Free Montana Hearts: Her Weekend Wrangler by Darlene Panzera

Cody wasn’t the one at fault. Maybe it was him . He should have talked to his son about his mother’s absence a long time ago, but Cody never asked for much detail and then . . . after a while, it just seemed easier not to say anything at all.
    Big mistake. Gail had inflicted pain in every direction and his inability to help his son cope had only made thingsworse. Now he not only had to have the “talk,” but he had to make sure Cody knew right from wrong.
    “Don’t worry,” Ryan told the principal. “Cody will apologize.”
    B REE WISHED SHE had a full month to interview employees, but the first guests were expected to arrive in ten days. She had to find a work crew for the ranch before then. At the beginning of the week Bree placed ads on the internet,in the newspaper, and had posted a Help Wanted sign in the window of the general store and on the bulletin board at the post office. Then she hung a third one inside the Fox Creek Café. By late Wednesday she’d been pleased that a handful of ­people had called inquiring about the positions available, and Bree, assisted by Sammy Jo, set out to interview them.
    “What are your names?” Bree asked,studying the identical sixteen-­year-­old twins who sat on the opposite side of the office desk from her.
    “I’m Nora,” said one and glanced at her sister. “And she—­”
    “I’m Nadine,” said the other in a bubbly voice as she bounced around in her seat. “But I’ll answer to Nora, and she’ll answer to Nadine if you mix us up.”
    Bree hesitated, then gave the slim, ponytailed brunettes a slightnod. “Good to know.”
    Nadine smiled. “Yeah, right? Because imagine if you called out Nora’s name and I didn’t answer and you fired me for not listening? Then I’d never get my nails done.”
    “Nails?” Bree shot a questioning glance at Sammy Jo, who shook her head to signal she had no idea what the girl was talking about either.
    “I was just saying to Nadine that we needed a job so we canafford to get our nails polished with pretty designs,” Nora explained. “Like you see in Trendy Teen magazine.”
    “That’s when we saw your Help Wanted sign in the window of the café,” Nadine said, her blue eyes gleaming. “It was like a real sign. Like—­”
    “A sign like we were meant to do this!” Nora cheered. “We were meant to have trendy nails after all!”
    Bree’s mouth fell open as shestared at the pair in disbelief. Did someone send these two comediennes over as a joke?
    Sammy Jo shook her head and laughed, then leaned in close and whispered, “The guests might think they’re cute.”
    “They do seem to have a lot of energy,” Bree conceded.
    “I think they’ll lighten the mood around here,” Sammy Jo said, still grinning as she straightened in her seat.
    “Yeah, right,you think?” Nadine asked, her eyes wide.
    “Does that mean we’re hired?” Nora added.
    Bree’s head spun from the way the girls ping-­ponged their answers back and forth, finishing each other’s sentences. But maybe her friend was right. Maybe the twins would add some comic relief around the place. And what other choice did she have? No one else had applied for cabin cleaning. Maybe the twinscould also do some work in the kitchen and serve meals in the dining hall, which would save her ma and grandma a lot of trouble.
    “All right,” she told the girls. “You’ve got the job.”
    “Yes!” Nora and Nadine shouted in a unified squee. “Score one for the Walford twins!”
    This time Bree couldn’t help it. She had to shake her head and laugh, too.
    Nora and Nadine let out another squealof delight as they left the office, eliciting a groan from Bree’s father in the other room.
    “No loud noises,” he shouted. “My head still needs to heal and every little sound echoes in my skull and gives me a headache.”
    “Yes, Dad.” Bree sympathized with his head injury, but the fact he continuously raised his voice louder than anyone else within a