Page 10 of Stepbrothered by the Mountain Man

Chapter Four

Maya

I snuggle into Levi’s arms as he carries me up the stairs. I’d awoken during their conversation, but I didn’t want to intervene. My mind was racing.

The insurance company would only cover sixty percent of the damages. I didn’t know the details about the lodge’s finances, but it wasn’t cheap to run. So, despite our fantastic occupancy rate, I knew our margins weren’t stellar.

Then Beau mentioned his meeting with a potential property client. Was he showing the client my property? Okay, it isn’t mine. It’s Beau’s, and technically he can do whatever he wants with it, whenever he wants. It’s not like he promised it to me. He just said that he didn’t advertise it, as he wanted one of his family or friends to buy it, seeing as his forever home was nestled right below. Heath was to the west and Grant was to the east.

But he needs money, and he wants to extend the lodge, something I thought was a fabulous idea for everyone. Bigger margins mean more stability, and just like the Woods brothers, I want the Bear Lair Lodge to stay around forever.

Once Levi opens his bedroom door and lays me gently on his bed, I reach up, curling my arms around his neck so that he doesn’t move away from the bed.

“You’ve been awake this whole time?” He asks incredulously as I blink up at him, totally alert.

“Only for the last twenty minutes. I’m sorry I made you carry me all the way upstairs. I know I’m heavy.” I hadn’t thought about that when I played dead.

He gets onto the bed beside me, resting his head on Mr. Oso. The way he looks down at me is so intense, I struggle to not look away, but I do when he laces his fingers through mine and brings our joint hands up to eye level. His palm swallows mine and his fingers are so thick, they stretch mine as far apart as they’ll go.

“Maya, I could carry you around like a backpack all day and I wouldn’t get tired. In case you haven’t noticed, you’re like a cub beside me.”

Blushing, I turn on my side so our faces are just inches apart. I guess in comparison I was.

As I stare into his eyes, I just want to get stranded in the sea-foam green of his irises. I want to run my fingers through his long dirty blonde hair and chestnut beard. I swear when he looks at me like this, I think he wants me too. Like in the jacuzzi when he settled me on his lap, or at the property site where he held me in his arms and told me he’d go to jail for me.

But that’s just him being overprotective. I know with our age gap he views me as a kid. Someone he constantly has to look out for. He probably sees it as his duty as a big stepbrother. I should be grateful he takes his role so seriously. I mean, I was practically an adult when we met so it’s amazing we still managed to bond so well.

A family bond. That’s it.

That’s what I keep telling myself at least but my body has a mind of its own. My heart leaped at his near growl when he told Beau I’d be staying with him instead.

“It’s bad isn’t it?” I whisper. “The damage. The finances...”

“Hey,” Levi says, his calloused thumb reaching out to stroke my cheek. Tears well in my eyes not only because I was nearly crushed by a tree, but because I felt so helpless. The lodge was my home too, and I wanted to pitch in. “Maya, everything is going to be okay. Forget about the damage and finances. That’s just materialistic. What we all care the most about is you.”

“I’m fine.” I shake my head.

“No, you're not.” He brings his face closer so that our noses are just a hair apart.

“It’s just... I’ve been living here for only three years, but it feels like an eternity. Like I’ve found my forever home in the mountains. Something I never felt when I was all alone in my mom’s one-bedroom apartment near the lake. It’s not the size or the amenities, it's all of you. I love you guys.”

He strokes my cheek faster. “We all love you too.”

I curl my fingers around his wrist, willing the tears to not fall. “So the damage brought up a very real possibility. That it could all be taken away in the blink of an eye.”

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