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it was really chilly here in the mountains so she’d have an excuse to light a fire every night.
    She stepped in, unable to believe this was really going to be her home for the summer. She’d expected a sparse little apartment, or just a bedroom in the main lodge, maybe. All she’d hoped was that she’d at least have her own bathroom, but she hadn’t even been sure that would be the case.
    “Kyla, this is way more than I expected. Are you sure you have the space to put me up in my own cabin?”
    Kyla looked at her with an amused expression. “Did you think we were going to put you in a bunkhouse with stable hands or something?”
    “I guess—I don’t know. I wasn’t sure.” Lexi shrugged. “This is my first placement. I don’t know how these things usually work.”
    “Well, I don’t either, but when you join the Whisper Creek family, you get a cabin.” Kyla smiled as she looked at her watch. “Uh-oh. I’ll have to let you explore later. Dinner’s at six, and if we’re late, the guys won’t leave anything for us to eat.” As if in answer, Lexi’s stomach growled, making Kyla laugh. “And I guess we’re right on time.”
    She headed down the steps, motioning for Lexi to follow, and Lexi struggled to keep up with both her pace and her stream of words.
    “Once the guests get here on Sunday, the schedule gets rolling, but this weekend we’re a little more relaxed. Starting Monday, breakfast is at seven o’clock for family, and eight o’clock for guests. Lunch is sort of catch-as-catch-can depending on people’s schedules, and everybody eats dinner together—staff
and
guests. Ma keeps a KP schedule in the kitchen. It’s a little nutty, but it’s one of the things guests love.”
    “I can imagine.”
    “It makes more work for her, but Ma insists that it be that way. She says Whisper Creek’s always been a family ranch, and it always will be. Our family just keeps getting bigger.” Lexi heard the affection in Kyla’s tone and couldn’t wait to meet her mother-in-law.
    Just as they reached the steps that led up to the wide front porch of the main lodge, Kyla leaned toward Lexi to whisper in her ear.
    “Quick clue to get you off on the right foot—if you want to compliment Ma’s cooking, focus on the meat and vegetables. That’s the part she makes. The business has kind of outgrown her kitchen, so Jenny—you’ll meet her—does all of the baking now from her bakery downtown.” She opened the screen door and waved Lexi inside. “Come on in. Everyone’s excited to meet you.”
    Lexi took a deep breath, calling up her widest smile, the one that looked like Katie’s if she tried hard enough. She could do this. She could be the outgoing, friendly one. Nobody here knew she was a certifiable introvert who’d rather read a book than go to a party. Nobody here knew that small talk gave her virtual hives. Nobody here knew she’d been dumped two weeks before her own wedding.
    Nobody here knew how pathetic her life back home really was.
    And nobody would, dammit.
    She took another deep breath, trying to keep the smile from faltering as she nodded at Kyla and ducked through the door, stopping fast when she saw the crowd of people already gathered at a huge wooden table.
    Time to put on the sparkle.
    Two hours later, Lexi collapsed on the porch swing of her cabin, kicking off her shoes and tucking her feet up under her. She’d expected it to be dusk by now, but apparently sunset came later in Montana than in Maine. There was just enough of a breeze to keep the mosquitoes at bay, and she could hear peepers and frogs warming up for evening, as well as the muted thumps and soft whinnies of horses settling down for the night in the stables just down the hill from her.
    “Hey, Lexi,” a deep voice came from her left, startling her.
Gunnar
. Who she had
not
been daydreaming about just now, thank you. Not at all. He stopped at the bottom of her porch steps. “You look exhausted. Whisper Creek