Page 3 of Heart of the Mountain
Another yelp echoes from somewhere near the ravine on the far edge of my property. That’s definitely a woman, which pisses me the hell off. Anger ripples through my body, spiking my heart rate and making me clench my fists at my sides.
I’m bombarded with questions as I follow the rustling noise, punctuated every once in a while with a grunt. Who is she? What gives her the right to violate my privacy? How long has she been here?
I have half a mind to build a ten-foot-tall fence around the entire property line, but I’d never interfere with nature that much. It’s too invasive. My old man taught me to respect the earth and all its blessings, from the mighty bison to the wildflowers in spring.
I swallow the familiar guilt whenever I think about my father. It’s been over five years since his passing, but I miss him every single day.
“Come on, think!” the voice I’ve been chasing says. She’s closer now and seemingly staying in the same spot instead of what sounded like rolling downhill. “You’ve been in worse situations than this.”
Her voice has a desperate yet defeated edge, and something about her words has my heart squeezing tightly behind my ribcage. The anger is still there, but it’s joined by another feeling. Something wholly unfamiliar and close to… protective?
I stomp through the forest, closing the distance between myself and my little trespasser. When I step into the clearing a moment later, I’m not sure what to make of the scene in front of me. A woman is sprawled out on the ground in nothing but a black bra and a torn skirt. Her red hair is adorned with a crown of dead leaves, dirt, and twigs, and she has a few superficial scratches on her arms and legs, presumably from her tumble down the slight decline.
Her eyes are closed tightly, and her chest rises and falls with shallow breaths. I try to stop my eyes from roaming all over her body. I swear, I do. But with all her curves on display…
Before I get too carried away with this woman’s thick thighs and wide, rounded hips I have the sudden urge to grab, I notice she’s trembling from head to toe. Of course, she is. I have no idea how she got into this position, but she seems to think I’m a rabid beast coming to devour her.
Is she wrong?
I shut that thought down as quickly as it appeared. No use in entertaining crazy notions like scooping up the red-headed, curvy little trespasser, tossing her over my shoulder, and laying her out on my bed so I can lick every inch of her creamy skin.
Fuck.
The mysterious woman pops one eye open, and I swear to God I can’t breathe when her gaze lands on mine. Emerald green eyes widen in surprise as she sits up and smiles at me.
I blink a few times, almost convinced I’ve imagined her. I must have finally snapped. I’ve isolated myself up here in my cabin for too long, and I’m now hallucinating scantily clad, curvy goddesses in my woods.
“You must be my guardian angel,” she says, the smile never leaving her slightly dirty yet lovely face. “Better late than never.”
I’m tempted to return her grin, but I think I’ve forgotten how. “I’m no angel,” I grunt.Is that my voice?Jesus, I guess it’s been a while since I’ve talked to anyone. Nothin’ but me and Mother Nature out here, just the way I like it.
“Angel or not, you’re my hero. Assuming you can get my foot unstuck, that is.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to say I’m no hero. I couldn’t save my dad. Couldn’t bear the shame of my loss, either, so like a coward, I moved further and further up the mountain until I damn near reached the top.
I shove those thoughts aside when the rest of her sentence filters into my brain.Her foot is stuck.I look down and see that, sure enough, her foot is wedged in a knotted tree root.
My gaze wanders over her ankle, which looks red and swollen from what I can see. I notice the impractical high heels she’s wearing and shake my head. “Nice shoes,” I scoff. The woman blushes and fuck, I like it too much. I wonder what else makes her blush…
“I wasn’t planning on hiking today,” she explains.
“Clearly.”
I don’t mean to be short with her: I just don’t know what to say. I can’t remember the last time I held a conversation with someone other than Terry at the Feed & Supply Store in town.
The woman giggles, which does something strange to my chest. I feel… warmer? Lighter?
Crazier, I correct myself. This woman has me all out of sorts, and I need to get her off my property before things spiral out of control.
I kneel next to her foot and the offending tree root, my fingers circling her calf. She shivers when my skin touches hers, and I barely suppress a groan. She’s so soft, even after her misadventure in the forest.
I tug on her leg slightly, making the woman hiss and slam her eyes shut. Pain radiates throughout my chest as if I’m experiencing everything she’s feeling. I hate that I’m hurting her. I hate even more that I’m going to have to do it again.
“On three,” I tell her.
She nods in understanding, though she keeps her eyes squeezed shut.
“One, two–” I yank her leg with one hand while simultaneously slipping her impractical shoe off with the other.
