Page 7 of Fake Date with the Mountain Man

It’s weird. I never would have taken Marlow for a big drinker. It contradicts all of her perfect composure.

Once Emmett slides out of the booth and returns to the bar for another round, the rest of our table sits in strange silence. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I don’t really want to hang around to find out. I motion for Marlow to slide out so I can track down Bonnie and then maybe even find some company for the night.

Chapter 5

MARLOW

“So, I’m guessing that’s not actually a gin and tonic in that glass?” I ask Abby after Hunter wanders off.

“Just water with lime.”

“How far along are you?”

“Eight weeks. We aren’t ready to tell anyone yet.”

“Well, congratulations. Your secret is safe with me.”

“Thanks…and thanks for taking that shot for me. I think Hunter and I both panicked for a second there,” she smiles.

Abby doesn’t work for the Forest Service, but she’s starting a nonprofit that’s sponsored by the agency. Nature Track helps at-risk kids by taking them out on the Appalachian Trail for wilderness therapy. And even though it doesn’t fall strictly under the responsibilities of my position, helping her set the whole thing up is my favorite part of my job.

Ever since I was in foster care myself, I’ve wanted to work with kids like me. Kids in difficult situations, kids who don’t have the support they need.

The natural career path for me was to work with foster kids. Managing foster care and adoption cases back in Chicago was both rewarding and heart-breaking. I was prepared for that. I just wasn’t prepared for the scales to be so stubbornly tipped toward heartache.

After five years, I needed a break. It all hit too close to home. I bottled it all up, just like I learned to do when I was a kid being passed from home to home, and I managed to keep some level of professional detachment. But just barely. Most nights I was a wreck. Barely sleeping, barely eating. Barely functioning.

But the chance to help kids indirectly through Abby’s program appealed to me. It’s honestly why I accepted this job over the other offers I received.

“Marlow?”

Abby’s voice fades in and I realize I’ve been distractedly sipping at my drink.

My head swims. I’ve never been much of a drinker, and I haven’t done shots in the better part of a decade.

“Sorry, what?” I ask.

“What’s the deal with you and Ryan?”

Oh,that.

I shrug and take another ill-advised sip of my drink.

But Abby doesn’t give up that easily. “Do you guys have a thing going on?”

“Athing? Oh God, no. Unless by ‘thing,’ you mean mutual disdain.”

“So, it’s not just an act? I sort of thought you two were secretly hooking up or something.”

I can’t decide if the sudden urge to vomit is the alcohol or the thought of being one of Ryan’s many, many conquests.

“It’s not an act. We genuinely dislike each other. In fact, he poured glitter all over me just yesterday as some sort of stupid prank.”

Abby laughs and shakes her head at me. “I think you’re misreading the situation. I mean, if I genuinely disliked someone, I wouldn’t spend my time on an elaborate plot to cover them in glitter. Are you sure he wasn’t just trying to break the ice with you a little? Or maybe flirting with you?”

“Definitely not,” I say. Although I wonder if she’s onto something with her theory about breaking the ice. “At least not the flirting part…”

“Well, I think you should prank him back and see what happens. Maybe you two just need to clear the air and get a fresh start.”

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