Page 15 of Montana Freedom

The window opened easily, and it wasn’t so high that I would hurt myself going out of it.

I’ve got to stop climbing through windows.

It wasn’t easy to maneuver myself holding two delicate bags of liquids, but I got my butt on the windowsill and dropped the couple of feet to the grass below.

My vision went white with the pain, and I groaned softly. It was okay. I could still make it.

Alarm bells went off in my mind, telling me I was making a mistake, but I couldn’t stop moving. My fear was greater than the instinct to stay, and whatever the case, I was already out.

This was a wide-open space, and theexposedfeeling of it was just as bad as driving down that road. A road I would have to walk down to get to the cabin. It was fine. I could make it. I would get back there to all my notes, eat something, let the medicine heal me, and everything would be clearer.

Please, I thought, my mind still at war with itself,please let me be right.

Every step jostled the wound, and somehow it seemed to hurt more now that I wasn’t as delirious. That had been masking some of the pain.

In the distance, I saw a familiar wall, and I suddenly realized where I was. The intimidating ranch with walls that had seemed strange to me.

That was good. Closer to the cabin than I’d actually hoped. It was still far on foot, and I would be dragging when I got there, but I could make it.

I kept glancing around, but I saw no one as I made it to the wall and down to the gate. No one as I slipped through it and along the road to the north.

One good thing about my memory—I never needed directions.

I took a deep breath, wincing, holding the bags up to my chest so they could still flow, and I started walking.

I could make it.

Steeling myself, I blocked the pain from my mind.

Iwouldmake it.

Chapter6

Daniel

The pizza Liam brought was completely demolished. He’d rightly pointed out that I’d forgotten to eat today. I hadn’t even thought about it. When I’d spotted Emma across the parking lot of the grocery store, I’d been there to pick up some things for myself. Obviously, that didn’t happen.

I rolled her name over in my mind again.Emma. A pretty, simple name. Her eyes were still so fascinating, one blue and one brown. No wonder I’d never forgotten her. She was truly striking.

Her fever had come down to a manageable level, and her heart rate had eased enough that when Dr. Gold came back for the second evaluation and to drop off the needed medication, she’d seemed much more confident in letting Emma rest here. Though she left more strict instructions on what signs to watch for and when we should bring her in if we saw any of them.

“That was good,” Liam said. “Probably should have brought two. I didn’t realize you were going to turn into a vacuum.”

“I’ll probably regret it later.”

“Ah, yes.” Liam’s grin told me what was coming. “I hear that happens when you get old.”

I smirked. “Something to look forward to, then? Ten years goes faster than you think.”

“True.” He was silent for a moment before he looked at me. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” His face was uncharacteristically serious, and I wondered if it had anything to do with his walk the other morning.

Liam laid a palm on the table, hand flexing and closing a couple of times like he was arranging his thoughts. “If you were in a position like Jude was with Lena…where you’d liked someone for a long time, except they didn’t know about it, what would you do?”

My brain automatically flipped through the roster of people we knew, wondering who he was talking about. Whoever it was, he’d hidden it well. “Do you think they’d be open to it?”

“I don’t know. She’s not exactly…talkative.” He smiled sheepishly, knowing the clue gave it away.

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