Page 15 of Wild Mountain Ma n

Ireally should have gotten more sleep last night.

That was at least the dozenth time I thought that as I took yet another sip from my coffee. And another. And another. There wasn’t enough caffeine in the world to erase the grogginess and get me focused on the competition.

Krebs snuck out of my room at around seven a.m. after telling me to call him if I got any free time today or tomorrow. If I didn’t have time to see him, I wouldn’t leave town until we figured out where this was going next.

But first I needed to make the top three of this competition. And looking down at the pie I made after our afternoon bake-off, I was feeling shaky about my odds.

The judges went from pie to pie, examining what we’d put together. Next, they’d grab a fork and taste each one. We’d been through this earlier in the day with cupcakes, and my banana cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese icing seemed to have been a hit. At least nobody made a strange face.

But instead of coming around, the judges grouped up at the front of the room, and I got a sinking feeling in my chest. I’d done a great job. At least, I thought so. But I was not a masterbaker like the other contestants. Candy was my specialty. Maybe I’d gotten in over my head.

“Dakota, can you step outside?” Victoria, the host of this competition, asked.

We were all standing, hands behind our backs, facing straight forward. But at that, everyone seemed to take a more casual stance. Heads turned as the beautiful brunette baking next to me walked around the table and headed toward the front of the tent. As she did so, I took a quick peek at her pie and had to force myself not to lean over for a closer look. Something looked off about it, and I couldn’t decide what. But whatever it was, it seemed to have put her on the wrong side of the judges because a couple of minutes later, Victoria came in and gathered Dakota’s things for her.

The mood after that changed considerably. We were all a little more tense. It reminded us that by the end of the day, only three of us would remain. The rest would be mere spectators, sitting in those chairs over to the left that were now empty.

After the pie came a themed cake challenge. I’d practiced this at home too. But there, I’d been able to pick my own ingredients. Here, I was left with flour, sugar, and the other cake-baking basics that we were all given, plus my choice from the few items that were left after we all scrambled to get the two best ingredients over at the front corner of the tent.

That meant I ended up with strawberries that I sliced up, as well as a handful of cashews. Those two items made little sense together, but I incorporated them into the cake as required.

“Okay, everyone,” Victoria announced once the judges had finished tasting. “We’ll be announcing the finalists in thirty minutes. Meanwhile, we have hot cocoa in the lobby of the lodge to help you relax while you wait.”

I filed out behind the group, once again feeling like the odd person out. I only had myself to blame. I’d shown up late andspent most of last night with Krebs. But I wouldn’t trade a second of that to fit in with one of these small groups of women now.

Besides, it was fixable. I’d go back to the lodge, grab a cup of hot cocoa, and make my way into the most interesting conversation I overheard.

Or maybe not. As soon as I stepped through the tent flap, I saw something in the distance that had my heart skipping a beat. It wasn’t so easy to spot from here, so no one else would probably notice it, but my gaze had automatically shifted to the parking lot—specifically to my car, which was parked on this side of the lot.

A man was on the ground next to my rear passenger tire. I’d know that man anywhere. That was my man—the man I was already falling for, as crazy as it sounded.

Krebs had come to fix my tire, as promised, and there was probably something on my phone about it. I was so stressed about the competition, I hadn’t even thought to pull my phone out of my back pocket until now.

But instead of doing that, I headed straight for him, which meant veering off from the track the rest of the group was taking. I didn’t even care if anyone noticed.

He stood just as I neared him, and I saw the spare was propped up against the rear passenger door. He’d changed the tire already.

“Hi,” I said.

He turned, startled. Just the sight of him comforted me. It washed away all the stress of the past six hours. It wasn’t just the competition. It was sitting at the big table at lunch and having nobody even acknowledge me. It all felt very high school. I knew nobody meant anything by it—they were all so excited to have met each other that they didn’t really notice the quiet person sitting on the end.

“I was thinking about sneaking over to see how you were doing,” he said. “Maybe peeking inside the tent or just listening outside. I don’t want to look like a stalker, though.”

“You fixed my tire,” I said, looking down at it, then back up at him.

I was standing just in front of him by then, and I had to cross my arms over my chest to keep from reaching out and giving him a big hug. Thankfully, I’d thrown my coat on before coming out here. Snow had started coming down earlier in the day, but by now, that was probably an everyday thing for Krebs.

“I promised,” he said. “Besides, I can’t leave you stranded. What if you decide you want to come see me?”

He flashed me a conspiratorial smile, and I couldn’t help but smile in return. I was surprised by how warm and cozy I felt just from seeing him. I felt like I’d been treading water in the middle of the ocean and someone had sent a lifeboat my way. Krebs was my lifeboat.

“We’re about to find out the final three,” I said. “I may need to drown my sorrows in a half hour or so.”

“I was thinking more about inviting you to celebrate with me,” he said. “Unless…well, I’m sure you have plans tonight.”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t have plans. I think I’m going to skip the dinner. I don’t need another night of everyone pretending I don’t exist.”

He flinched at those words, then tilted his head slightly. “Do I need to go have a talk with some people?”

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