Page 20 of Heart of the Mountain
“No,” I say a bit too harshly. “You don’t understand. It’s my fault. I… fuck.” I take a deep breath and blow it out, trying to find the words. “We were supposed to go to Jay’s Lumber and Hardware that afternoon. I was working part-time at a bar while getting my canned goods and spices business up and running,and I picked up a shift for extra cash instead of meeting my dad at the store. He went by himself and ended up falling off a ladder while reaching for something on the top shelf. Something I could have easily gotten for him if I were there.”
“But–”
“The doctor said the fall broke his spine in several places, thankfully rendering him unconscious for what happened next.” I brace myself for the worst of it, but I can’t stop now. “The shelf fell on top of him. No one was there for my dad.Iwasn’t there for my dad. Don’t you get it? I don’t deserve pity.”
My breaths are ragged and tears sting my eyes, but I don’t let them fall.
Sadie props herself up on my chest and rubs the tip of her nose against mine, the sweet gesture bringing me back into the present. “I don’t pity you, Cutter,” she tells me, her eyes never leaving mine. “I hurt for you and your loss. I know you don’t believe me, but it wasn’t your fault.” I’m about to protest, but my woman raises an eyebrow and gives me a stern look. “You can’t live the rest of your life like this. Punishing yourself and isolating yourself from everyone.”
“I like my mountain,” I tell her honestly.
“I like it, too,” she says with a smile. It eases the tightness in my chest ever so slightly. “But you should be out here because you want to, not because your shame drove you away. We have to make decisions out of hope, not fear.”
Well, damn. This woman has me dead to rights. “I don’t know how to do that,” I admit.
“We can learn together.”
I lean in for a kiss, not knowing how else to express the gratitude overflowing in my heart. Once again, I didn’t know I needed to hear those words, but she’s giving me everything without even trying.
Before our lips meet, someone pounds on the front door of my cabin. I furrow my brow while Sadie’s face turns completely white. The love and light vanish from her eyes, replaced with panic.
“Stay here,” I tell her, not sure what has her so afraid. I have no idea who is knocking on my door this early in the morning, but I plan to send them on their way with a grunt and a slammed door in their face.
I’m not sure who I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t another woman in business attire. She’s around the same age as Sadie, maybe a few years older. As much as I want to tell her to scram, I can’t in good conscience leave yet another woman stranded out here. When I peer over her shoulder, however, I see a car that doesn’t belong to me. How the hell did she find my secret road? And who is she?
“Hello, Mr. Morgan. My name is Gabby. I work at Top Spot Realty.”
“Nope. Not interested. You can see yourself off my property, or I can run you off my property. Your choice.”
“Yes, you’ve made your stances very clear on that front,” she says in a clipped voice. “However, this visit isn’t about buying or selling land. I’m here to check on a co-worker of mine, Sadie Canfield.”
My vision tunnels, and it feels like my ears are popping, disorienting me for a moment. No. No fucking way. Sadie,mySadie, doesn’t work for these money-hungry assholes.
A soft gasp comes from behind me, and I look over my shoulder at the trespasser who snuck her way into my bed. Fuck that, she snuck her way into my heart, and now…
The horrified and guilty look painted on her face says it all; she betrayed me.
9
SADIE
No, no, no, no, no. This can’t be happening.
I stand a few feet behind Cutter, wearing a sweatshirt of his I found draped across the dresser. When I heard Gabby’s voice at the front door, panic lanced my heart, and my stomach knotted into a tight ball. I realized all too late that I never responded to my boss’ email yesterday. Cutter came in all sexy and brooding and… well, I’ve been distracted the last sixteen hours. Not that any of that matters now.
“Cutter, it’s not–”
“Not what it looks like?” he finishes for me. The man turns his massive six-foot-something frame toward me, his blue eyes pinning me in place. “It looks like you work for Top Spot Realty, the very company trying to destroy my land. Is that correct?”
“Well… yes,” I admit.
“It looks like you were trespassing on my property, probably sneaking around on some secret mission. Is that true?”
“Yes,” comes my whispered response.
My shoulders drop, and I feel about two inches tall. Cutter’s jaw pops from how hard he’s clenching it. His chest rises and falls with ragged breaths, though I know it’s not just anger he feels. How can I make him believe what we have is real? It mayhave started as a stealth mission, but everything changed when he scooped me up in his arms that first day.
“Were you ever going to tell me?”
