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SPENCE AND SAGE’S WEDDING was the prime topic of conversation across Sweet Grass County in the days and weeks afterwards. Old-timers couldn’t remember a more glorious spring day: the vast, cloudless Montana sky a plate of cerulean blue; a warm, gentle breeze rippling across the timberline and dancing through the sweet meadow grass; the fragrant scent of pine trees; a faint, tumbling rush of water sounding from creeks and distant canyons; the magnificent backdrop of the Crazies—their snow-capped peaks rising from purple-grey granite above the shadowed green forest.
Smiles and teary eyes greeted Sage as she walked up the grassy aisle on her brother Danny’s arm. Danny Dolan sure had grown since last November, guests later said; he looked so handsome in his suit, a proud grin lighting his face. And Sage was such a gorgeous bride, her strapless satin dress pure white with a sage-green ribbon around her waist. A pretty hair clip with sage leaves and lavender adorning her chestnut chignon. She carried a simple bouquet of white roses, lavender and wild, silvery-green sagebrush.
Sage’s eyes were only for Spence, who stood beneath an aspen arbor bedecked with more lavender and sagebrush. He stood, straight and tall, his dark-as-night eyes glistening beneath the brim of his black Stetson, the smile on his chiseled face showing everyone present Sage was the beat of his heart, the balm to his sorrow-bruised soul.
Oh, it would be pure heaven having a man look that way at me, Mari thought.
Throughout the ceremony, her eyes strayed again and again to Travis. Like his brother, he wore a black, western-cut suit with a white shirt and a black and silver bolo tie, the black Stetson on his head embellished with a silver band. He stood with legs braced apart, unencumbered by crutches.
He'd had the cast removed on Thursday morning.
When he returned from Livingston that day, his first stop was the café for lunch. Mari tossed him a glance somewhere between happiness and reproach when he did a little shuffling dance in the doorway. He doffed his hat and took a bow while customers clapped and cheered. He sidled up to Mari—who was taking an order from some out-of-town diners—and planted a smacking kiss on her cheek.
“Are you sure you don’t want me dancing at the wedding? Doc says he’s never seen a broken bone heal so well or fast. Says it must be my healthy, country upbringing.”
“What did he say about physical therapy?”
Travis heaved a put-upon sigh. “Three mornings a week for three months.”
“So, go easy... Please.”
“Well, all right. I will if...”
“If?”
“You promise to dance with me three months from now.”
“I’ll dance with you,” a middle-aged woman at a nearby table said.
“Me too,” said her dining companion, eighty if she was a day.
Travis acknowledged them with outspread arms. “You bet. I’ll dance with all of you. Mark your calendars, ladies. Three months... The last weekend of August? We’ll plan a celebration.” He returned his glittering, sooty-eyed gaze to Mari and winked broadly.
Mari raised her eyes to the ceiling and then pretended to ignore him as he walked to the counter and took a seat.
Gigi served him lunch. A burger, fries and coleslaw. When Gigi gave Travis a second helping of peanut butter pie, Mari shot him another scolding look.
She was on her way to help a new customer seated in a booth when Travis swiveled his seat around and captured her hand. The dimples appeared. “You mad?”
“No.”
He lifted his other hand to rub his thumb lightly across her frown. “I’ll go easy on the leg,” he said for her ears only. “Stop worrying.”
Aware of watching eyes—Jonathan and Gigi’s in particular—she snatched her hand from his. “I’m worried about tonight’s dinner. I planned grilled steaks, salad and baked potatoes, and a chocolate cake for dessert. But with all the peanut butter pie you’re eating, you won’t have an appetite.” She sighed. “Guess it’ll just be salad tonight.”
He gave a low whistle. “Wow. Sounds like a fancy dinner. Is it a celebration for my cast-free leg?”
She pursed her mouth. “Yes... And because today’s my last day working at the café. Gunnar starts next week.”
Chagrin clouded Travis’s cheerful expression. “Well, shoot. With all the wedding stuff and my leg, I forgot.” He took her hand again. “Tell you what. We’ll go to the Hideaway tonight instead. You shouldn’t have to cook for your own celebration.”
This time, he didn’t let go of her hand when she tried pulling away.
“No. Mutt’s looking forward to that chocolate cake.”
