Page 3 of Montana Heat

I officially hated Garnet Bend.

Okay, that wasn’t fair. I hadn’t even made it all the way into the town yet. But I definitely hated why I was here.

I hated that I had as many of my belongings as I could fit inside this car and the rest stored in the basement of my parents’ house.

Beethoven’s Fifth blasted from my phone, and my heart stopped at the ringtone, my hands gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles were white.

I hated that any sort of sudden noise or movement put me in near panic mode too.

I reached down and hit the speaker button on the phone.

Hated that it wasn’t my regular phone.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Hey, sweetie. Did you make it?”

“Just arriving.” I knew my mother wanted to know exactly where I was, but she knew I couldn’t tell her. Police orders.

How I felt about that?

Well, I was starting to see a pattern there.

“Is it okay? Dad and I don’t like this. We don’t like not knowing where you are.”

“I know, Mom. But it’s going to be fine.”

My parents knew only the very basics of what had been happening. They knew there was trouble. They knew I’d had to leave Denver because of what had been going on.

But I’d been careful to keep the worst of it from them.

The night terrors. The constant looking over my shoulder. The fact that I could barely eat—and definitelycouldn’t focus.

The knowledge that I worried every day might be my last. Which seemed so melodramatic but was true.

So, I was here in Garnet Bend, with all 2,518 of its inhabitants, hoping I could get my life back.

“Are you sure you can’t tell me where you are? You know Dad and I would never tell a soul.”

“Not right now.” I slowed my car to an acceptable speed so I could glance around the main strip as I drove through town. “It’s for your own safety. Detective Watters said no one could know.”

Garnet Bend seemed to have all the basics—grocery store, general store, and most importantly, a coffee shop. So, maybe I would survive.

I had to admit, the backdrop of mountains and wide-open space as far as the eye could see was truly mesmerizing—especially with the last of the fall leaves barely hanging on as winter started to close in. It looked like something out of a painting.

“It’s pretty here,” I continued when she didn’t respond to my last statement. That meant she was perturbed. I didn’t blame her; I wasn’t a fan either.

Because even with the gorgeous setting, it still wasn’t home.

Not that I didn’t like mountains. Denver—home—had them all around. But Denver also had skyscrapers and ten-lane highways and tons of people milling around everywhere—all ignoring each other.

“I still don’t like it,” Mom said finally.

“It’s just temporary, okay? Let’s stay positive.” I was using the last of mypositivereserves just saying that. Normally, I wasn’t a pessimist—the opposite, in fact—but I couldn’t find much positive in me right now. Thus, the hatefest that had been circling my mind all day.

“I just want you safe, sweetie.”

“Me too. Detective Watters said this is the best thing to do until the situation is handled.”

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