Page 21 of Mountain Man's Longing
“She was locked out. Soaked to the bone, shivering.” Cold sweat breaks out between my shoulder blades. “I brought her inside to get warm. Gave her some soup. We talked.”
“And then you decided to fuck her?”
The crude words make my vision flash red. “It wasn’t like that.”
“Then what was it like, Graham?” Eric’s voice cracks. “Because my daughter’s been here one day, and you’ve already—”
“I didn’t plan it.” The admission tears from my throat. “Hell, I tried to keep my distance. And I didn’t know who she was. She didn’t know me. But there’s something about her, Eric. Something…”
I trail off, unsure how to explain the pull I felt, the way Brenna looked at me as if I was worth something.
Eric runs a hand through his hair, pacing in a tight circle. “You really didn’t know.”
“Not until we were at the brewery. When you introduced us.” I swallow hard. “I wanted to tell you then, but…”
“But you panicked.”
“Yeah.”
“Fucking coward.”
“I deserve that.”
Eric stares at me for a long moment. “You kept this from me. You sat across from me and let me rattle on about her like she was just some girl, a stranger, and you’d already…”
The disappointment in his tone cuts deeper than his anger. “I know.”
He faces me again, the pain in his gaze worse than fury. “You looked me in the eye and lied.”
“I didn’t lie. I just—”
“You lied. You let me go on about how glad I was to finally meet her while you sat there having already…” His voice breaks slightly. “Christ, how could you do that to me?”
Shame hits like a physical blow. I grasp at straws. “Because…because I knew this would happen.”
“This?”
“You looking at me like I’m not the man you thought I was.”
My quiet reply gives him pause. He sucks in a deep breath then blows it out. “What am I supposed to think? You slept with my daughter the night you met. Without knowing her, without knowing who she is. What does that say about either of you?”
The question hangs in the cold air between us. I want to defend her, defend our decision, but that’s not what matters now. I look up at the stars barely visible through the cloud cover then back at my friend’s face.
“I’m here to ask for your permission to be with her.”
The words hit the silence like a gunshot. Eric goes completely still, his mouth falling open. A truck rumbles past on the main road, but neither of us moves.
“You’re what?”
“I want to…date her. To see where this goes.” My throat feels raw, exposed. “With your permission.”
“Permission?” His voice climbs, incredulous. “You’ve known her for twenty-four hours.”
“I know.” I plant my feet wider. “But I’ve never felt anything like this. You know me. I’ve never wanted to try for something real until now. Until her.”
My best friend stares at me as if I’ve grown a second head. Then he turns away, looking out at the dark mountains. The silence stretches until I hear my own heartbeat, the wind in the pines.
“If you’re going to take a swing at me, I’d rather get it over with.”
