Page 6 of The Mountain Man's Mail Order Surprise
Gia.
Dark eyes that seemed to see straight through me. A laugh that made my chest tight with want. Skin like silk under my hands and a night that burned itself into my memory so deep I can still taste her kiss when I close my eyes.
I've compared every woman I've met since to her, and they all come up lacking. It’s not their fault, no one can compete with perfection?
"Rosco, you magnificent bastard!"
I shut off the saw and turn to find my cousin Noah trudging through the underbrush, his usually pristine appearance slightly rumpled. Marriage to Talia has loosened him up, made him more willing to get his hands dirty. Good thing, considering we're family business partners now.
"What brings the kink wellness guru to my humble construction site?" I strip off my work gloves and grab the water bottle from my truck bed.
"Jordyn sent me to remind you about dinner tonight. Apparently, you've been avoiding family gatherings again." Noah's steel gray eyes narrow with that older cousin authority he never quite shook, even though we're both grown ass men.
I grunt and take a long pull of water. Family dinners at Iron Vine Estate have become a weekly tradition since everyone started pairing off. First Silas and Jordyn, then Noah and Talia, then Zaire and Reign, and now Silas and Jordyn also welcomed a new baby. The rest of us single Kane men sit around like spare parts while they make googly eyes at each other.
"I'm not avoiding anything. I'm working."
"It's Sunday, Ros. Even God rested on Sunday."
"God didn't have a construction business to run." I gesture at the scattered pine branches and torn power lines. "Besides, someone's got to clean up this mess before the next storm hits."
Noah steps closer, his expression softening. "You know you don't have to carry the weight of the whole damn mountain on your shoulders, right?"
That hits closer to home than I care to admit. Since my uncle died and left my cousins the estate with that ridiculous stipulation that all six brothers had to keep it together or lose it completely, I've been the one helping them make sure everything holds together. Literally. The main house needs anew roof, three of the guest cabins have foundation issues, and don't get me started on the wine cellar's flooding problem.
"Someone has to." I turn back to the fallen tree, but Noah catches my arm.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Talia and I have been discussing expanding the club operations. We're going to need someone to oversee the construction and renovation projects. Someone we trust completely."
I pause, chainsaw halfway to the log. "You offering me a job, cousin?"
"I'm offering you a partnership. Twenty percent stake in the wellness operations, full autonomy over construction and facilities management, and a salary that'll let you stop working seven days a week."
The offer hits me like a sucker punch. It's generous, more than generous. It's also exactly what I need to finally get ahead instead of just treading water. But something about it makes my gut twist.
"What's the catch?"
Noah's grin turns sheepish. "Talia thinks you need balance in your life. Work satisfaction, personal fulfillment, maybe even..." He pauses, clearly struggling with the words.
"Spit it out."
"A woman. Someone to share your life with."
I bark out a laugh that echoes off the mountain walls. "And you two think a business partnership is going to magically produce a girlfriend?"
"Actually, we think you need to be more intentional about it. Stop waiting for lightning to strike and actually put yourself out there."
Like I haven't been trying. Like every woman I've dated in the past six months hasn't felt like a pale imitation of what I had forone perfect night in New York. Like I haven't been half in love with a memory for half a year.
I restart the chainsaw, effectively ending the conversation. Noah shouts something over the engine noise, but I pretend not to hear. The last thing I need is relationship advice from my cousin who spent five years being a complete emotional disaster before Talia straightened him out.
But as I work, his words eat at me. Put myself out there. Like it's that simple. Like I haven't tried dating in this town where everyone knows everyone's business. Like I haven't struck out with every eligible woman within a fifty-mile radius because none of them are her.
Maybe that's the problem. Maybe I'm thinking too small. Maybe I need to stop looking for her replacement and start looking for merely capable.
By the time I finish clearing the road, an idea has taken root. Crazy, practical, probably stupid, but an idea nonetheless. I load my equipment into the truck and drive straight to Silas's law office instead of heading home.
The Mountain Retreat Legal Services occupies a converted cabin on Main Street, all exposed beams and modern technology. Silas built it to blend mountain charm with serious legal work, and it suits him perfectly. Controlled, methodical, successful.
