Page 40 of Hiding in Montana

“Tell me.”

“Well, we live in Montana, right?”

“Last time I looked outside.” He leaned forward to glance out the bedroom window. “Yup, it’s Montana.”

“Once upon a time known as part of the Wild West, right?”

“Again, true.”

She couldn’t resist drawing this out and have a bit of fun building up to the punch line. “Yesterday I had target practice to protect myself from beasties, right?”

He nodded, waiting patiently for her to get to the funny part. “Well, doesn’t this remind you of a gunslinger coming to town, gunning down the hero to get to his actual target, the helpless little woman?”

She could tell the moment it all clicked for him. “It’s like we’re living in an old western where the good guy gets shot from the bad guys, while the sort of bad guy hides in the shadows.”

“In the movies, the bad guy ends up doing the right thing and then runs away.” He wiggled his eyebrow, causing her to laugh again. “Any hope of your ex taking off for good once this is all just an unpleasant misunderstanding?”

“Until recently, I hadn’t heard from him in five years and it was only to check on me.” Suddenly she felt like a dope. He wasn’t calling to check on her from the goodness of his heart. Matthew was checking to see if they’d gotten to her and she had already turned them back on him. Coming here had been all about saving his own skin.

She smacked her forehead with a snap. “I’ve been so stupid.” After explaining her theory to Clint, he grew thoughtful.

“How do we turn this around?”

“Not we. Me.”

He clasped her hand. The intensity of the jolt that zipped up her arm was surprising.

“Don’t shut me out. Right now, it’s one against who knows how many and your ex is worthless. Those are terrible odds. Let me stand beside you and cover your back.”

Polly wanted to cave and say yes, but she needed to think clearheaded. “I’m going to get us coffee and breakfast.” She kissed his forehead. “I’ll be back.”

“I don’t have any breakfast foods in the fridge.”

“Not to worry. I’ll run up to the dining hall and Quinn will take care of the rest.” She gave him a mock salute. “Stay put.”

“Wait, since you’re basically doing takeout, there’s a thermos next to the door that you can use for coffee and a canvas bag to bring back food.”

Relieved they were back on an even and easy keel again, she smiled. “I’ll be back soon.” She blew a kiss in his direction and walked out onto the front porch, looking right and left just in case her unfriendly cat was hanging around. Once she confirmed the coast was clear, she jogged up the path to the dining hall.

Polly hefted an overfull tote bag from one hand to the other. Quinn had loaded it up with pancakes, scrambled eggs, some fruit, and extra crispy bacon, just the way she liked it. With the thermos of coffee in the bag, they had enough food to hold them through lunch, too. She eased open the door, hoping Clint might have drifted back to sleep.

To her surprise, he was sitting up on the leather sofa with his sock-covered feet propped on the table.

When he saw her, he sat up straight and grinned. “I didn’t think you were ever getting back with food. I’m starving.”

She didn’t react to him being out of bed since she wouldn’t want to be coddled. “Quinn made fresh eggs for us and packed everything, so it should still be hot.” She set the bag on the coffee table. “Are we eating here?”

“Before we do, can we talk about our weekend plans?” He pulled her down next to him and wrapped his good arm around her. “I don’t care what all is going on. I would love to go camping with you and we’ll stay on the ranch, so if anything happens, we’ve got a small army around us.”

“Would Annie and Linc mind if we camped on the property?”

He chuckled and nuzzled her neck. “There are thousands of acres out there, all belonging to Annie, and I happen to know the perfect spot where we can go.”

Her heartbeat quickened, and she smiled. “If you really want to go camping, we can, but you best not let anything happen to you while we are in the wild.”

“Not to worry. We’ll take a UTV instead of horses or hiking. That way, it’s easy to take our gear.”

“Then yes. I’d love for us to go camping this weekend.” She tipped her head and decided to astound him with a fun fact. “I read somewhere that Montana has the lowest level of light pollution anywhere in the continental United States. Because of that fact, the stars shine brighter here than anywhere.”

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