Wild Montana Skies

by Susan May Warren

  Ben said nothing. Sighed. “Me too.”

  Robert turned then, met his eyes. “Kacey—and Audrey—are my entire life.”

  “Again. Me too.” He refused to look away and met the Judge’s gaze without flinching.

  “What about your music career? Your tours. Nashville.”

  He took a breath. “I’ve been kidding myself for a decade. There is no music career without Kacey. Not one worth having. I love her and Audrey, and if that means giving it all up—I will. My dad is here. Audrey is here. And I’m hoping I can convince Kacey to stay too.”

  “She will, Dad.”

  Audrey stood in the doorway, holding a Snickers. “She loves you. She just doesn’t want to destroy what you worked so hard for.”

  “That’s the thing, Audrey.” He came over to her. “It all doesn’t matter if you don’t have someone to work hard for.” He took her by the shoulders. “Someone who you love to sing to.”

  He kissed her forehead, and she grinned.

  “But . . . this old geezer, as Hollie likes to call me, still has a few tricks up his sleeve.”

  “Really?”

  “You can tweet that, if you’d like. Hashtag new release from Benjamin King.”

  She pulled out her phone, and he laughed.

  A nurse opened the door. “Judge Fairing, your daughter is in recovery and coming around.”

  Audrey turned to go, but Ben shot a look at Robert. The Judge hesitated a moment, then finally nodded.

  Ben followed them into the room, watched as Laura kissed Kacey’s forehead. Kacey was just rousing from the anesthetic. Her face was battered, her shoulder wrapped, an IV plugged into her hand.

  She appeared so fragile and sunken into the bed that his heart just about broke in half. He put a hand to the railing to brace himself.

  “Audrey?”

  “Right here, Mom.” Audrey grabbed her hand. “And Dad’s here too.”

  The word, so natural coming out of Audrey’s mouth.

  He stepped up to the other side of the bed. “Hey, beautiful.”

  She opened her eyes, found his, and managed a febrile smile. “You’re here.”

  “Of course I am. And I’ll be here when you wake up, for the rest of your life, if you’ll have me.”

  She blinked, licked her lips. “Is that a proposal?”

  He had her hand, now rubbed his thumb against hers. “Well, I already proposed once, so maybe it’s just a reminder.”

  “I’ll have you,” she said softly, her lips tilting.

  He pressed her hand to his mouth, then leaned over and gave her a soft, quick kiss.

  When he moved away, she looked past him, to her father. “Daddy.”

  “Hey, honey.” He touched her leg, squeezed. “We’ll take Audrey home. You need to get some rest.”

  She nodded, and Audrey leaned over, kissed her good-bye. “I’ll be back in the morning.”

  Kacey formed a smile until they left the room. Then she looked at Ben, and her expression seemed, for a moment, stripped.

  “I was lying there, in all that blackness, and . . . I thought I heard you singing. But it wasn’t you, and it wasn’t Audrey . . . But I felt as if—as if someone were with me. That I wasn’t alone.”

  “You weren’t alone.” He kissed her hand again.

  “But I mean—”

  “I know what you mean, Kacey. I knew it as soon as the dust cleared and I saw you lying there—God crashed down the house to show me where you were. And maybe that’s his MO—using the debris of our mistakes to show us how he can save us, rescue us from our dark places. We just have to have that crazy faith that he’ll do it, despite our mistakes, our fears, even our pride.”

  She bore so much hope in her eyes, he couldn’t help but lean down, kiss her again softly. “I love you so much, I feel like I need to shout.”

  “I love you too.” She sighed. “I’m so tired, but I don’t want to sleep.”

  “Shh, babe. It’ll be okay. I’ll be right here when you wake up.” Ben hooked a chair with his foot, drew it over. “Let me sing you a little song I just finished. I think you’ll like it.”

  He started to hum.

  “I think I know this one,” she said quietly. “It’s one of my favorites.”

  He sat, so much emotion in his chest he couldn’t breathe. “Yeah, you do. You’ve always known it. But it took me a while to finally find the ending. I borrowed a little from Audrey’s song. See if you like it.”

