When Heather woke the next morning, she looked around the room, her eyes still wanting to stay closed. There was a moment of panic as she tried to remember where she was, and then she fell back on her pillows. Idaho. She was in Idaho, and she’d be spending her day with Michael. Well, part of her day, anyway.

She glanced at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was just past nine, and she climbed from the bed. That was after ten her time, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so late. After a quick shower, she dressed and made her hair full and pretty.

She walked down the stairs, not knowing what she’d find. Mrs. Muir had seemed so nice, but Michael had been present for most of their interactions. Heather hoped the older woman would be just as nice when he wasn’t there.

When she reached the kitchen, a cheerful Mrs. Muir grinned at her. “I hope you slept well!”

“I did. Thank you.” Heather desperately wanted to make a good impression on Michael’s mother, but she wasn’t sure how. How do you make the woman who is your potential future mother-in-law happy?

“Sit down! I have a couple of muffins for you and a cup of coffee. Are you a coffee drinker?”

Heather nodded. “Not always, but I do enjoy a cup from time to time. I’m not one of those people who has to have it within thirty-six seconds of falling out of bed or her day is ruined, though.”

Mrs. Muir grinned. “I can usually last forty-three seconds before I ruin my day over coffee.” She placed two blueberry muffins on the table in front of Heather along with a cup of coffee.

“Thank you. I didn’t mean to sleep so late.”

“Nonsense. You were tired, and you had every right to sleep as long as you needed to.” Mrs. Muir got herself a muffin and a cup of coffee and sat down across from Heather. “Michael should be here in an hour and a half. He’s excited to show you our little town.”

Heather took a sip of the coffee, liking how it filled her with warmth. She would have been just as happy with hot tea or hot chocolate, but the coffee was good, too. “I’m looking forward to it. He thinks a lot of this place. He talked about it all the time while he was in Texas.”

“I’m sorry we had to call him home early. We honestly needed him here.”

“I understand completely, though I would have liked a little more time with him.” Heather shrugged. “Family first, though.”

“I appreciate you understanding. We’d have expected you to do the same if it had been one of your sisters. Michael says you’re the oldest of seven girls.”

Heather nodded. “I am. The youngest is in college.”

“Do you think you’d be able to move away?”

“I really don’t know. I love what I do, and my business is doing well. It seems like it would be crazy to leave it at this time.” But it might be crazier not to.

“Maybe it would. Maybe it wouldn’t. I know that I would think it was crazy to have love in the palm of your hands and let it go. I’d have given anything for just a few more years with my love.”

Heather frowned. “Michael told me his dad died young.”

“He did. And I made him wait a couple of years to marry so I could finish my college degree. I never used that degree because I immediately became a housewife and then a mom. I should have married him as soon as he asked.” Mrs. Muir stared off into the distance as she spoke. “I’m not telling you what to do, Heather. I just don’t want you to have the kind of regrets I have.”

“Thank you.” Heather didn’t know what else to say. The warning was understandable, but she hoped nothing like that ever happened to Michael. She knew it would tear her up.

“Everyone will be here tonight. You’ll get to meet all four of my other children. I thought I’d make a nice supper and then we’ll play some games. I have Trivial Pursuit.”

Heather grinned. “I love that game!”

“I do, too. It’s so fun. I always feel a little slow, but we play in teams, and that helps.” Mrs. Muir leaned forward, as if to impart a secret. “I sometimes read through the first thirty or so cards in each box so I’ll have a fighting chance.”

Heather giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. “I’ll never tell!”

“Good girl. I knew I liked you.” Mrs. Muir got up then and started to clean up the small mess they’d made. “Michael should be here in an hour. You might want to wander around outside for a bit . . . explore.”

Heather nodded. “I’d like that a lot.” She hurried upstairs and put on her outside gear. When she was covered with leg warmers, a coat, gloves, a hat, and scarf, she went back down the stairs and stepped outside. It was snowing lightly, and Heather wanted to spin around, trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue.

She’d seen snow a few times, but it was sticking to the ground here and looked like they may even get enough for a snowman. She had always wanted to build a snowman!

She wandered around to the back of the house and found a small path that led back through some trees. There she found another house that was much smaller. She looked at it for a moment, contemplating. It must be where Michael lives, she decided.

There were no festive decorations on the smaller house as there were on the bigger one. Someone had gone all out to decorate the big house for Christmas, and she knew that someone was Michael’s mother. This house looked like a bachelor lived in it. There wasn’t even a wreath on the door, and she highly doubted there would be a tree in the house.

It made her sad to think that he didn’t even decorate for Christmas. At home, her house was completely decked out for the season, inside and out. She knew she wouldn’t actually spend the holiday at home, but she’d instead go to her parents’ house as she did every year. That didn’t matter about the decorations, though. She was happy to put them up.

Suddenly she wanted to decorate with Michael. She wanted them to have a home together to decorate every year. Glancing over at the big house his mother lived in, she knew it would be theirs. Well, he did have to ask her to marry him first, but that was just a formality as far as she was concerned.

Heather continued on her walk, daydreaming about someday having his baby. Even though she wouldn’t be surrounded by her family, she would still be surrounded by a family. Michael’s family would become hers. There was no doubt in her mind.

She was just walking back around the front of the house when she spotted his truck parked out front. “Michael!” She raised a hand and waved to him.

He grinned at her. She was definitely dressed like a Texas girl in an Idaho winter. She was covered from head to toe by thick, warm winter clothing. He’d never seen anything like it. Well, he had but not at a balmy twenty-eight degrees. “You ready?”

She nodded. “I don’t have my purse. Do I need it?”