He sighed with exaggerated remorse. “You sure?”
She gave him a speaking glance.
“Okay.” His expression turned serious. In a low voice, he spoke aloud the words she’d wanted to say. “Truth is, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be tonight than home... With you...”
“For the first time, let’s give a huge Montana welcome to Mr. and Mrs. Spencer Jameson Hollister!”
Mari rose to her feet with the other wedding guests and cheered for the newlyweds as they kissed again beneath the arbor. Then, hands clasped, Spence and Sage walked down the aisle, their faces shining with anticipation of the rest of their lives together.
Travis followed several feet behind the couple, Whitney on his arm. His eyes caught and held Mari’s. Her smile widened. They’d agreed to find a table together once the photo session finished. He’d needed to be at the Bar H a couple hours before the ceremony, so she’d arrived with Jonathan and Pam.
But he’d be taking her home.
The reception would last until sundown. Spence and Sage would leave a couple hours sooner to catch a flight from Bozeman to Seattle where they’d spend their wedding night before departing the next morning for a two-week honeymoon in Hawaii.
Guests made their way to a large meadow embraced by aspen groves. The reception was informal. No receiving line, no seating assignments. Scattered throughout the meadow and surrounding a raised dance floor and stage were various-sized tables, hay bales and benches.
It had the look and feel of a simple country wedding, but Sage and Spence had spared no expense on caterers and entertainment. Champagne flutes mingled with beer mugs. Guests could select passed hors d’oeuvres or fill their plates at a variety of buffet stations. A popular, local country-western band waited behind the scenes as a DJ entertained the crowd with a variety of music from jazz to pop.
Mari strolled to the meadow beside Pam and Jonathan, Maddy Rose’s diaper bag slung across one shoulder. They paused every few minutes as other guests approached to say hello and take a peek at Maddy Rose. This was the baby’s first public appearance. She’d slept through the ceremony, but now she was getting antsy. She didn’t care about the people cooing over her. Her hungry wails soon filled the air.
An older woman hurried forward, a welcoming smile on her cheerful, apple-cheeked face. “Come up to the house,” she said. “I’ve set aside the guest room for you.”
“Oh, Hedda. How thoughtful.” Pam turned to Jonathan. “Please stay. I know you can’t wait to loosen that tie and have a beer.”
“Call me if you need me,” he said. He kissed her cheek and one of his daughter’s flailing fists.
“I’ll go to the house with you,” Mari said, curious to see Travis’s childhood home.
Pam introduced Mari and Hedda to each other. The trio made their way towards the main house—a rustic, two-story structure built of stone and timber with a gabled, forest-green metal roof.
Hedda led them to a side entrance opening to a large, modern kitchen. Mari would have enjoyed a tour, but Maddy’s intensifying howls set the agenda. From the kitchen, Hedda guided them through a space that occupied almost the entire first floor. A massive stone fireplace rose to open rafters made of rough-hewn lumber. Mari had the vague impression of suede and leather furniture, plush area rugs and a hardwood floor dark with age. The overall décor seemed more rustic than fancy, but still imparted affluence.
An open staircase along the far wall ascended to the second floor. When they reached the top, Hedda walked along the interior balcony to the second door on her right. “Here you are.”
Pam made herself comfortable on the armchair near the window. Within seconds, Maddy’s cries changed to contented suckling. Mari dropped the diaper bag on the bed and glanced around the room. It was three times the size of her tiny bedroom in the Redfoxes house. It held a double bed, dresser, vanity, the armchair and an ottoman. The wide windows offered a view of the Crazies. “This is nice,” she said to Hedda.
“Oh, yes,” the housekeeper said. “This is the one guest room left now Danny’s moved in. It used to be Travis’s room.”
Mari examined the room with renewed interest. She imagined the walls covered with posters, maybe a bookcase and desk beside the window, a cowboy hat on the vanity mirror, dusty boots lying on the rug by the door. Travis would have spent most of his time outdoors though. Her gaze returned to the Crazy Mountains, closer than she’d ever seen them; she felt that mysterious tug in her belly, the yearning for something just out of reach...
