Page 30 of Hiding in Montana

“If you’d like.” He brushed his lips over hers, and he could feel the goose bumps pop up on her arm. That was a good sign, he hoped.

“On one condition.” His breath quickened as he waited for her to answer.

“We don’t go back to the same place. I’m not ready to face that much of the past.”

He pulled her to his chest. “We’ll face it when you’re ready. For now, just call me the luckiest guy around ’cause my girl and I are going away for the weekend.”

“I’m your girl?”

15

Clint kissed her again and said, “Yeah, if that’s okay with you?”

A wave of happiness ran from her head to toes, causing every part of her to want to jump up and down with a big fat yes, I’m your girl. But instead, she tipped her head to the side and said, “Sounds nice.” She pecked his lips and turned to look at the three ladies, pretending not to watch them from the patio. She gave them a finger flutter and a wide cat who lapped up the cream kind of grin.

“I need to get to work, and so do you.” She tugged on his hand that held hers. “And you don’t need to hang out with me. I’m just fine in the greenhouse and I will shut the door. Unless predators around here now know how to open doors, we’re all good.”

A worried frown crossed Clint’s face. “That’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

She cast a look around them but didn’t see why he would be so serious. “What’s wrong?”

He walked her over to a log bench and sat down with her. Holding her hands, he looked her in the eyes as her heart pounded. She couldn’t imagine what had caused him to grow quiet and look as if the world was about to implode.

“I’m going to apologize first and say I had good intentions. I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Her words came out in a slow drawl.

“I told Linc about the text you got.”

She pulled her hands away and stuck them in her pockets. She looked over the garden as if it needed her undivided attention. Anger burned in her chest. This was just like Matthew, making decisions for her as if she wasn’t capable of handling her own life. She took a deep breath and pushed out the breath through pursed lips.

“I see. You didn’t think this was something we should discuss before you shared all the nasty details of my private life?”

“Polly, it wasn’t like that. After what happened this morning, I was shaken. If this was last year and the ranch was under normal operations, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought as to you being safe here. But with all the construction workers coming and going, someone could get on the ranch and stalk you just like the cougar did this morning.”

She could hear the logic in his calm explanation, but it still stung. “I can understand where you're coming from, but I don’t need Linc to look at me like I’m a liability and ask me to leave my job.”

“He and Annie aren’t those kinds of people. They care about everyone who works at the ranch. You’ve become more than an employee. They consider you a friend and family, too.”

“Clint, you know how it’s been difficult for me to open up. I’m not mad that they know what is going on because it makes sense. You didn’t talk to me first; that’s why I’m angry. I would like to have been with you when you told them.”

She jabbed him in the shoulder. “You did exactly what my ex would have done. Try to put bubble wrap around the little woman because she couldn’t take care of herself, but to your credit, at least you told me what you did. He used to skirt around the truth. Like when I learned how to shoot a gun and he said it was just in case we had a home invasion.” With a snort, she added, “Looking back, what he didn’t say is our likelihood of being invaded was higher than the average person in my old neighborhood where I grew up.”

“That isn’t fair. I never said or even implied to Linc or you that you can’t take care of yourself, but around here we look out for each other. Being a part of this ranch is like our own community and we take everyone’s safety seriously, from animals to people.”

That took a bit of the indignant wind from her sails. Taking his hand, she said, “I’m sorry if today has been like the point of a steer horn for you. But I’m careful.” She gave him a forced smile. “At least I’ll be more aware now since I know there are things skulking in the shadows.”

She allowed him to give her a one-armed hug. Not that he was completely forgiven. It was going to take some time for her to cool off. She poked him in the chest and then pointed to herself. “You have to promise me one thing if we’re going to keep doing this.”

He nodded and waited for her to say what was on her mind.

“The next time you feel the need to talk to a friend about my situation, you either tell me first or, better yet, have me in the same room when it happens. I will not have people talking behind my back.” She gave him a hard look. “Does Annie know yet?”

“I don’t think so. My guess is you might want to go up to the house if you want to be the one to tell her. And Polly, I think we should tell a few others around here.” He held up a hand to stop her from jumping in to protest. “You’re around Quinn a lot, and Rory and Jed are on this part of the ranch more often than most of the others. We should give them a heads-up to keep their eyes open, just in case someone comes asking for you.” He let that comment dangle for a half a second before continuing. “It’s better to be forewarned.”

“I doubt that anyone would show up at the ranch.”

“Do you want to take that chance?” He leveled his gaze at her. His voice was like granite.

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