Page 13 of Enticed By the Mountain Man

Just gets out two dishes and scoops some of the pasta onto each, sliding one across the counter to me. I take a small bite and savor it.

“This is amazing.”

“I know, right?”

“Why did you want to remember your mother today?” I ask.

“One reason is because I wanted you to experience something she represents. I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but I had already planned to tell you how I felt about you this evening—before we went in the lake.”

My heart swells. “Really?”

“I swear. And part of the reason I decided it was going to be today has something to do with all of these bruises on my body. I could have died tonight, and it crossed my mind that itwould have been the biggest shame if you never knew how I felt about you.”

“Whatdidhappen tonight?”

Where several hours ago, I never would have dreamed of asking, no matter how curious I was, now it would be weird if Ididn’task.

“My uncle ran me off the road. I think he was trying to kill me.”

EIGHT

Justin

Saying it out loud to Carrie sounds weird, but it’s true.

My uncle tried to kill me tonight.

Carrie looks horrified. “He what? Why?”

“Once he blew all Mom’s life insurance payout on himself, he disappeared. I was still only seventeen, but Bob said I was old enough to survive on my own and ditched me. To be honest, I was glad at the time. I could finally move on without having him sniffing around for any loose change he could scrounge. I dropped out of high school and got a job at a factory that made cheap moisturizing lotion. My job was to operate the packaging equipment during production and run quality control. It was mind-numbing, but it paid the bills, and I soon became interested in the idea of creating a better-quality product. I became friends with people in different departments and saw how it all worked—what went into the moisturizer, how they designed the packaging, and then how they distributed it after my role in production.”

I’m so engrossed in his story that I almost forget about my pasta. I scoop up a little and take another mouthful. “So that’s your origin story and how you got into skincare?”

“Yes. I named the company after Mom. Lila.”

“Oh. I never knew that.”

“I contemplated making it part of the branding strategy, but it felt wrong. I liked that it was just something between her and I. Not many people knew my mom, so they didn’t make the connection.”

“So how does this story end with your uncle trying to kill you?”

“I managed to avoid him for a few years, but the more my company grew, the more persistent he became. Today, heambushed me after a meeting with a client and tried to claim that I wouldn’t have had any success without him raising me. And when I didn’t agree and tried to leave, he followed me in his car. We were on the outskirts of Black Crystal Falls when he sped up and literally rammed me, pushing me off the road. If he’d done it any later, I would have gone off into the valley and probably died. As it was, I got pretty beaten up when the car hit a tree. I suspect if I had been out of the picture, Bob would have tried to take over my business as one of my only remaining relatives.”

Carrie presses her hand to her mouth. “That’s completely insane.”

“At least the cops took it seriously. They’ve opened a case, and my car is in the shop getting repaired.”

“I hope you’ll press charges.”

“I will. Bob has no money of his own, so he won’t be able to afford a good lawyer.”

“How can I help? Make sure you use me for any documents you need to put together or any errands that need running.”

I take one of her hands. “Just having you here is enough. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but you give me the strength I need to get through each day. You’re like my secret superpower.”

She chuckles. I like that.” And then she thinks for a moment. “Hey, were you telling the truth about the code on your house lockbox?”

I bite my lip. “There’s a chance I may have lied about that.”

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