by Kat Mizera
“Do you and Aaron have plans for the rest of the week?” Mark asked as they drove. “I need to make sure the two of you and the house always have coverage.”
“This is kind of ridiculous,” Lana murmured. “Not being cautious, but the whole thing. What kind of person does this shit? If my husband was divorcing me because we couldn’t work it out, it would never cross my mind to throw a bomb in his window.”
“It’s baffling to me too,” Mark said. “When a relationship ends, you walk away, no matter how much it hurts.”
“If he cheated, I could see putting his golf clubs out with the trash or something like that, but that’s just stuff—I could never hurt someone physically.”
“I hear you.” He was nodding though he was looking straight ahead. “I think people stay in toxic relationships for far too long and then, when one or both of them finally realize they need out, they don’t know what to do with each other.”
“Sometimes I’m glad I’m single,” she said softly, turning and looking out the window to her right.
“That’s a big part of why I’m single too. I can’t have drama in my life while being in the military. That kind of distraction could get me killed.”
Lana was quiet for a minute but then she turned to him. “I don’t know what the future holds for us, but I would never distract you with drama. Naughty emails, maybe, but no drama.”
He grinned. “Naughty emails aren’t the kind of thing that would distract me during a mission… Those would give me the motivation to get home safe and sound.”
They walked into the house holding hands and Aaron looked up from the couch with a grin. “Oh, thank god you two hooked up. I was going to have to get hardcore if you didn’t figure it out.”
“We were sick to death of watching you dance around each other,” Swede added, coming in from the kitchen.
Lana’s face turned bright red and she disappeared up the stairs, muttering something about needing her laptop.
“Thanks a lot,” Mark chuckled, shaking his head. “You better not have scared her off after I finally got her to like me.”
“She’s not going anywhere,” Aaron said firmly. “You two have it bad.”
“It’s all new,” Mark said easily, going towards the kitchen to get his own cup of coffee. Hopefully, the conversation would move on to something else when he got back. He hadn’t made a secret of the fact he liked Lana, but he hadn’t realized they were all onto him.
“Hey.” Montana was at the table and glanced up. “Have a good night with your girl?”
Mark wanted to protest that she wasn’t actually his girl, but merely nodded instead. “Yup.”
“Okay, back to business. Joyce Ferrar arrived in Bozeman a week ago. She stayed in town a couple of days and has been off the radar since Tuesday, when she confronted Lana at Macy’s.”
“What about that little motel on the outskirts of town?” Mark asked. “Could she be paying cash, staying off the grid by not using her credit cards?”
“Already checked. They only have one guest right now, and it’s a sixty-year-old man.”
“So we’ve got nothin’.”
“I didn’t say that. She used her credit cards in Bozeman yesterday at a beauty salon.”
“Changing her looks?” Mark met his eyes and Montana shrugged.
“Not sure. I’m sending in one of the guys to talk to people there, see what we can find out.”
“In the meantime, we just sit here waiting for her or someone she hires to go after Aaron or Lana.”
“Aaron and Lana go about their business and we watch their backs to make sure nothing happens.”
Mark poured a cup of coffee, listening as Montana talked about protection strategies and the software he’d been using to track her credit card use. Since Lana and Aaron were going to be working for a few hours, he would do the same. He leaned over Montana’s shoulder to study the program on his computer. Hopefully, they would find Joyce’s location and stop her before she tried anything else. It bothered him that she’d been able to get Lana alone at the department store, because it told him she was more dangerous than they thought. If she’d been following them, she knew Lana wasn’t alone and still had threatened her. In his world, that was someone who cared less about getting caught than accomplishing her mission, and those kinds of people scared him.
The next week flew past. Lana and Aaron planned for several appearances, drafting of press releases and other things Mark didn’t quite follow. After the work day was over they would all eat dinner together before Aaron would go up to his room, giving Mark and Lana a little privacy. Technically, Mark was working, but protecting the house and its occupants while one of the other guys slept in the spare room wasn’t a problem. He and Lana would go up to bed when whoever was on duty got up to take over for him. They hadn’t been intimate again because she was far too shy to allow herself to lose control with others in the house, but it didn’t bother him. Sleeping next to her, holding her, was enough; he was content having her in his arms and in his life. It had been so long since he’d been that comfortable with a woman, he didn’t want to think about how quickly their time together would come to an end.
Seventeen out of his thirty days off were already gone and he was leaving on day twenty-nine so he would have a day at home to get back into his routine. Worse than that, Lana and Aaron weren’t on a set schedule, so one or both of them could decide to leave at any time. They had a couple of events coming up at the skating rink and a children’s hospital, but those were next week and something told him Lana was itching to get out of Montana. She was a city girl through and through, making it unlikely that she would be happy living here in Eagle Rock. If he wanted her, he would have to think twice about the opportunity here, leaving the military, and pretty much everything else in his life. Since they’d only really been together a week, it was early to be thinking about those kinds of things, but he’d been waiting for a chance with her for a long time. Letting her go now that she was within reach wasn’t an option either.
