Читать книгу Garrett Bravo's Runaway Bride - Christine Rimmer - Страница 10
ОглавлениеDropping the purse, grabbing for branches to pull him forward, Garrett scrambled as fast as he could up the hillside. Somewhere up ahead Munch barked like crazy and the bear’s angry vibrating yowl continued.
Then Cami’s voice joined in. “Shoo! Back! Get out of here, you!”
Garrett grabbed the slim trunk of a cottonwood sapling and hauled himself higher, finally getting close enough that he could see them through the brush. They were maybe ten yards below the road. Cami had lost the flip-flops but had found a long stick. She held off the bear with it while Munch ran in circles around them, barking.
With no weapon handy, Garrett grabbed a rock and threw it at the bear, striking it on the rump. The bear turned and let out a quick growl in Garrett’s direction, but then went right back to chuffing and growling at Cami, pawing the ground.
She yelped in response and kept jabbing with her stick. “Back! Go!” Munch continued circling them, barking frantically.
Garrett scuttled closer and threw a bigger rock.
That did it. The bear turned on him. Black bears could move fast when they wanted to. And that one flew down the hill straight at him.
“Garrett!” Cami’s terrified scream rang through the trees as Garrett lunged to the side, counting on gravity and the bear’s forward momentum to drive it right past him.
It worked. The bear saw him move but couldn’t stop in time. It lost its footing and started to roll.
A split second later, Munch zipped by, too.
“Munch!” Garrett shouted. “Stop!”
But the dog was already out of sight down the ravine. He heard the bear make that threatening sound again. There was scrabbling in the brush and grunting from the bear.
And then a loud, startled cry from his dog.
The bear gave another angry grunt. Brush rustled and branches snapped. Garrett caught a flash of dark fur through the undergrowth—the bear running off.
And then there was silence.
“Omigod!” Cami came sliding down the bank toward him. “Munchy! Oh, no!” She toppled.
Garrett caught her before she could fall. “Hey now. Hold on.” With a gasp, she blinked up at him. He asked, “You all right?”
“Let me go.” She tried to break free. “I have to—”
“No,” he said softly. When she kept struggling, he shouted it. “No!”
A whimper escaped her. “But Munch...”
He took her by the shoulders. “Go back to the Jeep.”
“I can’t—”
“Look at me, Cami. Look at me now.” She moaned, but she focused. “Whatever happened down there, it’s over. Don’t believe what you see in the movies. Black bears as a rule aren’t aggressive and that one’s already run off.”
“But where’s Munchy?”
“I’ll go see.”
“Oh, Garrett. I was going to stay in the Jeep, I promise. I’m so sorry.” Tears filled her good eye and seeped from the injured one.
“It’s okay. Just let me—”
“God, I feel so terrible. Munchy started barking. He jumped right over me and out the open window.”
“He probably caught the bear’s scent. We had a couple of bears messing with our trash on a camping trip once. Munch was only a pup, but he chased them away. Just doing his job, that’s all.”
“If anything has happened to him, I’ll never forgive myself.”
He gave her shoulders a gentle shake. “Look at me. Listen. It’s not your fault.”
“But I—”
“I’m sure he’s fine.” No, he was not sure. But he had to say something to settle her down. Last night, he would have sworn that nothing could shake her, but right now he feared she might lose it completely. “I need to get down there and see what’s going on, okay?” She swallowed hard. And then, finally, tear tracks shining on her too-pale cheeks, she nodded. He instructed, “I want you to wait right here. Do that for me. Please?”
“Yes.” The agreement came out of her on a whisper of sound. And then more strongly, she added, “Okay.”
“Come on now. Over here...” He guided her to a boulder that poked up from the bracken and slowly pushed her down. “I’ll be right back,” he promised. She just stared up at him, tears dripping from her chin.
What else could he do? He took her hoodie from around his neck. It zipped up the front, so he wrapped it around her. “You going to be okay?”
She sniffled and stuck her hand in a pocket of the hoodie. “Go,” she commanded, pulling out a rumpled tissue and dabbing her eyes. “I’m fine.”
He wasn’t so sure about that, but he turned anyway, and started down the bank, passing her purse where he’d dropped it. Several yards farther on, he spotted Munch’s tail sticking out of a clump of brush.
His whole body went numb, a strange coldness creeping in, freezing him in place. He’d worried that Cami might break. Now, the sight of that unmoving tail almost broke him.
