Page 5 of Claimed By the Mountain Man

I noticed then the blueprint sitting on the side of the table detailing his current project. I let out an audible gasp. “Is that a dinosaur bed?” I asked, full of childish glee.

“It is. It’s the boy’s first big-boy bed, and he has very specific ideas of what he wants. I would like to be able to give him his dream bed, so he can ‘sleep in a dinosaur’s belly’ when he gets it home.” He used air quotes around the dinosaur’s belly part so I’d know those were the boy’s words, not his. “So, as nice as it was of you to visit me, I really do need to work on this.”

I rolled my eyes good-naturedly and grinned at him. “Ok, I’ll go. But only because it’s for a child, and because a dinosaur bed is so freaking cool! But, I have one condition.”

“Of course you do. And what would that condition be, pray tell?” He looked so suspicious. Rightly so.

“You have to promise to come by the bar tonight. And you have to actually talk to me while you’re there.”

“That’s two conditions,” he said sternly.

“Take it or leave it. I’ve got all the time in the world to hang around here this afternoon,” I returned, leaning my hip against the table and crossing my arms over my chest to show him I meant business.

He glared at me for a second before finally resigning himself to his fate. “Fine, I’ll come by the bar tonight.”

“And talk to me while you’re there,” I reminded him.

“Yes,” he gritted out. If he ground his jaw any tighter, he was going to break a tooth.

In a sickeningly-sweet tone of voice, I said, “You promise?”

Losing his patience, he physically ushered me to the door and said, “I promise” right before shutting the workshop door in my face.Rude!I couldn’t help smiling, though, as I headed back toward the walking path, more excited than I’d been in a long while.

FIVE

GAGE

The clouds overhead had become increasingly darker, and the winds had picked up as I drove to The Local, just as I had promised Cooper I would. If I hadn’t made that promise, I definitely would have stayed home tonight. I should have checked the weather, but it had been clear when I left my house. I hated driving during thunderstorms, and I drove faster than I probably should have trying to beat the worst of it. I rushed through the bar door just as the heavens really opened up and a deluge of rain fell as lightning streaked across the sky. I met Cooper’s eyes just as a loud crack of thunder followed seconds later.Did he just flinch? Or are my eyes playing tricks on me?He definitely seemed a little off as he aimed a tremulous smile my way. From what I’d seen of the man so far, he didn’t do tremulous.

The bar was as empty as I’d ever seen it. Just a couple of men affectionately known as regulars sat at the bar, and there was one couple cozied up at a table. I headed over to my regular booth and sat down to wait for Cooper. A few minutes later, he sauntered over to me and leaned against the booth, giving methe most goddamned adorable lopsided smile I’d ever seen on a man.

“You showed,” he said, as if he were actually surprised I had come in.

“Well, yeah. I promised you I would. I don’t break my promises, not if I can help it.”Too many bad things happened when I did. Horrible, devastating things.The images came quickly to the front of my mind: twisted metal, bloodied windshield, hospital room with two sheet-covered bodies—one of them so very small. It took all my mental strength to wipe the gruesome images from my mind and focus on Cooper. Something must have shown on my face, though, because his smile dropped immediately, and he leaned in close to speak to me.

“Hey, you ok? You’ve gone white as a ghost,” he said, speaking softly to me so no one else could hear.

“Sorry. I’m fine, really. Storms just bring up bad memories for me, that’s all.” I gave him a small smile, but I was surprised to find that it was genuine. Despite the horrific memories and images that had just occupied my mind, I really was pleased to see Cooper.And didn’t that just scare the crap out of me?

An almost-imperceptible shudder swept through Cooper’s body—most wouldn’t have noticed it—then he gave me a sad smile. “Yeah, I’m not too fond of them, myself.”

It was clear neither of us were interested in discussing our reasons, so I barreled on as if that little soul-baring moment hadn’t happened.

“Can I get my usual, Cooper?”

“Sure can,” he replied, “just as soon as you tell me what it is.”

I looked at him skeptically. “You don’t know? You brought it to me last time. “

Cooper actually looked at little sheepish. “Yeah, you’re right. I did, but Pop actually poured it. He just handed it to me and told me to take it over to you. So, I don’t really know what the brand was. I could tell from the aroma that it was good stuff, but that’s about it.”

“Ah, I see. In that case, I’ll take a glass of Angel’s Envy, neat.”

“Well, my nose was right. That is definitely some of the good stuff. Coming right up.” He stood up quickly and headed to the bar to make my drink. And I thoroughly enjoyed watching his ass bounce as he jogged over to the bar. He was back in no time with my drink. And this time, he sat right down across from me in the booth, surprising me with his boldness.

“Don’t you have other customers to take care of?” I asked incredulously.

“Not right now. They’re all taken care of. Plus, they can see where I am. And I’m sure they won’t be shy about letting me know if they need something. Right now, I’m much more interested in talking to you.” He leaned in like I was about to impart some sort of ancient wisdom to him.

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