His Montana Homecoming Read online

  “I’m honored.” He flashed that smile and ignored the dog.

  Nadine pinched his arm, getting mostly wool coat. “Ooohhhh, nice material. Faith, look out for this one. Pastor Ethan’s got competition here.”

  Faith felt her eyes bulge as she gave her mom a pointed look.

  But her mother kept going. “Faith’s our only daughter left unwed. Julie, our youngest, hitched up last month. As did my oldest boy.”

  “Mom!”

  “Well…it’s true.” Nadine smiled.

  Dale listened with forced interest. This guy was polished with a capital P, but he humored her mother, who made them sound like a bunch of backward clodhoppers.

  “Show Dale to his room, honey. Your father’s at a meeting in town, so dinner will be a late. Dale, you’re dining with us.” Her mom gave him a wink. “Do you have any allergies we should know about?”

  Dale cocked an eyebrow. “None, Nadine. And dinner sounds fine.”

  If he was put out by her mom’s orders, Dale didn’t show it. Well, maybe not too visibly, but Faith had seen his chin lift a tad. The man had manners and ironclad control on his facial expressions.

  She gestured for him to follow. “Come on.”

  Dale hoisted his suitcase and followed her without a word. He was probably shell-shocked.

  Taking each step of the wide staircase, Faith was aware of every movement made with Dale behind her. What was he thinking? Wait, she didn’t want to know. Men like him thought women were trophies or belt-buckle notches.

  Not this woman. Faith rubbed her hands, made rough from ranch chores, her fingertips callused from her violin. She was smarter now.

  She glanced back at the man who’d be underfoot for at least a week. He’d be around long enough for the homecoming celebration this weekend and the Thanksgiving parade the following week. “Will your family join you?”

  A muscle rippled along Dale’s jaw. “No.”

  “Oh.” Faith kept moving. They were worlds apart. She couldn’t imagine a holiday without family. Maybe she was as naive as ever to think family mattered to everyone.

  Cord had told her that Dale was the head of an international real estate services company, built strong by the Massey family. No doubt Dale had been surrounded by important people all his life. She peeked back at him. Right now, he looked terribly alone.

  *

  Dale heard the knock at the door but didn’t dare move. He had a good spot by the window with a view of the mountains. “It’s open.”

  He’d left the door to his spacious guest room ajar, and Faith slipped inside.

  He held up his hand. He’d be with her in a moment. “No, no, no. If they wait on this one, it’ll be gone.” Then nothing. Silence. “Dad? You there?”

  Dale lowered his phone with a growl. “What is it with your cell service? That’s the fourth time my call’s been dropped.”

  Faith shrugged her pretty shoulders as if it wasn’t a big deal. “We’ve always had bad coverage here, but we have a landline you can use.”

  Dale clenched his jaw. He couldn’t conduct sensitive business in someone’s living room. “Thanks, I’ll see how I fare with my laptop.”

  “Got a piece of paper?”

  He handed her his legal pad.

  “Here’s the password for our internet connection. It’s probably slower than what you’re used to.”

  Where was he, the edge of the planet?

  He stared at her.

  She kept talking, completely unfazed. “If you need privacy, you can use my father’s office. It’s right before the dining room. Just close the door. He won’t mind.”

  “Thank you.” He waited a moment for her to keep chattering.

  She didn’t. She stared at him, her eyes wide.

  “Did you need something?”

  “Oh.” Her cheeks colored. “Dinner’s ready.”

  She’d changed her clothes. She still wore jeans, but her top was soft and pretty. A gray fuzzy sweater that made her blue eyes glacial. Icy-blue.

  He looked down at his rumpled white shirt, which was unbuttoned. He’d been in the process of changing before he’d gotten a call on his cell. No time to shower, but he could wash up and throw on clean clothes. “I’ll be a minute.”

  Her cheeks blazed and she looked anywhere but at him. She backed up and bumped into a chair. “Of course.”

  He cocked his head, and then it dawned on him that she was embarrassed by his open shirt. His chest wasn’t bare; he wore an undershirt. Sure, it fit like a second skin, and maybe that’s what had flustered Miss Shaw.

