Free Montana Cherries by Kim Law

the house had quieted down. Watched her throughout the days, and stood side by side with her in the kitchen at night.
    It was simple. He wanted her.
    A knock sounded and he diverted his attention from the monitor.
    “Hey,” Dani said from the door. And as if his fantasies had materialized right before his eyes, she wore snug jeans and a tank top. But sadly, an open button-down covered the majority of her shirt. “You want any tea?” She held up a cup. “I just brewed a pot for Gabe and Michelle. Thought I’d see if you could use any.”
    “No, thanks. I’m good.” Except he wanted to strip her bare.
    Instead of leaving, she fidgeted in place. Finally, she lifted a shoulder and wrinkled her nose. “Missed you at dinner tonight.”
    Her awkwardness amused him. “Missed me helping with the dishes?” he teased.
    But she only shook her head. “I don’t mind the dishes. Just wondering how things went with you and Haley today. I saw one of the pictures she’d colored hanging on the refrigerator. That was a good move.”
    “Thanks,” he said. “And yeah, we did a little better today. Thanks for your help yesterday. She even talked to me out in the orchard. Smiled, too. But then I took her shopping and . . .” He quit talking as he replayed his daughter’s meltdown in his mind. He blew out a frustrated breath. “I don’t know. I thought girls loved to shop.”
    Dani did a half snort, half chuckle. “Usually they do. I take it things took a turn for the worse?”
    “That’s putting it mildly.”
    “I’ll be glad to take her with Jenna and me tomorrow. We’re going for manicures. A girls’ day.”
    He could picture his daughter in that scenario. “I’m sure she’d love it.”
    It would also give him a break. This parenting thing was exhausting.
    Dani took a sip of her tea then, and his eyes lingered on the slope of her throat. The lines of her body ran graceful and sleek, whether it was her neck, fingers, or even her toes. Then his gaze lowered to her chest.
    And he remembered what her breasts had looked like in his hands.
    When she moved toward him, his brain froze for a split second before it kicked into gear and pointed out two highly relevant things at once. One, he still had the picture of her open on his computer, and two, he’d suddenly sprouted an erection the size of Montana.
    He quickly shifted so he was more fully under the desk.
    “Are you sick?” Concern flashed across her face as she reached his side. “You’re flushed.” She put a hand to his forehead, and he jolted at her touch. But he did manage to click the photo to close it. Only, instead of shutting down his viewer, he brought up another picture.
    At least it wasn’t another one of her.
    He forced the tightness in his neck to release. “I’m fine,” he scratched out.
    Her smell surrounded him. He’d noticed it several times over the past week; she still smelled the same. He inhaled through his nose, pulling in the light scent of flowers, and wondered if it would be better to know if she also still tasted the same, or to constantly be wondering.
    Geez, he had to get a grip. Leaning away from her fingers, he gritted his teeth. “Did you want something else?”
    “Oh, I’m sorry to bother you.” She took a step back. “I wanted to—”
    She stopped talking as her gaze landed on his laptop.
    “Oh my,” she breathed out.
    He looked at the screen. His grandpa reclined in a rocker, the wood older than the old man had been at the time, and the chair one he’d made as a much younger man. He’d been sitting on the raised porch of the ranch house where he’d lived until the day he died. A worn cowboy hat was perched far back on his head, and a graveness echoed from his eyes down through his body.
    As withered as he’d been at the time, the man had still made an impressive sight. And at sixteen, Ben had captured it exceptionally. He shrugged. “I’ve improved since then.”
    Dani turned wide eyes on him. “This isn’t