Page 4 of Praised By the Mountain Man

This feels like a conversation we’ve already had. “Just get in blondie,” I say.

She opens the door and ushers her sister into the middle of the bench style seat.

“Hi! Are you Tessa’s friend?” the girl asks as she slides in.

“I hope so,” I say, looking over to Tessa who has nothing but a blush on her face. “My name is Luke,” I tell the girl.

“I’m Ruby. I’m seven, how old are you?” she asks me.

Tessa, now fully seated and buckling Ruby in, looks to her sister. “Rubes, it’s not polite to ask people how old they are as soon as you meet them.”

“It’s okay, I don’t mind,” I say, meeting Tessa’s eyes, finally. She gives me a soft smile and I can’t help but return it. “I’m twenty-eight,” I tell Ruby.

“Woah. That’s a big number. Not even Tessy’s twenty-eight.”

“How old is Tessy?” I ask, not trying to be impolite, but also wondering how old this woman who has already been through so much, overcome so much could be.

“I’m twenty-three,” Tessa says, looking back to me. Not a massive age gap, but enough that it could make her nervous, which is something I absolutely do not want. I just return my stare, hoping my eyes convey that I have no issue with her age, and she shouldn’t have an issue with mine.

Without another word, I restart the truck and start heading in the direction of their house.

“Wait,” Tessa says after a minute of me driving in the right direction. “How do you know where we live?”

“Ava mentioned it was where she used to live, and I knew the house because I always drove by it, admiring how perfect it was,” I say. It’s the truth. I leave out seeing her and Ruby playing through the window, how perfect I’ve thought she looked every time I’ve seen her. I don’t want to freak her out, but I also want her to know that my interest in her is real.

The rest of the short drive is filled with Ruby asking me a seemingly random series of questions: what’s my favorite color? Green. She asks me if it’s like the green of her and Tessa’s eyes and I say it is exactly that color, which earns another blush from Tessa. Ruby tells me her favorite color is purple, and when Tessais asked, she mumbles “blue,” which I can’t help but notice is also the color of my eyes.

Ruby, oblivious to the budding tension between her big sister and I, keeps chatting away, asking me my favorite animal, my favorite season, all the little, innocuous things you need to know to get to know someone. I’m glad she’s here, she’s a spunky kid and her total lack of self-consciousness is helping me get to know Tessa better, and hopefully vice versa.

We pull up to the gorgeous cape-style house, one that should look out of place in this little mountain town, but somehow fits right in. I quickly unbuckle and hop out of the truck, rounding the front to get to the other door.

I open it and grab Tessa’s hand to help her out. I can’t help but feel a spark at the touch when our hands meet, and from the look on her face, I know she feels it too. Ruby slides over and I don’t hesitate to lift her out of the truck, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

She giggles when I twirl her around before setting her down next to Tessa, who has a glowing smile on her face from the sound of her sister’s laughter. Our eyes meet again.

“Do you want to stay for dinner?” she asks me, and I have to say I’m surprised by the invitation, I felt like I botched this whole thing by bringing up her parents.

I don’t hesitate for a second. “I would love to.”

If she’s surprised by my instant acceptance, she doesn’t show it. “Great,” she says lightly.

She grabs Ruby’s bag off the ground beside her and heads to the door, I follow behind while Ruby keeps chatting my ear off about a puzzle she’s working on.

“We can do it together while Tessy is making dinner,” Ruby says as we walk in. To the right is a spacious living room, filled with dark leather couches and interesting artwork. I can tell the vibe is not totally Tessa’s, but it also fits her perfectly, like it was curated with her in mind. To the left, I see a small dining nook and a kitchen filled with marble countertops and updated appliances. It’s just as beautiful inside as it is outside. I love it here.

“Let’s see if Tessy needs any help with dinner first,” I tell Ruby and I turn to “Tessy” who has a smirk on her face at my use of her sister’s nickname.

“I’m all good, you two can puzzle away. We’re having spaghetti and meatballs, nothing fancy, if that works for you?” she asks me.

“Perfect,” I say, and really anything would have been.

I would stay if we were having dog food for dinner, just to spend more time with this beautiful golden-haired woman.

She turns and heads into the kitchen while Ruby grabs my hand and leads me to the coffee table with her fairyland puzzle on it. As I sit on the floor and start puzzling away as the smells of sauteing garlic and onions fill the house, I can’t help but think there’s nowhere I’d rather be.

Chapter Three

Tessa

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