Page 9 of Forever with the Mountain Man

A man who would do anything to make you happy

Sorry, but you don’t know me well enough to make statements like that

True. Give me a chance to get to know you better?

It says here you were a linebacker for the Hollister Bobcats. So, you still live in the town you grew up in?

Yes

Well, good luck with the priest tomorrow

Bixintxo Garaile Indar Amestoy

A new emoji, please

That’s my name btw

Does it have a meaning?

Something like Fierce

Noted. I’ll stick with your nickname in that case.

One last thing. I’m not all that religious or anything. But why not wait until you have something really juicy to confess before visiting your priest?

I start to type a lengthy response about how it doesn’t quite work that way. But then I stop, realizing I’m putting way too much work into this. And I’m also coming across as boring as hell.

FIERCE

When?

FELICITY

When what?

When are we meeting in person?

We should defiantly hang out

Defiantly? Not sure about that

Dammit! My dyslexia strikes again. I meant definitely. This is far from the first time I’ve made that mistake. Just ask any of my brothers…

And as quickly as the last message hits my cellphone, the green dot by her profile disappears. I read through the conversation again slowly, laughing at the funny parts and rubbing my hand over my chest at the end.

I’ll stick with your nickname in that case.

Future tense.

Between that and the winking emoji, I’m pretty damn sure I’ll hear from Felicity again. Despite the monumental fuck up…or maybe because of it. One thing’s for sure. She won’t forget me so easily after this conversation.

Chapter Two

FELICITY

TWO MONTHS LATER

“Salut, ma luciole,” Fierce’s deep voice rumbles with its ever so slight French accent, his rugged face beaming on the screen of my phone. Fierce started calling me “ma luciole” or “my firefly” a couple of weeks ago, explaining it’s because thoughts of me constantly fly into his head, lighting his world and setting his soul on fire. Who knew a reclusive sheepherder could be so poetic?

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