Free Montana Cherries by Kim Law Page A

recent?”
    The blue of her eyes was as deep as they’d been the night he’d made love to her. “No.”
    “But the hat . . .”
    They both looked at the rack by the door where the very same hat currently hung on a metal hook. Ben had inherited the hat along with his grandfather’s ranch house. He’d taken the hat. Sold the house.
    “I took the photo years ago.”
    “Oh, Ben.” She grabbed a straight-backed chair from the corner of the room, and settled in close beside him. Her body heat muddled his brain as she leaned in and stretched out a hand as if to touch the photo. She stopped before her fingers brushed the screen. Her nails, with their light-pink polish, hovered over his grandfather’s leathered face. “This is amazing. No wonder you’ve won awards.”
    She knew about his awards?
    Eyes sparkling, she turned to him. “It’s your grandfather, isn’t it?”
    He nodded. He couldn’t have denied who the subject of the photo was if he’d wanted to. Not with Dani looking at him like that. He wanted to keep that excitement directed his way.
    He wanted more.
    His gaze trailed to her lips . . .

    Ben’s heated gaze on Dani’s mouth rendered her motionless. Except for pulling her attention down to his mouth. Was he going to kiss her?
    Did she want him to?
    Stupid question.
    But valid point.
    Kissing him was the last thing she needed. She had too many other issues on her mind. She still had no good leads for an apartment—that last one hadn’t worked out—she’d taken on a new project earlier today that she had zero time to devote to, and her brother’s marriage issues were getting worse.
    Gabe and Michelle had been arguing more than usual lately, and neither seemed to care that the entire house was aware of it.
    But darn it, she wanted to kiss Ben.
    She licked her lips, her breath swirling hot between them, as she contemplated whether one tiny little kiss would hurt anything.
    It wouldn’t.
    She was certain of it.
    Only . . . she flicked her gaze up to his and told herself the truth. It wouldn’t stop at one kiss. And she was leaving soon.
    She didn’t want to risk confusing Haley. Or Jenna.
    Or Ben.
    Or herself .
    So no kissing. That’s the way it had to be. Better safe than sorry.
    Ben waited patiently, seemingly content to let her make the decision, and she knew what she had to do. She ignored the electricity snapping between them, slowly leaned back in her chair, and returned her focus to the picture that had captured her attention.
    With Ben’s same eyes and sure posture, Dani could easily imagine Ben looking exactly like that in fifty years.
    She tilted her head and studied the details. The New York landscape hanging at the front of the room was beautiful, but this photo made it obvious he had more of a knack for capturing people’s essence, even years ago. The man in the rocker had not only experienced life, he’d lived it. His sadnesses, joys, even the pain of aging, were all exposed in that one click of a shutter.
    She squinted at the picture, then, as something occurred to her. From the looks of the rustic porch and the wide, blue skies, this photograph hadn’t been taken anywhere near LA.
    “Didn’t you once tell me you didn’t see your grandfather after you went to live with your mom? And you moved to LA, when?” She glanced at him. “When you were five? Six?”
    “Seven.” There was no heat in his tone. Certainly no indication that he’d just been thinking about kissing her.
    His hand reached for the laptop.
    “Wait,” she urged. She set the cup of tea down and rested her fingers over his. “You couldn’t have taken this picture when you were seven.”
    One corner of his mouth moved as though tugged upward from an invisible string. “I can see why you were valedictorian of your high school class. Impressive deductive skills, Ms. Wilde.”
    “And you’re avoiding the question.”
    “I didn’t hear a question.”
    She fought the urge to roll her eyes. He reminded