And then that tail twitched.
“Munch?” He practically fell the rest of the way.
Landing hard on his knees, he shoved the brush aside.
The poor guy was just lying there, as though he’d stretched out on his side for a nap.
“Munch?”
There was a weak little whine. And then, woozily, Munch lifted his head.
“Munch. Munch...” For some reason, Garrett couldn’t stop saying the mutt’s name. He bent close. No blood that he could see.
The dog whined again.
“How you doing, boy? Where does it hurt?” Garrett ran seeking fingers over head, neck, back, belly and down the long bones of each leg. He checked the paws, too.
Nothing.
About then, Munch gave his head a sharp shake.
“You okay, buddy?” The dog wriggled his way upright and started wagging his tail.
Relief poured through Garrett, bringing another wave of weakness. He plunked back on his butt in the brush and grabbed the dog in a hug. “Guess you’re all right, after all, huh?”
For that, he got sloppy doggy kisses all over his face.
Laughing, Garrett caught Munch’s furry mug between his hands. The dog whined sharply. Garrett felt it then, a bump behind the right ear. Carefully, he stroked the sore spot. “You think you can make it back up to the Wrangler?”
The dog let out a sound that just might have been Yes!
Garrett rocked to his feet and straightened with care. His legs still felt shaky, but they were taking his weight. “Well, let’s go, then. Heel.”
Munch obeyed, falling into step at his left side. Eager to reassure Cami that the dog was okay, Garrett climbed fast, pausing only once to grab her purse as they passed it.
A moment later, he caught sight of her waiting on the rock where he’d left her, wearing the hoodie, looking like a lost Little Red Riding Hood, tears shining on her soft cheeks. She spotted him. Batting tears away, she sat up straighter. And then she saw Munch. With a gasp, she shot to her feet. “He’s okay?”
Garrett gave her a nod. “Go ahead. Show him the love.”
“Munchy!” she cried. The mutt raced to greet her and she dipped low to meet him.
Garrett waited, giving her all the time she wanted to pet and praise his dog. When she finally looked at him again, he explained, “The bear must have whacked him a good one. When I found him, he was knocked out, but I think he’s fine now.”
She submitted to more doggy kisses. “Oh, you sweet boy. I’m so glad you’re all right...”
When she finally stood up again, he handed over the diamond ring and that giant purse.
“Thank you, Garrett,” she said very softly, slipping the ring into the pocket of the jeans she’d borrowed from him. “I seem to be saying that a lot lately, but I really do mean it every time.”
“Did you want those high-heeled shoes with the red soles? I can go back and get them...” When she just shook her head, he asked, “You sure?” He eyed her bare feet. “Looks like you might need them.”
“I still have your flip-flops. They’re up by the Jeep. I kicked them off when I ran after Munch.” For a long, sweet moment, they just grinned at each other. Then she said kind of breathlessly, “It all could have gone so terribly wrong.”
“But it didn’t.”
She caught her lower lip between her pretty white teeth. “I was so scared.”
“Hey.” He brushed a hand along her arm, just to reassure her. “You’re okay. And Munch is fine.”
She drew in a shaky breath and then, well, somehow it just happened. She dropped the purse. When she reached out, so did he.
He pulled her into his arms and breathed in the scent of her skin, so fresh and sweet with a hint of his own soap and shampoo. He heard the wind through the trees, a bird calling far off—and Munch at their feet, happily panting.
It was a fine moment and he savored the hell out of it.
“Garrett,” she whispered, like his name was her secret. And she tucked her blond head under his chin. She felt so good, so soft in all the right places. He wrapped her tighter in his arms and almost wished he would never have to let her go.
Which was crazy. He’d just met her last night, hardly knew her at all. And yesterday she’d almost married some other guy. She could seem tough and unflappable, but she’d had way too much stress and excitement recently. The last thing she needed was him getting too friendly with her.
Gently and way too reluctantly, he set her away from him. Biting that plump lower lip again, she gazed up at him, her expression both hopeful and a little bit dazed.
“Now, listen.” He ached to stroke a hand down her pale hair, to cradle her soft cheek in his palm, but he didn’t. “What do you say I take you back down the mountain? We’ll be in Justice Creek in less than an hour and you can—”
“Stop.” In an instant, that dazed, dewy look vanished. Her soft mouth pinched tight. Without another word, she grabbed her purse and headed for the Jeep, Munch at her heels.