“Spence had the house remodeled when Daniel and Caroline moved to Arizona five years ago,” Hedda said. “They converted part of the downstairs for their use when they come to stay.” Her eyes turned inquisitive. “Caroline told me about the delicious dinner you cooked for them. Can you give me your chicken recipe? Or is it top secret?”
Mari smiled, pleased at the secondhand compliment. “I can share it with you now.”
“Don’t wait on me,” Pam said. “Tell my husband Maddy Rose and I are napping for a while.” She yawned. “All that sunshine has me drained.”
Hedda gave Mari a quick tour of the house before they returned to the kitchen. Hedda called the room containing the fireplace the “great room.” Mari had never heard that term; it fit to a T. “Was this room remodeled too?”
“Some new rugs and reupholstering, but most of it’s the same as it was when Noah and I started working here.”
“When was that?”
“Thirty-five years now. I was twenty, and Noah twenty-two.” She smiled at her memories. “Newlyweds. We didn’t plan staying this long, but the Hollisters have been good to us.”
Mari did some quick mental calculations. “So, you were here before Spence and Travis were born?”
“Oh, yes. Spence arrived the year we started. Travis four years later. Such good boys.”
“Daniel shared some wild stories. Seems like they were always getting into trouble.”
Hedda laughed. “No more than other little boys.”
They were in the kitchen by now. Hedda retrieved a notepad and pen from a drawer in the center island. “Noah and I don’t have children of our own. I like to think I’ve been a second mother to the Hollister boys, and another grandmother for Whitney. And now, I hope, there will be more grandchildren.”
“Sage hinted she and Spence are starting right away.”
“Guess we’ll know soon enough.” Hedda’s eyes sparkled. “I have a hunch Travis will marry soon too.”
Mari’s heart sank to the floor. “Oh? I didn’t know he was seeing anyone.”
“It’s only a hunch.” Hedda tapped the notepad with the pen. “Now, how about that recipe?”
Mari still wondered at the housekeeper’s offhand remark as they made their way back to the meadow a short while later. Why had Hedda said that? Mari wished Viv had been there to dig deeper.
The thought of Travis getting married filled Mari with something close to despair. Travis, her best friend who called her brave, who told her she had the heart of a genuine Montanan, who knew everything there was to know about her and accepted her without judgment or pity. Everything about her except...
But that was an emotion she couldn’t trust yet, because how was it possible? How could something so powerful and amazing happen so fast?
Mari and Hedda were halfway to the meadow when they bumped into Caroline and Shawna who were heading towards the house. Shawna wore a flowing, ankle-length dress with a black bodice and a turquoise skirt. Caroline looked very mother-of-the-groom in a sedate two-piece pink satin dress.
“I want to show Shawna that turquoise necklace I bought in Tucson last month.” Caroline said to Hedda. She glanced at Mari. “Hello, Mari. What a lovely dress.”
“Green sure is your color, honey,” Shawna said. “How’s Pam doing? I saw you all heading to the house.”
“She’s taking a nap,” Mari said.
“Oh, I remember those days,” Caroline said with a faraway expression. “I grabbed every chance to sleep I could. That seems so long ago.”
“Well, it was.” Shawna gave Caroline’s arm a playful jab. “Now, don’t start crying again. This is a happy day.”
“Yes,” Hedda said. “Be glad it didn’t rain.”
They all lifted their faces to the sky for a moment. “A blessing,” Caroline said. “No rain in the forecast for at least two weeks. What do you think, Hedda? Should we plant the tomatoes on Monday?”
“Don’t see why not.”
“I’m starting a garden in the pasture behind Travis’s cabin,” Mari said, her eyes directed at Caroline. “He said to ask for your advice. I understand people around here don’t plant their gardens until after Memorial Day?”
“That’s the general rule of thumb,” Caroline said. “Sometimes it doesn’t matter how late you plant. There’ve been years when I lost my garden to hail or snow. In July.”
“So, would I be wasting my time?”
“Oh, no. I think it’s a wonderful idea. I’ll be happy to advise you.” Caroline seemed pleased at the prospect. “Travis is at a lower elevation than we are. You should have better luck.”
“Speaking of Travis...” Shawna’s murmur drew everyone’s attention to where he leaned against the fence at the end of the pasture, one boot heel hooked on the bottom rail, his hat-shadowed face angled in their direction. “I think he’s waiting for you, Mari.”