Summer in Snow Valley (Snow Valley Romance Anthologies Book 2)

by Cindy Roland Anderson

  Becca laughed, trying to keep the mood light. “I trust you both slept well?”

  Mr. Cook harrumphed. “Got a morning paper?”

  “Coming right up, sir,” Becca said, retrieving the newspaper for him along with their coffee.

  Becca spent the next hour refilling everything on the tables and hurrying back to the kitchen with dirty plates while Aunt Rayna pulled out the turkey, ham and wheat bread to make lunches.

  While she went back and forth, Becca was conscious of the attention she received from the males crowded around the table and eating nonstop. Not that they were exactly hitting on her, but flirting, smiles, and laughter came her way. She wasn’t used to that at all. Male engineers kept their heads bent over calculators while studiously replacing their mechanical pencil lead on an hourly basis.

  Mr. Grantham arrived in the midst of a rowdy story where the din of laughter practically shook the walls. Elmer Cook snapped his newspaper and Adelaide Cook tried to smile.

  “Am I in the wrong place?” Mr. Grantham asked while Becca seated him and showed him the buffet table where Aunt Rayna had just laid out fresh hot cakes. He peered over his spectacles. “A most impressive breakfast, I must say.”

  “Thank you, we aim to please.”

  “I’ll just have some hot tea and toast, thank you very much.”

  “But everything is quite delicious,” Becca tried to tell him.

  “I don’t partake of big breakfasts,” the man said with a disdainful glance at the firefighter’s table where it was obvious the men had eaten enough for two dozen instead of just twelve.

  “They’re firefighters,” she explained with a shrug of her shoulders.

  Just as the clock struck ten the sleepy-looking Mr. and Mrs. Kingston floated into the dining area locked so tight Becca wondered if they’d glued their bodies together.

  “Did you know that you have the best pictures of John Wayne and Gary Cooper in your picture gallery upstairs?” Lily Kingston said.

  “Really?” Becca said, blinking her eyes. Aunt Rayna gave Becca’s hint of sarcasm a dirty look. Becca—trying to function on four hours of sleep—was starting to fail. “I mean, yes, I know. Aren’t they great? This house is a hundred years old and lots of Hollywood movies were made out here, especially westerns, of course.”

  Becca caught Captain Wade eyeing her with amusement and a rush of tingles ran along her neck. She bit her lips and tried to smile nonchalantly. Tried to keep talking coherently. “John Wayne was friends with the house’s owner, I believe and the pictures were found in the attic when Aunt Rayna bought it and renovated the place into a B&B.

  “I saw Clint Eastwood and Dale Evans, too.”

  “Are you an old movie connoisseur?’ Becca asked, stunned that Lily, who looked no more than nineteen would know who they were or care.

  “I’m a film major. Graduating next year. Hoping to get into Columbia after that.”

  “Wow,” was all Becca could say. How glamorous. She’d never have guessed the newlywed Lily Kingston would be off to New York City soon for a major career.

  “Yeah,” Lily said in a quiet voice. “I’d love to direct one day.”

  “We meet all kinds of interesting people here at Starry Skies,” Becca said, pouring orange juice for her and Sam.

  She glanced up and noticed that Wade was grinning at her. She blushed again, knowing he’d been eavesdropping. He’d probably noticed her surprised bias towards Lily Kingston. She widened her eyes at him in defense of herself. Wade just chuckled and gave her a wink.

  “I’ll help you with that,” one of the firefighters said, jumping up to grab a hot tray of hash browns with the pot holders. “I’m Pete,” he said to Becca. “Pete Rodriguez.”

  “Thank you, I appreciate the help.”

  “Where does it go?” Pete asked, picking up the empty trays. Becca got a whiff of Old Spice—and sweet cane syrup—surrounding Pete. He had the nicest smile, too. She shook her head, not wanting herself to succumb to the enticement of them all.

  When one of the firefighters brushed her arm, she found herself composing lines for her romance novel in her head. When their fingers touched hers to retrieve a spoon or hand over their plate, she was imagining what it would be like to kiss them.

  What was wrong with her?

