Page 2 of King

Chapter 2

King

King maneuvered the winding country road with the ease of someone who had been traveling it for years.As a native of Coldwater, he had spent nearly his entire life there, with the exception of the years he’d spent serving in the military.He was familiar with every single curve and pothole in the rough, poorly paved road that hadn’t changed much since the hardtop had been laid down.Because of the weather, roads were difficult to maintain in the north.

At Elba Picket’s driveway, King almost sideswiped her battered, rusty mailbox.How many times had the damn thing been knocked down and reset by now?The town tried to convince her to get her mail from the post office, but since she lived alone and didn’t drive, she wouldn’t hear of it.She was as stubborn as they came.Fortunately, Ben from the country store was kind enough to deliver groceries to her house once a week, and he’d offered to deliver her mail as well.

As he approached the logging road, King slowed down so he could turn into the woods.His family had been loggers on Stoney Ridge Mountain for generations.Ironically, King was now the only one in the family working at and running the company.His brother hadn’t been interested in the family business and had moved down south where his wife’s relatives lived.

Most of King’s crew were ex-military and friends from his time in the Marines.Cody, Lincoln, Max, and Cramer were all around his age, and had been happy to relocate and call Maine their home once their service careers had ended.Of the five of them, Cramer was the only one who was still married.His wife Joy was a sweet, caring woman who often brought them lunch during the workday.

King had been married too, for twenty-four years, and it had ended in disaster.His ex had made it her mission to cause trouble any time she could because she wanted to get back together after deciding she’d had a better life with him in it.Hah!No way in hell would he take her back after all the shit she’d caused him.She’d made her bed now she could sleep in it alone.

Marriage wasn’t something he aspired to do again.At fifty he’d embraced the single life, devoting his time to work, his daughter, and his granddaughter.That was enough for him.Well, that and the occasional hookup.He liked sex as much as the next guy.

King navigated his four-wheel drive through the mud, tree branches, and rocks that made up the makeshift road that led out to the logging site.Despite the fact that King’s body was being jostled as he drove through the rough terrain, he barely noticed it, trying instead to focus on not biting down on his tongue again, as he’d done a few weeks before.In the distance, he could see the clearing where the other loggers’ trucks were parked, except for Cody’s.

Where the hell was he?

Just as King pulled up next to Lincoln’s Jeep and turned off his engine, he spotted a splash of color dashing into the forest to the left of them.It was too fast and too small to be one of his men.“Damn,” he muttered, knowing that whoever it was, they were heading straight for the trees that were about to be cut down.He figured it wouldn’t do any good to shout out to stop them as they were sure not to hear him over the chainsaws.

Grabbing his radio, he cursed when he saw that it was dead.Fuck!There was no time to lose.He had to get moving, so he raced in the direction that he’d seen the flash of color disappear into the woods.It had been thirty fucking years since King had last played quarterback, but there was something about the fear of danger that could give you a burst of speed and power.He jumped over fallen branches, sprinting through the trees as the buzz of the chainsaws grew ever louder.

At last, he saw movement again and picked up his pace, thankful for his five years of sobriety and weekly workouts.Ahead of him, a long blond ponytail flew out behind a woman—she was calling out a name—but his only thought was catching her before she reached the danger zone.

King suddenly clamped his hand on the collar of her shirt, halting her mid-flight.He whirled her around to face him, brown eyes meeting startled blue.It had been years since he’d laid eyes on Mia, but the years had been kind.More than kind.She was a fucking knockout.

He didn’t have time to appreciate the curvy woman she’d turned in to though.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?”he yelled over the ruckus.Mia looked at his lips as if she was watching them form the words, and King noticed a small smile grace her features.Did she recognize him?Probably not—it had been ten years since they’d last seen each other, and then it had just been in passing.But even so, he could not help but be drawn to her full, pouty lips and the dimples that accompanied them when she smiled.How had he forgotten those cute dimples?

He snapped his gaze back up to hers, still too enraged to acknowledge his unexpected reaction to her.

“My dog ran off!”she shouted back at him, tugging against his grasp.“I was trying to chain her up, and then she just got away from me.”

King scowled as he pointed out the danger of her current situation.“Do I look like I give a shit?My crew is cutting down trees in this area!You want to kill yourself?”

She surveyed their surroundings before answering, “No, I’m nowhere near where they’re working.”She pulled once more against his grip.“Precious is getting away from me.”

King couldn’t believe he was having a conversation with this woman about a dog named Precious, while trees were being cut down around them in plain sight.He could hear enormous branches snapping off trees and slamming to the ground with a resounding thud.At any moment, a tree could fall on them and crush them into the earth.In frustration, he grabbed hold of her flannel shirt in case she got it in her head to take off again.

“Let’s go.”He was done trying to reason with her, irritated that they were wasting time.

“No.”She dug in her feet and refused to budge.

With no other options, King did the only thing that made sense at the moment.A man who chose action over words, he bent down, picked her up in a fireman’s hold, and carried her out of the area to his truck.Mia protested loudly as he walked away with her dangling over his shoulder.King grinned, but he couldn’t make out her words until they were further away from the noise.

“Put me down, you neanderthal!You can’t do this!”

Despite the situation, King found himself laughing at her frustration.“Looks like I just did,” he responded once he set her down.

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