"Well, I think that is the last box." Suellen Lackley set down the cardboard box in the middle of the living room floor next to all other hundred-plus boxes. "At least of our stuff. I think Maleena still had a couple." Brushing some hair off of her sweaty forehead, Suellen turned to her husband. "I think our next task will be getting the window air conditioners in. This heat is ridiculous." 

     Smiling down at his wife, Wayne Lackley replied, "It certainly is a lot hotter here in Montana in the summer than it is in Wyoming where it feels like winter nine months out of the year." 

     "That is a very true statement." Suellen smiled, wrapping her arms around her husband's middle. "But, I still don't think it is too hot for you to kiss me, though." There was a playful smile on her lips.

     "It's never too hot for me to kiss my beautiful wife." Wayne replied, tilting his head down, placing a wet kiss on his wife's lips.  

     "Yuck." The Lackley's 17 year old daughter, Maleena, groaned as she walked in from outside. "Y'all get a room." Maleena mumbled, carrying one of her boxes into the house.

     "Y'know, that's not a bad idea." Suellen grinned at her husband. As Wayne leaned in for another kiss, Suellen turned, adding, "Grab that box, honey. I want to start getting these boxes into their appropriate rooms so things are organized when the movers come tomorrow with the furniture. Those go in the bedroom." Suellen said, pointing to a small stack directly to her left. 

     Wayne gave Maleena a funny look as he followed his wife to their first floor master bedroom, box in hand. Maleena smiled, carrying a couple of her own boxes upstairs to where her room will be. Deep down inside, Maleena liked this new house, but she loved her old one. Her family had lived in Wyoming for over 20 years, and in the same house. Any new change was major for Maleena, especially if it's moving. Thankfully, Maleena's horses were able to be moved down here, so that was at least one familiar thing she could look forward to. 

     Setting down the two boxes that she carried up to her room, Maleena sighed, walking to her window. She had the best view of the driveway and of the ranch. The mountains were about the only familiar thing to her from their move from Wyoming. Here, the endless bright blue sky seemed like it didn't know what clouds were, the grass was so much more green, and it seemed to stretch all the way across the horizon. However, it wasn't Wyoming; it wasn't the tiny, sleepy town that she had grown up in. Here, she would need to make all new friends, go to a new school, even make herself known in the rodeos here. 

     Turning back around, Maleena looked around her room. It was a much bigger room than her old one in Wyoming; that was a very good thing. In fact, her mom said that once they got settled, they would have to go shopping to get more furniture to fill the empty spaces in the room. Maleena was also promised a full sized bed, an upgrade from her twin. 

     After moving some things around slightly, Maleena made her way downstairs to carry up the last of her boxes. Not to her surprise, her parents were already putting in the window air conditioner in the living room. The house had air conditioning, but it hadn't been serviced for many years, and needed some repairs before it could be used. In their old house, they just had window air conditioner and not central air, so once they got the central A/C fixed here, it would be a very nice feature.

     "Maleena, honey, do you want us to put your air conditioner in tonight, or do you want to wait until tomorrow after the movers come?" Suellen asked Maleena whose arms were full with heavy boxes of books for her bookcase. 

     "Tomorrow, I guess." Maleena set the boxes down so she could talk to her mom. "Is Chandler still coming up on Saturday?" Chandler is Maleena's older brother who goes to college in Texas, but will be living with his parents this summer until he has to go back to school in the fall. As a result of his final exam schedule, he wasn't able to come with his parents and sister when they moved all of their stuff to Montana.

     "That is the plan." Wayne replied, crossing the living room to walk to the side window.     

        "Okay. Do you guys need any help in here?" Maleena asked, wiping her forehead. These heat waves were brutal here.

     Wayne struggled to answer because he was lifting the air conditioner up as Suellen, from outside, slid a 4x4 post beneath it as support. "No, sweetheart. Why don't you start organizing the kitchen boxes?"

     Maleena nodded in response. First, she carried the last of her boxes up to her room before making her way into the spacious kitchen. Not knowing where to start with the maze of boxes, Maleena "eeny meeny miny moe'd" the boxes before choosing one that contained dry foods.

