Page 59 of My Three Mountain Men

“Thanks, Simone.”

I smiled lovingly at them, my gaze lingering on Ryder, but he avoided my stare now. I wonder if he regretted what he’d said earlier. I didn’t regret him saying it, though.

CHAPTER25

Ryder

The winter had never passed so fast now that Simone was with us, and suddenly, I understood Knox’s long-standing fear of abandonment like never before. As February came to an end and March dawned on us with sunnier days, the constant drip of melting icicles brought about hibernating animals and fresh tracks that hadn’t been there only the previous week.

“It’s time,” Brooks murmured to me one beautiful morning as we hauled wood from the shed to the house.

“Time for what?” I asked, oblivious in that moment. I hadn’t been thinking of anything but stocking up the house and checking the traps, slush soaking into the sides of my boots.

“You know what. It’s that time of year again, Ryder. Except this year…”

I stopped abruptly, the logs falling out of my arms at the reminder. I genuinely hadn’t thought of his spring trip into Loganville.

“N-no!” I sputtered. “I mean, it’s not time yet. We could—we will have more snowfalls. You know not to get too comfortable with a March thaw.”

Brooks’ dark eyebrows rose. “I’m not getting comfortable with anything,” he retorted. “I’m doing things like we’ve always done them. If we don’t get dumped on in the next few days, I’m going to test the roads.”

“Don’t be dumb,” I fired back defensively. “If you go too soon, you’ll just get stuck.”

Brooks sighed and leaned down to collect what I’d dropped. “I don’t want her to go any more than you do,” he said quietly. “But you had to know that was coming. There’s no sense in prolonging the inevitable.”

Swallowing, I watched him trudge back toward the house, my heart thumping wildly in my chest. I had said the very same words to Knox when I’d found out he had screwed with the modem. And now I was acting just like him.

But he was right. I had let her go… if that’s what she wants.

I hated that there was this smidgen of hope inside me that remained ignited, that Simone might change her mind about returning to LA and decide that maybe this was the life she wanted. It was an unlikely fantasy, and I recognized it on every sensible level.

But I couldn’t shake it.

Grabbing another armload of wood, I made my way back to the house and entered through the mudroom. Simone was in the kitchen, scrubbing the stove.

“When was the last time you guys did this?” she demanded, pausing to wipe her forehead with the back of her yellow-gloved hand.

“Uh… since we got it last year?” I guessed.

“I bet,” she grimaced and laughed. “Honestly, at risk of sounding completely sexist, and please don’t ever tell my followers I said this, but how the hell did you guys survive this long without a woman?”

“It wasn’t supposed to be that way,” I replied before I realized what was coming out of my mouth. I paled to opaque when I heard what I’d said.

Simone peered at me. “No? What do you mean?”

My jaw twitched defensively, and a caustic response sprung to my lips, but died there before it could fall.

It’s not Simone’s fault. Don’t take it out on her.

“Ry?” she asked softly, slipping off her gloves. “Was someone else supposed to come here with you?”

I nodded, not trusting my voice at that moment, and understanding flooded her face. “That’s why you have the extra bedroom.”

I laughed hollowly. “I always wondered when someone was going to ask about that,” I muttered. “But the boys never did.”

Simone ambled closer, compassion coloring her eyes. “Who was she? What happened?”

I stiffened, Alisa’s dark eyes popping unbidden into my mind again. Suddenly, I realized how long it had been since she’d taken up space there.

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