Page 78 of Montana Silence

“Yeah. Wow. Can’t say I’ve heard a car make that noise. Like…ever. Okay.”

He poked his head under the hood and did exactly what I’d done. It didn’t look like he had more of an idea than I did, which fed my primal male satisfaction in a way I would never admit to anyone.

Dave suddenly went rigid with shock before looking at something closer. “What the hell?”

“You found something?”

“I don’t know. Hold on.” He ducked down and looked underneath the car. “Shit.” He reappeared and came around the car, flipping open the gas cap. I watched as he ran his fingers around the inside and smelled them. “Yeah, it’s not something wrong with the engine. Or, I guess it is, but it’s notbecauseof the engine.”

I shook my head. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’ve got water in your gas tank. Like a whole shit-ton of water in there. It’s leaking out below. No wonder the car won’t start. There’s barely any gas in there at all, and the engine is probably fried since you’ve been trying to start it for a bit.”

Staring at him, I tried to put the pieces together. “Water in the gas tank?”

He laughed and clapped me on the shoulder. “You must have someone who really hates you in order to do that. And at the same time, you’re lucky it’s a rental.”

Every instinct I had screamed at me. Someone had done this. Last night, after we’d returned to the hotel, someone had siphoned the gas out of the tank and replaced it with water. If Mara weren’t with Claire right now, I would be losing my shit.

Why would they do this? What purpose would it serve? Just to stall us? Fuck with us? I didn’t know, and I didn’t want to find out.

“What do I need to do for the car?” I asked, my mind barely present in the interaction.

Dave held out a different set of keys. “I’ll take care of it. You take the one I came in, and I hope you have a good rest of the day.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

I swallowed, resisting the urge to drive to the courthouse at sixty miles an hour. “I’m sorry about this. I don’t know how it happened.”

He waved a hand and pulled out his phone, holding it up to his ear. “They’ll be pissed, but that’s what insurance is for. I’m sure they’ll call you later. Yeah,” he answered whoever was on the other line. “We’re going to need to tow this one back.”

Going to the other car, I unlocked it. An easy fix, but I still didn’t know why. I needed to get the hell out of here, get Mara, and call Daniel.

But first, I wanted to be able to get the hell out of town immediately. I went into the hotel and grabbed our bags, getting them into the new rental before checking out of the hotel. Mara was right. We could stay here another night, but I wanted us to be home. Inourhouse. Inourbed. Finally starting a life together.

My heart sang, and my chest vibrated with it. I’d never imagined it would happen this quickly, but when it was right, you knew. Even before, with Jenny, it hadn’t felt like this. Back then, it had been new love. Good and sweet, two people who didn’t understand life, wrapped up in each other and too optimistic about the reality of the world.

It wasn’t like that between Mara and me. We both had suffered. We both had survived. We both understood the darkness that lurked beneath the surface. You had to choose to keep going. Choose not to let the darkness consume you. And choose the people you wanted with you on your journey through it.

Mara and I chose each other.

As far as I was concerned, she was it for me. I didn’t care if she never wanted to get married because of what Malcolm had done. All I ever wanted was her. A life and a family and everything that came with it.

My only question now was how long I had to wait before I could tell her exactly that. She knew I loved her, and though she hadn’t said the words out loud, she loved me. I didn’t want to pressure her, and yet I wanted to get down on my knees and declare myself hers forever.

I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. We had to get home first. Rest, recover, and take a breath. Then I would plan something for the two of us. Another date. Maybe I would take her to the lake in the mountains for a long weekend. Make love to her under the stars before I asked her if she’d be my forever.

One last mental check to make sure I had everything, and I was out the door. It had been long enough, the hearing might be over by now. I paused before I got in the car, pulling out my phone, about to call Mara and check.

“Liam?” a soft, female voice said.

I startled, turning around. The woman who stood behind me was wrecked. Battered all to hell, with a black eye and a bloody lip. She held her ribs like she’d been kicked, and she was limping. But more than that, she was familiar. I’d seen her the day before yesterday. “Brynn?”

She nodded.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

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