He shook his head. “I can’t imagine why you would. Unless you want to try to drive in the snow.”

“No, thanks. I have no desire to drive in the snow.”

“All right. Climb in then.” He slid behind the steering wheel and headed toward town. “I thought we’d drive through town, and I’ll show you everything, and then we’ll have some lunch.”

“Sounds good. Your mom fed me muffins when I got up, which was after ten. I felt like a sloth sleeping that long. I can only imagine what she thinks of me.”

“You’re not a sloth. You were up early yesterday, and you’ve been going non-stop getting ready for the recital.” Michael shook his head. “You had the right to sleep late.”

“Yeah, but not every day. I want to be able to work with you at least one day while I’m here.”

He frowned at her. “You want to do ranch work with me? Really?”

“Why not? I helped on my uncle’s ranch growing up. It’s not like I don’t know what I’m doing around a cow or horse.”

“Well, if you really want to, you’re welcome to join me one day. If you get too tired you can always go back to the house for a nap.”

Heather looked at him for a moment in disbelief. “Is that a challenge?”

Michael looked at her, just then realizing how his words must have sounded. “Not at all. I’m sorry if that sounded condescending.”

Heather folded her arms and looked out of the window on her side of the truck. She wasn’t sure she was pleased with him at the moment.

When he reached town, he pointed out all of the important things. “That’s the grocery store. We have a butcher in town as well. There’s a small car dealership if you like Jeeps.” He pointed out the post office and a couple of small restaurants as they drove. “We even have a dime store.”

She took in everything, liking the look of the old brick buildings in town. “How big is this place?”

“About twenty-five hundred people. Not big, but not too terribly small either.” Michael hoped she liked it, because he needed her to stay there with him and not spend the rest of her life in Texas. He pulled into a small café that had the best food in town, and he got out of the truck. “I figured we’d eat here. There’s a pizza place, too, and you can always eat at the bowling alley, but this is my favorite.”

Heather got out and walked to the building with him. When they walked in, he was greeted by name. “Hey, Michael. Just pick a table. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Michael nodded and led Heather to a table in the corner. “I went to school with her older sister,” he said about the waitress.

“Is there anyone in town you don’t know?” she asked.

“Maybe a few people. I do know most.” The waitress came over then, looking at Heather with unashamed interest. “This is Heather. I met her while I was in Texas in October.”

“Someone said you were twitterpated. It’s nice to meet you, Heather. I’m Brandi.”

Heather nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

“Is this your first time in Idaho?”

“Yes. It’s a beautiful state.”

“I agree, but then it’s home.” Brandi gave them each a menu. “What do you want to drink?”

“Dr. Pepper?”

Brandi shook her head. “We have Coke, Sprite, root beer . . .”

“Coke is fine.” Heather wasn’t sure if she could live in a town that didn’t have Dr. Pepper at every restaurant. They’d better not eat out much.

After Brandi walked off, Heather studied the menu. “What’s good?”

“Pretty much everything.” Michael closed his menu and pushed it away. He always got the same thing, and he wasn’t sure why he even bothered to look, but every single time he reread the whole menu, looking for hidden gems.

She finally closed her menu, realizing the little restaurant was jumping. The waitress was rushing around. “It seems like a nice town.”

“Trust me, it is. I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I mean, your town was nice and all, but with no winter, I don’t think I could live there.”

She glanced out the window and saw that the snow was still falling. “How deep does it get before people stay home?” she asked. In Texas, a state of emergency would have been called with the amount of snow on the ground already, and it didn’t look like it was stopping anytime soon.

“A foot or more probably. I never really thought about it. My truck has four-wheel drive, and I just go when I need to.”

When Brandi came back, she ordered a club sandwich and the soup of the day, which was baked potato soup. After the waitress had hurried off, she leaned forward. “Am I allowed to make a joke about eating potato soup in Idaho?”

“I wouldn’t recommend it!” He grinned. “Actually, we embrace our potato-loving ways. Potatoes are a staple crop around here. People from all over come to help with the potato harvest.”

“Interesting,” Heather said with a grin. “I guess if you grow good potatoes, you might as well brag about it.”

“Trust me. We do!” He took her hand in his. “I have a surprise for you after lunch. Do you like surprises?”

She frowned at him. “I’m not sure. It depends on the surprise.”

“Well, I hope you like this one then. I worked hard on it.”

“Then I’m sure I’ll be pleased with it.” She had no idea what it could be, but she wasn’t going to complain. He’d thought about doing something special for her, and that was all that really mattered. “I want to see a picture of your parents together later, if you can find one. After listening to your mom talk about your dad today, I want to check out their auras.”

“Sounds good to me. I also want you to tell me if you think my sister’s new boyfriend is worth anything. She met him at college, and we’re all meeting him for the first time tonight. Tell me if he’s good for her, and I’ll know whether or not I should scare him off.”

She laughed softly. “I guess I could do that. What about your brothers? Are either of them bringing dates?”

He shook his head. “Nah. No one would ever go out with those two losers.”

Heather smiled. “Sounds like a brother talking there.”

“Well, I am a brother. A good brother, too.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. What’s the surprise?” Heather had learned that if she distracted her father when he was talking about a surprise, but then turned the conversation back to it, he was more likely to spill the beans.

“I’m not telling you that! That’s why it’s called a surprise. You’ll just have to see for yourself.” Michael frowned at her. “Are you trying to use your voodoo on me? Because it won’t work.”

“The only voodoo I have is knowing if people belong together. I couldn’t use voodoo on you if I wanted to.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want that.”

Heather put her hand in Michael’s and smiled. “No voodoo for you.”