Page 12 of Protected By the Mountain Man

“Do you have any plans today?” I ask after a minute.

“Nope, we can do whatever you want,” he replies, smoothing a hand up and down my curled arm. I love that he automatically wants to spend the day with me. It makes me feel wanted, cherished for more than just my body.

“I was thinking of going for a hike to get reacquainted with some of the trails, see where some other types of ferns might be growing. You don’t have to come—”

He cuts me off. “That sounds great, I would love to see you in action.” I smile up at him, excited to spend the day with him outside, looking for cool, or rare, plants. It’s like all of my favorite things at once.

With a quick, but still passionate kiss, I get up and start packing up my hiking backpack. Scott asks if he can help, but I tell him he can just relax. Half an hour later, I’ve changed into navy leggings, my hiking boots with thick white socks under them, a white dri-fit shirt, and my favorite blue and green patterned fleece. It’s about 65 degrees, so I think I should have enough layers. I’ve filled my pack with the plant guidebook I was reading last night, some protein bars, extra water, and sunscreen.

“You ready?” I ask Scott.

“Yep. You look so cute in that outfit. My little botanist,” he says, walking over to me and lifting me off the ground. I wrap my legs around his waist and our kiss quickly turns heated.

“Okay, okay,” I say, breaking away from him. “We need to stop or we’ll never get out of here.”

He momentarily looks like he’s going to protest, but just rubs a thumb up and down my cheek before pressing another quick kiss to my lips and setting me down. I love that he could tell that now wasn’t the time, that I really needed to get out and do this.

“Can we swing by my place so I can grab some stuff?” he asks, grabbing my hand as we’re heading out the door.

“Of course. I’d love to see your place too, I’m realizing now we’ve only spent here. What if you don’t even have a house?” I say with a laugh as he lightly slaps my ass for the comment.

“Brat,” he replies, opening the passenger side door of his truck for me, making sure I’m all buckled in before rounding the front of the truck and starting it up. We chat idly for the short drive to his house, and I have to say, I’m shocked when we pull up.

He has a gorgeous log home, complete with a wraparound porch facing the mountains in all directions. We hop out of the truck before heading inside, where I’m greeted with a gorgeous open-space kitchen and living room. Exposed wood beams cover the ceilings and wide windows surround the space, letting in gorgeous natural light through the whole place.

“Oh my god, Scott, this house is stunning,” I say, spinning around to take everything in.

“Thanks,” he says, not sheepish at all. “After I got back from active duty, I knew I wanted a space that was quiet, that I could make all my own. When I settled on Cedar Ridge, this house was on the market and I knew it was perfect for me.”

“I love it, it’s so serene out here,” I say, opening one of the sliding glass doors to go out onto the back part of the porch. Scott walks up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and whispering, “You can spend as much time here as you want,” into my ear.

I’m in awe of the place as Scott heads inside to change and grab his own pack. When he comes back downstairs, he’s dressed in dark green hiking pants and a simple heather grey sweatshirt, Whiskey Mountain Fire hat flipped backwards on his head. He looks so handsome like this, I can’t wait to devour him later.

“Let me show you the best part of this place,” he says. We head back outside and he grabs my hiking pack out of the truck before guiding me through his backyard. We walk through a small tree lined path at the end of his yard before emerging into a clearing with a sign pointing to hiking trails in all directions.

“No way! I can’t believe you didn’t mention you live this close to the trails. You’ve been holding out on me,” I say, lightly slapping his chest. He grabs my wrist and plants a kiss to my palm before dropping my hand back.

“Got to keep things interesting. But now, whenever you come here, you can just base at the house, it’s pretty central to it all,” he says. “Now, pick a trail, Ave.”

I pick Cascade, my favorite trail from growing up. There’s a bunch of beautiful waterfalls on the way and a gorgeous meadow near the peak where we can stop. I’m not sure if it will be the best place to search for my fern, but this is just one of many hikes I—hopefully, we—will get out on this spring and summer.

We start our hike, stopping along the way to take pictures of the waterfalls and taking our time to enjoy the beautiful scenery. I can’t believe I spent five years away from this perfect, peaceful place. I am so happy I made it back. This weekend has been deeply healing for me.

We reach the meadow and I’m surprised when Scott pulls a blanket out of his pack, laying it on the ground, before reaching back into his bag and pulling out some sandwiches and sparkling waters and sitting down, patting the spot beside him.

“When did you do all of this?” I ask, taking a seat beside him and unwrapping my sandwich. Chicken salad on a croissant.

“I had a few minutes when you were looking around outside and thought we could use a break when we got up here,” Scott replies, reaching in the bag again and pulling out a bag of chips and some cookies.

“You’re perfect, thank you, Scotty,” I say, cracking open my lemon water and taking in the view around us, open air and wildflowers and so many other plants that I can’t wait to explore.

“You’re welcome, baby.” We eat in silence for a few minutes before looking at each other and breaking into grins. Scott reaches over and pulls me into his lap, stroking my hair like he does so often.

“This might be soon,” he says, breaking our silence, “actually, I know it’s too soon, but I can’t wait another moment to tell you. I love you, Ava. I think I’ve loved you since the moment I pulled you out of your window and I spent the last few years just hoping I would see you again. These last few days have been the best of my life.”

He looks at me with such warmth, suchlovein his brown eyes that I can instantly place what I was feeling for him earlier. What I’ve been feeling all along, if I’m being honest.

“I love you, too. And I know it’s soon, but I think I’ve loved you ever since you pulled me out of that window and told me I was safe. I know you’ll always protect me, be there for me,waitfor me. I love you, I love you, I love you,” I repeat, pressing kisses all over his beautiful, perfect face.

---