Page 4 of Grumped By the Mountain Man

Jaxon had opened up to me but he was still a half-closed book riddled with unspoken reservations about us. I didn’t care that his best friend was my brother. He did. I didn’t care that he was older than me. He did. Then there was the secretiveness of his family life. There was no Mrs. Peters, and Jaxon’s refusal to speak of his mother spoke volumes. Was she the reason why he was so closed off?

I sigh. I’m to blame for the distance between us too. I wanted to escape Covet County and explore the unknown. I’d explored all right, and I quickly realized the veneer smiles, and social climbing I’d encountered drained my passion and love of photography. It was a different world on the west coast. Not worse. Not better. Just different, and I missed the familiar.

I missed the crooked, sometimes yellow teeth but genuine smiles of the mountain residents.

I missed people saying what they actually meant.

I missed my family.

I missed Jaxon. I still do.

But maybe I’m delusional to think I can just swoop back in and pick up where we left off. I may be stuck in the past, but maybe Jaxon isn’t. Fair enough, but why the coldness?

“That’s just Jaxon,” Cali says with a little giggle and a shrug.

Why did it sound nervous? Did she know something I didn’t? Well, he was her brother...

“He’s always been a grump, you know that.”

I do know that, but Jaxon’s never been overly grumpy with me.

“After Dad’s death eight months ago, he’s sort of shut himself up in his cabin. I think he’s regressed and lost what little manners and social skills he once had after so much isolation.”

My shoulders sag, and my stomach falls into my ass.

Mr. Peters.

How could I be so narcissistic to automatically assume Jaxon’s standoffish behavior is solely because of me? I’ve been MIA for three years and as Jaxon isn’t a social media person— none of the mountain men I know are— I’d missed most of what was happening in his life, including Mr. Peters’ death.

I squeeze my eyes shut before swiping away the last photo of Jaxon and me. The one where I’ve just caught the bouquet and I’m mid-jump, watching Jaxon leave the reception.

“You’re, right. I’m sorry, Cali. These are your wedding photos and here I am taking the attention away from you and making it all about me.”

“I’ve already picked out over one hundred photos for you to edit,” Cali says kindly. “I think we made it about me for the past two hours at least.”

I eye the empty mugs piled up on the coffee bar and stretch my arms over my head. We’ve been sitting here for quite some time.

“And don’t worry about Jaxon. He just needs some time to warm up to you again. Remember how awkward he was when he first started taking you around the mountain that summer?”

That was true. We hadn’t become besties in one day. It was at least the third trip before Jaxon even looked me in the eye, and the fourth before he allowed himself to laugh at one of my jokes.

“Once you guys catch up at his cabin today, I’m sure things will slowly return to normal.”

I hope she’s right and wrong. I do want Jaxon to thaw to me again, but I don’t only want his friendship. I want him.

I’ve always been attracted to Jaxon, and I never thought the man could get any hotter, but he has.

His dark hair is graying at the temples now. His icy blue eyes identical to Cali’s are as intense as ever and he’s bigger than before. A sheer mountain of muscle I want to climb and mount. It’s no wonder he’s in such good shape given that monstrous cabin he’s practically built alone.

As I bite my lip and think of all the ways I could scale Jaxon, Cali eyes me suspiciously as if she can read my thoughts. But hey, she’s married to my brother. Actually, every woman here is married to one of my brothers. Maya’s up front by the receptionist's desk and Emmy’s in the kitchen.

Seems to me brothers are fair game. Still, I blink, looking away from her scrutinizing gaze.

“The fact that he invited me over is a start,” I say, fiddling with the handle of my long empty mug.

I run a successful photography blog, and I’m doing a new segment on all the beautiful cabins that dot the mountainside. I got the brilliant idea after my pictures of the Bear Lair Lodge and Lounge went viral. Since then, my followers have been begging me for more cabin tours. Local businesses are interested as well, with the Cliffton restaurant asking me for a feature just last week.

It’s a relief to get so much support, as I plan to stay put in Covet County and to stay put, I need to earn an income. Maybe Jaxon’s invitation to photograph his cabin is a truce to all the weirdness.

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