Page 24 of Mountain Man's Longing
“This place gets in your blood,” Eric continues as we climb. “Once it does, everywhere else feels like you’re holding your breath.”
I know what he means. After only two days, the thought of returning to climate-controlled air and the concrete jungle makes anxiety creep up my spine.
The trail levels out as we round a bend, and suddenly, the world opens up. Layer upon layer of mountains roll all the way to the horizon, their peaks painted in every shade of autumn.
“Oh my God,” I breathe, stopping in my tracks.
“This is where I came,” Eric says quietly. “After I returned from the city knowing I’d never see Caroline—or you—again.”
I can see why. The vastness makes problems feel smaller, more manageable. Like maybe, there’s room in the world for all the messy, complicated feelings swirling in my chest.
We find a flat boulder to sit on, and Eric pulls granola bars from his pack. For a while, we rest in comfortable silence, watching the clouds cast shadows across the valley below.
“Brenna?” he asks after a long minute, tucking his empty wrapper in his pocket.
“Yeah?”
“When are you going to ask me about Graham?”
Graham?Why would he be asking me that? As far as he knows, Graham and I only met yesterday, at the brewery, when he introduced us. “What?”
“Honey.” His voice is gentle but knowing as he shoots me a sidelong glance. “I may have missed twenty-two years, but I’m still your father. And Graham Hughes drove into town twice yesterday, something he never does. Unless he’s got a damn good reason.”
My fingers tighten around my canteen. “Twice?”
“He came to see me last night.”
My heartrate kicks up a notch. “He did?”
“Told me everything. About the storm. About you staying at his place.” Eric’s expression is unreadable. “About what happened between the two of you, too.”
Mortification burns through me. “Oh God. What did you say?”
“I was pissed at first,” he admits. “Not because of what happened, although, okay, maybe a little because of that. But more so because he didn’t come clean at the brewery. He pretended not to know you and let me go on about meeting mydaughter when he’d already…” He shakes his head. “But then he asked for my permission to be with you.”
“Permission?” The word comes out strangled. He went to Eric. Graham faced my father…his best friend. The knowledge I’m not the only one wanting whatever this is between us is…a relief.
And it confirms the hope that bloomed in my chest this morning when I woke up in his room this morning to find him sleeping in a wooden chair beside the bed, his long frame folded uncomfortably as if he’d been watching over me all night. Because despite what happened in his workshop, I wasn't willing to give up on him, not without a fight.
Though I wasn’t sure what had changed after he’d stormed off. After he’d made it clear he couldn’t be with me because of who I am. But now? Hearing he went to see Eric, it makes perfect sense.
“Old-fashioned, I know,” Eric continues. “But that’s Graham. He felt guilty for betraying my trust even though he didn’t know who you were at the time. Was worried he’d ruined our relationship before we even had a chance.”
“He didn’t, though.” My swift, adamant response earns a nod.
Eric reaches over, laying a hand on mine. “No, he didn’t.”
Tears prick the backs of my eyes. “What did you tell him?”
Eric turns serious, his gaze falling to the ground. “I told him it’s your choice. That you’re a grown woman who can make her own decisions about who you want to be with.” He pauses, and something shifts in his voice. “I also told him if he hurts you, I’ll kill him.”
“You gave him your blessing?”
“It’s the option Caroline never had.”
Oh. It’s at this moment I realize how big Eric Truett’s heart is. He’s giving me what my grandfather robbed him of. The freedom to be with a woman who loves him, to give her hisblessing rather than hold her back. I turn to face him, so grateful this man is in my life now.
“I’ve known Graham for a long time,” he continues, taking my empty wrapper and adding it to his pocket. “He’s not the type to mess around or take advantage of a woman. I trust there’s something there for you, too. For that to happen the night you met.”