Garrett followed at a distance as she climbed up to the road. He gave her time to stick her feet in his flip-flops and usher the dog in on the passenger’s side. When she jumped up to the seat and slammed the door, he circled around the front of the vehicle.
As soon as he got in behind the wheel and pulled the door shut, she commanded, “Take me back to the cabin or I’ll say goodbye right here.”
He let the silence stretch out before coaxing, “Come on. Don’t be that way.”
Her tight mouth softened a little. “I’m sorry. I’m just not ready yet to deal with all the crap that’s waiting for me back in the real world.”
“I meant what I told you,” he warned. “I’m going home Wednesday.”
She turned her gaze from him and stared blankly out the windshield. “I understand.”
“Cami, when I go, I’m not just leaving you alone in that cabin. You don’t even have decent shoes to wear.”
“I know.” She looked so sad.
And he had that need again, to touch her in a soothing way—to clasp her hand or pat her shoulder. Or better yet, to pull her into his arms where she felt so good and fit just right. But he kept his hands to himself.
He spoke firmly. “If I take you back to the cabin now, you have to agree that you’ll be ready to go down the mountain with me on Wednesday.”
“I’ll be ready.” She met his eyes then. “I’ll go when you go. I just need a few more days on this mountain of yours where no one can find me.”
He eyed the faded, baggy T-shirt he’d given her to wear, the jeans she had to hold up with a battered old belt and the too-big flip-flops that had to be a real pain to walk in. “How ’bout this? We drive down to town and get you some clothes that fit you, then come right back up to the cabin?”
Her lush mouth got pinchy. “Nice try. I’m not going down there till Wednesday. I’m just not. I want this time away from everything, Garrett. And I’m going to have it.”
“We can use my credit card if you’re worried they’ll—”
“No.”
“Well, then, I could take you back to the cabin and then go down myself and get you some better clothes.”
“Better clothes can wait till Wednesday.” Her pinched look had softened. “Please. Will you just let it go?”
He figured it was about the best deal he was going to get from her. “Fair enough,” he said gruffly. And he had to hand it to her. She’d picked the right place to disappear. No one was likely to come looking for her up here.
She was smiling again, her good eye a little misty. “You are the best.”
“Sure.”
“I mean it. You are.”
“So how come I have so much trouble telling you no?”
“Don’t be a grump about it.” She slapped at him playfully. “I happen to love that you can’t tell me no. My parents and Charles never had a problem with no when it came to me. It was always ‘Camilla, no’ and ‘Camilla, don’t’ and ‘Camilla, behave yourself and do what I say.’ I’ve spent my whole life doing what other people think I should do, interspersed with the occasional attempt to escape their soul-crushing expectations.”
Again, he had to quell the urge to reach for her. She was the cutest thing, with her black eye and her scrappy attitude. “Well, you’re running your own life now.”
“Oh, yes, I definitely am.”
“And we have an agreement. We’re at the cabin till Wednesday and then you’ll let me drive you home.”
“Got it.” She stuck out her hand and they shook on it.
* * *
At the cabin, he had firewood to split.
She volunteered to help so he got the maul ax, his goggles and two pair of gloves and led her out to the chopping block behind the cabin. “I’ve never chopped wood,” she said cheerfully.
He put on his goggles. “And you’re not starting now. Not in flip-flops.” A slip of the maul and she could lose a toe. “You can stack the split logs, if you want to.” He pulled on his work gloves and handed her the extra pair. “But take it slow and be careful.”
“I will.”
For a couple of hours, he worked up a sweat with the ax. He tossed the split logs away from the chopping block. She gathered them up and stacked them against the back wall of the cabin. Then when lunchtime approached, she went inside to make sandwiches. He washed up at the faucet behind the cabin and joined her on the front steps where she had the food waiting.
They ate without sharing a word, but the silence was neither tense nor awkward. Just easy. Relaxed. After lunch, he went back to splitting wood.
When he came to check on her later, she was sitting in one of the camp chairs drawing pictures in her notebook.
He peeked over her shoulder at a pencil sketch of Munch snoozing at her feet. “You’re good at that.”
“I wanted to go to art school,” she said as she shaded in Munch’s markings, the beautiful spots and patches of his blue merle coat. “I always dreamed of studying at CalArts. But my father prevailed. I went to Northwestern for a business degree and took a few art classes on the side. Then, the summer I graduated from college, I knew I had to do something to make a life on my own terms.”
