From This Moment On Read Free

teenager she’d gotten into some trouble in her gang-infested neighborhood. She hadn’t elaborated, and it was pretty clear she’d regretted being so open.
    Other than that night when he’d looked after her while Matt got patched up, Trace hadn’t spent any time alone with her. She’d come to Blackfoot Falls because her brother had wanted her to meet Wallace and get closure before he died. Matt also hoped she would like Montana and move to the Lone Wolf. They’d stayed two weeks and then Matt had to return to the rodeo circuit and Nikki to her waitressing job in Houston.
    And in those three months they were gone, Trace had thought about her every single day. He’d never been that dogged over a woman before. His last new truck, yeah, and technically it hadn’t been new. But he’d thought about that honey every day for over five months before he had enough cash to bring the Ram home with him.
    “Hey.”
    Trace snapped out of his preoccupation the same time Nikki touched him. He looked at her small hand resting on his forearm, at the neatly trimmed nails that had a light sheen but no color. Then he looked into her pretty brown eyes that had seen too much. They got to him every time.
    “You were daydreaming.” She drew back her hand. “If you had knocked this tray over I would’ve strangled you. Here.”
    He took the bottle from her. “Thanks.”
    “Don’t thank me.” She motioned with her chin. “Thank your friend sitting near the jukebox. The beer’s from her.”
    His stomach turned. “Karina?”
    “Yep.”
    “I don’t want anyone buying my beer. Tell her I said thanks anyway.”
    “Tell her yourself.” A small smile tugging at her lips, Nikki turned to pass a mug to Josh.
    “I’m serious. Add this to my tab and then I’m cashing out.”
    “You’re leaving?” Disappointment flickered in her eyes, and then she blinked and it was gone. “I can give you a total now,” she said, all business. “You’ve had, what...two beers?”
    “This one makes three.” He waited for her to meet his gaze but she was being stubborn. He really didn’t want to leave yet, and if she gave him the slightest indication she’d like him to stay, he’d wait for her to get off work. But no, she seemed determined to treat him like he was any other customer. Which he supposed he was, but sure didn’t like it.
    He set the bottle down and dug in his pocket. For over a week he’d had the same thing every night so he knew his tab came to $9.75. He pulled out two bills and laid them on her tray. “Keep the change.”
    “Isn’t Karina a guest at the Sundance? You really want to turn her down?”
    “Yeah, I do.” He wasn’t about to let that bronc out of the chute. Bad enough he had to socialize with the women crawling all over the Sundance. He didn’t need to owe any of them.
    “It’s just a drink, Trace.”
    He smiled. No, it wasn’t, not with these women. “Your next day off, how about you and me take a drive to Kalispell?”
    “Why?” She glanced around, but no one had heard. He’d made sure he kept his voice low, and Sam was busy racking balls for the next game. “Isn’t that forty-five minutes away?”
    “You haven’t been, right? It’s nice. Lots of restaurants, bars, department stores, movie theaters. I think there might even be a bowling alley.”
    “So...you’re asking me to go because...?”
    “I don’t know.” Man, she didn’t make it easy. “I have business there, anyway,” he said, lying through his teeth. “I thought you’d like to check out what’s available...stuff we don’t have in Blackfoot Falls.”
    “I appreciate the thought.” She picked up two empty mugs off the shelf that ran along the wall. “But I have a bunch of things to do when I have time off.” Now she was lying. She wasn’t any better at it than him.
    “Okay.” He saw Sam eyeing them, curiosity coming off him like steam. “If you change your mind let me know.” Trace grabbed his Stetson off the peg and