Page 11 of Scolded By the Mountain Man

I take a power stance, as though I legitimately am about to lay the world’s greatest joke on her. I can see she’s already trying hard not to smile.

“Do you know why the banana got arrested?” I ask.

Her smile broadens. “No, why?”

“I don’t know,” I reply. “But I’m pretty sure he will get out ona peel.”

Penny instantly bursts out laughing and covers her mouth with her hand. She spins around and tries not to let me see her giggling, but somehow that only makes her even cuter.

Thank God this went over well and she’s not still angry with me from yesterday.

“A peel!” She snorts. “I get it!”

“Not bad, right?” I smile.

Still smiling, she nods and gives me a thumbs up. “The pinnacle of dad-jokes, but somehow that’s why I love it.”

I feel so comfortable around her. Like she’s been living here for months already. For so long now, home has meant this cabin. Home has meant this mountain and these woods. But now, I can see home meaning something else entirely.

I can see home meaning Penny.

“There’s a reason I snapped at you last night, and I want to tell you why,” I start to say, but Penny raises her hand to stop me.

“It’s okay, Tyson. If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”

“No, I do,” I reply. I can’t believe I’m going here with her, but I am. “Come on, let’s go outside. But you might want to throw some clothes on first.”

Penny smirks and slides into her pants and shirt. “I’m surprised you’re telling me to getintomy clothes instead ofout ofthem.”

“Well, we have time.” I smirk back at her as I take her hand and lead her down the stairs.

It’s a nice, brisk, cloudy day as we step out onto the front porch. I can hear a woodpecker doing his thing somewhere to the east. I lead Penny just past where I cut wood and have her take a seat on the log bench I built last month.

“So you asked me what a guy like me was doing out here in a place like this, and the truth is…my name isn’t just Tyson. It’s Tyson Ainsworth.”

Just as I expected, Penny’s eyes go wide. Her pupils dilate and her jaw drops.

“TheTyson Ainsworth? From Ainsworth Pharmaceuticals?”

“The one and only.” I nod.

It’s no surprise she knows who I am. Basically everyone in the world knows who I am. Certainly everyone in North America, and definitely an analyst from Goldman Sachs would know. I surpassed Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk in terms of famous billionaires several years ago when my company went public.

“Oh my wowzers!” she gasps. “You will not believe this, but the very first trade I proposed to my boss was a bet onyourcompany! We made a lot of money off it, and I made my name at Goldman because of it. No offense, but alotof people were betting against you back then.”

I chuckle. “Oh, I remember. Trust me.”

Penny frowns. “You’ve been missing for almost a year now. Everyone thinks you’re dead.”

“The people who need to know know I’m alive.”

“But why?” she asks, sounding flabbergasted. “You’re one of the richest men in the world, if nottherichest. Why are you out here all alone?”

I have to chuckle as I look at her and the sincerity in her eyes.

It’s there. The feeling I’ve been missing. Having someone with me that I feel truly connects with me on a personal level, without having known who I was when she met me.

“You answered your question yourself,” I reply. “Being one of the richest men in the world sounds amazing, until you realize that’s the only reason why anyone wants to be around you. Every woman you meet, how do you know they don’t just want you for your money?”

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