Montana Love Letter Page 7

  Hailey lifted her head, a puzzled look in her eyes. “I don’t know how to dry flowers.”

  “Then I guess I’ll have to teach you.” Smiling, Janelle aimed a tickle finger at Hailey’s tummy.

  Giggling, she backed away and the somber clouds in her eyes vanished, leaving them sparkling and filled with youthful vitality.

  After lunch they gathered a blanket full of pinecones, pine needles and a variety of grasses and wildflowers that hadn’t yet turned to seed.

  By the time Adam came into the house for dinner, Janelle and the girls had spread what they’d collected out on the kitchen table.

  He stopped abruptly and pretended to scowl at the sight. “If you three were trying your hand at hunting and gathering for our dinner, you’ve got way too much fiber and not enough meat.”

  Janelle sputtered a laugh. “I suppose some of the wildflowers might be edible, but we have something else in mind.”

  “This isn’t dinner, Daddy. We’re going to make a wreath,” Hailey announced.

  Adam expelled an exaggerated sigh. “I’m sure glad to hear that. Now the question is, why?”

  “Why not?” Janelle twisted a length of floss around the flower stems and tied a knot so she could hang them in a dark place for a few days. “An autumn wreath will look nice on the front door. If I can find a few small crab apples, I’ll add those to the wreath, too.”

  He gazed at her with thoughtful gray eyes in a way that brought a flush to her cheeks. He briefly shifted his attention to the collection on the table, then back to her. His lips hitched into a half smile.

  “Guess fall will be here pretty soon, won’t it?”

  She swallowed hard. She hadn’t meant to imply she’d still be living in his guest cottage when fall turned the aspen leaves yellow in the high country. Nor did she have a right to make plans that included him and his house so many weeks in the future.

  Creating a stable home for Raeanne came first. A home of their own.

  Breaking eye contact, she picked up another bunch of flowers. She could leave the wreath for Adam and Hailey to enjoy.

  Or she could take it to the house she’d buy and hang it where she could remember the days she’d spent here with Adam and his daughter.

  The memorable days of her first summer in Bear Lake.

  Chapter Six

  While Janelle checked her email on her laptop and dressed for a morning of house hunting, Raeanne played with the kitten. Rae then carefully carried Kitty Cat to the main house, where she’d spend the day getting into mischief followed by a long nap.

  More often than not, Rae’s beloved Ruff was ignored except at bedtime. A healthy change, Janelle thought. Each day her little girl discarded more of the fears and insecurities that had struck her mute.

  Dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, Adam was eating his breakfast at the kitchen table. “Where are you looking for houses today?”

  Janelle plucked an English muffin from the toaster. “Sharon wants me to look at a couple of places in the upper lake area.”

  He spooned some cereal into his mouth. “Some of the houses there are pretty isolated, and they get snow earlier in the winter than the lower lake does.”

  Sitting down across from him, Janelle sipped her coffee. “Is that bad?”

  “It makes it harder to get out onto the highway if you’re going anywhere early in the day after a snowfall. You’d need a four-wheel-drive vehicle for sure.”

  “Oh.” She frowned. “How much snowfall do you get?”

  “Maybe fifty inches total, spread out from October through April. It’s not too bad. The lake actually moderates our weather compared to some places in Montana.”

  Maybe fifty inches of snow was not much for him, but she was from Seattle, where the customary precipitation came in the form of rain and drizzle, not snow. “The houses seemed a little less expensive there than closer to town.”

  He tossed back the last of his coffee and stood. “There’s a reason for that. Not many year-round residents want to put up with the inconvenience.”

  “I suppose not.” The photo and description of one house made it seem particularly attractive: three bedrooms on a half acre of land. But Janelle didn’t relish the idea of being snowed in frequently with no close neighbors to offer help if she needed it. And what about getting Raeanne to school? Would winter weather pose a serious problem?

