Page 4 of Romanced By the Mountain Man

GWEN

“Yes,I know it’s a bad idea to lie to the scruffy mountain man,” I tell my cat. “Your mama is setting a terrible example for you today.”

At least, I can acknowledge this as I chug along the road into Courage County. I glance in the rearview mirror, making sure the hulking black truck is still behind me. There’s something about this big man’s presence that has me all confused. I should be focused on Landon. Getting to Landon is what matters most.

When we arrive at the auto shop, the mountain man approaches a dark-haired woman at the front of the shop. He speaks to her in low tones before nodding to my car.

I don’t know why seeing him talk to another woman annoys me so much. I’ve never been the type of woman that needs to be the center of attention, but I find myself irrationally jealous of anyone else he talks to. I want this big mountain man focused only on me.

The woman steps around the counter. She’s wearing baggy, blue coveralls with Gabby on the stitched nametag. She follows us outside.

“I definitely won’t have the parts in for this thing.” She sends me an apologetic look and focuses back on the car. She peers under the hood and the fact that she’s more into the vehicle than she is my companion eases a little of the jealousy burning a hole in my gut.

The sky is already turning to dusk. In my original plan, I would find Landon and he would be so enthusiastic about seeing me. We’d go out for dinner and then I’d crash at a local motel. Except I haven’t seen any motels in this town. “Where am I going to stay tonight?”

“Well, you could call your boyfriend,” the man suggests. “I’ll loan you my phone.”

“I don’t know his number off the top of my head,” I lie. Screw it, I’m not inviting him to the wedding. He’ll be that character that mysteriously disappears off the page, never to be seen again. With that decision, I confess the truth, “And maybe I let you think there was one when there wasn’t.”

A smug look crosses his face, and I instantly regret telling him this. “So, then you need lodging for the night.”

“The bed and breakfast is closed,” Gabby calls from under the hood. She doesn’t even look away from the car. “The Andersons had a pipe burst. Whole place is flooded.”

“If only there were a Good Samaritan nearby…” My mountain man shakes his head, feigning regret.

I narrow my eyes at him. I’m not sure if he’s trying to get me to ask for help or if he’s needling me.

Gabby pokes her head out from my hood and says, “I think the nearest place is probably two hours up the road.”

My shoulders slump. I’m grimy from traveling all day, and I’ll have to get a taxi to take me back to Courage tomorrow. Still, all of this will be worth it when I get to meet Landon. He’ll love me on the spot, I’m sure of it. “Do you happen to know where it is?”

“It’s a hostel outside of Asheville,” Gabby volunteers. “I’ve crashed there a couple of times. It’s co-ed.”

“That could be new,” I say more to myself than anyone else. I’ve never been in a co-ed dorm. I went to college for a year, but it was an expensive one my parents wanted me to attend. They cared more about looking good in front of their academic friends than what I wanted.

“You’re not staying at a fuckin’ hostel. You’ll stay at my cabin.” The grumpy giant is scowling down at me like this whole thing is my fault. OK, so I made a bad decision buying from that used car salesman. But the radiator thing isn’t my fault. Neither is getting stranded in this ridiculously small town.Why hasn’t my book narrator found me yet? Can’t he sense that I’m nearby?

I put my hands on my hips and try to match the giant’s glare. “You can’t just make decisions for me, you bossy grump.”

He blinks, unaffected by my half-hearted insult. “Place isn’t safe. My cabin is. End of discussion.”

Gabby slams the hood. “You were right on the money about the radiator. It’ll be about two days before I can get a replacement. The good news is the engine likely isn’t damaged.”

She turns her attention to me. “The hostel can be kind of sketchy, sometimes. Depends on who’s there. Definitely not my favorite place.”

Sketchy isn’t my thing. Not after the day I’ve had. I drop my hands from my hips and scowl back at the mountain man. “Do you have space for my kitty?”

He smirks, and I realize too late what I said. “I’d love to meet your kitty.”

* * *

“What doyou mean you’re about to go to the cabin of some guy you don’t know?” Zoey hisses into the phone.

I’m in the bathroom at the garage. I called her to let her know what was going on. She used to live in South Carolina too. We got started writing books about curvy women around the same time. Except that she went on vacation in Lake Tahoe and fell in love with Sheriff Brock. Now they live there together with the world’s most adorable baby.

“I’m telling Brock.”

Brock took away my bestie from me. But it’s kind of hard to hate him when he adores her so much. He’s always doting on her and loves to spoil her. All Zoey has to do is look at him, and he’ll do whatever she asks.

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