Endless Trails Read online

  Also by Bonnie R. Paulson

  Bride Texas

  Bride and Prejudice (Coming Soon)

  Clearwater County, Lonely Lace series

  Spurs and Lace

  Secrets and Lace

  Sorrows and Lace

  Lonely Lace Box Set, Books 1 - 3

  Clearwater County, Redemption series

  Romancing Redemption

  Riding for Redemption

  Resisting Redemption

  Regretting Redemption

  Redemption Complete Series, Books 1 - 5

  Rewarding Redemption

  Clearwater County, The Montana Trails series

  Broken Trails (Coming Soon)

  Forbidden Trails (Coming Soon)

  Unbridled Trails (Coming Soon)

  Hidden Trails (Coming Soon)

  Forgotten Trails (Coming Soon)

  Endless Trails (Coming Soon)

  Click and Wed.com Series

  With This Click, I Thee Wed

  IDo.com

  DIY Vows

  eHoneymoon

  Keyword: I Do

  ClickAndWed.com books 1 - 3 Boxset

  Downshift Series

  Downshift

  Full Throttle

  Odds and Evens

  Odd Man Out

  Watch for more at Bonnie R. Paulson’s site.

  Table of Contents

  Also By Bonnie R. Paulson

  Endless Trails (Clearwater County, The Montana Trails series, #6)

  Endless Trails

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  Also By Bonnie R. Paulson

  Endless Trails

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  Endless Trails

  Montana Trails series

  Book #6

  Bonnie R. Paulson

  www.bonniepaulson.com

  Endless Trails

  She had to leave...

  He can’t stay...

  If they need each other enough, can they find a way to end their pain?

  On a mission across Montana to bring the family’s leader home, Ryland stops to help a stranded woman on the side of the road.

  Amy is headed anywhere but back and she begs to go with Ryland on his search. She just wants to be free and he wants answers.

  Can Ryland find what he’s looking for or is Amy the fate he’s meant to have in this sweet romance set in the wilds of Montana?

  Chapter 1

  Ryland

  Racing after the leader of the family wasn’t a glorious job, but Ryland Johnson wasn’t backing down. He would wrangle his older cousin, Nate, right back home where he belonged or one of them was going to die.

  Okay, not really and the humor probably wasn’t appropriate considering his cousin’s wife had passed away. That’s what started this whole mess, not that Emma dying was a mess, but it affected the whole family in more ways than just the visible loss.

  Ryland leaned his elbow on the windowsill of his old pickup and he rested his chin on his palm. One-hand driving was a requirement on that long stretch of I-90 between Missoula and the junction toward Billings. The road seemed to go forever into nowhere and the skies and the prairies melded together way in the distance. A blend of blue and gold suggested they ended somewhere, but not any time soon.

  His cousin, Nate, had run. Up and run right after his wife had died from a very aggressive cancer that had plagued her throughout her life. She’d given up and Nate hadn’t waited around to see how anyone else in the family was coping.

  Keeping his eyes dry while thinking of Emma and Nate was impossible. Ryland placed his finger across his lip. He watched the skyline seemingly meander past, tripping along at a brisk eighty miles per hour. The landscape locked him in never-changing beautiful redundancy.

  If this kept up, he’d go blind. Maybe not, but he had to think about something besides Emma and her death. Nate’s abandonment just ripped her loss harder through Ryland’s heart.

  The phone in Ryland’s front pocket buzzed, jerking him from his thoughts. He willingly grabbed at the small vibrating body and flipped it open, slamming it to his ear. “Yeah.”

  “Ry, I thought you weren’t leaving until after dinner?” Damon’s husky voice sounded too much like Nate’s and Ryland scowled.

  “Yeah, I know, but I told you. I’m getting Nate and bringing him home. Can’t do that sitting on my butt, waiting for Rachiah or Stephany to tell me what they need done.” He let his wrist rest on the lower cracked vinyl curve of the steering wheel and stared at the hazy road ahead. His dig at his brother wasn’t as churlish as it sounded. He was happy Damon was happy with Rachiah, lots of happiness, just oozing happiness.

  Ryland forced himself not to groan.

  “Don’t be a brat. Hannah just got back from town and she said one of her friends mentioned running into Nate in Great Falls a couple of days ago. I think you’ll be safe heading that direction.” Damon sounded tired, but not as much as Jareth would be since he’d taken on leading the ranch-handing cousins, The Montana Trails.

  Nate had led them effortlessly while everyone else just kind of did the best they could without falling apart.

  “Okay, I’ll head that way. How’s Rachiah?” Ryland grinned. That Salish princess was going to give Damon a run for his money and Ryland didn’t think Damon would ever be happier. Plus Ryland liked Rachiah. He liked women with spunk and beauty who didn’t rely on their looks to get what they want.

  Damon sighed, his frustration carrying over the line like hot air. “Fine, her brother is a bear. I’m thinking about proposing, but I’m not sure how her family will react since I’m white.”

