Montana Wrangler by Charlotte Carter Page A

Paige heard from Mr. Armstrong. The medical conference coordinator insisted he had arranged for a full breakfast for the attendees. Paige assured her boss that wasn’t the case and emailed him the signed copy of the contract.
    An hour later, Armstrong’s secretary called to say they couldn’t get the PowerPoint projector to work. Granted, the machine was sometimes temperamental, but how was Paige supposed to fix it from five hundred miles away? Someone, namely her assistant, should have checked it out yesterday before the conference started.
    Guilt tweaked her conscience. If she had returned to Seattle when she’d planned, she would have taken care of that detail.
    But seeing Bryan’s excitement at Game Day was too special to have missed. And there was no sense to go streaking to Seattle at this late hour. She’d no more than arrive and she’d have to return to Bear Lake.
    With Jay and Bryan on an all-day trail ride, and Nathan and Grandpa leading a group of riders on a two-hour trek, Paige found herself all alone in the quiet house.
    She hadn’t wanted Grandpa to go given his health. He waved off her concern, saying, “I’ve been riding horses since I was two. Not about to stop now.”
    She really wished he’d see a doctor for a checkup.
    Feeling at loose ends, she wandered outside. With most of the horses gone, only the breeze in the treetops and periodic bird calls interrupted the silence. Somewhere there was a woodpecker busily at work tap-tap-tapping. The faint sound of a motorboat on the lake barely reached her.
    Archie trotted out of the barn, her feathery tail wagging. Her pregnancy seemed to make her belly grow every day, and Paige felt a twinge of envy. What would it be like to carry a child inside her? Jay’s child.
    She felt a rush of warmth flush her body, and firmly quashed that sensation.
    She knelt to pet the dog. “Are you lonely, too? Bet you wish you’d gone with Bryan.”
    Lifting her head, Archie licked her face. Giggling at the sensation, she recalled pleading with her parents to get her a puppy. Her mother had made it quite clear there was rarely anyone at home to take care of an animal, and there was no way she was going to clean up his messes after a long day at the hardware store.
    Paige hadn’t bothered to ask again.
    With a resigned sigh, she walked toward the stables. Archie stayed right at her side.
    â€œYou’ll let me know if there’s a bear around, won’t you?”
    Archie didn’t comment, but Paige was pretty sure she’d sound the alert if she spied a big black bear lumbering through the neighborhood.
    However, Archie did seem to be guiding her. When she started to turn into the barn Archie stepped in front of her, all but forcing her to change direction and head for the stables.
    She laughed. Archie’s border collie genes were showing. Apparently Paige was the only creature around she could herd.
    To her surprise, she discovered Peaches and one other horse still in their stalls. While she had been helping Bryan clean tack, she had overheard Grandpa and Nathan talking about the other horse having a gimpy leg. They were going to rest him for a few days.
    Peaches nickered and hung her head over the side of the stall.
    â€œHi, girl.” Paige rubbed the horse’s velvet nose. “How come they left you behind? Weren’t there any inexperienced riders today? Bet you and Archie both hate to miss out on all the fun.” Although Paige was sure she’d find a full day’s ride excruciatingly painful and punctuated by moments of terror.
    As though Archie had done her duty delivering Paige to the stables, she went into Peaches’s stall and curled up in the corner.
    Feeling particularly courageous, Paige found the grooming brush. With only the slightest nervous twinge, she entered the stall and began brushing Peaches’s dusky-brown mane.
    â€œYou do like attention, don’t