Page 34 of The Mountain Man's Runaway Bride

“You should know me better than that.” He raises a hand to cradle my jaw. “Just like I know you.”

“Well…” He’s right. I do know him better. Never at any moment in the time we’ve spent together has Knox tried to mansplain something or make me feel like an idiot. He’s always trusted me to know what to do, and filled in any little gaps of knowledge I might have along the way.

Just like he’s been every bit as willing to learn from me.

“And what exactly do you know?” I whisper.

“I know you’re brave. And smart. And capable. And that you didn’t need to go to the end of the earth to prove it. You already were everything you ever needed to be and more.”

A tear slips down my cheek. His thumb catches it and wipes it away.

“I also know I’m better with you.” His voice drops, soft and gravelly. “Not because you fix me. But because you’ve reminded me I was never broken in the first place.”

“Oh, Knox…”

“I spent years thinking I’d failed. That leaving service meant I didn’t live up to my promise. That I couldn’t be enough for anyone.”

“Youareenough.”

“So are you.”

I throw my arms around him and he tightens his hold on me, lifting my feet nearly a foot off the air. We cling to each other, our foreheads pressed together, breath shaky.

“I love you,” I whisper.

“I love you, too.” His voice is gruff with emotion. “I’d chase you around the world if that’s what it took to make you see that. Just like you see me.”

I laugh through another tear. “That’s pretty poetic for a mountain man.”

“What can I say?” He kisses the corner of my mouth, his familiar beard tickling my skin. “You bring out the poet in me.”

I pull back just enough to look at him. “So… what happens now?”

“Now, I convince you to come back with me.”

I wrinkle my nose. “I don’t know. I’ve seen your pantry. It’s mostly peanut butter and protein bars.”

“I’ll build you a spice rack.”

“And your cabin has one bathroom. And no closet space.”

“I’ll add a walk-in.”

I smile.

He sobers. “You don’t have to decide today. You can come for a visit. A week. A month. A lifetime. Whatever you want.”

“I want you.”

“Then that’s what you’ll get.” His lips brush over mine. “You deserve the world, Quincy. And I plan on being the man to help you get it.”

EPILOGUE

QUINCY

My breath catches as I take in the view from the lodge’s back deck.

Rows of pine trees stretch as far as the sky can see. The mountains kiss the heavens with their snow-peaked tops, despite the relative summer warmth.

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