Page 1 of Rugged Mountain Man
Chapter One
Sadie
The mountains are supposed to be peaceful, aren’t they? Healing, serene, life-affirming. At least, that’s what my sister Chloe told me before I packed my bags and drove six hours out of the city.
“You need this,” she’d said. “Get away from the chaos for a while and go find yourself.”
But now?
Right now, I’m soaked to the bone, freezing, and certain I’m lost. Healing, my ass. It all sounded so perfect when I booked it. TheRecharge in Naturepackage at Sweet Haven cabins promised guided hikes, cozy cabins, and gourmet campfire meals.Escape the grindandrediscover your inner peaceis what the website promised me.I was sold. After a trainwreck of a year, inner peace sounded like a steal for $399. But like everything else in my life, nothing is ever peaceful. Drama is bound to follow me wherever I go.
The guided hike started out harmless enough—until the group of retirees I was stuck with wouldn’t stop talking about their grandkids. I wanted quiet, I wanted space to think. Instead, I got Edna’s recipes for tuna casserole, which I will never make, and Stan’s opinion on how the younger generations just “doesn’t get it”.
So, I wandered off. Just a little break. Just to clear my head. And now I’m… here. Trudging over uneven rocks, trying not to slip and break my neck.
The wind picks up, howling through the peaks, and my jacket’s no match for it. My phone died an hour ago, not that it mattered with zero signal out here. The fog is thick, and every direction looks the same.
Panic creeps in, but I shove it down. I’ve been through worse, haven’t I? Like when my boss announced in front of the entire office that I’d lose my job if I didn’t close a sale by the end of the month. How was I supposed to know that the market would slow down right as I joined the real estate game? That humiliation felt like drowning. This? This is just… wet and cold and terrifying.
The storm worsens, rain lashing my face. My foot slips on a loose rock, and I stumble forward, catching myself just before I hit the ground. My heart pounds.
“Okay, Sadie,” I mutter. “You’re fine. Just find the trail.”
But there’s no trail. Just endless rock and scrub and—
Snap.
The sound is metallic, sharp, and immediate. Pain shoots up my leg, white-hot and blinding. I scream, falling hard on my hands and knees. My breath comes fast and shallow as I look down.
A metal trap. The kind you see in survival documentaries. Its rusted teeth clamp around my ankle, and blood seeps through my leggings.
“No, no, no,” I gasped. The jagged metal digs deeper as I twist. Tears blur my vision as frustration bubbles up. How did I even get here? How is this my life?
I scream again, louder this time, my voice cracking. But the storm swallows the sound, leaving me alone with the wind and the ache in my leg.
My fingers are numb, my breathing is shallow. Minutes pass. Maybe hours. The rain hasn’t let up. My leg throbs in time with my heartbeat, and I’m so cold my teeth won’t stop chattering.
I rest my head against a jagged rock, eyes closed. This isn’t how I pictured my big “escape.” I thought I’d spend the weekend hiking, maybe journaling in a cozy cabin with a glass of wine. Resetting my frazzled mind. Figuring out how to save my career before it crumbles completely.
Not… this.
A sound cuts through the rain—footsteps. Heavy. Steady. My eyes snap open, scanning the fog.
“Hello?” My voice is raw, barely audible. “Is someone there?”
The footsteps get closer, deliberate. Fear knots in my stomach. What if it’s a bear? Or worse, a—
A man steps out of the mist.
Holy hell.
He’s huge. Broad shoulders stretch his rain-soaked jacket, and his arms look like he could throw a horse over his shoulder just for fun. His beard is thick, dripping with rain, and frames a jawline carved from granite. The hood of his jacket barely hides the sharp planes of his face, but what really gets me are his eyes. Dark and piercing.
Mountain men come like this? If I’d known, I would’ve wandered off the trail hours ago. My pulse skips, even as mybrain screams danger. Because let’s face it—why is this big dude out here just lurking in the woods?
His dark eyes flick down to my leg, trapped and bloodied, then back to my face. He doesn’t move, just stares at me like the wounded animal I am.
“You always get yourself caught in traps, or is today special?” His voice is low and gravelly, cutting through the storm like a blade.
