Free Forever And A Day (Montana Brides, Book #7) by Leeanna Morgan Page A

turned to go back inside. “But you’d be even crazier not to do anything about Sarah. If you’re that way inclined.”
    Jordan thought about where his inclinations might take him.
    Halfway home he realized his inclinations wouldn’t be going anywhere. Sarah had a fiancé. He held a glimmer of hope that he was an ex-fiancé, considering she’d called him a bastard. But that didn’t change the fact that she’d fallen in love with an educated, city-slicker, brain-box.
    He didn’t hold out much hope in the romance department. He had more debt than brains and didn’t know one end of a database from the other.
    Not exactly groundbreaking reasons why she’d consider getting to know him better.
     
    ***
    Sarah parked Alex’s spare truck beside Jordan’s home. It was six-fifteen in the morning and her head felt like a firecracker had exploded between her eyeballs.
    Mac had looked at her suspiciously when she’d grabbed a mug of coffee. She didn’t know how much of last night he’d witnessed, but she wasn’t too proud of herself. She’d never gotten drunk before, never had a hangover, or left her car in a parking lot because she couldn’t drive home.
    A door slammed behind her and she squinted across the yard at Jordan. He stopped in his tracks and stared at her. A rush of heat hit her in the face.
    If she’d thought Mac was bad enough, Jordan was worse. He’d seen her when she’d been drunk. He’d taken her home, reduced what was left of her pride to the size of the bowl sitting beside her bed.
    “How are you feeling?”
    The smile on his face made her feel like a total idiot. “I could be better. Thanks for the ride home.”
    He shrugged his shoulders and glanced at the shiny red truck parked a few feet away. “How are you going to get your car out to Alex’s ranch?”
    “Mac has to go into town for some supplies. He’s taking another ranch hand and they’re driving my car back with them.”
    “Worked out well, then.”
    Sarah supposed so. But only if you discounted the Cosmopolitan and two Raspberry Margaritas that had contributed to an all-around embarrassing evening.
    She scuffed her boots across the gravel, then looked quickly at Jordan. “I need to start breakfast.”
    Jordan nodded, almost as if he’d already gotten tired of her company and moved onto other more important problems. “I was wondering…you said something last night…”
    Sarah bit her bottom lip. She could only remember snippets of conversation, parts of a whole that added up to something she’d rather forget.
    “…about a fiancé.”
    “James?”
    Jordan scowled. “You’ve got more than one?”
    “No, I mean James isn’t my fiancé, not anymore.”
    “Oh.” Jordan crossed his arms in front of his chest. “We’ll…that’s good.”
    That was the first time anyone had told Sarah that James’ hurried exit from her life was good. Looking back now she supposed it was, but at the time it had been devastating. “I really have to go. I’ll see you later.”
    She felt like a coward. A full blown, in your face coward. She could see more questions running through Jordan’s head. But one question about her past before breakfast was enough. There were fourteen mouths that needed feeding and only one set of hands to pull it all together.
    She walked across to the barn and focused on the menu she’d reviewed yesterday. Jordan might think her schedules were over the top and bad for his health, but they worked. Especially on days like today when her brain refused to cooperate with her body.
     
    ***
    Four hours and two Tylenol later, Sarah finally felt as if she was getting somewhere. The Buchanans had left with Frank and Tim, going on a full day riding adventure. The threat of more wolf attacks had all but disappeared, but no one was taking any chances with their safety.
    As they’d ridden out of the corral, Sarah noticed the rifles strapped to the cowboys’ horses, the quiet confidence in Frank and Tim as they’d ridden