Page 2 of Owned By the Mountain Man

“Is anybody inside, like a woman?” I bark.

“Nope,” he says in the tone that makes it clear he thinks his boss is an eccentric old fool that’s being haunted by someone who isn’t there.

I tell him to go on then, and we start our long, winding trip up the mountain. He’s quiet tonight, a sure sign that he’s tired. But he’s probably anticipating a few days away from the normal routine of school and work.

I tip him a fifty for gas, pulling the folded bill from my wallet. After the accident, my parents sent me to a school for the blind. I learned how to fold my bills differently depending on the denominations. Now, things are easier. There are apps to identify which bill you’re holding, but I’m used to the old way of managing my money.

Duke waits for me to get safely tucked away in my cabin before I hear the sound of his truck engine growing softer.

Eventually, I’m alone again. Except that I’m not.She’s here.My hands shake as I unbuckle Frankie and Beans from their harness and set them down.

“You could eat with me,” I extend the invitation into the vanilla-scented room. I’ve never felt her presence in my cabin, and I wonder if she’s been here before with me. I wonder what she thinks of the place.

My watch shop attracts wealthy clients, and I have an excellent reputation in the industry. But the money I earn goes into the bank. No sense in building a palace for a single mountain man.

I wait, letting my offer for dinner hang in the air.

She doesn’t accept it or even give an indication that she heard me. I try to keep the disappointment from my expression. What kind of crazy man spends all his time pursuing a woman that won’t even acknowledge she’s in the room with him?

I get to work making dinner for my pups, and it’s only when they’re happily digging in that a slow realization filters into my brain. Whoever is here has befriended them. They never growl around her or bark when she’s in the room. If anything, they act as indifferent to her as she does to me.

As I eat in silence, I hatch a plan. Tonight, I’m going to coax my stalker out of the shadows and into my life.

2

LAURA

I’m not trespassing.He invited me here. In that raspy growl of his, he said I could come home with him. Now I watch as he stirs the pot of chili, the one that’s been left to simmer on the stove all day.

A job has never taken me this long before. It’s never taken me more than a day or two to get in and get out. But there’s something about Nash. He sees me. Even without sight, he sees me. For a girl that’s spent her life in the shadows, it’s intoxicating to be noticed.

Frankie and Beans eat their food noisily with grunts of delight and little snuffles. Thieving 101 means learning how to make beloved pets your friend. After all, pets often serve as the earliest warning alert. Keeping them calm and at peace is half the battle.

He moves around his kitchen with perfect ease. When I first started watching him, I didn’t believe he was truly blind. Like others without sight, he’s adapted well to the world around him. But there are small tell-tale signs he doesn’t see. The tiny burns on his fingers that sometimes result from grabbing something hot or the purple line of bruises on his shin from where he bumps into furniture.

He cut himself chopping vegetables last night. While he slept, I slipped in the window and wrapped a bandage around it. It wasn’t a bad cut nor was it deep. Something in me couldn’t stand to see the mountain man injured.

He stirred in his sleep and reached for me, and I wondered what our life together would be like if I were a normal person. If I just bumped into him one day in town, would we get along? Would we strike up a conversation? Would I get flirty and would he ask me out on a date to Ernie’s diner?

Maybe that would have been a possibility when we first met. But he knows me now. I can’t explain how he knows me. Yet he senses my presence whenever I’m in the room. He feels me, an awareness of my presence. Just like I feel him.

I grew up in the foster system, and I’ve never felt this connected to anyone in my life. I’ve always been alone, untethered by any personal connections. Maybe that’s why I’m having such a hard time getting this job finished.

After dinner, Nash showers in his bathroom, and I take the time to make myself a bowl of his chili. My mouth waters as I sniff the aroma. Home-cooked meals are a strange thing to me. I’m always in awe of those who can prepare them.

I enjoy my food while Frankie and Beans play at my feet. Frankie chases his brother around from the comfort of his wheelchair. It’s so strange to me. I’ve never seen a dog with paralysis, let alone one that uses a wheelchair.

“Did you come to him like this?” I muse as I wash my bowl. I’m careful when I’m in Nash’s shop or cabin to put things away where they belong. Since he relies on his other senses, Nash is far more perceptive of his environment than most sighted people.

It’s so peaceful here in his cabin. When I began hanging around this small town, I found the slow pace unnerving. It’s so different from New York City where I live when I’m between jobs. Now though, I’m finding I like the quiet. I appreciate the unhurried way of living, the simple pleasures it allows me to enjoy.

The shower water shuts off, meaning it’s time for me to be a ghost again. A wave of sadness washes over me at the thought.

When I first started researching Nash, there wasn’t much to find about him. The only reason I started following him in the first place is because I wanted the vintage Omega Speedmaster.

Instead of taking it, I was fascinated as he repaired it. I told myself there would be other opportunities to steal from the bearded watchmaker. But it’s been nearly two weeks, and I haven’t taken anything from him.

Just tonight, he brought home two valuable watches and placed them in his safe. I promise myself that it will be his downfall. Tonight, I will steal from this handsome mountain man and leave Courage County behind forever.

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