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MinunKultaTwo years! Pratt family mountain Christmas is on!
MiliHolm @MinunKultaWhat my mom said! #MontanaChristmasOrBust
Anders.DanielsonDon’t you leave this mountain without seeing me again.
WillaRoseGirl, I bet Dev is in Heaven. Miss you both.
My fingers fly over my keyboard, responding to Willa.
Hawt.Dev @WillaRoseI could stay here forever. Gorgeous views outside AND in. (wink) Miss you, too. Kiss Clem for me.
Satisfied I’ve angered Logan and Anders and given Willa a panic attack, I stuff my phone into my zippered pocket and ready myself for another run down the mountain.
I spend thirty minutes reassuring Willa my comment is a joke while washing my accumulated laundry from our first week and watching SportsCenter on the main level television. Nova never appears. Only her short text saying, “Be ready to leave in the morning,” assures me she’s alive.
Maybe Nova was right about space because she’s not as combative as she was after our night in town. Objectively speaking, I’m aware most of her attitude was my fault, but whatever the reason, we leave her family’s home with peace between us. She hasn’t said much. No cold shoulders, just quiet. Though her playlist titled “Suck It” blares through the speakers. They’re all Broadway musical songs, which tells me all I need to know about her mood.
I still stand by my choice. We were encroaching point-of-no-return territory, and neither of us needs that complication—no matter the rules we could implement about this remaining a fling. That never works.
We pull off an exit to grab gas and lunch at a place on Nova’s original list—The 50,000 Silver Dollar. According to the billboards lining Interstate 90, it has Montana’s biggest gift shop. Nova’s mom must have a thing for oddities. It puts a smile on my face.
Turning into the parking lot, I take in the yellow and brown western front. If we thought Medora was quirky, this takes the cake. It’s a full-service stop with a motel, casino, RV park, gas station, restaurant, and bar. Is there anything this place doesn’t have? A movie theater, maybe?
If that’s not enough, it’s safe to say every souvenir one could dream up lines the rows of shelves and racks, from phallic bongs to rattlesnake head keychains.
I hold up a keychain made of a rattlesnake’s rattle. “This. This is what you’re looking for. I’m gonna need you to add this to your keyring.”
Nova darts back with a full-body shiver. “No thanks.”
I chuckle, returning the crinkly brown scales to the basket. “Not a fan of snakes?”
“Ihatesnakes. And that thing would dangle from the ignition long enough to tap my leg when I least expect it. Yeah, I’m good.”
“You’re no fun, Spitfire.”
Nova’s mouth twists, making me feel like I should apologize, but just as fast, she runs her hands through her hair and starts walking toward the exit. “Let’s go eat. That’s the real reason we stopped here.”
“You mean this fine gift shop wasn’t calling your name?” She doesn’t reply, and I follow after her kicking myself for not knowing how to smooth things over with this girl who’s dug a claw into my heart despite my best efforts.
“I thought we were going to eat?” I ask as she leads me into the bar instead of toward the restaurant on the far end of the building. “Can we even… Holy shi—”
“This is why this place was on my list.”
My stunned gaze drops from the bar to Nova’s smug smile, then back. “What is this?” I move toward a wall for a better view.
“Silver dollars. The largest collection of its kind in the world. Or so they say.”
“Wow.” What other word is there? Hanging on every inch of the walls from floor to two-story ceiling are boards with silver dollars attached and names engraved beneath them. “Fifty thousand Silver Dollar Bar,” I murmur the bar’s name. “Are there really fifty thousand?”
“Over eighty, according to the stuff I read online. The bar is covered too. That’s actually where the name fifty came from. Once they got that many, they started attaching the coins to these boards and hanging them on the walls. The money is all donated, and the owners note where every coin comes from.”
“Ron, Japan. Trey and Amy, Auburn Washington, Chris, Fort Myers. I take it all back, Spitfire. You do know how to pick a cool spot.”
Nova’s laugh tickles my ears for the first time in three days. “Finally, Devin Hawthorne thinks I’m cool. I’m honored.”
Spinning around, I grab her waist and pull her into my chest. “If you only knew what I really thought about you, you’d be blushing.” My hand flexes on her back, and I give into the desire to kiss her temple before I walk out.
fourteen | nova
