Page 39 of Montana Freedom

I would find a way to pay them back. Daniel for helping with the grocery store and Kate for the clothes. I would.

“Thank you.”

“Girl, I promise, it’s not a problem,” she said with a smile and glanced at her phone. “I have to run and meet a client, but I’ll see you at family dinner later this week, okay?”

“Okay.”

I sat on the couch in my cabin and stared at the clothes. It was too much. All of it. I liked it here at Resting Warrior, but I felt very out of place. They didn’t really know what to do with me, and I didn’t really know what to do either.

With the investigation and Simon wanting me dead, it wasn’t safe for me to go into town and get a job. Yet I didn’t want to sit around and do nothing. That was all I’d done for the last six months, and I was restless.

I came across Mara a few days ago, and she seemed willing to let me help her, and no one disagreed. So that was what I did. I helped with whatever she happened to be doing, which was usually some kind of simple repair or gardening.

That was where I had been heading before Kate stopped by with the clothes. I couldn’t look at the clothes right now—I was already overwhelmed, and the kindness in the gesture could be enough to make me cry.

Instead, I locked the cabin door behind me and headed down the road past the next three cabins to where Mara and I had been slowly working on some decorative flower beds.

She didn’t talk much, but that was fine with me. I liked the company, regardless, and the simplicity of working with things like dirt and plants.

“Hi, Mara.”

“Hello.” Her voice was quiet. She was already kneeling in the dirt, digging a new row for some kind of bulb.

I looked over what she’d already done and moved to mirror it on the other side. “Sorry I’m late. Kate stopped by to give me something.”

A soft laugh took me by surprise. “You’re not late. You can’t really be late since you’re a guest. But I’m happy for the company.”

“Me too. And…” I sighed. “I know I don’t really work here. I’m just not sure what to do with myself. If I’m ever getting in your way, please tell me. I don’t want to make things harder for you.”

She smiled. “Thank you. But you’re not bothering me. I won’t be working long, though. I have an appointment in town.”

“Oh, okay. Just let me know.”

We fell into silence, and I busied myself planting rows of the flowers, watching what Mara did and following. I asked questions when I had them, but it was uncomplicated, and it was a relief to have my hands doing something so I wasn’t stuck with my own thoughts.

They’d been going like crazy since we’d returned from Seattle a few days ago. Or rather, since I’d woken up in bed in my cabin after we got back, not remembering how I got inside. Which meant Daniel had carried me in from the truck.

I sighed, wishing Ihadbeen awake for that. Just once, I would like to be conscious and healthy when he picked me up and held me so I could have that memory since he seemed determined not to give me any others.

And yet…

Shaking my head, I knew I couldn’t puzzle it out any more than I had the last few days. Daniel was everywhere. Working at the lodge, I saw him. He seemed to be out walking a fair amount, and every time I was around him, I swore I had to be imagining the way he looked at me. With the same hunger he’d had in those brief moments of vulnerability while we were near the water.

But he didn’t make any moves, and he kept his distance more than he had before.

I hadn’t changed my mind. Daniel was—

He was everything I’d always wanted. Strong, kind, and honest. Ludicrously hot. Not to mention, he’d saved my life. I didn’t care about the rest of it. Yes, he was older, but not so much older anyone would really raise an eyebrow. Would they? Maybe. I hoped not, but it wasn’t a guarantee.

And for what he said?

Daniel hadn’t told me yet what he meant about being too broken for me to waste time on, but I didn’t believe it. If I wasn’t too broken to love, then neither was he. I couldn’t imagine something he could have done or had happen to him that would render him anything other than the good man I knew he was.

The sun was getting higher in the sky when Mara finally put down the spade she had in her hand and stretched, arching her back. “You don’t have to worry about anything,” she said. I nearly missed her voice because it was so quiet. “I’ll come back to it this afternoon.”

“I hope you have fun.”

She winced, and I saw her deciding whether to say anything. I was grateful she did. “Probably not. I mean, therapy is always good, and Dr. Rayne is nice, but fun isn’t the word I’d use.”

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