Page 2 of My Devoted Mountain Man

I get out and try to see what I ran over that caused this mess. I’m no mechanic, so I can’t figure it out. When I look around me, I realize I’m in the middle of nowhere. I reach for my purse to get my phone, and of course, there are no bars. There’s no reception out here. Damn it.

I start cursing like a sailor, which is something I do when I’m really upset. It won’t change my situation, but it makes me feel better, and that’s something I need at the moment.

Not knowing how far or close I am to Fletcher’s cabin, I decide to keep going on foot. I’m not wearing the best shoes for a hike, but what’s a girl to do? After a while, I realize I’m no longer on a road and I start to panic.

That’s when the heel of my shoe breaks and I limp awkwardly while trying to find something I recognize that can get me back to my car.

I’m tired, so I sit down on a fallen log and try to make sense of it all.

Clearly, I’m lost. I consider myself a smart, resourceful woman, but this is too much for me right now. Damn Fletcher and this mountain. I try to remind myself that I, too, found Hunter’s Peak a wonderful refuge from the world.

After sulking for a few minutes, I realize that I need to move before it gets dark. So I get up, dust myself off, and start walking.I still don't recognize anything that could lead me back to the road or my car, and I start to panic.

I'm also getting tired and seem to stumble more and more on the uneven terrain. As I maneuver myself through the woods, I suddenly catch my foot on something. I fall down and due to the steep incline of the mountain, I start to roll down at an incredible speed.

It seems like hours not seconds pass until finally I hit something that stops my movement but also hurts like a son of a bitch. I don't even try to move because my whole body is in pain, so I just lie there for a bit. I do a self-check on my current status.

I've lost my shoes, I've hit my head, and I have a large bump to go with it, and something seems to be pinning me to the ground. I lift my head to see that there’s a big splotch of red on my side, and there's a branch sticking out of me. Shit.

This. This is how I die. Now I let the tears flow freely and resign myself to my fate—dying alone on the side of a mountain.

Chapter 2

Fletcher

I've been obsessively working on my art for the past month. I need to do something, or I'll go crazy up here on this mountain. I came to Hunter's Peak so many years ago as a broken man, having experienced the worst of humankind in the military.

I have so many finished pieces in my workshop that it's starting to get crowded in here. I try to focus on what I'm working on—a deer with two fawns caught as they drink from the creek that is not far from here. As I carve the detail on the piece, I wonder why it reminds me so much of her.

Her. Erika White. Young, vibrant, and the woman of my dreams. Except I know she'll never have an old broken man likeme, so I've been trying to stay away. It's been harder than I thought it would be. In the first few weeks, I had to keep myself from driving into town to deliver my artwork.

We have a verbal agreement about me making pieces for her to sell in her gallery, but there's no written contract. A fact I'm using as an excuse not to go to her. It's just that my feelings for her are now overwhelming, and I know that if I see her, I'm going to kiss her and claim her, no matter where we are when that happens.

When she approached me so that she could show my work in her gallery, I was immediately taken by her. Getting to know her with each encounter we've had has been life-changing for me. At first, I didn't believe that she could sell art from her tiny gallery here in Hunter's Peak, but she proved me wrong time and time again.

Now my mind is filled with images of her smiling and showing me support for my art. I thought I could make a few dollars with my hobby, but she's made thousands in sales for me, completely surprising me. That's who she is, though. A surprising individual with a heart of gold.

I continue working on my piece until my phone rings. I set down my carving tools and reach for it.

"Hello?"

"Fletcher, this is Dean from the search and rescue team. We need a few volunteers to help us look for a missing person who seems to be lost in the mountains. Are you available?"

"Yes, I can help. Where do I meet you?"

"I'm sending you the location where we've found her car. She's been missing for a day and a half."

"Damn. Okay. I'll see you in a few."

I close the connection and put away my tools. The SAR team here at Hunter's Peak often calls on my help due to my militaryexperience. These mountains can be treacherous to those who don't know how to navigate them.

The place where I'm meeting Dean is relatively close to my cabin, and a chill races through my body when I get closer and see the car that's been left on the side of the road.

It'shercar.

Now I'm close to hyperventilating.

It can't be. She can't be missing for a day and a half. What if she's hurt? The thoughts in my head are going a mile a minute as I park my car and rush to meet Dean.

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