Out of the Storm (Buckhorn, Montana #1) - B.J. Daniels Page 0,47

was staying for as long as it took.

Finishing her coffee, she rose to pull on her coat and head across the street. She didn’t know what she hoped to accomplish. She just had to be near Jon Harper. Nor did she have any idea if he would allow that to happen or if he would leave town as he’d said he probably would. So far, he’d put up with her visits and her stories about her and Danny and the girls.

She didn’t think he would turn her away and tried not to make more of that than it probably was. He was a nice, kind man who felt sorry for her. Even though it hurt, it was enough for now.

* * *

JON COULD FEEL the clock ticking. Yesterday he’d seen Collin Matthews head down the street carrying something. The coffee mug. The man was walking in the direction of the post office—just as he’d known Collin would. Now it was only a matter of time before the truth came out.

But this morning all he could think about was Kate. He knew she would be stopping by his workshop. He had a rocker he wanted to finish, one he’d promised to Tina Mullen. He just wasn’t sure there would be time before he had to leave.

But he couldn’t leave until he heard back from Earl Ray. Once he left, Kate would go with Collin. Jon couldn’t bear the thought that he would have thrown her together with the wrong man for her. Unless his suspicions about the man proved wrong.

As he’d showered and dressed for work, he’d felt an excited anticipation that upset him more than his impending death. He wanted to see Kate again, as foolish as it was. He knew he would have to leave soon—to protect her. Or maybe her fiancé would talk her into going with him before that. Either way it would leave a hole in his heart, one she’d made. One he had no choice but to keep letting her make because he couldn’t send her away.

At the creak of the door opening, he turned to see her silhouetted against the light and snow. She hesitated for a moment before she stepped in and closed the door behind her. He caught the hint of her perfume and felt his pulse jump. For so long, he had lived like a hermit, staying clear of anything that could bring his downfall. He’d known the first time she’d walked into his workshop that she was dangerous, because she reminded him of what he’d missed, the lies he’d told himself about what he could live without. When he’d forced himself to go back to work after her first visit, his hands had trembled.

For so long, he had closed himself off from the world. He’d numbed himself against feeling anything other than tired at night after he’d worked in his shop all day. He hadn’t wanted to feel or remember or list his regrets. He’d been content if not happy. It had been enough.

“Could I just sit here and watch you work?” she asked.

He heard her start to pull up Earl Ray’s stool and said over his shoulder, “You’re welcome to sit in the rocker.” He didn’t dare look at her. He’d brought the rocker out of his cabin this morning, telling himself he might as well let Earl Ray use it instead of that old stool.

Lying to himself had become a habit, he realized. He’d brought it out for her, hoping she would stop by. He heard her sit down, slip off her coat as if settling in and staying for a while. He felt himself begin to relax as well as she began to talk. She had a melodious voice that was easy to listen to as he worked. She talked first about the weather and how tomorrow the sun was supposed to come out. Then she talked about Texas, growing up there.

He knew that eventually she would get to Daniel Jackson, the boy next door who she’d fallen in love with as a young girl. She talked about how their parents had tried to keep them apart but how they couldn’t stay away from each other, until finally they’d taken off and eloped, Kate lying about her age. How excited they were when Mia was born and then Danielle, and how Danny, as she called him, never complained about working two jobs.

“He built the girls a big dollhouse,” she said, a smile in her voice as she