Page 38 of Claimed By 3 Mountain Men

I take a step back, shaking my head in disbelief. “Fine. You two can think what you want. But I’m not going to sit idly by and watch our father’s legacy go up in smoke because of some crush."

“It’s not like that?—”

“Save it, Hank. I don’t want to hear it.”

With that, I turn on my heel and storm back into the house, slamming the front door behind me.

Like everything else in this damn family, I’ll take care of it.

I followthe path Hank described, the one that leads to the edge of our property near the lake and the old sawmill. The trail is narrow, and overgrown in places, but it’s clear enough to follow.

I push through the last of the underbrush and come into a small clearing. There it is—Mac’s camp.

For a moment, I just stand there, taking it all in. This is where she’s been hiding out, where she’s been working, where Ben’s been sneaking off to.

And somehow she has gotten Hank under her spell as well. I should have left her at that airport, canceled all the flights coming into Silver Ridge.

I take a few cautious steps closer, the soft earth muffling my footsteps.

She’s wearing a loose T-shirt and shorts, and she looks tired, like she hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in days. Her eyes meet mine, and for a second, there’s a flicker of surprise—like she wasn’t expecting to see me, of all people.

“What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” I reply, keeping my tone neutral, though the tension is clear. “You’ve been camped out here for how long now?”

“Not long,” she says, her guard coming up instantly.

“Long enough to mess with my brothers. What’s your endgame, Mac? What are you really after?”

She straightens, crossing her arms over her chest, her expression hardening. “I’ve already told you. I’m here to protect this land, JT.”

“Bullshit. What are you doing with Ben and Hank?”

Her cheeks flush the same exact way Hank’s did, and she looks away. “That’s none of your business.”

“Wrong. When it involves my family, it’s very much my business.”

She doesn't break eye contact with me. "I don't owe you or anyone else an explanation about my personal life."

"This is more than just about your 'personal life' Mac, this is about our family's land, our livelihood," I counter. “How many times do I need to go over this with you?”

"I know that, JT!" she snaps, her temper flaring. "I'm here to protect it too, just like you are. I'm not the enemy here."

“No one gave you permission to be here.”

Her eyes narrow, the anger in them flaring like a spark catching fire. “I don’t need your permission, JT. This land doesn’t belong to you.”

“The hell it doesn’t,” I shoot back, taking a step closer, my voice rising. “This land has been in my family for generations. My father, my grandfather, and his grandfather put their blood and sweat into building this place.”

“I’m trying to save something that’s worth protecting—something that your father and your brothers seem to have forgotten about.”

I can feel my blood boiling, the heat of her words searing through me. “You don’t know a damn thing about my family or what we’ve been through.”

“I know enough to see that you’re destroying everything around you,” she spits back. “And for what? Money? Power? You’re so caught up in your own world that you can’t see what you’re doing to the land—to the animals that live here.”

“Don’t you dare lecture me about this land,” I snarl, stepping even closer, until I’m towering over her. “You’re an outsider, Mac. You have no idea what it takes to keep this place running, to keep food on the table and roofs over our heads. You think you can just waltz in here with your high-minded ideals and change everything? You don’t know a damn thing about what it means to survive out here.”

She doesn’t back down, her chin lifts defiantly as she stares. “I know more than you think, JT. I know that if something doesn’t change, there won’t be anything left to survive on. You’re so focused on the short term, on squeezing every last bit of profit out of this land, that you’re blind to the long-term damage you’re causing.”

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