Page 2 of Temptation for the Mountain Man
I chuckle. Celeste is my niece, but at only twelve years apart, we were raised more like brother and sister.
My parents started young and finished...not so young. I wasn't exactly planned, but neither was my oldest brother, Luca, who arrived about two months after they got married, fresh out of high school. My other brother, Huxley, came along a year afterthat, and then my two sisters, Wynn and Mandy, a few years later. Fifteen years after the girls, the stick showed two more lines, and I bounced into the family. I was similar in age to my nieces, nephews, and cousins growing up, so I'm as close to my extended family as I am to my actual brothers and sisters.
I head into the third tiny house with the pipe we need for the small shower. Archer is prepping the space, so I stay out of his way near the door.
"I'm sorry about cancelling the bar," I say sincerely. He's a hard worker, and except for the nod at my mystery woman, I've grown to like him quite a bit. "I'm sure you can find someone to keep you warm tonight if you head over toRandy's."
Archer grins at me. "As much as I like chatting with the ladies, I don't do random hook-ups."
I raise my eyebrows in surprise.
Archer chuckles. "It's the tears of a clown, man."
"The what?"
"Nothing. I tend to fall fast, but they only want me to look good in their pictures or something." He shrugs, setting the glue down and grabbing the pipe from me. "I'm going to take my time in Duhring Park, that's for sure. It'll be good to settle somewhere for once."
"Right. I'm gonna give my cousin Brooks a heads up that you're coming in tomorrow. He's a good guy."
"Thanks, man. They've got Blazewoods on the other side of Passion Ridge?" Archer asks, reaching for the second pipe.
"No. He's my cousin on my mom’s side, so different last names."
"Cool. Brynn set me up with the construction company connection through her brother, Cole. It'll be nice to know a few people coming in."
"Yeah, I've met Cole. Actually, Brooks was in his wedding last year."
"No shit? Small world." Archer stands and moves to work on the sink while the glue on the shower pipe sets.
I say my goodbyes, then pause on my way out. "They say there's something in the water in Duhring Park."
“Oh?” Archer looks at me with raised eyebrows.
I shrug. "If you're looking for love, drink up."
Chapter 2
Callie
Two of the younger workers climb onto the shuttle bus after me, giggling loudly. Their uniforms indicate they’re servers at one of the restaurants in the resort. Their perfumes blend into a fruity-floral wave that wafts over to my seat as they sit in the side-facing seats in front of me. They look to be eighteen or nineteen–the same age as my younger sister, Erin. Not for the first time, I wonder what it would’ve been like to be that light and bubbly at their age.
"Oh, my god. Archer could be a model." The one with dark hair sighs dramatically, fanning herself with her hand.
"Seriously. He's so pretty." The redhead pouts and pulls out her makeup bag. "He said today's his last day."
"Maybe I can give him a proper goodbye tonight?" The dark-haired girl raises her eyebrows with a grin.
The blonde girl snorts. "Go for it. I might shoot my shot with that silver fox. Did you see the way he was staring at us?"
Silver fox. Are they talking aboutmymountain man? Where the hell did that come from?
"Daddy issues, much?" The dark-haired girl wrinkles her nose, and the blonde girl laughs.
I glance out the window of the bus as we near the resort, irritated on behalf of my—the—mountain man they call a silver fox. He looks to be in his late thirties and doesn't even have gray hair. Not that I've gotten close enough to tell for sure. Nor will I.
Even before my mom's third marriage and subsequent divorce, I vowed to avoid relationships like the plague. My goals as a teenager were to be capable, self-sufficient, and above all, financially independent. While my classmates were texting about lip gloss trends and hoping to marry a Jonas Brother, I was raising my little sister and trying to figure out how to pay bills and groceries while my mom was locking down guy number one thousand. One message was loud and clear in my household growing up: men are nothing but trouble.
My mountain man doesn't look like trouble.
