Free Debra Holland - [Montana Sky 02] by Starry Montana Sky Page A

footsteps interrupted her contemplation.
    Wyatt.
She already knew the sound of his tread. He entered the room, balancing a cup and saucer in each hand. Before the meal, he’d helped the boys take baths and had bathed himself. With his dark hair slicked back behind his ears, and wearing a clean gray shirt that silvered his eyes, he brought a masculine presence into the feminine room.
    Samantha looked away, uncomfortable with her heightened awareness of him.
    “I thought we should celebrate your first night with a cup of hot chocolate.”
    “Hot chocolate.” She sat up. “Oh, I haven’t had that in so long.”
    “Good.” He handed her the cup and saucer before stretching out in the wing chair opposite her. A mischievous smile brightened his face. “Don’t tell the children. Christine would never forgive me for leaving her out of the treat.”
    Samantha laughed. “Nor would Daniel.” She lifted the cup to her lips and sipped. The rich cocoa taste trickled around her tongue, evoking sweet memories from the past. “The last time I had hot chocolate was the Christmas before my husband died.”
    “I hope I haven’t brought back sad memories.”
    “On the contrary. We seldom had hot cocoa in Argentina. But as a child in Germany, I drank it quite often.” She smiled at him. “Germans make the best chocolate. Unbelievably delicious. At the time, I took it for granted. I didn’t realize how spoiled I was.”
    “Germany, Argentina. You’ve been quite a traveler.”
    “My father was in the diplomatic corps. I’ve only spent a few years in the United States.”
    “Life on a ranch in Montana will be quite different for you.”
    Something about his tone made her cock her head. But his friendly expression didn’t change. “I’m looking forward to it. It shouldn’t be too different from what I’m used to. I’ve spent the last two years on my father-in-law’s ranch.”
    Silence fell while they drank their hot chocolate.
    Samantha savored the last few sips before she set her cup and saucer down on the marble-topped side table. “That was wonderful. So different from the yerba maté Argentineans drink all the time.”
    “Yerba maté?”
    “Yes, it’s a dried herb. It’s made as an infusion in a gourd and sipped through a silver
bombilla
—something like a straw with a mesh on the end.” She wrinkled her nose. “It’s often shared. A person will drink and pass it on to someone else. I never acquired a taste for it.”
    “Perhaps if we were to make hot chocolate in a gourd…”
    “Actually, only the workers used a
maté
gourd. We used silver ones.”
    “I like the idea of sharing.”
    “Not with my father-in-law, you wouldn’t.”
    A half smile played across his face. “I meant sharing a
bombilla
with you…sipping chocolate…”
    At the intimacy of his suggestion, the peaceful coal in her stomach blazed into a flame. She could feel her cheeks redden and hoped, in the fire-shadowed room, he wouldn’t notice. “Thank you for the chocolate.” She stood up. “It’s been a very long day. I should retire.”
    He slowly unfolded his long body from the chair.
    She scooted sideways to the door, trying not to appear as if she were fleeing. After all, from what could she possibly be fleeing?
Or whom?
    Amusement glinted in his eyes, then seeped into his smile. “I hope you find the bed comfortable.”
    “I’ll sleep well on anything that’s not rocking.”
    His smile widened.
    Flustered, she nodded. “Good night.” She hurried through the doorway. Once in the hall, she pressed her hands to her cheeks but didn’t slow down. All she’d been through in the last few days had certainly unsettled her. Hard work should bring her back to normal. And she certainly had enough of that before her. No time for her handsome neighbor to distract her.

    The next day, Samantha dropped the scrub brush into the tin pail of dirty water and wrinkled her nose at the sight of her red, water-pruned hands. Living on the