Page 12 of Charming Mountain Man

He ignores it. “You found someone who lights you up. And you’re letting her go because you think you don’t measure up?”

“She’s younger. She’s got this bright future. I run a dusty shop in a town with more deer than people.”

“So what?” Sawyer straightens. “She doesn’t care about any of that. She cares aboutyou.And you’re too afraid to give her the chance.”

The words dig under my skin and settle in my gut. I sleep like shit that night. Wake up the next morning and still feel like the air’s too heavy.

By sunset, I can’t stand it anymore. I find her sitting on a bench near the festival square, the fading light catching the honey strands in her hair. Her smile falters when she sees me, but she doesn’t move. Doesn’t run. That’s something.

“Callie, can we talk?” My voice is hoarse.

“Yes.” Simple, steady. God, I missed her voice.

I sit beside her, knees bouncing with nerves. “I’m sorry. I was scared. Still am. I thought if I let you get close, I’d mess everything up. That I wasn’t enough for you.”

She turns to face me, eyes soft. “Garrett, youareenough. What we have? That’s real. I don’t want perfect. I wantyou.”

Something inside me cracks, wide and painful and full of relief. “Then I’m done running.”

I kiss her like a starving man, pulling her into me, letting everything I’ve held back pour out. She responds instantly, fingers threading into my hair, mouth hot and insistent.

“Come home with me,” I whisper against her lips.

She nods.

We barely make it inside the cabin before I’m backing her against the door, kissing her like I might never get the chance again. Her hands tug at my shirt, mine sliding up her thighs. She gasps when I lift her, wrapping her legs around my waist.

“You feel so good,” I groan, carrying her to the bedroom.

Clothes fall away like leaves in the wind. I take my time with her—hands tracing every dip, every freckle. She’s soft and warm and mine, her eyes locked on mine like I’m the only thing she sees.

“Garrett,” she moans as I settle between her thighs, teasing her until she’s squirming.

“I’ve got you,” I promise, and when I finally slide into her, we both let out matching groans.

It’s slow at first—deep, steady thrusts that have her gasping my name. But it doesn’t stay slow. Her nails dig into my back, her hips lifting to meet mine, our rhythm turning frantic and wild. I grip her thighs, change the angle, and she cries out, her body tightening around me.

“You’re mine,” I growl against her throat. “Say it.”

“I’m yours,” she pants, trembling under me.

Her release hits her hard, and I follow, spilling into her with a hoarse groan, her name on my lips.

We collapse together, bodies slick and tangled, hearts racing.

I press a kiss to her temple. “You sure about this?”

She looks up at me, eyes glassy with satisfaction and something deeper. “I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

I hold her tighter, and for the first time in a long damn time, I believe it might be okay to let myself want more.

Epilogue One

Callie

I never thought I’d be back in a tent, this time with a man who makes my heart race and my toes curl in equal measure. But here I am, wrapped in Garrett’s flannel, perched beside a crackling fire on the same ridge where we first kissed under the stars. The night is clear, sky glittering with constellations, and the air carries that sharp, woodsy chill that always makes me feel alive.

Only now, I’m not alone.

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