Page 8 of The Mountain Man's Valentine Baby

I swallow hard, feeling guilty that I’m not more grateful for it. “I already got my miracle.”

She passes another board when I gesture for it. “What are you talking about?”

“In the hospital, when I was young, one of the nurses told me every person gets one miracle in their life.” I pat my leg, knowing that I survived when others in the ward didn’t. “I got mine.”

The look she gives me is a mixture of compassion and sorrow. “Oh, sweet boy. There’s not a limit on miracles. You’re given them every day.”

I frown and ask, “It’s that simple?”

She nods. “Yes, but it’s up to you to recognize a miracle crossed your path and appreciate it.”

For the first time in five weeks, it feels like the sun is shining. Maybe it’s that simple. Maybe I leave behind everything and show up in Nashville. It’s not much of a plan, but at least, I’ll be in the same city as Thea. That’s a start. “I think I’m moving this month. I have a miracle to appreciate.”

She grins. “Good. Finish my bookshelves first.”

The next two hours with Ma pass easily despite the convoluted assembly instructions. When the bookshelves are finally in place and she’s beaming at me, I leave for my cabin.

I feel lighter than I have in months. I’m almost whistling as I head to my truck. But something stops me. There’s a shadow in the grove of trees in the corner of Ma’s front yard. It takes my brain a few seconds to register it’s a person. A grown man.

Oh, hell no.I stomp toward the figure, booming out authoritatively, “Who the fuck are you? And what are you doing here?”

The man in a faded flannel shirt steps forward. He keeps his head ducked, not meeting my eyes. But I recognize him. “Whiskey, where have you been?”

He’s one of hers, Emma May’s foster boys. I didn’t know him very well. I only met him a few times before he shipped out with the military. He was medically discharged a few years ago, and no one has heard from him since. Ma still prays for him every day. She says he’ll come home one day. Looks like that day is today.

“Around,” he finally answers, still not meeting my gaze.

Then it makes sense. The sidewalks that are salted and the gutters that are cleaned. He’s been watching over Ma from a distance. “She’d want to see you. She’d be happy too. I can walk in with you—"

He shakes his head. “Don’t tell her you saw me around. It’d break her heart.”

Then, before I can answer, he’s fading into the grove of trees, disappearing deep into the forest. I’m torn between telling Ma and letting Whiskey go. He must have been through hell on earth and if he’s not ready to face all of his demons yet, then it doesn’t seem like it’s my place to make him.

One week later, the phone call comes in as I’m boxing up more art supplies in my sketching room. I got the apartment rental I applied for. It seems a place came available in Thea’s building, as if someone up there is confirming Ma’s idea that I should move to Nashville. I’ve already paid the deposit.

I’ll be in Music City at the end of the month. I still don’t know what I’ll say to her or how I’ll convince her to be mine. But I have a diamond the size of my fist, and I’m a patient man. Even if I have to sit outside of her apartment for the rest of my life, I’ll convince her to be my wife.

Maybe by this time next year, I’ll be happily married to my dream girl. A fellow can’t ask for more than that.

My doorbell rings as I finish taping the last box. I’ve left out the sketchbooks of Thea I’ll pack last. Yeah, I spent the last six weeks sketching her. She’s my new muse.

The doorbell chimes again, and I grunt. There’s no one coming to see me. There are a few other mountain men that live around the area. Since I saw Whiskey, I quietly asked around. I’m beginning to suspect he’s living in the mountains of Courage County.

Stomping up to my door, I swing it open. I draw in a breath, prepared to tell off whoever had the audacity to interrupt something as important as packing to go see my soulmate.

But my breath leaves my lungs in a whoosh. Standing on my front porch is Thea Madison, my dream woman.

Chapter6

Thea

Ido another deep breathing exercise as soon as Jasper’s cabin comes into view. It’s Friday, and Valentine’s Day is this weekend. I took the day off from work so I could drive up here.

Everyone at my office probably thinks I have a sexy date for the most romantic week of the year. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m going to deliver a message to the world’s hottest mountain man. A mountain man that knows every inch of my body and says the filthiest things to me while he’s coming deep inside my pussy.

Gathering my courage, I force myself to walk up Jasper’s porch. My legs shake, and memories of last time I showed up on someone’s porch unannounced replay in my mind. I force the bad memories back. That doesn’t matter now.

All that matters is that I give Jasper the message. After that, what he does with the information is up to him.

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