Page 3 of Emergency with the Mountain Man
He's gone before I can respond, leaving me standing in my empty clinic with my heart racing.
two
Jake
Ican'tgetherout of my head.
It's been days since the bear cub incident, and I've thought about Dr. Norma McKenzie approximately every five minutes. The way she moved with such confident competence, completely focused on saving an injured animal. The way her dark hair escaped from her ponytail to frame her face as she worked. The way she smiled when she announced the surgery was successful—like the sun coming out after a long winter.
I've been finding excuses to drive past her clinic, telling myself I'm just checking on the cub's progress. In reality, I'm hoping for a glimpse of the woman who's turned my usually straightforward life completely upside down.
"You're distracted," my cousin Maple observes over coffee at Juniper's Diner. She's glowing with the happiness of a woman deeply in love, her engagement ring catching the morning light as she gestures. "What's going on?"
"Nothing's going on."
"Jake Webster, I've known you my entire life. You've been my rock through my divorce, my move here, all the house drama with Flint. I know when something's eating at you."
Maple's right, of course. We've been more like siblings than cousins since childhood, and she can read me better than anyone. The irony that I'm now in her position—completely knocked sideways by unexpected attraction—isn't lost on me.
"Met someone," I admit.
"The new vet?" Maple's eyes light up with matchmaking glee. "Juniper mentioned she treated an injured animal at your worksite. Said you seemed very concerned about the whole situation."
"The entire town's gossip network needs a hobby."
"The entire town's gossip network is invested in your happiness. You've been Silver Ridge's most eligible bachelor for five years, Jake. Everyone wants to see you settled."
"I'm perfectly happy being single."
“You were perfectly happy. Past tense. Present tense, you're mooning over a wildlife veterinarian."
She's not wrong. I've dated plenty since moving to Silver Ridge—nice women, attractive women, women who made it clear they'd be interested in something serious. But none of them made me feel like I'd been struck by lightning. None of them made me want to rearrange my entire life around the possibility of seeing them smile.
"She's not interested," I say, which is probably true. Norma McKenzie treated me with polite professionalism and nothing more. No lingering glances, no flirting, no indication she saw me as anything other than the logger responsible for her patient's injuries.
"How do you know?"
"Call it intuition."
"Call it cowardice. Jake, you convinced me to take a chance on Silver Ridge when I was terrified of starting over. You helped me see that sometimes the best things happen when you stop playing it safe. Maybe it's time to take your own advice."
Before I can argue, the diner bell chimes and my heart stops. Norma McKenzie walks in, looking around uncertainly until she spots an empty table near the window. She's dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt that somehow make her look both professional and approachable, her hair loose around her shoulders in a way that makes my fingers itch to touch it.
"Go," Maple hisses, nudging my arm. "Go talk to her."
"I can't just—"
"You absolutely can. She's new in town, probably doesn't know anyone. Be friendly. Offer to show her around. Use that Webster charm I've heard so much about."
"I don't have charm."
"You have plenty of charm when you're not overthinking everything. Go."
She practically pushes me out of the booth. I find myself walking toward Norma's table before I can lose my nerve, my heart pounding like I'm sixteen again and asking someone to prom.
"Dr. McKenzie? How's our patient doing?"
She looks up with those incredible green eyes, and for a moment I forget how to breathe. Up close, without the stress of an emergency, she's even more beautiful—delicate features that contrast with the strength I witnessed during the surgery, skin that looks impossibly soft despite her outdoor work.
