Page 11 of Protected By the Mountain Man

“What happened to his mom?”

“He never talked to you about his mother?”

She shakes her head and laughs. “Cody never talked about anything serious. I think the deepest we got was his obsession with pythons.”

I laugh. “He does have an obsession with snakes. We, ugh, his mom and I, we raised him fifty-fifty, but she was always missing. I think she wanted to be an actress, so she spent a lot of time traveling for auditions and what not. When he turned eighteen, she permanently bailed. He hasn’t heard from her since. I haven’t either.”

“Oh, that sucks. I’m sorry. I didn’t know that. Maybe that’s why he’s having such a tough time.”

“Could be, but I don’t give him excuses. My grandparents raised me. Didn’t know either of my parents. You get to choose who you are in life regardless of what happens to you. You’re either the guy who sulks or the guy that changes things. In this family, we choose the latter.”

“Why didn’t you get married then?”

“Never wanted to.”

“Never ever?” Her tone is sweet and light.

I look toward the road and drag my hand down over my beard. “Not until recently did I start seeing the value of it.”

“Why recently?”

“You’ve got a lot of questions tonight.” I flick on my blinker and pull into the driveway of the house.

“I thought we were going to watch the meteors?”

“We are. Theres a break in the tree line up there. I’ll park on the hill, and we’ll watch.”

She nods and stares forward. “Okay. So, why recently?”

“Persistent, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, it’s my thing.”

I glance toward her and put the truck in park at the top of the ridge. The heat is pumping through the vents and stars streak through the sky, showering us with soft glowing light.

I saw Cody’s truck when I pulled in. I don’t want to know the weird looks I’d get for being up here with his ex. I’m not sure what explanation I have. I suppose I could’ve kept driving, but the ridge is such a perfect spot to watch the sky, and all I want for Lark is perfection.

“So,” she presses, “why recently?”

I draw in a heavy breath and glance toward her. “Recently I’ve met someone that I really like and sometimes I think about forever with that person.”

“Oh,” she stiffens, “who’d you meet?”

I shouldn’t have let this conversation get so far out of control. I don’t want her thinking I’ve got a thing for anyone else… because I don’t. My eyes are only on her. That said, I can’t well tell her that.

“You ever put much thought into meteors?” I say leaning forward to stare up at the sky.

“What do you mean?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. How every atom is glowing.”

“Yeah?” She raises her brows. “You okay? You suck in too many diesel fumes lately?”

I shake my head and turn toward her. “Maybe.”

She laughs. “Seriously, what’s wrong?”

“Cody should’ve treated you better. And those guys tonight… total assholes for not seeing you more clearly.”

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