Piper didn’t have a choice. If she wanted to use the equipment without getting someone out to help her, she’d have to accept Caleb’s offer.

  “I’d appreciate that,” she said, swallowing her pride. “I keep my tools over there.” She indicated a grey-and-red multidrawer tool chest near the barn entrance.

  Piper went and extracted the correct tools. Caleb met her halfway, taking several from her. Their hands touched and she felt the warmth of his palm against hers.

  It had been a while since she had that kind of reaction to a man. She reminded herself she wasn’t here for romance and that he wasn’t here for the long run. Neither was she.

  But Piper couldn’t ignore this feeling or wanting to get to know Caleb more.

  Dear Reader,

  You briefly met Caleb Masters in my previous book, Healing the Doctor’s Heart. I knew from the moment he stepped on the page that Cal would tell me his story, and here it is in His Montana Star.

  Cal meets our heroine, Piper, a stunt coordinator living on the ranch next to his. Piper has had some troubles in her past and she allowed me to indulge in one of my fantasies—movie stunts. I love movies and I’m fascinated by how the movies make everything look real—explosions, scaling mountains, dangling over the edge of a building, and will we ever forget any of the Mission Impossible escapades? Cal, an engineer, suggests they make one of her stunts a reality, not knowing the affect it would have on their relationship and the Hollywood community.

  Thank you for joining me as Cal and Piper’s adventure unfolds. If you’re interested in this and other books I’ve written, you can contact me at shirleyhailstock.net or on Facebook or Twitter @shailstock.

  Thanks again and as always, keep reading.

  Shirley Hailstock

  His Montana Star

  Shirley Hailstock

  Shirley Hailstock began her writing life as a lover of reading. She likes nothing better than to find a quiet corner where she can get lost in a book, explore new worlds and visit places she never expected to see. As an author, she can not only visit those places, but she can be the heroine of her own stories. The author of forty novels and novellas, Shirley has received numerous awards, including a National Readers’ Choice Award, a Romance Writers of America’s Emma Merritt Award and an RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award. Shirley’s books have appeared on several bestseller lists, including the Glamour, Essence and Library Journal lists. She is a past president of Romance Writers of America.

  Books by Shirley Hailstock

  Harlequin Heartwarming

  Summer on Kendall Farm

  Promises to Keep

  Healing the Doctor’s Heart

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  To the Harlequin Heartwarming team, especially my editor. They never pushed me to complete my book during the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. Thank you, team. I appreciate your support.

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  EXCERPT FROM HER ISLAND HOMECOMING BY ANNA J. STEWART

  CHAPTER ONE

  “HI-YO, SILVER.” Piper Logan couldn’t help shouting that slogan. She’d done it since her first ride on Silver. Other than family, it reminded her of two things she loved—the ranch and horses. Again, she shouted to the wind as she pulled the reins and clenched her knees.

  Her black mare had a silver mane and tail. The horse rose up on strong hind legs and pedaled the air before settling back to earth. Patting the mare’s long neck, Piper smiled with pleasure. Leaning forward, she again used her knees to communicate her wishes to Silver, who took off running. The wind tinged Piper’s cheeks and snatched her hair away from her face. She loved the feel of the ride, the freedom of being on a horse. In the saddle, she was one with the elements, carefree and exhilarated. Many people sought freedom in the skies, on the open road or by sailing. She attained hers atop a horse. It was a good thing. She’d begun her career because she could handle a horse. And she’d learned to ride here on her aunt and uncle’s ranch.

  The ranch was hers alone now. Spending so much time in California, Piper had nearly forgotten how she loved being there. In the last year, she’d enjoyed having this place to come to. Solitude and reflection were what she needed, but the nightmares of the accident that brought her from the Hollywood fantasy factory to Waymon Valley, Montana, finally seemed to have abated. She was sure the horseback riding and teaching kept her mind off memories of the past. But when night fell, when the quiet of her thoughts were the only noise in the room, she returned to that movie set and found the tumbling metal replaying in her mind.

  Pushing the thought aside, Piper slowed Silver to a trot and then a gentle walk. Sliding down from the saddle, she surveyed the vast landscape. She loved Montana. The day was warm and comfortable. And the mountains in the background added to its beauty. She took in the scenery for a few moments. A student would arrive in an hour and she wanted to run through one of her routines before she had to cool the horse down and be ready for a basic training class. Routines always made her focus. She needed to be in the moment, concentrating on what she was doing to avoid errors and accidents.

  Again she patted Silver’s neck and climbed back into her seat. “Let’s go, girl,” she said, and with the click of her tongue, horse and rider were in the wind.

  * * *

  CALEB MASTERS PACED the floor of his living room. He’d been banned from the kitchen after breakfast by his housekeeper-cook and sometimes surrogate mother, Naomi. He carried a half-full cup of coffee as he walked. Cal’s brother, Jake, came to mind. In a way, he envied his only sibling. Not because they were brothers in their thirties and no longer tried to one-up the other for parental attention. And not because Dr. Jake Masters was a world-class surgeon. But because his brother had found the woman of his dreams and he appeared to be happier than Cal ever expected to be. He remembered the way Jake and his bride, Lauren, had looked at their wedding. The love they shared was tangible to anyone who witnessed it.

