Blythe had been shocked. Her hair was long, wavy, and auburn…pretty.But it wasn’t like she was some tall, beautiful brunette or blonde goddess. Her eyes were hazel-green, and her lips were average but full. She did have a smattering of freckles across her nose, and she remembered wondering how in the world that was the type of face they were looking for? She never disliked her appearance. She felt cute and confident when she looked in the mirror. But those men acted as if she was Marilyn Monroe and scooped her up as quickly as she walked in the door. It’d made her uncomfortable, but she pushed the feeling away because the job paid extremely well, not to mention the tips.
One Saturday evening, while tending to a large corner table, she’d felt a hand slip into hers as she turned to walk away.
“What did you say your name was again?”
His voice was velvety smooth and innocent. Stunned, she’d turned to look down at the man holding her hand. He was extremely handsome—ebony hair, brown eyes, clean shaven,suit and tie just like every other patron that ever walked into the place.
His cologne wafted up her nose, and she’d been a bit intoxicated before answering him.“Um, I, uh…Blythe. My name is Blythe.”
“That means joy, doesn’t it?” The man shot back.
“What are you, Webster's dictionary?”one of the other men joked as he sipped his scotch.
“Maxwell Harrison, but you can call me Max.”He'd said it with a wink while rubbing his thumb across the top of her hand.
Every time Max dined atLa Grande Boucherie,he’d requested her to wait on him. He never came alone, until one day when he asked her on a date. He’d wined and dined her—made her feel like his queen.
Jackass.
She wasn’t his anymore. As of this morning, she never planned on seeing him again. Before she dipped out of the city, she threw away every rose in the community dumpster near Harrison Premier. Then she walked up to the glass door of the building and pulled out her key. She made sure it was early, before anyone arrived to work, and quietly left one last gift for Max.
She’d carefully propped a note next to the cut flowers he always requested she send for. Freaking douche canoe and his stupid obsession with flowers. Next time she saw one, she wanted it peeking out of the ground—like the bed of irises she'd planted with her aunt in front of the house at Silo Springs.
The vase was sitting on the high top desk in front, where Blythe sat every day to greet clients as they walked in. She’d positioned the elegant ring box next to the note, with a single line that read…
“I will never come to my senses. I am no man’s trophy.”
She hadn’t signed it, and she didn’t care who found it first.
Pulled back to the present moment, tears still streamed down her cheeks. Though, they weren’t tears of sadness. They were tears of fury and outright disbelief that any of it even happened in the first place.
“Get yourself together, Blythe!” she shouted to herself inside the empty car.
Why she’d given him the ring back was beyond her. She’d thought about keeping the four-carat diamond and pawning it for cash. But about two seconds later, she envisioned police officers at her door with handcuffs—and a warrant for her arrest.
Yeah, not on her bingo card for this year. But then again, neither was ditching her super rich fiancé and running off to Montana for the summer.
Living life on the edge there, girlfriend… Way to keep it interesting.
She swatted the steering wheel then gripped it tighter. But as she drove toward her uncle's ranch, where all of her childhood dreams had come true, there was a sigh of relief. Silo Springs had always been morehomethan home was.
It was where she ran and played as a little girl.Where she caught lizards and toads, played in the mud, and felt the wind on her face. That place gave her wings, and soon she’d be there, running barefoot through the yellow fields of grass. Nothing but hills and blue sky in front of her.
Her Uncle Chris had two little girls, Adelaide and Evolette. Addie was ten, and Evie was eight. When Chris invited her to come stay with them, he’d promised to pay her. He said the girls needed someone to help feed and take care of them while school wasn’t in session. He needed to be able to take care of things without worrying about who they were with or what they were doing. She’d tried to argue, but he wouldn’t budge. Truth be told, she would’ve done it for free, as long as he gave her a bed to sleep in and food in her belly. She wouldn’t need much cash and didn’thave any bills to pay. Jenny already had another friend who’d jumped at the offer to take Blythe’s place in their apartment.
Blythe’s little cousins were the spitting image of her childhood self. If not physically, their spirits were kindred to her own. It would be so fun to spend the summer with them. She hadn't been back to Montana since she was fifteen. Addie was only five then, and Evie was three. Chris always sent pictures, though, and she called and video chatted with them often.
Adelaide was her mother’s reincarnate—long blonde hair, blue eyes, satin pink skin, and just plain lovely. There was no other way to describe her. Evie took after her daddy. She was adorned with a crown of brown curls, chestnut eyes, and freckles from head to toe. Someday, she’d give a man a run for his money with her confidence. She was beautiful in her own right—definitely more rough around the edges than her sister. Though, they were both pretty heathen, and that was the most exciting part for Blythe.
She took one last turn, driving down the unpaved road that led to Silo Springs Ranch. She rolled the windows down and let her hair blow as she stuck her left hand out the window to feel the breeze.
June in Montana was more like spring. These kinds of temperatures made one feel totally at peace, along with the green and yellow hue’s and wide open spaces.
As she pulled up to the white, double story, 1920’s style ranch house, she could see two little dresses jumping up and down on the big wrap-around porch. It was evening, and the girls were already dressed for bedtime.She remembered how much she loved the blue shutters outside every window.
She nearly jumped out of the car after putting it in park.
“Girls!” she called as she bounded up the porch steps.
