Page 16 of Montana Silence

“Hey!” Lena was beaming when I went in. “Look who else stopped in today.”

She pointed, and I followed her finger to see Harlan sitting in one of the chairs with a cup of coffee. He lifted it in my direction. “I’m waiting for Grace.”

“Excellent. Thought I’d grab some coffee before heading back to the ranch. Care if I join you?”

“Sure.”

Lena passed me a cup, and I sat down on the couch with a sigh.

“I thought you guys would still be out there,” Harlan said.

“Well, the laser plane died, so I came to see if we could get a new one. And a belt for one of the trucks. Was gonna come in for that tomorrow anyway, so I decided to play errand boy.”

Harlan chuckled. “Well, at least you get coffee out of it.”

“True.” I looked at him. “Is this where you always are? Sitting on your ass while we toil away?”

Nothing about my tone said I was serious, and he laughed. “Yeah,” Harlan said. “This is where I am. I’ve secretly quit, and I spend all my time hiding out so the rest of you can do the hard work.”

“Your secret is out. Can’t hide from me now.” I took a sip of the coffee and glanced out the windows. She was probably long gone, but I still hoped to see Mara drive by.

“You okay?”

I looked back at Harlan. “Yeah, why?”

He shrugged. “Don’t know. Just seem off.”

“Is this where you confess your undying love for me, Harlan?” I placed my hand over my heart. “You know, I’ve always sensed this chemistry between us. I know you have Grace, but I think it’s time we explore it.”

He nearly choked on his coffee because of the sudden laughter, and I grinned, taking a sip of my own drink. The guys knew I was rarely serious, and it was true. I liked messing with them.

But it was also a good way to change the subject when I needed to, like I did now. Everyone was already interested in me and Mara, and until I knew better where we stood, I wanted the grace of anonymity.

The chime over the door sounded, and Grace entered.

Harlan stood, eyes only for his wife. The two of them had been through hell, and watching the tenderness they had for each other now raised the same feelings I’d had at the wedding last night. An ache and a desire I wanted desperately to fill.

Standing, I clapped him on the back as I passed. “I’ll see you later, Harlan. Grace.”

I needed to get back anyway and tell the other guys about the delay. And maybe the short drive home would let me get my head on straight.

Chapter6

Liam

Three dayssince the hardware store. Three days of slowly retracing the same thought circles in my head, over and over again, wondering if I should go see Mara and, at the same time, not wanting to push too hard.

But the thing truly driving me mad was I hadn’t seen her. Not even in passing. I couldn’t remember a time in the last three years when I’d gone more than two days without running into Mara, even if it was only seeing her in the distance as she went around doing things on the ranch.

Three days? It felt like an eternity, and my instincts werescreaming.

If I didn’t do something, I was going to lose it.

I knocked on the door frame to the office, and Daniel looked up. He had reading glasses perched on the tip of his nose, and I smiled. He was looking more and more like a father by the day. “Hey, Liam. What’s up?”

“I was just wondering if you’ve seen Mara. It’s been a few days, and I haven’t even run into her. Seems a little odd.”

The man smiled but didn’t make a comment about why I was asking. I appreciated that, at least. “No, I haven’t. But I didn’t expect to either.”

---