Her Mountain Sanctuary

by Jeannie Watt

  “No. But I talked to his girlfriend and then found my barrel racing saddle next to the truck when I got back from my run.”

  “Next to this tire by any chance?”

  Faith gave a small nod, then reached out to put her hand on his bicep. Drew dropped his chin, his jaw muscles tightening as he fought to maintain his equilibrium. It wasn’t like he could find Jared and beat the crap out of him. And, even if he could, he wouldn’t.

  That didn’t make it any easier to tamp down the fury unfurling inside of him. Faith squeezed harder. He raised his chin. Met her gaze.

  “We’re contacting the sheriff’s office as soon as we get to a place with service.”

  “And tell them what?” There was a catch in her voice.

  “We’ll make a report, outline our suspicions. There will be a record.”

  “And that’s all?” she asked in a quiet voice.

  He let out a shaky breath. “I...yes. That’s all.” He squeezed his eyes shut, tightened his lips. Tried not to say anything that would scare her. It was fricking hard. “I want to get you home.”

  “I want to go home.”

  He turned back to the trailer without touching her, focusing on steady breathing, a slow release of anger. She hadn’t been hurt.

  She could have been.

  It was the trailer tire, not the truck. No danger of a blowout and losing control because of the double axle and extra tires.

  She’d been stranded. A woman who was afraid of strangers. Stranded.

  His blood pressure started to ratchet up, but again he focused on breathing while taking the spare off the side of the trailer, mounting the ruined wheel in its place. “You’ll have to buy a new wheel. The rim’s bent.” His voice was rusty, but he didn’t sound as if he were on the edge of murder. Good, good.

  Faith’s hand settled on his shoulder as he tightened the last lug and he went still. Closed his eyes again. A small shudder went through his body.

  When he looked over his shoulder, there was something in Faith’s expression that had him getting to his feet before he was even aware of moving, taking her in his arms, holding her tightly against him. She slid her arms around his waist, pressed herself against him, and there they stood, on the lonely country road in the middle of nowhere. Slowly rocking as they each sought silent comfort from the other.

  * * *

  FAITH PULLED HER truck to a stop outside the substation in Belmont and she and Drew went in to make the report of the cut valve stem.

  “Do you suspect anyone?” the deputy asked after inspecting the damage, which was clearly deliberate. He was polite, efficient, and even though Faith knew there was nothing he could do based on suspicions, he made her feel as if he would honestly try to help.

  Drew put a hand on her shoulder as she said, “I’ve been having difficulties with an ex-boyfriend.” She went on to explain about the saddle and how she’d found it next to the tire with the sliced valve stem.

  “What’s the man’s name?”

  Faith hesitated, Drew patted her shoulder, and she said, “Jared Canon.”

  The deputy met her gaze in a way that told her he was familiar with Jared. As a friend? Adversary? It wasn’t as if she could ask, but she wanted to know.

  “Thank you.” He closed his notebook with a flip of his wrist.

  “I have no proof and I want no trouble,” Faith said. “We’ll run into each other again.”

  The deputy allowed himself a small smile. “I’ll make sure that if you do, there will be no more sliced valve stems.”

  As they left the substation, Drew kept his hand on the small of her back, as if he needed to reassure himself that she was okay. He gave a small grunting laugh as they stopped at her truck and she frowned at him. He pushed back a few tendrils of hair with one hand. “Maybe official channels are better than beating the crap out of the guy.”

  “Is that supposed to reassure me?”

  His firm mouth tilted up on one side. “Yeah. Because unless I’m reading things wrong, the good deputy has had run-ins with Jared before and he’s going to make a strong suggestion that Jared keep his distance.”

  She had the same feeling. “Thank you for not hunting him down and beating the crap out of him. He lives here, you know.”

  “I’m not going to lie—if he’d been close by when I discovered the valve stem, I would have had trouble controlling myself.”

  “Do you think you could have?”

  “Controlled myself?” She gave a silent nod. Drew frowned down at the ground as he formed his answer. “I’m going to say yes. Because that’s the way I want things to be.” He met her gaze, a deadly serious expression on his face. “It’s the way I want to be.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  WHEN THEY GOT back to the Lightning Creek Ranch, Drew put Tommy in the pasture while Faith went into the house. He figured she was tired and cold and upset after spending two hours sitting on a dark road, then finding out that her ex had deliberately cut her valve stem. The fact that he’d messed with the trailer tire told Drew that the jerk hadn’t wanted to see her hurt—just inconvenienced.

  A woman alone at night.

  Drew tamped down the flare of anger. Anger wouldn’t do either of them any good. He needed to take care of Faith.

  She was waiting for him in the living room and when he closed the door, she crossed the room to take his hand, lead him back to her bedroom. Once there, she began undressing him. She pushed him back onto the bed and he pried off his boots so that she could finish the job.

  “Faith...”

  “Shhh.”

  She stood and undressed, dropping her clothing in a heap. In the moonlight shining through the window, he could see her almost as well as if it had been day—her firm breasts, narrow waist. Her gorgeous full ass that drove him crazy. She walked over to the bed and put a hand on his chest, pushing him onto his back. But instead of situating herself on top of him, she lay beside him.

