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

when we leave. Luckily, the boys have been changing up the goats, so no one single animal is left with him. But, it’s only a matter of time. Of course, I can offer to buy the creature, but those twins obviously love their goats.”
    Pain in either choice. Bridget thought it best to return to their previous topic. “That’s a lot of blue.”
    He looked deep into her eyes. “I’m partial to blue,” he repeated.
    “So am I,” she whispered, drawn by the intensity in his gaze.
    He leaned toward her.
    He’s going to kiss me. Uncomfortable, Bridget rattled out some more words and took a half-step backwards. “But a house isn’t what’s important to me. The potatoes are what matters.” Security matters.
    Patrick pulled back, an expression of annoyance crossing his face. “Those potatoes again. Do you realize the backbreaking amount of labor you’ll do to dig raw land? It’s not like working your garden at home that’s been shoveled over and over again through what…hundreds of years?”
    Well no, I haven’t thought of that. Although daunted by the idea, Bridget raised her chin, determined not to let Patrick know he’d shaken her.

CHAPTER SIX

    Sunday morning saw the Thompson family as well as Bridget, Patrick, and Mrs. Toffels squeezed into their regular pew near the front of the Sweetwater Springs church.
    Toward the back, James sat between Buck and Deuce, his attention centered on Bridget far more than on the sermon preached by Reverend Norton. She wore her best dress, the one that made her eyes so blue. But he figured she could be in rags and appear just as pretty. He planned to do some courting after the service.
    The Thompson hands who’d chosen to attend the service sat among a group of cowboys from other ranches. Their boss wasn’t a stickler about church attendance for his men. When the work permitted, he left the choice up to them, but other ranch owners weren’t so lenient.
    Winter light streamed through the side windows but provided no warmth. The heat from the stove in the front corner of the church didn’t reach the entire room, so the cowboys kept their coats on. Reverend Norton, preaching in front of the altar, probably was the warmest person in the building.
    With dismay, James noticed several other men casting surreptitious glances Bridget’s way. A cowboy from the Carter ranch nudged the man next to him, pointing her out with a lift of his chin. An unmarried woman, newly come to town, always provoked male interest. And a pretty miss was a treat to behold.
    Before the service, he’d kept his eye on Banker Livingston who, rumor had it, was in search of a wife. James had seen the man glance at Bridget and then dismiss her, probably because she wasn’t wearing highfalutin’ clothing. More fool he .
    Livingston’s focus on status and outward appearance could cause the man to end up married to a well-bred, beautiful shrew, who’d make him miserable for the rest of his days. But with the handsome, wealthy banker out of the way, James could keep a dogged watch on any other man sniffing around Bridget and prepare to cut him out.
    After the service ended, the congregation milled around outside, but not for long, for the temperature was too cold, unlike in summer when the close of the service heralded the start of a lively social hour.
    James tried to move to Bridget’s side, but stopped when he saw Samantha introducing her to the Carters and the Sanders—two prominent ranching families.
    After a few minutes, the crowd dispersed—some to head home and others to visit the mercantile, which only opened for an hour after the service.
    The hands all traipsed behind the Thompson family to the mercantile—not that the cowboys tended to buy much. Most of them—at least, the ones who’d attended church today—were a thrifty, temperate bunch—rarely even visiting the saloon. But Deuce had a sweet tooth and wanted some candy, and Sid needed more tobacco. James went along because of Bridget, even