Flynn(16)

“Emily, why don’t you sit in the back and let Natalie ride up front so she can see more of the scenery on the way to Missoula,” he said.

“Okay, but on the way back I want to ride up front with both of you.”

Emily opened the door behind the passenger side and got in while Natalie slid in beside him, filling the interior with her perfume. He remembered it from last night and how he’d smelled it until the early hours of the morning. Enjoyed it until the early hours of the morning when he laid awake thinking about her.

“Good morning,” he said. She had the same shade lipstick on again today. He hadn’t wiped it off for an hour after she’d left. He’d even stood in front of the bathroom mirror glazing at it, telling himself it was proof that the kiss had been real and not something a lonely man speeding toward middle age had made up.

“My mother tells me there’s a craft and yarn store in the mall, so that’s probably a good place to look for boots too,” said Flynn pulling out onto the main road.

“Dad, can we go to the farmer’s market?” asked Emily scooting forward and resting her elbows close to where he and Natalie sat.

“Not today honey. Remember they don’t have one in winter.”

“I love farmer’s markets,” said Natalie, turning around to face Emily. “I go to a local one every Saturday morning.”

“I like them too and vegetables are good for you,” said Emily.

Flynn smiled and glanced at Natalie who grinned too.

“Dad, dad, slow up so I can show Natalie where Uncle Shane and Aunt Lacey live.”

Flynn eased up on the gas as Emily pointed up the road to their right.

“See, it’s that house down there. Can I stop and see them?”

“Maybe on the way back. So how’s the motel room?” Flynn asked Natalie.

“It’s comfortable.”

“So you are think you’ll be in Timber Creek awhile looking for a house?”

Please say yes.

“I plan on being here for at least a couple of weeks.”

A couple of weeks was better than a couple of days. He was sure she’d fall in love with the place and want to hang around longer. Yeah, he’d work on showing her all the good things the place had to offer.

“That’s my school,” said Emily pointing to a sandy colored brick building to the left. “And over there is where Nick lives. He goes to the school and he’s in a wheelchair so I push him when he gets tired.”

“That’s a nice thing to do,” said Natalie.

“And Dad built a ramp on Nick’s house so it’s easy for his parents to push him.”

Natalie turned to face him. “Didn’t take me long. Nick’s got cerebral palsy.”

The poor kid wasn’t doing very well and his parents had told Flynn that he might not have much longer. He didn’t know how Emily would take the news because other than his youngest brother Ryan dying, she hadn’t had a lot of experience with death.

“I take him cookies from Gran’s café but he can’t eat the peanut butter ones,” said Emily.

“And how often do you work in your gran’s café?” asked Natalie.

He smiled again. No one had been this interested in Emily before. Her ditching her car in front of their place was heaven sent for both him and Emily.

“Mondays and Fridays, and sometimes on a Saturday, but not today because I’m going to Missoula.”

Natalie smiled. She looked really, truly interested in what Emily was saying. The other women he’d dated only pretended to just to get on his good side, but he’d seen through them and so had Emily. And in the end the women had ended up making snide remarks. One had even suggested that Emily be put in a residential home in Helena.

“We saw wolves and their babies over there,” said Emily pointing up ahead.

“Are there a lot in the area?” asked Natalie.

“Depends on what time of year it is,” said Flynn.

“Have you been to Yellowstone Park because you can see lots of wolves there, oh and bears too,” said Emily.

Natalie turned to face her again. “I haven’t. How about you?”

“Nope, but Dad said we’ll go next summer. You want to come with us?”

He’d love that. The thought that she’d be around and that they might be together as an actual couple.

“It’s something I’ll think about,” said Natalie.

“Okay then,” said Emily.

Yeah, Emily liked Natalie too, and that gave him the green light.

****

Natalie couldn’t help but tear up as Emily looped her arm through hers as they made their way around the mall. If only it could be like this every weekend. Us going shopping like mother and daughter and making up for all the lost time. Flynn had done such a wonderful job with her. If she’d handpicked someone to adopt her daughter she couldn’t have chosen a better candidate. And on those Saturday mornings, having the handsome cowboy tagging along with them would be an added bonus.