Page 5 of Praised By the Mountain Man

I’m in the kitchen, tossing some frozen garlic bread in the oven and wondering how my day turned out this way. This morning was like any other Friday at school, busy, but in a way where you knew there was relief at the end of the day. I had lunch with one of the new history teachers, Rosie, who is quickly becoming a fast friend. She just moved here after finishing up her master’s in world history and found the position at Whiskey Mountain, where she would head the history department, to be most compelling out of all of her offers. I love picking her brain about the world and she just gives the best advice.

I wonder what she would say about inviting a man I barely know into my house for dinner with me and my little sister, who I am totally and completely responsible.

I laugh, because she would probably tell me to live a little—she’s like me, always too caught up in other stuff to pursue a relationship. But I think that might be changing for both of us.

As I’m mixing the sauce into the spaghetti, I can’t help but overhear Ruby and Luke talking in the other room. He’s asking her what she likes most about doing big puzzles like this.

“I like to see the pictures come together, and it helps keep my brain busy,” she says to him. I melt at that, that she knows that about herself. But I’m also overwhelmed with how much she has been through in her short little life.

“I get that,” Luke says, his deep voice running through my veins. “I like to keep my mind busy too.”

Then they go back to chatting about whether they think unicorns and fairies are real (they both do). I don’t know much about Luke, other than that he does deliveries for the brewery and that he was in the Marines. Other than that, he’s a blank page to me. And maybe that’s okay. I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve been spending with him today, and I’m not sure I’m ready for it to end after this dinner.

The timer goes off on the oven and I hear heavy footsteps entering the kitchen.

“Can I do anything now?” Luke asks, that smirk on his face yet again.

“Yeah, can you grab some plates, from the cabinet next to the microwave?”

“Of course.”

He grabs three of my mother’s blue porcelain plates—the same color as his eyes, I realize, looking at them now.

Nice one, Mom.

He takes it upon himself to search for silverware before bringing all the dishes to the table and setting them out like we’re in a restaurant.

“Worked in a restaurant before I joined the Marines. The training never really leaves you,” he says when he sees me gawking at his display.

I laugh. “Thank you,” I say quietly. It’s nice to have someone help around here, it’s been so long.

We sit down to dinner and Ruby chatters back and forth to both of us. Luke and I share fleeting glances over dinner, and I feel what I think is butterflies in my stomach for the first time in my life.

After we finish eating, I tell Ruby to head upstairs so we can do shower and bedtime. She tells Luke she had fun puzzling with him and hopes they can do it again. He tells her he would love to, and my heart melts a little more.

“You can hang down here, I should be done with her in half an hour or so,” I say, and then I wonder if that may have been too forward.

“I’ll wait right here,” he says, taking a seat on the couch. “I can’t wait to spend more time with you.” The smirk is back again, and I can’t help but let out a nervous giggle before turning and heading upstairs.

I get Ruby ready for bed in record time and tell her she can stay up reading as long as she likes, as long as she stays in her room. She looks positively giddy at that as she grabs a pile of books off her shelf. I know she’ll pass out in about an hour, but the bit of freedom makes her happy and I love seeing her smile. I pressa kiss on her forehead as she snuggles up in her bed with her reading light ready to go.

“Love you, Rubes,” I say as I head out the door.

“Love you, too, Tessy,” she says, blowing me a kiss. She’s really the greatest kid I could have asked for, and despite everything that’s happened, I am glad I’m able to raise her, spend every day with her. As tiring as it is, as much as I’ve had to give up, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I head back downstairs and find Luke right where I left him, attentively reading something on his phone. He looks up and smiles as soon as he hears me crossing the room and pats the seat beside him. Despite my nerves, I settle beside him.

“What were you reading?” I ask as he loops his arm around me, and I snuggle into his side. This feels so natural, so right.

“I keep an e-book app on my phone, I always have a few books going at a time, keeps my mind busy,” he says, repeating Ruby’s words from earlier and I can’t help but smile at that, glad she’s already had an impact on him.

“Tell me more about your time in the Marines,” I say. He takes a deep breath before launching into his time with the military. He tells me he joined right out of high school and was deployed on countless classified missions around the world before he finished up two years ago.

“I could have gone out a few more times,” he says, eyes searing into mine, “but I felt like I was losing more and more of myself every time I was gone. I wanted to start my real life, get settled somewhere, be able to move on.”

I nod at that. “I get it,” I say, and he smiles down at me. “How has it been, raising Ruby on your own?” he asks me.

“It’s been hard, but great. We were both messes for a long time after our parents died, but now it feels like we’re starting to emerge from the darkness. I finished my degree online last year and since I got the job at the school, and have a more set schedule, it gives us a great routine. We both miss them every day, but we’re always sure to talk about it, about them, and I think that helps a lot,” I’m nearly out of breath as I finish talking. This is the most I’ve ever spoken to anyone about what happened pretty much ever. Ava and Luna are great, but I don’t want them to feel burdened by what I’ve been through, even though they’ve never made me feel that way.

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