Page 35 of All in with the Maverick Montana

“Yeah, just wrapping something up,” he said, glancing Amy’s way where she was giving Mac’s muzzle a rub.

“Would something happen to be that girl you were telling me about?” Shane asked.

Josh could hear the grin in his voice. He didn’t say anything, but Shane knew him too well.

“She’s there right now, isn’t she?”

“And here I was just thinking I might let you meet her.”

“Bring her,” Shane said. “Gram’ll be ecstatic.”

“You’re right,” Josh said, then paused thinking it through. “On second thought, Angela might be a lot.”

“Can’t back out on us now.”

“I don’t want to give you the chance to scare her away.”

“Gram!” Shane bellowed on the other end of the phone, and Josh could hear him plodding across the porch. “Josh is bringing his new woman!” There was a murmured reply and Shane yelled again. “The woman he’s been seeing. Yeah, the one I told you about!”

“Great,” Josh muttered.

Shane snorted. “If you don’t bring her now, you’re gonna get an earful.”

“Yeah, thanks for that.” He sighed.

“Didn’t you miss me, Joshy?”

“To be honest, right now I’m not really sure why I was so excited for you to come home. I’ll be over soon.”

“With Amy.”

“To be determined.” He hung up on Shane and tucked his phone into his pocket.

“Everything okay?” Amy asked, glancing up at him as he approached.

“Just the neighbors. They need a hand—some of their cattle got out.”

“Oh,” Amy said. “Does that happen a lot?”

“More often than you’d think. They sort of like to play follow the leader with bad ideas.”

Amy chuckled.

“Do you mind if we make a little detour on the way back?” Josh asked. “If not, I’m happy to drop you off first.”

“No, of course not,” Amy said. “I’d like to meet your neighbors.”

“Great,” Josh said, glad she was up to going, and not just because it would prevent him from getting the third degree from Angela. He was mostly just glad to get to spend some more time with her. “It shouldn’t take too long. Hopefully.”

They packed up the truck—Josh brought his tools and some extra lumber just in case, though he suspected Otis would have everything they needed—and drove over to the Coreys’. Otis Corey, Shane’s grandfather, was the salt of the earth. He’d had gray hair and wrinkles for as long as Josh could remember, and he wore it as well as he did his plaid shirts and denim overalls and cowboy boots. He was the type to put you to work while giving you advice. Josh had always had immense respect for how hard he worked and the morals he’d passed on to his own children and grandchildren. His wife, Angela, Shane’s grandmother, was the tenderhearted, tough, no-nonsense counterpart. She had a warmth that instantly endeared her to you, but she wasn’t afraid to set you straight, as she’d done on numerous occasions for Josh and Shane, especially when they were getting up to no good.

“So,” Amy said as Josh drove down a gravel road, dust spiraling in their wake. “Give me the crash course. What should I know?”

“Okay, well,” Josh started. “Shane Corey. We practically grew up together. He’s been living near Helena and just returned to Tenacity after a bad breakup. His grandparents own the ranch. Otis, steady, wise, will look at you like he’s staring straight through to your soul.”

Amy chuckled. “Got it.”

“And his wife, Angela, she’s the co-owner of Little Cowpokes Daycare Center in town. She also makes the best mac and cheese in Montana—ask anyone. And if you think you’ve had better…” He eyed her seriously. “No you didn’t.”