“Hey, you ride?” Montana was asking him as they went over the day’s plans in Aaron’s kitchen, like they did every day.
“Ride?” Mark frowned.
“Horses.”
“Oh, not really. I mean, I’ve been on a dozen donkeys in the Middle East and done a few of those horseback-ride-at-sunset-type dates, but nothing like what you guys do.”
“You up for it? You can’t live in Eagle Rock and not ride.”
Mark shrugged. “I’m up for anything.”
“Lana?” Montana asked.
“Not me,” she murmured, not looking up from her computer.
“That’s what you said about skiing,” Mark pointed out, “and you had fun.”
“I did.” Lana glanced up. “But that was different. On a tiny little hill like that, what’s the worst thing that could’ve happened to me? Broken arm or leg? Maybe some bruised ribs? But on the back of a two-thousand-pound animal—that could go wrong in all kinds of ways. As clumsy as I am? No thanks. They’re majestic, beautiful and smart. I loved feeding and petting them the other day with Allie and I’ll happily hang out and watch you guys, but riding a horse isn’t a skill I’ll ever need.”
Mark mentally winced but decided not to push it. “You’re right, babe.” He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “You should never do anything that makes you that uncomfortable.”
She gave him a sweet smile before going back to whatever she was doing online.
“We could all go,” Aaron said lightly. “We barely leave the house, so a day on the ranch would be kind of cool. You can stay inside, Lana…”
She nodded absently. “Sure. Whatever you guys want to do.”
“All right, let’s get going then.” Montana got to his feet.
Lana closed her laptop and immediately headed up to her room. Mark watched her for a moment before following, wondering about her odd behavior. She’d been quiet and her reaction to the horseback riding idea had be
en strange even for her.
“I’ll just be a minute,” she said, pulling a pair of jeans out of the closet.
“What’s going on?” he asked softly, leaning against the wall.
She shrugged. “Just work stuff.”
“Lana.”
She met his gaze and took a deep breath. “Kate needs me to stay in New York.”
“What?”
“We had a conference call yesterday with a couple of our bigger clients and then she and I talked early this morning. It’s not feasible for me to become a partner if I’m going to be out West. The only way it works is if I’m on the East Coast.”
Mark thought carefully about what to say, though his gut churned with disappointment. “But isn’t that your home anyway?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but I’m ready for a change. Like I said before, I’ll never own a house in New York. I give up a lot to live in the greatest city in the world, and even though I love Manhattan, I don’t think I can stay forever.”
“So what happens with your job?”
“I don’t know.” She sank onto the bed, letting out a dejected little sigh. “I love working with Kate, but I think it’s time to get out of New York, explore the world a little. And honestly, if I’m ever going to have a family, it’s expensive as hell to raise kids there.”
Mark sat beside her, taking one of her hands in his. “You could find another job in PR, though, right?”
“Yeah, but I’d be working for someone else, and probably not making what I’d make as Kate’s partner.”
“That would balance out with cost of living, don’t you think?”
“Depending on where I lived, probably.”
She looked so miserable Mark couldn’t help but pull her close. “It’s going to be okay,” he said against her ear. “Whatever you decide will be what’s right for you.”
“I thought becoming Kate’s partner was what was right… Now I don’t know. I really never considered getting another job.”
“Then maybe it’s time. You can learn new ways of doing things, new skills, and work with different clients. Change isn’t a bad thing.”
“No, but I thought Kate and I would make this work even if I left New York. Our clients have different ideas, though, so now I have to choose between the job I love and my need to get out of New York.”
“I think maybe a day at Hank and Sadie’s ranch, with fresh air and horses and other stuff you’re not fond of, might be just the ticket.”
She chuckled. “I don’t know about that, but since we’re going anyway, it’ll be a good distraction.”
11
Lana stayed inside all day, working on press releases and social media for her clients. Through the window, she got occasional glimpses of everyone on the horses, laughing and having a good time. It felt a little silly sitting inside while everyone else was outside having fun, but she hadn’t lied about her reasons for not wanting to try, and she’d never been the type of woman to give in to peer pressure. Not that anyone was pressuring her, but she had a lot on her mind, so this was depressing on one hand but necessary for her sanity on another.
Being with Mark every night without making love had been almost cathartic, adding a depth to their relationship she hadn’t been expecting, especially now that she knew she either had to stay in New York or find another PR firm somewhere. That somewhere would almost definitely not be anywhere near Eagle Rock, Montana. While Mark hadn’t made any decisions yet, she’d watched him bonding with Montana, Swede and the others, and saw how easily he fell in with them. It was a good fit all around and she didn’t want to be the reason he decided not to settle down here. He was excited about trying something so new, but with each passing day, she realized winters here would probably destroy her emotionally. Snow and cold were okay but being snowed in with nowhere to go for weeks on end wasn’t her thing.