“But your dad wasn’t going for it?”
“No, he was not. I tried to make him understand that I didn’t want to work at WellWay, that I needed a career I’d created for myself. He just wouldn’t listen.”
“What about your mother? She wouldn’t step up and support you?”
“My mother never goes against my dad.” She shaded in Munch’s feathery tail, her pencil strokes both light and sure. “And she basically agrees with him, anyway.”
“So you went to work at WellWay, then?”
“No. I tried to get away again.”
“Again?”
“There were several times I ran before that. The time I ran after college, I packed up my car and headed for Southern California—and was rear-ended by a drunk driver on I-70 in the middle of the night.”
Garrett swore low, with feeling.
“Yeah. It was bad. I almost died.”
“That coma you mentioned last night...?”
She nodded but didn’t look up from her drawing of Munch. “I was unconscious when they pulled me from the wreck and I stayed that way for two weeks. You probably wondered about that scar on my leg? Another souvenir of that particular escape attempt.”
“But you made it through all right.”
“Thanks to the best medical team money could buy and a boatload of physical therapy, yes, I did.”
He had that yearning again to touch her. To pull her up into his arms and comfort her, though she didn’t seem the least upset.
He was, though. Just hearing about how bad she’d been hurt made something inside him twist with anger—at her father, who wouldn’t let her live her own life. And at her mother, too, for not supporting Cami’s right to be whatever she wanted to be.
“When I was well enough to go home, I moved back in with my parents.” She kept her head tipped down, her focus on the notebook in her lap. “My father insisted. And I was too weak to put up a fight. There was more physical therapy—and the other kind, too, for my supposed mental and emotional issues. And when I’d completely recovered from the accident and finished all the therapy, I moved to my own place at last—and started my brilliant career at WellWay.”
He clasped her shoulder and gave it a squeeze, because he couldn’t stop himself.
She didn’t lift her head from her focus on the sketch, but she did readjust the sketch pad on her knees enough to give his hand a pat. “It’s okay, Garrett. I’m all better now.”
Feeling only a little foolish, he let go.
She sighed. “Mostly, I like to create my own comic strips.” She flipped the sketchbook back a page to a cartoonlike sequence of sketches where a cute little bunny with a ribbon in her hair used a stick to fight off a bear with the help of a patch-eyed Aussie dog. A boy bunny in jeans and a T-shirt similar to Garrett’s ran toward the girl bunny wearing a freaked-out expression on his face.
“I’m guessing that’s me?”
She slanted him a teasing glance. “Okay. I took a little artistic license. You didn’t look that scared.”
“Maybe I didn’t look it, but that scared is exactly how I felt.”
A giggle escaped her. “Yeah. Well, it’s not like you were the only one.” She flipped the page back and continued working on the drawing of Munch. “I have a whole series on the bunny family. Unlike my real family, the bunny family works on their issues. They respect each other and try to give each other support and enough space that every bunny gets what she wants of life.”
“Wishful thinking?”
“Oh, yeah.”
He watched her draw for a while. But there was more wood to split, so he went on around back and got busy with the maul.
Later, he showed her how to lay and light a campfire. They had steaks and canned beans. When they went inside, he taught her the basics of how to use a woodstove.
She took another bath. When she came back out to the main room, she smelled of soap and toothpaste. “Anything good to read around here?”
He pulled a box full of paperbacks out from under the bed. “Help yourself.”
She chose a tattered Western and stretched out on the couch with it. When she fell asleep, he pulled the afghan over her and turned out the light.
The next day was pretty much the same, quiet and uneventful. She drew cartoons in her notebook. He split wood.
Beyond getting the wood in, he’d been planning an overnight hike and some fishing for these last couple of days on the mountain. But now that he had Cami with him, he didn’t want to leave her alone for too long.
Strangely, it was no hardship to have to stick close to the cabin for her sake. There was just something about her. He felt good around her, kind of grounded. She pulled her weight and she didn’t complain about the rustic living conditions.
They went for a walk up the road—not too far, about a mile. With only his flip-flops to wear, her feet couldn’t take a real hike. They stopped at a point that looked out over the lower hills, some bare and rocky, others blanketed in pine and fir trees.
“Kind of clears your mind, being up here.” She sent him one of those dazzling smiles and he marveled at what a good time he was having with her. He would miss her after he dropped her off in Denver.
Was he growing too attached to her?
