Page 3 of Protected By the Mountain Man

That means he’s probably also discovered how I left the Army — or really, how I was exiled from it.

And he still wants me to protect his sister.

That means a lot.

I probably shouldn’t let it sway me…but even after all these years, the wound my dishonorable discharge left me with still hurts. I jump at the chance to prove myself to Graham.

And maybe, if I’m being honest, prove myself tomyself.

“Okay,” I say. “How long?”

Graham’s lips form a grim line. “As long as it takes.”

I give a curt nod. “No problem. I’m here to help.”

The other man claps me on the shoulder, eyes swimming with emotion. “You don’t know what this means, Ace. Thank you.”

“Just get your sister and her kid safe,” I say before turning back to my tools. “That’s the important thing.”

I learned that the hard way, I add silently, grimacing to myself even as I’m glad to have this unasked-for chance at redemption.

I just hope I’m up to the task.

Mariah

“You want me to dowhat?” I practically screech into my phone.

When he hears my tone, Billy stops gumming his crinkly teething toy, forehead puckering adorably as his big dark eyes find mine. I take a steadying breath and force myself to smile at him. My son goes back to his gumming.

“It’s just for a little while,” Graham’s voice comes through the cell’s speakerphone. “To keep you safe.”

I wince at the unspoken words.To keep you safe from your abusive ex, the stupidest mistake you ever made.

“Won’t I get in trouble for leaving down with his son?” I have to spit out the last two words. I hate referring to my sweet thirteen-month-old as Ryan’s son. But it’s the truth, as much as I detest it.

And it’s all my fault. If only I’d been smart enough to dodge out of Ryan’s grip, we wouldn’t be in this mess.

“No, you’re not crossing state lines,” Graham says.

“You’re sure?”

I almost smile at the sound of his familiar exasperated sigh. Almost. “Would I say it if it wasn’t true?”

I shrug. “No,” I’m forced to concede.

“So you agree?”

Now it’s my turn to sigh. Running away to the tiny town of Heartwood is the last thing I want to do. Graham and I grew up there, and there’s a reason why I left. It’s too small, too claustrophobic. The bigger city I reside in is still Montana, but with more.

More culture.

More people.

More opportunities.

Just . . .more.

And is Heartwood really that much safer? If Ryan follows us there, it wouldn’t be hard to track us down.

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