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“Were you there for a holiday or a story?
“A story. A well-known television reporter was harassing his coworkers. When the story broke, he disappeared. I was able to pick up his trail in Sacramento and was sent to investigate. Beautiful part of the world.”
“Did you find your guy?”
“Oh, yeah. Someone like that always tries again.”
As the morning progressed, and he and Mitch helped out where necessary, Aiden came to appreciate the big guy’s dry sense of humor. At times, some of the school kids rushed over to Mitch, excited to see their teacher. Each time, he would stop working and give his whole attention to the child.
Interesting family. He’d met all three members—he liked all of them—so why did his thoughts keep returning to the first one he’d met—the lovely Doctor Vivian Miller?
She intrigued him. There, he’d finally admitted it. He never could resist a puzzle and Doctor Vivian Miller was probably a five-thousand-piece one that would require time and patience. And then there was the strange sensation every time they touched one another. He wanted to find out why that happened.
Chapter Four
Around five, Vivianstepped into her office. Her plan had been to leave at noon, but then the ER got busy again during the afternoon. A drunken brawl in Wolf Den, the seediest bar in Marietta, she’d been told, was the reason for the three casualties they’d had to tend to this afternoon. The three had finally been taken away by the sheriff, and things had settled down.
Now she was ready to go home, have a nice hot bath, and get into bed… Oh, no. She’d promised Annie and Mitch she’d joined them tonight for dinner at Grey’s Saloon.
Groaning softly, she opened her laptop quickly. She really didn’t want to go out tonight, but for her brother and sister she’d do it. They were all so busy and seldom had time to sit down and relax.
Her eyes skimmed the incoming emails. She’d attend to these on Monday; she just wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything important.
Just as she was closing her laptop, she noticed a new email. The sender’s name sounded vaguely familiar. James Webster. She opened the mail and froze. Upset, she skim-read the email. When she closed her laptop a few seconds later, she was shaking. Grabbing her laptop, she stormed out of her office.
All the way home, the same question ran through her head—how and why on earth would the reporter in Sacramento track her down in Marietta, Montana?
*
The moment hestepped into Grey’s Saloon, Aiden saw Vivian. Whether his subconscious had been looking for her even before he’d entered the place with his aunt, he wasn’t sure, but his eyes zoomed in on her, his heart merrily doing a happy dance. If he wasn’t mistaken, he was in trouble.
Smiling broadly, Annie waved them over. Vivian, however, was frowning, her lips moving. It was clear she hadn’t been expecting them.
Mitch got up and greeted them with a smile, pulling out a chair for Aunt Janice. “This is a nice surprise.”
“Annie invited us this morning,” Aunt Janice said. Was that a wink in Annie’s direction? “Aiden here is looking for a feel-good story for his newspaper. I’ve assured him he would at least find something to smile about in our small town.”
Aiden had pulled out the only other empty chair around the table, the one next to Vivian. He sat down, smiling at her.
She nodded in his direction. “Your foot okay?” she asked, not looking directly at him.
“Yes, whatever you put on it helped. Thanks, again.”
He tried to catch her eye, but she turned her face away. He frowned. If he wasn’t mistaken, she looked upset, and he could swear her eyes were bright with tears. Something had happened.
He put a hand on Vivian’s arm. “What’s wrong?” His question was only meant for her ears, but his words had fallen into a momentary silence, and everyone else around the table was looking at them.
“Why would you think something is wrong?” Vivian snapped.
“You’re upset.”
“You met me yesterday. You can’t know when I’m upset.” She pushed her chair back and got up quickly. “Excuse me.”
Frowning, Mitch leaned forward. Gone was the easy smile. “What the hell have you done to make my sister leave?”
“I haven’t done anything… She…” Pushing back his chair, he got up, as well. “She was upset even before I sat down. Excuse me.”
“If you… damn it…” Mitch spluttered behind him, but ignoring him, Aiden made his way in the direction where Vivian had disappeared to.
