Page 20 of Montana Silence

His arm was around my waist, and I was remembering back to those moments at the wedding when he’d held me and everything felt safe and perfect. The way his arm fit around me felt like it was meant to be there.

“Mara?” Liam asked quietly. “Are you all right?”

I looked up at him, and I turned my body fully toward him. Intentionally, I curled my fingers into his shirt. “Please,” I finally whispered.

He was so close, eyes filled with genuine concern—and so much more I wasn’t sure I knew how to read. “Please what?”

My heart pounded in my ears. This was terrifying. Maybe the scariest thing I’d ever done in my life, though it was a different kind of fear. The kind of fear that could lead toeverything.

I lifted my eyes to his. “Please don’t go.”

Chapter7

Liam

“Please don’t go.”

Mara looked up at me, and she wasn’t terrified. Not in the way I’d seen her at the wedding or at the hardware store—not in the way that shook me to my core.

What I saw in her eyes now was so much more than fear. It was fear, but also vulnerability. With relief, I realized she hadn’t wanted me to walk away any more than I wanted to.

Her cheeks flushed and her breath came in tiny sips, almost like she was tasting the air. The way she was pressed against me, she was trembling. Asking me to stay had taken everything.

Another moment of clarity came on the heels of the first.

She’d spoken so easily about what had happened to her. As if she were a different person. But those were memories set in stone. Now she struggled to find the words she needed. That was fine. Though I loved the sound of her voice, Mara and I could live in silence if it meant I could be near her.

Slowly, I turned too, loving the feeling of her hands gripping my shirt and trying not to let those thoughts derail me. It would be so easy to let my mind fall into the fantasies I’d tried—and sometimes failed—to resist.

Mara still looked at me, worry starting to take over her beautiful face. I wouldn’t let that happen. All I’d asked the universe for was a chance. Now that I had one, I would take it.

“You’ve done a lot of talking today,” I said.

She breathed out a shaky sigh and nodded.

“Is it all right if I do a little more? All you have to do is listen.”

Another nod, and her fingers tightened in my shirt. I wrapped my other arm around her in order to hold her more fully. I probably should have let her sit, but the idea of our being separated right now was unbearable.

“I remember the first time I saw you,” I said. “You were working on the flower beds around the Ravali cabin right after it was built. I was walking from the stables, and there you were. You had your hair in a crown like you wore at the wedding, but it was windy enough that it was flying away from you. You were up to your elbows in dirt, but you were smiling so brightly I could see it from all the way across the field. And I thought you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.”

Her eyes widened, and I tried not to smile too broadly. How Mara could think she was anything less than stunning was a mystery, and yet now that I knew her story, it also made sense. But given the opportunity, not a day would go by that I didn’t tell her.

“I loved seeing you whenever I could, and I’ll never forget the first time you smiled atme. Some silly joke I made at family dinner, and you looked over and smiled right at me, and I think my heart stopped beating for a minute.”

Mara’s eyes were suddenly glassy, but I didn’t stop speaking.

“The first time I heard your voice, it was a laugh. Just a soft one, from a distance. It was so unexpected, it stopped me in my tracks, and I don’t think I ever really started walking again.

“I don’t remember when I started looking for you around the ranch. It wasn’t something I did on purpose, but at some point, I realized I was only happy at the end of the day when I’d seen you. I loved making you smile and laugh when I could, sharing little things with you. I liked getting to know you in the way you were comfortable.”

I slid one hand up her spine until it curved around the back of her neck, recreating the breathless moment we’d shared outside the reception tent. “And then one day, I realized it wasn’t just friendship I wanted. It was so much more than that. And I knew, too, it was something I would never force or move too fast, because this is your home. I never want to be the reason you feel uncomfortable, or worse, like you need to leave. Because you feel safe here, and your safety is more important than anything, Mara. It’s more important than whatever I feel. I need you to know that.”

She nodded quickly, lips pressed together. She knew.

My heart ached in my chest, either because it was so full or because I was finally releasing everything I’d felt for her.

“I’m not perfect,” I said quietly, gut tightening. “And I don’t know if I deserve someone like you. I never want to hurt you. But I also want to help you with whatever you need, Mara. I don’t care if it’s installing security cameras, protecting you from a truck belt breaking, or facing your past. It doesn’t matter. I want to help you.”

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