Page 84 of Shared By the Mountain Men

“You’ve been tormenting me since then,” Jack gritted out. “Strutting around camp. Inviting yourself onto my porch and drinking my liquor. I haven’t been able to keep my eyes off you, especially with how you look in those tight clothes. And yeah, I fucking know how that sounds, like I’m blaming you for the way I feel, but I can’t fucking help it. The clothes you wear don’t matter. You’re gorgeous. You’re sexy. You’re beautiful, and every word in between that I can’t think of right now because I’m so goddamnfrustrated, Melissa. I’ve never fallen this hard for someone, and I barely even know you! That’s what I can’t understand! You drive me crazy, in the best and worst ways. Yet somehow I’ve managed to stay strong, to maintain enough willpower not to give in, which is why it’s been so frustrating seeing you entrance my best friend. You’re going to break his heart, do you fucking know that? Do you realize how hard he’s falling for you?”

“Noah made it very clear this is just a fling,” I replied weakly. “He knows it’s going to end. And what happened with Ash is probably just a one-time thing, we haven’t even discussed—”

His eyes widened, and it was clear I had revealed something he didn’t already know.

“Ash? You fuckedAsh?”

“I…”

Jack began pacing with his hands in his dark hair. “Jesus Christ.”

His voice softened a little, which gave me some room to get angry again. “You’re an attractive guy, Jack, but jealousy isnota good look on you.”

“Jealousy?” he barked. “Don’t you get it? I’m not jealous. That’s not why I care if you hook up with my friends. I’m upset because you’re going to hurt them! It’s a small town, and somehow you’ve managed to dig your roots into everyone I care about. And it’s going to cause a lot of damage when you eventually rip them out.”

“They’re adults,” I shouted back. “They can make their own decisions! They don’t need you acting like an arrogant older brother who thinks he knows what’s best for everyone!”

Jack laughed, but there was no mirth in his tone. “You know what you are? You’re a hurricane. You spin into town, cause a bunch of damage, and then leave us to clean up the debris.”

I bristled. “Is this what you think being a man is like? Instead of allowing yourself to be attracted to someone, you push them away because it might not work out in the future? What agreatway to live your life, always being afraid of getting close to someone. I overheard Ash say something last night: the future isn’t guaranteed. We could all be killed by a giant meteor tomorrow. Well, you know what? I’m choosing to be happy. So are your friends. You should try it sometime… but I guess you’d rather mope around your campsite and blame people like Sam for your problems.

It was a name Noah had mentioned to me in confidence, and it just came out of my mouth in the heat of the moment. I didn’t even know who Sam was, or how he and Jack had a falling out. But it made Jack recoil like he had been stabbed, which was the effect I was going for.

His eyes flared angrily, muscles in his arms bulging so much the veins were practically popping off the skin. Then the fight went out of him, and he shook his head and sighed.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said in a quieter voice. “Because you’re leaving soon. If you could hurry up and do that so I can get on with the rest of my life, that’d be great.”

He started back down the mountain.

Not knowing what else to say, I blurted out, “You’re forgetting your hatchet.”

“I’ll get it tomorrow. Probably have to come back up here and fix the shitty job you did with the branches.”

36

Melissa

My pulse was racing, and I felt weirdly numb after the fight. Like I had watched the argument as a third person, rather than being a participant. And the worst part? I had to follow Jack down the trail because he was my ride. I didn’t have my phone on me to call someone else.

He moved faster than I was able to; my ankle actually hurt a little more going downhill, so I was slower. I quickly lost sight of him on the winding trail. I imagined being abandoned up here, needing to beg someone in the parking lot for a ride back to my cabin. But when the forest ended and I reached the open views of the meadow, I saw Jack leaning up against his Jeep at the trailhead.

He took me home without either of us saying a word.

As soon as we were at camp, he hopped out of the Jeep and strode up to his office. In an emotionless voice I said, “I’ll be gone by tonight.”

“Good.”

He slammed the door to his office so hard that two cats leaped off the porch. I went into the Indigo Cabin, the place that had been my home for the last week but was now somewhere I clearly wasn’t welcome.

As soon as the door was closed behind me, I broke down and started crying. I considered it a small victory that I was able to wait until now. I didn’t want Jack to see my tears. He could go to hell for all I cared.

And the worst part about it was that I couldn’t stop thinking about what he said:I like you. You’re gorgeous. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.

It was like choking on a really nice piece of chocolate cake.

Because the frustrating truth about all of this was I felt the same way. There was something about Jack I’d immediately been attracted to when he rescued me on the trail. Yeah, we butted heads. Sure, we bickered. But all of that was a thin layer of disagreement over the spark of somethingreal. I was angry with myself because, deep down,I wanted him. Everything he said was music to my ears, confirmation that he really was attracted to me. It wasn’t just my imagination. We had a spark ofsomething.

Not that it mattered, now. Not after that fight.

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