  He felt the corners of his mouth twitch.

  “You can’t miss our dining room. Just follow the noise.” She gave him a shy smile and bolted.

  Dale stared at the door a moment. Was she for real? Then his phone buzzed and vibrated. “Dale Massey…”

  Nothing.

  Gritting his teeth, he tossed the phone on the bed and headed for the bathroom to wash up before dinner.

  Seriously. Where on earth was he? And how soon could he get done what he came here to do and return to the real world?

  Chapter Two

  Minutes later, Dale followed the noise. Sounds of raucous laughter were hard to miss. He halted at the entrance of the dining room and took in the sight of a long wooden table filled with covered dishes leaking steam. A boisterous family sat at the table. All of them talked at once as they passed pitchers of what looked like pretty tame liquid refreshment. Iced tea and lemonade.

  Definitely a rowdier bunch than at the Massey dinner table. But then, the Masseys had never been a real family.

  A sudden desire for the overcrowded Fidler Inn swamped him. There, he could have come and gone unnoticed. Downtown Jasper Gulch probably had Wi-Fi, too.

  “Dale, there’s a seat for you next to Faith.” Nadine Shaw smiled. She wasn’t obvious. Not at all. “And this is my husband, Mayor Jackson Shaw.”

  The mayor.

  Dale stepped forward and extended his hand. “Mayor Shaw.”

  The man puffed up his chest as he stood. Brown hair grayed near his temples and held a crease that circled the mayor’s head. Dale spotted a black cowboy hat hanging beside others on a hat rack attached to the far wall. No doubt the reason for the crease. Above average height, Jackson Shaw had broad shoulders and he exuded an air of authority. He was also looking Dale over pretty good.

  Dale resisted the urge to ask if he liked what he saw.

  Finally the mayor gripped his hand for a firm handshake. “Mr. Massey. Good of you to join us.”

  Dale detected a note of sarcasm in the mayor’s voice and swallowed his irritation. He had a life, one he’d dropped in order to be here. “Thank you.”

  “Let me introduce you to my family. You’ve met Faith here.” Jackson made the rounds.

  There was Cord Shaw and his new wife, Katie, and their goddaughter, Marci, whom they were planning to adopt. Cord’s brothers, Austin and Adam, and then the youngest sibling, Julie, and her husband, Ryan. Dale sat down, knowing he’d have trouble remembering the names. Didn’t matter. He’d stay through the weekend and leave. He’d be here only a few days at most.

  “Let’s pray, shall we?” The mayor cleared his throat and shifted his stance as he took the hands of his wife and youngest daughter seated on either side of him.

  Everyone else followed suit. Faith offered up her hand and so did her brother—Austin, was it?

  Okay, this is weird. He took Faith’s hand easily enough, but then Dale hesitated.

  Faith’s brother gave him a challenging look.

  When in Rome…

  Dale finally took the guy’s work-roughened hand. He’d followed any number of odd customs in his travels not willing to offend a potential client or buyer. It didn’t mean he’d have to like it, even if only a dinnertime prayer.

  The mayor made a grand show of blessing the food. He had politician written all over him. Smooth and polished. Funny, no matter what size the pond, big fish were always going to act lik
e big fish.

  Dale’s stomach rumbled. He hadn’t eaten since lunch, a light meal served in the corporate limo on the way to the airport.

  He felt a slight squeeze from Faith.

  He glanced her way.

  She looked as if she held back laughter. No doubt she’d heard his belly growl.

  After the mayor’s prayer, the noise level immediately escalated as lids came off serving platters and food was passed around.

  “You’re a hard man to get a hold of.” Cord, the oldest brother, passed a bowl of steaming potatoes.

  “Yes.” No sense in denying it. Dale had ducked every call made from Jasper Gulch. But in the end, Julian had won. Dale was here, his father wasn’t.

  “Is your father planning to attend homecoming?” Cord asked.

  “Not this time. He’s traveling to Hong Kong.” An excuse. His father never did what he didn’t want to. Those responsibilities fell to Dale, and who was he to say no?

  “Do you have any brothers or sisters who might come?” the younger sister asked. Julie was her name, and she resembled Faith. Both young women had slightly different shades of the rich auburn hair from their mother.