  Too many males, that’s what. Or not enough in her life up to now so that all the male hormones had her overloaded. She was exhausted from keeping up with not only the food but the talk, the teasing, the strength of their personalities, the bulk of their shoulders, their husky tenor voices.

  “Anywhere you can find a spot in the kitchen,” she directed Pete now, not getting out of his way fast enough as he came through the narrow door so that his body brushed her arm.

  “Hey,” Pete said suddenly. “I actually get the next two days off. I’ve been on for two weeks. Thought about taking in the sights and sounds of Snow Valley’s Fourth of July Festival. Care to join me?”

  “Huh?” Becca wasn’t ready to respond to that sort of request at all. “You mean you’ll still be bunking outside? You don’t go home to your family?”

  He shook his head. “Naw. They live in Helena, too far to drive. After this fire is finished then I get to visit. My parents, that is,” he added, as if he was worried she might think he was married or something else spectacularly inappropriate. “What do you say, Becca?”

  “Um, yeah, sure.” Well, of course, she wanted to shout. He was too handsome for words. Course, if she was a writer, she’d better find some good words to describe someone like Pete Rodriguez—and Captain Wade.

  “I’m heading into Billings for supplies to haul up to the fire,” said Pete. “I’ll be back to pick you up about six? Dinner and the park concert?”

  “Okay, then.” Leaning against the kitchen counter Becca held her eyes on his, forcing herself not to glance at Wade Kinsella.

  But Wade’s eyes caught hers and she knew that he knew that Pete had just asked her out. He nodded and smiled with approval. She pursed her lips and turned away to rinse her sticky hands. What a stinker, she thought. Wade flirts and makes eyes at me all through breakfast and then is happy when Pete asks me out.

  After the firefighters streamed back out into the yard to load up and get into their fire gear, Becca dragged the last of the dishes into the kitchen where Aunt Rayna was squirting mustard onto bread and spreading mayonnaise.

  “After this I need a nap,” Becca muttered. “Do firefighters or grumpy guests tip?”

  Aunt Rayna chuckled. “We can only hope. But I think breakfast was a hit.”

  “You can say that again.” Becca sighed and yawned. “So glad we don’t normally do lunch every day, too.”

  “Just sheets and laundry.”

  “Don’t remind me.”

  There was a noise at the kitchen door and Becca remembered that Mr. Grantham wanted more hot water and the newlyweds hadn’t been served their strawberry crepes yet.

  A tall, lanky figure in a cowboy hat and boots leaned against the doorjamb. The shadow of his hat fell across his eyes, but then he lifted his chin and Becca instantly saw who it was.

  Nick Walton gave her a boyish smile under the bright kitchen lights.

  Chapter 6

  “He touched her face and every coherent thought fled from her mind.”

  — Rebecca Dash, author

  “Heard you were in town, Becca, so I had to come out and see for myself.”

  Her throat went dry. Seeing Nick was so unexpected—so not on her radar. Especially after the flirting-filled morning with a bunch of drop-dead gorgeous firefighters.

  “Been a long time,” he added with a shy smile.

  Becca stared at him. Nick had grown several inches taller in the past two years. And he was shaving more now than she remembered; she could see the shadow of light, blond whiskers. His blondish honey-colored hair curled around his ears and fell across his forehead in a boyish, endearing way.

  “Um, yeah,” she finally answered. “Two years.
I was sort of AWOL. School, you know. Internship.”

  Drudgery, Becca suddenly thought. Boring. Despite her talent for chemistry and math, she didn’t especially like it, let alone love it. Did she really see herself hanging out with engineering nerds in a lab the rest of her life?

  She loved reading Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte romances because they swept her away from her ordinary life.

  Because she basically had no life.

  So she’d thought she wanted to write one.

  And she sucked at that, too.

  All of a sudden Becca pictured herself without any sort of direction. She didn’t want to go to grad school. She didn’t know what she wanted to do. And the thought brought the sting of tears to her eyes.

  “Morning, Miss Rayna,” Nick said in his deep, quiet voice.

  “Come help yourself to leftovers, Nick,” Aunt Rayna told him. “We still got plenty. Some of the regular guests didn’t eat as much as we thought they would.”