     Opening one of the cupboards next to where the refrigerator will be, Maleena began to put the food away. After that task was finished, she found the canned goods and began organizing them in the pantry adjacent to the kitchen.

      "Maleena, honey?" Suellen called, walking out from their bedroom off of the living room.

      "Still in the kitchen, mom." Maleena replied. 

      "Your father and I talked and we are goin' into town to get supper. We will leave in about ten minutes, so that gives you a chance to get cleaned up, if you need to."  

     Maleena nodded her response. After emptying the box of canned goods, Maleena made her way upstairs to the bathroom so that she had a mirror. Deciding her hair was going to look bad no matter what she did, Maleena went back into her room and found the box that had her ball caps. Pulling out the first one she grabbed, Maleena situated the hat comfortably on her head before heading downstairs. 

      Wayne and Suellen had already disconnected the hauling trailer off of their truck by the time Maleena got outside. Sliding into the back seat of the truck, Maleena asked her parents, "Where are we goin' to eat?"

     Turning around in her seat, Suellen replied, "I don't know yet. But, I guess that is all part of the adventure." She smiled before turning back around to face forward.

     Maleena softly sighed as she looked out of her window. It really was pretty out here; she wasn't going to deny that. There was still long car rides to go really anywhere, especially since "downtown" was forty minutes away; so far, everyone had been super nice. But, no matter the positives, it wasn't home, nor would it ever be.

     What seemed like longer than it was, "downtown"came into focus. After Maleena's parents drove around for another ten minutes trying to find a restaurant, but to no avail, Maleena chimed in from the back seat, "Do y'all know where you're goin'?" 

      "No need to worry, honey. We have a map. As long as we have a map, we can find anything." Wayne said, turning left down a road because of Suellen's directions.  

     "Is our town even on that map? Isn't it too small to be on there?" Maleena asked, leaning forward to possibly catch a glance at the map. 

     "This is a map of the county. Thankfully, Montana has small counties, so yes, in fact, Grinddale, is on the map." Suellen replied. "Oh, turn right here, honey...I think." Maleena's mom flipped the map so it was facing another direction. Under her breath she mumbled, "No, this isn't right." 

     "Just admit it, we're lost." Maleena slouched back against the seat.  

     "But isn't that all part of the adventure, though?" Suellen turned around in her seat to look at Maleena. "You like adventures, darling. What's wrong?"

     "I'm just tired and hungry, mama." Maleena replied, looking out her window again.
Instead of replying, Suellen just reached back to place a comforting hand on Maleena's knee.

Finally, after asking for directions at a gas station, Maleena's dad pulled into a little restaurant that had the "best steak around," or so the locals said.

     The trip into town, that should have taken no more than 45 minutes, took almost an hour and a half. Nonetheless, Maleena jumped down from the back seat of the cab of the truck, her stomach growling loudly as she did so. Following her parents into the restaurant, Maleena checked her phone when she heard it buzz. There were three new text messages, a few emails, and other various notifications. A week before they moved, Maleena's parents got her a new phone...a smart phone. Maleena had mixed emotions about getting a smart phone. Sure, she was excited to have one, but now she thinks that it is a more of a nuisance. It is constantly ringing with notifications, especially now since the reception is spotty out here. 

     Sighing, Maleena deleted all of the notifications. However, she pulled her phone back out and read her text messages while they waited in line to be seated in the crowded restaurant. Two of the messages were from her best friend, "Just checkin in, hoping everything is goin' well. Love you and miss you." The texts made Maleena smiled. 

     After texting her friend back, she read the text from her older brother. Chandler was more than a brother to Maleena; he was her friend, too. "Hey, squirt, hope everything is goin' well. Can't wait to see you on Saturday. Love you." The text made Maleena's smile fade slightly; she really missed her brother. Before that could bother her too much, the hostess called the Lackley's name up to be seated. 

     "What a cool place this is." Suellen smiled as she looked around the rustic restaurant.  

