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Her eyes are bright and I can see she's excited. I am too. "It's going to be fantastic." I nod toward Cindy. "And it sounds like everyone in town is excited about it too."
"It's going to be huge. Plus, it'll be a great way to let everyone in town know that we'll be opening The Love Knot. I know there's a long way to go until the renovations are done, but we ought to be able to at least book some parties for around Halloween, don't you think?"
Cindy brings our pie already divided on the plates so we each have half a slice of strawberry freezer pie and chocolate decadence. We dive in, eating pie and discussing ideas for Halloween parties. "We could throw our own party, couldn't we?" I say. "I know your family does the whole July 4th barbecue for free, but is there any reason we can't do something else and charge people for it?"
"Good idea," Boone says. "What do you think of the pie?"
"It's delicious," I reply after swallowing a bite of the strawberry freezer pie. I lean toward her and whisper, "You're right, it is better than Midge's, though I'll never admit I said it."
Boone laughs then looks thoughtful. "It's funny Adam was the one prowling around for food the other night. That's not like him. I wonder if there's something on his mind." She pauses again. "Come to think of it, he's been acting a bit strange ever since he got back from Ponderosa Pass."
I pause with a forkful of chocolate decadence pie in mid-air. Is this a sign? Should I tell her about Adam and me? Though we’ve agreed to wait, I can’t help thinking this is a golden opportunity to at least plant the seeds for our plan.
Between the successful party preparations and the pie, she’s in a particularly good mood.
Go for it.
I open my mouth, my mind whirring as I try to come up with the right way to approach the topic when three girls come walking past our table. They stop and greet Boone warmly. She introduces me and talk turns to the barbecue, music, food and dancing. My real reason for making the trip to Montana was to see Boone, but as the day of the barbecue gets closer, my excitement is building. Boone is relaxed and happy talking to her friends and I start to see a future for myself in Chickadee Ridge.
Boone and I are finishing our pie and coffee when another woman joins the group. She's an attractive blonde with her hair pulled into a high ponytail. She's got big blue eyes and she approaches with a smile, but as soon as she sees Boone, and vice versa, it's like a bucket of icy water has fallen on each of us.
I'm not exactly sure what's happening, but the other girls start to stammer and make excuses while they all go off to another table. Boone's face is red and she's clenching her jaw.
"Let's go," she says, dropping money on the table and grabbing her purse and phone. She's practically out the door before I stand up. We didn’t even finish our pie. I glance at the not-empty plate mournfully then I jog through the restaurant and jump into the truck.
She's got the engine running by the time I get there and I suspect that if I'd paused another moment she'd have driven off without me.
She peels out with a screech and I scramble to put on my seat belt.
"What the hell just happened?"
"That," she says with disgust, "was Christy."
It takes me a second to figure out the problem. "Oh, the one who used you to get to Adam?"
"Yes," Boone says, her face getting redder. "She used every secret I'd told her, anything to get an advantage and then she went after Adam and tossed me aside." Her nostrils flare with anger. "She's dead to me."
* * *
ADAM
I'm in my office trying my damnedest not to go find Kit, toss her over my shoulder and drag her behind a barn to do all sorts of depraved things to her.
It's been five days since Boone announced Kit will be moving here to help her run the party business. Caleb and Deac were both surprised and I played along. Maybe I was surprised because part of me wondered if Kit would really agree to stay. To make a life here and gradually work Boone into the idea of Kit and me as a couple.
It's a little hard for me to wrap my head around the idea myself. It's been so long since things have gone well for me, it feels like I've been trying to keep my head above water for years. Ever since I was thrust into the position of leader of the Starr family. Three younger siblings to watch over and a ranch to run.
Years ago I went out with a woman who prided herself on all the self-help books she read. She told me I was in survival mode and incapable of being happy. I told her good-bye.
But, she wasn't wrong. I just didn't want to have my head examined by my date.
However, I'm cautiously optimistic. When I went into the bar at The Hamilton Hotel, something drew me to her. I'm not into all that woowoo sort of stuff, but I like to think it was no accident we were both there at the same time.
And then she showed up at my house. With my sister.
I've kept my distance from Kit, been polite like a good host as far as anyone else can see.
It's fucking killing me.
