I grabbed my bag, shoved all my things into it and ran for the stable. It took an hour to connect the trailer to the truck and get Seraphina settled within. Thankfully, Clint and Johnny were long gone for the night, and no one had come out of the main house.
Another few minutes, and I was on the road.
I was thankful it was late. No one could see me leaving. No one had stopped me. No one would know until morning. By then, I’d be back in Colorado, and Pops would be safe.
And Dax? I had a ten-hour drive to figure out what I was going to do with him. I just had to pry my thoughts away from Levi, who was getting further away with every dark, deserted mile that passed.
Levi, who had changed everything for me. It had been so much more than what I’d told Keely I’d do. He was more than a dick to punch my V-card. I’d learned to trust with him. To let go and enjoy my body. To enjoy another’s body. To give and receive. To share.
To love.
After last night and what Levi had suggested, I’d had my own crazy thoughts—about staying in Montana. Or continuing some kind of long-distance relationship.
But I’d known it was crazy.
And Levi would never, ever continue a relationship with me once he learned what I’d done. What I was still doing. The mess I’d made of my life.
No, I had no choice but to leave him behind. I sniffed and wiped a tear running down my face with the back of my hand.
At least the memories would be intact.
23
LEVI
“Rough night?”
I spun on my heel to see Clint and Willow walking my way from the stable. Clint carried a box under his arm.
I ran my hand over my face, yanked off my hat. “Jackknifed semi on the interstate. No one was hurt, but it was a clusterfuck.”
I’d crashed hard at Janet and Tom’s place in town. Things had finally been cleared, and I’d gotten to bed after two, yet I still woke with the sun. I’d tossed and turned all night, perhaps because I’d gotten used to having Charlie in my bed. Waking up without her hadn’t been fun and something I wasn’t looking forward to doing again.
“Well, there’s somewhat of a cluster here, too,” he said. Willow nodded.
I frowned. Everything seemed quiet and peaceful, nothing like the wild scene on the highway. I liked early mornings on the ranch. Everything was quiet, calm. Fresh, as if the day was full of possibilities.
Clint came close enough to hand me the box. It was a typical shipping package, the top slit open. I peeked inside, nudged the filler aside. “Looks like vials of medicine. What’s the issue?”
He tipped his chin toward the delivery. “That’s ketamine. Used for horse tranquilizing. No big deal, especially around here.”
“But I’m sure you know, on the streets, it’s used for everything from mild sedative to a downer to date rape drug,” Willow said.
The fucking things I learned as sheriff. “Yeah.” I didn’t like where this was going.
Clint nodded. “A vet might carry these. But two, maybe three vials.”
I stuck my hand in the box, moved around the bubble wrap some more. “There’s got to be fifty vials or more.”
“Exactly.”
I sighed, tired as hell and ready for some coffee. And Charlie time. I didn’t know what the big deal was or why he was telling me about it. “So send some of it back.”
“We didn’t order it. It’s a controlled substance. Only a veterinarian can order it.”
I pursed my lips, trying not to yell at him for getting on with what exactly the cluster fuck was. “I’m fucking tired. Spill it, will you?”
“The package is addressed to Charlie,” Willow said.
I flipped one side of the lid closed, saw her name and care of Wolf Ranch. Snippets of conversation I’d overheard of hers on the phone yesterday filtered back to me. I’d had no idea who she’d been talking to. It was one thing to overhear her chatting with someone about her sex life and how she’d wanted me involved in it. Another to snoop on a work call, which it clearly had been. But I’d heard the word ketamine.
But no. I couldn’t believe Charlie would be mishandling drugs. She was so responsible. Fastidious. I was sure she even had a document that listed every purchase.
“Clint came to get me when he saw this package,” Willow said with a mournful expression. “I’m sorry, Levi, but something’s definitely not right here.” She was former DEA. She would know. Still, I couldn’t believe it.
“So let’s ask her about it.” I glanced to the bunkhouse, then thumbed over my shoulder. “If you missed her in the stable, maybe she’s inside. I hope she made a big pot of coffee.”
Willow shook her head. “She’s not here.”