Page 7 of My Fearless Mountain Man

Fuck it. “If it did, you wouldn’t be out here.”

She cocks her head to the side. “Why do you say that?”

After being caught in a fire this should be her least favorite place. She should be back in the city where it’s safe. “There’s danger anywhere.”

“Which makes all the beauty and softness of the morning here even better. It’s fleeting,” she says, stepping closer. “Inviting, warm ... I get the appeal even if takeout options are limited.”

I snort. “Just ... stay on the trail.”

She ignores some birds that hop closer to her as if her sweetness summons them, her gaze focused on me. A slightsmile turns up the corner of her lips in a mischievous grin. “Or you’ll turn your scary side on me instead of nosy men in a store?”

I stand up and let my head fall back, staring at the sky and hoping it will sober me from the sheer effect of Nora’s presence. I know she’s teasing me. I know the best thing to do is to point out that I’m working. I know plenty, but Nora’s proving logic doesn’t matter at all. Not where she’s concerned.

“Maybe I will,” I say darkly.

Chapter 5 - Nora

That intensity in his gaze should scare me. I’m alone with a man a foot taller than me, more capable than me, and bigger than me in the woods. Every bit of logic and instinct should tell me to run back, but I don’t want to.

“Do you think you are scarier than a bear, Calder?”

His lips twitch when I say his name.

“No, Nora, but I’m scary enough and I have work to do,” he says.

His eyes flit to my foot when I step forward. He doesn’t stop me, so I keep approaching until he catches my arm and pulls me slightly to the side. It’s close enough that I can feel the heat rolling off him, but not so close that I can actually feel him press against me. A mess of rocks was waiting for me. I definitely would have twisted my ankle at best or fallen and – with my luck – hit my head at worse.

It doesn’t matter that I could have slipped because his slip proves more. If he knows my name, it’s because he’s read my letters. If I point it out immediately, he’ll run. Just like a bear. Make too much noise and they disappear. Be calm and mindfuland there’s a chance you’ll see one. Do or say the wrong thing and it’ll be the last thing you see.

“You don’t want to carry me again?” I ask, voice soft, just on the edge of teasing. “Is it because I’m older now? Heavier?”

Calder lets out a short snort.

“Twenty-four instead of eighteen?”

“You’re still small,” he says, eyes flicking over me.

I smile, slow and intentional. “Small enough to carry?”

His gaze holds mine a little too long, like he’s trying to read something I’m not saying outright. I clear my throat, breaking the moment before it settles too deep.

“Maybe the real issue isyou’retoo big.”

His eyes narrow just slightly, his voice low. “That’s not a complaint I usually hear.”

I lift a brow, lips curving. “Didn’t think it would be.”

He rolls his eyes. “Do I have something to prove?”

“You already proved you read my letters,” I comment.

He pauses and looks at me like I’m about to trap him. I giggle. “I never told you my nameexceptin the letters.”

He closes his eyes for a moment, but there’s almost a smile on his lips. It’s a victory in my opinion. He shakes his head, not offering more, but I can’t resist teasing him a little more, getting more conversation out of him.

“You could have sent me pictures of the forest looking this beautiful. Flowering and green and bright even if you didn’t want to write to me.”

“Would it have helped with the nightmares?” He asks, something darker in his voice.

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