     Maleena nodded in response to her mom, but kept her eyes fixed on the menu. When she hadn't eaten for several hours, Maleena tended to get pretty "hangry" and easily irritable due to her low blood sugar. 

     "Hey y'all, I'm Dillion, and I will-" The waiter started. He paused his introduction halfway through and Maleena felt eyes on her, but she ignored them. "I will be y'all's waiter today." Dillion finished. "What will we all be drinkin' tonight?" 

     Because of where they were sitting, Maleena's parents ordered their drinks first. Next, was Maleena's turn. "And what can I get for you...ma'am?" Dillion asked; Maleena felt his eyes on her again. 

     "I'll just have a Dr. Pepper, please." Maleena ordered, setting down her menu. For the first time since he came over, Maleena looked up at Dillion and instantly wished she hadn't. 

     Dillion was incredibly handsome and Maleena doesn't do well with handsome guys. Every time she tries to talk to a handsome man, she ends up getting tongue tied, thus making a fool of herself. 

     Smiling, Dillion asked their table, but looked only at Maleena when he asked, "Can I start y'all off with any appetizers? The onion rings are really good." Dillion ended his sentence by shooting Maleena a wink. In order to hide her blush, Maleena set her menu up on end, and stared at one of the pages in the menu. Maleena knew that hiding behind her menu might have been able to hide her blushing, but it certainly would not be able to hide her smile.  

     "Onion rings sound good. We will take an order of them, please." Wayne replied to Dillion.

     "Alright. I will have your drinks and rings out in just a minute." Dillion replied, putting his menu pad back in the pocket of his apron before walking away from the table. 

     Sparing a glance upward, once Dillion walked away, Maleena saw Dillion glance back at her once before disappearing into the kitchen.

     "He's cute, isn't he, Maleena?" Maleena's mom asked, giving Maleena a look. 

     Maleena shrugged, attempting to play it off, so her mom wouldn't know just how cute she really thought Dillion was. 

     "I saw him wink at you. He could be your first friend here, Maleena." This time it was Suellen who winked. 

      Maleena set down her menu to roll her eyes at her mother. "Mom..." Maleena drew out; she didn't want to make new friends. Instead, she wanted to keep her old friends that she had in Wyoming. 

     At that moment, Dillion came back with their drinks, setting Maleena's Dr. Pepper down last."Do y'all know what you want to order, or do y'all need a few more minutes?" 

     "I think we are all ready to order." Wayne said, looking to Suellen, to make sure she was ready.

     Maleena started to inwardly freak out because she had hardly looked at her menu since her mind was...preoccupied. "And for you, ma'am?" Dillion said, standing next to Maleena.

     "Um..." Maleena started. Her eyes scanned the menu, but she couldn't seem to focus. Setting the menu down slightly, Maleena said, "I'll just have a 6 ounce steak, please." 

     "Which one? We have several different kinds of steak." Dillion pointed to the selection of steaks on the menu that Maleena was still staring at. 

     One word caught Maleena's eye, so she just went with that one. "I'll have the Cowboy sirloin...medium rare, please." 

     "Okay, darlin', and you get two sides with that." Dillion smiled. He thought that Maleena was looking awful cute as her face turned brighter red every time she looked at him. It was even cuter that she was so nervous around him that she couldn't order. Would Dillion ever tell Maleena how he felt about her right now; no, probably not, but that didn't stop him from smiling at her. Hopefully she would know that good waiters and waitresses smile at all their customers...it's good for tips. Even though tips had nothing to do with why he was smiling at this pretty young girl. Because of how much she blushed, Dillion concluded that she had probably only had a handful of guys flirt with her.

     "Um...I guess just fries and mashed taters with brown gravy." Maleena finally ordered, looking up at Dillion. He was looking down at his menu pad, which made Maleena see how long of eyelashes he had. They made his light brown eyes stand out against his brunette brown hair.

     Once he had written out Maleena's order, he read over everyone's orders before smiling at Maleena again, then walking away from the table. 

     "I think he likes you, Maleena." Suellen leaned forward to whisper to Maleena.

     "No, he doesn't mom. He's a waiter. They're all required to smile and flirt with customers...it's good for tips. Or at least that's what I've heard." 

