Free Montana Hearts by Darlene Panzera Page A

water and placed it in the outdoor pen beside the toolshed. Then left some corn, apples, and berries in a bowl on the ground in case the doe got hungry. The deer could probably jump the four-­foot-­high wood fence enclosure if it wanted to, but so far over the last two days, she hadn’t. Delaney figured her hindquarter was still too sore.
    Glancing nervously at the property line, she thought of the other doe, the one she’d lost several years ago when Gavin McKinley trespassed into their territory. She’d love to move her makeshift rehab unit closer to the house, but she also had to keep the animals away from her father, who had the absurd notion they’d pose a threat to their guests.
    Delaney checked on a few of the other animals and returned to the house, her mind on the fact Jace wanted to be her “friend.” She found Meghan, awake from her nap, and looking like she needed a friend, too. She sat on the floor of the living room drawing pictures with her crayons with her face scrunched and her lower lip sticking out.
    Kneeling down, Delaney brushed her hand over the top of her child’s head, bent to look at her face, and asked, “Meghan, what’s wrong?”
    She held up one of the colorful pages full of stick figures with different colored hair and pointed to the first set. “Ryan is Cody’s daddy.”
    â€œYes, he is.” Cody was Ryan’s son from a previous marriage, and when Ryan and Bree married, he’d be Meghan’s cousin. Already the two had become so close even though Cody was seven and Meghan not quite three.
    Meghan pointed to another set of figures. “Here’s you, Bree, and Onkle Uke.”
    â€œYou mean ‘Uncle Luke’?” Delaney asked, correcting her.
    Meghan nodded and pointed to another larger figure. “Grandpa is your daddy.”
    Delaney had a sinking feeling she knew where this conversation was going. With all of the new ­people coming into their lives this summer, Meghan had become confused about how everyone was related.
    â€œWhere’s my daddy?” her daughter asked.
    Delaney gazed down into her daughter’s big blue eyes and the hurt Steve had caused them threatened to swallow her up all over again. What could she tell her? That she didn’t have one? That he didn’t want to be one? That they were alone? She knew the question would come up again sooner or later, but holding out for later , she pointed to another of Meghan’s drawings, one with two blue-­eyed, long-­haired, blond figures holding hands.
    â€œYou’ve got a mommy who loves you very, very much.”
    Meghan drew her little brows together and a V formed between them. “But—­”
    â€œHow about we sneak into the kitchen and snag one of Grandma’s fresh baked oatmeal cowboy cookies with chocolate chips, raisins, and M&M’s?” Delaney asked, hoping to redirect her thoughts.
    â€œYum!” Meghan smiled, the crayon pictures forgotten.
    For now.
    J A C E O P E N E D T H E door to the refrigerator in his cabin, glanced at the complimentary bottle of sparkling apple cider and box of six homemade chocolate covered sea salt caramels, and decided that was enough for his dinner. No need for him to go to the main dining hall and face any of the Collinses or Tanners again. He wasn’t too hungry anyway, not after finding out he had a ­couple cousins he didn’t know about, one with his eye on Delaney.
    Taking his treats along with him to the couch in front of the fireplace, he admired the spacious interior of the log cabin with its rustic decor and plush, four-­star hotel bed. The Collinses had said they’d given him their best guest rental and he believed them. If he were to buy a house of his own, he’d want it to look just like this one someday. Only bigger. With a garage.
    He’d never had his own garage. He’d had barns and sheds, and even a storage unit for a few