Page 19 of Montana Mystery

“I’m glad to hear it.” I really was. Whenever one of us had some kind of victory over our past, it was cause for celebration. “Say hello to Cori for me.”

Grant smiled. “I will.”

His smile told me he was going to give her the kind of greeting I wanted no part of. He left out the back door.

I watched his car pull out of the gate, and then I sat back to wait. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe nothing would happen and this would just be another sleepless night.

But I didn’t think I was wrong.

I pulled up the app Jude had synced to all of our phones, allowing us to watch the security feeds remotely, and went to make coffee. I would probably need it, but I wasn’t missing a second of footage on that gate while I waited for our coffee maker to spit it out.

My instincts were the only reason I was still here and breathing. So I’d learned to listen to them. Even if they hadn’t been screaming at me, seeing Kate so afraid would have made me do this. I wanted her to feel safe, and it was clear that she didn’t.

I just hoped that the offer I’d given her stayed in her mind. And that she would take it if she needed to.

Nothing on the video while I brewed the coffee. And nothing for a couple hours after that. But lights suddenly flashed across the screen in front of me, and I sat up, staring at the image.

Relief and satisfaction flew through my entire body. It was Kate’s car. She was back. I followed her on the cameras all the way to the lodge.

Nearly the entire outdoor property was covered in cameras, including the entrances to the lodge. We didn’t keep them inside for obvious privacy reasons. But I watched her as she decided whether she wanted to do this. Whatever she was wrestling with, it made her nervous enough to come here in the middle of the night.

It hadn’t been long enough for a round trip to Missoula and back, so where had she gone?

Finally, she walked up the stairs and tried the door. It was as far as I could see with the cameras, and I closed the gate remotely. There was a manual button on this side if she wanted to leave. But now I didn’t have to keep my eyes glued to the screen.

Kate’s voice sounded muffled as she called out, but I didn’t answer. She was safe and had a place where she didn’t have to worry about whatever she thought was haunting her. Surprising her right now didn’t feel like the right thing to do. I would hear her if something went wrong. Other than that, I could at least try to get some sleep too. It probably wouldn’t happen, but the itch under my skin was gone.

Sometimes, that was half the battle.

I threw back what was left of my cold coffee and stretched out on the security room couch. The best napping couch around, there was a reason we kept it here, a place where we sometimes had to stay over.

Still, sleep didn’t come right away. My mind was filled with thoughts of Kate and her brother. He was young still. Just a kid who’d seen some bad shit on deployment.

Hell, the way I barely slept because of my own bullshit? I sympathized. Guilt crept up into my throat again. Realistically, I knew that none of this was my fault. Could I have reached out to Brandon? Maybe. But there was no telling whether he would have been receptive.

He hadn’t been ready to accept help while he’d been here. So it was unlikely he would have wanted anything from me. All the same, I could have done more for him.

Another rational voice in my head asked if I was only feeling guilty now because I knew Kate and I desperately wanted to help her. I hoped that it was both.

I finally began the breathing exercises that sometimes helped get me to sleep, and let my eyes close.

They opened again later.

My phone told me that it was early—right around dawn. I’d never been able to kick the habit of rising early, even if I wanted to sleep in sometimes. My body simply snapped awake, no matter how little sleep I’d gotten.

One glance at the cameras told me Kate was still here. Her car was parked outside, and the rest of the cameras confirmed everything was clear.

Coffee. I needed more coffee.

Quietly, I unlocked the door to the security office and moved into the main room. The fire was low now. Still going, but it would need more wood soon. One tiny bit of Kate’s platinum hair was visible over the couch. She was asleep.

I wouldn’t disturb her. My boots were in the security office, allowing me to move silently in socked feet around the kitchen. Quietly, I made a new pot of coffee and set it to brew.

The temperature was dropping in here as the fire died. She was covered in blankets from the couch, but I didn’t want the temperature to be the reason that she woke. I half expected me adding wood to the fire to be the thing that did it, even if I was careful, but Kate remained peaceful.

Didn’t even stir.

The way she was lying, half her face was covered with the blanket, but I couldn’t help noticing that she was relaxed. In a way completely opposite of the night before.

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