  Years gone by, my eyes are dry

  But the echo of my heart won’t tell a lie

  I’m coming home to the one I love

  Second chances, given from above

  When you need a friend

  A shoulder you can cry on

  Someone who understands what you’re going through

  Just look over here, see me standing closer

  I never knew a love like this . . . ’til there was you.

  “Just this once, Audrey. Don’t get used to this—it’s a school night.” Kacey lifted a hand to Gina behind the bar of the Gray Pony. “Can we get a refill on the root beer?” She passed the mug over to Gina, who filled it from the tap.

  Audrey sat on the bar stool next to her. Gina handed her the mug.

  “Your guys ordered some calamari. I’m slammed. Can you bring it back to them?”

  Kacey glanced to the stage, where a hopeful crooner played a ballad about country roads and going home. Clearly influenced heavily by his mentor.

  “Yep, I have time.”

  “Great. It’ll be right out,” she said.

  The smells of grilling burgers, tangy barbecue, and crunchy fries swelled out from the kitchen as Gina opened the swinging door.

  “I think you should homeschool me so I can go on tour with Dad next year,” Audrey said.

  “We’ll see. We have the entire summer ahead of us to negotiate.”

  But she and Ben had already had that conversation about next summer, and it included a large custom bus with a bedroom for Audrey.

  Their daughter was already pushing for a winter wedding.

  She noticed Audrey glance back, over her shoulder, and followed the glance to spot Nate sitting nearby with his parents.

  Interesting.

  Gina returned with the calamari.

  “Stay here, I’ll be right back,” Kacey said. “Save my seat.” Because, well, that was exactly where Ben would look the minute he took the stage.

  The crowd parted for her—thanks to her sling. The private-ticket-only event had the entire town of Mercy Falls buzzing.

  It wasn’t every day that Nashville picked up and moved to the shadow of Glacier National Park, decided to set up a studio. Ben had already cut his first track, a love song she’d helped title.

  In fact, one could say she’d provided inspiration for the entire thing.

  She set the calamari on a table in an alcove by the door, in a rounded booth reserved for her cohorts. Ty, in his cowboy hat and designer boots, pulled the calamari toward him. “I love these rubbery things.”

  “Squid, Ty.”

  He waved the curly deep-fried appetizer at her, wearing a rare smile.

  Recovery had given her time to review the details of Chet and Ty’s chopper accident—no wonder Ty struggled to climb back in the cockpit.

  But her accident had given him the nudge he’d needed to use the simulator. PEAK Rescue just might have a pilot back in the cockpit sooner rather than later.

  Once her request for separation from the military came through and her reserve status was confirmed, she could put together a training schedule for both of them.

  “Bull’s-eye!” Pete’s voice rang out over the crowd from where he and Gage waged a war with the darts.

  Next to Ty, Jess was thumbing through pictures on her cell, showing them to Sierra.

  “What are you looking at?” Kacey asked.

  “Sierra’s got some ideas on how to remodel the kitchen.”

  “I think you need to finish one of the b
edrooms first.” This from Sam, who had returned from the bar with his order of nachos. He set the food on the table, slid in next to Sierra.

  Sierra glanced up at him, something warm in her expression.

  Interesting.

  Especially since Kacey had seen Ian at the bar, talking with a pretty, crunchy-granola park worker.

  Miles came in, holding Kelli’s hand, making a way for her and her pregnant belly through the crowd. He helped her off with her jacket, and Sam moved in to make a space for her. Miles turned the chair at the table around backward, straddled it. “Did we miss anything?”

  She glanced toward the stage, over the heads, and saw the warm-up singer just finishing.

  “No, but I need to get back to my seat.”

  “What are you, Benjamin King’s good luck charm?” Jess said.

  “Something like that.” She added a wink. Then worked her way back to the front. Slid into the high-top seat at the bar.

  Audrey’s was empty.

  “She said to tell you that she’d be right back,” Gina said. “She has a surprise.”

