Page 92 of A Montana Secret Admirer
“You first. I want her address. I have to see her.”
Jane shook her head, her arms folded. “Nope. I’m not going to tell you anything until I know what happened.”
Reese sighed. “The program is making changes to how they reach people. They’re looking for people who can complete it remotely. It’s not some new concept. Lots of colleges do the same thing.”
“But there are specific courses that require you to be in person, right? You can’t just leave?—”
Reese shot a look toward Noah. “You want to field this one? I just want to get Serenity’s address so I can tell her the good news.”
Jane’s eyes dipped to the flowers, and her eyes widened. He wasn’t sure if she had connected him with the secret admirer ornot. Serenity had to have told her, right? His secret wasn’t so secret anymore.
“So? You guys gonna help me? Or what? I have to make a long drive, and my mom is going to rip me a new one if she finds out that I’m missing on Christmas Eve.”
Jane and Noah exchanged glances, and Reese’s eyes narrowed at the movement.
“What’s happened?” he demanded.
Noah was a steel trap. He had to be with the people he had to work with. But Jane? She was an open book. She chewed on her lower lip and fidgeted just enough to give him a clue that she would be the one to break first.
“Jane,” Reese drawled. “Her address, please.”
“You might as well tell him?—”
“I can’t. She’s my sister. She’ll never forgive me,” Jane insisted. “Serenity was very clear that she wasn’t ready to see him face to face.”
“He’sright here. Stop talking about me like I’m not in front of you. And you can’t tell me that she wouldn’t change her mind now that I’m staying.” Unless that was just an excuse. Reese swallowed the nervous lump in his throat. “I just… need to see her. Please.”
Jane glanced toward her husband, who sighed. “She’s not in Billings. She’s actually living in Rocky Ridge.”
Stunned didn’t begin to describe how he felt in this moment. “She’shere?”
“Noah!” Jane hissed, though there was less venom in it than there probably should have been.
“Not at Sagebrush, obviously,” Noah murmured, ignoring his wife’s comment. “She moved to town after you left. She’s got an apartment and a new job.”
“She didn’t…” Reese frowned. “She didn’t tell me.”
Jane moved forward. “She didn’t want you to think she’d decided to move here for you. And she didn’t want her choices to affect yours when it came to that training program. You know how she can be. She doesn’t want to step on toes or be resented.”
“Resent her for what?” Reese shook his head, his thoughts spinning. “She chose to move here? Why wouldn’t she tell me?” He shook his head again and ran a hand through his hair. Jane had already answered that, but there had to be more. If he allowed it to, his fears would overwhelm him. Reese wasn’t going to let that happen.
He lifted his eyes and stared at Jane firmly. “Address.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll text it to you. But you can’t tell her I gave it to you. Blame it on him.” She thumbed at her husband.
“Hey,” Noah balked, “I heard you on the phone with her. You wanted them to talk it out just as much as me.”
Reese let his eyes bounce from one to the other and back. He shifted from one foot to the other and fought the desire to snap at them. She was here, within reach. In less than ten minutes, he’d be able to see her and tell her exactly how he felt.
Jane disappeared after their playful bickering, and seconds later, his phone buzzed.
“Thanks,” he called over his shoulder as he hurried back to his house. Leo had been taking care of his truck in his absence, making sure to run it every so often.
His nerves were practically frayed by the time he made it to the antique shop. Lights were on in the windows above the shop, indicating she was likely home. He carefully released the vase of flowers from the seatbelt at his side, then hurried toward the side of the building where a stairwell was almost hidden from view.
Taking two stairs at a time, Reese attempted to ease his racing heart by telling himself that he had nothing to be worried about. He knew how he felt about Serenity and how she felt about him. But the second he skidded to a stop at her door, he lost his nerve.
On the other side of that door was the love of his life.
