Page 59 of Montana Freedom

I swallowed. Logically, I knew I was only one person, and the responsibility didn’t lie with me, but I still felt a twinge in my gut where Agent Phillips’s words had struck their target. Simon was a horrible human being, and all the things the FBI agent said were true. Was blood on my hands if I didn’t do what they wanted?

It wasn’t my fault I’d been born Simon’s daughter, and I’d never asked for what had happened to me. Was it truly my moral duty to stop him when all I was trying to do was survive him?

“Hey,” Daniel said gently, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “You still in there?”

“Yeah. Just thinking.”

“Want to think at home?”

The glow of the wordhomewas like being lit from within. “Yes, please.”

He helped me into the truck and got in on his side. “I spoke to Evie while you were at your appointment. It’s no trouble, and she’s thrilled you’ll be coming to the wedding.”

“Really?”

Daniel reached across the truck seat and took my hand, smoothing his thumb over the back of it. “Really.”

I hadn’t expected her to say yes. I had a sense of how much planning weddings took, and how much it could throw off the entire day if even one person was added.

Unexpected tears blurred the road in front of us. I should have known it would be fine. If there was one thing I’d seen at the ranch, it was the family. They took care of their own and welcomed those who needed a home. For however long I was here, I was under the same protection, and the thought was beautiful.

Overwhelming, but beautiful.

“Oh, crap.”

“What?” Daniel looked over in alarm. “Do we need to turn around?”

I squeezed his hand. “No, nothing like that. But now that I’m going to a wedding? I have nothing to wear.”

Chapter20

Emma

My borrowed dress fit better than I thought possible.

Given what Agent Phillips was doing, no one felt it was safe enough to take me dress shopping. So I ended up at Kate’s house, trying on some of her clothes since we were similar in size.

The one I’d borrowed was a deep violet. The dress had one shoulder and gathered below my breasts before it flowed gracefully down to the floor. I’d never worn anything this beautiful in my entire life.

Only one thing came close—when I’d saved money to buy a prom dress from the thrift store. But this was so much better. And when Kate winked and told me she knew Daniel was going to love it, I almost fell through the floor.

Now I was waiting for him on my porch. We were driving to the wedding together, and after… Well, after, I hoped we were continuing what had been some very fun nights exploring each other.

His truck turned into view, and butterflies rose in my stomach. It was just a wedding. But for some reason, this moment felt significant. After everything, I was going to pay attention to the instinct.

The truck stopped, and he got out. Daniel in a tuxedo wasmagnificent. Watching him walk around the truck toward me was like watching one of those overly stylized perfume ads that only featured beautiful people and made no sense.

It also made me want to pull him inside and take off the same tuxedo as quickly as possible.

“Emma,” he said, stopping at the bottom of the steps. Then he shook his head and took a step back. “You look incredible.”

“I can say the same about you.”

Climbing the steps one by one, he stopped on the one below me so our faces were even and kissed me.Kissedme. Heat built under my skin, and I pulled away with a gasp. “If you want us to make it to the wedding, you can’t kiss me like that.”

“I’m only ever going to kiss you like this,” he murmured. “I swear I could drown in you.”

I gripped his arms and looked at him, unable to respond to a statement so fierce. I understood exactly what he meant, and yet it was too big.

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