      "Not all waiters do that...if anything, he could be your first friend here. He seems like a nice guy." Suellen smiled. 

     "Sue, we need to sit down and formally meet this kid before we let our daughter even be friends with him." Wayne said to his wife, a small smile on his lips. Looking back to Maleena, he turned serious, "We want what's best for you, darlin'."  

      Maleena rolled her eyes. "Y'all, he's just a waiter. That's it. He won't even remember me tomorrow; to him I'm just another customer." Who was she trying to convince? Her mom or herself...or both? "Besides, he's too old for me. He has to be at least 21." 

     "No, Maleena, I think he's around your age..." Suellen had a goofy smile on her face. 

     "Mom..." Maleena groaned out. Her family had only been here in Montana for less than 24 hours and already they were trying to find ways to make Maleena like it here. "I know what you're trying to do, but it's not going to work. I'm sorry."

     "Oh, I'm not tryin' to do anything sweetheart except to help you adjust to life here." Suellen smiled.

      Maleena just kept her mouth shut to prevent a fight. 

     Looking to her right, Suellen said, a little too loudly, "Shh, here he comes."

      If Maleena wasn't already embarrassed out of her mind before, she certainly was now. "Maybe he didn't hear her..." Maleena prayed in her head. 

      "Uh oh. Y'all talkin' about me again?" Dillion flashed that charming smile; it was the one that showed his dimples. "All good thangs, I hope." He added, winking at Maleena.  

     When Maleena looked at him to respond, she found she couldn't force any words to come out. Instead, she probably looked like a fish gasping for air. Okay, now was officially embarrassed out of her mind.

     "I'm just teasin' y'all. Here are your onion rings. Your orders should be out in just a few minutes. Y'all enjoy." Dillion set down the large stack of onion rings, along with three plates, on the table. As always, he smiled one more time at Maleena before walking away to go wait on his other tables.  

     As she ate her onion rings, Maleena tried hard to not think about Dillion. There was no possible way that she could like a guy she literally just met about twenty minutes ago, right?  

     Before she could fully convince herself that she didn't like Dillion, and was just flattered by the attention, the attractive waiter returned to the table. Expertly flipping open the tray stand with his foot, Dillion set the heavy tray of food down. After all the plates were dolled out, Dillion asked if he could bring the table out any more sauces or drinks, or anything. Maleena asked for another Dr. Pepper and a bottle of A-1 sauce to accompany her delicious looking steak dinner.

     When Dillion returned with the drink and sauce bottle, Maleena couldn't help but notice his cheeks looked slightly red as he set them down on the table. Nervously looking between the table top and Maleena, Dillion set down a small stack of some napkins right in front of Maleena.  

     Keeping his hand on the napkins, and slowly sliding them toward her, Dillion said directly to Maleena, "I brought you out a couple extra napkins." When he retracted his hand, Maleena saw something written in black on the top napkin. 

      When she looked back up from the stack of napkins, Maleena saw that Dillion was gone from the table. When Wayne asked for a napkin, Maleena grabbed the top one, then slid the pile over to her dad. 

      Putting the napkin under the table to look at it, Maleena read what was written on it. "Let's talk sometime. Here's my number. ;)"  Maleena's eyes skimmed the number, then looked at the very bottom of the napkin. Dillion had signed his name and added a small heart next to the "N". 

      A smile tugged on the corners of Maleena's lips as she carefully folded and tucked the napkin into her pocket. Suddenly, she was eager to finish the meal, so she could pull out her phone to text Dillion. 

     Sure enough, about a half hour later, Dillion returned to the table with the bill. He handed it to Maleena's dad, but made sure he looked at Maleena when he said, "Y'all come back soon. I'm here every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and often Saturdays. I work from 4-10pm. I hope to see you again." When he realized he was talking just to Maleena, Dillion looked to Maleena's parents and added, "Er, I hope to see all y'all again." 

     While the conversation was going on, Wayne had already figured out how much the tip would be and slipped the bills inside of the black envelope. "Keep the change, son." Wayne told Dillion.  

