Page 2 of Knotting Before Them

I nodded. “Owen. Maybe the owners are open to renting a room for a couple of weeks? Do you know them? How can I get in touch with them?”

Owen looked at me for a long minute, his eyes narrowed, as if deciding whether I was insane. I didn’t blame him. I knew how I looked to most people, and I was okay with that, as long as I got the job done.

There was a fire in me screaming that the mountain was THE mountain, that the house was THE house. I was just the vehicle. I just needed to get my hands working. I didn’t need anyone to understand.

Owen opened his mouth, probably to tell me off and ask me not to disturb his peaceful neighbors when the bar door opened, bringing snow inside along with the fierce wind.

“It’s your lucky day, lady.” Owen nodded to the man who had just joined us. “That’s Theo. He lives up there.”

I perked up, and before I could think better of it, I was marching towards the new stranger.

He had an easy smile, with wrinkles on the side of his eyes as he said hello to every single patron. This was excellent news. A nice, good-natured man was bound to be married to a lovely, good-natured woman who would love to help a stranger.

People liked to be helpful, I was sure.

As I approached him, I couldn’t help but notice how big he was. Sure, most people were taller than me, but this Theo guy easily had a foot and a half over my head. It wasn’t just his height—he was big everywhere. His defined jaw, his tree trunks of legs, and his expensive chest; I could bet my arms and legs his jeans were custom-made.

“Hello there,” I tried with a smile, craning my neck up to look at him.

He looked down at me, his eyebrows closing together in question.

“I’m Julia, and I’d like to rent a room.”

I looked at herup and down, and it didn’t take long. The girl was a wisp of something, wrapped in a loud orange coat.

She had brown skin, long dark hair, freckles over the bridge of her nose, and an eager smile.

“Who are you again?”

“I’m Julia, but if you’re going to be my landlord,you can call me Jules.”

She pushed her tiny hand toward me, her smile shining. I chuckled, baffled by her as I took her hand. “Theo.”

“Oh yes, I know.”

Something must be wrong with me, because suddenly, all I wanted was to hear this girl speak for hours.

She wasn’t just gorgeous—she had a nice accent too, a blend that soothed my soul. I looked at the bar where Owen stood, watching me like a hawk. When our eyes met, he lifted one eyebrow, and I tried to ignore it, hating being observed that closely.

“A beer, Owen,” I sighed, taking my cap off and scratching my scalp. “Let’s grab a seat,” I told the girl.

I headed to my usual place, and she followed along, bringing an intoxicating scent of flowers with her.

What was happening to me? I never noticed how tiny someone’s hands were before, or their perfume, though I knew instinctively Julia’s scent wasn’t the bottled type. She naturally smelled like that, like wild flowers and so much warmth that it felt like someone bottled the sun.

“I came all the way here for that mountain,” she pointed at the window behind the bar, “and your house is the best spot for me right now.”

I shook my strange feeling off and tried to concentrate on what she was saying. “You want to stay in my house?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

I breathed deeply but regretted it right away. The longer I was in her presence, the more powerful her wild perfume became. I leaned back in the chair, trying to put space between us. “Let me see if I got this right: you want to be close to the mountain, and you think staying in a stranger’s house is the best solution?”

“I’m an artist.” She straightened her spine. “I want…” She worked something down her throat. “I need a good view of that mountain, and something is telling me I need to be in that house. Your house.”

Her jaw was set as she watched my house through the window, determination like I had never seen before etched into her face. My lips twitched in a smile, knowing already that I was going to bring this girl home, what Wylder and Noah thought be damned.

“You must think I’m crazy.” She chuckled, making a mess of her hair as she brushed it away from her face. “Can I be honest with you?”

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