  Rinsing his dishes, he put them in the dishwasher. “Say, the Pine Tree Diner has a Thursday night special, chicken and dumplings. How ’bout I take you and the girls out tonight?”

  Startled by the invitation but pleased, Janelle said, “That sounds wonderful.”

  “Great. I’ll see you this afternoon.”

  “You’re sure it’s all right to leave Rae here? I don’t want her to become a pest.”

  “She and Hailey are fine together. When they get too bored, I’ll put them to work changing oil or putting air in tires.”

  A quick frown pulled at Janelle’s brow. “You will?”

  “Hailey’s getting pretty good at it.” He winked and walked toward the door, leaving Janelle to wonder if he’d been kidding and why a simple wink would make her stomach flutter and her heart skip a beat.

  “Don’t worry,” he called as he opened the door. “Hailey knows to stay close, where I can keep an eye on her.”

  She felt a measure of relief about Rae’s safety, which did little to ease her feminine reaction to Adam.

  * * *

  Janelle returned from house hunting by lunchtime and found a white-haired woman pushing a vacuum down the hallway. The girls weren’t anywhere in sight.

  “Hello,” she called, but apparently the woman couldn’t hear her. She called louder just as the woman turned off the vacuum.

  The woman whirled and screamed.

  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

  “Land’s sake, you did give me a fright.” Her pale white cheeks had turned red, and she patted her chest as though catching her breath. “You must be that Mrs. Townsend that Adam mentioned. Said you and your little girl were living here for a bit.”

  “In the cottage,” Janelle quickly clarified. “Adam was kind enough to let me and my daughter stay there while we’re hunting for a house of our own.”

  “Well, isn’t that sweet of him. I’m Mrs. Murphy. Been cleaning the house and taking care of Adam and his girl ever since his dear wife got so sick. I think it’s purely nice that he’s got a new woman in his life. Lisa was a dear girl, but she’s been gone awhile now. Time he moved on. Yes, sirree, that’s what I think.”

  “No, it’s not like. I’m not in his life. At least not that way. I am helping him out with—”

  Her explanation came too late. The woman had turned her vacuum back on and had moved into Hailey’s bedroom.

  Janelle exhaled. She’d really like to correct Mrs. Murphy’s impression, but it seemed useless to try. She’d believe what she wanted. No amount of protest would change her mind.

  She found the girls outside and asked them to come in for lunch. She made them and herself sandwiches, then carried an additional sandwich and a glass of milk out to the garage for Adam.

  “Hey, thanks.” He wiped his hands on a cloth. “I’d forgotten all about lunch. Let me wash up a bit.”

  Janelle had already realized he often skipped lunch, which meant he was a big eater at dinner. Idly she wondered if his late wife used to bring him lunch. If nothing else, they could have spent a few minutes together during the day. Janelle would have thought that a treat with Raymond, but he hadn’t wanted the interruption to his work.

  A sharp pang of regret, or perhaps it was anger, caught her in the midsection.

  Since she had taken the chair at Adam’s desk in order to get some work done, he sat in the straight-back gues
t chair to eat.

  “I met your housekeeper, Mrs. Murphy. She seems to have the wrong impression about me.”

  His brows rose. “Oh?”

  “She seemed to think... She has this misunderstanding that you and I—”

  He was quick to wave off her concerns. “Don’t worry about Mrs. Murphy. She’ll figure it out eventually.”

  Janelle hoped that would be sooner rather than later. She didn’t want either she or Adam to be the subject of rumors around town.

  “So how did the house hunting go?” He took a big bite of his roast-beef sandwich.

  “You were right. Sharon confirmed the road along the upper lake was among the last to be plowed, and neighbors—particularly year-round neighbors—are pretty far apart.”

  “So that’s a no go, right?”

  “I asked to look at places a little closer to town.”

  With his mouth full, he nodded and appeared pleased with her decision.