The hard part would be convincing Mark he had to do what was right for him even if it meant ending what they’d started. She could go to Washington, D.C., with him if he stayed in the military, but then she’d be in an unfamiliar town with a guy who was always going on missions or getting deployed, and in the end, he could get moved to another base at any time, which could mean losing her job with Kate anyway. There were no easy answers, which was what she’d been afraid of; things that seemed too good to be true usually were.
By lunch time she’d worked herself into a bad mood and wanted more than anything to be alone. Unfortunately, the group was on the way in and everyone was chattering, hungry and talking over each other. She gathered up her things to get out of the way and had just put her bag in the living room when strong hands moved around her waist and down her hips. The shot of liquid fire that spread through her made her smile. Even though she hadn’t turned to look at him, her body already knew who was touching it; Mark’s fingers had their own special kind of magic and she’d yearned for it these last few days despite all her reservations.
“Let’s go back to the cabin,” he whispered against her ear. “Everyone will be busy here for at least an hour or two.”
She leaned back against him. “That sounds lovely.”
“I already told Hank we were going out for lunch.”
She smiled, letting him lead her out to the truck.
Ten minutes later they were naked in bed, bodies pressed close, whispering together. Something had been bothering her today and as much as he wanted to make love to her, he needed to talk to her first.
“Tell me what’s going on,” he said, running gentle fingers along her cheek.
“You already know.”
“But what exacerbated it today?”
She sighed. “I realized I don’t belong here.”
“What?” He frowned.
“You love this…the snow, the ranch, driving a pickup, being a bodyguard. I’ve been here less than two weeks and I can’t wait to leave. I hate it.”
“I know, baby.”
“So maybe this…” She looked down at their intertwined bodies. “Maybe it would be best if we didn’t continue this once we leave here.”
“Really.” His voice was soft but his eyes had narrowed.
“You have to decide what you want to do without putting me in the equation. My plans are completely up in the air too, and even if I liked it here, I probably couldn’t get a PR job in this area so what’s the point?”
“The point is how we feel about each other.”
“It’s been a little over a week,” she pointed out feebly. “That’s not very long.”
“It’s been two years of me lusting after you, thinking you were too good for me and that you deserved a man like Dante Lamonte instead, someone who could give you everything you ever dreamed of. I never imagined you had a crush on me too. Now that we’re together it’s better than anything I fantasized about. Why would we end it before we know what’s going on?”
“Because there’s no future. You want to be here, I can see it when you’re with the guys… If you decide not to, that means you’ll stay in the military, and you’ll get moved around, which doesn’t work for me professionally.”
“So…everything is about you?” His eyes glittered almost dangerously. “If I can’t adjust my life to what you need, we’re done?”
Lana lowered her gaze. “I have to work but it’s not fair for me to take some random job I hate so you can follow your dreams. What about mine?”
“Neither of us has decided anything professionally! Why do we have to decide about this?”
“It would be better to wait until we’re completely in love and break each other’s hearts? Or maybe after we’re married with kids, and then one of us has to give in out of necessity, and it’s almost always the woman. That’s not fair and you know it.”
“You’re making plans based on things we have no idea about. Why are you in such a hurry to end this?”
“Because I don’t want to get hurt!” she shot back, sitting up and pulling the sheet up to cover her chest.
She loo
ked so angry sitting there, her green eyes sparking and her gorgeous hair falling across one eye, he just wanted to kiss her. She was upset, though, and he didn’t want that, despite not having any answers.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” was all he could think to say.
“You don’t know that.”
“That’s always the chance you take when you give your heart to someone, isn’t it?”
“This is different.”
“It’s different because you’re making it different,” he said quietly, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and pulling on his boxers and jeans.
“Where are you going?” she asked softly.
“Downstairs. I’m hungry. Let me know when you’re ready to go. I don’t think there’s any point to this conversation anymore.”
“Mark, wait.”
He paused, looking up after he’d pulled on his Henley.
“I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do.”
“Looks like you already made up your mind and after chasing you for two years, I’m tired. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, so I’ll abide by your wishes. See you downstairs.”
By the time she’d gotten dressed and composed herself, Lana felt terrible. She hadn’t meant to upset him but she thought she was doing the right thing by cutting things off now. It just felt dreadful and Mark’s polite coolness the rest of the day hurt. When he opted to sleep on the couch instead of upstairs with her later that night, she decided she had to get out of here sooner rather than later. Being together would be hard going forward; staying here with him would be unbearable.
In the morning, before she went downstairs, she called Kate.
“Hey, Lana, Kate’s covered in puke and asked me to answer.” Erin’s voice rang through the phone line.
“Oh no, are the twins sick?” Lana asked, holding the phone with her shoulder as she tugged on jeans.