him back. “What makes you think I’m not?”
“You just walked out, because Bishop called me months ago and told me about you. You were quite cold at the library board meeting, at least in the beginning.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. You don’t seem to like me very much.”
“I don’t,” Montana said before she could censor herself. She clapped one hand over her mouth in the next moment.
Micah’s eyebrows rose, his eyes widened, and he blinked several times. “Oh, okay.” He gave a nervous chuckle. “I don’t—I don’t know what to do with that.” A measure of darkness entered his expression. “Maybe I should’ve just let you go.”
“Let me explain,” Montana said, her heart crashing against her ribs. She might not need Micah Walker in the future. Because she’d won the library bid, her name was all over the news in Three Rivers, and she’d already gotten a couple of calls about remodeling jobs. But hadn’t she told Aurora never to burn a bridge? She might need this major connection in the future.
She sighed, grateful he hadn’t walked away yet. “Let me buy you breakfast, and I’ll do my best to explain.”
Micah’s jaw tightened, and indecision warred across his face. He finally said, “Okay. I’ll meet you at the pancake house,” which caused relief to cascade through Montana.
She talked out loud to herself all the way to the pancake house, telling herself she could do this. She could get this partnership on her own—with her work, her work ethic, and her explanation.
Near the end there, she chewed out Bishop for calling Micah when it wasn’t his place to do so. She almost called him before she went inside the pancake house, but she decided she didn’t want to punish Aurora for Bishop’s mistake.
There would be plenty of time to talk to him later.
She watched Micah walk into the pancake house, and Montana got out of her truck. “Time to fix this,” she said, glancing up into the autumn sky. “Any help You can send would be appreciated.”
But as Montana walked into the pancake house behind Micah Walker, she had the feeling she was on her own this time.
Hours later—long past lunchtime—Bishop’s big black truck finally pulled into Montana’s aunt’s driveway. She sat in the swing, and up until she’d heard the roar of his engine, she’d been enjoying the peace of the afternoon.
Now, she felt like she’d lose all those chocolate chip pancakes she’d consumed.
She looked at the folder on the swing beside her. It held the signed contract between her and Micah Walker, who’d listened to Montana’s explanation and apologized again, though he’d done nothing wrong.
I’m a bit of a bulldog, he’d said. I just barrel through things without a lot of thought. I’m sure I took business from you unintentionally. I apologize for that.
And because he had so much money and so much charisma and so many connections, his business had thrived while she hadn’t even been able to get hers off the ground.
That situation fixed, he wisely hadn’t brought up Bishop again, and they’d focused on her previous work, and he’d proposed a twelve-month contract where they worked together on select projects. They’d choose which ones they each brought to the partnership, and they’d meet regularly to keep their goals aligned.
He had one he wanted her hand in already, and she’d brought home the customer’s in-take form to go over, and she and Micah were meeting in a few days to talk about their individual plans and to learn how the other worked.
Montana could admit she was excited about the partnership. It was something she’d never done before, and it could open a lot of doors for her.
Aurora got out of the truck laughing, and that too helped to center Montana. She and Bishop were supposed to spend the evening together, and Montana didn’t want to break-up with him. She simply didn’t know how this conversation would go.
Bishop and Aurora came up the steps, both of them carrying shopping bags.
“How much stuff did you buy?” she asked, getting to her feet.
“Mom,” Aurora said, rushing toward her. “You would not believe the sale they were having at Williams’.” She continued to gush over the prices and the cute things they had on sale.
She could talk and talk, and Montana nodded and hummed as they went into the house. As Aurora detailed the boys she ran into and what Bishop had said to them, Montana watched Bishop. He couldn’t stop smiling, and he interjected some of the story too.
Montana