Page 9 of Montana Rain

The chair across from him was empty, and his book was now closed. I sat down, and I had absolutely no idea what to say. All I knew was we had a force between us that felt physical, and every time I saw him, it was harder to ignore it.

A flicker of a smile crossed his face before it disappeared. “I wasn’t sure you would come.”

“Me either.”

He chuckled. “Glad I won the internal battle.”

Irritation rose under my skin. That was what Cole did to me, along with the alarming chemistry. He got under my skin. “What are you doing here?”

I saw him make the smallest wince. “I live here for the moment. I’m on administrative leave from the Bureau, and Daniel had a line on a cabin I could rent to get away from things for a while.”

“Daniel spoke to you?”

“Some people do still occasionally stoop to talk to me.”

I glared at him, and he smirked.

He lived here. I honestly didn’t know how to feel about it.

“Why didn’t you say anything in Chicago?”

Cole tilted his head. “When was I supposed to do that? When you were insulting me, when you were telling me that kissing me was a mistake, or when you said you never wanted to see me again?” His tone teased.

“Maybe saying things like that is the reason I was glad you were gone.” I stood, not able to do this. Cole made me too confused. My instinct was to spar back with him, but if I did, I would pull him closer, and I couldn’t.

I couldn’t.

“Wait, Rayne,” he said, his voice dropping into a softer register, and he sighed. “I wanted you to know I was in town, and I didn’t want it to be a surprise. Clearly…” He hesitated and shook his head. “Clearly, seeing me in Chicago unexpectedly wasn’t fun for you.”

He stood, and I was immediately reminded of how tall he was. How built. How I knew what his body felt like from those brief, stirring moments when he’d had me pressed up against his car.

Cole took the receipt he was using as a bookmark out of his book and strode to the counter, borrowing their pen and scribbling something on the back before he returned to me.

“But there’s something between us, Rayne. You know it, and I know it. I won’t pressure you, but I’m here. For now.” He handed me the receipt, and I saw his number written on the back of it. “If you want to call me, I’ll answer.”

He picked up his book and his coffee and left the shop, walking down the sidewalk away from me. I saw him get into a truck, and his eyes locked with mine before he pulled out.

Once he disappeared, I blew out a breath. What the hell had just happened? And why did the receipt in my hand now feel like the center of the world?

Chapter 5

Cole

The bare bones structure of the building in front of me was impressive. Clearly much bigger than any of the other current buildings, it would be two stories and have more than enough space for what they wanted to do with it.

It made sense, expanding the operation. The crew here was changing. From what I understood, when Resting Warrior had started, the men who made up the main staff were all single. Now, none of them were. Two had children, and I suspected more would soon be on the way.

When everyone around you was entering a different phase of life with different priorities, bringing in more people to help continue what you started was the smart move.

If I was honest with myself, Resting Warrior made me envious. The brotherhood these men had and the seamlessness with which they worked toward their mission was what I’d wanted when I’d joined the FBI.

No one needed to mention how that had turned out.

“Have you hired anyone yet?”

“No,” Daniel said. “We’re dealing with some permit issues on the construction itself, which is why it’s paused. Didn’t want to go forward with hiring anyone when we’re not sure of the finish date.”

I nodded. “Makes sense.”

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