  But that’s when the lights dimmed from somewhere onstage, and a low, deep voice spoke softly into the mic. “Are you ready to get this party started?”

  It was Ben’s voice, low and rumbly, and a shiver thrilled under her skin. Her man knew how to put on a show.

  From the lonely stage, out of the darkness, a quick guitar lick twined through the air. A fast country flavor, the Benjamin King signature.

  The crowd cheered and the lights flicked up.

  Kacey’s mouth dropped open when she saw Audrey standing onstage, her beautiful new guitar over her shoulder. She was dressed in a new pair of boots, a fringed black dress, and her own cowboy hat, her beautiful chestnut hair long and in waves.

  Clearly, Audrey had been the musician, her hands still poised on her guitar, her smile wide as she looked over at her mother.

  “Sorry. That was planned,” Gina said.

  Kacey could only shake her head, grinning.

  Then Ben stepped up to the mic, wearing his signature Stetson, hair curling out the back, jeans, a black Mercy Falls Mavericks T-shirt, and her dog tags hanging from around his neck.

  “Hey, Mercy Falls! Thanks for having us tonight. I’d like to introduce you to my newest act—the beautiful and talented Audrey Fairing!”

  To the applause, Audrey played another lick, this one longer, raising the applause of the audience.

  So this was what she and Ben had been up to all those days, killing time at his house while she’d been recuperating or reading up on past SAR missions.

  And here, Kacey had thought she’d been only getting to know her grandfather, helping him with his PT, and playing with Jubal, the dog she’d immediately adopted as her own.

  Audrey found Kacey’s gaze again, her eyes sparkling. Then, she stepped up to the mic. “Actually, the name is Audrey King.” She turned to her father, her eyes bright.

  He wore so much joy in his face, Kacey had to blink away the moisture in her eyes. Her own heart was so full, so whole, she could hardly breathe.

  Then Ben joined his daughter in a final, quick solo, a grand flourish at the end.

  The crowd came to their feet as Audrey parked her guitar and hopped offstage.

  “What did you think, Mom?”

  “Like father, like daughter,” Kacey said, taking Audrey’s face in her hands. “I’m so proud to be your mother.”

  Then she kissed her forehead.

  Audrey climbed onto the stool as Ben took the mic again.

  “Tonight’s a very special night. Most of you know, my dad was in an accident a few months ago. He’s back on his feet, but it helped me realize it was time to come home.”

  A hand on her shoulder made her turn. Chet stood behind her, leaning heavily on his crutches.

  She slid off the stool. “What are you doing here?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Came to see my son sing, of course.” A man at a nearby table vacated his chair, and Chet eased himself into it. “Thought it was time.”

  She glanced to the stage, and Ben was watching them, wearing an expression she couldn’t place. For a second, a muscle pulled on his face, emotion rising in his eyes.

  He cleared his throat. “So tonight I’m here to give you back what you gave me. A home. A family. A song to sing. And by the way, I’ll be stickin’ around—because I’m starting my new label right here in Mercy Falls. It’s called Mountain Song Records.”

  Cheers, and he lifted his hand to quiet the crowd. “But the real reason I’m back is to marry the girl I’ve always loved. Kacey Fairing. This song is for her.” He lowered his voice, something husky in his tone. “It’s called ‘Kiss Me.’”

  A few hoots from the crowd, and her face heated.

  Ben strummed the first few bars of his song, then looked up, his beautiful blue eyes finding her in the audience.

  And then it was just him and her, the world slowing as his song reached out to twine around her, capture her, reel her in.

  Bring her home.

  Author’s Note

  Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.

  “Amazing Grace.” As I was creating the theme of this series about a search and rescue team, this hymn kept returning to me. Searching and finding. God opening our eyes to his care for us. Sometimes I feel like we have a hard time taking those words into our hearts. Making them personal.

  How do they apply to mistakes—even sins—we’ve committed? Actions that have far-reaching consequences, that affect lives and futures? Does God really offer us second chances? And what happens when we feel that we’ve either out-sinned God or maybe simply turned our back on him so long that he couldn’t possibly want us around?

