Page 1 of Protected By the Mountain Man

Chapter One

Ava

Why did I come back here?

My heart is racing as I drive past theWelcome to Whiskey Mountainsign, letting me know I’ve made it back to the town I haven’t set foot in in nearly half a decade. I used to love everything about it here, but now, it’s just so different. I hope I can change that.

The last time I was here, I was freshly eighteen and ready to set the world on fire. I was heading off to my dream college, set to pursue becoming a botanist, hoping to return to Cedar Ridge, the mountain town where I spent every summer growing up, one day and teach people about the wonderful natural world we live in.

Nothing could have torn me down, until that August night changed everything. I start to let my thoughts drift back…

***

Five years earlier…

I was home alone, my parents out for dinner and a movie in the next town over. I was so excited to have the house to myself, I decided to bake some cookies and have a chill night to myself while I planned what I needed to bring back home to pack for school. I ran upstairs to grab my notebook and some of my favorite gel pens, but when I came back down, it was too late.

The entire kitchen was on fire, clearly stemming from the oven. I panicked, realizing that the fire had spread through the entire downstairs and there was no easy way for me to get out. I sprinted back up to my room, thankfully I had left my phone there, and called 911, an absolute sobbing mess. I can’t believe I had done this, had destroyed the central piece of my childhood and my parents dream, all for some stupid chocolate chip cookies.

The 911 operator told me to stay on the line and to open a window in my room so that the firefighters could see me when I arrived. I did as she said, tears streaming down my face the entire time.What were my parents going to do?

A few moments later, I heard the sirens in the distance. The smoke was beginning to fill my room and I could not stop crying, choking on the smoke and on my own sobs. I needed help.

As soon as the firefighters jumped off their truck I started screaming “I’m here! I’m here!” and frantically waving from my window, phone still to my ear. A group of firemen pulled a ladder to my window and one quickly climbed up to where I was.

“It’s going to be okay, honey,” he said as he reached for me, the sound of the fire bursting behind us. “I’m Scott, and I’m going to get you out of here…”

“Ava,” I said quickly, climbing out of the window and into his arms. We quickly scurried down the ladder, just as a massive crash sounded in the house. My adrenaline spiked even higher, wondering what would have happened to me if they’d been even a second later.

Scott set me down in the back of an ambulance, peeling off his mask to reveal the most handsome man I had ever seen. Olive skin, dark brown eyes, and a close-cropped beard, all painted the perfect portrait of my hero.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, looking over me to assess any injuries.

“No,” I choked out.

He looked at me with a sympathy I would never forget and told me that the paramedics would be over to check on me shortly.

As he turned to go back to his truck, I shouted “Thank you for saving me!”

“Just doing my job,” he said with a small smile that made his eyes crinkle.

***

After the fire, which we later found out was electrical and not because of my cookies, my parents decided to cut their losses and move out of Whiskey Mountain entirely, only keeping our small hunting cabin on the outskirts of town.

They knew how much I loved it in this little town, but I was too scared to go back after watching all of my memories go up in flames. I think they kept the cabin in the hopes that I would get over my fear of the place I loved so much.

I put off starting school for one year after the fire, unsure how I would have coped with so much change at once. I spent the year traveling the country, searching for unique plants in the hopes of getting ahead, even if I was already falling behind. I think spending that year in nature started to heal me, and ever since then I have been eager to see if Whiskey Mountain could still be everything I always wanted.

My parents retired and have been spending their summers travelling the world, leaving me responsible for the cabin. I turned it into a fairly popular rental, but when my last tenant moved out to live with her partner, I decided it was the perfect time for me to go back.

I park my black jeep in front of the cabin, heart racing as I get out and smell the mountain air for the first time in half a decade. It smells like home. I think that’s a good sign.

I start pulling bags from the back before unlocking the door, delighted to see that Luna, my last renter, left the place in perfect condition. I spend the next few hours unpacking and settling in, bringing in my personal plant collection to make the place feel more like my own.

It’s nearly 8 o’clock when I realize I have been so focused on the move, I haven’t made time to eat anything except a protein bar and a coffee on the drive. Suddenly, my stomach is rumbling and I feel absolutely ravenous.

Although I haven’t been back in here in a while, I still know where to head to get a quick dinner. I jump back in my jeep and head towards Main Street, only I’m absolutely shocked when I arrive. The entire downtown has been transformed, bustling with locals—it’s too early for the tourists—pouring in and out of half a dozen new restaurants.

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