Page 3 of Cursed Mountain Man

“Yeah, I like my neighbors. I wouldn’t want to do that to them.”

I’d heard stories from buddies who had rental property next door. Even in the same neighborhood it could be a problem. It wasn’t even the loud parties at all hours. It was the steady stream of different people coming and going, parking on the street and blocking two-way traffic. People not cleaning up after their pets—that sort of thing.

“There will also be closing costs and fees, and those are much higher if you’re getting a mortgage,” she said.

She shoved her phone back into her purse, crossed her arms over her chest, and began walking around. She was taking in her surroundings as she went. She hadn’t even checked out the main bedroom or bathroom yet. Maybe she felt like that was an invasion of privacy.

“To be honest with you, you’re better off staying here,” she said.

I stared at her. What was it about this woman? I wanted to be stern, to insist I was getting out of here no matter what. She didn’t have to be the agent to help me. Real estate agents were a dime a dozen in this town these days.

But I couldn’t be stern with her. I couldn’t do anything but stare. I had to fight the urge to keep her around longer.

“This place doesn’t feel like a home,” I said. “It’s like creepy strangers are living here.”

She tilted her head slightly. She thought I was cuckoo. It was something I couldn’t explain. I didn’t feel it right now. That was the weird thing. Standing here with her, the place felt normal.

“Are you saying it’s haunted?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No.”

“It’s just dark energy. My sister’s into that stuff. She lives in South Carolina with her husband. They’re kind of hippie-ish. In fact, I bet she’d have some great advice. We could sage the place.”

My expression changed then. I felt my jaw drop. My eyebrows shot up—even though I hadn’t consciously made that happen. Maybe the weird energy was responsible for that too.

I almost laughed at that thought. “I don’t even know what ‘sage the place’ means.”

“You don’t have to. I’ll drive over to Adairsville, get some supplies, and come over tonight and help.”

“Great.” I nodded. “I’ll order a pizza and have some beers ready. Or whatever you’d like to drink. I need a little alcohol to get through this.”

She smiled. “I don’t normally drink with a client. But I guess you technically aren’t my client, since you’re hoping not to sell. You’re going to be my client, whether you sell today or five years from now, though, so no alcohol.”

I didn’t want to be her client, but I definitely wanted her in my life five years from now. And that alarmed me. I wasn’t a fan of long-term commitments, and I’d only met a few women in my life who’d even made me consider it. But for some reason, with the woman who’d introduced herself as Violet, I had a feeling this urge wasn’t going away. I had to see if what I was feeling for her could go anywhere.

What scared me most of all was that normally, this kind of thing would freak me out. But with her, I felt like everything was going to be okay.

This was a piece that had been missing from my life for a long time. And I definitely didn’t want to lose it now that I’d found it.

3

VIOLET

Josiah’s house looked spooky at night. Maybe it was psychological. He’d mentioned the place was creepy, but I hadn’t gotten that feeling at all when I visited in broad daylight. It had been no different than the dozens of other cabins I’d wandered in and out of during my three years as a real estate agent.

I got out of my SUV and stared at the cabin. I couldn’t explain it. It was a log cabin, so of course the exterior was dark, but the glow coming from the windows seemed almost ominous.

The bag full of stuff I’d brought—following a list my sister sent me—probably wouldn’t help at all. I’d had to drive a good thirty minutes to get to a store that carried it, so that would be a waste. But Josiah was worth it.

I had to bite back a smile as I walked up his driveway and navigated the sidewalk to the front porch. The guy was hot. There was no denying it. But it wasn’t just that. The way he looked at me made me all melty inside. Nobody had ever looked at me like that. I didn’t even know if he was interested, but that was how I pictured a man would look at me if he was into me.

I had a crush. For the first time in a while, I was genuinely interested in a guy. My heart beat a little faster, there was an extra oomph in my step, and the world seemed just a little brighter knowing he was in it.

I looked around the porch as I stepped up to the door and lifted my hand to knock. He didn’t even have a chair out front. Not a bench, not a plant—nothing that made this look like home. Maybe that was part of why it felt so dark.

I knocked three times, noting he also didn’t have a doorbell, and stepped back to wait. He’d said he was ordering pizza and that he’d have drinks on hand. I’d deliberately requested something non-alcoholic. It wasn’t professional to drink with a client, even if it wasn’t likely we’d end up working together anytime soon. But I’d never turn down a good meal.

I gasped when the door swung open. I was so pumped up, even the slightest sudden movement had me jumping. But I took deep breaths to at least look calm.

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