Oh, come on. He’d known her for less than forty-eight hours. No way a guy could get overly attached in that time.
That night, he tried to offer her the bed again. But she insisted she was comfortable on the couch.
After he turned out the light, he could hear her wiggling around, fiddling with her pillow, settling in. “You sure you’re okay over there?”
“Perfect.” She lay still. The cabin seemed extra quiet suddenly. Outside, faintly, he heard the hoot of an owl. There was a soft popping sound from the stove as the embers settled. “Garrett?”
“Hmm?”
“Tell me about you.”
He smiled to himself. It was nice, the sound of her voice in the dark. “What do you want to know?”
“Well, your parents. What are they like?”
So he told her about his father, Frank, who’d had two families at the same time—one with his wife, Sondra, with whom he had two sons and two daughters. And the other with Garrett’s mother, Willow. “Ma had three boys, me included, and two girls with dear old dad. And then, when Sondra died—the day after her funeral as a matter of fact—my dad married my mom.”
“Ouch—I mean, wow, that was fast.”
“No kidding. Everyone was pissed off about it, that my dad couldn’t show just a hint of sensitivity to Sondra’s memory, that Ma couldn’t wait a little longer after all those years of being my dad’s ‘other woman.’ At the time, we were all pretty much at war, me and my mother’s other kids on one side, our half siblings on the other.”
“It sounds awful.”
“Yeah. But eventually we all grew up and realized it wasn’t our fault that our parents couldn’t manage to behave responsibly and respect their marriage vows. Now we’re tight. We all like getting together, looking out for each other, knowing we can count on each other, all that family stuff. My half siblings are even nice to my mother, which I find really impressive. Not only is she the woman my dad cheated on Sondra with, she’s not a friendly person. She’s distant, hard to get to know.”
Cami made a low, thoughtful sort of sound. “Are your mom and dad still together?”
“They were until he died six years ago. Now, when she’s not traveling, which she does a lot, she lives alone in the mansion he built for Sondra, just her and the housekeeper.”
“That sounds kind of sad.”
“You’d have to meet her. She’s not someone people feel sorry for. Like I said, she comes off kind of cold and superior. And then there’s the whole matchmaking thing I mentioned the other night. She’s driven us kind of crazy with that crap lately.”
“Because she loves you and wants you to be happy.”
He grunted. “Right. I’ll keep telling myself that.”
“And I did the math. Your dad had nine kids total?”
“That’s right.” Garrett laced his hands behind his head and stared up at the shadowed rafters overhead. “You sound impressed.”
“I kind of am. And jealous, too. I always wanted at least a sister. Preferably two. And I would have loved to have a brother. I truly do believe that if my parents had only had more kids, they wouldn’t have been constantly on my case to do things their way. More kids keep the parents busy, you know? The parents have to chill a little and accept that they don’t have absolute control.”
“But you’ve finally broken free, right? You’re going to do things your way now.”
“Oh, yes, I am.” She said it gleefully. “I’m finally going to find work that makes me happy. And I’m fortunate that I won’t have to take just any job to get by. My trust fund matured three years ago, when I was twenty-five. I have my own investments and a good chunk of change in savings, too. My life is my own from now on.”
“You really think your dad might have tried to cut you off just to get you to do what he wants?”
A silence from her side of the room. From the rug by the sofa, the tags on Munch’s collar jingled as he gave himself a scratch. The sound was followed by a soft doggy sigh.
When Cami finally spoke, she didn’t really answer his question. “Well, it doesn’t matter if he would or he wouldn’t. He can’t. My money is my own. I’ll be able to support myself while I figure out what I want to do with my life from now on.” She sounded both wistful and determined.
He wanted to get up and go to her, pull her into his arms and promise her that from now on her life was going to be downright amazing. He wanted to...
He cut the thought off before he got to the end of it.
He liked her. A lot. But she was going home to Denver and he was going back to Justice Creek. This, right now, in the cabin, just the two of them? It was only one of those things that happened sometimes. She’d needed some help and he was willing to give it.
They got along great and he enjoyed her company.
But that was all there was to it. Day after tomorrow, he would drive her down the mountain and that would be the end of it.
* * *
Tuesday pretty much flew by.
And that night in the dark, they talked some more.
She said she liked it on the mountain so much, she just might find a getaway cabin of her own. “Eventually. You know, after I figure out where I want to live and what to do with my life.”
