Page 71 of Montana Memory

“Yeah? Somehow I doubt that.”

She didn’t argue. She didn’t tell me I was wrong. She just sat down on the wooden bench beside the lodge and looked up at me expectantly. “Then let me tell you a story.”

And somehow, against all logic, I found myself sitting down next to her.

“First things first,” she said. “If you really want to leave, I’ll make sure you have a way. A ride, a vehicle—whatever you need. You don’t have to stay here just because you feel stuck.”

“You’d really do that?” I asked, my voice quieter than I intended.

She nodded. “Of course.”

I swallowed hard and looked away, my hands twisting in my lap. “I don’t know why that makes me want to cry.”

Evelyn gave me a knowing smile. “Maybe because you expected judgment instead of understanding.”

I forced a breath out through my nose, not sure how to respond to that.

“I do understand, Jada,” she continued. “More than you think.” She glanced back toward the lodge, where the warm glow of light spilled through the windows. “When I first showed up at Resting Warrior, I kept trying to run, too. I was convinced the trouble I left behind would follow me. That I wasn’t safe. That I wasn’tgoodenough to be here.”

That caught my attention. I turned to her, frowning. “What kind of trouble?”

“An ex who didn’t take ‘no’ well.” She exhaled slowly, as if remembering the weight of that fear. “For a long time, I wasconvinced that if I let myself rest, if I let people in, I’d be putting them in danger. So I kept my distance, kept my walls up. But Lucas…he saw right through it.”

She paused, closed her eyes, and wrapped her hand around a ring hanging from a chain around her neck.

“He talked me into staying,” Evelyn continued. “And I thank God every day that he did.” Her voice softened. “He’s my hero. My soul mate. If I had run, I would’ve never discovered that truth.”

I looked away quickly, my stomach twisting.

Evelyn let the silence settle before saying, “Could Hunter be that for you?”

A sharp pang shot through my chest, so sudden and fierce I almost flinched. “It’s not the same,” I murmured.

“Maybe not,” she agreed. “But maybe it’s more similar than you think.”

I let out a shaky breath, staring down at my hands. “I have feelings for him,” I admitted. The words felt too big, too heavy, but they were true. “But everything is so screwed up right now. I shouldn’t be in his life at all.”

“Why not? He doesn’t seem to feel that way.”

I let out a bitter laugh and stood, pacing a few steps away from the bench. “Because it’s selfish. It’s unfair.” I ran a hand through my hair, my fingers tangling in the strands. “Hunter hasenoughto deal with. His PTSD, whatever history he has with this place, whatever the hell he’s trying to figure out about his future. He doesn’t needmeadding to the mess.”

Evelyn tilted her head, watching me carefully. “I remember feeling that way,” she said. “When I first got here, I was convinced I was a burden. That I was bringing danger, baggage—things that had no place at Resting Warrior.” She smiled faintly. “But this land helped heal me. Lucas helped heal me. And I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

I stopped pacing, my arms crossing over my chest. “That’s different.”

“Why?”

I opened my mouth, but the words stuck. I exhaled sharply, forcing them out. “Because your wounds were inflictedonyou. Mine were inflicted on another person by me. An innocent person.”

Evelyn was quiet, waiting. Sensing my struggle.

I gestured toward the lodge. “Even the name of this place makes it clear I don’t belong here.Resting Warrior.You don’t have to be a genius to figure out what that means. This place is for warriors. Heroes. People who’ve donegoodin this world and need a place to heal and find peace.”

I swallowed hard, my throat burning. “I amnotthat. I don’t deserve peace. And I sure as hell am not a hero.”

The words hung between us, thick with the weight of my guilt. Evelyn shifted slightly, her expression unreadable, like she was sifting through her thoughts, trying to figure out what to say.

A voice cut through the thick silence. “Can I talk to Jada?”

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