Meg's Best Man: A Montana Weekend Novella (20 page)

She nodded. “Back to work in Texas?”

“Just back to packing,” he said, leading her out onto the steep dirt road again. The lug soles on her boots handled it much better than her high heels had the night before.

“I have a few leads on places to live,” he said, “but nothing better than that. My sister is going to let me fill up her garage with my junk for a little while, which helps.”

Meg nodded again. She really didn’t want him to talk about moving, because no matter where he was going, it was very far away. And every step they took was closer to the Expedition driving down to take him away.

“I want you to know that I did the best I knew how with Brie,” he said. “I wanted to make it up to her. I don’t think it’s all about me. I think that when I started trying to do right by her, it was the first time she’d ever had a man treat her well.”

“Maybe she thought you were the only one who ever would,” Meg murmured. And there Meg was, surrounded by men who did right by their family.

“Exactly. But she’ll figure it out. Besides, I always annoyed her. She said it was like dating a kid sometimes.”

Meg grinned. “I can understand that. I know I’d rather you never parked my camper again.”

He looked shocked. “What?”

“Never mind.” It didn’t matter. In hindsight it was almost funny. The turnoff to the logging road came up sooner than she could have imagined.

“I wanted to ask you a favor,” Gage said. “It’s a big one, but it would mean a lot to me. Do you think you could let my nephew Cole see your camper sometime?”

Meg doubted that would ever work out. “Of course. But I don’t see any way I’d be driving it down to Texas. In fact, I kind of doubt the camper, or my Jeep, could even make the trip.” She opened the door and stepped up into the camper, but she felt Gage stop behind her. She turned to see a confused look on his face. Was he trying to invite her to come visit? If so, she was handling it badly. But it was the truth, the camper wasn’t made for long trips.
Step out in faith. That doesn’t mean stepping all the way to Texas, does it?
She didn’t think that was what God wanted her to do. Or Uncle Jeffrey. That would be one big leap of faith, and not a very discerning one, at that.

“But my sister lives in Livingston.”

“Livingston?”

“Livingston, Montana.”

“Montana?”

He nodded.

Meg’s mind was buzzing. “Your sister lives in Montana?”

Gage nodded again, and looked at her like she was a little crazy.

“You’re moving to Montana?”

He began to grin.

“Wait, you grew up in Montana, not Texas?”

“Well, yes, I’m from Montana. Sorry, I know that doesn’t qualify me to be your Texas cowboy dream come true, but—”

Meg took a leap of faith right out of the camper and into his arms. Luckily Gage was plenty strong enough to catch her, and when she kissed him, he kissed her right back. When he finally let her slide back down to the ground and stopped kissing her, she felt lightheaded.

“What was that for?” he said, looking as if any reason at all would be fine with him.

“I thought you were from Texas, and so your sister was too, so when you said you were moving to be nearer to her I thought…”

His eyes grew wide, and then his smile did the same. “You thought… ha, Mouse Girl. The joke’s on you. I’ll be back in Montana in about two weeks. Sooner, if I can pull it off.”

Being patient and hopeful looked a lot easier all of a sudden. “You should take Cole camping in the trailer before the end of the summer,” she said. He could drive it like he stole it, for all she cared. He was moving to Montana!

She jumped into her trailer, grabbed his mustang and bobcat drawings, and hopped back out to hand them to him. He looked at her giddy expression and said, “I think I’d better kiss you again.” And that was what they were doing when the car horn sounded from the end of the old logging road. Gage looked at her, looked down the road, and then gave her a look that was full of regret. “Meg, I don’t want to go, but…”

Meg smiled. “Thanks for being my best man,” she said. “I’ll see you soon.”
See you soon.
That was what Leah had meant!

With a bow Gage said, “Thanks for being my maid of honor, Margaret Parks.” There was that grin again, the invitation to better things to come.

Mother/Daughter Book Club Questions

1. Meg’s art is her joy and her job. What do you think she had to accomplish to get that job? If you wanted to make money doing what you love, what would your job be, and what might it cost you to get it?

2. Gage is a male lead who has treated woman dishonorably in the past. Do you think people can make big changes in their life? How? Do big changes take time to stick? Should Meg trust Gage? Why or why not?

3. Meg’s relationship with her mother is strained. Does her mother and father’s missionary work play a role in that? How do you think parents should balance their missionary work and family responsibilities? Is the same true if a child feels called to a mission?

4. Meg’s cousin Joshua is protective of her when it comes to dating. Do you think he is helpful to her or not? What role does her father play? What role do you think a Christian man should play in his family’s “love life,” if any?

5. Brie has the kind of looks and style that stand out in a crowd. Do you think Meg stands out in a crowd? From what you learned in the book, what did Gage find attractive about Meg?

6. Do you think Meg and Gage are in love, or is it too soon to tell? How do you know when it’s love? Have you ever been wrong?

7. Out of all the characters in the book, who do you think is doing the best job of living a life that brings glory to God? Why? What can you do to encourage each other to do the same?

Acknowledgements

To my husband and kids, thank you for your patience, encouragement, and for teaching me every single day that love is funny, unexpected, glorious, sometimes hard, and always a blessing from God.

Other books by Cynthia Bruner

Fount
– Stories of Storms and Grace

- With Amy K. Maddox

and Karin Kaufman

Mountain Duet
– Mystery & Romance in the Rockies

- With Karin Kaufman

About the Author

Cynthia Bruner is an inspirational romance author and fine art landscape photographer for whom living in Montana is an endless source of romance, beauty, and humor. To learn more about the Montana Weekend Novella series or other writings, please visit the Montana Inspired Arts website.