  Dale passed the bowl to Faith. “Two half brothers, and no, they won’t be joining me.”

  Faith’s eyes went wide. “Would they come if they knew we’ve got a Massey-family float planned for the Thanksgiving Day parade?”

  Julian hadn’t said anything about Thanksgiving. Dale assumed it was only this weekend for their homecoming thing. “I won’t be staying. I’ve got business in New York.”

  Faith shared a look with her sister. “But it’s Thanksgiving. Don’t you take vacation and spend time with your family?”

  Dale gave her a grim smile. “Not if I can help it.”

  Her pretty mouth dropped open and she lowered the bowl of potatoes and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  Faith shook her head. “I assumed you’d celebrate like a normal person, you know, with parents and turkey and all the trimmings. Only here, in Jasper Gulch.”

  He chuckled. Normal. What was that? “I enjoy the luxury of going where I please for holidays.”

  “All alone?” She bit her lip.

  He leaned toward her and lowered his voice. “Not always.”

  Her eyes widened. He’d flustered her again.

  Well, what did she expect?

  He passed a bowl and glanced at her once more. Faith Shaw looked sorry for him. He had everything money could buy. Whatever he wanted was his for the asking. What did she think he needed that she’d look at him with such pity?

  He glanced around the table. Did anyone notice his conversation with Miss Shaw? No. Faith’s family was busy eating and talking.

  “You might find our homecoming event interesting,” Cord said to him.

  Dale doubted that, but he didn’t want to appear rude. “Yeah?”

  “The founders of Jasper Gulch, your great-great-grandfather and mine, buried a time capsule a hundred years ago that will be on display. In it were blueprints of what is now city hall and pretty extensive city planning documents, among other period items and photos.”

  Dale nodded. Those plans might actually be worth a look. “Interesting.”

  “Someone else thought so, too, since the time capsule was stolen back in July. But it was finally found a couple of weeks ago. Cal Calloway said it had been abandoned by Beaver Creek Bridge,” Faith’s sister said. “Cal’s our deputy sheriff.”

  “Is that so?” Dale’s curiosity waned. He glanced down the table and spotted the mayor sharing a look with his wife.

  The man caught his eye and coughed. “We’re a safe community, Dale. Personally, I think the culprit who stole the time capsule has left town.”

  Faith’s eyes widened. “You think maybe it was Pete Daniels?”

  The mayor shrugged. “Stands to reason when the capsule pops up after he’s gone. But I guess we’ll never know for sure. The important thing is the capsule was found with all that history intact. Things have certainly quieted down, too. We can all be thankful for that.”

  Dale nearly laughed at the serious nods given around the Shaw table. Was the biggest crime in Jasper Gulch this stolen time capsule? Probably some kid’s prank.

  Faith leaned his way. “Pete Daniels is sort of our town’s troublemaker.”

  Dale matched her serious tone. “I see.”

  Yeah. That cleared it up.

  Dale sighed. It was only a few days. He’d leave in a few days and his world would return to normal. His normal. And it couldn’t come soon enough.

  *

  The next morning, Faith poured orange juice into a glass and looked at her father. Jackson Shaw had been grumpy the last couple of months and it was no wonder. The pressure from a six-month-long centennial celebration would wear on anyone. Being mayor of a small town that needed big results crushed heavy.

  Good thing her dad had broad shoulders. Cord said he’d finally agreed that Jasper Gulch needed to grow to not only survive but flourish.

  She watched him rub his temples. “You okay, Dad? Didn’t you sleep well?”

  Her father sighed. “I slept just fine.”

  She didn’t believe him. Dark smudges hung under his eyes and he hadn’t even touched his favorite sweet roll.

  “Good morning.” Dale Massey entered the dining room dressed in a suit. A suit! Shirt, tie, jacket, all in shades of olive. What man wore a color like that unless his clothes were army fatigues?

  Faith stared.

  He gave her one of his slow smiles that felt like a caress. “Something wrong?”

  A man shouldn’t be allowed to smile like that!

  “You’re dressed awful…” Faith stammered, “…awfully fine this morning.”

