Page 9 of Trouble for the Mountain Man

It’s obvious from the text messages that Kia and Hazel have talked and my sister is firmly on team Hazel. That’s fine. I’m on team Hazel too, that’s why I can’t see her stuck up here with me. Hazel deserves better. And once she goes back to the city we can all move on with our lives. Only things will never be the same for me. Whoever said it is better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all was an idiot.

I was perfectly happy with my little life before Hazel showed up to make me see the huge, gaping whole in my life. Now I know what I am missing and there is this ache in my heart, a feeling that something is missing from my home. Suddenly I’m thinking about how great it would be to be a husband, maybe even a father one day. Hazel would make a great mom. A great wife, a friend to laugh with, someone to talk to, share my life with.

But all of that only works if Hazel is happy and I just don’t think she could be happy stuck up here with me.

I set about my work, there is still the paper I am working on and I need to check on the plants. Though the green house is filled with that image of Hazel with her big grin and tomato juice dripping down her chin. But that’s nothing to the memory of her right here sitting on my desk butt naked.

The phone buzzes. Another message. I think about ignoring it. My sister means well but she doesn’t think things through like I do. With a sigh I grab the phone.

Hazel has matched with someone right here in town. Isn’t that great?

That damn website. I get up and start to pace, my heart is racing and I need to move to process this information. Hazel would have had to check the website to see a match. Maybe she doesn’t care about our time together? Maybe it didn’t mean to her what it meant to me.

But if she matched with someone in town then she could end up staying here. To see her around town, knowing how close I came to having her for myself.

No! God damnit. She is mine. She came here for me. She gave herself to me. Hell and high fire I’m not going to watch her parade around with someone else.

Chapter 9

Hazel

Aidan’s sister is everything I wish I could be. Happy, bubbly and confident. She is curvy, like me, but she seems to embarrass her figure, wearing clothes that show off her assets. She might be prying more than I would like but in the end it was good to talk to someone about my one night in the mountains.

One night. And it has changed everything. I know what I want now. And having had a taste of love, having been told that I am beautiful and deserving of a partner, now I am more determined than ever to go after what I want. Just as soon as my heart stops aching and the feeling of wanting to cry all the time goes away.

“I suppose I should be grateful to your brother. I feel different now. More confident, I guess.”

“I don’t think it was Aidan. It’s not like he has some magical cock that cured you of shyness.”

I laugh out loud. Some of the things Kia says are just outrageous.

“Hazel, I think you made the change. You are the one who quit your job. It was you who came up here to that great unknown. You decided you wanted some different from life longbefore you met Aidan. I think you were braver than you give yourself credit for. You just didn’t know it.”

I think about what Kia has said. She might be right, or it might be a bit of both. I smile to myself that it could have been half my own bravery and half Aidan’s magical cock.

It’s with that thought in mind that I go to open the knock at the door and find myself face to face with Aidan.

Sexy, makes my heart race and my body tingle, angry looking, Aidan.

He steps inside, his body so close to mine I can feel the heat radiating off him. My arms ache to go around him but I hold myself still.

“You willnotdate anybody else from that dating website. I forbid it.”

My mouth drops in shock. I glance at Kia who is hiding around the corner.

“Ahh, that might have been a little lie I told.” She grins at her brother. “But look, it got you down here. And what is Hazel meant to do if she is not allowed to date anybody else?”

Aidan looks at me and in his eyes I can see frustration, relief, and maybe a bit of fear.

“You should date me!”

Our gaze meets and everything in me wants to jump into his arms. But I’m not some naive little girl anymore. I’m not going back up that mountain only to be hurt again.

“You don’t want me. Or you just want some company and someone to clean up and organise your papers for you.”

“Oh Hazel, no! I wantyou. I don’t give a flying fuck about the state of my house. I want you for you. The only thing I care aboutis that you are happy. I think we should date. And since you currently don’t have anywhere to live, then I think you should live with me.”

“For how long?”

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