Page 40 of Montana Memory

As if there was ever a choice.

I exhaled, smiling. “Guess we’re taking in some kittens.”

“Thought you might say that.” Lark left with a knowing smile, leaving me alone in the barn with three kittens. I sat cross-legged on the ground, watching them stumble over one another,batting at the folds of my jacket. Their tiny paws pressed against my palm, their bellies warm and soft against my skin.

I didn’t even notice Hunter until he crouched beside me, his presence a steady, grounding thing.

“Lark says they need a temporary home. Somehow I didn’t think you’d say no.” His voice was low, amused.

I looked up, finding those sharp green eyes already on me.

“You’re sure it’s okay?” I asked, searching his face.

He shrugged, reaching out to scratch behind the ear of the gray one I’d been holding earlier. “You like them.” As if that was the only reason that mattered. “So, yeah.”

Hunter Everett—the man who could disappear into a crowd without a trace, who could probably kill someone forty different ways with his bare hands—was sitting here, letting a nine-week-old kitten crawl onto his palm.

The sight of it did something to me.

The kitten stretched up, sniffing at his fingers before butting its tiny head against his thumb. Hunter huffed out a quiet breath—something close to a laugh. He ran one roughened finger down the kitten’s back, his touch careful, almost reverent.

It wastoo much.

I swallowed, looking away before my heart got any more reckless ideas. Lark had been right. Hunter wasn’t thinking about who I used to be, about the blank spaces in my memory or the weight of my past mistakes. He was justherewith me.

I exhaled, watching as the kitten curled into his palm, a tiny ball of warmth and trust.

A few minutes later, we packed everything they needed and drove back to the cabin. The heater hummed softly as the box of kittens sat between us on the seat. Every so often, a tiny mew broke the silence, and each time, I caught Hunter glancing over like he wasn’t sure what the hell he’d just signed up for.

By the time we made it inside, the sky had shifted to a dusky gray, the chill outside settling into something deeper, sharper. But inside, the cabin was warm. Safe. Hunter built a fire, and I kicked off my shoes.

He set the box in the front corner away from the door, while I grabbed an old fleece blanket from the closet, arranging it into a soft nest. The kittens tumbled onto it instantly, tiny paws kneading the fabric before they collapsed in a messy heap.

I crouched beside them, grinning. “Okay. They need names.” I watched the gray one yawn so wide its whole tiny body shuddered. “That one’sSir Pounce.”

Hunter let out a long-suffering sigh.

“The tabby will beBiscuits,” I continued.

His lips twitched. “Why?”

“Because she keeps making biscuits with her paws—like the blanket is dough.”

He muttered something under his breath, but I caught the small curve of his mouth before he could hide it.

“And the black one,” I mused, tapping my chin. “I think he’s aMoose.”

Hunter blinked. “That thing is, like, half a pound.”

I shrugged. “It’s ironic.”

He exhaled through his nose, but there was warmth in his gaze. He might have rolled his eyes, but I knew he secretly loved it.

The kittens, now officially named, burrowed into their blanket, their tiny bodies pressed together in sleep. I sat back on my heels, the weight of the moment settling over me.

Because now, with the kittens taken care of, it was just us.I heard Lark’s voice in my head.You’re fighting this too hard.

Maybe she was right. Maybe it was time I stopped running from what I wanted and ran toward it instead. I pushed to my feet, pulse kicking up as I met his gaze.

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