Page 6 of Grumpy Mountain Man

The person making the noise had to get up there somehow, and I was going to figure out how. I had no idea what I’d do once I arrived, but it was damn sure worth a try if it meant I could see the hot guy again.

I should go home and forget all about him. It was silly. Yeah, he was gorgeous, but that didn’t mean he’d be interested in me. He’d probably think I was some sort of psycho stalker.

But as I traipsed back to the ski lodge to ask the front desk for directions to the different access roads on the property, I knew why I was sticking around. The thought of going back to my boring life filled me with dread.

But if there was one good thing that had come out of this day, it was meeting that man. And I couldn’t go home without knowing what might have happened if I’d seen him again.

4

CHAZ

Avehicle was coming. I heard it between squeezes of the chainsaw throttle.

I bit my tongue to keep from uttering a profanity. It wouldn’t do any good. My boss had no doubt sent someone out to help me, and I couldn’t blame him, but the whole reason I volunteered for this particular task was that I liked to work alone.

Hoping if I ignored it, the vehicle would go away, I fired up the chainsaw again and started working. The noise drowned out all sound around me, insulating me from the world outside.

I was only fooling myself. I knew that. But it was my way of procrastinating.

A few minutes passed, and no one tapped me on the shoulder or stepped up to stand next to me. I stopped the chainsaw anyway and turned, curiosity getting the better of me. I had to know who had joined me.

Instead of my boss, Boone, or one of my crew members, I found myself staring at the woman from this morning—the frustrated baker. She stood in front of a black SUV, wearing the same coat and boots she’d had on that morning.

Now she wore sunglasses, though, and I was surprised at how disappointed I was over that. I wanted to see her eyes.

“Hi,” she said. “I was kicked out of the competition for sucking.”

I nearly choked in response. Of all the things I would’ve expected her to say, that would have been the last.

“How did you get up here?” I asked.

“The woman at the front desk gave me directions. She thought it was weird, but I explained to her I was looking for a guy I met this morning. She seemed to like that.”

I wasn’t sure what to make of that. Was it a matchmaker sort of thing? And why was this woman looking for me in the first place?

I didn’t want to get my hopes up that I’d made a good impression on her, but I had to admit, she’d been on my mind all day. I even thought about sneaking into the tent to see her again, and I had full plans to grab dinner at the restaurant in the ski lodge after work. Even the slight chance I might run into her had me thinking about rearranging my entire schedule for the next few days.

I picked up my water bottle and uncapped it as I walked toward her. I was probably sweaty from working so hard, so I didn’t want to get too close. Okay, so I wanted to get close, but I didn’t want to scare her away.

“I’m Chaz, by the way,” I said, extending my hand.

She stepped forward, sliding her smaller hand into my larger one. I forgot I was still wearing my thick work gloves, but she wore gloves too. Still, shaking hands did something to me.

“I’m Dakota,” she said, releasing my hand and slipping both hands into her coat pockets.

“Was it the cake from this morning?” I asked.

Guilt stabbed at me. Had I completely ruined this woman’s chance of achieving her dreams? Did she even want to be abaker? I wasn’t sure, based on our conversation. But if it had been my fault, I’d drive down there and tell the judges I was the one who screwed things up and they should give her another chance.

“No.” She shook her head. “I mean, they obviously weren’t impressed with my presentation, but I screwed up everything I did today. I guess they identified me as somebody who wasn’t competition material.”

“Their loss. I can tell just looking at you that you’re all that and more.”

She tilted her head slightly. “What about me tells you that?”

I winced. Had I just stuck my foot in my mouth? Probably.

“You seem like somebody who should be running your own business,” I said. “You have ambition. You’re going places. You just have to figure out how to get there.”

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