Page 8 of Her Mountain Man Veteran

I can’t help chuckling at the way he says it, and his lips twitch into a crooked smile, one side raising higher than the other. The effect is pretty darn sexy.

“Seriously, though, you must have been so brave to go through that,” I tell him, squeezing his calloused palm. “I can’t even imagine.”

“Just doing my duty.” He shrugs. “It was a long time ago now. I got off pretty lightly, all things considered.”

I’m not surprised by Dane’s humility. He seems to want praise even less than he wants pity, and I feel a rush of admiration for him. In the back of my head, I remember that Brody is waiting for me, and that I was only meant to stay a couple of minutes. But I can’t bring myself to go. My hand is still wrapped around Dane’s, our eyes locked, and the whole cabin seems to buzz with electricity. As we’ve been talking, we’ve leaned closer across the table, slowly bridging the gap between us without even realizing it. Our faces are just a few inches apart, and I can see flecks of dark green in Dane’s amber eyes, his silver-laced beard, the contours of his rough scars. He has no idea how handsome he is, and when his gaze strays to my lips, I feel a bolt of anticipation rush through me.

Am I going crazy…or is this gorgeous mountain man about to kiss me?

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

The sound of a fist hammering on the front door brings me crashing back to reality, and I draw back from Dane, breathing hard. I look down at my lap, avoiding his eyes as he gets up from his chair with a grunt of annoyance and opens the door. I’m not surprised when I hear my brother’s voice.

“Is Celeste here?” he asks curtly.

“Yes,” I call, so Dane doesn’t have to respond. “I’m here, Brody. I was just leaving.”

With a bitter sigh, I get up from the table and head for the door where my brother is waiting for me, arms crossed. “You said twenty minutes.”

I have a sudden urge to scream at him, but I hold my tongue, turning back to Dane. “Thanks again,” I tell him, struggling to know what to say with my brother watching. “Enjoy the pie.”

“Thanks. I will.”

There’s an awkward pause before I reluctantly follow Brody away from the cabin and into the woods. As soon as Dane’s door closes behind us, I feel my irritation boil over.

“You didn’t have to come and get me,” I say. “I’m not a child.”

“You said you’d be twenty minutes, Cee. When you didn’t come back, I thought you might be lost in the woods again.”

I stop in my tracks, rounding on my brother. “That’s not what this is about, and you know it. You came to get me because you don’t want me spending any more time with Dane.”

Brody’s expression darkens. “I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to.” I scowl at him. “What is your problem with him? If it’s because of his scars, then you should know that he’s a veteran. He got those scars in combat. You shouldn’t judge?—”

“It’s nothing to do with his damn scars.” My brother cuts me off, crossing his arms stubbornly. “I just don’t like him, okay? He reminds me of Dad.” He flinches at his own words, like he already regrets saying them, but it doesn’t stop the anger roiling inside me.

“He’s nothing like Dad.” I clench my jaw tight. “How can you say that when you don’t even know him?”

“You don’t know him either,” Brody points out, frowning. “Look, there’s just something about him…I don’t know what it is, but I don’t like it.”

Before I can say something I regret, I stalk away from Brody, keeping well ahead of him as I walk back to his cabin. My brother’s protectiveness doesn’t usually bother me this much, but I can’t stand the way he’s attacking Dane, seeing parallels with our father that simply don’t exist. The only thing they have in common is their military background—nothing else.

When my brother arrives back at the cabin a couple of minutes after me, he shoots me a guilty look.

“I didn’t mean to upset you, Cee. I’m trying to protect you.”

“Brody, I’m a grown woman. You don’t need to protect me anymore.”

He shakes his head. “Danger doesn’t disappear just because you’re a grownup.”

I guess I can’t argue with that. But Dane isn’t dangerous, and Brody has no reason to think he is. When I tell him this, he just sighs.

“It doesn’t matter,” I say, throwing my hands up in defeat. “There’s nothing between me and Dane, and I’m leaving in a few days anyway, so you can dislike him all you want.”

The words sit bitterly on my tongue, but they’re true. I’ll be heading back to Denver soon, so my brother’s opinion of Dane is irrelevant. Nothing can happen between us.

I retreat into a chair in the corner and grab a book from my suitcase, looking for a distraction from the misery churning in my gut. A shadow falls over the pages, and I look up to see Brody watching me.

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