Page 81 of Montana Mystery

“Yes.”

I stifled my sigh. “Okay. I’ll let you know when I’m close.”

“Sounds like that went well,” Lucas said.

“I guess Liam let him borrow a truck. Which now has a flat tire. At my apartment in Missoula.” Thankfully, both men had the grace not to look annoyed. “I’m really sorry.”

Daniel waved a hand. “I know a guy down there who can pick it up and fix it. Can you write down your address?”

I did. “I can cover the cost.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Lucas said. “Noah would have our heads.”

“He can come for my head if he wants, but you guys don’t need to spend money because my brother is continually getting himself in over his head.”

There was a suppressed smirk on Daniel’s face. “Let me get it taken care of, and we’ll talk about it later.”

I suspected that meant that they wouldn’t let me pay, but we would have that conversation. “Speaking of Noah, I’m going to call him and leave a message. But if you see him before he gets it, can you let him know where I went? Don’t want him to worry.”

“Of course.” Lucas inclined his head. “He’s in a longer session, so it might be a bit.”

“Looks like I’ll have some time.” They both laughed. “Thanks. See y’all later.” I paused on my way out the door. “You guys think it’s safe enough for me to go pick him up? With everything?”

They shared a look. “Yeah,” Lucas said. “I think so. You’re just going to pick him up and nothing else?”

“Right.”

Daniel cleared his throat. “We’ve been looking, but it seems like the Riders have gone to ground. If they’re still in the area, there haven’t been any signs. But if you want one of us to come with you, we absolutely can.”

“No, that’s okay.” I immediately felt paranoid. “We won’t be staying down there long, and we’ll come straight back.”

They shared another look before smiling. “Then good luck,” Daniel said. “We’ll keep an eye out for Noah.”

My car was at Noah’s house. I grabbed everything I needed and made sure that the kittens were set for a while before heading out and pulling onto the highway.

Calling Noah, I let it go to voicemail. “Hey. I know you’re in with Rayne, but I wanted you to know what’s happening. Brandon borrowed a truck from the ranch—I guess Liam gave him the okay—and went down to our apartment to get some things. Nearly gave me a heart attack when I couldn’t find him.”

“Now the truck has a flat tire, so I’m going to pick him up. Talked to Daniel and Lucas. They’re going to take care of the truck, and they said they thought it was safe enough for me to go.”

“I hope... I hope things are going well with Rayne. And I guess I’ll see you later.” Extra words were on my tongue and I held them back before I ended the call.

This drive wasn’t a bad one. A little longer than I wanted to be making, but this section of countryside between Garnet Bend and Missoula was incredibly beautiful, alternating between wide open, snow-covered fields and midsized mountains.

Part of it required driving past the Bison Range, and though my drive was along the back side, I sometimes glimpsed some of the big animals. With all the snow on the ground, it was easy to spot them, the brown sticking out against the white.

Maybe I’d suggest that Brandon and I go when it was spring again. It was something we’d done when we were younger. Not too far from home, and inexpensive. The perfect entertainment for a pair of orphans. We hadn’t been in years.

It was weird how driving into the city now felt... other. Like my mind had decided this wasn’t home anymore. That the ranch was home, and that was that.

Don’t get ahead of yourself, I scolded. It was a bit fast. To assume that just because Noah and I had been living together temporarily didn’t mean that it wouldn’t come to an end.

Did I want it to come to an end?

Alone, away from the passion and sex of last night, I could think more clearly. And no, I didn’t want it to end. Whatever was between Noah and me, it was bigger than the Riders, and I wanted to see how far it went.

The fact that I’d been on the verge of telling him I loved him—was falling in love with him—was enough of a sign for me.

I made my way through town to our apartment and spotted the truck outside. It did have a flat tire. I hadn’t thought that Brandon was lying, but I couldn’t fathom my brother’s bad luck. Of course he would take the one truck that would end up disabled, because it was exactly what he needed right now.

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