Never Let Go (Haven, Montana Book 2)

by Jill Sanders

  He turned. “You are feeling better.”

  “Why don’t you come over here and . . .”

  A knock came at the door. “Breakfast is ready,” his mother called out, causing him to roll his eyes.

  “Okay, we’ll be out in a minute.” He waited until he heard his mother’s footsteps retreat. “She has a sex radar,” he whispered, causing Addy to laugh.

  Once he tugged on the rest of his clothes and Addy had climbed out of bed, they made their way out of his room and down the hallway.

  “You look more alive today,” Trisha said to Addy from her spot at the stove. “How are you feeling?”

  “Better, thank you.” She sat down when Trent pulled out a chair at the table for her. He busied himself with getting them both full plates of eggs, toast, and bacon.

  “Do you drink coffee?” he asked.

  She put up a bandaged hand. “Nope, gave the stuff up. But I like orange juice.” She nodded to the glass container.

  He grabbed a mug for himself, then a glass of juice for her, and finally sat down with their plates.

  “I can’t eat half of this.” She chuckled as he set the plate full of food in front of her.

  “I’ll finish what you can’t.” He smiled.

  She reached for her fork and frowned when she dropped it and it hit the table.

  “Here.” Gail walked over and handed her a thick wooden spoon. “This might be easier.”

  “I feel like a child,” Addy said, looking around the table.

  “The good thing is you’re here, safe, and well,” Trisha said. “When I think of what could have been . . .” She shook her head.

  “You and me both,” Trent said to Trisha.

  His mother glanced in his direction. “I thought you had the day off ?”

  “I do. Just have a few things I wanted to take care of this morning.” He looked at Addy.

  “We were going to sit out on the back patio for a while this morning. Why don’t you go run your errands, and Addy can enjoy the spring sun with us until you get back?” Trisha suggested.

  “I don’t have to be babysat,” Addy chimed in.

  “No, but you’re under doctor’s orders to take it easy, at least for the first forty-eight hours.” He finished his plate and reached for hers that she’d pushed away. She’d eaten less than half of her food, but last night, she’d eaten a full burger and half the fries, so he wasn’t too concerned.

  He left Addy in his mother’s and Trisha’s very capable hands and headed to the police station. When he drove by the store, he saw that the lot had been cleared of cars, including the remains of Addy’s Jeep. The front windows had been boarded up and a handwritten sign had been posted saying they’d be open tomorrow after some repairs.

  He parked in the guest spot at the station and noticed how full the lot was. When he walked in, he knew why. It appeared the entire town had shown up when the doors opened that morning wanting to know what had happened.

  He stopped next to Trey and nudged him with his shoulder. “Have they given up anything new yet?”

  Trey shook his head. “Not yet. They have a list from the gas station and store of everyone who purchases Gold Crest cigarettes.”

  “And?” he asked, noticing Tyler walk by. Trent waved him over.

  “Well, they’re about to start calling people in and finding out where they were yesterday when the fire started.”

  Trent looked around and sighed. He doubted anyone on the list of possibilities would be standing in the station the morning after setting a fire.

  Then he spotted a dark-green cap on a man standing in the corner and he tensed. “What the . . .” He pushed through the people around him. Just as he broke through the crowd less than a foot from Dennis Rodgers, his brother’s hands yanked him back.

  “Easy,” Tyler said next to him. “He was released on bond a few days back.”

  “Why the hell—” Trent said loudly, glaring at the man who’d kidnapped his soon-to-be sister-in-law.

  “Lack of evidence,” Dennis interrupted. “It will all come out in the trial.” He crossed his arms. “I’ll find some proof that you three set me up.”

  “You son of a—”

  “Trent McGowan.” His name rang out, causing everyone to turn and look at Mike.

  Trent’s chin dropped. “What?” He looked at the chief of police.

  “You’re the first on our list to be interviewed,” Mike said.

  “Me?”

  Mike nodded, causing Trent to laugh. “The hell I am. I don’t smoke.”

  Mike crossed his arms and glared at him. “Are you going to come peacefully?”

  Tyler shoved his brother toward Mike and whispered, “He’s just doing his job. You’re closest to her, and he wants to find whoever did this as much as you do.”

  Trent’s shoulders firmed and he made his way through the crowd once more as people started whispering around him. “Knock it off. I would never hurt Addy.” He glared at a few of them.

  “Of course you wouldn’t,” several people said together, causing him to smile as he entered the interview room with Mike and Tony.

  He sat down at the table and waited until his two friends sat across from him.

  “Where were you yesterday around eleven in the morning?” Tony asked, looking down at his list.

  “Work,” Trent answered, causing Tony to glance up at him over thick-rimmed reading glasses.

  “Which site? The office?”

  “The office—my office. Rea can account for me. I was there on a phone call when I got the call from my mother about what had happened.”

  Tony nodded. “What time did you arrive at your office?”

  “Seven in the morning.”

  “Where were you before?”

  “Ho . . .” He backtracked and took a deep breath. “I’d spent the night at Addy’s.”

  Both men’s eyebrows shot up. The room remained silent for a while.

