Page 1 of Her Mountain Man Stalker

1

Scarlett

I’ve been on the road for almost twelve hours, and with every mile I drive, I feel lighter. Freer. But that doesn’t stop my stomach from churning with nerves the closer I get to my destination.

I must be nuts,I think to myself for the thousandth time today.

I’ve never even been to Colorado before, but it’s about to become my new home. I’m not sure why I chose the mountains for a fresh start, but I guess after spending a lifetime in Oklahoma City, I’m craving something different—some wild and secluded place up in the Rockies. But most importantly, I need to live somewhere far away from my parents.

I tighten my grip on the steering wheel as I imagine them back in Oklahoma. They’ll both be home from work by now, and they’ll have seen the goodbye note I left for them. I didn’t bother trying to explain; the note simply says that I’m leaving and never coming back. They’re probably trying to call me, ready to yell until their voices are hoarse, but I changed my phone number last week, ditched social media, and made a new email account. I don’t want them to have any way to contact me.

It might sound pretty drastic, running away from home to live in a cabin in the mountains, but I had to escape. My parents have been treating me like crap for as long as I can remember.They never wanted kids; I was an accident, and from the day I was born, my parents have seen me as nothing but a burden. An inconvenience. They constantly put me down, criticizing everything about me, from my curvy figure to my dream of becoming an author.

Growing up, I was treated more like a servant than a daughter. They told me I had to earn my place in their home, so I ended up doing everything for them. It was pretty hard to juggle all the cooking, cleaning, laundry and yard work on top of going to school, but I didn’t have a choice. I thought things would get better when I finally managed to move out last year, but it was almost like my parents missed having me around to bully. They never gave me a minute of peace, constantly calling and texting to tell me what a terrible daughter I was to leave them. In reality, they just hated having to do their own housework for a change. For months, they used any excuse to barge into my apartment at all hours just to call me a slob and tell me the place wasn’t clean enough, or otherwise demand I come home with them and fix dinner.

Once upon a time, I was too scared to stand up to my parents. I genuinely believed they’d kick me out if I didn’t do what I was told, and I decided that anything was better than being homeless as a young girl. But I’m not a child anymore, I’m a twenty-two-year-old woman now, and I’m ready to escape the shadow my parents are casting over my life. That’s why I finally told my landlord I was leaving, quit my retail job, and packed up my belongings. Oklahoma City is far behind me, and I’m never looking back.

The landscape outside the car windows is turning wilder by the minute. I gasp as snow-capped mountains begin to rise up all around me, thick forests stretching out in every direction. It’s like a fairy tale—the vivid blue lakes and streams, the crashing waterfalls, the rugged mountain rock. I’ve never traveled outsideof Oklahoma City before, and my jaw is practically in my lap as I stare around at the gorgeous landscape, my heart fluttering with excitement.

This beautiful place is my new home.

Finally, I reach a quaint mountain town called Winterdale, grinning at all the cozy boutiques and independent stores. I follow the directions on my phone, turning up a steep track just outside the town. The road winds up and up, twisting all around. A few minutes later, I spot the cabin.

“Oh!” I gasp.

Before today, I’ve only ever seen photos of it, but it looks even prettier in person. The tiny log cabin is surrounded by trees, and the front yard is blooming with yellow daffodils. I was able to book it cheap since it’s such a small place, but it’s big enough for me, and it’s so darn cute. The cabin had plenty of availability, so I was able to book it for three months straight, and as I pull up in front of my temporary new home, I sigh with relief before turning off the car engine and getting out.

The air smells so fresh up here, like pine and earth, and I inhale deeply, feeling a sudden well of emotion behind my eyes. I can’t believe I finally did it. For the first time in my life, I’m free. No more cruel words or being treated like a servant—I can finally build my own life away from my parents, and even though starting over is pretty scary, I know that it has to be better than what I’m leaving behind. I just hope three months will be enough time for me to find a job and another place to stay.

The key to the cabin is in the lockbox where the landlord said it would be, and my hand shakes slightly as I open the front door and step inside.

“Wow…” I breathe as I take it all in. The living room is all wooden, with crisscrossing exposed beams, a large stone fireplace, and a comfy-looking sofa. There’s a big TV on the wall, and the owner has left a plate of cookies on the table with a notetelling me to enjoy my stay. I can’t stop smiling as I peek into the small, rustic kitchen and then the bedroom and bathroom. It might be tiny, but it’s cozy and homely, and I’m still beaming to myself a little while later once I’ve brought all my stuff into the cabin and unpacked.

“This is going to be great,” I tell myself brightly, biting into one of the deliciously gooey cookies. “I can do this…I’m a capable, independent woman. I’ve got this.”

But now that I’ve arrived, there’s a knot of anxiety forming in my stomach. It all feels so real now, and the weight of everything I’ve done is bearing down on me. I quit my job, left my apartment, my city, my parents, everything I’ve ever known…

What if I can’t do this? What if my parents are right about me?

I try to shake off the thought as I leave the cabin, heading purposefully into the woods. I’m going to explore…take my mind off things…if anything can make me feel better, it’s this gorgeous scenery. There’s an earthy track that winds through the trees, and I follow it, listening to the twittering of birds overhead. I’ve only been walking a few minutes when I stop in my tracks.

Something is watching me.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I whip around, peering through the trees and bushes. There’s nobody there—nothing—but I could swear I felt eyes on me…

Tentatively, I take another step forward, then another. Nothing around me stirs, and convinced I was imagining things, I take a deep breath and keep on walking. Springy green moss covers the ground, and tiny shoots are beginning to burst through the earth, making me smile as I walk. Spring is the perfect time for new beginnings. Icando this. Ican.I can build the life of my dreams and prove my parents wrong. I’m determined to make this work…

Crack.

I whirl around. My heart thuds against my chest. I’m sure I heard something—a footstep, somebody stepping on a branch. And there’s that feeling again…the prickling on my skin…

As if somebody’s watching me.

2

Gunner

I swing my axe back and bring it down with a satisfying thud against the thick branch I’m cutting into. It cracks open, and I wipe the sweat from my brow before whacking it once more until it’s the perfect size for firewood. It might be spring, but I like to stock up for the winter as early as possible so the wood has plenty of time to dry out. It’s tiring, but it’s the kind of honest work that brought me up into the mountains in the first place. When I’m out here in the woods, chopping wood, I don’t have to think about all the painful shit that brought me to Colorado. Instead, I can lose myself in my work for hours, the swing of my axe keeping painful thoughts at bay.

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