they did have a bit of a wait before their dinners came out. It was nice to relax and not feel rushed, and Molly was happy to just enjoy Christian's company as they sipped their wine, which was phenomenal: rich and silky.

  "I'm so glad we did this," she said impulsively.

  "You are? Good, I'm glad." Christian took a sip of wine and then continued, "I hope it hasn't been too difficult for you, having Dan stay with us."

  "Of course not, he's your brother," Molly assured him. "It's actually been nice getting to know him."

  "The timing just isn't ideal. Not that there's ever a good time for these things, but you know what I mean."

  Molly just nodded and took another sip of wine. Christian was quiet for a long moment, and looked like he was debating whether or not to say something.

  Finally, he set down his wine glass and said, "We never did finish our discussion, what we were talking about the night before I left to get Dan. Though there's probably nothing to really discuss any more. Dan's arrival ended that possibility." He sounded regretful but fairly certain.

  "I never changed my mind." Molly put her hand on his and smiled, and he set his wine glass down, totally taken by surprise.

  "Really? You're sure?"

  She nodded and he was speechless for a moment. The waitress arrived just then with their dinners and set them down.

  "Even with Dan there?" Christian persisted. He was clearly surprised that she was still interested.

  "We can be discreet, and besides he's an adult, he'll deal with it." Molly thought to herself that she didn't think it was likely to surprise Dan. She'd noticed him looking at both of them questioningly over the past few weeks; undoubtedly he'd picked up a vibe or two.

  "Okay, well, let's eat and then get out of here." Christian grinned, and Molly smiled back and took a bite of her pasta. It was out of this world, light and flavorful, but Molly's mind was elsewhere. She was thinking ahead to what would happen when they arrived back at the ranch, and the butterflies in her stomach danced in nervous anticipation.

  They declined dessert and packed more than half of their dinners in to-go boxes. The ride home was mostly quiet, except for the sound of the Pearl Jam CD playing again. Molly was full and happy from the good food and wine, and eager to get home. When they pulled into the driveway, the lights inside were still off, so Molly realized that Dan must still be out with Traci.

  They put their takeout boxes in the refrigerator, and then Christian asked if she wanted a little wine.

  "Just a half glass please." He poured them both small glasses of wine, and then brought them into the family room and set them down on the coffee table.

  "Should we put a movie on?" he asked as he took a step closer to her.

  "If you want to," she agreed, and then leaned in as he wrapped his arms around her.

  "I'd rather do this." He kissed her then and Molly sank into him, running her hands along the back of his neck and lightly through his hair, as he teased her lips and then kissed his way along her throat and then back to her lips.

  They stayed like that for a while, lost in each other, until Molly faintly heard the sound of a car door and then low voices laughing. Christian heard the same and then pulled back.

  "Let's go upstairs." He shut off the light in the family room, so Dan would just assume they'd both gone up to bed, and then picked up their wine glasses and looked back at Molly. She smiled and followed him up the stairs.

  Molly woke earlier than usual the next morning. She felt deliciously relaxed and lazy as she stretched her arms, rolled onto her side and remembered that she was in Christian's bed. He was already awake too, and leaned over and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

  "Morning. Sleep well?"

  "Never better," she said, and stretched again, feeling happy.

  "I'm not ready to get up just yet, are you?" He ran his fingers lightly down Molly's arm and she shivered.

  "I'm pretty comfortable right here." She smiled and snuggled closer to him, and he pulled her in even tighter and brought his lips down to hers.

  They finally dragged themselves out of bed, and Molly was in a happy glow all day, replaying the events of the previous night over and over again in her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about Christian. Their lovemaking was even better than she could have imagined. They just felt so right together. At least that was how she felt, and it seemed as though Christian felt the same. She'd been a little worried that things might be awkward, or that Dan would know instantly the minute he saw them together. But it was wonderfully normal when they met up in the kitchen for breakfast.

  Christian, as usual, had left earlier to do his rounds on the ranch and then had come back to eat a little before seven. Dan was already up and on his laptop by then, and Molly was having her coffee at the island countertop. They all ate breakfast together, same as ever, and then went on their separate ways. Dan didn't give either one of them a second glance, much to Molly's relief. It's not that she would have minded him knowing that they'd entered a different stage in their relationship, she just didn't want to be in his face about it.

  Her day at the inn went smoothly as they were only at half-capacity, so it was easy to manage. She was looking forward to an evening in with Christian and Dan. They still had the stuffed shells Mrs. O'Brien had made the day before that they could heat up, and Christian mentioned that there was a movie that looked good that they could watch.

  They were halfway through the movie when Molly's cell phone rang, and she saw it was the answering service for the inn. It was the first time she'd gotten an evening after-hours call and wondered what the emergency was. She hoped it was something minor, as she'd told all the guests to call if they needed anything, but so far no one had.

  "Hello?"