  “I’ve got a meeting at Lone Peak ski resort.” Dale poured himself a cup of coffee from the carafe on the buffet as if he owned the place.

  Obviously Dale didn’t know that people didn’t dress like that around here. Maybe he was meeting with a fancy client on vacation. But then, they wouldn’t dress up like that, either. Not while on vacation.

  “It snowed there overnight.” Her father steepled his fingers and stared her down.

  Faith knew what he was getting at. Dale wouldn’t make it through the mountains in that rental car. He might do fine on the interstate, but once he hit the back roads, he’d get stuck for sure. “Dale, you can take my car. It has all-wheel drive and chains in the back.”

  Dale looked confused about the chains. “Thank you. Unfortunately, you’re not authorized to use the lemon.”

  “Oh, that’s okay. I can use my mom’s car if I need to go anywhere.”

  “Faith.” Her father’s eyes briefly closed. She’d seen that look a dozen times growing up. It was his you-should-know-better look. “Take him there. Dale’s our guest.”

  Dale gave her a wary glance before zeroing back in on her father. “I’m sure I’ll be fine—”

  “These mountain passes can be tricky this time of year. Faith knows the way and a shortcut, to boot.” Her father gave her a nod that said arguing would be fruitless. “Adam and Austin will see to your chores.”

  Faith held her breath before letting it back out. She could refuse, but that wouldn’t go over well with her father. Not when she still lived under his roof. And she’d look foolish in front of Dale. She’d planned to practice her violin, but she could do that tonight, so that was not the best excuse for declining. Butterflies in her stomach were even worse. Besides, that reaction played right into her father’s matchmaking hands.

  She wasn’t interested in a guy like Dale Massey. Attracted? Who wouldn’t be? She’d seen his taut abs outlined by the skimpy undershirt he wore. She glanced at their guest. “I need to drop by the bank on our way. How much time do you have?”

  “Plenty.” Dale sipped his coffee.

  In other words, that meeting waited for him. Nice. The world revolved around Dale Massey’s schedule. “Then I can eat breakfas
t.”

  “Take your time.” Another sip.

  “Have a seat, Dale.” Her father gestured toward the table. “Sandy made a frittata but if you’d like something else, say the word. The boys have already eaten, but there’s plenty.”

  “Sandy’s a friend and our housekeeper and also a knitter for Julie’s business,” Faith explained while she loaded her plate from the chafing dishes on the buffet.

  He gave her a bored look. “Coffee’s fine.”

  Faith went back to the business of filling her plate. Dale would wish he’d have eaten these fixings after they were in the car for an hour-plus drive to Lone Peak. She made a mental note to stuff a few granola bars in her purse before they left. Then she sat down across from Dale, ignored his surprise at the heaping portion on her plate and dug in.

  *

  Dale watched Faith kiss the mayor’s forehead.

  “Bye, Daddy. Not sure when we’ll be back.” She sounded genuinely considerate. Spoiled, maybe? No. He knew spoiled, and Faith Shaw wasn’t that.

  “Take your time. And fill up your gas tank before you leave Jasper Gulch.”

  “Will do.” She waited for him by the doorway. “Ready?”

  Dale gathered his thoughts. “Yes.”

  She gave him a once-over. “Don’t you have a different coat? Or boots?”

  “This coat is warm, and these are my boots.” They were Gucci and comfortable.

  Her eyes lowered in a knowing look. “You’ve never been to Lone Peak.”

  “No.” Dale wasn’t a ski nut like Eric, his half brother. He never had the time or the inclination. “How’d you guess?”

  “You’re a bit overdressed.” By her tone, he knew she wasn’t giving him a compliment. “I’ll get some real boots for you.”

  “But we’ll be in the car.” Dale looked out the window as he followed her. The sun shone through puffy white clouds in a blue sky. Not a flake of snow at the Shaw spread.

  “Out here, it’s best to be prepared.”

  “For what?” Dale waited for her as she dived into a large walk-in closet.

  She looked at him as if he lacked a brain. “We’re driving through the mountains. We could go off the road, get stuck in snow. Any number of things. The ski resorts have snow. The peaks always have snow. Your feet will freeze if we have to walk anywhere.”