  That is where Kacey and Ben find themselves as this story opens. And, while I understood the mind of Kacey—being a mother who longs to protect her child—I struggled with Ben. I wasn’t sure what Ben’s state of mind was—a famous country music star with shame in his past.

  As I was writing, I was listening to a lot of country music. One singer in particular kept appearing on my Pandora lineup—Chase Rice.

  Most of his songs are pretty wild—not unlike Ben’s!—but then I heard one that changed my entire story. Called “Jack Daniels and Jesus,” it’s about a man who knows he’s not living right, but even in his darkest places, he hears Jesus calling to him through the twenty-third Psalm.

  See, we often believe that since we’ve sinned or made mistakes that God can’t possibly want us, be on our side, run after us. Love us. But we are his sheep—and if you follow the metaphor, he knows we need him. That we’ll be lost without him, even if we don’t realize it.

  Which means that God is not satisfied to sit on the sidelines of our lives—he wants to guide us and protect us, to give us a fresh hope every morning. Too often we spend our lives searching for redemption—like Ben, and even Kacey—when it is freely offered, right there in front of us.

  In fact, as I was writing this book, God confirmed this in words I’d already written, in Ben’s song.

  When you need a friend

  A shoulder you can cry on

  Someone who understands what you’re going through

  Just look over here, see me standing closer

  Nobody will love you the way I do

  Nobody.

  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

  If you’re caught in darkness today, believing God doesn’t want to rescue you, I challenge you to reach out and see that the Good Shepherd is already pursuing you. Already protecting you. Already willing to give you a fresh start and bring you home.

  Thank you for reading Wild Montana Skies! The epic adventure continues in the next book, Rescue Me!

  Grace to you!

  Susie May

  Acknowledgments

  Thanksgiving
of 2014. I flew out to Montana to visit my parents with my oldest son, David, and we were sitting around the breakfast table talking to my father, who was reading the paper. He showed me an article about the rescue via SAR chopper of a hunter who’d been shot.

  “You know,” Dad said, “that might make an interesting book series—an SAR team out of Glacier National Park.”

  It just so happened I was already noodling on that idea. Having loved my Team Hope series (a SAR series), and my Noble Legacy books (set in Montana), I wanted to combine my love for the “family” series (The Christiansen Family) and small-town life (Deep Haven) with something more along the lines of romantic adventure.

  I went upstairs to his bonus room armed with big sheets of Post-it paper, markers, and my son, David, who is an amazing storycrafter. Three days later, we’d fleshed out the entire series, with characters, theme, and book blurbs. Montana Rescue, and the PEAK team, was born.

  And it continues to grow—because it takes a team to raise a book, and I’m so grateful to those who helped bring Wild Montana Skies from baby idea to full-fledged novel. My deepest gratitude goes to:

  MaryAnn Lund, my beloved mother, who loved the PEAK Rescue idea, handed me magazines and ideas, and cheered us on as we plotted. Wow, do I miss you—and I know you’re still cheering me on in heaven.

  Curt Lund, for your support and enthusiasm for this project! I love the way you think! Thank you for your continued ideas.

  Ken Justus, ALERT chopper pilot. Thank you for the answers to endless questions and for what you do every day to save people. Any mistakes are all mine.

  Tobi Leidy, reader friend who suggested the name Jubal Sackett for Chet’s dog! Thank you for your excellent suggestion—Jubal it is!

  David Warren, brilliant storycrafter, encourager, and plotter. Thank you for sticking in the brainstorming fight with me, seeing my vision, and helping me flesh out characters and scenes. I know I’ve said this before, but really, you’re brilliant.

  Rachel Hauck, writing partner and best friend. Thank you for being on the other end of the phone with the answer to the question: what next? You, too, are brilliant.

  Andrew Warren, who knows the right answer to the question: what’s for supper? (You decide! And, um, can you fix it too?) I am so grateful for your support and encouragement. With you, I’m home.