Page 38 of Montana Freedom

“I’ll make sure they have us on a plane tonight. Hang in there.”

Emma smiled slightly. “Knowing it’s almost over helps. It’s weird too, because it’s not like this is hard work. I’m not running a marathon or anything. I’m just talking.”

“Talking about things that have caused you trauma and remembering the exact details of hundreds of documents? It’s still draining.”

“Yeah. Guess I better go back in and finish this.”

“You can do it.”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes—not the way I knew it could—and she topped off her coffee before she went back. Thankfully, Jones was the only one in the observation room when I went back in. “She’s going to keep going, but we both want to be back on a flight tonight.”

“You’re sure? We’ll be happy to keep you at the hotel.”

“Very sure.” The hotel they put us up in was nice, but it wasn’t home. “This has been hard for her. Phillips hasn’t made it any easier.”

Jones chuckled. “I know his bedside manner isn’t great, but he’s a good agent.”

That remained to be seen. “Just please get us on that flight and make sure Phillips isn’t the one driving us to the airport.”

“You got it.”

I sat down after he left, watching Emma do more than anyone had imagined she could.

* * *

We were on the last flight into Missoula, arriving just before midnight. My truck was waiting for us in the moonlit parking lot. I wasn’t looking forward to the drive, but I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.

Neither of us said much while we were on the plane or getting into the truck once we landed. Emma was exhausted. If she wanted to talk to me, she would, but I thought she mostly needed to process the experience.

It wasn’t long into the drive before she was asleep, leaning against the window. The moonlight coming through the window allowed me to see her, and when I could do so safely, I looked at her.

I needed to stop lying to myself. The instincts and draw I felt toward Emma weren’t entirely to do with saving her or protecting her anymore. It started out that way, seeing her in the cage and the dreams. Seeing her sick. But it had stopped being just about those things a while ago. Beautiful, kind, vibrant, and funny. Those were the words I could use to describe the woman sleeping next to me.

Now that I’d realized Iwaslonely, the knowledge was eating away under my skin like acid. My thoughts immediately turned to my usual excuses. I needed to stay strong and stay away to make sure I didn’t hurt anyone else. She didn’t deserve to be with someone like me.

But for the first time, a smaller voice inside me was asking if those words were true. And even if they were true, hadn’t I already paid enough?

I didn’t have an answer to those questions, and by the time I pulled in to Resting Warrior, my head was aching with running around in the same thought circles. No matter what, I couldn’t release myself from my commitment until I knew for sure. Which meant that Emma and I could be nothing more than friends.

My heart sank with the thought, and I closed my eyes as I pulled up to her cabin. That was the truth, then. I wanted to let everything go, regardless of the consequences. But I couldn’t.

She didn’t stir as I walked around the truck, and she barely moved when I opened the door and lifted her out. Here, in this moment, I could focus on the luxury of holding her when I wasn’t actively trying to save her life.

Emma fit in my arms like she was meant to be there, the same way she’d melted into me yesterday during our kiss. Those brief moments felt like coming home. Like waking up refreshed with the entire world before you, knowing happiness waited.

I laid her on her bed and retreated, trying to memorize the feeling of this moment, knowing it could be all I’d ever have.

Chapter12

Emma

“You’re sure?”

“Yes,” Kate said, laughing. “Of course.”

It was the second time I’d asked, because I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the fact that the bags on the floor of my cabin right now wereallfor me. All filled with clothes that were my size.

The clothes I’d been wearing were all borrowed, which was fine. I didn’t have money, and I wasn’t going to steal again. But Kate had gone and bought me all of this.

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