Page 75 of North

RJ sighed and nearly collapsed onto the sofa next to her buckled-in son. Then she pulled Josh close, put her cheek against his head, and said, “Take me to Montana.”

* * *

North’s entire body still buzzed and his eyes burned.

And he just wanted off this roller coaster and onto firm ground. The kind of ground where he could take Selah by the hand, walk her into the horizon, and unwind exactly what had happened to her.

All the way to “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, North.”

Yeah, him too…but for what part? Because he was the one who’d lost his head. Who’d called her reckless, driven her away.

He was the one who’d promised to not come after her, like some two-year-old throwing a tantrum.

That was a promise he hadn’t given a second thought to breaking. And no regrets there either—not after he’d held her in his arms, the way she’d clung to him, sobbing, as if she’d never let go.

Yeah, one glorious broken promise he’d never regret.

Now she sat next to him in the passenger seat as the sun set behind them, the road turning hazy in the purpling twilight.

They’d stopped at the first Walmart they found, and North had purchased a car seat for Joshua. Then stopped again in Spokane for a late lunch and to walk the dog.

Selah had turned quiet, her face drawn.

While RJ walked Vaughn, North had gotten out his phone and called Ham, given him a sitrep, which included the news about York’s house and Martin being at large, and ended with his destination—Geraldine, Montana, and beyond that, the Marshall family ranch.

Then he’d given his phone to RJ and she’d called her family.

When she climbed back into the RV, she sat on the bench and gave him an update. “I can’t get ahold of York, but my brother Reuben is expecting us. He’s called Tate. Apparently, Tate was already in Washington State, and he’s trying to track down York. And Ford, my other brother, is on leave, so Ham is sending him to Montana. And my brother Knox is in town too, so it’ll be a hoopla.”

“I know Ford,” North said, scrubbing his hands down his face. “I’m invited to his wedding later this month.”

“Right.” She sat back. “Well, Ham is also sending a couple of your teammates—Dakota and West?”

Good. “According to the map, we have about four or five hours to go.” He turned and pulled on his seatbelt.

“You look pretty tired, North,” said Selah, finally speaking. “You sure you’re okay to drive?”

He glanced at her. “I’ll sleep when you’re safe.”

And whoa, that sounded overly heroic. But truthful, because what was he going to do—go climb onto that ancient queen bed in the back and fall into a peaceful slumber?

Hardly.

Most of the time so far, he’d kept checking his side mirrors, braced for Martin to come barreling up on his tail, forcing their rig off the road. So, “I’m fine.”

He put the RV into gear.

They left the mountains for flatlands in the stretch between Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. He gassed up before they hit the road that led into Montana, a corridor through the high peaks and piney forests.

A glance at RJ suggested they couldn’t get there fast enough. But old Winnie wasn’t a fan of the high climbs, and North just prayed the brakes would hold on their descents.

“You couldn’t have picked a nice Denali for your getaway car?” He glanced at Selah as they chugged up another hill.

“Not my pick. But it was better than the ATV we were driving.”

He sighed, then, “Listen. So maybe we don’t talk about it.”

He saw understanding flicker in her eyes. It—as in what went down between them on Mariposa. “Let’s start with the train. Where were you going?”