“Let’s head out,”Hanksaid.
After they both slid out of the booth, she turned to Gunther. “Thank you for recognizing the resemblance. If she is my mother, I wouldn’t have found her if you hadn’twalkedin.”
“God does some crazy things,”Gunthersaid.
“Take care,” sheresponded.
She turned and followed Hank to the truck. As she climbed into the vehicle, she noticed a bunch of grocery bags in the back seat. She’d completely forgotten about Madison’ssupplies.
“If we need to take those back to the ranch first, we should do that,”shesaid.
“They’ll be fine. It’s mostly shampoo and laundry soap, so nothing to worryabout.”
The drive out of town seemed much faster than the drive in. Hank turned onto the highway and drove for several miles past the turnoff to the Curvy Bear Ranch. All signs of civilization disappeared except for the road markers. Metal stakes lined the right side of the lane to let drivers know where theedgelay.
She wrapped her arms around her body and squeezed. When she’d been at the orphanage, she’d learned that no one was going to hug her, so she needed to give herself hugs. Over the years, she’d used the coping mechanism to combat everything from loneliness to fear. Right now, she was trying to stave offtrepidation.
“Are you cold?” Hankasked.
“No, justnervous.”
“Understandable. Have you figured out what you’re going to say to her if she isyourmom?”
“No. I guess I’ll have to figure it out as I go. She might not even be my mother. She might be a complete stranger and that guy in the diner might just be a crazy old man. I’ve learned not to get my hopes up,”shesaid.
He leaned over to take her hand in his. After giving it a tender squeeze, he continued to hold it. She turned to look at his profile. He possessed the strong, stoic face of a cowboy. A thick layer of stubble covered his strong masculine jaw. He gripped the wheel with his free hand, forearm flexing as he made subtle movements to correct the truck’sdirection.
What would it be like to kiss such a rugged man? In New York, most men had pasty complexions since they hardly ever left their offices. From what little she could see, Hank’s skin had the rough, darkened tint of a man who spent his life outdoors. This trip to Montana was going to ruin her dating life when she returned home. After seeing what a real man looked like, she knew she’d never want to date another corporate vampireagain.
Lost in thought, she didn’t realize that they’d turned onto a small road until the tires crunched through a deep patchofsnow.
“They don’t plow the back roads as much as the highways,” Hankexplained.
“How will we know which houseishers?”
“I figure we can just stop at the first one and ask. Around here, everyone knows everyone else’s business. It shouldn’t be too hard to find her.” He pulled up to a log cabin with a sagging porch. “Stay here while I jump outandask.”
“Okay.”
She tried not to stare at his butt as he jogged up the steps, but how could she resist? At least he wouldn’t know she’d been leering at him like a schoolgirl in heat. She tried to suppress a smile but couldn’t. Even if she didn’t find her mom, this trip wouldn’t be a complete loss. She could console herself in the arms of a scorching-hotcowboy.
Hank walked back to the truck and hopped in. “The owner said Victoria lives at the end of the road, last house on theright.”
“Sounds good,”shesaid.
The truck rumbled past increasingly dilapidated cabins until they reached the worst one at the end. One side of the porch had fallen off and lay partially covered in snow. The other side leaned precariously. A thin stream of smoke curled up from the chimney only to be whisked away by a slightbreeze.
“Someone’s home,”Hanksaid.
“Yeah.” She sat,unmoving.
“Do you want me to go in with you?” heasked.
“No, I need to do thisalone.”
“Come here,” hewhispered.
When he held out his arms, she slipped into them without thinking. It felt so amazing to be held by another person that she couldn’t resist his offer. It was rare that anyone wanted to hug her, so she knew better than to turn down anopportunity.
