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And then maybe she could stop getting those silly flutters in her stomach whenever he grinned at her.

A girl could dream anyway.

Chapter 2

Gabe hadn’t thought a Montana winter would be that much different than a New Jersey one. After all, they were both northern-ish. And he’d survived desert nights and hellish landscapes all over the world. Not to mention BUD/S training.

November in Montana was proving to be tougher. Or, worse, he was getting old and weak. He snorted as he hefted a bale of hay onto the UTV that would get him through the hard-packed snow of the pastures.

He pulled his hat a little lower on his head, then slid into the driver’s seat. He was about to turn the ignition, but a female voice called out.

“Oh, there you are.”

Gabe frowned over at Monica’s approaching form. It was fairly early, though it was the last day of school before Thanksgiving break. Gabe imagined she’d been up getting Colin off to school.

She didn’t stop until she stood right next to the vehicle, looking something like a ball of fabric with arms and legs.

“Is there a human being under there?”

She wrinkled her nose at him. Maybe she made some other facial expression, but since he could only see her nose and a little bit of her eyes, it was hard to tell.

“It’s in the single digits. I put on every coat, scarf, and pair of gloves I own. Plus, I’m wearing three pairs of yoga pants under my jeans.”

“You do yoga?”

“No, I do yogapants.” She pulled the pile of scarves off her mouth and smiled at him.

Oh, he did not trust this woman or this approach at all, especially when that smile lodged somewhere in his chest as if it had anything to do with him, when he knew better.

“I was hoping you could help me.”

Gabe looked her up and down. He might not know Monica on a personal level, but he’d been around her enough in the past few months to know that asking for help was not something she did often or at all. Which meant she had an ulterior motive.

“I’ve got cows to feed and frozen water to break up. Can it wait?”

“Let me just tell you what it is, then you can think on it.”

“It’s the kind of favor I’m going to have to think on?”

She blew out a frustrated breath. “I need some help getting a Christmas tree. I was hoping to do it on Thanksgiving, just so I could get it up and ready the day after. Colin and I always do, but there’s no place around here to go buy a tree. Becca says they just cut them down off the property.”

When it was clear she wasn’t going to say more, Gabe shrugged. “So?”

“So Jack and Rose will be at the Shaws’ on Thanksgiving. Becca and her mom will be busy cooking, and I’m sure Alex will be on hand to help with preparations. I thought you could give us a hand. You don’t have any Thanksgiving plans before Becca’s dinner, do you?”

“No.”

“Then it’s settled.”

“Is it?”

“Becca won’t want us all underfoot while she’s so generously making dinner. This way, we can go do something, and you’d be helping meandColin. I know he’ll appreciate it.”

Underfoot. Yeah, he wasn’t too keen on being underfoot or feeling like he was thirteen and unwanted again. “I wasn’t planning on being underfoot. I may not even go to Becca’s dinner.”

Monica frowned, wisps of blond hair being tugged out of her hats by the hard, cold wind. “Where are you going?”

“Nowhere.”