  Cal had no thoughts of being married. Still, he wondered what it would be like to have a woman adore him and he adore her the way his brother and sister-in-law did. It was probably the idleness of him doing little that had him thinking of relationships. It had been a while since he was involved with a woman. Cal’s job took him all over the world. Having a wife meant settling in one place, and while he was at his ranch on hiatus, he wasn’t planning to stay for longer than a few months. Even that might be cut short since he’d been there for a week and was already itching for something to do. Plus, the only people he’d seen were Naomi, her husband, and a few folks in town.

  That was until now.

  Cal stepped out onto the porch and squinted to see clearer. He had spotted someone. A woman riding a horse. But as he watched her, she more than rode. She was one with the animal, moving as the horse did, a natural connection between horse and rider. The late afternoon sun shone through her fiery hair as it bounced and fell like a fluttering ribbon of red and gold.

  Who was she? Cal wondered. And why was she riding along the ridge of his property? He watched her for a long time. She rode well and he enjoyed seeing the movement of woman and horse. Cal could ride, and seeing her, he wanted to do it again. He was just turning away when she did something unexpected. He froze, his hand on the screen door, staring. His mouth was suddenly dry. She fell off the horse. It was dragging her as she held on to the saddle horn.

  Cal was already in motion before he realized he was running. His hands grabbed the porch railing as his body scaled the banister and his boots hit the ground. Coming up from a crouch position, he scanned the ridge, looking for her. He spotted her just as she righted herself, using her own momentum to swing back into the saddle.

  “What?” he asked no one. Was she some sort of contortionist? He’d clearly seen her fall. Yet, as he continued to watch, she jumped down, even though the horse didn’t slow by a millisecond, took a couple of running steps in unison with the animal and then, defying gravity and the laws of physics, used acrobatic tricks to retake her seat.

  Cal’s mouth dropped open. Raising a hand, he shielded his eyes, following her progress. “What is she doing?” Again his question was directed to no one. Cal was mesmerized by her ability. She was an expert. She knew exactly how and when to drop from the seat and when to pull herself back into place. He marveled at her power and strength. Who was she? he wondered again. And where had she learned to ride like that? He could ride. He’d done it since he was a child, but her acrobatics were way beyond anything he’d ever done or thought of doing.

  “Cal? Cal, where are you?”

  He looked up. Naomi stood on the porch. With her hands settling on her ample hips, she searched right and left, before spying him.

  “What are you doing over there?” she asked as she reached the porch’s edge. “Oh, I see,” she said flatly, her eyes trained on the ridge. “Your lunch is ready.”

  “Who is that?” Cal asked, ignoring Naomi’s words and hooking his head toward the horse and rider.

  Squinting, Naomi
continued to look in the direction he indicated. She smiled, something she didn’t often do.

  “That’s Piper Logan. She’s running that place now. Hadn’t been around in years, but for the last twelve months she’s been over there full-time. Teaches horseback riding to the kids from town. Keeps your horses, too.”

  Cal could see why. “She’s excellent with a horse.”

  “Always has been,” Naomi acknowledged. “From what I hear, she did some trick riding in Hollywood. Got a job doing it, too.”

  Cal knew Naomi knew more than that. Despite the short time he’d been at the ranch, he’d learned that she was a force in the Valley and that she knew all there was to know. Yet she didn’t volunteer much. Not a gossip, Cal thought. But at this moment, he wanted more details about the woman on the ridge.

  “Why is she back here?” he asked. “Hollywood sounds fascinating.” Cal had been to enough places to admit that some people liked the pace of a big city and others enjoyed the quiet solitude of a small town.

  “Don’t know,” Naomi said. “She’s not much for talking these days. You’d better come in before your lunch gets cold.”

  Cal hesitated for several seconds. He knew that was Naomi’s way of saying the subject was closed. He didn’t want to leave. Piper’s ability mesmerized him. However, he eventually heeded Naomi’s warning and went inside, but looking over his shoulder all the way to the door. He ate quietly and alone. Naomi was a great cook and he was lucky that she and her Jack-of-all-trades husband took care of the place. He’d inherited her services from the previous owner, and while he’d only been in Montana a few times, he considered Naomi a friend.

  Pushing his plate aside, Cal stood up and took it to the kitchen. He fended for himself for his evening meal, although she often left something in the refrigerator for him to heat up later if he wasn’t there at dinnertime.

  “Do you have any more of that cake from yesterday?” he asked, setting the plate in the sink and running water to clean away the remnants.

  “I’ll cut you a slice.”

  “I’d like two slices.”

  She turned and looked at him.

  “And could you put them in a takeaway dish?”

  Naomi stood up to her full height and looked at him. “You’re going to meet her,” she stated.

