Page 3 of Paired with the Mountain Man

My worst fear was confirmed.

I was totally fucked.

CHAPTER TWO

Forrest

I lookedat her profile for the thousandth time, the bio drawing me in more than the picture.ApplesNotSweetwas the username, and her profile said she lived in Apple Falls. How had I not seen her around this small town before?

Probably because I barely left the orchard I ran with my best friend and business partner, Jack, but still. Apple Falls was a small town for a reason. Though it seemed to be growing more and more lately.

Tossing my phone down in exasperation, I finished my coffee and started cleaning up from my breakfast. I had a long day ahead of me in the orchard, as we headed into our busy apple harvesting season and the last thing, I needed was a damn distraction.

“You’re a distraction enough aren’t you, girl?” I patted my golden retriever, Bailey, and rubbed behind her ears, one of her favorite spots. She licked my hand, her slobbery wet tongue drenching me with salvia. “Good thing you’re adorable.” I said as I walked my dishes over to the sink. I lived in a big cabin,just Bailey and I, on the other side of the orchard from where Jack lived. He took over his parents’ place after they left to travel the world, their big farmhouse situated at the opening of the orchard. Adalynn stayed put in the farmhouse too, as it was easier to manage the orchard when we were all close together.

I loaded the dishwasher and wiped down the sink and counter before giving Bailey a treat. It had been two days since I went on the stupid match making website Jack told me about. Apparently, he overheard some older women gossiping at the post office about it.

Curiosity got the best of me after a couple of days, and I found myself making a profile. Maybe it was for shits and giggles and maybe it wasn’t. All I knew was that it was about damn time I got over my crush on my best friend’s little sister, Adalynn. Jack would ring my neck if he ever found out about how Ireallyfelt for his sister.

Her beautiful image popped into my head, her wavy blonde hair spilling down her back and her brown eyes so easy to get lost in. Her small nose ring added to her beauty along with a few scattered tattoos. I loved how she wasn’t afraid to express herself in both her style and personality. And her shoe collection was hard to even fathom, one of her closets dedicated to shoes and only shoes. I’d often find her curled up in a chair, her nose buried in a book, or binging the latest true crime documentary onNetflix. But most of her time was spent writing her latest marketing piece on the orchard, though I knew she longed to write more.

I’ve found myself gravitating towards her since we were young and growing up together only made my feelings stronger. Keeping it from Jack was even harder.

The fantasies I kept having of Adalynn, the moments I replayed in my head of any sort of interaction between us were on a constant loop. Such as the one time our skin happened totouch and my whole body lit up from within, or when I got so close to kissing her, our lips were mere inches apart. It was like a merry go round I couldn’t get off.

All of it needed to be purged from my mind.

Adalynn would never be mine no matter how much I wanted her to be. And there was no changing it.

So, I took a gamble, went on the website, and made a profile. Maybe it’d get my mind off Adalynn. Maybe finding another girl was the distraction I needed. At least these thoughts made me feel better about making a profile.

Right away, I matched withApplesNotSweetyet here we were two days later and not a single reply. Why make a profile if you’re not going to be active on it?

Like I said, stupid website.

I stumbledinto my cabin later that night, exhausted and weary from the day. Jack and I busted our ass, tending to every tree like it was our child. You had to nurture well if you wanted to get the goods.

Yet, it came with a cost. Pure exhaustion. Every part of me ached and all I wanted was to soak in the hot tub and have a few cold beers.

First, I needed to walk Bailey and feed her. As I took care of my doggie duties, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I ignored it until it buzzed two more times.

I fished it out of my pocket and saw a notification for the Mountain Mates website-2 new messages- click to read them now!

A ping of excitement zipped through me, and I quickly swiped open the notification.

ApplesNotSweet has sent you two messages. Click to open.

I double tapped the screen, and a chat box opened.

ApplesNotSweet: Hi AppleMtnMan43, how are you today? I’m glad it’s over lol

ApplesNotSweet: Sorry it took me a bit to respond, my phone was a bit wonky the past couple of days, hope to hear from you soon!

I quickly tapped out a response.

AppleMtnMan43: Hey you! I’m doing okay, tired, sore, yuck, but it’s a lot of hard work keeping this figure, ha

ApplesNotSweet: And a nice figure it is

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