Free A Valentine's Choice: A Montana Sky Series Holiday Novella (The Montana Sky Series) by Debra Holland

time riding, although it was too cold to go far. James often lent her Dusty, and when he worked away from the house, she rode Samantha’s black mare Bianca.
    Today the cowboys were out and about, and she had the barn to herself. Bridget was so occupied with grooming Pampita she didn’t hear James until he spoke. “Hello, Bridget.”
    Startled into gasping, she almost dropped the comb. Her heartbeat quickened and not just from surprise.
    “I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to sneak up on you.” James extended a hand to her. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”
    “I haven’t finished with Pampita yet.”
    “There’s not much of her, so I’ll bet you’ll be through in a few minutes.”
    “Where are we going?” She continued pulling the comb through Pampita’s shaggy winter coat.
    “You’ll see. It will be a bit of a walk.”
    Bridget finished the last spot on the brown mare’s rump. “You’re right. They’re so small, it doesn’t take long to groom them.” She kissed Pampita’s nose and reached up to place her hand in James’s.
    He helped her to her feet, his grip warm and sure, and released her.
    Bridget grabbed her mittens from the edge of the manger and pulled them on. She stepped out of the stall, latching the door behind her, then followed James down the aisle and out the door.
    Outside, the day was sunny, the warmest she’d experienced since her arrival, although still cold. Much of the snow, especially in the trodden areas, had melted to mud. Luckily, the area between the barn and the house had stone pavers, but their protection didn’t last past the far edge of the barn.
    They walked in companionable silence for about fifteen minutes, until they reached an area with unbroken snow. A trail led to a crescent of trees—most with their branches empty, but some firs stood in all their year-long green finery.
    “I broke a path through here earlier.”
    James led her through the trees.
    She breathed in the spicy scent from the firs. The rows of trees thinned to bare land.
    They continued to the top of a small rise that seemed flat, gradually sloping to a snow-covered meadow.
    James raised a hand in a signal to halt. He sent her a glance filled with mischief.
    Try as she might, Bridget could see nothing special about her surroundings. Slowly, she turned in a circle, viewing only sky and trees and snow. “What is this? Why did ye bring me here, Jamie?”
    A smile played around his mouth. “To see your dreams.”
    She shrugged and raised her eyebrows in puzzlement. “I give up. What am I supposed to see?”
    A slow grin spread across his face. He waved an arm to encompass the whole space. “Your potato patch.”
    “My what?”
    “No one’s using this plot of land. Too many trees around the area to be able to run cattle through here. Too far from the big house to make it easy to cultivate for the kitchen garden. Potatoes don’t need the tending that other vegetables do, or at least, I assume.” He raised an eyebrow in inquiry.
    Heart beating fast, she nodded in agreement.
    “So it’s a practical area for you.”
    “But this is still the Thompson’s land.”
    “I think if you offered them a share of your crop in exchange for the space to plant, they’d be fine with your enterprise. Certainly wouldn’t hurt to ask.”
    Excitement tingled through her. She imagined the rich dirt beneath the snow, the budding crop, harvesting potatoes in the fall, filling the larders of the Thompsons and the O’Hanlons, and still having enough left over for a cash crop. Breathing deep, she stretched out her hands, fingers spread, feeling her dream take hold.
    James watched her as if he saw something wondrous. His gaze captured hers, and he stepped closer, clasped her hand, drawing her to him, and gently touched her cheek with his other hand. He smiled just enough for those dimples to show.
    Obeying a strange compulsion, she boldly leaned forward and pressed a kiss into the nearest one. Then, realizing