“Okay. Thanks, Dr. Christina.”
“Feel free to call me Nalini.” She smiled into the camera. “Our hour is just about up. Anything else you want to talk about today?”
“No, I’m good.” And for the time being, she was. Every session brought Gray a little more clarity. Sure, she’d probably be crying by noon, but she was officially done with beating herself up over it, so that was progress.
“Our next session is scheduled for tomorrow at eleven. Since you’re expecting Chase to arrive at some point, do you want to reschedule?”
“No. I’d like to keep our appointment if that’s alright.”
“Of course it is, and try to remember healing isn’t a straight path. There are twists and turns and ups and downs. Each is an opportunity to discover new sources of personal strength. Strengths that will help you learn and grow. There’s no moving on without the people you lost. Their lives and their deaths are permanent fixtures in yours. You’ll always have feelings about them, and they’ll always be with you. So think about them, talk about them, remember them, and moment to moment, you’ll find a way to take another step forward with each of them still inside of you.”
“One day at a time,” Gray said, repeating one of Nalini’s basic lessons.
“You got it,” she said. “Don’t forget, you have my emergency number if you need it. Otherwise, we’ll talk again tomorrow.”
“Sounds good.” With a smile that felt genuine, Gray said goodbye and ended the call.
Quiet embraced her, and she sat for a minute in the momentary peace of it. Her heart beat a steady rhythm. Her lungs exchanged oxygen for carbon. Her cells regenerated. Day after day, her body supported her while her mind healed. A miracle after everything she’d put it through, and a reminder she had strengths she never gave herself credit for.
Yeah, she still had mountains to climb. Until then, a glance outside the window tempted her with a beautiful fall day. Seizing the moment, she grabbed her notebook and pen. If she had to do homework, she might as well do it on the back deck where the sun warmed her skin, and the pine-scented air smelled like Chase.
Chase cameinto the sun-filled clearing after a two-hour uphill hike through bear territory. Built on private land and surrounded by Montana’s Flathead National Park, the rough-hewn cabin occupying the space appeared to be a small, tidy square.
After a week of cross-country driving, his back had entered into a perpetual state of protest. Hoping to work out some of the kinks, he’d left Kincaid’s car parked beside the overgrown fire road on the backside of the mountain.
He’d send someone to get it later. Right now, he had some issues to settle, and then he’d run his ass down to Gray.
He needed his woman.
The thought of her lifted his spirits. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her, his lips too. He had another body part exhibiting a significant need as well. But for that bad boy, he had to employ the use of a different preposition. In—he wanted to be inside of Gray so bad, once he got his hands on her, he wouldn’t be surfacing for a while.
The climb had done him some good. So had the fresh air. At fifty-eight degrees, the temperature at the bottom of the mountain was comfortable. At this elevation, the cooler air suggested a couple of layers were suitable to stay warm.
Gray’s brother stood on a rock outcrop in nothing but a black T-shirt and tactical pants. A fully equipped leather holster crisscrossed his back, and a hunting knife lay sheathed at his waist. Despite the solitude of the location, the man remained armed to the teeth.
“Took you long enough,” Adam said without turning.
“How is she?”
“See for yourself.” He handed over his binoculars.
Chase adjusted the focus and trained them on the large log home at the edge of a meadow. He spotted Gray in seconds. Legs tucked beneath her, she sat in an Adirondack chair on the deck facing a creek. Dressed in a red and black-checkered lumber jacket, her lower half swathed in a colorful afghan, she shivered as a breeze swept by.
He grinned. She hated the cold.
Her long hair left loose, the wind teased a few dark strands, tumbling them over her shoulders, and she closed her eyes, lifting her face to the sun. She looked at peace. From the multiple phone calls they had daily, he knew otherwise.
Not far from where she sat, Kincaid leaned his injured side against the frame of the open double doors. His ankles crossed and right forearm resting on his weapon, he watched Gray with the look of a man who wanted someone he couldn’t have.
When he spoke to her, she smiled and flipped him the finger. He grinned and then disappeared inside, leaving her alone. The doors left open, Chase suspected Kincaid kept her within easy reach in case he had to get to her fast.
He’d seen enough. Decision made, Chase handed the binoculars back to Adam, and standing shoulder to shoulder, their jaws held parallel as they took in the view. A brisk wind rustled the tops of the trees, sending a flotilla of golden aspen leaves to the ground.
“So, what’s your plan?” Adam asked, breaking the silence first.
“That depends on you.”
Adam’s sharp gaze sliced over him before settling back on the ranch. Chase had been away but not out of touch, and the man’s silence confirmed what the rest of the JTT suspected. Adam Grayson didn’t know if he was coming or going.
