Page 16 of Tormented Mountain Man

She wanted every detail. But it hurt to relive it.

“Incredible,” I said. “I think I’m in love.”

The words were out of my mouth before I even realized I was going to say them. Rachel’s expression softened, and her eyebrows rose.

“Wait,” she said. “You’re in love, and you came back here?”

“I came back here for your birthday. And this is where I live.”

I felt a little sick even saying it. Just twenty-four hours ago, I’d been perfectly fine with my life. In fact, I would have said I was happy. But suddenly, it all seemed meaningless. None of it mattered without Hunter in my life.

“If you’re in love, you can’t stay here,” Rachel said.

I stared at her for the longest time, unblinking. “What exactly are you saying? I can’t just leave my job—and you—because I met a guy.”

“No, but you can move back to the town where you grew up. You can date him, get married, have kids, and find work. Hell, become a real estate agent or a city planner. Work remotely for another company. Your boss might even work with you.”

“My boss won’t let me do that,” I said.

He was very against remote work. And I couldn’t exactly afford to just not have income. But it wasn’t like I was moving to a strange city. I knew people in Seduction Summit. I could rent a vacation cabin, maybe even take over for Mallorie, who’d been staying in cabins in a sort of “staging” situation. If not, Mallorie knew people and could hook me up with a temporary place to stay. I could make it work.

“You’re right,” I said. “I belong in Seduction Summit. You should come too. There are tons of employment opportunities in that town. At least come visit. I promise you’ll fall in love with it.”

She smiled. “I may take you up on that. I could use a weekend in the mountains. And it’s only what, a few hours from here?”

“Six,” I said.

I should know. I’d made that drive twice in as many days.

Rachel was the best thing about Nashville. And if I could get her to Seduction Summit, my hometown would be even better.

“I’m going to have to quit my job,” I said, thinking it through as I spoke. “And find someone else to take over my share of the rent.”

Rachel shook her head. “Don’t worry about that. I’ve got it.”

Yeah, money wasn’t an issue for Rachel. Her parents were from Nashville and wealthy as heck. But she wasn’t, and she’d insisted on paying her own way at our East Nashville rental home. Still, she had a decent cushion to fall back on if she was out of work for a few weeks.

Yes, I just might be able to talk her into moving. Maybe she’d visit and fall in love with a hot mountain man. If I could do it in twenty-four hours, she could do it in a weekend.

I sat back in my seat, a big smile on my face. My future was right in front of me. I just had to go get it.

10

HUNTER

Work sucked, but the end of the workday sucked even harder.

As I drove down the mountain toward my cabin, I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do. Sometimes, I’d stop by the lodge and have a beer and some wings before heading home. Every now and then, I’d go farther down the mountain and grab a to-go burger from the diner. But most of the time, I just went home and sat in front of the TV with a plate of warmed-up leftovers or a heated-up frozen dinner.

None of it sounded good. Nothing was right. My heart was in Nashville, and not because I wanted to live somewhere besides Seduction Summit. My heart was with Joely. I wanted to be wherever she was.

The pit of dread in my stomach suddenly flip-flopped as I neared my cabin. At one time, it had been more isolated. Now it was packed in with other cabins. That was how Seduction Summit was becoming—cabins on every spare inch of land a developer could buy. We couldn’t clear away the trees fast enough for them.

But right now, my attention was on the white sedan in my driveway. It was a completely unfamiliar car. In all my years here, I’d never once seen a white sedan in my driveway. Or any car that I could think of.

It wasn’t Joely. It couldn’t be Joely. I shouldn’t get my hopes up.

But as I pulled into the driveway, I saw a distinctly female figure in the driver’s seat. I stopped behind the car, my heart threatening to hammer out of my chest as I cut the engine.

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