Page 55 of Montana Freedom

That didn’t mean this was going to be easy—I doubted that. Emma’s situation was still precarious and everyone at the ranch could still be in danger, but I felt settled. Settled and…happy.

I hadn’t noticed the normal weight on my shoulders when I woke. My baggage was still with me, but it was currently stowed away where I could take a break from dragging it around with me. And only after feeling that weight lift from my shoulders did I realize how heavy it had been.

Beside me, Emma stirred, stretching and startling when she felt me beside her. The same shock turned into a smile when she remembered, and she cuddled closer without even opening her eyes. “Good morning.”

“Morning.”

“Thought I was dreaming for a second.”

I laughed softly. “I knew I wasn’t. This is much happier than my dreams of you have been.”

She opened her eyes then. “Well, hopefully your dreams will be better now.”

“I certainly hope so.” I stroked my knuckles down her cheek.

Emma blushed before rolling onto her back and staring at me, eyes sparkling. “Is it weird that I’m relieved? Because I am. Instead of looking at you and trying not to want you, I know I can have you.”

“No, it’s not weird. I’m right there with you.”

We stared at each other for a second before we both burst into laughter. I couldn’t keep my hands off her then, kissing her. It felt impossible. Like a miracle.

“I asked them if it would be weird,” Emma whispered. “All the girls, and they said no.”

“I knew it,” I said. “I thought you might have been talking about me, but I didn’t want to be that asshole.”

She pressed herself up against me. “Pretty sure everyone knew, regardless.”

“You’re right.” A thought occurred to me. “Lucas and Evie’s wedding is soon. They gave me a plus-one, and I didn’t use it. Come with me?”

For a moment, I saw nerves in her eyes. She bit her lip, and I suddenly found the tiny pout of her lower lip the most fascinating thing in the world. “That’s like… Wow. It’s at the end of the week, right? You can’t just throw me in there. Catering and seating will be all messed up. I don’t want to be an imposition.”

Knowing what I did about the ceremony, I doubted it would be a problem, but I loved that she was sensitive enough to care. “Will you let me ask? I won’t force them to say yes, but you’re here, and now with…this, I’d like you to be there. With me.”

Emma’s pupils dilated, realizing the double meaning behind the words. I wanted her with me not only because we were trying this, but because it would be a statement of us being together to my friends, soon to be her friends. “If it’s too much, it’s okay.”

“No.” Her answer was quick. “No, you can ask, but I don’t want them to change everything just for me. That’s not fair to Evelyn.”

Which was exactly why she wouldn’t care if I asked to bring Emma. But there were other considerations too. “Let’s assume Evie says yes, and you come to the wedding. I know it’s not something either of us wants to think about, but it’s very public. If your—” I stopped to correct myself. Simon might have given DNA to Emma, but he wasn’t her father. “If Simon is watching you in any way, it could be dangerous.”

“Why would you think he’d be watching? I mean, I know there’s a chance. But there haven’t been any signs.”

Sighing, I scrubbed a hand over my face. “I don’t know how quickly Phillips intends to enact his plans if you say no. They want to use your name, and if it’s floating out there at all and Simon tracks you down, it’s not a huge leap to think he’d observe the wedding.”

She cursed. “I really don’t like him. But call the FBI. Tell them, regardless, they have to wait untilafterthe wedding to make my name public. I want one thing that’s normal, and if Evelyn is okay with it, then I want to dance with you. Just once, I don’t want Simon to dictate what happens in my life.”

Sitting up, she turned away briefly, and I got to see her bare skin in the morning light. Emma was thin—a natural side effect of being imprisoned and then on rationed food for the better part of a year. But there wasn’t a single part of her I didn’t find beautiful, and I reached out to trace my fingers down her spine.

“My entire adult life, Daniel, he’s been there. And even the good memories don’t mean anything now. He’s a part of everything. Even you.”

She looked over her shoulder at me, her face soft. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not upset about meeting you, and we both know I would be dead without you several times over. But that doesn’t change the fact that the only reason we met in the first place is because Simon is a stain of a human being. Even the good memories are tainted by him.

“I just… I’d like just one thing that has nothing to do with Simon. And the wedding could be that one thing. Or if not, maybe we can find something else?”

“We will,” I promised. It was a simple promise to make, because I already wanted to do everything with her. All the things I’d thought about and shoved aside because of my own stubbornness and reservations. They were all possible.

“Okay.”

She was fidgeting with her hands, and I snaked an arm around her waist, yanking her back across the bed. Now that I was allowed to touch her, it was all I wanted to do. “This will end,” I told her. “It will. Whether through the FBI or not. Men like Simon can’t stand to remain in the shadows forever. He’ll show himself and be dealt with. And then you’ll be free.”

---