Page 14 of Shared By the Mountain Men

I made it about a quarter of a mile when a vehicle came up the road behind me. I moved off to the side to let them pass, but the car slowed down as it neared. It was a mud-streaked white Jeep.

Son of a bitch.

“Want a ride into town?” Jack asked out the window.

Without stopping, I replied, “I’m fine, thanks.”

The Jeep crawled along next to me, crunching gravel. “You sure? It can’t be fun walking this far with a busted ankle and a gin hangover.”

“I’m fine without—wait a minute. How do you know I’m hungover on gin?”

“We’ve got cameras in all the cabins,” he replied, deadpan. “Living room, kitchen, bathroom. Half our income is from streaming it all on OnlyFans.”

I stepped closer to the open Jeep window, anger flaring inside of me like a volcano. “You sickasshole. I swear to fucking God if I find a camera, I’m calling the police first, then every newspaper from here to Denver.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “Christ on a cracker, you really can’t take a joke. There aren’t any cameras in your cabin. Calm down.”

“Telling a woman to calm down has never worked in the history of the world. How the hell did you know what I was drinking last night?”

“I check the camp store inventory every morning,” Jack replied angrily. “To make sure the teenager running the cash register doesn’t steal anything. Goddamn, I wouldn’t have made a joke about it if I knew you’d blow your top.”

“Right, because women are usually receptive to jokes about hidden toilet cameras,” I said.

Jack let out a sigh through gritted teeth. “Maybe I should’ve left you in the mountains with a busted ankle.”

As he drove away, I shouted, “I’m beginning to wish you did!”

My ankle seemed to hurt more after the run-in with Jack. Especially when the road went up a very gradual hill. The way the incline forced my toes to point upward definitely aggravated my injury. Soon I was limping worse than before.

But I wasn’t going to admit to myself that I should’ve accepted the ride from Jack.

A few minutes later, another car came up the road behind me. It was a dark Toyota 4Runner, and it slowed down just like the Jeep. I decided that I was going to accept a ride from them as long as the driver didn’t look like a serial killer.

Not only was the drivernota serial killer, it was Doctor Noah’s familiar smiling face. “I thought I recognized that limp! Now, didn’t I tell you to stay off that ankle?”

“I was feeling ambitious,” I admitted. “And my ankle wasn’t too bad when I woke up.”

“Judging from your gait, it’s bothering you now.” He ran a hand through his thick blond hair. “I’m heading into town. Let me give you a ride.”

His smile was so open and warm that I found myself unable to decline. “I’d appreciate that.”

Noah hopped out of the 4Runner and hurried around to the passenger side to help me up. Despite my protests, I didn’t mind his steadying hand on my back. The car was pristine and smelled like sweet pine needles.

“I’m glad you’re feeling ambitious enough to walk, but you really ought to stay off the ankle.” His lecture was softened by the way his smile filled his entire face, even reaching his cobalt blue eyes.

“Sorry. I was getting a little stir-crazy at the cabin.”

“Oh! You’re staying at Jackie’s riverside cabins?” Noah asked. “They’re great. Real cozy. I would totally rent one if I didn’t already have a house a mile upriver.”

He was gorgeous, he was a doctor, and he owned his own place. If this guy had popped up on my Tinder feed, I would have swiped right fast enough to dislocate my finger.

“The cabin is nice,” I admitted. “Better than sleeping in a tent.”

“I bet! Don’t get me wrong—I love camping as much as the next guy. But after a few days, I need a real bed.”

“Amen.”

We turned off the dirt road and onto the main road into Crested Butte. It was like a picturesque western town that had been revamped for modern times, with bars and restaurants and shops along the five or six main blocks. All of the restaurants had outdoor seating, the kind that used to be parallel parking spots but were repurposed during COVID. Lots of people were walking around with coffee cups or shopping bags.

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