Read His Promise (Married in Montana Book 1) for Free Online

of moving on. She realized she would never be able to, not as long as she remained here, but where could she go and what could she really do? This was her home, where she’d grown up and where she expected to die.
    Living way out here in the country in the peace and quiet had its perks, but it could also be the end of a person when it left so much time to think about things that were best dealt with and put aside, never to be thought of again. She could hear her horse nicker before she heard the sound of a vehicle in the distance. Maybe someone lost. Maybe a neighbor down the road. But the sound was closer, and she spotted lights in the distance coming down her driveway.
    It was late for Kim. The sun had set an hour before, but the summer heat had really spiked the thermometer that week. It was so hot she wondered if the house would cool off any time before dawn.
    She heard a door shut, then footsteps on her porch. She couldn’t see the front of the house, and she walked as fast as she could in the dark. She heard him before she saw him.
    “Kim!” he shouted as he pounded on her door.
    “I’m right here,” she said.
    He turned and looked her way even though he’d have a hard time seeing her from where she stood in the shadows. “Kim, why don’t you have any lights on? What are you doing out in the dark?” He started down the stairs and stumbled off the last step.
    “Oh, watch that last step. There’s a rock there. You can’t see in the dark.”
    “Yeah, great, Kim, you could break your arm or your neck. You need an outside light on for safety.”
    She actually shrugged, then realized he couldn’t see it. “Can’t afford it, Bruce. I keep the lights off so my electricity bill will be low. Besides, I know where everything is.”
    He was right in front of her, so close she could reach out and touch him—but she didn’t, because she didn’t know why he was here. She squeezed her fists, and he put his hands on his hips, then moved another step closer, putting his hand on her elbow. “Come on in the house,” he said.
    “Why? It’s cool out here.”
    He slapped his hand to his neck. “Yeah, and the mosquitoes are out here, too.”
    “Not that bad,” she said. She heard a few buzzing around, but they apparently really liked Bruce, as he slapped his hand to his forehead next.
    “Kim, seriously, inside.” He nudged her forward, and she started up the steps. He was right with her, and she could feel every part of him even though he wasn’t touching her. She opened the screen door, and he followed her inside the dark house. She did turn on the light as she heard the screen door slap closed.
    “You’re right, it is hot in here,” he said. “Did you open the windows?”
    What did he think she was, an idiot? “I can assure you every window in this old house is open as wide as it can go, but they’re small windows and there isn’t much of a breeze tonight. By morning it should be cool enough.”
    “By morning you’ll be a cranky mess from not getting enough sleep.”
    “Cranky? Did you forget what it’s like out here?” she said. He was behaving as if this summer heat was new to him.
    “I have air conditioning.” He smiled in that cocky way she loved.
    “Spoiled, you are,” she said. And then they stood there, watching each other, the moment stretching out into an uncomfortable silence.
    “Would you like some water? Or there’s wine still, the white you brought over. It’s in the fridge, so it’s cold.”
    “No wine. I’m on call. I came to talk to you, Kim. There are some things I need to say to you.”
    “Okay.” She stood there in between the living room and kitchen, her heart hammering as she watched him. There was sweat on his brow, his forehead shiny from the heat. Then he reached out and turned her, guiding her into the living room, sitting her on the edge of the faded brown sofa with the purple blanket she’d crocheted folded over the back. He stood in front of her, and she