Page 18 of Found By the Mountain Man
As we round the house to the backyard, Ruby trotting ahead, I get my first glimpse of the McKenna clan in full force. They're gathered around picnic tables and a massive grill, all tall, dark-haired, and ridiculously good-looking in that rugged mountain man way.
And they all stop talking the moment they spot us.
"Well, I'll be damned," says one, rising from his seat with a wide grin. "The hermit emerges, and with company."
"Shut up, Boone," Caleb mutters, but there's no real heat in it.
A man who can only be Sawyer—slightly older, with an air of authority—approaches, hand extended to me. "Sawyer McKenna. Welcome to Grizzly Ridge."
"Lila Monroe," I reply, shaking his hand. "Thanks for having me."
"Any friend of Caleb's is welcome here." His eyes flick between us, assessing. "Though you're the first friend he's brought around in... well, ever."
"I found her lost in the woods," Caleb interjects, clearly uncomfortable with the attention. "Sprained ankle. Been staying at my cabin until the roads cleared."
This statement causes a ripple of interest through the gathered family. A younger man with a little girl perched on his shoulders—Luke, I assume—grins widely.
"So you're the reason he finally answered his radio," he says. "We were about to send a search party."
"I answer when it's important," Caleb grumbles.
"Apparently you needed someone stranded on your doorstep to qualify as important," says another—Elias, if I'm keeping them straight.
I feel Caleb tense beside me, ready to retreat from the good-natured ribbing. Without thinking, I place my hand on his arm, a silent show of support.
"I'm lucky he found me," I say, looking directly at his cousins. "Not everyone would take in a stranger, especially one as directionally challenged as I was."
Something shifts in their expressions—a subtle reassessment, a new respect.
"Come get a drink," Sawyer says, gesturing toward a cooler. "Food's almost ready."
As Caleb gets pulled into conversation with one cousin, another man approaches me—tall like the others but with a sharper edge. Cade, I'm guessing, the loner.
"So you survived my cousin's cabin," he says, handing me a beer. "No small feat."
"It was actually nice," I reply honestly. "Peaceful."
He studies me with eyes so similar to Caleb's it's unsettling. "Heard you're from New York."
"Born and raised. Though it feels different going back this time."
"Because of the ankle?"
"Because of other things." I look across the yard where Caleb is now crouched beside Luke's daughter, listening seriously towhatever she's telling him. "Sometimes you don't know what you're looking for until you find it."
Cade follows my gaze, something knowing in his expression. "He's a good man. Better than he thinks he is."
"I'm starting to see that."
The evening unfolds with surprising ease after that. The McKennas are loud and teasing with each other, but they welcome me without question. I learn that Sawyer has been sheriff for eight years, that Cade builds custom furniture in addition to his guiding business, that Luke's daughter Lily is obsessed with horses and wants to be a veterinarian.
I’m sitting next to Caleb at the picnic table, our shoulders occasionally brushing, his presence a steady anchor amid the boisterous gathering. He's quieter than his cousins, but I notice how they listen when he does speak, the respect evident beneath the teasing.
"So, Lila," Boone says as we finish eating, "what's the plan now that you're free from the mountain hermit's lair? Back to New York?"
The question I've been avoiding presses in, demanding an answer. All eyes turn to me, including Caleb's, though he pretends to focus on his plate.
"I'm not sure yet," I say carefully. "I was supposed to be at a wilderness retreat for the next week, but I'm thinking of skipping it."
