Page 91 of The One With the Mountain Man

That was really sweet. "How did she figure it out?"

He had the softest smile on his face whenever he thought of Mack. "She was reading one of your books when you got into town. We were in bed and she started muttering 'A.M. Quill. Why does that sound so familiar?' Then she flipped to your author photo and even though you look really different in real life, it's clearly you. Aurora Marley Tranquill. She'd typed your name a dozen times over a few days, so it all just kind of clicked. We decided to leave it alone, but then you and Huk got together, and it became a family matter."

"She erased me from the Lost Creek Cabin records."

"Anyone who is a fan knows you're having trouble. It was clear as day you came here to escape it for a while. The last thing she wanted was to cause you any more trouble."

I hugged him. Hard.

"Oof!" After I knocked the air out of him, he laughed and wrapped me up tight, patting my back. "You're going to be all right, kid."

I laughed and let him go. "Kid?"

He shrugged. "You and Huk are end game, so I need some kind of sisterly nickname for you."

Would I always get butterflies thinking about Jackson? "End game, huh?" I couldn't deny that it was true. Especially after yesterday.

"I speak from deep experience," he joked. Even though he and Mack had known each other most of their lives, their romantic relationship was only a few months old. "But seriously, he's head over heels in love with you. I see the way you look at him and the way you take care of him. If that isn't couple goals, I don't know what is."

"Well, coming from you, that's a real compliment, because you and Mack are clearly end game. How is she, by the way? Joanne said she's sick."

"Just a little sinus infection. Spring allergies get her every year. I made her stay home and rest."

"Made her?"

He shrugged. "I may have told her I would only bring her chicken soup to the house and if I found the house empty when I got there, I wouldn't make her mac and cheese bites for a month."

"Evil." Those mac and cheese bites were insanely, addictively delicious.

He grinned. "Mackenzie can be stubborn. She knows I mean business when I threaten her with food."

Just like Jackson not letting me go when my bad habit was to run. "I'm familiar with this form of love. Are all you Lost Creek men like this?"

He cocked his head to the side and thought. "Huh, you know what...I think we all learned it from the Sammy books."

Twenty-Eight

Marley

I'm the excitement and fun before the big solemn event

Talkingto Scottie helped calm me down but it didn't stop the brain fog from setting in. It happened every time Cristobal upset my life. It was like all of my brain shut down except for the part that fixated on his state of mind.

Clearly, he was angry when he realized I hadn't been in my Tampa house for weeks. Which meant he was unhinged and would be for a few days until the rage cycle petered out.

Then he'd calm down and start working to find me. He'd comb every post from the author event in Atlanta, every photo, looking for clues.

"Are you Marley?"

I shook myself out of my thoughts and realized I'd been staring at the toilet paper section of Lost Creek's little store. I wasn't sure when I even walked across the street.

Which was...bad. I needed to get my head on straight. I looked over at a woman with an edgy light-brown bob, concerned brown eyes, and full lips. There was something familiar about her that I couldn't place and given my current state of mind, I thought all the bad thoughts.Angry fan? Stalker? Undercover journalist?"Um, yes?"

She smiled warmly. "I'm Eve. Eve Finn." She held out a slender hand.

I shook it, seeing the familiarity was actually family resemblance. "You're Jackson's sister?"

"One of them," she said with a cheeky smile and the same glimmer of mischief in her eyes that I knew all too well. "It's nice to meet you." She appeared to be a few years younger than me, but not too many. "How are you liking our little town?"

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