Page 40 of Montana Silence

“And the one on your back?”

I cleared my throat. “A hawk. I know I said I wanted to be a cat, but I like birds too. They’re free. They never have to worry about being locked anywhere, when they can just fly away. And I liked the idea of being both free and feared.”

Awe entered Liam’s face. He’d had no way of knowing what my tattoo was when he said he’d be a bird of prey. But I knew, and it had felt too perfect at the time to say anything.

“Your turn,” I said. “More stories.”

“Right,” he said, brushing the hair out of my face. “More stories.”

Liam kept talking, and I sank into the sound of his voice. For tonight, I would take all the comfort he was offering me and not worry about anything else but him and me.

It was far too early to sleep, but I found myself drifting with a smile on my face. This was a feeling I wanted forever, and the deepest part of me hoped Liam would always be the one to make it possible.

Chapter13

Liam

Mara fellasleep in my arms, and no chance in hell was I moving away from her. She was easy to hold, and with her by my side, I could relax.

Arizona’s bright sun peeking through the drapes woke me early. Mara had turned in her sleep, curling into my chest. She was lying across me, hand touching my ribs, and I couldn’t stop the smile on my face.

Her body was relaxed and easy against mine. Maybe the most relaxed I’d ever seen or felt. The man in me desperately wanted to be the reason for her comfort and relaxation, but she was sleeping, and it was probably that alone.

Moving slowly enough I didn’t wake her, I gently eased Mara down onto the pillows and off my body. She barely stirred. Unsurprising, given yesterday. Even agreeing to come down here had been stressful.

I checked the locks once more before returning to my room, leaving the doors between them cracked. Our flight wasn’t until this afternoon, but I’d never broken the habit of waking up at dawn. Years of training that went so deep I couldn’t shake it.

A quick shower and I was refreshed. We hadn’t brought much with us, and my suitcase was packed in minutes. One glance through the door showed me Mara was still deeply asleep. I wasn’t about to interrupt her. But I could surprise her when she woke.

I wrote a quick note on the hotel’s paper in case she did wake up and left it on the nightstand beside her. We needed coffee and breakfast. I remembered a coffee shop not far from here we passed yesterday on the way to the courthouse.

Using the door in my room to make sure I was quiet, I slipped out.

Even though autumn was close, it was already warm this early in the morning. There was no way I could live in this kind of heat all the time. The days when I’d lived in the California heat I’d told Mara about seemed very far away, and now that I’d experienced the cold of Montana, there was no way to go back.

The coffee shop bustled with morning commuters, and I found myself watching people out of curiosity. Clocking faces and marking them out of habit. A couple of the people in the coffee shop looked familiar, but given our proximity to the courthouse, that wasn’t strange.

I pulled out my phone while I waited and called the ranch to check in. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Daniel said. “How’d it go?”

I laughed, but there was nothing funny about this. “I’m having a hard time thinking of a way it could have gone worse.”

“Shit.” The word was said under his breath. “I’m sorry. Is Mara okay?”

Mara’s trauma wasn’t mine to share, but this was pretty clear. “No, she’s not. Don’t know what’s going to happen in terms of the hearing yet. We’ll have to wait and see. Either way, we’re home this evening.”

“Okay. We’ll see you when you get here. As far as I’m concerned, you’re covered until this is over. Do what you need to do, and we have the rest. For both of you.”

“I appreciate it.”

“Where are you right now?”

“Grabbing breakfast,” I said. “After everything yesterday, we hunkered down.”

Daniel made a sound of acknowledgment, and I could almost see him nodding. It was good that everyone understood and was supportive. It made this easier. “Let us know when you land.”

I hung up and stepped up to the counter.

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