From the Shadows (Buckhorn, Montana #2) - B.J. Daniels Page 0,80

Hamilton Freeman had asked her the last time they’d talked on the phone. “There are some personal matters to discuss. It was important to your grandmother. You know how she was.”

Yes, she knew. “I won’t be gone more than a week.”

“Fine,” he said. “Call me when you get back.” She’d said she would.

His texts were about the sale of the Crenshaw and merely clarifying that she would be returning to California this coming week. He hoped they could meet and wanted to know what day would work best.

Casey pocketed her phone, since she didn’t know when she was leaving, tonight or in the morning, or when she’d make it back to San Francisco. As she did, she thought she heard thunder rumbling in the distance. Moving to the window, she spotted dark clouds on the western horizon. Another thunderstorm was on its way. From the tower, she used to love watching storms roll in.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

FINN FOUND CASEY in the tower. He stopped at the entrance momentarily, awed by the sight of her. The dramatic light from an approaching storm shone in her fiery red hair. He’d seen the storm coming when he’d gone looking for her. He loved storms and had a pretty good idea that she did, too. So he’d known where to find her, the one place to watch the clouds roll in.

She stood looking out as if in wonder, as if in anticipation. She appeared like an angel, the storm light making her radiant and even more beautiful, as if that were possible. He held his breath and didn’t move, wanting to savor this moment.

She must have sensed him, though, because she turned, her gaze falling on him and softening. He smiled and felt his heart skip.

“Were you looking for me?” she asked, tilting her head, her ginger ponytail falling over one sunburned shoulder.

He hesitated. Leaving was the safest thing for her to do, especially now that he knew the truth. Still, he didn’t want to let her go. He couldn’t shake the feeling that if he did, he might never see her again.

“I figured you’d be up here.” He closed the distance between them, his desire for her a driving force. She tilted her head to meet his gaze, and he knew he was going to kiss her. She knew it, too. He saw it in her eyes, in the way her lips parted ever so slightly. He couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman like he did this one.

His touch was gentle on her sunburn, but she came willingly enough into his arms. He drew her close and slowly dropped his mouth to hers. She tasted like strawberries and sunshine. Her lips parted, and he deepened the kiss, losing himself in the taste and smell and feel of her.

“Casey.” He said her name like a mantra, like a prayer. She leaned into him as he wrapped her in his arms. How could he ever let her go—even temporarily?

* * *

LIGHTNING SPLINTERED THE sky and illuminated the tower, throwing everything into sharp contrast. For that instant, she memorized Finn’s face in that amazing light. Then dark clouds blew over the landscape, taking the light with it. Thunder boomed, rattled the old windows, causing Casey to draw back.

As the storm moved in, so did the wind. It roared, pelting the glass with rain. She’d been in some amazing storms over the years, but this spring squall darkened the sky as if a curtain had been dropped over the sun. The storm matched her mood.

This felt like the end to something she never wanted to end.

Casey locked eyes with him, the moment suspended in time. She thought of when she’d turned to find him standing in the tower doorway. Her heart had floated skyward, glowing in the rays of sunlight piercing the storm clouds. She hadn’t been able to move, let alone breathe, as he’d stepped to her. Even as her mind tried to argue that she didn’t know this man, that she couldn’t trust her heart, she’d known better. A man like Finn? You didn’t need weeks, even months, to know what was in his heart.

He moved to the door and locked it. As he turned back to look at her, she felt her pulse take off at a gallop. She ran to him, throwing herself into his arms as he pulled her close for another searing kiss. This was where she belonged. She’d yearned for his touch, for his kisses, for him without knowing it was going