Page 14 of Sweet Cinnamon and the Mountain Man
I screwedthis one up bad. I knew there’s no way that Cinnamon was trying to cheat the people around here out of that land. She’s too good. Too sweet.
I close my eyes and groan, shoveling my hands into my hair and tugging hard.
I know it. I knew it last night. Heck, I think I always knew that there was something about her that I wouldn’t be able to forget.
She’s a full moon night with a soft, gentle breeze. She’s everything good and I’m a total freaking idiot.
I need to talk to her. Need to explain to her. But she walked out with that slimy snake in the grass and I don’t know if she’ll ever talk to me again.
I grab my keys and head out the door, my eyes locked on the dirt trail halfway down the mountain. All I have to do is catch up with her and explain. She’ll understand. She has to.
I need her. My heart skips and my palms sweat so much that I drop my keys into the drive.
“Shoot.” I drop to the ground and scoot under the truck when I see them lying there.
Reaching out, I grasp them with my fingers and tug them back, jumping to my feet.
I’ve wasted too much time. I need to get to her. Now!
Hopping into my truck, I jerk it into gear and skid my way down the mountain like an Indy 500 driver on a wet track.
Swearing, I jerk the wheel when we reach the fairgrounds. I can see her right ahead of me but she sees me first and runs for her little car.
“Oh no you don’t, sweetheart. You’re not getting away from me that easily.”
I jerk my truck to a quivering stop, blocking her from reaching her car.
“Have you lost your mind?” she screeches and throws her hands up in the air.
I slam my way out of the truck and stalk to her. “I have lost my mind. Yes, I have. I’m an idiot and I know that you would never try and work me over for anybody.”
“Definitely not my ex,” she mutters.
“Absolutely not. I know that. I’m not sure why I acted so stupid. I think I was just trying to protect myself.”
“From James?” Her hazel eyes pull me in and even though her makeup is smeared around her eyes like a raccoon and her her looks like it went through a hurricane, she’s still the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.
I shake my head and move closer to her. “No. Not him.”
Her hand lifts. “From me?”
I nod my head. “Yeah. You scare the heck out of me. I’ve never felt like I have with you. No woman has ever made me as crazy as you. When you smile at me, my heart just beats like a wild bird in my chest.”
He swallows hard. “When you glare at me, I want to kiss you so that you smile at me. And then I want to say something so dang stupid that you glare at me and we do it all over again.”
Her eyes gleam with tears. “You sound crazy.”
“Crazy for you. I am. I’ve been alone so long up here on the mountain that I really thought there was no woman out there that could make me feel whole again. But since I met you, I haven’t had as many nightmares as I used to. I dream about you instead. It’s like all my bad thoughts have been blown away by thoughts of you and how happy you make me just being you.”
She shakes her head, tears trickling down her cheeks, her eyes sparkling like the finest Tennessee whiskey. “I didn’t want to care about you either. But somewhere between glaring and fighting with me and saying the sweetest things on the planet, it happened. And it was so easy and right. That’s why when you thought I would help my ex do something that I think would hurt you, I couldn’t believe it. I thought you knew me better than that.”
I move closer to her, my hands reaching out for hers. Her tiny palms rest in mine and I groan silently. Nothing has ever felt this right in my life.
Not even when I left for the military. That was just a means to an end. Just a job.
This woman is my life.
“I love you, Cinnamon Walker. And I know it’s too soon but I’m here to tell you I fell in love as soon as I saw you for the first time and Agatha tried to fix us up. One day soon, I hope to ask you to marry me and I hope that you say yes.”
