Page 20 of Saved By the Mountain Man

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “I can’t stop thinking about her.”

“Rae?”

I nodded.

Bear chuckled softly. “Women have a way of doing that to you.”

“It’s not just that,” I said, frustrated. “I’m supposed to be careful of her. She shows up out of nowhere, and I’m just supposed to trust that it’s a coincidence?”

“You don’t think it is?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know what to think. This was her haven, too, once upon a time. But times have changed, so what’s she doing here?”

Bear didn’t answer me, so I kept talking.

“If someone sent her to get me, wouldn’t this have happened ages ago? I can’t tell—I’m too worked up over her, my head and my heart playing games with each other and I can’t think straight through the noise.”

Bear leaned back, his gaze thoughtful. “Feelings like that don’t just disappear, Tanner. No matter how hard you try to bury them. If you love someone…” He shrugged. “Fucking bullshit, if you ask me.”

“I left her to protect her,” I said quietly. “But seeing her again, it’s like all those reasons don’t matter anymore. I just want to be close to her. Make sure she’s safe. I don’t know what she’s running from.”

Bear was silent for a moment, then he placed a hand on my shoulder. “You’ve got to figure out what’s more important, Tanner. Protecting her by keeping your distance, or being there for her now.”

I groaned.

“I shouldn’t have let her in at all. But I didn’t know it was that serious, not when I met her. I only knew afterward that she wasn’t safe. So I ran.”

“Love can be a strength or a weakness,” Bear said, carving off another piece of meat. “If you don’t decide what it is to you, it will be your destruction.”

I looked at him, searching his eyes for answers.

“Yeah?” Bear rarely talked about his past, but there was a hell of a lot more to him than met the eye.

Bear’s gaze grew distant, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of pain in his eyes. “I’ve seen a lot, done a lot. My time in the military, especially in special ops, taught me that love can give you something to fight for. But it can also make you vulnerable. It can make you wonder if it’s something you’re willing to die for.”

He didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t press him.

We sat in silence for a while. His words were pretty deep, but they didn’t help me the way I’d hoped they would. Would I die for Rae? Would I let her get close enough and take the chance? Would I risk dyingbecauseof Rae?

Bear stood and dusted his hand on his pants, putting his knife away.

“Thanks for the meat,” I said, my piece finished, too.

“Sure,” he said.

I watched as he walked away, leaving me alone between the trees.

I picked up my axe and started chopping wood, stocking up for winter.

You have to decide what you want to live for. What you want to die for.

Rae had been everything to me once. I’d left, and for the past couple of years, I’d been safe.

It had hurt like a bitch, but I’d thought she was safe, too. Leaving should have kept her safe.

If she was running now, it meant I’d failed her.

Would being closer to her keep her safe this time? Or would it be my own downfall? If she was running from someone else, would it ruin my plans of staying hidden? Or would she be the death of me, ruin everything I’d put in place over the years?

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