“Uh-huh. Mommy says to say thank you.”
My lips twitched as the woman winced. “Well you’re welcome.”
“Thank you.” She beamed at me, and I just shook my head, a smile finally playing on my face.
“She sure does look like you,” I said, surprising myself.
The woman widened her eyes before she cleared her throat. “I think so most days. I’m Livvy by the way. Livvy Montgomery.”
I stole a glance at Lex who just shook his head. “Cousins. One of the two hundred of us.”
I held back a laugh at that—ignoring the relief she wasn’t Lex’s wife. “I did hear that you guys pretty much cover the whole state of Colorado. It was odd to find one of you in Wyoming for a minute.”
“Oh, you’re the cowboy,” a younger man said as he held out his hand. “I am John Montgomery. Livvy’s brother. Lex’s cousin. Usually we have name tags for this sort of thing.”
The older couple introduced themselves as Livvy and John’s parents, the little girl’s grandparents, and everyone began talking at once, continuing to thank me. The onlookers not related to the group finally dispersed and I was grateful as I didn’t really like being the center of attention. I took a step back slightly, afraid that I was going to reach out and brush Livvy’s hair from her face. That would be ridiculous since I didn’t even know the woman. But there was just something about her that captivated me. But doing anything about that would just end in trouble. Especially with her parents staring at me.
“Did I hear you compare my daughter to a calf earlier?” Livvy asked.
I blushed once again. “Yes ma’am.”
“Oh, don’t start with the ma’ams,” Crew said with a chuckle. “The girls get annoyed with that here.”
“Maybe he’s just a little more polite than you are,” Livvy said a little sharply to Crew, who just smiled widely.
“Maybe, but they like me rough.”
Nearly everybody scowled at him as Amelia held out her arms. “Uncle Crew?”
He winked, completely unrepentant, as he plucked Amelia from her mother’s arms. “I’m going to go take this little girl for a walk, far away from the trail. It’s nice to see you again, Ewan. We should catch up if you’re in town for long.”
“Yeah. My number’s the same.”
And then he headed off with John and the grandparents, leaving me standing alone with Jackson, Lexington, and Livvy.
“Seriously, I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I was just in the right place at the right time. And you would’ve caught her.”
She shuddered. “Not fast enough. It was just the worst set of circumstances. I’m never letting her do anything on her own again.” She looked past me to where Crew had taken her and I knew if she could, she’d have taken her daughter back and tried to never let her go.
“I wouldn’t say that,” I said quietly and winced. “Not that it’s my place. But I learned the more you try to hem them in, the more they want to get out and be free.”
“Are you comparing my daughter to a calf again?” she asked, her lips twitching.
There it was, that sparkle in her eyes. Maybe she wasn’t as scared as she had been before. I could count that as a blessing.
Lexington gave me a look, and I barely resisted the urge to shake my head. I did not live here, and I wasn’t going to encroach on the Montgomerys. I couldn’t help but be enraptured by the woman at my side.
“I truly owe you. If there’s anything I can do, or any of the Montgomerys because I will throw them into the lot with that, let me know.”
“I can do that,” I said, knowing that I wouldn’t. I wasn’t even going to use this as a moment to get her number. I wasn’t that smooth to be honest.
An awkwardness settled in and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say. Finally she let out a breath.
“I need to go check on her because she’s probably finally starting to realize that we were scared and wants her mom.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Livvy Montgomery.”
