Montana Desire

Chapter 27

Cori

I threw up when they left.

Of course, they didn’t leave without telling me the thing that I was afraid of—that I was being watched, and I wouldn’t know when or by whom. That if I told anyone about their threat, they would know and make sure Grant died anyway.

The very thought made bile rise in my throat again. I was almost home, and I barely made it to the kitchen sink before I threw up again. This was what I’d asked Grant about yesterday. What if he died? The terror just thinking about that was like nothing I’d ever felt.

But this had nothing to do with his surgery. This had to do with me and fucking up. Had there been any signs that I shouldn’t have trusted Kevin? I’d looked up where he was working now briefly to make sure he didn’t have any connections.

I guess I didn’t look hard enough.

Running cold water, I rinsed out my mouth before sinking down to the floor and leaning against the cabinets. This was my worst nightmare. Honestly. It was. I thought it was bad being blackmailed by my parents for money? That didn’t even hold a candle to this feeling. Money didn’t mean shit when someone’s life was on the line.

I could tell Grant not to get the surgery. But he would want to know why I’d changed my mind, and he didn’t deserve to be in pain for the rest of his life.

There was no way I could do what they asked. I couldn’t kill animals. Not like this. This wasn’t mercy; it was murder. But I loved Grant too much to let him die.

My whole body froze.

I loved him.

On any other day, in any other moment, realizing that would have been amazing. I would be jumping up and down and spinning with joy. Right now, it brought tears to my eyes. Because it was going to make things so much harder.

I loved him so much that it hurt to breathe, and it didn’t matter to me that we hadn’t been together long, or that this was still new. When you felt that connection with another person, you understood it. I’d always been told that was the case, but I’d never believed it until now.

A sob made its way out of me. What could I do?

My phone rang in my pocket. I begged the universe for it not to be Grant. He’d know something was wrong, and I wouldn’t be able to tell him.

It wasn’t Grant. It was Lena.

“Hello?”

“Oh my God,” Lena said. “Cori? I need help. You’re the first one I thought of in town who I could call.”

Panic spiraled through me. “Are you okay? Do I need to call the police?” I got myself off the floor, grabbing my keys from where I’d dropped them in my hurry to get to the sink.

“No, I’m fine,” she said. “But a pipe burst in the kitchen, and there’s water everywhere. I’m calling everyone I know. Come as quickly as you can.”

“I’m on my way.” I pushed out the door, brushing the tears off my face.

“Thanks!” The line went dead.

This was good. This was exactly what I needed. It sucked that a pipe burst, but I needed a couple of hours focused on anything but myself and the shit that was rattling around in my brain. If I stayed in my head too long, it felt like my thoughts would drown me. Lena’s disaster was my relief.

It only took me a couple minutes to get across town. In the evening darkness, Deja Brew looked cheery all lit up like it usually did. We would get all the water cleaned up, call a plumber, eat some cookies, and get the shop entirely back to normal. Maybe by the time we did that, I would be able to think straight and figure out what I wanted to do.

“Lena?” I didn’t see her when I went inside.

“Back here.”

Of course, Cori. Jeez. “Are you okay? I hope nothing—”

“Surprise!”

I blinked, fear rolling through me for a second before I realized what was happening. There was a giant banner that was telling me happy birthday, and basically everyone I knew was crammed into the Deja Brew kitchen. This was a surprise birthday party. For me. I barely kept myself from dissolving into tears.

Grant was at the front of the crowd. He pulled me into a hug, and I was glad I could hide my face for a second. Get it together. But it was almost worse, knowing that he was at the center of it all.

“Happy early birthday,” he said softly.

“Thank you.”

Pulling back, he kissed me. Not shy or hesitant, he kissed me the way I saw Lucas kiss Evelyn, even when they were at community dinners. The way Harlan kissed Grace—like she was the only thing in the world that mattered to him.

Grant was kissing me in front of all our friends and family. It was a moment I wanted to remember forever, and at the same time, all I wanted to do was go to the bathroom and cry.

I put on a smile instead. As best I could. “You did this?” I asked him.

“No,” he said with a laugh. “No, I have other plans for your birthday. This was all Lena.”

“Of course it was,” I said, looking over at my friend. “That was very sweet of you.”

“It’s not every day that you turn thirty,” she said, bouncing over to give me a hug.

Liam leaned close. “I have to point out that today is also not the day she turns thirty.”

“Oh, shut up, Liam,” Lena said. “I know.”

