Out of the Storm (Buckhorn, Montana #1) - B.J. Daniels Page 0,65

his mouth and eyes and knew it would be up to her.

“We’re from Texas,” Kate said, bending forward to look at the officer. “I’d never seen snow. Now I’ve seen enough of it, thank you very much.”

“How long will you be staying?” the officer asked, his tone full of authority and not the least bit friendly.

“Just a couple of days,” Collin said. The officer looked up at them, taking her in and then Collin before he began to question them about items in their possession, going through the list she’d seen online. Collin said they didn’t have any of the prohibited items. She noticed the officer looking in the back of SUV before he asked Collin to open the back.

Collin popped the hatch and started to get out, but was ordered to stay in the vehicle as the officer went around to the rear. Kate wanted to turn and watch him but instead snuggled against Collin. He flinched in surprise, then put his arm around her, whispering in her ear, “You’re doing fine.”

Was the officer looking through their suitcases? After a few minutes, the man returned to the driver’s-side window and told Collin he could close the hatch.

Handing back their passports, he gave them a nod and told them to continue straight ahead. Collin put up his window, and they left Montana to drive across the border only to stop on the Canadian side. The large overhead door lifted, and the Canadian officer waved them in. Again they showed their passports and were also questioned, this time with even more suspicion, before being allowed to enter the country.

* * *

COLLIN TRIED TO RELAX. It was his first time crossing the border. The sweat that had soaked through his shirt was beginning to dry. He didn’t feel as if he was going to jump out of his skin anymore as he saw the sign welcoming them into Saskatchewan. He could almost breathe freely. Coming back across would be worse. With luck they would have the same law officer. Maybe he would remember them, since so few people crossed here.

“You did good back there,” he said again, though grudgingly, to Kate, knowing that she had been cooler than he’d been. Having her along and not knowing what she might do had added to his anxiety. But she’d been a trooper. She’d played her role perfectly.

He glanced over at her as he drove down a narrow pothole-filled highway with wheat sheaves on the speed-limit signs assuring him they were now in Saskatchewan, Canada. He still wanted to believe that his dreams of them doing this together weren’t that crazy after all.

She said nothing as she looked out at the unchanged white landscape. If anything, there was more snow up here. Earlier there had been a short period of bright sunshine, but now the clouds had moved in again, making everything from the sky to the ground a silvery white in the growing twilight. Soon it would be dark. He was glad they didn’t have far to go.

“We made good time,” he said, not sure why he was trying to make conversation with her. He felt so relieved, so pleased with the job she’d done. That they had both done. They’d gotten over one hurdle. Kate had come through for him. He was proud of her, and maybe he was feeling guilty involving her.

“You’re meeting your associates in Swift Current?” There was an edge to her voice. She might have played along back there, but she was still furious with him. He still couldn’t trust her, let alone turn his back on her.

“Look, I have no choice in this.”

“Everyone has a choice,” she said, looking out her side window away from him.

“I’m in trouble financially with my businesses.”

“That’s why you were going to marry me,” she said, turning back to him. “Once we were married, I would have given you whatever money you needed. You didn’t have to do this.”

He shot her a skeptical look. She could say that now, but he couldn’t see himself begging her for money. He did have his pride. To his surprise, though, he told her the truth, something that embarrassed him more than she could know. “This is a different deal. I made kind of a bad investment with a loan shark and then made it worse with a drug deal that went sour. I’m not doing this just for the money. Not completely. I’m being forced to, all right? If I don’t make this work, I’m as