Her Mountain Sanctuary

He needed to thank her...even though he had the very strong feeling that she didn’t want to be thanked.

Didn’t want any contact with him at all.

CHAPTER THREE (#u64e075b2-40f4-51e7-8c6e-03bb3caa0371)

FAITH DREADED GOING to work the day after she’d helped Drew Miller back to his cabin. She had to say something to Debra when the other woman returned from her morning meeting in Helena. But what would she say?

Hey, did you hear that your brother had a wreck on the mountain? No? Well, let me fill you in.

It was a damned-if-she-did, damned-if-she-didn’t kind of situation. If he’d told his sister, fine. But she truly doubted he was going to do that, which left it up to her to say something. Word of the accident would surely get out in the small community. Even if the paramedics or deputy didn’t say anything, a wrecker would certainly be called to haul the vehicle back up onto the road.

What was the worst that could happen if she kept her mouth shut?

Once Debra found out about Drew’s accident, Faith would be in a very awkward spot. The woman had accepted the fact that Drew wasn’t going to be partaking in equine therapy, but she’d also said in a wistful way that she wished Faith had “tried harder” to talk him into it.

Now she was stuck in the middle of a situation not of her making. All because she’d agreed to take a meeting with the guy. If she hadn’t done that, he wouldn’t have known who she was when she’d shown up to rescue him. She wouldn’t have known who he was. If they figured it out later, it would have been one of those odd coincidences that they could have marveled over.

But they did know each other. Debra had wanted her to work with Drew so she could get the scoop on how he was doing from Faith at work. She hadn’t said that last part, but Faith had understood that was part of the deal. Debra was worried about her brother. And now that she’d met the man, Faith believed that Debra had cause. He’d come off as being in control, comfortable in his surroundings at the café. But the isolation in which he lived, his insistence on no medical treatment, the photo of him in younger, happier days... The man who’d smiled out of that photograph was not the guy she’d dealt with.

And he had a daughter who didn’t live with him.

Yes, Debra had reason to be concerned. And now that he’d wrecked his Jeep, she had more reason. Although Faith was certain that Drew was fine. She’d left him in good hands before escaping down the mountain.

Debra came breezing in from her trip to Helena as Faith left the main office after dropping off some files.

“Uh... Debra...?”

Debra turned, her expression falsely bright. “Yes?”

“Do you have a moment?”

“Only a few. I have to report to the dean.”

Faith smiled apologetically and shook her head. “We can talk later.”

She was steaming as she headed to the basement archives an hour later without seeing Debra again. How dare this guy put her in a position like this? The thing to do was to wait until Debra returned to the office instead of heading to her car at quitting time, sit Debra down and tell her what had happened. Then Debra could be outraged or hurt or whatever, but Faith would be out of it.

Yes.

After unearthing a handful of ancient transcripts that had yet to be digitized, she marched back up the stairs to the administrative offices, paused to take a deep breath, then walked into the registrar’s office, only to find Debra’s inner-office door closed and dark.

Damn and double damn.

Back to her truck she went. After tossing her tote bag onto the passenger seat, Faith sat at the wheel for a long moment. Should she call?

She could only imagine giving Debra the news over the phone when she hadn’t given it to her in person. Faith cranked on the ignition.

No biggie. She’ll find out, ask why you didn’t say anything. You’ll say that Drew wanted to tell you himself. She’ll know that’s a lie...

Faith gripped the wheel harder as she drove to the Lightning Creek Ranch. After the assault, she’d developed the habit of overthinking and manufacturing anxiety. Over the past few months, she’d gotten a handle on the problem, but maybe she was reverting to old coping mechanisms.

No. She wasn’t. Her anxiety was the result of a real-life situation. She was in an awkward spot and she wasn’t happy about it—to the point that instead of slowing to turn into the drive at the Lightning Creek, she continued on up the Trestle Road toward Drew’s house.

What is wrong with you?

Faith set her jaw, gripped the wheel, dodged potholes and ruts.

A lot of things.

But she had to do this. She went over the scenario. When she got there, he’d come out of his house.

What if he doesn’t?

He would if there was a vehicle with the engine running parked next to his cabin. If not...she’d honk.

What if he’s passed out due to pain meds?

Faith skipped over that part. He’d come out. She’d leave the truck running, roll down the window and tell him to call his sister and explain what happened, because he was affecting her life and her livelihood and she needed this job.

“Clear things up with your sister! Now!”

Faith sucked in a breath. Yes. That’s how it would go. Then he would call Debra and she’d never have to see him again, except for when he drove past the Lighting Creek Ranch.

She slowed as she rounded the corner where Drew had driven off the edge. The vehicle was still down there. Her heart sank. Drew was probably passed out in his cabin and she was about to rouse him.

There was no place to turn around, so she had no choice but to continue up the road. The first open spot was in the clearing where the cabin sat. In for a dime, in for a dollar, as her dad liked to say.

The cabin door was propped open when she pulled into the clearing, but there was no tall, dark-haired guy in sight. Faith pulled up next to the truck parked beside the shop building and left the engine running as planned.

Nothing.

She gave the horn a quick honk, her nerves jerking at the sound. What she wouldn’t give to have Sully in the truck with her. She should have stopped to pick him up...but if she’d stopped, she might have lost her nerve.

No sign of life.

If her shoulders weren’t so tight, they would have sagged in defeat. Did she sit and pound the horn, or suck it up and knock on the cabin’s open door?

She’d check the shop. Faith got out of the vehicle and slowly approached the building, as if afraid that something—or someone—would burst out of the door before she got there.

Suck. It. Up.

She knocked on the metal door, then after waiting a few seconds, pushed it open to find a thoroughly organized work area. Everything was in its place, the floor swept, the benches clear. If Drew worked on projects here, he didn’t currently have one in progress, although there was a big stack of lumber along one wall and a table saw set up close by. Faith closed the door again and turned toward the house, then stopped.

She couldn’t do it. The anger that had propelled her up the mountain had dissipated. No...it had been beat into submission by the knee-jerk fears that were forcing their way into her brain. She was alone, on a mountain, with a stranger. The stranger was related to her boss. She’d saved him from a mud puddle, but he was a stranger all the same and she needed to get the hell out of there.

“Can I help you?”

Faith nearly jumped out of her skin as the low voice sounded from behind her. She whirled to find Drew standing on the porch outside his open front door, buttoning a shirt over his broad chest.