Garrett opened his mouth to tell her she could use the cabin any time she wanted to—and then caught himself before the words could escape.
It only felt like he’d known her forever. Tomorrow, he would take her home. Maybe he’d talk her into giving him her number. Who could say what would happen from there?
For now, though, offering her the use of his getaway cabin whenever she wanted it was going too far.
* * *
In the morning after breakfast, they loaded up the Jeep with Garrett’s clothes, his camping stuff and the leftover food. He turned off the hot water, drained the tank and shut off the water to the cabin, too, just in case he didn’t make it back up the mountain before winter set in. He unplugged the fridge and braced the door slightly open. Then he locked the cabin up tight.
At the Jeep, Cami paused to take in the plain, unpainted structure with its narrow front porch and red tin roof. “I’m going to miss this place.”
Garrett couldn’t stop himself from reaching out a hand to cradle the side of her face. Her black eye was open now, most of the swelling gone, though it was still a startling blend of black, brown and purple fading into green. She gazed up at him solemnly.
“I’ve loved having you here,” he said.
Her throat moved as she swallowed. Her soft lips parted. He had no idea what she was going to say.
And he decided it would probably be wiser not to find out. “Come on. Let’s get moving.” He dropped his hand from her cheek and opened the door for Munch to hop in.
* * *
She didn’t say much on the drive down the mountain. That surprised him.
He realized he’d been bracing for some kind of resistance from her. But she was quiet and accepting, her thoughtful gaze focused on the winding dirt road ahead.
Was she too quiet?
He hoped she was okay, that she hadn’t started to stew over what would come next.
“So, Denver, then?” he asked when they approached the turnoff.
“You know,” she said casually, “just take me to Justice Creek, if that’s okay.”
“But I thought—”
She cut him off with an airy wave of her hand. “No, really. I’ll rent a car and drive myself back when I’m good and ready. But for now, I think I’ll try Justice Creek for a while.”
“Uh, you will?” Not only was he surprised at her abrupt change of plans, but he was suddenly ridiculously happy, which alarmed him a little.
“Yeah. I’ll get a hotel room. Do you know a good place?”
He eased onto the state highway going west, toward Justice Creek. As he made the turn, he decided he couldn’t just leave her at some hotel. “How about this? Come to my place first. We’ll drop Munch off and put the food away and then we can, you know, talk about your options...”
The smile she gave him made the sunny day even brighter. “That sounds like a great idea. Your house, it is.”
* * *
Cami’s heart swelled with gratitude.
Garrett Bravo was not only hot and way too handsome, he was a good guy. A real-life hero, a hero who’d been up there on Moosejaw Mountain just when she needed a hero the most. Someday she would figure out how to repay him.
No, she had no idea where she was going or what she would do when she got there.
But so what? She was finally playing life by ear and loving every minute of it, following her instincts for once, the way she’d always longed to do.
Her condo in Denver was already on the market. At some point, she’d have to pack everything up and move it all to wherever she ended up living. But none of that had to be done right away.
First things first. She needed to get going on the rest of her life.
Whatever that might turn out to be.
The state highway became East Central Street as they entered the town of Justice Creek. They passed the town hall and Library Park on the right. Charming shops lined the street on either side.
Cami had always thought Justice Creek was a great place. With Denver only a ninety-minute drive away, the pretty little town at the edge of the national forest made a perfect day-trip destination. Cami had visited several times. She’d caught the summer rodeo once and shopped the annual Christmas fair the last four years running.
Every time she’d come to town, she’d felt right at home.
And now, today, with her life wide-open in front of her, Cami saw Justice Creek for what it was: a perfect jewel nestled in its own small valley, surrounded by spectacular mountains. The kind of place where a person like her might be happy to settle down.
They passed the turn to Oldfield Avenue. She glanced out her side window and saw the white walls and red tile roof of the world-famous Haltersham Hotel. It was perched on a rocky promontory with gray, craggy peaks looming above it.
Right then, with the magnificent old hotel in her sights, Cami experienced a moment of great clarity.
No wonder she’d ended up with Garrett and Munchy on Moosejaw Mountain. Her subconscious had been leading her right here to Justice Creek the whole time.
This town...
Oh, definitely. This was the town for her.
It was all so simple, so perfect and clear. The question of where she would live the rest of her life was already answered, had been answered long ago. The truth had only been waiting for her to be ready to see it.
Justice Creek would be her new home.
