Chapter 4
Four
Live. Laugh. Toaster Bath.
—Or whatever that sign said
Sage
The news of Gentry’s death hit me like a physical blow.
I was in shock.
For seven years, he’d been safe.
No news was good news, according to the prison warden.
Then, all of a sudden, the hospital where I was working in was shook.
Inmates were on their way to the ER, and everything was being shut down because these inmates were the worst of the worst.
I’d been terrified that I’d see Gentry there among the wounded.
Apparently, the biggest riot that any prison in the United States had ever seen happened there and it was a mass casualty incident.
During the incident, there’d been several escape attempts, and along with the ones who were dead from the riot, several other escapees had also perished.
Then the news hit.
Ramsey Kelly, my husband, had been one of the ones killed in an escape attempt.
I’d been in shock at work when Dario had showed up with my brother, and they’d leered at me through the locked hospital doors.
We both knew what this meant.
I was now free to marry, and I would be doing it whether I liked it or not.
Four days later
I couldn’t believe what I was doing.
Well, I could and I couldn’t.
I was moving.
I’d sold my house, liquidated all of my assets, and bought an RV that was two years old under a false name. All in four days’ time.
Luck had literally been going my way in every single step of this process.
I sold my house in two days.
The buyers wanted to do it in cash, and quick, and had offered me above market value.
The job that I’d been eyeing for months had finally offered me a position in one of my most secretly wished-for places—Montana.
My boss at work had told me that they were downsizing and that I’d probably be let go since I was one of the newest on staff.
And I’d passed by a couple talking about fake IDs and just…went with it.
I’d taken out every single penny of money that I had, shoved the cash into a suitcase, and left in the middle of the night in a borrowed truck from a friend.
Once I got where I was going, I would let him know where it was and he’d fly out and drive it back home.
Then I’d have to figure out how to use a false name and a false ID to make this move a permanent one.
Everything was working out flawlessly, and I couldn’t help but think that I had some crazy good luck on my side.
No one followed me.
No one called—though that had been by design seeing as I ditched my phone, canceled all of my recurring plans and ditched every single obligation I had.
Neo and I enjoyed the open road.
And learned how to drive a freakin’ RV.
There was nothing like driving a truck for the first time, pulling an RV for the first time, and driving farther than an hour for the first time.
Trial by fire.
The first sight of the mountains took my breath away.
I looked over at Neo, the dog that had shown up at my apartment when I needed him the most, and said, “What do you think, big boy? Are you excited?”
In answer he stuck his head out the window and let the slobber spray my back window.
Nice.
I think he liked it.
The farther into the mountains we drove, the more breathtaking it became.
I mean, I’d always seen photos of the mountains and thought “wow.”
But nothing prepared you for actually seeing them in person.
Nothing could describe the beauty.
Everything was green and lush. Wildflowers grew on the side of the mountain.
Snow capped the mountain tops in a blanket of white.
There were animals…everywhere.
I’d seen wild bison in Wyoming. Bears—grizzly and black—on the border of Wyoming and Montana. I’d seen mule deer, and prong horned deer. I’d also seen my first moose.
It was better than visiting a zoo.
As it always did, my mind drifted off to Gentry.
Always Gentry.
He’d been on my mind for seven years and likely never would stray far from it.
I felt pity for any future husbands.
Despite only knowing the man for ten minutes, he was still the person that I measured all other men against.
I’d learned all about his life as he went through the farce that was the murder trial of Mario O’Neal.
I learned that he was poor growing up.
I learned that he’d been in the military.
I’d learned that he was a Ranger—though the lawyers had used that as a selling point to how he was a “trained weapon” that “knew what he was doing” by killing Mario.
I learned that his parents loved him.
I learned that he couldn’t afford anything, because he’d been fighting for rights to his child, Dean, for six months and had blown through his entire life savings.
I’d learned that he had a brother that was named Van that was a warrant officer.
I learned that he liked dogs—he’d tried to hide, but I’d seen that he was the one that had dropped Neo off to me the day before he was sentenced to a decade or more in prison.
I learned, also, what it looked like to see a grown man cry when the mention of his son’s murder was brought up by his lawyer. A murder he hadn’t realized had happened until then.
A retaliation against Gentry for when he did the right thing by saving me and had killed Mario.
The murder of Dean Kelly was still, to this day, unsolved.
Though everyone knew that Dario was responsible.
Neo barked, and I slowed down, having not realized that I was now flying down a mountain pass.
My speed slowed, and I forced myself to pay attention to what I was doing.
And the land surrounding me.
I loved Montana.
I loved how much Neo enjoyed the land.
I loved going home and making dinner and not wondering who was going to show up unannounced.
I loved waking up and being free.
There was only one thing missing, and that was something I’d never really had.
A man who would share my world with me and make me happy.
Neo nudged my chin with his nose and I focused on him instead.
“Do you think Gentry would’ve liked it here?” I asked Neo.
Neo licked my lips, and I chose to think that meant that Neo thought he would.
I continued to drive until I got to the RV park that I’d be staying in for the foreseeable future.
I eyed the gate that I had to fit the massive rig I’d been driving through.
This entire trip had been a straight shot, no narrow turns or backing up necessary.
But now, not only did I see that I would have to back up my RV, but I also had to fit it through some tight turns and around some corners that I’d never had to navigate before.
I stopped to the right of the front office where it said “15 minute parking” on a bright white sign in bold black ink.
I pulled to a stop, only causing a minor jolt to my seat belt, threw the truck in park and got out.
I paused, wondering if I should take the keys, then took a look around.
We were in the middle of nowhere.
I eyed the beauty that surrounded me, taking in the picturesque mountain range to my left, the valley to my right, and all of the open space that was allotted to you in some very spacious RV spots.
There was no one in sight, so I chose to leave the truck running and the keys in the vehicle.
If it was stolen…well, I didn’t know what I would do.
I turned back and got the keys, locking the truck.
I had a hundred grand in cash in that truck.
I shouldn’t leave it unattended.
I turned back and got the duffel bag, just like I had every stop I’d made throughout the thirty-hour drive here.
Nothing like a long-haul road trip in the mountains, hours and hours away from anything you’ve ever known, driving a truck and an RV that you’ve never driven or pulled before.
To say that my brain was mentally exhausted would be an understatement.
A woman smiled when I arrived inside and she waved. “You must be Sage. I’m Ida Bell.”
I held out my hand. “Ida Bell, nice to meet you. Yes, I’m Sage.”
“Sage Ryan?” she confirmed.
I frowned.
I’d thought I used my fake ID name—Sage Kelly—but I guessed I was wrong.
I had never changed my name over to Sage Kelly, though I’d desperately wanted to.
It was just too tough to do when you were in nursing school under a different name.
Then, life had been difficult enough that I hadn’t wanted to add in changing my name to Kelly.
But now that I was free…
“Yes.” I nodded.
“I have your ID photo and your information here.” She eyed me. “Not that I’m judging you or anything, because I’m totally not, but would you want the big boss to back you into your spot? It’s kind of a tight spot, and…”
“Oh god. Please yes,” I said, distracted from asking her how she’d gotten a copy of my ID. “That would be fantastic. Between me and you, I’ve never backed a trailer up in my life.”
Her eyes sparkled. “I’ll call Koen for you.”
Forty-five minutes later, my RV was backed into the spot, and all of the slides were popped out thanks to the “big boss.”
I sat on the steps to the RV and surveyed my new home.
I decided, as Neo ran in the meadow just beyond the RV spot, that I was really going to like it here.