  “Does your mother know?” Tony asked, causing Trent to laugh.

  “Tony, I’m a grown man.”

  “Course you are, son, just . . .” He shook his head and leaned forward. “You know how she is, about spending the night with a lady before . . . marriage.”

  Trent leaned forward. “The question is, how do you know how she is?” His eyes narrowed as Tony’s face turned a shade of red.

  “Enough,” Mike broke in. “What time did you leave her place?”

  “Just after four. I went home, showered, and changed, then was in the office shortly after Rea arrived. I had a conference call with a new supplier for our fir trees. That lasted almost thirty minutes before I had another meeting with . . .”

  “Okay.” Mike stopped him and jotted a few things down. “At any point in the morning did you leave the office?”

  He thought about it. “No. Rea ran over to the diner and grabbed me a breakfast sandwich. I was just about to go to lunch when my mother called.” His eyes moved to Tony, who quickly looked down at his paper to avoid his gaze.

  “Thank you, you’re free to go.” Mike stood.

  “Not so fast,” Trent said, not moving from his seat. “I expect to know . . .”

  Mike stopped him by raising his hands. “I’ve already bent the rules once for your family in the past few months. We’re playing this one by the book. I’ve got the fire inspector coming back into town. He’s still looking at the NewField fire, and now he’s adding this one to his list. You’ll find out the same time everyone else in town does.” Mike turned and opened the door.

  Trent glanced at Tony, who was still looking down through his glasses at the stack of papers.

  When he walked out of the interview room, he was shocked to hear his brothers’ names called directly after his.

  He kept telling himself that they were just doing their job, but part of him was angry that the officers would call in the McGowans first. What were they looking for?

  Later, as the three brothers walked out of the station, Trent pulled out his
cell phone and called his mother.

  “Want us to pick up some food?” he asked.

  “Pizza,” she said. “You know what we like. Any news?”

  “Nope,” he said. “How’s she doing?”

  “She’s resting again.”

  “Good, see you in a few.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Addy had asked Trisha earlier to help her unwrap her hands. She needed to stretch them, and the bandages were suffocating her. Well, okay, not actually suffocating her, but it was driving her nuts that she couldn’t move her fingers individually. She’d expected that she would be able to rewrap any fingers separately that still needed it.

  However, when she looked down at her swollen digits, she realized the task was too great for her alone. Gail and Trisha helped her clean and rebandage several fingers.

  At least now she could hold a fork and a glass all by herself.

  Several of her fingers were . . . gross. Not only were her hands and fingers crisscrossed with large red gashes, but they were swollen. Dark bruises covered most of the skin.

  She had seen the stitches on three cuts: one just below her thumb joint, the second near her elbow on the same side, and the third spot, the largest gash, on her right knee, which was the reason she was walking so stiffly.

  On the rest of her, the cuts ranged from scratches to glued-up lines that she knew would hardly leave scars.

  It was the bruising that turned her skin a nasty dark color and hurt more than most of the cuts. She’d taken a Tylenol after breakfast instead of a codeine, which had allowed her to stay clearheaded.

  Shortly after Trent had left that morning, she’d called Beau and filled him in on what had happened. Beau was worried about her, and it took half of the conversation to convince him that she was okay. Then she’d called her insurance and given them the information they needed along with the phone number for the police station so they could work directly with them.

  She’d been so tired after all those calls that she’d rested and slept deeply until her phone chimed a message from her parents’ number.

  She sat up and debated listening to the voice mail for almost five full minutes before swiping her screen and deleting it without listening.

  They were done with her. She was done with them. Period.

  She knew that a lot of her trust issues with Trent were thanks to her own parents’ rough marriage. She couldn’t imagine ever wanting anything close to what they had and, since she’d been a child, she’d believed that all marriages fell into that same pattern.

  Addy didn’t have any more room in her broken heart to ache for them. She knew that whatever her mother had to say would have just upset her, and she’d had enough of that in the past day.

  She actually felt better for it.

  After stuffing herself with Hawaiian pizza at lunch, she sat in the living room and listened as Trent filled them in on what was going on at the police station. The family then talked about whether they should move their uncle to the specialty facility or not. He didn’t have insurance, which meant it would fall to the McGowans to pay for his long-term care.

  Gail was looking into further possibilities closer to home.

  Then Trent broke in.

  “Why was I the last to find out that Dennis is running around a free man?” Trent had Addy tucked next to him, and she jerked when she heard this.

  “But I thought . . .” Addy sat up.

  “He’s out on bond until his trial in a few weeks,” Gail said. “We didn’t think it would do to have you upset.”

  Trent huffed. “Yeah, you’re right, it was much better seeing him smirking at me across the room in the police station this morning,” he said sarcastically.

  “Do they think the two fires are related?” Kristen asked.

  Addy hadn’t thought of that angle but looking around the room, she could tell she was the only one who hadn’t made the connection yet.

  “I wouldn’t cross it off the list of possibilities yet,” Tyler said.

  “When did Dennis get free?” Trent asked. “Before or after the NewField fire?”

  “After,” three voices answered together.

  “Well, that marks him off that list at least.”