  “Yeah, well, they aren’t sure if she’s half-white or not either. They won’t get better than you, Damon. I don’t care how white you are or aren’t.” Ryland had grown up with the divide between the ranches and the reservations. That didn’t mean love didn’t bridge that separation on occasion.

  He ignored the twinge of jealousy he had whenever he thought of Damon and Rachiah. He wasn’t stupid. Ryland could see what happened when you fell in love. You were torn apart when you lost the other half. No one needed that kind of pain or vulnerability.

  Especially not Ryland.

  “Just find Nate and get home. Drake and Stephanie got more than just bison and we need all the hands we can get. I’ll let you know, if I hear anything else.” Damon’s concern carried over the phone as easily as his frustration had.

  “Got it. Thanks, Damon.” Ryland meant it. He hadn’t felt whole in the last few weeks since Emma had died.

  “Hey, Ryland, no one can make you happy. You have to give yourself permission to find it. And for the record, it’s not Nate’s fault Emma died.” Damon’s tone shifted from consoling to admonishing.

  Clenching his ja
w, Ryland shook his head, pulling off the window. “Well, I don’t think it’s fair. Why fall in love, when you’re going to lose them anyway? Doesn’t seem to be worth it.”

  “When you find Nate, I want you to ask him.” Damon sighed.

  Ryland set his jaw to the side. Of course he would have another task piled on top of retrieving the older cousin and getting him home. “Ask him what?”

  “If any of it was worth it. Would he have traded his time with Emma for never knowing her so he wouldn’t hurt so badly?” Damon’s tone hardened and then softened as he continued. “Look, there’s more to happiness than just grinning all day. Once you realize that, you’ll see nothing is perfect and you’re going to find happiness in imperfection.”

  “Yeah...” Ryland didn’t really believe him. “It still doesn’t seem fair.”

  “Life isn’t about fair. Life’s about making it, leaving, learning, finding people to love again along the way and trying to survive. That’s what Nate needs to do. He needs to figure out a way to live after something like that.” Damon’s end of the phone rustled. “Look, I gotta go. Rachiah’s hollering for something. I’ll call you, if anything comes up.”

  “Got it, thanks.” Ryland hung up and tucked his phone back in his shirt pocket. The sun would set soon and the oranges and purples streaked across the sky as the sun got lower in the sky. He’d heard once that all the colors in the sunsets were from chemicals in the atmosphere. Hopefully, that wasn’t true. Something so beautiful shouldn’t be attributable to something so awful.

  The new angle to the sun gave a better view of the road ahead.

  Just past Nissler and the southbound I15 junction toward Dillon, the silhouette of a vehicle flashed emergency hazards in the far distance.

  As he got closer, Ryland squinted his eyes, searching for the occupant or signs of life. If there was someone there, he’d stop to help. If not, he’d keep on driving. Most oftentimes, people stopped right away in Montana. Courtesy and helping their neighbors were unspoken state mottoes. Ryland lived it and he knew many more that did, too.

  The sedan’s hazards blinked in a slow pattern that didn’t really scream urgent. The battery was probably running down which meant the car had been out there long enough to burn it out.

  He just about decided to pass the abandoned-looking car when movement caught his eye from beside the back tire facing away from the highway.

  Ryland would never pass up the chance to help someone, let alone a woman whose hair flew about in the hot breeze.

  Chapter 2

  Amy

  Amy ducked behind the rear panel of her old Buick. The car fought her on everything, but she’d been certain it would carry her to Basin, but she hadn’t even made it to Butte.

  Why couldn’t anything go her way? She reached in and turned off the A/C which really wasn’t working with the engine frozen anyway, but the breeze through the car was better than nothing.

  Cars didn’t fly by on the freeway very often, but when they did, she had to hide. What if it was Buck coming for her?

  She wouldn’t survive being caught. Not again. And now, she had so much more to live for than just making him hot dogs and mac and cheese, and being his punching bag.

  She had to.

  The end of the summer heat had a popular name of Indian summer. Amy usually loved the lingering warmth when night fell. Trying to escape with the sun beating down on the sagebrush and blacktop covered shoulder during the day was only worsened by the heat.

  She worked her dry tongue to try to swallow something, anything. Amy would give anything for some water. Or almost anything. She couldn’t use the small amount she’d brought for her. She needed that. Who knew when she’d get to a place she could get more.

  A quick breeze came up and picked her long blonde curls from her shoulders and tossed them wildly around in the air. She moaned, reaching up carefully to tug her hair down tight. Why hadn’t she tied it back?

  Hopefully, she hadn’t been seen. She peeked out past the silver outline of her bumper and winced at the sight of a slowing truck as it crept closer to the sedan on the side of the highway.

  She couldn’t see the color or the exact make with the sun at its back. Ducking back behind the panel, she pressed her back against the hot metal. Looking up toward heaven, she murmured, “Please, please, please.” Although, why she even cared didn’t make sense since she’d never been given any favor from the rodeo upstairs.

  From not too far off, a truck door closed followed by the crunch of cowboy boots on gravel. The pace was more languid, like that of a slow moving creek rather than a raging river like Buck. He moved in varying degrees of rage, never anything but mad, madder, or fuming.

