Page 38 of Grumpy on the Mountain
"Oh, shut up," she yelps excitedly. "Do tell."
"We went on a rescue."
"A rescue?" Sienna's brow rises, clearly not buying it.
"Yeah. The family was very grateful," I add, still not meeting her eyes. "I told you, Beau'sveryclever."
"I bet he is," Sienna says, drawing out each word.
"It wasn't like that," I insist, even as my body temperature suggests otherwise.
"Then why are you blushing?"
Maisie bounces into the kitchen in mismatched socks and a shirt with a unicorn riding a skateboard.
"Aunt Molly! Did you and Beau catch any bad guys?"
I laugh, grateful for the interruption, but surprised at how much this small child 'overhears'.
"No bad guys, sweetie. Just a family whose car was stuck in the snow."
"Were they scared? Did they cry? Did Beau have to use his muscles to save them?"
I nearly choke on my coffee at that last question, because yes, Beau definitely used his muscles, and I definitely noticed.
Sienna hands Maisie a bowl of cereal. "Eat up, kiddo. School first, then soccer practice. Aunt Molly will be here when we get back." She glances at me with a smirk. "Unless she finds something—or someone—better to do."
I roll my eyes, but can't help smiling.
It feels good to be teased about a man instead of controlled by one.
After Sienna drops Maisie at school, the house falls quiet. I stand at the window, coffee mug cradled in my hands, looking out at Stone River Mountain.
It's beautiful in the morning light. Fresh snow blankets everything, glistening under a blue sky so clear it almost hurts to look at. Smoke rises from chimneys all the way down the street, and I can just make out tiny figures moving about as shops open for the day.
It hits me suddenly how content I feel. How at peace. When was the last time I felt this way?
Not with Riley, certainly.
He required constant vigilance—monitoring his moods, his needs, his expectations. He would have hated this place. It's too small, with not nearly enough people to impress.
But I love it.
I love the quiet. The space to breathe. The way Beau looked at me last night, like I was something precious and unexpected.
I think about his moment of vulnerability outside the Mountain Rescue station, how he admitted places like that were "still hard sometimes."
I can only imagine what he must have gone through in the military, what shadows still haunt him. Yet he pushed through it, and part of me wonders if he did it for me.
Shit.
I'm falling for him. Hard. Which is terrifying, considering who he is.
My ex-fiancé's brother.
Wait.
I literally know Beau's parents. I've eaten pot roast at their dining table, helped his mother wash dishes, listened to his father's stories about his own military service.