  “Yeah, but he’s got friends—a handful of his workers loyal to him,” Trey added.

  “Any smoke cigarettes?” Trent asked.

  “I can look into it.” Trey stood up. “I’ve got to get back to the grind.”

  “Me too.” Tyler followed him. “Some of us can’t afford to take an entire day off.” He smacked Trent on the shoulder as he walked by.

  “Right,” Trent called back. “You just take weeks off instead.” He pulled Addy closer to his side.

  She’d seen the dark circles under his eyes during breakfast and lunch. She knew that if she could convince him to lie down with her, he’d sleep too.

  “I’m feeling tired.” She stretched her sore legs and winced when she felt pain.

  “Want me to get you another pill?” he asked, eager to get up.

  “No, but I could use someone to help replace this bandage.” She wiggled her left hand. “I think it’s too tight.” It wasn’t, but she needed an excuse to get him to the bedroom with her.

  “Sure.” He stood up and helped her to her feet.

  “We were going to head into the store, but . . .” His mother sighed.

  “The store will open back up tomorrow,” he said.

  “So soon, I suppose . . .” Gail started to say, then coughed when Trisha looked over at her.

  “I guess we’ll head over to Avon to the general market there,” Trisha said, looking down at her watch. “We should be back just in time for dinner.”

  “Um, yeah, in time for dinner,” Gail repeated.

  “Okay,” Trent said, then followed Addy back to his room.

  Addy held in a chuckle as the two ladies exchanged glances behind them.

  Instead of letting him replace her bandage, she tugged him to the bed. “To be honest, I was just looking for a way to get you to lie down with me.” They settled on the comforter together. “I wanted to be next to you for a while,” she said against his chest, humming. “Mmm, this is what I needed.”

  She felt him relax as his arms came around her. “Sneaky.” He grinned. “I guess I could lie down for a while. I haven’t taken a nap in . . . years,” he said, his hand going into her hair.

  She listened as his breathing shallowed. His heart slowed and she could tell he was fast asleep.

  At first her mind refused to settle down. She’d slept plenty, but her body was still too weak to remain awake as her mind raced through things she had to do.

  Purchasing a new Jeep or truck was at the top of her list. She had loved her Jeep and only had a few more payments until it was hers. Now she wondered if her insurance would cover enough to get something as nice as that one had been.

  The Jeep had been just the right size to pull her small trailer. The thought of getting a truck or van was disappointing.

  She’d have to go into Helena to the nearest Jeep dealer and see what she could afford on her salary. Which wasn’t much, considering who she worked for.

  Suddenly thoughts of getting a different job, a stationary job, popped into her head. Did she even like what she was being forced to do? She wasn’t a spy. Especially when there were people she liked and trusted at the other end of the game.

  She was no closer to figuring out what they wanted with the land than when she’d started. Which made her think about why she’d started doing what she was doing.

  She’d been on the road for almost two years. Would she like staying in one place again? Where? Here? Hell no, she thought. But then Trent shifted and pulled her closer, and the thought suddenly didn’t scare her as much as it would have weeks, or even days, ago. Despite how her job put a wedge in their relationship, she still felt oddly relaxed about being with him now.

  Even the prospect of living in the same town as her parents didn’t bother h
er as much as it had before. She took a deep breath and enjoyed the way Trent’s scent drifted into her head, causing her body to react.

  She’d dreamed of being with him again earlier; now was no different. She knew her hands were too messed up to enjoy feeling him but still ran her hands over his chest slightly until he stirred.

  Reaching up, she laid a soft kiss on his neck. He turned toward her and wrapped his leg over her hip and buried his face into her hair.

  “You smell so good,” he said softly.

  “So do you.” She leaned up and kissed him as he looked down at her.

  “God, I want you so bad,” he said, his voice going husky. His hips started moving against hers and she felt her body react.

  “What about your mother?” she asked, enjoying the feeling of him against her.

  “She and Trisha have gone to Avon to the store,” he said between kisses on her neck. “Remember?”

  “Yes, but isn’t . . .” She didn’t get anything else out because his mouth had covered hers.

  She lay there and waited as he gently undressed her, pulling off his sweatshirt that she’d put on earlier that morning. His T-shirt she was wearing was next. Then his eyes roamed over her as he nudged the sweats down her legs, making sure to go slowly over the bandages on her knees.

  “You’ll let me know if I hurt you.”

  “You won’t.” She sighed as his hands roamed over her skin. “I just wish I could . . .” She held up her hands and frowned at them.

  “Just lie there and let me take care of you,” he said.

  His hands drifted over her as his lips raised little bumps all over her skin. He took his time and kissed every bruise as his hands gently massaged her sore muscles.

  “Mmm,” she moaned. “You could make a living doing this.”

  He laughed outright. “I think that’s still illegal in the States.” He’d removed his shirt and was in the process of pulling off his jeans.

  “Not that.” She smiled up at him, then gasped when he came back down to her, skin to skin.

  His lips covered hers again as his fingers found her and sent her hips jerking toward him.

  “My god,” she said between kisses. She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and held on to him as he used all his skills to send her over the edge quickly.