At the very least, that made me laugh. I would try to enjoy this. While I could.

“Seriously, though,” Liam said, stepping closer, “happy birthday.”

“Thanks.”

“Did you have any idea?” Lena asked.

I shook my head. “Not a clue. I might have had a little bit of a heart attack back there.”

She grinned. “That’s the surprise party sweet spot. A little bit of a heart attack, but not a full heart attack. Now, I know it’s cooler outside, but I think it’s still nice enough to be out back. The lights are on, and I’ll recruit some of the guys to bring out all the cake.”

“Okay.”

Jenna pulled me aside as I walked to the door to the patio. “Is everything okay? With that guy? He gave me really weird vibes.”

“Of course,” I lied, pushing down the anxiety that was making me shake. “That’s Mr. Pearson.”

“Oh.” She made a face with understanding. “I guess I can see the resemblance now.”

Jenna had worked for me long enough that she was familiar with Joel. But she’d never met his father.

“He can be a bit of an odd duck, but he was in town and had some questions about one of his horses that I treated the other day.”

The patio was beautiful like this. Lights strung over the top of the small, bricked space lit it with a warm, welcoming glow. The tables scattered around had tablecloths and candles. Music played from a portable set of speakers. This was so beautiful. Lena had done this for me, and…

I didn’t deserve it.

“Well, I’m glad everything’s okay,” Jenna said. “For whatever reason, I was really worried. That guy just gave me the creeps.”

“Thankfully I don’t think he’ll be a regular at the clinic.”

“Happy birthday.” I turned to find Evelyn on my other side, smiling.

“Thanks.”

“Do you want something to drink?” she asked. “We’ve got all the normal stuff, and I’m pretty sure Lena has some vodka stashed around here somewhere.”

The last thing I needed tonight was vodka. The last time I’d been truly drunk was ages ago, but I wasn’t going to take the chance that my friends wanted to get me quite that drunk. I didn’t want to end up weeping and telling Grant everything.

“I’ll just take some tea if that’s okay.”

“You got it.”

An arm came around my waist, and in the dim light, Grant took the opportunity to lean around and kiss my neck. I was glad that he couldn’t see my face and how conflicted I was. Every second that he touched me was precious now.

“Would you like to know about my plans for your birthday?” he asked quietly.

The words were so low, so full of heat, they made me shiver. “I would.”

“You, me, and a blindfold,” he said. “Add in rope, ice, and a vibrator and see where your imagination takes you.”

My mind was instantly filled with images of what he described, and I wanted it. “Ice?”

“Hell yes.”

“That sounds nice.” Gently, I pulled away from him. My resolve was hardening, and I couldn’t let anything take that away from me. Not when I wanted to save Grant’s life. Even if what he was teasing me with was so fucking hot that it made it hard to breathe.

I felt more than his surprise at my reaction. But before he could ask, Lena burst out of the back of Deja Brew. Jude followed her, cake in hand. The top of it was lit with what I was sure were actually thirty candles.

“Okay, everyone. Get over here so we can sing and eat this cake. I don’t know about you, but I could use some cake today.”

Lena had no idea that was the understatement of the fucking year.

She grabbed my hand, pulled me close to the table where the cake now sat, and grinned. “‘Happy birthday—’” She forcibly started singing the song so that everyone else would join in, and they did.

For a moment, I let myself feel it. The happiness of being surrounded by the friends I’d chosen and the place I’d decided to stay. This was perfect. Tears pricked my eyes, and I was glad that people would think they were happy tears and not ones of absolute terror. Because they were all in danger to some degree now.

If Pearson had Grant killed, he’d need more leverage over me to force me into whatever he wanted. So which person would he pick next to prove that point? Evelyn? Lena?

It wouldn’t end—it would only get worse. Right now, I didn’t see a way out of it. Except one, and that was the most painful one by far.

Grant stood next to me and put his arm around my shoulder. I gave in to the weakness and let it happen. God forgive me, I needed these last moments with him. Otherwise, I wasn’t going to make it through.

The song finished, and everyone cheered. Hauling in a breath, I made one useless wish. That both Pearsons would mysteriously disappear, and I wouldn’t have to make this choice.

I blew at the candles, aiming true, hitting every one so that they all went in one go. More cheers, this time for my victory. “Did you make a wish?” Noah asked.

“I did,” I confirmed. “But you know I can’t tell you what it is.”

“Maybe I could guess,” Grant said with a chuckle.