Page 170 of Mountain Grump

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Pressure builds in my eyes.

Ethan swears all the time. It’s part of his vocabulary. But he still asks.

I shake my head, biting down on my lip.

“I can try.” He insists, melting my heart even more.

But I need him to believe me. So, I make sure he hears how much I mean it. “I appreciate the offer. But I don’t want to fucking change you, Ethan.”

Chapter 88

Ethan

I don’t wantto fucking change you.

This girl.

This fucking girl.

Tightness shaped like a word that starts withLwraps around my throat.

And I have to work to keep my voice even. “I don’t want to change you either, Starlight. Now eat your fucking oatmeal.”

Chapter 89

Tilda

“I’m fine.”

Ethan reaches for my boots, and I swat his hands away.

He grumbles as he stands, “Fine. But youwilltell me if anything starts to hurt.”

I salute him, just to be annoying. “Sir, yes, sir.”

Ethan doesn’t react. And his nonreaction makes me grin.

Then I hold my hands out to him. “Help me up?”

His big hands engulf mine, and he pulls me to my feet.

Back in my dress, clean panties, and shorts, I feel like me again.

Mostly.

I did another quick washcloth bath, this time with Ethan standing ten feet away, facing the woods on mountain lion duty. My hair is begging to be washed, but that will have to wait until I’m home.

Then I dressed, sniffing everything and thinking I might have to start hanging my clothes from trees to air dry them. And now…

I look around the cabin.

Now, with everything packed back up the way we found it, we’re ready to leave.

Ethan insisted on re-treating every tiny mark on my feet and ankles. Covering everything with Band-Aids. Then giving me a new pair of his socks as another barrier between my skin and my boots.

He also tried to convince me to let him give me a piggyback ride to theextraction site. And even though I’m sure Ethan—and all his muscles—could do it, there’s no way I’m letting him carry me.

I follow Ethan out of the cabin, and while he double-checks that everything is shut tight, I take my phone out of my mini backpack and turn it on.

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