Sweet Montana Christmas (17 page)

“Julie. She's my friend and employee.” She leaned closer to Tony. Zach had mentioned once that his teammate tended to be a bit of a ladies' man. “And doesn't need her feelings messed with,” she whispered.

“Got it.” Tony grinned before making his way to the counter, a smile on his face and a swagger in his hips.

“I don't think your warning is going to stop him,” Zach said.

“Well, I'll have to warn
her
later.”

“Aw, Tony's not so bad,” Pat said. “He just hasn't found the right girl to settle him down. Are those chocolate shakes over there?” He pointed to a tray filled with small paper cups.

“Yes. We have dark chocolate, mint chocolate, and huckleberry.”

“Huckleberry doesn't have chocolate,” Zach said.

“Huckleberry shakes are a requirement for anyone selling sweets in Montana in the summer.”

“Got a point.”

“Whatever,” Pat said. “They look great.” He headed off in the direction of the tray.

Sue Anne was left with Zach. For a moment, she was caught in a spider web of changing emotions—glad he'd brought his friends to support her, annoyance that he'd been avoiding her for weeks, and a yearning for something more that the fates were withholding.

The murmur of happy voices asking about ingredients and plans surrounded her. The small space vibrated with sounds like “Mmm,” “Yum,” and “Ooh.”

A stout man in a suit approached. “You the owner?”

“Yes,” she said cautiously. He had “lawyer” written all over him.

“I wanted to let you know these are really good. One of my assistants brought them to the office a few weeks ago, and I had to try them myself.” He shook his head. “Only thing is your prices are way too high.”

She wanted to strangle him with his two hundred dollar silk tie. Instead, she plastered a smile on her face. “As a businessman, I'm sure you know the cost of top-line ingredients and the importance of using them. We handcraft our candies for a unique experience you'll find nowhere else in Montana. I'm sure you agree.”

The man nodded.

“Have you tried the chocolate-dipped Flathead Cherries? They're right over there.”

He nodded again and scurried off.

“Well done.” Zach's voice was warm in her ear. “You are a good businesswoman. But I knew that already.”

“It's great to see all these people,” she said. “Thanks for bringing your friends.”

“They were eager to see the place where all the goodies are born.”

She laughed.

“This is so wonderful!” Liz, another lady from her networking group, came up to greet her. “These are sooo good.” She held up a small square of fudge, then frowned. “Can you make it work, though? I mean, the food industry is tough. Will you be able to make a living with this small place?”

“Oh, she's got bigger dreams than that,” Zach said. “I think she's planning on taking over the state one city at a time.” He draped an arm around Sue Anne. “She shipped some chocolates to Alaska for my buddy, and I hear they're a big hit. That state will be next to fall to Montana Sweets.” He gave her a light squeeze before dropping his arm.

He heart warmed. He had been paying attention to her after all.

The traffic during the entire day was steady, keeping Julie and her busy refilling trays and ringing up sales. Reps from Made in Montana, Rosauers, and Missoula Fresh Market left their cards, inviting her to stop by to discuss resale.

With a sigh of relief, Sue Anne locked the door at six o'clock. Paper cups and doilies were strewn on the small tables around the room. The floor, counters, and display cases all needed a good cleaning. The stock in the cases was depleted.

Behind the cash register, Julie totaled up the day's receipts. When she finished, she gave a thumbs up.

Success.

“C'mon back,” Sue Anne said. “I've got some champagne chilling and some chips and dip. Let's reward ourselves.”

“But what about...?” Julie gestured to the messy room.

“It'll still be here in the morning. “I'd rather tackle it then.”

“If you're sure...”

“I am.”

Soon they were settled into the porch chairs Sue Anne had scored at a local yard sale, each with a glass of bubbly in her hand. Wrens, robins, and finches twittered in the nearby bushes, and hummingbirds buzzed the feeders that she had hung. Sugar scampered around the small yard, glad to be free of the apartment's confines.

