Page 22 of Hiding in Montana

“Sounds kind of harsh.”

He heard the soft rebuke in her statement, and he didn’t bother to defend Linc. It had been the right thing to do. “It’s what I needed. After I said I needed to clean the house and sell it, he gave me the news that Pops, Annie’s grandfather, was promoting me to assistant ranch manager, reporting to Linc.”

With a wrinkled brow, she asked, “I thought he was the foreman?”

“He wasn’t comfortable with the word manager, but the reality is, Linc oversees everything and is Annie’s right hand.”

She sighed. “They go together like bees and wild flowers.”

He gave her a sharp look. It sounded like it filled her sigh with longing. Could it be that she wanted something similar in her life?

His heartbeat thumped in his chest. “Do you think you’d ever want that kind of relationship?”

11

Polly’s heart flipped. She wasn’t anywhere near ready to have this kind of discussion with Clint. Even if she had thought about what she wanted for her future. “Doesn’t everyone want to be special to another?”

Clint applied gentle pressure to the hand he still held in his. “It’s how humans are wired, to want a connection with someone special.” His eyes searched hers. “There’s no pressure between us. We’re still getting to know each other.”

“Understood.” Suddenly nervous, she withdrew her hand and rose to her feet. “It’s getting late. We should get the horses back to the barn, and I need to get home.”

“Yeah, I need to check on a few things before the workweek starts tomorrow.”

Grateful he didn’t try to pick up the conversation about relationships, she packed the cooler bag and folded the blanket they had been sitting on. Within minutes, the saddlebags were repacked, and he held Nahla’s bridle while she swung into the saddle. As soon as he was seated on Blaze’s back, they moved down the path at a slow walk.

“I had fun today. Thanks for bringing me out here.”

“Care to do it again sometime?” He held the reins in his hand as if they were a part of him as she smiled.

“I’d like that. I was wondering, would you like to have dinner at my house one night this week? I love to cook and can make almost anything.”

A wide grin appeared on his face. “Lasagna?”

She sat straighter in the saddle. “That happens to be one of my specialties. How about Wednesday?”

“I’ll bring dessert.”

“You bake?” She couldn’t help but add a teasing tone to her question; she guessed he’d pilfer something from Quinn’s kitchen.

“No, but Maggie at the Filler Up Diner does. She makes the best pies and cakes, so what do you prefer?”

With a laugh, she said, “Surprise me.” She applied pressure to Nahla’s sides and she began to trot. This had been the perfect day.

Later that night, after a long, hot soak in the tub, Polly sipped a glass of white wine while sitting on the front porch. She replayed the events of the day. Dating Clint was easy, and even sharing her accident with him hadn’t seemed to change a thing. If anything, it helped him open up and share a part of his past. But there was one thing niggling at the back of her mind. Could her accident have been deliberate, and why couldn’t she remember what happened?

Closing her eyes, she thought back to that trip. She had been staying out of sight, so was it likely someone from Matthew’s circle had found her and wanted to make sure she couldn’t make trouble? That was too hard for her to even fathom. But what if there was someone who had hurt her? Why didn’t they finish her off? She knew from what the doctor had said, based on the amount of blood lost, that she had been lying there for a while, and it was about two miles from where she had camped. She might have been living on a camping trail, but she never went far from her campsite, so what was she doing out there?

Tonight, she was comforted by the shadows that surrounded her, and the area was silent. At this time of night, most folks were home, not that there was ever much traffic on this part of the street. It was so far from her life in Portland she had to laugh. Matthew would hate it here; there was not a gourmet coffee shop within an hour’s drive from River Junction. She had been that way at one time, too. But moving here changed all that. The restlessness she bore evaporated within a week after moving into this house. Her cell pinged with an incoming text and she smiled at the thought of her sister reaching out.

Withdrawing it from her pocket, she frowned. It was a number she didn’t recognize. Her mouth went dry as she read the message.

You’re safe as long as you keep your mouth shut!

Her fingers shook as she tapped in ten digits and waited while it rang. On the fifth ring, Matthew said, “Paulina, this is a surprise.”

“This isn’t a social call. Who did you give my number to?”

“Why?” he growled.

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