  “Thank you, ma’am. The Starry Skies breakfast is the best in town,” Nick said, sinking to one of the chairs at the long table.

  Becca blinked at him, confused. “You mean you’ve stayed here before? Even though you live just over the hill into town?”

  Nick raised his eyes to her and smiled. “Since I board Miss Rayna’s horses for the Bed and Breakfast, and do some odd chores here and there, she always feeds me breakfast.”

  Becca blinked again, feeling completely stupid. “Right. Of course. I knew that.”

  “Course you do,” Nick said. His sideways smile turned humorous. “We spent a lot of hours exploring the hills around here.”

  “Yeah, back in high school I helped you fix the fence.”

  Aunt Rayna teased, “You’d think your memory got wiped away, Becca. I thought surely you must pine for Snow Valley when you’re not here. It’s a source of great disappointment to know that we’re out of sight, out of mind when you’re gone.”

  “Very funny.” To redirect her embarrassment, Becca began filling the sink to rinse off the dishes to stack for the dishwasher.

  “A lot can happen in two years,” Nick said, nodding his head as he forked half a hotcake into his mouth. “Congratulations on your graduation. Thought your aunt here was gonna throw a party in your honor, even though you weren’t here.”

  “Still planning on it, Nick,” Rayna said. “Just you watch out, Becca. You’ll never know what hit you.”

  Becca waved a soapy fork at her. “Says the woman who’s getting the biggest surprise party of her life when she turns the big four-oh.”

  “Shush your mouth or I’ll use that soap on your tongue. My birth year is my little secret. I have officially turned back the clock ten years.”

  “That’s a pretty good trick, Miss Rayna,” Nick observed, holding out his plate for another link of sausage.

  “How can we only be seven years apart?” Becca teased.

  “I was a surprise baby for your grandmother, that’s what,” Rayna said, batting her eyelashes.

  Nick laughed and took his plate to the sink, not leaving it on the table like the rest of the guys. “Thanks for the breakfast,” Nick said. “I’ll bring over the horses now.”

  Becca looked at him in surprise. “Surely the Cooks don’t want to go horseback riding?”

  “Oh, no,” Rayna replied. “They’re going to do some exploring around town. Window shop. Just waiting for the Founders Day Festival to start in a couple of days.”

  “I’m pretty sure our newlyweds headed back upstairs,” Becca added with a grin. She bit off her smile when Nick blushed. “And Mr. Grantham is checking out of his room this morning, isn’t he?”

  “Yes, on his way to Billings for business. Well, he’s gotta get his car fixed first. Nick is giving him a ride into town first then returning here.”

  “So what are the horses for?”

  “For you and Nick, silly!” Rayna said. “They haven’t been properly exercised in a week and now that you’re here I’m hoping you and Nick can start up your regular rides with them. Especially on weeks I have no guests interested in exploring our beautiful Montana hills.”

  “It’s been two years. I’m not sure I remember how to ride a horse.”

  “It’s just like riding a bike. Now help me finish these lunches before I have to feed that bunch of firefighters all over again.”

  Nick tipped his cowboy hat at Becca. “If you’re not interested, no worries, Becca. I can exercise them.”

  “Oh, I didn’t mean to sound off-putting. Sure, I’ll go out riding. I just don’t want to get bucked into a cactus or gravel pit.”

  “I assure you, you’ll be safe,” Nick said. “I’ll have you ride Honey. She gets gentler the older she gets.”

  Becca began tossing apples and cookies into the sack lunches. She shouldn’t have anything to worry about. It was true that Nick had always been a nice guy with an easy, shy smile. Dependable. Steady. Friendly. Safe. He was the gentlemen who would carry her five miles home if she sprained her ankle.

  “Okay. See you in a bit then.”

  A moment of disappointment came over her. Becca didn’t want safe. She wanted dangerous and sexy. Why couldn’t she go riding with Captain Wade? Or even Pete. Those two firefighters reminded her of every romance she’d ever read. Every swoony scene. Her stomach jumped when Wade glanced her way with his mysterious smile. Those lips! Good grief, she was going to use him as a model for her current, sappy story. Maybe that would spice things up!