      "Alright, thank you. Y'all have a great night." Dillion said, taking the black envelope from Wayne. 

      "Thanks. You too." All three of the Lackley's said as they slid out of the booth, taking their to-go boxes full of food out with them.  

      Once situated in the truck, Maleena asked, "Dad, you tipped him 20%, right?"

      Maleena saw Wayne glance at his wife before looking at Maleena in the rear view mirror. "Yes, sweetie. I tipped him 20%...maybe even a little bit more." 

      "Okay good. He was a good server." Maleena replied, pulling out her phone. Looking at the time on her screen, Maleena saw it was only 8:20.

     After debating if she should text Dillion now or wait two hours until he got off shift, Maleena put her phone down, deciding to wait. She knew that if she texted him now, it would seem desperate and clingy. But instead, if she waited until he got off at 10, she would have a better chance of having a conversation with him. Thus, deciding the latter was better, Maleena decided to wait until Dillion got off shift before texting him, but she waited impatiently, checking her phone every five minutes. 

      Just about 45 minutes later, Wayne pulled into the new house. Slipping out of the truck, Maleena grabbed her phone and the napkin with Dillion's number on it, then followed her parents inside the house. 

      The second they walked through the door, and into the living room, Maleena was instantly thankful for air conditioning. "Man, it feels good down here." Maleena said, stopping for a second to enjoy the coolness emanating from the window air conditioner.  

      Both of Maleena's parents agreed with her. "Maleena, your father and I are going to go take a walk around the property while it is still light out. You're welcome to join us, if you'd like."

     "That's alright, mom. I think I will work on getting my room organized instead." Maleena said, meandering her way through the maze of boxes to make her way into the kitchen. She put their to-go boxes of food in a cooler so it wouldn't spoil.

     After opening three cupboards, Maleena finally found the one that she had put the glasses in. Taking a Mason jar down from the shelf, Maleena filled it using sink water. 

     Leaning back against the island in the kitchen, Maleena looked around at their new house. It was big...much bigger than their old one, but it was so plain. All the walls had been painted the same off white color, the hardwood floors newly polished, the kitchen recently redone, the list went on. The improvements were just to sell the house. Maleena felt like whoever staged the house to sell was really just taking away the "homeiness" a house should have.  

      Maleena hoped that when the movers came tomorrow with the furniture and appliances that this house would begin to feel more lifelike and less like a doll house. She wasn't sure why she was so against this move, but Maleena just felt incredibly uneasy.

     Sighing, Maleena said a prayer as she made her way upstairs to her bedroom. Setting down the glass of water on a waist high stack of boxes, Maleena looked around her room, trying to draw a template out in her mind. There was no way with the little furniture that she was bringing from her home in Wyoming that she could fill all this space. 

     Still anxiously waiting for 10 o'clock, when she could text Dillion, Maleena decided to begin trying to organize her boxes based on where she would tentatively put her furniture. 

     Maleena slid two boxes of books to the back left hand side corner of her room, where one of her bookshelves would potentially be. Next to that, Maleena figured she would put her bed, which reminded her: she had to look for the box that had her air mattress in it so she would have something to sleep on tonight.

     After moving around the rest of her boxes, Maleena finally found the box that she had put her air mattress and toiletries in. Before Maleena blew up her mattress, she made a note in her phone of things she needed to do yet in her room.  

     Maleena's eyes moved to the upper right hand corner of her phone where the time was. It was 10:05. Immediately, Maleena stopped typing out her to-do list mid sentence and pulled Dillion's number out of her pocket. Typing his number into her phone, Maleena's fingers hesitated over the letters as she contemplated what to say. "Hey, Dillion, this is Maleena...from the restaurant tonight. I hope it's okay that I'm texting." Maleena shook her head and deleted the last sentence, replacing it with "How was work tonight?" After rereading the text three times, Maleena finally pressed "send." 

