Page 2 of Grumpy Mountain Man

2

CHAZ

There. The tree was down. Now maybe my boss would get off my case about it.

I sighed and settled the chainsaw near my feet. Then I picked up my cup of coffee and admired my work. All that remained was chopping up the trunk for firewood.

“What the hell?”

A female voice pierced the silent early morning air, threatening to give me a heart attack. No one was supposed to be out here at this hour.

I turned, and my eyes widened at what I saw. A woman with the darkest hair I’d ever seen was walking my way. Maybe it looked darker in contrast to her fair skin and the snow that surrounded us. Whatever the case, I couldn’t take my eyes off her, especially when I saw her eyes. They were blazing with fury, but they were a light shade of blue. She had the kind of beauty that made it tough to look away.

“You just killed my cake,” she said.

I looked around, trying to make sense of her words. A gigantic tent stood behind her, but we were close enough to thelodge that I assumed it was for some special event they were having later in the day. Not at six-something in the morning.

A cake? Who would be baking a cake in a tent at six in the morning? And baking a cake in a tent at the bottom of a ski slope, no less.

“I’m sorry?” I asked.

Those gorgeous eyes flickered again at the question in my voice. I couldn’t help but notice her gaze quickly scanned the length of me, then came back up to my face.

She took a deep breath and stared at me a long moment. I’d been told I had that kind of power over women. And yeah, I’d noticed groups of female tourists staring at me when I walked into Miss Rosie’s Diner or the bar and grill inside this very lodge. I just had no interest in taking up with tourists who’d be gone in a few days. I wanted a forever kind of woman.

A woman like the one standing in front of me.

But heck, she was baking a cake in a tent on a ski slope. My money was on her being a tourist, especially since I hadn’t seen her around town, and I’d spent a lot of time here, even though I lived in the next town over.

“We’re having a baking competition on this property this week,” she said. “I guess you haven’t heard.”

“Baking competition?” I asked, still trying to piece it all together. It didn’t make much sense. “You’re baking on a ski slope at six in the morning?”

“It’s after seven,” she said. “And there’s a big tent right there.”

She pointed to it. Like I could have missed it.

I shook my head. “I don’t know who put that tent there, but this is a construction zone. We’re going to be clearing trees away all week.”

Her expression changed, and she’d hardly been smiling before. But now she went to a full-on frown.

“There are ovens inside that tent.” She looked back over her shoulder. “They can’t exactly move it now. Did nobody discuss this with the lodge?”

She was talking about a lot of stuff I knew nothing about. That was all above my pay grade.

“I can’t say.” I shrugged and looked off toward the ski lodge as I took a long sip of my coffee. “Our crew’s small and we’re just getting started. We missed this tree when we were working here last week, and I was sent back to take it down. That’s all I know for now.”

“Doesn’t your crew talk to the ski lodge about this stuff?” I asked.

Again, something I would have no idea about. “I would assume.” I shrugged. “But if your competition’s starting at this hour?—”

“It’s not,” she interrupted. “I messed up.”

She stepped back then, throwing her head down in defeat. As much as I wanted to get her back inside that tent so I could continue my work, something about this woman was impossible to resist.

And now she was upset. All I wanted to do was fix it for her.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” I said, hoping it didn’t sound like I was dismissing her concerns.

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