  Maybe she needed to take a writing class or two. A trip to the library was in order. Post a flyer and form a writing group of her own. Now that could be fun. Especially if there really was another novelist who’d just moved to town. She really needed to ask Aunt Rayna or Nick about the two sisters.

  Outside, the fire trucks engines and support vehicles roared in preparation to leave.

  “Oops. Better skedaddle,” Rayna said.

  Becca helped her haul out the lunches and a crate of bottled water from the pantry in the storage room off the kitchen. Pete Rodriguez touched her arm, sending tingles shooting right up her shoulder. Becca shivered with the excitement of his touch. Being touched by a man didn’t happen very often—and Dads didn’t count.

  “See you tonight for the concert, Becca Dash,” Pete told her in a husky voice.

  “Yes!” she answered, overcome by the tingles. Embarrassed at her unexpected enthusiasm she added casually, “See you tonight, Pete.”

  Becca returned to the dishes as Nick slipped out the swinging doors to the front foyer. Her face was heated up. She wondered if it showed.

  Had Nick overheard her conversation with Pete? Now that the firefighters had left the building and her pulse had returned to normal, she realized she might have been a bit too obvious in front of Nick. Too unfriendly with a boy she’d known since she was fourteen.

  It occurred to her that every year during the Snow Valley Fourth of July Celebration she and Nick had gone to the church potluck and concert in the park. Actually, they went to most of the festivities, filling their days with every event. Best part of the summer.

  Maybe he’d come all the way over here, not to ask about when Aunt Rayna needed the horses, but to see her—Becca—and ask her himself. Lying on their backs on the grass while the stars emerged, listening to the pounding music. Sharing hot, doughy pretzels. Talking all the way home while Nick pounded out rhythms on his steering wheel and she played air guitar.

  “Oh, golly,” she groaned. Where had those easy days gone? Why did it all feel so awkward now? In many ways she wasn’t more confident after college graduation, but less. She knew less about what she wanted to do with her life than ever before.

  “What is it?” Aunt Rayna asked, returning food to the double wide refrigerator.

  “I think I just goofed up with Nick and the concert.”

  “I wondered about that.”

  “I forgot. I wasn’t thinking. It’s been too hectic of a morning.”

  “Maybe,” Aunt
Rayna said, her head now buried in the freezer, pulling out packages of bacon. “But often we females are too stupid to see what’s right in front of our faces—especially when another beautiful face distracts us and takes over our senses.”

  Becca stared at the back of her aunt’s long, purple hair. What was that supposed to mean?

  Code talk for Nick? Or Pete? Or had she seen Becca staring at Captain Wade?

  Chapter 7

  “I may have lost my heart, but not my self-control.”

  —Jane Austen, Emma

  “Let’s get you figured out for the concert,” Aunt Rayna said to Becca in the early afternoon when she finished making up a dish of enchiladas for the potluck, and a batch of sugar cookies. They’d missed church. Too many mouths to feed that morning. Dishes weren’t even done until almost noon.

  Becca hung up the damp dishtowel. “What do you mean by that? Isn’t what I’m wearing okay?”

  “Those faded jeans and baggy t-shirt with sticky maple syrup stains is what you used to wear as a teenager when you’d go with Nick. Becca, you’re a college grad. You’ll be twenty-three this Fall. This is your first date with Pete. You want to go for casual, but put together, my dear.”

  “Those concepts don’t work together on me. Quick, give me purple hair dye.”

  Rayna rolled her eyes. “Very funny. We need hours for purple streaks. Um, you need clean jeans, a blouse, and a brush through those tangles, and at least a little powder.”

  The beauty queen coach, Cameron Elliott, peeked her head into the kitchen, taking a sugar cookie from the counter. She broke off a tiny piece and began nibbling on the edge. “I’m so nervous about the pageant I can hardly eat, but these cookies are fantastic.” She paused, and then added, “I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation. You know, I brought tons of clothes if you want to borrow something. Even though I’m a lot taller I may have some easy sundresses to wear. How do you stay so thin, Becca?”