     Letting out a breath that she didn't know she was holding, Maleena found her wall charger and plugged in her phone that was on 5% battery. Reaching into one of the cardboard boxes, Maleena pulled out the air mattress and the pump. Kneeling down, Maleena blew up the mattress and found a set of sheets. Since it was so hot in her room without the air conditioner, Maleena just pulled out a thin sheet to cover up with.  

     Checking her phone, Maleena saw that Dillion still hadn't texted her back and it was 10 minutes after she sent the text. Not allowing herself to get sad, Maleena grabbed her pajamas and toiletries and made her way into the newly renovated bathroom adjacent to her room. 

     Ten minutes later, Maleena was all ready for bed. Before slipping into bed, Maleena went downstairs to find her parents to tell them she was going to bed for the night. Both of them were in their bedroom, blowing up their air mattress for the night. "Goodnight, y'all. I'm going to bed. Thanks for supper." 

      "You're welcome, sweetie. Sleep well." Suellen smiled at Maleena.  

     "Goodnight, hon. We love you." Wayne replied over the noise of the air mattress pump.

     "Love you too." Maleena said before leaving her parents room, heading back upstairs.

     Checking her phone one more time, Maleena was beginning to feel disappointed when she saw that Dillion still hadn't replied to her text, almost an hour after she texted him. Maleena tried to tell herself that it wasn't because he was ignoring her, but maybe he just got busy doing stuff or whatever. Sighing, Maleena slid onto the air mattress, and closed her tired eyes, attempting to fall asleep, but sleep never met her. 

     Just as she was about to allow herself to fall asleep, she heard a vibration behind her. As quick as a bullet, Maleena rolled over in her bed and picked up her phone. At the sight of who the text message was from, a huge smile appeared on Maleena's face. Opening the text from Dillion, Maleena excitedly read the long text. "Hey, Maleena. I apologize for taking so long to text you back. I wasn't able to clock out of work until almost 10:30 because there's a new employee who had never closed before so I had to help them, then I had to drive home from work and I don't use my phone when I'm driving, but I drove home as quick as I could just so I could text you. I just pulled into the driveway just now. To answer your question, work was good. It was boring after you left ;) oh, and tell your dad thanks for the tip. How are you doing tonight, Maleena?"

     Maleena smiled as she reread Dillion's text. He sent her a winking smiley face. That's flirting, right? So she was allowed to flirt back, though that was something that she was never good at. "I'll tell my dad you said thank you. I'm doing alright. Much better now that you texted me ;)" Maleena hit send and bit her lip. Was it too much to flirt when she had only know this guy for a couple hours? Maybe, but that didn't stop her. 

     Almost immediately, Dillion sent back a reply. "Well I'm glad to hear that. :) How was your day?" 

     "It was good. We actually just moved here today from Wyoming. But supper was really good. It was a nice break from unloading boxes and such. Annnddd, we had a really nice waiter. ;)" 

     "Wow! Y'all just moved in today?! That's crazy. I was gonna ask if y'all were from around here. I hadn't seen y'all around before, and I would certainly have remembered seeing such a pretty face as yours. ;) And was your waiter just nice, or was he dashingly handsome as well?;)" 

     Maleena's smile grew even larger when she received that text. He just called her pretty, and then he gave her the opportunity to flirt back. She had two options as a response; she could be a flirt and say that he was, in fact, dashingly handsome, or she could be playful and say, "Eh. He was okay. ;)" Needless to say, Maleena decided to go with the flirty response. 

     Almost three hours later of constant texting, filled with lots of flirting, Maleena's eyes felt heavy, but she wanted to keep texting Dillion. She was really starting to like him. However, at almost 2 in the morning, Dillion texted: "I'm really sorry to have to say this, but I have to be up at 5 to start my barn chores, so I should probably get at least a couple hours of sleep. You're fun to talk to, so I can't wait to text you first thing in the morning. Goodnight, pretty girl. <3" 

     Maleena smiled as she texted Dillion back, telling him goodnight. Her eyes lingered on the heart that he sent for a couple seconds before her eyelids felt too heavy to keep open. As Maleena set her phone back down on the cardboard box, and closed her eyes to sleep, she had one thought, and one thought only: she finally found a reason to like it here in Montana.