“I’d like that. Where do you suggest we go?”
“There’s a nice little café around the corner. They serve a wonderful iced lemonade.”
She liked the casual way he handled the matter. Even at their first meeting, she knew exactly where she stood with him, and now he was more than at ease in offering her friendship.
They started for the café with Eleanor walking alongside her bicycle. Carter glanced over and motioned to the bike. “Would you like me to manage that?”
“No, thank you. I have it.” Her tone was a bit sternerthan she intended, and so she hurried to continue. “I’ve grown accustomed to handling it, but I appreciate that you would offer.”
He shrugged. “Seemed like the thing to do. Ah, see, here we are.” They had turned the corner, and the shop was right there.
Eleanor again leaned the bicycle against the building, then dusted off her gloved hands. “Please lead the way.”
Carter opened the door to the small shop and ushered her inside. They took a seat near the front window at a small table for two. Eleanor pulled off her gloves and tucked them in her pockets. She could make out a bit of her reflection in the mirror, and gracious, she looked windblown.
“I’m afraid I’m rather untidy.” She raised a hand to smooth back her hair.
“I think you look just fine. Have you been out shopping today?”
“I have. Mrs. Ashbury insists I attend the dinner she’s giving on the twenty-fourth, and I had nothing appropriate to wear for the occasion.”
“Good thing we have an abundance of dress stores where you can mull over the latest fashions.”
If he only knew. Actually ... why not tell him? “I abhor shopping. My mother did too, so I suppose that’s where I get my feelings or lack of them. I picked out my gown at the first store I stopped in. Same for the shoes.” She laughed. “I hope I haven’t disappointed you.”
“On the contrary”—he looked at her with a gaze that suggested ... what? Respect?—“I find your confession endearing. A woman who knows what she wants and wastes little time in getting it is something I can admire.”
The waitress approached and Carter looked to Eleanor. “What would you like?”
“The lemonade you suggested sounds perfect.”
He glanced at the waitress. “Make it two.” He waited until the waitress had gone before posing a question. “Did you enjoy your time in the mountains?”
“I did. I found it refreshing. We rode for hours each day and sometimes in the most perilous of places. Oh, and I was able to meet and talk with some of the Blackfeet. There were four different men who joined our party one evening, and I enjoyed hearing some of their stories.”
“That sounds intriguing. Do you think you’ll be able to accomplish all you and your father have set out to do before you leave?”
Should she share her news with him? “I ... well ... my father and I don’t plan to leave Kalispell. Father wants to settle down and write a book on his experiences as a conservationist.”
He raised an eyebrow. “And do you intend to live here?”
Was his tone one of happy anticipation or simple surprise that two people from the big cities would find contentment in Kalispell?
“Yes. Mrs. Ashbury has arranged for us to see a couple of places tomorrow. I’ve already ridden by one of them ... the Hennessy house. Do you know it?”
He shook his head. “I don’t believe I do.”
“It’s rather perfect. I think Father will like it very much. It has a large area of gardens and trees.”
A mischievous smile stretched across Carter’s face. “Land? You will buy a house with a large plot of land? I thought you didn’t approve of such things.”
Eleanor stiffened. She couldn’t help it. He shouldn’t tease her about something she held so dear. “I don’t think you can compare a few acres to the twenty thousand or so owned by your family.”
He held up his hands. “I was just teasing, Miss Briggs. But clearly it struck a chord. So I have a question: isn’t ownership, ownership? What if someone wanted to come and sit in your garden as part of their visit to Kalispell?”
“I suppose they could come and ask us, and we’d probably allow for it.” Really! He was insufferable!
He chuckled. “I’m not trying to fight with you over this. Just to understand where the lines are drawn. My father intends to give me two hundred acres on my birthday in August. Is that too much by your standards?”
