Do you know how I learned my chicken moves?”
Kaylee shook her head.
“From you.” Kaylee’s mouth dropped open. “I watched the play you were in last year and copied your birdie dance. My dancing was good because of you. How great is that?”
“Pretty great,” Kaylee said. Her gaze darted to a feather that had fallen out of Emily’s tail.
Over thirty feather dusters had been plucked and dyed bright yellow to create the Vegas Showgirl versus backyard chicken outfit Emily was wearing. After losing half of her feathers on the dance floor, there weren’t many left.
“Here you go…” Emily picked up the feather. “This is for you.”
Kaylee reached out and held the feather gently in her hands. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie. I’ve got to get changed, so hold onto the feather and I’ll see you later.”
“Okay.” Kaylee looked over her shoulder and waved to her mom.
An arm appeared in front of Emily. “Do you need a hand getting up?”
Emily smiled at Alex as he hauled her upright. “How did you guess?”
“Wasn’t hard. Besides, I’ve got to look after my number one interior designer. We’re at a delicate stage in negotiations.”
“I take it you still don’t want to paint the upstairs trim, Peppermint?”
“That’s a fancy way of saying green. And no, I can’t say it’s one of my favorite colors.”
“And what did we agree on with the boutique’s design elements?”
Alex sighed. “That you’d get what you want.”
“Within reason, and Peppermint trim is definitely within reason. Especially when your alternative is cream.”
“You say that like it’s a dirty word.”
Cody’s head shot up. “What’s that about dirty words?”
Emily shook her head. “I’m leaving before Cody gets too excited.” She turned around and bumped into a women standing behind her. “Oops, sorry.”
“That’s okay,” a laughing Irish voice said. “You look amazing.”
Emily blinked. With short, jet black hair and skin as pale as a winter moon, the stranger took Emily’s breath away. “You’re not from Montana.”
“No, but my nan had connections to America that went beyond blood ties. I’m Molly O’Donaghue.”
“Kelly’s sister?” If Molly had been Emily’s height she could have been a woodland fairy sent to bewitch them all. But her long legs and wide grin set her apart for completely different reasons.
“The one and the same.” She looked at Alex and smiled.
“Alex Green, ma’am. The chicken you bumped into is Emily Scotson.”
Emily took exception to being called a chicken, until she looked down at her yellow costume. For once in her life she wished she had legs that were a few inches longer. Or hair that didn’t frizz when it rained. Anything to distract Alex and Cody from ogling the Irish beauty in front of them.
“Hi, Emily.” Molly didn’t seem to notice the attention she was attracting. “I was going to call you tomorrow.”
“You were?” Cody sounded hopeful. Maybe too hopeful considering his ex-girlfriend was standing on the other side of the room. “I’m Cody. Emily’s brother.”
“Nice to meet you, Cody.”
Emily couldn’t believe her brother. He was practically drooling on the spot. It would have been embarrassing if she hadn’t caught the grin on Alex’s face. He was looking between her and Molly, comparing apples with pears. Chicken sized pears with short legs and ruffled feathers.
Molly sent another dazzling smile Emily’s way. “Kelly told me you were interested in having me photograph your autumn collection.”
Even though she was having a hard time overlooking Molly’s accent and long legs, Emily felt herself puff up with pride. An autumn collection. It sounded so professional, so Giorgio Armani and Dolce & Gabbana. So much of what she’d always dreamed about.
“I’d like to work with you.” Emily lifted her chicken feather hat off her head and tucked it under her arm. “I saw your website and you
Kaylee shook her head.
“From you.” Kaylee’s mouth dropped open. “I watched the play you were in last year and copied your birdie dance. My dancing was good because of you. How great is that?”
“Pretty great,” Kaylee said. Her gaze darted to a feather that had fallen out of Emily’s tail.
Over thirty feather dusters had been plucked and dyed bright yellow to create the Vegas Showgirl versus backyard chicken outfit Emily was wearing. After losing half of her feathers on the dance floor, there weren’t many left.
“Here you go…” Emily picked up the feather. “This is for you.”
Kaylee reached out and held the feather gently in her hands. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie. I’ve got to get changed, so hold onto the feather and I’ll see you later.”
“Okay.” Kaylee looked over her shoulder and waved to her mom.
An arm appeared in front of Emily. “Do you need a hand getting up?”
Emily smiled at Alex as he hauled her upright. “How did you guess?”
“Wasn’t hard. Besides, I’ve got to look after my number one interior designer. We’re at a delicate stage in negotiations.”
“I take it you still don’t want to paint the upstairs trim, Peppermint?”
“That’s a fancy way of saying green. And no, I can’t say it’s one of my favorite colors.”
“And what did we agree on with the boutique’s design elements?”
Alex sighed. “That you’d get what you want.”
“Within reason, and Peppermint trim is definitely within reason. Especially when your alternative is cream.”
“You say that like it’s a dirty word.”
Cody’s head shot up. “What’s that about dirty words?”
Emily shook her head. “I’m leaving before Cody gets too excited.” She turned around and bumped into a women standing behind her. “Oops, sorry.”
“That’s okay,” a laughing Irish voice said. “You look amazing.”
Emily blinked. With short, jet black hair and skin as pale as a winter moon, the stranger took Emily’s breath away. “You’re not from Montana.”
“No, but my nan had connections to America that went beyond blood ties. I’m Molly O’Donaghue.”
“Kelly’s sister?” If Molly had been Emily’s height she could have been a woodland fairy sent to bewitch them all. But her long legs and wide grin set her apart for completely different reasons.
“The one and the same.” She looked at Alex and smiled.
“Alex Green, ma’am. The chicken you bumped into is Emily Scotson.”
Emily took exception to being called a chicken, until she looked down at her yellow costume. For once in her life she wished she had legs that were a few inches longer. Or hair that didn’t frizz when it rained. Anything to distract Alex and Cody from ogling the Irish beauty in front of them.
“Hi, Emily.” Molly didn’t seem to notice the attention she was attracting. “I was going to call you tomorrow.”
“You were?” Cody sounded hopeful. Maybe too hopeful considering his ex-girlfriend was standing on the other side of the room. “I’m Cody. Emily’s brother.”
“Nice to meet you, Cody.”
Emily couldn’t believe her brother. He was practically drooling on the spot. It would have been embarrassing if she hadn’t caught the grin on Alex’s face. He was looking between her and Molly, comparing apples with pears. Chicken sized pears with short legs and ruffled feathers.
Molly sent another dazzling smile Emily’s way. “Kelly told me you were interested in having me photograph your autumn collection.”
Even though she was having a hard time overlooking Molly’s accent and long legs, Emily felt herself puff up with pride. An autumn collection. It sounded so professional, so Giorgio Armani and Dolce & Gabbana. So much of what she’d always dreamed about.
“I’d like to work with you.” Emily lifted her chicken feather hat off her head and tucked it under her arm. “I saw your website and you
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