Page 11 of Reuniting with the Mountain Man

“I live in a suburb of Chicago,” I said. “I mean, it’s great, but it’s nothing like this town.”

Now, I was the one looking around. It was just a parking lot, but beyond that and the main drive that led into the retreat center, there was nothing but green grass and trees as far as the eye could see. My small house was packed in a neighborhood with hundreds of others. There was very little space between each of them.

“I could see myself settling down here,” I said. “In fact, it’s exactly what I want to do…if you’ll give us a chance.”

There was so much to be worked out. My work was back in Chicago, but it wasn’t like contractors weren’t needed in pretty much every town in America. In fact, most of the local bikers I’d met did construction.

“I’ll figure it out,” I said. “We’ll figure it out together.”

That was when I realized she was staring at me, a stunned expression on her face, like she couldn’t believe a man would give up everything to be with her. That was exactly how I felt. In fact, I’d give up all my worldly possessions if it meant spending the rest of my life with Makenna.

I was in love with this woman. It was too early to say it out loud, but those words would be crossing my lips soon enough.

“Just give me a chance,” I said, taking a tentative step toward her. “That’s all I ask.”

She uncrossed her arms and smiled at me. “Sure, but I have one request.”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t break my heart.”

Now I was the one who was smiling. We closed the rest of the remaining distance and kissed on it.

If she didn’t have to get to work, I’d be whisking her away to my hotel room, but there’d be plenty of time for that later. The rest of our lives, in fact.

EPILOGUE

MAKENNA

Inever wore a cheerleading outfit in high school. I didn’t even bother trying out for the team. It was highly competitive, and usually, the most popular, prettiest girls were chosen.

But today, as I stood with six other women on the sidelines of the Friday night football game, I was filled with a sense of belonging. This was where I fit in. This was where I was meant to be.

It was the final game of the season for our local football teams. The Mavericks, our guys, were playing the Rosewood Ridge Riders, which was the motorcycle club in town. There were other locals on all the teams, but for the cheerleaders standing on the sidelines, our husbands were the ones we had our eyes on.

“Look at Jesse go,” Sadie said, nudging me with her right elbow.

She and I had become best buddies while working together at the retreat center. Our daughters were born around the same time, and now they sat side by side in the bleachers, my mom and Sadie’s mom on either side. Every now and then, I glanced back over my shoulder and smiled at my five-year-old, who seemed more interested in the animal balloon Jesse made for her than the actual game.

My mom had been a little weird about me marrying the guy I met here so many years ago until she got to know him. And now, for the first time ever, my parents approved of one of my boyfriends.

Then he became my fiancé, and now my husband. We’d been married six-and-a-half years and going strong. In fact, we’d celebrate our seventh wedding anniversary in the fall with a seven-day cruise to the Bahamas.

The crowd burst into cheers, but the cheerleaders to my left weren’t cheering. They stood, staring in awe as Jesse ran with the ball to the goal line.

I was frozen in time, staring at my man, wondering how I’d ever walked away from him. I thought once again about the years we wasted not being together, but we’d made up for lost time since running into each other again. Tonight, we’d celebrate a win.

Along with the rest of the amateur squad, I jumped up and down, waving my pompoms, beaming with pride. Then all seven of us ran onto the field to congratulate our husbands on yet one more win.

My eyes met Jesse’s over the crowd, and he squeezed through his teammates to get to me. Then he pulled me toward him in a long, celebratory kiss that had a few of his teammates letting out whistles and shouts.

“Congratulations,” I said when finally he pulled away.

He had a huge smile as he looked back at me. “Couldn’t have done it without my favorite cheerleader cheering me on.”

“Hey, you two,” Julian said, walking up to us, hand-in-hand with his wife Gwendolyn. “We’re grabbing up the kids and heading back to Luke and Ally’s cabin. You in?”

“Of course,” Jesse said. “You know me. I never miss a party.”

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