  "Is this Molly?" She confirmed that it was, and the answering service rep continued, "You have an emergency message from Isabella Graham. She is asking you to please call as soon as possible. She'd like to send several guests over immediately."

  Molly thanked her, and then called the number she’d been given.

  "Hello?" The voice that answered sounded anxious, not like Isabella at all.

  "Isabella? It's Molly."

  "Molly? Oh, thank God you called back so soon. Thank you. I'm in a bit of a jam here. There's no hot water on the second floor right now and I can't get anyone here until tomorrow morning to fix whatever is wrong. I have three rooms of guests I'd like to send your way, on me, if you have the room?" Molly was shocked into silence for a long moment, which seemed to make Isabella nervous. "I already tried The Sleepy Willow motel and they're totally booked up. Please tell me you have room?"

  "I do, of course I do. Send them right over. I'll leave now to meet them.”

  Molly hung up the phone and jumped up to head to the inn. Christian had already figured out what was going on from what he'd heard, and Molly filled him in on the rest.

  Less than ten minutes later Molly was back at the inn and picked out the three rooms for her incoming guests. She put out a plate of cookies a
nd some lemonade, in case they felt like a little nibble or cold drink when they arrived. Interestingly, two of the parties were the ones that had cancelled their reservations with the inn earlier in the week to go to Isabella's. They were full of apologies when they arrived, and less than complimentary about their experience at Isabella's.

  "She's just as nice as can be, putting us up here, but it really is a disaster over there. No hot water, can you imagine?" Mrs. Cleeson and her sister, Mrs. Rice, were not impressed.

  "Her cookies aren't as good as yours either, dear," Mrs. Rice said, as she grabbed two more for good measure, before they headed off to their rooms.

  A half hour later, all the new guests were settled into their rooms and Molly was on her way back to the ranch.

  The house was quiet when Molly returned home. The news was playing on the TV, but there was no sign of Christian or Dan. Dan's bedroom door was shut and the light off, so Molly guessed that he'd likely gone to bed earlier. She saw a light on in Christian's den and headed down the hall towards the open door. Christian was sitting at his desk, flipping through an old photo album. There was a small fire going, and as usual Toby was curled up at his feet.

  Christian looked up and smiled, when he saw Molly standing in the doorway. "Everything work out okay?"

  "Yes, everyone is settled in for the night. Poor Isabella, that's an awful thing to have happen on any night, let alone her first night." Molly really did sympathize.

  "Worked out well that you had the rooms available."

  "I suppose it did." Molly smiled. "What are you up to?"

  "Just going through some old boxes of my grandfather's stuff. Come see."

  Molly walked over to the desk and glanced at the open book of pictures. Though the pictures were mostly black and white and somewhat faded, she still recognized many of them as being of Christian's grandfather and grandmother, and a few were of Christian and Dan when they were younger, along with their parents.

  "Is it hard for you to look at these?" she asked softly.

  "It's not as hard as I thought it would be," he admitted. "I couldn't do it until now though."

  Molly understood that. When her father died, neither she nor her mother had been ready to look through photos until months after the funeral.

  “After you left, Dan went right to bed, said he wasn't feeling great. I didn't want to keep watching the movie without you, and actually came looking for something of my grandmother's that I thought you might like." Christian had a shy smile on his face, as he dipped into the old cardboard box and pulled out a thick cookbook that was bulging at the seams and was faded with both age and extensive use. He handed it to her and waited for her reaction.

  Molly pulled up a chair and started flipping through the pages, many of which were dog-eared and stained with use. Little scraps of paper were stuffed into the pages as well, recipes that his grandmother had noted down, or clipped out of newspapers, with handwritten notes such as 'Make again', or 'Try real soon'.

  "My grandfather told me once that he gave that cookbook to her when they were first married, and she always treasured it and just kept adding to it. I think he'd want you to have it."

  "Really? Thank you so much, I'm honored." Molly felt her eyes water, as she turned the pages.

  "She loved to cook, just like you do," Christian said.

  "Do you remember any of her favorite recipes?"

  He thought for a moment, and then said, "Everything she made was good. I used to really love her stuffed steak with mushroom gravy. She always made that for my grandfather’s birthday. She made the best blueberry muffins, too."

  "I can't wait to read through this. I’m sure I'll get some great ideas to try out at the inn."

  Christian stood up and stretched. "Do you want to finish watching the movie?" He asked, and then added in a mischievous tone, "Or we could just head to bed."

  "I'm not really that tired yet," Molly said, still distracted by the book.

  Christian wrapped his arms around her from behind, and then whispered in her ear, "I'm not at all tired either."

  Molly laughed at that. "Oh, okay. Let's head upstairs then. I can come back to this in the morning."

  Chapter 15

  The rest of the weekend went wonderfully, and the following month too. Molly and Christian had already settled into a routine of sorts, and now the only real difference was when they went upstairs to go to bed, they no longer went to separate bedrooms. Molly suspected that Dan had an idea of what was going on, but if he did, he never said anything.

