one woman only.
I had no idea where the road back to Montana would take us. And honestly, I was too damn tired to care right then.
Chapter Two
TIMBERLYNN
I stared out the window of my small two-bedroom apartment in Atlanta as the rain came down in sheets. I had moved into this place two years ago with a fellow nursing student. It had been my first place on my own, and I had instantly fallen in love with it. Something that was earned completely by me, and that had meant a lot.
I grew up without needing a single thing. My father, who was a doctor, gave me everything I ever asked for, and then some. But this apartment was the first thing I paid for each month with the money I made working on my own. It had been one of the most freeing moments of my life when I walked in with my own key—it meant something, something huge. I didn’t need to use the money that my father had deposited into my bank account for monthly expenses all through college. I didn’t need to ask him for anything. I often couldn’t help but wonder if that was my father’s way of showing me he loved me. By dumping money into an account and telling me to buy whatever I wanted.
I closed my eyes and sighed. I had hardly talked to my father the last three months. Did he even realize how little we talked? Not that our conversations were anything great, even on a good day. It was mostly me calling to check in. He would ask how I was doing. How I liked the new job, and if I needed anything. I asked how he was doing, if he was working long hours, and when we might be able to get together for lunch or dinner. I always got the same reply on that last question.
“Soon, princess. When things calm down.”
Opening my eyes once more, I stared out the window. Daddy’s latest girlfriend, Sherry, was his main priority, second only to his job. Not his daughter.
The drops of rain that ran down the window blurred the view of outside, and a part of me was thankful for that. I closed my eyes once more and imagined the beautiful, snow-capped mountains of Montana and Utah. I had fallen in love with Utah after a college ski trip there a few years back. Park City had become my dream. The place where I would lay down my roots and start my life. Start the job I truly dreamed of doing. That was until my cousin Kaylee sent me pictures of Hamilton, Montana. When I went there for her wedding, I fell head over heels in love with it. The memory of me and Kaylee sitting on the swing while she told me about her life for the last few years made my chest ache slightly. God, how I had missed her. She had always been there for me. In both the good and bad times.
Kaylee was older than me by four years. Her father was my father’s brother, and it wasn’t often we got to see each other. But when we did, it had always been a blast. Once I got to college and lived closer to Kaylee, we grew closer. She was like a sister to me. I had told her all my fears and worries, and she listened to them and offered such amazing insight. She was my rock when I needed something strong and sturdy in my life. When she decided to move to Montana, I was heartbroken, but I had to hide it. The last thing I wanted to do was crush her dreams. Plus, I knew it would be good for her to leave behind her own demons. Her fiancé had killed himself a few years ago, and I hated seeing how sad and lost she had been through that. I knew the move to Montana was what she needed. So I hugged her goodbye and watched her follow her heart, knowing the only thing that would ever separate us was the miles. Watching her choose love spurred something in me, and I realized I needed to follow my own dreams.
But after visiting Kaylee, I knew Montana was a strong contender for my move. I never thought anywhere could be more beautiful than Park City. Boy, had I been wrong. Of course, I wasn’t sure I’d admit that a certain cowboy who had occupied my thoughts…and