Page 7 of Montana Rain

“Emma and Daniel had their son a few months ago,” Jude said. “I’m sure they’d love for you to meet him.”

I held up my hands in surrender. “All right, you win. But if someone wants me to leave, I’m not going to force my presence on anyone.”

“Fair enough.” Liam clapped me on the shoulder. “But that won’t happen.”

A flash of red caught my eye, and I zeroed in on the redhead across the street.

Rayne.

Even from this distance, she took my breath away. It had been forever since I’d seen her hair in the sun like that. Copper and darker tones of reddish-brown. A bright-green shirt that I wanted to see up close, because I already knew she’d look stunning in it.

Suddenly I became aware that both Liam and Jude were staring at me, at least ten full seconds of silence had passed, and they could see where I was looking.

Liam smirked. “That’s interesting.”

I looked at them both. “Please don’t tell her I’m here. When she finds out, I want it to be from me.”

Jude shrugged. “Sure.”

“I’ll see you guys in a couple of days?”

“Looking forward to it.”

Loading up the rest of the groceries into the back of my truck, I waited until Rayne wasn’t in sight walking on the street before I started the engine and headed back to my mountain of solitude.

Something fiery lived in the space between us. I wanted—no, I needed—to figure out what it was. But first, I had to make sure she knew I was here. The best I could hope for was that it wasn’t a completely unpleasant surprise.

Chapter 4

Rayne

I sighed after the last client left, glad it was a short day. For the past few days, my head had been in a daze I couldn’t seem to shake. Like something was suddenly off, and I couldn’t figure out what.

Since I’d come back from Chicago, I’d felt restless, and I hated it. Garnet Bend was my home now. A sleepy, or sometimes not so sleepy, town. I loved my job, I had great friends, and even my house was a haven I’d taken pains to create.

So why did I suddenly feel like there was a piece missing?

Closing my eyes and blowing out a breath, I tried to sift through the feeling. I was overdue for one of my own therapy appointments, and it would probably help. The guilt that came up every time I went home was still palpable and maybe was why I still felt like this.

Liar.

Most therapists went to therapy. It wasn’t easy taking on the emotions and problems of others all day. I loved it, and guiding people through both their trauma and everyday struggles made me feel like I was doing good in the world—and mitigated that pesky guilt.

But it was still a weight I had to bear most days.

And yet, that part of me knew I was lying to myself about what was bothering me—and about when it had started. For a long time, I’d been able to ignore it, but in Chicago, when I saw him…

Cole leaned in and kissed me. Suddenly, it felt like my body was on fire, and I didn’t dare move and break the moment. He had my body trapped between his and the car, and I felt every hard inch of him. Desire built in my blood. I couldn’t get enough of him.

I’d never been kissed like this. Like he was kissing all of me and not just my mouth. Like Cole was pouring starlight directly through my lips. I moaned, unable to stop myself.

Stark clarity and guilt slammed into me like a train. I’d hurt him. People who loved me got hurt, and as much as I wanted to let this man pull me into his car and take me home, I couldn’t let him close. If anything happened to him because of me, I wouldn’t survive it.

Deep down where my soul rested, I knew he was different. Because of that, we had to stop. “I can’t,” I gasped, pushing against his chest. “I can’t.”

Cole was just as breathless. “Rayne—”

“Goodbye, Cole.” I turned and walked away, feeling cold even in the warm summer night.

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