  Molly however was aware that the clock was ticking. Somehow four months had already gone by, and the six month deadline was coming up quickly. She loved being with Christian and running the inn, but her dream job was just within reach. Maybe there was a way for her and Christian to have a long distance relationship for a while. Then again, would Christian even want their relationship to continue? Things seemed to be going well enough, but neither of them had mentioned what would actually happen when they reached the six month mark, and Molly knew he had commitment issues.

  All of this went through her mind as she drove to the inn to meet with Janie Summers, the caterer Isabella had used for her barbeque. Molly had spoken with Janie by phone, and she’d thought Molly's idea for a wine dinner at the inn was an excellent one and was happy to handle the cooking and serving. They were meeting today to go over the menu and wine pairings. Though Molly was flattered that Travis and Traci suggested she do the cooking herself, and admitted intrigued by the idea, she also wanted to make sure that her first wine dinner was a success, and that everything went smoothly. She thought the best way to do that was to leave the cooking and serving to the professionals, and to just oversee everything.

  She did have some definite ideas for what dishes she'd like to serve, and when Janie arrived and they planned out the dinner, all the items they chose were favorites and mostly things she had made before. So, her plan was to pay close attention to how Janie set everything up, how much food she bought, what she did ahead versus what she cooked on site, so that when and if she wanted to try herself, she'd have a game plan to go by.

  Shortly after Janie left, Molly's mother and aunt stopped by to say hello. It was a little before 3 and Molly had some down time before cocktail hour began. Her mother and aunt loved helping out at the inn, but Molly didn't want to burn them out either, so they had settled on a schedule of just having them each work a shift one day a week, which gave Molly a little break. They also took turns baking dishes to be used for breakfast as well, though Molly did most of the actual daily cooking.

  "So, we have a little bone to pick with you," Aunt Betty said, as soon as they were settled around the island bar in the kitchen.

  "Oh?" Molly simply asked. She had no idea what she might have done, and her aunt didn't seem the least bit angry. Just dramatic, as usual.

  "You were seen kissing Christian! We're so happy for you." It must have been when they’d gone to the movies last weekend. Christian had kissed her briefly before they’d got into his truck. Both Betty and her mother leaned in eagerly, and looked thrilled at this piece of gossip. Molly hadn't said anything earlier, because she didn't want to get their hopes up.

  "We're enjoying each other's company," she admitted. "But it's still so new. That's why I didn't say anything sooner."

  "Well, honey, at least it's a step in the right direction," her aunt said, and her mother smiled in approval.

  "We heard some interesting gossip about Isabella too," Betty said. "Mary-Ellen from the Ladies League overheard her telling someone at the Morning Muffin that she doesn't know how you can stand running the inn. She said there's nothing fun in it. Sounds like she's had enough and might want to sell."

  "No kidding? That didn't take long." Molly wasn't surprised though. She knew that the turnover for bed and breakfasts was unusually high. So many people went into it thinking it would be easy and fun, and sometimes it could be. But there were also plenty of other times when it was anything but f
un or glamorous. Molly loved it though, and compared to running The Clarendon, it was a piece of cake.

  "Maybe you should buy it," Aunt Betty suggested. "Since you're going to be staying. That would make so much sense, and it's just down the road; you could easily oversee both places.

  Molly had to admit, the idea was tempting, but premature. "I'm not sure if I'm going to be staying here," she reminded them. "If I do, then it's certainly something to consider."

  "Dan, do you have any plans tonight?" Molly asked. They were in the kitchen having breakfast, and it was the day of the wine dinner.

  "Yeah, my social calendar is so full, you know that." He grinned and then added, "I'm all yours, what did you have in mind?"

  "Travis can't make it tonight to the wine dinner, he has a client coming in from out of town. I thought if you were up to it, that you might want to go with Christian. Traci will be there too. She and Travis were going together."

  "Is this a setup?" he asked, and looked intrigued at the idea. He and Traci had had a great time at Isabella’s opening party.

  "No, not at all. I just thought it might be fun for you to get out."

  "Oh, okay. Sure then, thanks for thinking of me. It will be nice to get out and about. Even better next week when this cast finally comes off." Dan had stopped using crutches a few weeks ago and was getting around pretty well without them.

  "Great, I'll see you all tonight then." Molly rinsed her coffee cup out and put it in the dishwasher. She grabbed her purse, and was about to head out the door when her cell phone rang and the number that came up on the caller ID made her set her bag back down again. It was Ben calling from The Clarendon. She took a deep breath and answered the call.

  "Hello."

  "Molly? It's Ben, how are you?

  "Great, how's everything going?" Molly sat back down at the island bar.

  "Spectacular! And I have even better news. Molly, everything is ahead of schedule. The GM spot is yours now, as soon as you can get here. When's the earliest you can be here?"