  She picked up a two-year-old invoice she’d been working on. “I don’t recognize this vendor and can’t tell what you purchased.” She handed him the invoice, which he placed on the desk without looking at it.

  “What does it say?” He made a show of examining his sandwich, checking to see that the lettuce was in place.

  She pointed at the letterhead. “It’s from Global Supply. The amount is over a thousand dollars, but the product description is gibberish to me.”

  “Oh, that was a part for one of my hydraulic lifts that broke.”

  She made a note on the invoice. “Is it something I should depreciate or take as an expense?”

  He stopped chewing and stared at her blankly. “I don’t know. What’s the difference?”

  No wonder he’d had trouble filing his tax returns. In addition to not understanding depreciation, he’d put invoices and customer billings all in the same file folder, sometimes not even marking if they were paid. She’d had to cross-check with his bank statements to confirm one way or the other.

  She briefly explained depreciation and how it worked. “But since you didn’t carry forward any depreciation, I think I should take it as an expense. It will be less confusing to the IRS.”

  “I’m all for that.”

  “By the way, you may have noticed I’ve put together a more cohesive filing system.” She opened the drawer that she had formerly been unable to close due to so many papers crammed inside. “This year’s invoices go in this first folder. You need to mark them paid and write the check number on them. I’ve done the same thing with last year’s records and the year before. It’ll be much easier to find things now.”

  “Whatever you want.” Abruptly, he finished his sandwich and downed his milk, then wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his overalls. “That was great, but I’d better get back to work. I’ve got a sticky carburetor to fix.”

  He walked back to the car he’d been working on, and it struck Janelle as odd that he’d never looked at the Global Supply invoice to either confirm the amount or the part he’d purchased two years ago. Nor had he indicated any interest in the new filing system.

  He either had the memory of an elephant or he was hiding the fact he needed glasses to read and didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of her. Maybe both.

  She smiled to herself. A man’s ego could be so fragile.

  * * *

  Adam heaved a sigh of relief as he stuck his head under the hood of an aging four-door the owner had been keeping together with little more that chewing gum and chicken wire.

  He’d almost blown his cover with Janelle. It was plain lucky he’d remembered the hydraulic part he’d bought from Global. If he’d had to read that invoice, his secret would have been obvious.

  And her filing system? Yeah, sure, he could handle that—in his dreams.

  He fought a wash of shame that sent a flush of heat up his neck. Stupid!

  He wished she’d left his stuff alone. Forget that he’d asked her to help him with the taxes. Until she’d showed up, he’d known where everything was. Which pile was which. Sort of.

  He twisted his wrench so hard he almost broke off the nut holding the carburetor in place. How dumb would that be, he chided himself. He’d nearly made a mess of this little job and turned the carburetor into a basket case he’d have to replace with his own money.

  If he had any left when the IRS finished with him.

  Maybe he shouldn’t have hired Janelle to redo his tax filings. She could have stayed here anyway while she was house hunting. They could spend evenings out on the boat, maybe have a dinner picnic in a quiet bay he knew across the lake.

  That way she wouldn’t have a reason to ask him to read something. Wouldn’t organize his life for him. He wouldn’t risk revealing his shortcomings. She’d see him as a successful mechanic and garage owner.

  Until the IRS locked him behind bars.

  * * *

  That evening, with Janelle beside him and the girls in the small backseat, Adam pulled his pickup into the crowded parking lot in front of the Pine Tree Diner. The three-story restaurant, which was painted a bright pink with white trim, always drew a crowd. The sign out front announced they served breakfast, lunch and dinner. Homemade pies and authentic Czech dishes were their specialties.

  Although it wasn’t on the lake side of Main Street and didn’t have a view, it was still a popular spot for locals looking for a cup of coffee and conversation or a good, filling meal.

  “Hey, Adam.” Alisa Machak, a blonde with her hair tied back in a ponytail, came out from behind the cash register to greet them. Several years younger than Adam, she gave Janelle and the girls a quick once-over.

