Noah Steele would have done anything for his older brother. That included helping his new girlfriend clean up her ranch, Montana Gold. Kara didn’t want to step foot on the land, but she wanted it restored to its old glory. Someone also had to deal with the gold mine. Noah volunteered to take over the ranch and get everything in order if she took care of his brother.

He understood why Kara didn’t want to step foot on the land after what had happened here. She explained how the memories of her mother haunted her. Noah understood that. He felt the same way at Lazy S Ranch. Everywhere he went reminded him of his father. He jumped at the chance to help Grayson and leave Lazy S Ranch.

For the past eight years, Noah had been keeping secrets from his brothers, and it was hard to hide things when they were at the ranch together. He was working for the CIA, in a division that reported only to the president. His work as a Navy SEAL had been part of his cover. After his last mission, in which he almost lost his brother, Noah had been trying to get out. Once he did, he’d explain everything to Grayson.

He gripped the steering wheel of the F150 truck he’d rented until he had time to purchase one. He hadn’t been out to Kara’s ranch yet to see what needed to be done. The dust from the dirt road leading to Montana Gold blew up behind him.

The fence along the road was falling down. Even from a distance, he could see holes in the roof of the barn. Noah mentally made a list of all the items he’d need to purchase. Kara was giving him access to the ranch account. She told him to spare no expense. He added “hiring a contractor to help with the work” to the top of his list.

He stopped formulating his list when his eyes landed on the black navigator parked in front of the old ranch house. “Fuck,” he swore under his breath.

Parking the rental next to the SUV, Noah took a few calming breaths before he exited the truck. He hadn’t been a hundred percent sure the CIA had a tracking device on him. They promised him a year off after he lost his leg. But it hadn’t even been six months, and they had come calling.

Oh, they’d been trying to contact him for the last couple of months. He kept ignoring their calls and emails, and when they’d tried sending someone to his family ranch, he’d aimed his rifle at the agent and told him to leave. Luckily, nobody had been around Lazy S Ranch at the time.

But this time, he needed to face his handler. Noah walked up the steps to the old house, watching where he stepped. Boards were missing from the porch. He mentally added that to the list. He was going to need to get the house in shape first so it was safe for him to stay there.

Inside the house, two people sat on the pastel flowered couch. One of them was the man who had been his handler since he joined the agency. He was wearing a pressed black suit and sunglasses.

The person next to him was the last woman Noah ever wanted to see. He loathed her. She was tapping her designer shoes on the floor, and her dark-brown hair was up in a bun.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Noah directed the question to the woman sitting on the couch.

“That’s no way to speak to your wife.”

THE END

Noah’s story will be the next book in the Montana Gold series.

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