Page 4 of A Montana Childhood Promise (Sagebrush Ranch Sweethearts #3)

And they certainly weren’t family.

“I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to?—”

Noah’s head snapped around to stare at his cousin, realizing he must have been wearing that pain on his face for the whole world to see.

He waved Leo off with a flip of his wrist. “It’s fine.

I’m just not feeling myself lately.” It was a similar excuse to the one he’d given his mother, but it worked just as well.

Maybe he was going at this all wrong.

Maybe he needed to do something about his feelings of loneliness rather than let them fester inside him.

He needed to track down Jane and take a risk.

Already his chest felt lighter. The second they got back from their hunt for those wayward cows, he’d head to town and see if he could find out where she was living.

Noah had a few errands to run, too. That was his excuse for driving to town without an address or phone number in hand. He hadn’t asked Mack for Jane’s information because he didn’t want his brother to make fun of him for chasing after a woman who was so far out of his league.

What if he asked Jane out, and the whole thing blew up in his face? He didn’t think he’d be able to stomach the embarrassment, especially after his brother had already teased him about that pact.

Why was he even hoping to bump into her? Who was he kidding? If he did manage to see her on the side of the street, would he even dredge up the courage it would take to ask her out?

Not likely.

Especially after she’d left the wedding celebration early. She hadn’t even stayed for cake.

Noah groaned inwardly, though some sound did manage to escape his throat based on the weird look a woman just gave him as he exited the hardware store. He’d managed to lose one of the tools they needed to fix the fencing, and he wasn’t about to make Bo cover the cost of it.

He headed up the street toward his truck, weaving in and out of people, then he paused as the building he’d leased came into view.

A smile stole across his face, unbidden.

He’d known that historical building would be perfect for his purposes when he’d seen the ‘For Lease’ sign get put in the window.

It was a large, brick building that looked as though it had been built in the fifties.

The windows were the only new thing about it.

There were two floors with a large open space at ground level and offices or rooms for storage above.

Now, there was a sign over the door proudly displaying, ‘Wounded Heroes Project’.

His charity had first been meant to bring aid to veterans who had been hurt in battle and needed medical care.

But it had quickly grown to something so much more.

Just seeing those words brought a new surge of happiness to his body.

“Noah?”

He lost control of his limbs as his whole body froze. Jane’s voice had come from behind. He hadn’t seen her coming, and if he had, he might have been able to run.

No. He was done running.

He was Noah Reese. He had something to offer a relationship. He didn’t have anything to be embarrassed about.

Slowly, he turned, replacing his stunned expression with a smoother one. He cocked a brow at her and tilted his mouth into a half-smirk. “There’s the girl who got away.”

A flicker of surprise passed across her face, then she smiled easily at him. “I’m sorry?”

“The wedding. You took off.”

She placed a hand on her hip. “Maybe I should remind you that you took off first.”

He flinched. Technically she was right. Man, if he could go back, he would have never taken that phone call.

Jane laughed. “I’m kidding.”

Noah exhaled with a chuckle of his own. Then he glanced around. “Running errands?”

She shook her head. “Just got done with my lunch break. Gonna get back to the daily grind.”

He nodded, curiosity piquing. He could ask her where she worked right now, then he could stalk her until she went on a date with him.

Nope. He wasn’t going there. Not gonna be that guy.

He’d do what he planned on doing from the start.

Noah cleared his throat, the perfect idea coming to him at that very moment. “You hear about the gala? It’s some big charity thing, and it’s gonna be at Sagebrush.”

She didn’t look surprised in the slightest. Clearly, she’d heard about it, though she confirmed with a nod of her head.

Before she could say anything, he blurted, “Want to go with me?”

There. He’d done it. He’d put his heart on the line—he’d asked the girl of his dreams out on a date. There was no turning back now. Hope swelled within him until she gave him that smile. The pitying one that he’d always hated.

“Sorry, I can’t. I’ll be working.”

He frowned. “You could get it off.” Immediately he wanted to take those words back, swallow them, and shove them into the dark crevices of his soul. How embarrassing.

“No, you misunderstand. I’ll be working at the gala.” She gestured to the sign above the building that he’d been staring at. “That’s where I work. I moved here to help run it. I’m not in charge or anything, but it’s a great opportunity for growth regardless.”

His stomach flipped.

This was perfect.

She was working for his charity.

He had an in!

Noah nearly jumped up and down but restrained himself. Then, as cooly as he could muster, he murmured, “I guess I’ll see you there, after all.”

“Guess so.”