Austin - Piper Stone Page 0,11

remaining in my nostrils pissing me off as much as the nightmare had. There was no doubt I’d made the wrong decision returning to Montana.

The quiet settling between us was thick, but I had nothing to say to her. As we approached the city limits, she seemed even more tense, her body language telling me she was shutting down. “Where am I taking you?”

“You don’t have to worry about me, Vader. Go where you need to, and I’ll drive home from there.”

At least that told me she lived in Missoula. I grimaced at the thought.

“I guess I’m assuming you have somewhere to go,” she stated quietly.

As I started to recognize some of the area, I remembered that Big Meadow Ranch was only a couple of miles down the road. From what I’d heard, Hawk had taken over his father’s ranch after his brother’s death, but even that information was from months before. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I can also take care of myself, but yeah, there’s somewhere I can go.” If Hawk no longer lived there, then I’d camp out in one of the barns until morning. I’d slept in worst locations.

There was no talk of spending the night together. We both knew the score. While the last thing I’d wanted was to see her hurt, whatever demons she was running from she wanted to keep hidden. Fine by me. Who didn’t have scars?

While the heavy rain had stopped, the mist continued, the swishing of the windshield wipers trying to yank me back to ugly memories. I refused to allow that to happen. When I approached the turnoff, Franny moved to the edge of her seat. “Big Meadow Ranch,” she whispered.

“A buddy owns it.” Why the hell had I told her anything personal?

“Oh.”

I didn’t bother pulling into the entrance, merely parked on the side, allowing the engine to idle.

“I, um… Do you mind if I keep the tee shirt?”

There was a heavy amount of angst in her voice. “Nah. Don’t matter to me.” When I opened the door, the flood of light was more jarring than before.

“Thank you for saving my life.”

Chuckling, I pulled the hoodie over my head before yanking my bag onto the driver’s seat. At least I had a second pair of shoes. I felt her heated gaze as I struggled into the boots, the ache in my burned fingers pronounced. After finishing, I tossed the bag over my shoulder. “Take care of yourself, Franny.”

“Yeah, you too.”

“And we’re not going to see each other again.” I knew my words were ice cold, but she didn’t need to be hanging around a broken monster.

She didn’t respond for a few seconds then snorted. “Yeah, you’re right. We’re not ever, and I do mean ever going to see each other again.”

Goddamn, I was an asshole.

I didn’t turn around as I walked into the entrance, although a part of me wanted to. Jesus, the woman had managed to get under my skin.

Her beautiful smile.

Her passionate cries when she orgasmed.

The way she felt in my arms.

Fuck.

“Goodbye, Vader,” she hissed, venom lacing her tone.

Goodbye.

The knife sticking into my gut had nothing to do with the burn, but at this point, I had nothing to offer her.

I heard the roar of the engine as she headed away. That’s when I stopped just long enough to steal a glimpse at the taillights. “So long, Franny.” I took a deep breath, the clean mountain air doing a damn good job of pushing the smoke out of my system.

As I trudged down the long driveway, I heard the sound of whinnying horses. I hadn’t heard that in so long. While I used to love riding, that had been years before, long enough that I didn’t remember that guy any longer. I’d been young and entranced with the possibilities of the future, charging headlong into a military career.

An honorable choice except I wasn’t an honorable man.

The walk did me some good, clearing my head, the cold chill enough to keep me from falling into the pits of despair. After rounding a bend, the house came into view.

Memories did as well.

Visions of stupid, irresponsible bad boys, our antics not only getting us in trouble at home and school, but also with the law. I remained shocked that none of us had landed in prison. As I inched closer, another round of self-doubt settled in. I wasn’t high on Hawk’s list and he certainly wasn’t on mine. We’d argued after the failed missions even though all five of us had needed