Contentment filled her. She was creating something and building a life for herself. Maybe it was time to start looking for the right man.

• • •

Zach waited for Sue Anne at the bend as they made their way up the Bear Creek Trail. The warm weather had infected him with the urge to hike, like it had so many other Missoulians. It had seemed natural to call Sue Anne to accompany him.

After all, they were friends, weren't they?

That was the problem. He could tell himself they were friends all he wanted, but he suspected his feelings went deeper than that. He didn't want to examine his emotions too closely, in case they interfered with his plans.

“Catch your breath?” he asked her when she caught up.

She nodded and took a sip of water from her CamelBak. While they were both in shape, an elevation gain of over a thousand feet, especially when starting at a high altitude, took its toll. Still she made no complaints and even stopped occasionally to shoot pictures of the valley laid out below them.

“It's good to be on the trail again,” she said. “Let's do more of this.”

“Sure.” It seemed natural to put his arm around her as they stared into the standing deadwood. A fire had swept through the area a few years earlier, scorching the earth more than necessary because of debris buildup. Forest Service policies suppressing fires for most of the 1900s had prevented nature's cleansing.

What the fire had taken away in terms of living trees allowed new growth and opportunities for some birds and animals to find new homes.

Sue Anne grabbed his arm. “Look!” She pointed to a large shape at the top of a hefty snag a few hundred feet away.

He pulled out his binoculars, while she focused her lens on the white-headed bird peering down into the brush below. The eagle moved its head from this way to that, fierce yellow eyes staring steadily, ignoring their presence.

After a few moments, he squeezed her hand. “Looks like he's going to be there for a while. Want to keep going?”

“Okay.” Her face was lit up with the wonder of excitement, drawing him into her orb of happiness.

His lips were on hers before he had a chance to think about it. As he pulled her close, the peacefulness of the mutual experience touched a place that hadn't been reached in a very long time.

What the hell was he going to do with her?

• • •

“Damn it. Look at this, Julie,” Sue Anne said a few weeks later. She pointed to a white discoloration on the huckleberry-chocolate bear paws she was ready to put out in the cases. “The sugar separated from the chocolate. We've got bloom.”

“How did that happen?” Julie asked. “We were really careful.”

They'd gotten the new molds in the previous week, and Sue Anne had been anxious to get them on the floor. Grizzlies were the city's main symbol, and huckleberry anything was an obsession.

“When did we pour these?” Sue Anne asked, trying to remember. With all the chocolate they were making, the days were beginning to blur.

“Monday, I think.”

Monday. That was the answer.

“Remember? Monday night that big storm came through. It didn't rain, but boy it got humid during the day. Moisture causes bloom, so that must have been how it happened.” She frowned. It was a typical loss for most chocolatiers, and she'd built the cost into her budget, but still it was hard to take.

She wanted everything to be perfect. It wasn't realistic, but she wanted it anyway. Just like she wanted her life to follow the plan she'd mapped out for herself: build a successful business, find the right man, and raise chocolate-addicted kids.

That was in the future. Right now, she had to salvage the bear claws.

“Okay, let's make another batch. I need to get these on the shelves before the weekend. University graduation is this Saturday, and I want to have something unique on hand. There are a lot of college students in this neighborhood, and I've given them a special discount coupon for their parents.”

They were on the second layer of chocolate coating when her phone rang.

Mother.

“Go ahead and take it,” Julie said. “I can handle this.”

She punched the talk button.

“Mom, I'm in the middle of making chocolate. Can I call you back later?”

“You always say that, but you never do.”

Guilt hit her. She'd intended to call her mother more often, but life was moving too fast.

“Okay, Mom. I can spare a few minutes.”

“Good, because I wanted to discuss my trip to visit you. Do you know how long it takes to get there? And how much it costs?”

“When are you planning on coming?”

“Why, next week. Remember, you told me you would have time for me in May, after your big opening.”