  “It’s the neighborly thing to do,” he said, hiding a smile.

  “Good luck with that.” She frowned.

  Cal raised his brows, questioning her comment.

  “She’s a little reclusive, doesn’t open up easily to new people,” Naomi said. “She hasn’t spent much time reacquainting herself with the neighbors.”

  Cal looked through the window. Piper was his nearest neighbor. Out here, the word neighbor was a loose term. It could mean as far away as twenty miles.

  “I’ll appeal to her horse sense,” he told his housekeeper, who gave him a cynical look, then turned to cut the cake.

  With the two slices in hand, Cal left in the wake of Naomi’s laughter. Piper had been riding a horse, but he chose to drive. Minutes later he climbed out of the cab of his Dodge Ram and went up the steps to her front door. She didn’t answer the doorbell after two tries. Hearing the clopping of horse hooves, he walked to the side of the porch. Her stables were set away from the main house and she was teaching. He waited for her to finish as she patiently taught her student the basics of sitting in a saddle and adjusting to the rhythm of movement.

  Once the child was picked up, Piper handed her horse off to a groom, who took the reins.

  Cal approached the stables. As she spoke briefly to the groom, Piper gave no sign that she had seen Cal walk up.

  “Hello,” Cal said, from behind her.

  She left the groom at the sound of his voice. The man led the horse away and Piper stepped toward Cal.

  “Caleb Masters,” he said, extending his hand.

  “So you’re the new person at the Christensen place,” she said. She didn’t shake his hand or stop to greet him but continued walking toward the house. “About time you came to inspect the property.”

  “I’ve been here before. I didn’t buy it sight unseen. And it’s no longer the Christensen place.”

  Ignoring his last comment, she said, “Well, I’ve been here for a year and this is the first I’ve heard of you being in residence. If you’ve stopped by to see your horses, they’re in the stable. I’ll have time to show you the way tomorrow.”

  “Oh, right. My horses,” Cal repeated.

  “Didn’t you know?” She squinted at him but kept walking.

  “They were already boarded when I returned here,” he told her. “Since they need exercise and you already had permission to use them, even for the students, I let them stay where they were.”

  “Well, now you know they’re in that barn.” She pointed toward the building where the groom had taken her training horse. “I suppose you’ll be moving them soon.”

  “Only if that’s a problem.”

  “It isn’t,” she said. “We’ve been boarding horses for years. And I’ve been told your stay here is temporary. They will need a home when you’re gone.”

  So she knew about him. He wondered who she’d talked to. It sounded as if she was already dismissing him. Naomi had warned him she was reclusive.

  “I bought the ranch as an investment. I’m an engineer. My last job shut down without notice.” He stopped. Cal wasn’t going into details about the closure. “Usually, I’d go to New York, but my brother got married last year and it was a little inconvenient.”

  “I see I’m not the only newcomer. From what I hear, you haven’t been around that long, either.”

  She stopped then and turned to him. “What have you heard?”

  Her voice was strong. It was almost an accusation or a command. Cal was taken aback. “Not much. Only that you’ve been here a year and you teach riding,” he explained. But he wondered why she was so defensive.

  She said nothing, only stared at him a long moment before turning and resuming her walk.

  “Could you stop a moment? I only wanted to be neighborly.”

  She stopped.

  “I brought you a dessert. It’s what people used to do to be friendly. I’m not sure if that’s still the truth, but that’s what I was taught.”

  He offered one slice of the cake to her. Piper took it, looking through the clear plastic container. “Dessert,” she said. “Cake?”

  He nodded.

  “I don’t eat a lot of carbs.” She pushed the container back into his hands.

  Cal gave her the once-over. She was wearing black riding pants and boots with a white short-sleeved shirt that was tucked into her pants. He thought she could use a few carbs.

  Her hair was redder up close than it seemed when he’d first seen her riding along the ridge. Then the sun had turned it fiery red. Now he saw it was dark red with sprinkles of copper threaded through. She was a head shorter than he was, even though the ground they stood on put her at even height.

  “Come on, it’s cake,” he said. “A very good cake, I might add.”

  “Did you bake it?”

  “I could have. But I didn’t. Naomi baked this and she’s legendary for her kitchen skills.” Cal didn’t know this for sure, but from the meals she’d cooked him so far, she was better than good.

  “I thought since we’re neighbors, you’d offer me some coffee and we could eat the cake together.”

  “That’s not going to happen. Since you’ve heard about me, you know I’m a loner. I don’t do coffee and cake.”

  She turned again, this time going up the steps to her front door. Cal wondered if she was seeking sanctuary. Why would someone be so unfriendly, especially in Waymon Valley, where every time he stepped out of his truck, someone waved, smiled at him or said hello?

  “I see,” he said. “If you change your mind, enjoy the cake. Both pieces. And be neighborly and return the containers.”

  He slipped the two pieces of cake through the porch railings. Piper skipped up the steps and went through the door without giving him a backward glance.