Page 60 of My Three Mountain Men

“Alisa Monroe. We met as freshmen in college and were basically inseparable. She was ready to get married for years, but I’d always put it off.”

I smirked, recalling how much I’d kicked myself for not having put a ring on her finger when we’d made the decision to move to the mountains.

“But then the crash happened, and I got custody of Brooks and Knox… Things started getting a little strained.”

“I’m sure it would be a lot for anyone,” Simone offered sympathetically.

“Part of the reason I was so keen to move out here was to escape with Alisa, too,” he admitted. “To get her away from all the press and money and greed and corruption. She was into it—until she decided she wasn’t, and then I just never heard from her again.”

Simone blinked in shock. “She ghosted you?”

“Well… kind of. She wanted to come out here and see the place, but I didn’t trust her by then, and I really didn’t want anyone knowing where we were. I made her a deal that she could come blindfolded, but she said she didn’t trust me—it was a whole fight.”

I shrugged, more to shove off the memory than out of indifference. “She accused me of being paranoid and said some other things that struck nerves that she knew better than to go for. So we left, and I never contacted her again.”

“You ghosted her!”

“It was a mutual ghosting. There were no emails or calls from her,” he reassured me. “But I didn’t make an effort to find her, either.”

Simone made a commiserating noise and put her hand on my arm. “You didn’t get any closure from that, Ryder. You must feel abandoned.”

I met her eyes meaningfully. “I’m a realist, Superstar. I always knew what was going to happen, and I prepared for it.”

Simone’s face fell, but she maintained her lock on my eyes.

“You can’t get hurt if you always prepare for the worst,” I added wryly.

“Ryder…”

“Ugh! What is that smell?” Knox cried, bouncing into the kitchen and breaking up our moment. Biting on her lower lip, Simone turned away.

“Oven cleaner. You should try using it once in a while.”

“I can see why we don’t, if it stinks up the whole house like that!” Knox retorted, falling onto a stool. He looked from Simone to me, his head cocking. “Who died?”

“You’re going to if you don’t get dressed and get some work done today. We have a list of tasks a mile long, and you’re still in pajamas,” I barked at him, turning away.

Shame consumed me as I snuck a final look at Simone. I shouldn’t have put her in that position, but at least she knew where I stood now. She knew that I could move on and never look back if that’s what she wanted.

But did she think I wanted to move on?

I wanted her to stay. Knox wanted her to stay. Brooks wanted her to stay.

The only question was, what would it take to make Simone want to stay, too?

CHAPTER26

Brooks

Ifelt it even before I opened my eyes. I’d sensed it coming for days already, but that morning, I was hot, the covers bothering me to the point I had to kick them off. The sun was bright, a fact I could detect through the small slit in the curtains, the birds chirping with far too much gusto.

Simone stirred beside me, irritated by my movements.

“Stop fidgeting,” she ordered me sleepily. “It’s not time to wake up yet.”

She was right. Her internal clock was working just fine—not that we ran by an alarm, anyway, but I wasn’t going back to bed. Today was definitely the day. There would be no more putting it off.

I tried to lie still, but I couldn’t stop my foot from moving.

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