Page 36 of The Mountain Man's Untamed Bride
"Sex? Because evidence suggests otherwise," she teased, but I could see the vulnerability behind her smile.
"No," I said, taking her hand. "This. Wanting someone to stay."
Her expression softened. "What are you afraid of?"
I sighed, meeting her gaze directly. "That you'll get bored. That you'll wake up one day and realize mountain life isn't what you signed up for. That you'll miss civilization."
"You mean boutique shopping and valet parking?" She traced my jawline with her finger. "I've spent twenty-four years being who everyone else wanted me to be. Do you know how freeing it is to be who I want? Even if that person apparently enjoys outhouses and a judgmental rooster?"
I couldn't help smiling at that, but uncertainty still gnawed at me. "What about work? Family? Friends? A real life?"
"I have a marketing degree gathering dust and an impressive portfolio of social media management for my father's church," she said, surprising me. "With that satellite internet you installed, I could easily work remotely. I've already started looking at opportunities."
"You have?"
She nodded. "And as for family... I need time with mine, but not proximity. Maybe in the fall we could visit? You can come exactly as you are. They'd be absolutely terrified of a man who can survive without a personal assistant."
The image of me sitting in Reverend Montgomery's living room, looking like Bigfoot’s slightly better groomed cousin, among their polished marble and designer furniture, made me snort. "Your father would have a heart attack."
"He's tougher than he looks," she said, suddenly serious. "And he owes me the courtesy of accepting my choices after everything that happened with Langley."
I kissed her then, unable to believe this incredible woman wanted to build a life here, with me.
"We'll figure it out," I promised. "One day at a time."
After breakfast, Scarlett insisted on showing me something she'd discovered yesterday while I was working on the deck. She led me down a small path behind the cabin, her hand in mine, excitement radiating from her.
"There," she said, pointing proudly to a wild raspberry patch I'd forgotten existed. "I found them yesterday when I was collecting eggs. The hens kept trying to follow me here."
The bushes were laden with ripe berries, deep red and ready for picking. She'd already collected a small basketful, and showed me where she'd carefully marked the boundaries with sticks.
"For preserves," she explained. "Or maybe just eating straight. I've never picked wild berries before."
The simple joy in her voice over something I'd taken for granted for years made me see my own property through new eyes. What else had I missed or forgotten while focused on mere survival?
By late afternoon, I'd returned to the deck project—fixing the final posts that would complete the expansion I'd been working on for months. Scarlett sat nearby with her laptop, occasionally reading me job descriptions that made us both laugh at their corporate buzzwords. Every so often, she'd wander over to the chicken coop, where she'd somehow managed to befriend even the most skittish hen in my small flock.
"I think I'm going to name this one Prudence," she called, gently stroking a speckled brown hen. "She reminds me of my mother—constantly fussing but secretly affectionate."
As the sun began its descent behind the mountains, I drove in the final nail and stepped back to survey my work.
"Finished," I announced, wiping sweat from my brow.
Scarlett set aside her computer and came to stand beside me, her arm slipping around my waist. "It's beautiful, Bodhi. You built this entirely yourself?"
Pride swelled in my chest—not just for the deck, but for the whole life I'd carved out of this mountain. A life that now seemed less like a fortress and more like a home.
"Come on," I said, taking her hand and leading her up the new steps to stand on the deck. "Best view on the property."
We stood together as the setting sun painted the mountains in fiery gold and deep purple, the sky ablaze with colors no city skyline could match. Colonel strutted importantly across the yard below us, his feathers catching the dying light.
"I don't know where this is going," I said quietly, my arm around her shoulders. "I'm not good at planning beyond the next season. But I know I want you here, Scarlett. Not as a mail-order bride or a temporary escape, but as yourself. However long that lasts."
She turned in my arms, her eyes reflecting the sunset. "I came here looking for freedom from my past. I didn't expect to find a future I actually wanted." She rose on tiptoes to kiss me softly. "I'm staying, Bodhi. For as long as you'll have me."
"Might be a while," I warned, tightening my arms around her. "I'm stubborn that way."
"Good thing I'm equally stubborn," she replied with a smile that made my heart stutter. "We'll figure out the rest as we go."
