Second Chance Bride (Montana Born Brides) (15 page)

“The name’s Mitch Bannister. I’m looking for Tara Buck.”

Everyone in range turned at his voice, the police officer behind the counter cocked his head. “You a friend of Officer Buck, sir?”

“A friend of her sister.”

“I see.” He picked up a phone. “I’ll just see if she’s available.”

Mitch nodded. He sure hoped she was available. He wasn’t certain how he’d find Scarlett otherwise,
although come hell or high water he swore he would.

The officer behind the counter put down the phone. “She’ll be here in a couple of minutes.” He gestured to the row of seats along the wall. “Would you like to take a seat?”

“No thanks.” He’d been sitting for far too many hours as it was. Instead he turned and watched the people of the good city of Bozeman go about their business through the windows. A busy place, the street filled with shoppers and workers on their lunch break, the parking spaces along the side of the road filled with pickup trucks and SUVs. And somewhere out there in Montana was Scarlett.

So this was Mitch. Tara’s eyes narrowed as she checked him out. Not bad from the rear. “Mr. Bannister?”

He turned, his eyes narrowing, also, “Tara Buck?” And she had to admit the view from the front was pretty good too.

“I hear you’re looking for my sister.”

“That’s right.”

“She expecting you?”

“No.” He smiled. “I thought I’d surprise her.”

“Long way to come to surprise a woman. What if she doesn’t want to see you?”

“I’ll take my chances. Do you know where I might find her?”

Through the window Tara saw her twin coming back from the
deli with the office lunch orders and disappear inside. “Yeah, maybe. You wanna ride?”

“I’d appreciate it.”

“Sure, give me a minute.”

She grabbed her hat and some car keys and told her co-workers she’d be back in ten.

He’d barely climbed into the black and white alongside her when she pulled out into the traffic. “So what do you do back in Australia?” she asked.

“I’m a mining engineer at an iron ore mine in the northwest.”

She took a right. “Yeah? That must pay pretty well?”

“Not bad.”

“Not bad? I’ll say if you can pay someone to fly home business class, it’s not bad.”

Mitch
smiled. “It’s a long trip. I thought Scarlett could at least do it in comfort.”

“Very decent of you. So long as you’re not expecting anything in return, that is.”

“Like what?”

Another right. “You tell me.”

“Scarlett is safe with me,” he said.

“Yeah,” Tara said, with the indicator on again. They waited at the traffic lights before
she made another right. “That’s what they all say. But Scarlett’s come back and she’s all settled down and I don’t want her shaken up again.”

“I appreciate that.”

She looked over at him. “So you’re not planning on shaking her up again, right?”

“Not if I can help it.”

“Good. Then we might even end up friends.”

He looked around. The street looked familiar. “I thought you were taking me to Marietta.”

Then he saw the police department directly ahead. She pulled up slightly short of it.

“Why would I take you to Marietta?” said Tara, “when Scarlett works right across the street.”

He looked out his window, searching for a clue. There was an old timber building, done up and with a sign out the front written in western style lettering.

Morison and Daume CPA

And there inside the glass frontage he saw a flash of color and movement.

Scarlett!

Tara got out of the car and leaned against the fender with her arms crossed. “Now you go see my sister, and I’ll wait right here, just in case she’s not all that happy with your little surprise.”

H
e smiled and said, “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Officer Buck.”

Scarlett picked up the ringing phone, “Morison and
Daume CPA, can I help you?” She listened a while and then, “just putting you through.” And punched another line before she hung up. Phew. After a week, she had the veritable antique of a switchboard mastered.

The bell above the door rang and she swiveled in her chair ready to give
a similar greeting to whoever had just come in. “Welcome to Morison and... Morison and...
Mitch
?”

“Hi Scarlett. Long time no see.”

She squealed and jumped up from her chair and flew into his waiting arms. Mitch spun her around, their lips locked tight in a kiss that said it had been way too long.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, breathless and blushing, her eyes so big and green and alive.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

He looked around the office. “What are you doing here?”

“I
have a job.”

“As an accountant?”

“Yeah. No. Not quite. But I’m learning about the office and I’m going back to college and if I do okay, over the next few months, the firm will let me work part time while I study.”

He smiled. “That’s great Scarlett. That’s really great.”

“I know. And I owe it all to you. But hey, how did you even find me?”

“Your sister showed me where you worked. But only after giving me the third degree on the drive here.”

She frowned. ‘She works right across the street.’

He smiled. “So I discovered.”

She laughed and looked out the window and there was her sister, indeed, right across the street, leaning against her patrol car. She waved to her through the window.

And Tara, watching from across the street, waved back and mouthed, “Go Scarlett,” and went back to work.

“How long are you here?”

“Not long.”

There was a cough behind them, and she turned to see old Mr. Morison sticking his head out of his office. “Everything all right, Ms. Buck?”

“Oh, Mr
. Morison, yes sir.” And to Mitch she said, “I have to get back to work. Will you wait for me?”

“Sure, I’ll take a look around town.”

“Oh! And it’s the Barn Dance tonight for The Great Wedding Giveaway. Tara and Simon are entered and they’re announcing the semi-finalists. I’m going with Mom. Will you come with me? You have to come!”

He smiled. It wasn’t quite the way he’d planned the night to go, but he was here and she hadn’t recoiled in horror and maybe this wasn’t such
an insane idea. “Sure, it’d be my pleasure.”

The blood in
Scarlett’s veins fizzed as she slipped on the emerald green dress Mitch had bought for her in Kalgoorlie. It seemed fitting that she’d chosen it to wear tonight. Fitting that he’d arrived today in time to see her wear it again.

Why had he come? Simply because he’d missed her? She’d counted the days off since she’d come home, counted them in blocks of fourteen days on and seven days off. Felt a pang of hope during that seven days that maybe
—but nothing. And then fourteen long days on again.

She’d hardly dared hope this time. But he was here.

Her heart was racing. She checked herself in the mirror, knowing she couldn’t linger. Right now Mom was entertaining Mitch in the front room and she daren’t leave them alone too long. If he thought a grilling from Tara was tough, he hadn’t seen nothing yet.

She was half way out the door before she remembered them, the earrings he’d bought her at the Staircase Markets that last night in Broome. Then, with one final glance in the mirror, she was done.

Mitch stood as she entered the room. “You look beautiful, Scarlett.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself, Mitch.”

Her mom flapped and fussed, as if charged by the crackling electricity in the room, fumbling for her purse and a coat. It was Mitch who took the coat from her shaking hands and slipped it over her black sequined top and leopard skin mini.

“Thank you, Mitch. Now we must get going. They’ll introduce all the couples and we can’t miss Tara and Simon.”

Scarlett let Mitch drive, giving him directions to Samuel T. Emerson’s big cattle ranch and the magnificent old barn, where the dance would be held, and she was glad she wasn’t driving. It meant she could sit back and concentrate on him while her Mom fired question after question.

He looked better than she remembered
, and he’d looked damn fine then, and when he looked over at her now, her blood just fizzed some more. He smiled. “What are you looking at?”

“You.”

She was so busy watching him that they missed the turn off to the ranch and had to turn around and go back.

Mitch couldn’t believe the size of it when he drove up. He’d been expecting something like a shearing shed like they used at home for barn dances. But this was no old tin shearing shed. This was enormous. This was the mother of all barns.

Scarlett’s mother was already making a wobbly dash for the entrance when Mitch said, “Tammy—Mrs. Buck—would it be all right if we caught up with you in a moment? I just wanted to have a word with Scarlett.”

“I’ll see you inside,” she said, “I’ll save your seats.”