Page 5 of Montana Rain

My family didn’t understand my decision to leave the big city and establish a practice in the middle of nowhere. But I couldn’t stay here. They might not get why, but Chicago was filled with bad memories and reminders of both failure and grief.

Not to mention the clear mountain air did wonders. It wasn’t a cure-all like the people in the Regency era seemed to think when they sent sick people to be by the sea, but you couldn’t doubt Montana had a therapeutic quality.

The sweetness that seemed to live in the air, and the silence that stretched on into infinity. A million and one stars because there weren’t lights like here in Chicago. Everything about that place was something I loved.

Who knew? Maybe I was never meant to live in a city.

“Maybe next year?” I asked. “Spring or early summer? It’s beautiful that time.”

“If I start planning it now, I might be able to find the time,” Mom said. She was grinning, because we both knew how crazy her schedule was and how quickly it filled up. But I’d keep reminding her.

She rinsed out the glasses she’d brought from the living room and wiped off her hands. “I am sorry to just leave you alone on your last night…”

“It’s okay,” I said. “You probably have an early morning.”

“I do.” She pulled me into a hug, and I sank into it. No one gave hugs like your mom. “I love you, Rayne. Even when you’re so far away.”

“I love you too, Mom.”

We stood there for a minute, just enjoying the hug before she pulled away. “Say goodbye to me in the morning, okay? And let me know when you get home.”

“I will.”

She touched my cheek before going to her bedroom and shutting the door. In the living room, the sound of the sitcom still played, and I blew out a breath.

Sinking onto the couch, I let my head fall back and stared at the ceiling. No matter how many times I came home, it never seemed to get easier. The same awkwardness, the same elephant in the room, the same guilt I couldn’t seem to shake, even though it was my job to help people through their problems.

I scrubbed my hands over my face. Someday, when I’d done enough good, maybe I’d find a way to help myself with my own.

Chapter 3

Cole

I looked out the window of the cabin and sighed.

This was a stupid idea.

I sat in the cabin I’d rented from a man who’d warned me that if I messed with his stash in the basement, he reserved the right to kick my ass. Daniel had laughed when I’d told him, but he didn’t seem surprised.

When I left Chicago, I wanted to get here as quickly as possible. Resting Warrior was letting me rent a truck, and I was now just…here.

Bored out of my mind.

Who was I kidding? I’d known I would be bored, but I didn’t anticipate the bigness of the silence here. It was honestly a bit freaky. Last time, I’d been so wrapped up in the case I didn’t notice.

Still, the boredom was preferable. I needed to remember that. Being bored and going out of my mind alone was far better than being stuck behind a desk in a field office with everyone watching me.

They would do me the courtesy of pretending not to watch, but it still felt like living in the middle of a fishbowl.

I sighed and let my head fall back against the chair. Maybe this hadn’t been the right place to come. It was mostly because of Daniel. He was the one who’d come to visit me in the hospital. The only one. We cleared the air after everything that went down with Simon.

My hand dropped to my thigh, rubbing the site of the bullet wound. It already ached a little more here, sensitive to the altitude and temperature.

Thankfully, the other Resting Warrior men had come around as well, and if we weren’t on good terms, at least they weren’t about to rip me open and string me up by my guts. During the next couple of months, I hoped I could undo some of the damage I’d done, because Rayne was right about one thing—I’d been a class A dick.

Then there was that reason I’d come here.

Rayne.

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