Page 6 of Runaway
1. Notify grandma
2. Buy food, hangers, and chai mix.
3. Check on my clients.
4. Go for a run.
Maybe hiding in the mountains wouldn't be so bad after all.
4
Mark
If Stella had made anything clear last night, it was that she wanted to be left alone.
So did I.
A craving for isolation, or maybe something else entirely, drove me to declare my official mountain man status after JJ's wedding. The summer camp season had ended at Adventura, which made the timing perfect. Justin winterized the most remote cabins and ran off somewhere with my little sister, leaving me alone with a lot of ideas and thoughts and . . . other things.
Whatmountain man statusactually meant, I had no idea, but the vague idea in my mind involved isolation, snowy nights, and a really big beard.
So far, the experience had mostly been itchy and silent. Being alone at Adventura wasn't too bad. This wasn't my first time. It involved pacing the cabin, prowling the trails to find a cougar that kept wandering too close, and trying not to explode from the sheer quiet.Ideas stacked up in my brain like dust without JJ here to talk me through them. Which had, for a time, driven me to call Marie more. By some miracle, she actually answered each time.
Now that she was here, I couldn't help but wonder if I'd given time to some of those random ideas just so I could talk to her.
On one hand, the fact that she seemed close to my age, was definitely confident, and absolutely single, was great. On the other hand, it was also massively embarrassing. My financials had taken a swing in the wrong direction this summer. Not only had the spa idea fizzled out, thanks to an overzealous city council after I'd sunk money into the build-out, but Adventura lost two big clients and took devastating hits as well. Only Maverick's curiosity and deep vision kept me from being homeless, but my problems were far from over.
Embarrassing.
Now, I had to figure out a way to save Adventura and survive the winter alone. Or maybe not so alone.
With a sigh, I cleaned up the bathroom, swept up the remains of my ghastly beard—which now was trimmed and wouldn't try to grab all my food—and ran a comb through my hair. Even that improvement might drastically change her response to me.
I mean . . . shelaughed.
My pride still stung, even though I didn't really blame her. When I stepped back into the cabin, my phone chimed. I grabbed it, then grunted at theHearts on Firenotification. Two new messages.
StephLuvsDogs:Hey Mark! Saw your profile and just wanted you to know I love hiking. I think we'd have a lot in common.
A snort bubbled out of me. Six months on and off this stupid app had quickly taught me that most women thought thathikingandliving in the mountainsequated to about the same thing. But once they saw Adventura, they skittered off.
Too isolated,one girl said.Are you like a hermit or something?
Nope. If I can't hear sirens, it's not for me,said another. Which still didn't make sense to me. Did they not read my profile where I was very clear about where I lived? What did sirens have to do with anything?
Or maybe it was me they avoided.
Another message waited below that one.
AbbyKessler65:Sorry for the late response, Mark. I got caught up with some work stuff. Hope you're doing great!
My fingers tightened around the phone. Clever girl. Yes, she hadn't responded to my follow-up message after our first date ten days ago, and now she expertly ghosted me here. Apology. Explanation. Well wishing. Now I had nothing to really say back, and if I did, which I wouldn't, she'd ignore it.
Classic move.
For the thousandth time, I considered ending my time withHearts on Fire,but I'd already done that three times. Eventually, I wandered back. Because what else was there? Sitting alone in the mountains while I stewed over my money loss and desperate need to gain it back?
Besides, I was my mother's son, and couldn't dissuade my natural optimism about people in general.