  “I want to try the bottom.”

  He brushed her hair back from her forehead, frowning down at her. “Are you sure?”

  “Would I be saying it?”

  One thing he’d learned about Faith was that, no, she would not be saying it.

  “Okay.”

  He moved on top of her, easing a knee between her thighs, pushing himself into her without putting any weight on top of her body. There was a good foot of air between their chests by the time he was all the way home. But when he started lowering his body, she put her hands against his chest and pushed, hard, her breath coming in a series of short, frantic pants. He instantly understood and rolled, taking her with him.

  But instead of getting on top, straddling his chest, she pulled him toward her, so that they were lying on their sides, her thigh over his hip, still joined.

  “Better,” she murmured. A moment later, she slowly arched her back, pushing herself against him. Cautiously, he pushed back.

  “Is that okay?”

  Her eyes shut and a faint smile curved her lips. “Oh yeah.” She reached down between them to touch herself, which always made him a little crazy, and he started moving faster, cupping her ass with one hand.

  They came together, which he always loved, and collapsed in a tangle of damp legs and arms.

  She let out a breath against his chest. “Not quite ready for that.”

  “It’s been a long day,” he murmured.

  She laughed and snuggled closer. Drew pulled her toward him and closed his eyes. He didn’t say anything, made no official announcement, but tonight he was going to try to stay with her.

  * * *

  DREW CAME ROARING up out of bed as the sky turned orange and the world silently disintegrated around him, metal falling from the sky but making no sound as it hit the ground close to him, hit his buddies. Hit Maddie. Then the noise came, building in intensity
until it was deafening. He put his hands to his ears, trying to shut it out until he choked in a series of gasping breaths and the noise stopped.

  His eyes snapped open and he blinked, but couldn’t see. The sky wasn’t orange. It was black. Then he heard the shuddering exhalation from across the room and reality slammed into him. Faith was plastered against the wall farthest away from the bed, her hands flat against the drywall on either side of her. She was panting, and even at a distance he could see how wide her eyes were, how terrified her expression.

  He tried to say he was sorry. Sorry for being there, sorry for scaring her, but the words refused to climb out of his dry throat as he held Faith’s frightened gaze. He needed to reassure her, but was afraid to go near her.

  It took him several minutes to get his breathing closer to normal, and for the pulse to stop hammering in his ears.

  Finally, he was able to ask, “Did I hurt you?”

  “No.” The word barely escaped her lips.

  “I could have.”

  “You didn’t.”

  She crossed the room, cautiously approaching as if he was going to suddenly attack, making his heart break as once and for all he accepted his reality. She sat next to him, settled a light hand on his bare thigh, and he flinched. She pulled her hand back.

  “I don’t like to be touched afterward.” His nerves were close to being on fire.

  “Noted.” She got to her feet. Put some distance between them before snapping on the desk light. It was then he saw the mark on her arm, a long red line that would bloom into a bruise.

  “You said I didn’t hurt you.”

  She grasped her arm with her free hand. “I tripped as I got out of bed. Hit the nightstand. You didn’t hurt me.”

  Yeah? Would she have that mark if he hadn’t come fighting out of his sleep?

  “I can’t do this.”

  She didn’t answer. What could she say, now that she’d seen him come unglued? Seen the stress of not being able to beat the crap out of Jared Canon manifest itself in a deadly dream?

  He reached for his jeans, shoved his legs into them. He hoped the Airedale still whimpering on the other side of the door would let him leave unscathed.

  “You don’t have to go,” she said. He gave her a look and she lifted her chin in response. “I’ll make coffee. We can...talk.”

  ‘I’m not real good with words right afterward.”

  “We’ll talk later.”

  He let his head drop in defeat. She didn’t get it. “Faith... I told you before that I wasn’t ready. This is why. Don’t fight me on this.”

  Her expression crumpled. “You’re saying...”

  “Give me space.” She started to speak, but he cut her off. “I’ve got to go.”

  “When will I see you again?” The question she’d never asked him before.

  He shot a look at the injury on her arm. “It’ll be a while.”

  He felt like a coward, but he had to get out of there. For her sake. For his. She stood back, wrapping her arms around her middle.

  “It’s not you, Faith—”

  She interrupted him with an angry exhalation. “Don’t say it. Don’t even think about saying it.”

  His jaw muscles tightened and then he yanked open the bedroom door. Sully fell back as he strode past the dog on his way to the front door. To his escape.

  A sacrifice he had to make.

  * * *

  FAITH’S ARM WAS throbbing from where she’d hit it in her hurry to get away from Drew when he’d come rearing up out of the bed. Her only thought had been to put a lot of distance between herself and danger—and she’d tripped on the rug on the way.

  She let go of her arm and rubbed the backs of her hands across her cheeks, smearing the tears that had slipped from the corners of her eyes. She wasn’t going to cry. Or mourn. Or feel helpless and lost.

  She was not.

