Page 87 of Montana Memory
But that didn’t track either. Not with the way she’d clung to me at night. Not with the way she smiled when she didn’t think I was looking.
And what about the kittens? She hadn’t known when I would be getting home, and I couldn’t believe she would’ve just left them out like that where they might have gotten out of the cabin or even hurt. Even if she’d wanted to avoid any confrontation with me, I couldn’t believe she would’ve left them helpless.
I was going to get to the bottom of this. The kittens mewled in protest as I grabbed them in their box, walked out, and set it in Jada’s car since it was still warm. I started it, shoved the gear into reverse and backed out fast enough to send gravel skittering into the brush.
The drive to Pawsitive Connections only took a couple minutes. The early-morning fog still clung low to the ground, and the rising sun kept blinking through the trees like a strobe light. The whole world felt wrong.
I pulled into the gravel lot just as Lark stepped out of the barn, her auburn braid slung over one shoulder and a feed bucket swinging from her hand. She squinted toward the car, then waved when she saw it was me.
“You’re back early,” she called. “Jada wasn’t expecting you until tonight.”
I didn’t waste time. I rounded the hood of the car and met her halfway. “Is she here?”
Lark’s brow knit. “No, she worked yesterday, but I didn’t see her much. I had to drive into Missoula for supplies. Was gone most of the day. Why?”
“She wasn’t at the cabin when I got in.” I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the note. “Found this on the counter.”
She read it twice. Her frown deepened with each pass.
“She’s leaving? Just like that? No goodbyes, didn’t even want to stop by and get paid for the work she’d done? That doesn’t make sense.” She looked up, eyes sharp. “She was asking me about permanent part-time work a couple days ago. Wanted to help train the smaller animals. Said it made her feel…settled.”
I nodded, jaw tight. “Yeah. Something must have spooked her pretty bad.”
“And she just left the kittens?”
I jerked my chin toward the box in the car. “They were under the couch. Scared out of their minds.”
Lark’s lips pressed into a thin line. “She was obsessed with those babies. Kept asking if we could find a way to keep them all together.”
“She didn’t even have a way to leave,” I said, my voice dropping. “My truck’s still parked out front. And I was driving her car from Colorado. She would’ve had to hitchhike or something.”
The thought of how dangerous that could be had a cold sweat breaking out along his spine. No matter how badly something had scared her, she shouldn’t have just jumped into a vehicle with a stranger.
Maybe she hadn’t. The night of family dinner, Evelyn had offered to find Jada a car if she decided she wanted to leave. She hadn’t wanted Jada to feel trapped. Maybe she had taken Evelyn up on it.
Maybe Evelyn would know where Jada was going.
“Something doesn’t feel right here, Hunter.”
I nodded. “Let’s start making some calls. See what we can find out.”
I pulled out my phone, and Lark did the same as she carried the box of kittens to the warmer barn. I got in the car to ward off the cold and called my cousin Lucas. He picked up on the second ring.
“If this is you finally accepting the job to head up Warrior Security, I want it in writing before you change your mind.”
I exhaled hard through my nose. “Not exactly.”
His tone shifted fast. “What’s going on?”
“Jada’s gone.”
“Gone?”
“She left a note,” I said, pressing the folded paper against the steering wheel. “Said she couldn’t stay. That this wasn’t what she wanted.”
A beat of silence passed on the line.
“She left the kittens behind without making sure they were cared for. So in my mind, that means she got pretty fucking spooked and ran without thinking things through. Can you ask Evelyn if she arranged a vehicle for Jada?”