  Amy dug her fingers under a collection of scraggy rocks and gripped them tightly in her hand. If the man was there with ill intent, she’d make sure he ate a mouthful of rocks before she’d let him have her.

  A shadow cast across her face, the abating heat more of an indication than the increased darkness over her closed her eyes. She slowly opened her eyes, first one and then the other.

  He was a dark form over her but not intimidating like Buck would be. No, the new man had his hand extended downward and the flash of white teeth when he smiled. “Looks like you’re havin’ some trouble. Can I take a look?”

  Taking his offer, she let him pull her to her feet, the comfort in his touch foreign. She was on guard as she stood, keeping herself between him and the car as he passed.

  Pointing at the raised hood, he smiled. “I’m Ryland. I know a couple of things about cars. Do you have any idea what happened? What was it doing before you pulled over?”

  Ryland, huh? He had a square shape to his face and brilliant blue eyes. His jeans fit well and Amy’s cheeks flushed when she caught herself tracing the rear of his pants down to the well-stacked jeans over his faded and worn brown boots. His button-up blue and white plaid shirt had been rolled at the sleeves to the elbows, revealing forearms that testified of hard work and time in the sun.

  She didn’t close the doors or roll up the windows she’d left open to catch any stray breeze, but she did block his view of the car as he rounded the front of the hood and leaned over the dirty motor compartment.

  He reached down, his arm disappearing into one of the many holes amongst the engine compartment. Ryland grunted and commented while he worked. “Wow, your oil plug feels like it’s missing. How far have you come?”

  “I left Dillon a few hours ago.” She tucked her hands into her rear pockets and glanced over her shoulder. “My oil plug is missing? Is that bad?”

  His chuckle wasn’t condescending but more like she’d genuinely made him laugh. “Yeah, that’s bad. If you’d lost it closer to Dillon, you would’ve broken down closer. Once that plug’s out, the oil drains pretty fast, especially on these highways and with the shaking the frame would be going through.” He looked at her over the long side of the hood. “You’re lucky you made it to the side.”

  “It started smoking and then grinding.” She’d known something was wrong when she’d heard something metal clank against the undercarriage of the car. She’d pulled over one second before the engine had seized. Nothing was going to fix that motor. One more thing destroyed by Buck.

  Because that’s the only reason her oil plug had fallen out. Her ex-boyfriend had most definitely messed with the engine. He’d probably wished she’d get in an accident that would be easier to track her.

  She tried hiding her fear as it mounted in her gut. Sitting there, Amy was worse off than a herd of elk in a prairie on opening day. The guy sitting there seemed nice. Did she take a chance and trust him enough to ask for help? Or was he a part of some good ole boy club where men had each other’s backs and didn’t care about anything else?

  He wiped his hands on a handkerchief he pulled from his back pocket and closed her hood. “No point in leaving that open. There’s nothing to be done.” Ryland winked as he retucked his bandanna in his pocket and approached her. He nodded at his
truck. “Can I give you a lift? You’re probably heading back toward Dillon, right?”

  Even though she was facing away from there it was a logical assumption, she just couldn’t go back. She shook her head, her curls fluffing around her face and attacking her eyelashes. She puffed them away from her mouth. “I’m not going back to Dillon. I can’t. If you’re going along here, can I tag along until you can’t take me any further?”

  Chewing on the skin on the inside of her cheek, she widened her eyes in her most ardent attempt at pleading. She wasn’t a beggar and the action didn’t come naturally.

  He looked back at his truck and then down the highway in the direction the vehicles faced. Ryland returned his gaze toward her and considered her proposition. “I’ll take you as far as Jefferson City, does that sound alright? Or I can drop you in Butte, if you want to stay on I90.”

  That was a whole thirty miles further than she’d planned on escaping! She nodded excitedly. “Yes, thank you so much, mister.”

  “Sure, it’s Ryland, though. Grab your things and let’s get going. I’m kind of on a schedule, myself.” He winked at her, reaching up to tilt his hat in her direction. “What’s your name?”

  “Amy, my name’s Amy.” She smiled and held his gaze for a moment longer.

  The sound of a baby crying froze the smooth smile on Ryland’s face. He glanced toward the rear seat of the car and then back at her face. “You have a baby?”

  “Yeah, is that okay?” She didn’t care if it was okay or not. She needed out of there and he had promised to take her. She’d blackmail him or knock him out and steal his truck, if she had to, but she wasn’t leaving without her son.

  He nodded tightly. “Hurry up. It’s too hot out here for a baby. I’ve got some water in the truck, in case he’s thirsty. You, too.”

  His amusement changed to concern and he waited by the back door while she retrieved her two bags of meager belongings and the most important diaper bag. He took them from her before she could even place them on the ground to grab.

  “I’ve got these. You grab that young’un.” He headed toward the truck, tossing her two bags in the back and carefully transferring the diaper bag into the front seat. He started up the engine and a trickle of fear mixed with Amy’s reassurances. Would he leave with everything she had?