  Propping a hand on the wall, she let her head drop. Her heart was still beating harder. He’d scared her to death. No way around it. No way to pretend it hadn’t happened.

  The question was no longer would he terrify her, but when?

  Faith pushed off the wall and went down the hall to the bathroom. She switched on the light, took a long look at her pale reflection—pale except for her eyes, which were red-rimmed. She ran water, splashed her face, patted it dry.

  Still no color.

  Drew had come to her rescue because he cared for her. He’d stayed the night because he thought he could. And then he’d erupted...

  They had a problem.

  And convincing him of the they part might well be impossible.

  Faith didn’t try to go back to bed after Drew left. She iced her arm, drank a cup of tea, researched nightmares, convinced herself that any decision made in the dead of night after a frightening experience needed to be reexamined in the light of day. Drew was right. They needed time. Both of them.

  And Faith got her time. The days passed by without a word from Drew, other than a quick call the morning after he’d had the nightmare, making certain she was indeed all right. After that—nothing. Leaving Faith in a quandary. Did she accept the inevitable? Put up a struggle?

  She had nothing to struggle against, and that was made clear when Maddie’s aunt called and told her Maddie wouldn’t make lessons that week. She was taking a weekend trip with Shayla’s family.

  “Will she be continuing lessons?”

  Cara hesitated a split second too long. “I don’t know,” she finally said.

  “If she wants to continue, I can pick her up and drop her off.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  The note of suspicion in Cara’s voice irked her. Why, to get close to Drew, of course. Faith sucked in a breath and let fly with the truth. “Because I like Maddie. My horses get exercise and I get to teach. Maddie gains skills she might not otherwise have. That makes it a win-win-win situation.” Any more questions?

  From the moment of silence that followed her rapid-fire response, she assumed the answer was no. Maddie’s overprotective aunt did not have more questions.

  “I’m sorry if I got peppery,” Faith said.

  “No,” Cara said instantly. “Maddie likes you, too.”

  She softened her tone. “Glad to hear it. Even if we don’t continue lessons this summer, there’s always next.”

  Cara cleared her throat. “Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Faith thanked her and hung up, wishing she hadn’t offered to pick up the girl. But Maddie liked horses and Faith could help her indulge her interest. She liked working with her.

  This isn’t about you.

  Obviously, since she felt like she had no say in anything, and no way to get a say. Short of going to his cabin and poking at Drew with a stick, they were not going to have contact. Maybe it was good thing Maddie was taking a hiatus from riding lessons. Maybe Faith needed a break from the Miller family.

  Maybe she didn’t need any more reminders of how much she missed Drew.

  Yeah. Definitely a good thing.

  But while she was able to take a break from Drew, she was not able to take a break from his sister. Debra had been wildly preoccupied over the past several weeks. At first Faith thought it was because of the applications and admissions they were processing, but she became even more distracted and distant as those slowed down.

  That wasn’t totally a bad thing. Faith did her job with few interruptions and next to no questions about her weekend rodeos...or Drew. It was as if Debra had given up on helping him—or, as Drew had said, she really was only interested in appearances. Whatever her reasoning, it seemed that Drew had worn her down.

  Lately, Debra had spent less time in the office than usual as she attended meetings, both on campus and at the capitol as part of the various committees she served on, so Faith wasn’t surprised t
o see her office dark when she came upstairs to drop off a printout of missing alumni files.

  She gave the printout to Penny, Debra’s associate, and headed for the door, only to step back as it opened. The woman who came in stopped when she saw the dark office, then glanced at Penny.

  “Unexpected meeting,” Penny said with an apologetic smile.

  A pained look crossed the woman’s face before she said in a resigned voice, “I’ll catch her later.”

  “Do you want me to have her call you?”

  “I’ll text. Thank you.” She hurried back out the door, leaving Faith staring after her.

  “Salesperson?” she asked, thinking textbooks.

  “Real estate.”

  Faith’s eyebrows lifted. “Is Debra selling her house by the lake?” The one she was so proud of?

  Penny shook her head and reached for the phone. “Her second house. The one on the mountain.” She started punching buttons and Faith bit her lip as she let herself out of the office.

  Could Debra have two houses on the mountain?

  Somehow, she doubted that.

  * * *

  DREW HAD JUST stopped by Pete’s to pick up his Jeep when a text from Faith came in.

  Call me.

  Hearing her voice was going to ruin him, but he moved to the far end of the shop, out of earshot of Pete, who was cursing lightly under his breath as he tried to unjam a pull starter on a small pump. Drew dialed her number anyway.

  “Hey,” he said when she answered. He’d been right. Just hearing her hello made him want her.

  “I heard something today. It may be nothing, but I thought I should pass it along.”

  Not what he’d expected. “What’s that?”

  “A real estate agent came by your sister’s office. Apparently, Debra is interested in selling her second home. The one on the mountain.”

  It took Drew a few seconds to process. “You’re sure about that?”

  “Sure enough to call you,” she said tightly.

  “Shit.” He rubbed his forehead. “Sorry.”

  “Yeah. I know. About a lot of stuff.” She didn’t sound one bit snarky. “I thought you needed to know.”