Page 59 of Bear's Heart

“We met Monday for coffee, and she hired me then.Tuesday, we went through the magazine clippings she’d saved, and then Wednesday I shared some of my ideas.She’s lovely, you know.”Ansley leaned toward him to whisper.“And she wants to commission Ansley to do an original of Flathead Lake and the Mission Mountains, which would be the centerpiece for the cottage living room.”

“Cormac doesn’t strike me as a cottage kind of guy,” Bear said.

“I think they use the word cottage loosely.Their place is two or three stories and has over sixty-five hundred square feet.”

“I get it now.But good for you, and good for Ansley.You two make quite the design team.”

“Andwe do have Rye in our back pocket.”She flexed her lean but impressive bicep.“Calhoun and Campbell power.”

“You are so goofy,” he said.

“I know.But it’s good.It’s far better than taking oneself too seriously.”

“I agree.”Bear turned and faced the gallery wall.“If it’s still available, I want this schoolhouse.”

“Really?Why?”

He shrugged.“My dad grew up attending school in a one room schoolhouse, the Benton Lake School, a half hour north of Great Falls, and it makes me think of him.He went there from kindergarten until he was fourteen.”

“There’s not much north of Great Falls.”

“Farms.Ranches.My dad grew up in a farming family.”

“And your mom’s dad was a rancher.”

Bear nodded, bittersweet emotion filling him.He hadn’t felt much of anything positive for so long and now he was feeling good things again, feelings that weren’t dark and heavy, feelings that weren’t despair.The newness of these emotions staggered him.He’d doubted he’d ever again feel warmth and tenderness, joy and gratitude.Or love.But he felt love.

Love for his parents who had been truly good people.

Love for his sister, who had rushed to his side when he was hurt, and then stayed with him for months until he was stable.

Love for beautiful, passionate Josie Calhoun, whom he couldn’t have, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate her, and love her from afar.

“Where did your dad go to school when he turned fourteen?”Josie asked.

“My grandmother homeschooled him for a year, and then once he had his license, he drove himself to high school in Great Falls.He was, by all accounts, quite the athlete—a good quarterback and a great pitcher.”

“Did you play sports in school?”

“I did.”

“I imagine you were a good athlete, too.”

“I was,” he said modestly.

Josie laughed, and the sound of her laughing made him laugh.

“How did your parents meet?”she asked.

“Hiking.Mom loved being out of doors, and Dad was a brand-new park ranger and they met on a trail.He saw she was alone and mentioned that there had been an aggressive moose in the area and to be careful.”

“And they fell in love and lived happily ever after?”

“Not exactly.He fell for her, but she wasn’t interested in being anyone’s girlfriend.She liked her independence and my dad, although well-meaning, was always trying to help her.”

Josie grinned.“And she didn’t want or need his help.”

“Exactly.”

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