  Adam made introductions, adding, “Janelle’s looking to buy a house around here.”

  “That’s great. You’ll like living in Bear Lake.” Alisa grabbed some menus for them. “Table for four?”

  “Hope you have one available,” Adam said. “Looks like you’re pretty busy.” The pink upholstered booths and the counter seats were all filled, the room noisy with conversation.

  “We always are for Thursday night specials. Come on back with me.”

  “How’s your son doing?” Adam asked.

  She glanced over her shoulder. “Greg’s fine. But I’m ready for school to start. So’s Mama.”

  Adam laughed. “I hear you on that.”

  They followed her into a room filled with tables, most of which were occupied. On Friday and Saturday nights the diner had live music performed on a small stage at one end of the room. An open door led out to a patio eating area with tables shaded by large pink umbrellas.

  “Inside or out?” she asked.

  “Is it warm enough to eat outside?” Janelle asked. “Seems like the evenings have started to cool off.”

  “If you get cold, we’ve got overhead heaters. We can turn one on.”

  Janelle checked with Adam.

  “Let’s do outside,” he said.

  Sitting down, Janelle was amused at how Hailey arranged to sit next to Raeanne, which left Janelle and Adam sitting next to each other. She was being quite the little mother. Or was she playing matchmaker?

  Janelle frowned at the thought. She didn’t mind Hailey “mothering” Raeanne, although she felt Hailey should be spending more time with her own friends.

  As for the matchmaking? That wasn’t going to happen. Not anytime soon. She’d made a mistake when she’d married Raymond. She wasn’t eager to leap into another relationship, not when her judgment had been so poor the first time.

  Alisa placed menus in front of Janelle and Adam and gave children’s menus to both girls.

  “What can I bring you to drink?” she asked.

  Janelle looked up. “I’ll have iced tea and Raeanne will have milk.”

  “Ditto for us,” Adam said. />
  “Dad, are you going to get your favorite buffalo burger tonight?” Hailey asked.

  “Not tonight, squirt. I’m going with the special. Buffalo burgers are best at lunchtime.”

  Alisa said, “I’ll bring your drinks and some bread while you have a chance to study the menu and decide what you’d like to have for dinner.”

  As Janelle read through the menu, she noted several traditional Czechoslovakian offerings, including potato pancakes. She decided she’d try the chicken and dumplings tonight and come back another time to try other specialties of the house.

  “How does it happen they have so many Czech items on the menu?” she asked Adam.

  “Mama and Papa Machak moved over from Czechoslovakia and bought the diner before I was born. They live in the top two floors and used to rent rooms until they bought the motel next door, the Pine Tree Inn. Pop Machak died several years ago and left Mama Machak and her daughter, Alisa, to run the place.”

  “Looks like they’re doing a good job. They’re certainly busy enough.”

  “It slows down after the tourist season, but the locals keep coming.”

  Keeping a restaurant profitable was no easy trick. At this point, the Pine Tree Diner appeared to be thriving.

  Janelle asked Rae, “What do you want to eat, sweetie?”

  Rae puzzled over her menu. Although she could actually read a few basic words, the menu exceeded her prekindergarten skill level.

  “Hey, Peanut, why don’t you tell Rae what’s on the menu?” Adam suggested.

  Glancing toward her father, Hailey said, “Sure.” She proceeded to read down the list of items.

  For a moment, Janelle wondered why Adam had made a point of asking Hailey to read the menu for Rae, since it would have been just as easy for him to help her. She shrugged off the thought as unimportant, deciding to enjoy the view instead of worrying about it.

  The sky above the forested hillside to the west was beginning to show the first hints of color as the sun began its descent over the horizon. How nice it would be, since it was unlikely she could afford lakefront property, to have a porch to sit on to watch the sun set at the end of each day. She’d have to put that on her wish list of house amenities.