Page 1 of Devotion By the Mountain Man

Chapter One

Rosie

It seems to drag on.

I’m in my classroom, finishing up some grading after another day of running the History Department at Whiskey Mountain High School. This job is everything I dreamed of after finishing up my master’s in world history last year, but man, it’s a lot of work.

I feel like I’m still in school, and I guess, in many ways, I am. The early hours, the late nights, the lesson planning, and ensuring the rest of the teachers are handling their courseloads is starting to get to me. I don’t have any time to focus onme.

I’m lost in these thoughts, chewing on the end of my green felt-tip pen that I use for grading, when Tessa, an English teacher here and my best friend in Whiskey Mountain, knocks on my door.

“Hey!” I light up when I see her. We don’t spend as much time together outside of school since she fell in love with her fiancé, Luke, last year, but we make sure to have lunch together a few times a week. She’s a great colleague, but an even better friend.

“Hi!” she replies, her green eyes lighting up. “It’s Friday, Ruby’s at a playdate, Luke is working late, and I think we should goget a drink.” I smile at her suggestion. Ruby is her eight-year-old sister who she has been responsible for since their parents passed away a few years ago. Tessa is the strongest person I know.

“That sounds great, let me just finish up a couple of things. Brewery?”

“Brewery,” Tessa affirms. “Meet you in the parking lot in five?”

“Perfect,” I say, and Tessa vanishes in the hallway.

I finish up my grading before grabbing my jacket and loading up my bag. I am outside a few minutes later and shocked to find that the temperature has turned near-summer like. It’s late May, we only have a few weeks left of school, and I can’t wait for summer break to get here.

I’m going to spend it getting my head back on straight and finally fixing up the small cottage I bought by the lake when I moved here. I don’t have much money, but my grandparents left me enough to buy the place and fix up what I can. I’m looking forward to the change of pace and the opportunity to really make it my home.

Tessa emerges from the side door, her golden waves blowing in the light breeze and a giant grin on her face. “Let’s get out of here!” she shouts as she approaches me.

She links her arm through mine and we begin the short walk to the brewery.

“How did the department meeting go?” Tessa asks me.

“Ugh. Okay. Steve is still being a dick, but nothing I can do about that, he has to learn to respect me.” Steve Lowman is another history teacher who thinks he should’ve gotten the open department head roll just because he has been at the school for years. Ever since I showed up, he’s been nothing but passive aggressive and condescending. I’ve been trying to let it roll off my shoulders, but it’s hard.

“Sorry, Ro, that sucks. Hopefully he’ll come around by the beginning of next year.”

“I hope so,” I reply. We fall into easy conversation about our boss and Tessa’s AP English class for the remainder of the walk. We open the door to see Whiskey Mountain Brewing absolutely bustling with the after school crowd, and I roll my eyes when I spot Steve sitting at the bar.

Great.

Ava and Luna, our two friends whose partner’s own this place, wave us over to where they’re seated on the corner of the bar, looking over some paperwork. They both fill-in here when they have downtime and it’s always nice to see them when we can.

I take a seat next to Tessa and Luna sweeps behind the bar and returns with ciders for us and a sparkling water for herself. We all begin chatting about our days, how we’ve been how Luna is feeling in her pregnancy, and how wedding planning is going for Ava and Tessa. It’s been a busy year for my three friends and I can’t help but get a pang of emptiness when I look at how rich and fulfilled their lives are.

I’ve never been in a relationship, never had time for one. But, now that I’m settled in my career and about to turn twenty-five,I am starting to feel like it’s time. There’s no one I’ve deemed worthy of my very limited time yet, but maybe I’m not putting in enough effort.

Just as I’m starting to get lost in my thoughts, I spot someone I’ve never seen behind the bar before. His black, curly hair is wild on top of his head, contrasting the neatly trimmed beard covering his face. He turns toward me, looking at me through brown eyes that swim with warmth and gives me a small smile before turning back to customers at the other end of the bar.

I turn back to the girls. “Who is that?” I ask them.

Ava and Luna share a glance that seems filled with knowing. “Wade,” Ava answers. “He’s my cousin. He used to spend a lot of time here when we were kids. He was having a hard time after finishing up with the Navy, so I suggested he move here so the guys could help him out.”

All of my friends partners’ were also in the military, and each of them has had to fight their demons since getting out. There’s a local group in town that has brought them all together and seems to really help them form a connection.

“Oh,” I say, somewhat stupidly, and the rest of the girls look to each other and giggle. I feel like I’m missing out on something, but don’t have time to ask before Steve approaches me. He’s in his early 30s and prematurely balding, but trying to hold on to every bit of hair he has with his sandy hair in a ridiculous comb over. He’s the last person I want to interact with right now.

“Hey, Ms. Department Head,” he slurs, placing his unwelcome arm on the back of the chair.

“Hi, Steve,” I say, cringing away from his touch.

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