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Chapter 1
Owen Atkinson
~
Philipsburg, Montana
July
Owen was alone when he walked into the small storefront that day. It was a jewelry store with a wooden sign out front. The door was unlocked, and he looked around as he opened it and stepped inside. He didn't see anyone. There were a few small displays with jewelry, but the room seemed like it could be used as a storage area or workspace and not a retail store. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be in there. He had walked over there because the name on the sign made him curious. It was called Betty Lou's Jewelry Emporium. He had seen the sign before, when they first arrived in town, but had never bothered asking anyone about it or checking it out before today.
Owen was currently in Montana with the cast and crew of a movie. They were filming in a remote location on Rock Creek, and Philipsburg was one of the small nearby towns. He had to go there for stores and reliable cell phone service. Owen had been to a few of the shops in town, but never this one. The population was less than a thousand, so there wasn't much shopping.
Owen had been in Montana for a week already and would stay for another three weeks while they were shooting this film. The majority of filming was being done in California, but a few scenes were set in the mountains of Montana. Owen had never been there before, and he was blown away by how gorgeous it was. He loved the evergreens. Philipsburg was nice, too. It was a small town, and he could explore without anyone recognizing him.
"Welcome to Betty Lou's."
He heard a woman's voice projecting from behind a stack of boxes.
"Thank you," Owen said, not seeing her.
Just then, a young woman appeared, squinting at him. She smiled and shook her head to clear away some of the curly hair that hung over her forehead. She did not have on a stitch of makeup, and she was the most naturally beautiful woman Owen had ever seen. Her bone structure was perfect. Her nose, her mouth, and eyes—they were all so exquisite. Physically, she was exactly his type. Before he looked at her, he wasn't even sure he had a type, but this was it. She was perfect.
Owen felt at a loss for words. He stared at her face, wondering if it was going to be possible to marry her. He looked down and cleared his throat, trying to gain composure.
"I'm, uh, here from, from out of town. I live in California. Sort of. I'm temporarily in California. I actually live in Memphis, Tennessee. I'm making a movie."
"I heard there were some actors in from Hollywood. Someone said there was a movie being filmed out along the creek."
Owen was devastatingly attracted to this girl… this woman.
Her hands were stained from working, and he could see them because her curly hair was barely staying out of her face. She kept having to adjust it. She was holding something small inone hand, and she used the other hand to push back a stray curl. He wanted to help her. He had to stop himself from reaching out and touching her.
Owen was in Montana for work, and getting caught up with a woman was not something he had time for. He stared downward, at the tile floor, composing his thoughts before glancing around the shop. He could see behind the boxes now, and it was obvious that she had been at a workstation. The whole place seemed like organized chaos, like they were living out of boxes. He smelled metal, and took in the gold-toned jewelry hanging on the wall.
"Is this a jewelry store or just where you make it?" he asked.
"Both. Pretty much."
"Are you Betty Lou?" he asked, making brief eye contact with her. Her eyes were light brown, hazel, and they were captivating against her skin tone. Her face shape was intriguing. It was different. She was different… beautiful. Owen was taken off guard by his own reaction to this young woman's appearance.
"Betty's my mom," she said with an easy smile. "I'm Corey. Sorry, it's a mess in here. We don't get much local business, it's online mostly, so we've been taking our time moving in."
"Are you set up for customers right now?" Owen asked.
She let out a little laugh. "We are. We should be. I’m ashamed to say we've been here for a year. The storefront isn't our main thing. We have a few pieces out here, but most of our inventory can be seen online, on our Etsy store. If you see something you like online, you can pick it up here, or I can ship it."
"I'm Owen," he said, glancing at her.
"I'm Corey. I already said that. Anyway, let me know if I can help you with anything."
"I was just looking around. I have some time on my hands. Are you making jewelry right now?"
"I was doing some polishing."
"Do you design all this stuff?"
"I do. Mom used to design, but I do it now. I learned how to do all this when I was little. We cast mostly in silver and bronze, but we do use gold also, if the customer requests it. The gold is a different price point from the pieces that are out."
