Page 22 of Montana Silence

Reaching up, I tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, and I savored the way she closed her eyes, leaning into the touch. If there was one single thing I would do in my life, it would be to make sure I was always worthy of the kind of trust that tiny movement showed.

When she opened her eyes, I saw her hesitation. And I knew it had nothing to do with me. This wasn’t going to be easy for her, to begin with. Doing it with an audience would only make it harder.

Mara swallowed. “Not yet.”

Leaning down, I touched my forehead to hers. “Okay.”

“Not forever.” Her whisper was so quiet I nearly missed it.

“I know.” I cut myself off before I could call hersweetheart. It felt like the most natural thing in the world, and yet I didn’t want to push her too fast. I was ready to dive into the ocean that was Mara with my entire being, but she needed to set the pace. I would do the rest.

“I’ll plan something for us,” I said. “Just the two of us. And if you have anything you want, please tell me. And I don’t just mean about the date. Anything.”

She tightened her hands on my arms.

“If you’re scared, you can call me. You don’t even have to speak. If you need help with something, I can be here in no time at all, and I want to be.”

Tilting her face up to mine, I kissed her again. I couldn’t stop myself. The taste of her lips was too sweet, and now that I’d had one chance to feel them under mine, I knew I would never get enough.

I slowly pulled away, wishing I didn’t have to let her go. But the same instincts that had called me to her house were now telling me I needed to give her space.

“I’ll see you soon?” I asked.

Mara bit her lip and nodded.

It was torture to make myself turn and leave her house, but I did, looking back one more time to find her watching me. I smiled and left, knowing that if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to make myself say goodbye.

Chapter8

Mara

The phone rangon speaker in Rayne’s office, and I twisted my hands together before letting them go once more. Stillness wasn’t what I wanted right now. Nerves building under my skin made me want to move or do something with my hands. I forced them under my legs.

The flower beds on the ranch were a nicer place to be. Or even catching up on all the work I’d missed because of my ankle, rather than sitting here having to have this conversation. And yet, it needed to happen, so Rayne was making it happen.

“Claire Marshall.” My lawyer’s familiar voice answered the phone.

It took me a second to find my voice, and Rayne reached over to touch my shoulder.

“Hello?”

“It’s Mara Greene,” I said.

“Oh.” She sounded surprised. “Hello, Mara. You’re on my list of people to call this week, so this is a nice coincidence.”

“Ms. Marshall, this is Dr. Rayne Westerfield, Mara’s therapist. We’ve spoken before.”

“Of course. Hello, Dr. Westerfield.”

Rayne encouraged me to do as much talking as I could on these calls, but I couldn’t always, and it was nice to have someone who could take over when everything was too overwhelming.

“Unfortunately, the timing of this call isn’t as coincidental as you think.”

There was a brief silence. “Has something happened?”

I took a long, slow breath. “I received a package. There was no name attached to it, but the veil was inside it.”

“Theveil? The one from the commune?”

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