Page 46 of Home for Justice
“I had no idea you worked here,” Tyler said, his voice even, but there was unmistakable surprise laced through it.
“McClay’s Mechanics does contract work for…” She jerked her chin toward the helicopter, fumbling. Then looked at Logan helplessly.
Logan’s voice stepped in, firm but amused. “Justice is being careful. She’s honoring her NDA. But since you’re now officially with LSIMT,” he added, turning to Tyler, “and McClay’s Mechanics is one of our contractors, it’s fine that you know you’re both connected to the organization.”
Justice blinked.Now officially?“You’re going to work here?” she asked, the words breathless, laced with more emotion than she meant to reveal.
The truth swelled warm inside her. Tyler being here meant something. He wasn’t just passing through. He was planting roots, maybe for just the job, but maybe for something more. Her smile grew. “Dad’s going to be thrilled.”
Logan clapped Tyler on the shoulder. “Once Justice finishes her inspection, I figured Cole could take you up in the bird. Give you a look at the compound from above. Might be good to see your own property too, from the air.” He turned to her. “You should go, too.”
Justice hesitated only a heartbeat. She glanced at Tyler. He was already looking at her, his expression open and pleased. Her chest expanded on a soft inhale. She nodded. “I’d like that.”
They finished the inspection quickly. She and Cole moved smoothly through their checklist, experience making the work efficient. Once she’d signed off, she handed the clipboard to Logan, who accepted it with a nod before turning to Tyler.
“I know you still have a few things to wrap up with Charlie’s estate,” Logan said. “We’ll finalize your start date in a few days.”
Tyler nodded his appreciation, and before long, he and Justice were strapped into the smaller helicopter, the rotors already whirring as Cole settled into the pilot’s seat and ran through the last of the preflight checks. With a smooth lift, the bird rose from the ground, slicing upward into the open Montana sky.
Justice felt the lightness in her stomach as the earth dropped away, and the horizon stretched wide and endless before them. Snow-kissed mountain peaks loomed to the west, their jagged lines illuminated by the bright sunlight. Below, a winding river shimmered like a ribbon of glass, threading through pine forests and scattered grassy meadows.
Tyler nodded toward the nearest mountain ridge. “That still gets me. Every time.”
Justice smiled as the helicopter banked gently to the left, giving them a full view of the land that surrounded LSIMT headquarters.
“There,” Cole called over the headset, pointing through the windshield. “That’s our northern boundary. That ridge back there? That’s the edge of the eastern border.”
Justice leaned slightly, her shoulder brushing Tyler’s. “And just over there,” she added, pointing below, “is your property. I can see the fence line.”
The house Tyler had inherited sat in a clearing, nestled more on the eastern side of the hundred acres of meadows and trees. It looked small from above, but it stood proud.
“And that’s my place,” she murmured, gesturing toward a stretch of land just east, where her house sat across from the wide meadow between their properties.
“From here they look so close,” Tyler said, glancing over at her, voice low.
Justice met his gaze and nodded.
Cole’s voice came through again, more serious this time. “Anthony Milton wants all of it. Everything between Cut Bank and the edge of the wildlife preserve. Including both of yours.”
“He’s not getting it,” Tyler said, the certainty in his voice absolute. “Not mine. Not hers.”
Justice’s throat tightened. She turned to look out the window again, her hand resting lightly on her thigh, mere inches from his.
The view spread wide below them—fields, forests, winding creeks, and shadows that danced with clouds above. It was wild, raw, breathtakingly beautiful.
For now, they were just two people in the sky, flying above land that had shaped their roots and futures alike. But Justicecouldn’t help feeling, at that moment, that something else was beginning to take flight, too.
After landing, Justice stepped down from the helicopter, the whirr of the rotors fading behind her as her boots touched solid ground. The wind from the blades still tugged at her hair, but she hardly noticed. Her mind was still soaring with the view of the land, of her home, of the way Tyler had looked at her when Cole had spoken.
She turned to Tyler, her voice soft but energized. “That was incredible. It all looks so different from up there. Like, you can see how it all connects. How it fits together.”
He nodded, his gaze lingering on her. “Yeah,” he said finally. “Gives you a whole new perspective, doesn’t it?”
She smiled, but it was a little tight. “You okay?”
He hesitated, then glanced toward the helicopter, where Cole was doing his post-flight checks. “Yeah,” he said, voice low. “Just thinking. Seeing the place from above makes it real in a different way. Like it’s not just where we live. It’s something worth protecting.”
The way he saidwemade her chest tighten, just a little. She wasn’t sure if he meant her and her dad, or her and Tyler. Or maybe all three of them.
