Page 10 of The Mountain Man's Muffin

And then I smelled it. A burning smell.

“Fuck! The muffins!” I yelled. Austin’s eyes grew wide. We scrambled out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. I ran to the oven, but when I pulled the door open, it was too late.

Smoke came out along with burned muffins.

“Oh no!” I cried as I set the pan down next to the sink. “All of these are wasted!”

Austin stood next to me. “Shit, I’m so sorry, Ruby. It’s my fault. The flour fight, the sex—dammit. I won’t go to work today. I’ll help you with everything.”

Hope filled my chest, and the stress eased. “You would do that?”

“Of course. If I hadn’t thrown flour at you?—”

“No, I should’ve set the timer.”

“Again, I distracted you. I’m sorry.”

I loved how easy conflict felt between us. I was confident we’d survive the ups and downs as long as we had each other.

“Don’t apologize. We’ll figure this out. We’ll figure it all out.” I lifted onto my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck. I kissed him and said, “I want to go on all the dates with you. As long as you always promise me dessert.”

His arms slid around my hips, and he hugged me close. He buried his face in my hair and inhaled. I chuckled against his chest. I loved how he enjoyed smelling me. “Dessert? Is that all?”

“Mm-hmm, but not of the food variety.”

“Ruby, you’re the sweetest thing I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting, and I plan on feasting every day. You sure you can handle it?” His strong arms moved under my ass, and he lifted me with ease. I wrapped my legs around his waist and seared my mouth to his.

I kissed him with everything in me. Everything I felt, everything I wanted to feel, how happy he made me, how turned on I was. We kissed and kissed and kissed until our mouths were swollen, and we lost our breath.

When we broke apart, Gran stood in the kitchen, one hand clutched to her chest, and the other covered her mouth. Her eyes were as big as saucers.

We sprang apart, and I raced over to her. “Gran! What are you doing here? It wasn’t safe for you to go out.”

Kane was sniffing her and trying to say hello. Gran took a second to pat his head before she turned her attention back on me. I wished she had taken longer with the dog. I hoped she wasn’t too upset.

The place was a mess. Flour everywhere, burned muffins, dishes galore, and Austin and I only half dressed. I hoped she wasn’t too upset.

But that thought didn’t last long. Out came a snort and I quickly covered my mouth with my hand. I couldn’t help it. It was like the cherry on top of the sundae. Guess there wouldn’t be any awkward meeting of the grandmother.

I heard Austin snicker behind me, and that was all it took for my laughter to break free. “I’m so sorry, Gran,” I said through giggles. “It’s been a disaster of a night and morning.”

“I’ll say. Nice to see you again, Austin Delaney. I figured I’d come check on you two since Austin never brought you home last night, and I heard you two camped out here.”

Of course Gran knew everything already. Her phone tree had many, many branches.

“Nice to see you, too, ma’am.” He tips his head toward her. “I was just about to call you.”

I laughed harder. No he wasn’t. He was kissing ass, and I was here for it.

“Oh, were you? To let me know you held my granddaughter hostage?” Gran winked in his direction, and I wonder what that was about.

“Well, I wouldn’t use the wordhostage. She didn’t seem to mind. Actually, I wanted to ask you if I could take her on a date.”

I flushed and held my hands up. “Okay, okay. We’re fine, Gran. I’m sure you can tell. Except for burned muffins and being way behind. But Austin promised to help me out, so we’ve got it covered.”

“Just close shop for the day. The roads are terrible. If it wasn’t for the sheriff outside and his big truck, I would never have made it. Now, you two behave yourselves. And maybe clean up a bit?” She smiled at us both with warmth. “Or maybe just have fun. Life is short. I’m going to see if I can manage to get into some trouble with the good ole sheriff outside. Toodle-oo.” Gran waved goodbye and disappeared almost as fast as she came.

Laughter flowed out of me like a damn river. “Wow. That’s all I can say. Wow.”

---