Page 119 of The One With the Mountain Man

It probably made him very successful in the finance world, but it also meant no one liked him and he had no friends. The other two guys were bros. They had good times and lots of superficial friends who liked them for their money. But this guy? He wasn't a bro. He was just a dick.

Maybe he was the source of the bad vibes I was feeling. He arrived in town and I felt the disturbance in the force.

For the rest of the afternoon that guy bugged the shit out of me. He was like a rodent forced out into the open with his shifty eyes and slightly hunched stance. I was glad when he got in his car back at ODX and left because at least I didn't feel like I was being assaulted by bad vibrations every single second.

After I helped Travis clean and stow the gear, I hopped in the shower and cleaned up, throwing on the spare clothes I kept in my locker.

"You good?" I poked my head in the office.

Travis grimaced. "I am now. That guy was seriously creepy, right?"

"Maybe the serial killer the TBCIMAs are always talking about has finally found our town." A thought I regretted the moment it left my mouth.

"Dark, dude. Damn. But... like we meet all kinds of people. Awkward, odd, the lot of it. This guy wasn't just awkward. There was something dark about him."

"I hate to admit it, but I agree. I've only met a few people I got such a bad feeling from, and I think we should keep our eyes open while he's in town."

"Agreed. I'm heading up to the Cabin office to speak with Joanne and Mack."

"Good idea. See you tomorrow." I fucking hummed as I hurried home. I couldn't remember living anywhere I was this excited about getting back to. Maybe a campsite deep in the forest? But that was just for the beauty.

This feeling was peace.

Well, peace mixed with a dose of who the fuck was that guy? All the bad feelings grew when I pulled up to Golden Hour and found it sealed like a tomb. It had to be raining hard for Marley to have all the windows closed. She was almost always on the deck when I got home. Either writing, reading, or doing her yoga.

But she wasn't there. I walked back around the house to confirm her truck was parked beside mine, which it was, then tried the door. It was locked. I checked my phone, but there were no messages about going out.

With my heart in my throat, I punched in the code and opened the door. "Lee?" My voice echoed off silent walls. "Marley?" My heart rate sped up as I scanned the living room and kitchen, it rocketed when I poked my head in the bedroom and bathroom to find them both empty.

"Marley!" My mind started racing with worst case scenarios. Had she fallen? Was she hurt? Did a bear wander into the cabin and eat her? I practically slid down the stairs to the extra bedroom and came to stop.

Marley sat in the middle of the spare bed, headphones on, face in her laptop.

"Marley!"

She jerked to attention. "Sorry," she murmured as she tugged her headphones down.

At least she wasn't hurt, sick, or dead. "Why are you down here? Is Charley here?"

She shook her head. "Still planning on coming at the end of summer."

I glanced around the room looking for clues. "Then...why are you down here?" The curtains were drawn making it dark like a cave.

She lifted her shoulders. "You're going to laugh at me."

"All that matters is that you're okay. Please tell me you're okay." I sat on the edge of the bed and found her foot, giving it a squeeze.

"I'm okay. Just slightly insane." I waited while she looked anywhere but at me. "I think I saw Bigfoot today."

I rolled my lips between my teeth because yeah, I wanted to laugh. She was locked up in this cabin she loved specifically because she felt free to have it opened up all the time, hiding down in the spare bedroom...because of Bigfoot? I plucked my hat off my head. "Like this? Bigfoot? The cryptid that wanders the forest?" The swing from freaked-out-of-my-mind to this was a lot to handle at once.

She groaned and set the laptop aside before burying her face in the blankets. "I told you. I've lost it. I've officially spent too much time alone and now I'm seeing things."

I pulled her foot until she laid out flat on the bed, then I crawled over her, dropping kisses everywhere her skin was exposed because I was so damn happy she was whole. "You don't feel like you've lost your sense of reality. Hmmm, don't taste that way either." Then I settled in the cradle of her hips. "Why don't you start at the beginning and explain what happened?"

She covered her face with her hands. "I'm ridiculous."

"You're not. I promise you're not." I nuzzled behind her ear until she talked.

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