Page 10 of Trouble with the Mountain Man
It's settled within an hour. River will handle the complex connections and code requirements, I'll do the grunt work of running new lines. Maple gets her plumbing fixed at a price shecan afford, and I get to spend more time in her house, being useful, being needed.
Being part of something that matters.
After River leaves and I start planning the ceiling repair, my phone buzzes with a text from an unknown number.
Stay away from my family or you'll regret it.
Derek. Somehow he got my number, probably from asking around town. The threat doesn't worry me—men like Derek are all bluster and lawyers—but the fact that he's escalating does.
"Everything okay?" Maple asks, noticing my expression.
I delete the text without showing her. "Fine. Just a client with questions."
Another lie, but one designed to protect rather than deceive. Derek is my problem to handle, not hers.
"I should take Ally to school," she says, checking the time. "Will you be okay here alone?"
"I'll try not to break anything else."
She laughs, the sound bright enough to chase away thoughts of Derek and his threats. "I trust you."
Trust. When was the last time someone trusted me with something that mattered? When was the last time I wanted to be worthy of that trust?
"Maple," I call as she gathers Ally's backpack.
"Yeah?"
"Last night... I meant what I said. All of it."
A smile spreads across her face, soft and happy and full of possibility. "I know. Me too."
After they leave, I start tearing out the damaged ceiling, channeling my energy into productive work. Each swing of the hammer, each section of debris cleared away, feels like progress toward something bigger than repairs.
I'm building a life here. Building a future with a woman who sees my worth and a child who looks at me like I hung the moon. Building something Derek's money and threats can't touch.
By the time Maple returns from the school run, I've cleared most of the debris and started framing for the new drywall. She brings fresh coffee and sandwiches, settling into a chair to watch me work.
"Can I ask you something?" she says after a while.
"Shoot."
"Why did you really offer to do this work so cheaply? And don't say practice or business expansion."
I set down my hammer and face her fully. She deserves honesty, especially after last night.
"Because watching you worry about money hurts," I say simply. "Because Ally's drawings are on my refrigerator and her laugh makes my day better. Because you work harder than anyone I know and deserve to have someone make things easier for you instead of harder."
I take a breath, pushing past the vulnerability of saying too much.
"And because I'm falling for you, Maple. Hard and fast and in ways that probably don't make sense. I want to take care of you and Ally. I want to be the man you can count on."
She's quiet for a long moment, her coffee growing cold in her hands. When she finally speaks, her voice is soft.
"Derek used to say he wanted to take care of me too. But what he really wanted was to control me. To make me smaller so he could feel bigger."
"I'm not Derek."
"I know." She sets down her coffee and moves closer, until she's standing right in front of me. "That's what scares me. Derek was easy to leave because he never really saw me. But you... you see everything. The good and the messy and the complicated. And if I let myself fall for you and then lose you..."