Sue Anne groaned. “I forgot, Mom. I have to go to a convention.”

“Why didn't you remember earlier? I've been looking forward to being with you.” There was actual longing in her mother's voice.

Inspiration struck.

“Mom, the chocolate convention is in Chicago next week. Why don't you meet me there?” A little buzz of happiness hit her. This might not be a bad idea. “You could get an idea of what I'm doing and take in the sights while I'm working. We could have dinner together every night.”

“I guess so. We'd share a room, right?”

That was going to be a major problem, but she couldn't afford to get a separate room.

“Yes, sure.”

“That sounds good, then! Chicago is civilized, at least. And I don't have to stop anywhere else before I get there. I don't know how people stand nondirect flights.”

Her mother was a spoiled traveler who never flew coach.

Maybe she had the right idea. One downside of living in Montana was the need to change planes at least once before getting to a destination. She'd often found herself running from one end of the Denver terminal to the other or whiling away hours at the bar in Salt Lake.

“Okay, then. I'll e-mail you the details,” Sue Anne said.

“Can't you give them to me now?”

“Sorry, like I said, Mom, I'm in the middle of things. I'll get back to you later today. I promise. See you next week, Mom. Love you.”

“What was that all about?” Julie asked.

Sue Anne told her.

“How are you going to survive your mother for three days?”

“Lots of chocolate. And red wine.”

Julie chuckled.

“Are you going to be all right while I'm in Chicago?” Sue Anne asked as she washed her hands to get back to work.

“Yes. We've been over this already. It's important that you go. We've got enough sweets for the traffic we're getting. I can handle being here all day. It will give me a chance to review inventory and make lists of anything else we need to have before the summer season.” Julie looked at her and grinned. “Stop worrying. I've got it under control.”

It was good to have her friend back.

But all kidding aside, being around her mother for three days was going to strain every nerve in her body.

Sue Anne had hoped to have the time to sort through her feelings about Zach. There was a moment when they'd been hiking last weekend when she thought she'd finally reached him, gotten him to understand the possibilities in front of them were much more important than career advancement in some big airport.

But their parting had been cool, and she hadn't heard from him this week because of his shift. Or was that only an excuse? She was getting tired of their on-again off-again whatever-it-was.

She had a feeling she deserved more from a relationship than Zach Crippin was willing to give.

Zach caught his breath as the glacial lake came into view. Avalanche Lake was a pristine blue green he'd never seen before.

“Awesome, isn't it?” Pat said. “Worth the couple miles to get here?”

“Definitely.”

They walked the rest of the way to the lake, and Zach's amazement grew. Smooth river rocks of green, red, and various shades of brown reflected from the bottom of the lake. Minnows darted around their shadows, and he thought he saw a larger fish in the distant waters. On the far side of the lake, granite mountains scaled the deep blue sky.

“Thanks for suggesting this,” he said.

“Well, I couldn't believe you've been here all this time and never made it up to Glacier.”

“I didn't know it was this beautiful. I thought it was all hype.”

“Nope. Not as grandiose as Alaska—and that's not hype either—but a great place in its own right. And it's a lot closer.” He pointed to a grassy spot at the edge of the lake. “Want to eat our sandwiches there?”

“Sounds good.”

The clomp of their boots echoed on the hiking trail gravel and reverberated in the expanse. A few voices interrupted the silence, but they were too far away to disturb them. Instead, there was the gentle lap of the water on the shore, ebbing and flowing from the push of the wind and the wakes of ducks near the reeds.

Just like the ebb and flow of his relationship with Sue Anne. He'd told her they'd be friends, and now he wasn't even doing that. His failure during the Alert 4 had rattled him, but not as much as the feeling of total contentment he'd had on the Bear Creek Trail.

He couldn't be falling for her, could he?

“What's on your mind?” Pat asked him when they'd settled down with their sandwiches and sodas.