Read Online Playing With Fire: inspirational romantic suspense (Montana Fire Book 2) by Susan May Warren - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Susan May Warren
Tags: General Fiction
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part of the problem. She prayed for him, thought about him, yes, even dreamed of him every day.
And he conjured her up only when he was tired, bored, or even just needing a friendly ear.
Exactly how just friends behaved. Hello and pay attention.
“Thanks. I appreciate the prayers. It’s nice to hear your voice.”
“You too. That’s what friends are for, right? Be safe.”
“Take care, Liza.” He clicked off.
She sat there, a shadow over her heart she didn’t want to acknowledge. But yes, maybe she needed Vitae just as much as they needed her.
She got up, locked the door behind her, and dropped the letter in the mailbox.
Chapter 5
If Liza was looking to hide from him, she’d picked the most picturesque place on the planet.
And maybe the hottest.
Around Conner, the striated red-rock formations of Sedona rose above the lush green pine and juniper of the valley bordering the city, and especially the Vitae artists’ enclave, located just a dozen miles north of Sedona. With adobe buildings clustered around a main house, expansive patios, and decks tucked into the forest, the place looked like a place someone might find healing.
Not that Liza needed healing—after all, she’d come to teach. But maybe he did.
Conner ran his hand over his freshly cut hair—it felt strange to have it off his neck—and stepped out of the convertible Camaro he’d rented. A bit of an extravagance, but the entire trip seemed impulsive and over the top. Driven by some errant, rabid emotion he couldn’t seem to tame.
Thankfully, Gilly Priest, a pilot for the Jude County smokejumpers, was a romantic and agreed to fly him down to Arizona.
For the day.
And no, Liza probably wasn’t hiding from him. Not when he’d been the one doing a disappearing act from her life over the past year.
A year where he watched his grandfather dwindle from a robust cowboy to skin and bones, his eyes wracked with pain.
Conner should have called her, but he’d been simply overwhelmed with the daily tasks of medicine and feeding. And then his grandfather’s passing simply blew a hole through him.
Thankfully, Grandpa possessed a faith that Conner desperately fought to hang on to.
Romans 8:28. All things work together for good.
It didn’t feel like it.
Maybe that’s what this trip was about. Finding hope again.
Finding Liza again.
Conner shut the car door, stood in the circular drive, not sure if this was the right place. Her niece on the other end of the phone in Deep Haven had given him the address, reluctantly, he could admit.
Which only confirmed that he should have called. Much earlier.
And, probably, this was a very bad idea. Because friends didn’t just drop off the planet...
Oh, who was he kidding? In his mind, Liza had become much more than a friend. Lifeline. Encourager.
Light.
No wonder his world felt so dark.
He shoved his hands in his pockets, headed for the giant double oak doors, the word Vitae etched into them. A sign on the door asked visitors to ring the bell.
He heard it chime inside, waited for footsteps.
Nothing.
And probably he deserved that. The man who’d let something good die didn’t deserve to show up, have her waiting with open arms.
He turned, put his hands on his hips, surveying the rocks, trying to figure out if he should just go in, or maybe wander around—
“Conner?”
He closed his eyes, just for a second, to mask the sudden rush of relief. Took a breath.
Then turned.
She was just as beautiful as he remembered from that moment he met her two years ago, in Deep Haven—more, probably. She wore white—appropriate, perhaps, for the image she’d conjured in his mind over the past year. A flowy dress with a thick waist and an off-the-shoulder neckline, full sleeves, and a long skirt that dropped to just above her ankles. Sandals on her feet, turquoise beads at her neck, and her long, beautiful mane, shiny like chocolate gold in the sunlight.
He found the
And he conjured her up only when he was tired, bored, or even just needing a friendly ear.
Exactly how just friends behaved. Hello and pay attention.
“Thanks. I appreciate the prayers. It’s nice to hear your voice.”
“You too. That’s what friends are for, right? Be safe.”
“Take care, Liza.” He clicked off.
She sat there, a shadow over her heart she didn’t want to acknowledge. But yes, maybe she needed Vitae just as much as they needed her.
She got up, locked the door behind her, and dropped the letter in the mailbox.
Chapter 5
If Liza was looking to hide from him, she’d picked the most picturesque place on the planet.
And maybe the hottest.
Around Conner, the striated red-rock formations of Sedona rose above the lush green pine and juniper of the valley bordering the city, and especially the Vitae artists’ enclave, located just a dozen miles north of Sedona. With adobe buildings clustered around a main house, expansive patios, and decks tucked into the forest, the place looked like a place someone might find healing.
Not that Liza needed healing—after all, she’d come to teach. But maybe he did.
Conner ran his hand over his freshly cut hair—it felt strange to have it off his neck—and stepped out of the convertible Camaro he’d rented. A bit of an extravagance, but the entire trip seemed impulsive and over the top. Driven by some errant, rabid emotion he couldn’t seem to tame.
Thankfully, Gilly Priest, a pilot for the Jude County smokejumpers, was a romantic and agreed to fly him down to Arizona.
For the day.
And no, Liza probably wasn’t hiding from him. Not when he’d been the one doing a disappearing act from her life over the past year.
A year where he watched his grandfather dwindle from a robust cowboy to skin and bones, his eyes wracked with pain.
Conner should have called her, but he’d been simply overwhelmed with the daily tasks of medicine and feeding. And then his grandfather’s passing simply blew a hole through him.
Thankfully, Grandpa possessed a faith that Conner desperately fought to hang on to.
Romans 8:28. All things work together for good.
It didn’t feel like it.
Maybe that’s what this trip was about. Finding hope again.
Finding Liza again.
Conner shut the car door, stood in the circular drive, not sure if this was the right place. Her niece on the other end of the phone in Deep Haven had given him the address, reluctantly, he could admit.
Which only confirmed that he should have called. Much earlier.
And, probably, this was a very bad idea. Because friends didn’t just drop off the planet...
Oh, who was he kidding? In his mind, Liza had become much more than a friend. Lifeline. Encourager.
Light.
No wonder his world felt so dark.
He shoved his hands in his pockets, headed for the giant double oak doors, the word Vitae etched into them. A sign on the door asked visitors to ring the bell.
He heard it chime inside, waited for footsteps.
Nothing.
And probably he deserved that. The man who’d let something good die didn’t deserve to show up, have her waiting with open arms.
He turned, put his hands on his hips, surveying the rocks, trying to figure out if he should just go in, or maybe wander around—
“Conner?”
He closed his eyes, just for a second, to mask the sudden rush of relief. Took a breath.
Then turned.
She was just as beautiful as he remembered from that moment he met her two years ago, in Deep Haven—more, probably. She wore white—appropriate, perhaps, for the image she’d conjured in his mind over the past year. A flowy dress with a thick waist and an off-the-shoulder neckline, full sleeves, and a long skirt that dropped to just above her ankles. Sandals on her feet, turquoise beads at her neck, and her long, beautiful mane, shiny like chocolate gold in the sunlight.
He found the
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