Page 3 of Falling for the Mountain Man
Words I’ll have to be playing on repeat over and over.
“Glad you two made it here in one piece.” Murmuring the words as the blonde-haired woman hugs me, I wrap one arm around her and try not to squeeze her too tight to my chest.
If I’m not careful, she’ll hear the knocking happening in my chest. She’ll ask if something is wrong, and I’ll have to figure out what I’d use as an excuse for my racing pulse.
“Good to see you, Ryder.” Murmuring my name, she doesn’t let go immediately. Like she needs this as much as I do, her breath tickles my throat as she speaks. “Thanks for having me, as always.”
Grunting, I breathe in deep and immediately regret it. She’s wearing something that makes my mouth water instantly. Makes me have to swallow down the start of a groan.
Three days. I can do this.
2
Zaria
The snow has always been my favorite part of tagging along with Kallie this time of year.
It clings to bare branches like lace, turning the world into something fragile and glittering. The ground glows under its pale blanket, untouched except for the occasional footprint or the scatter of animal tracks. Every time I see it, I try to burn the view to memory to give me something to cling to until I can come back to see it again.
Growing up, snow was a fantasy. Even with all the moving, my roots stayed tangled in the deep South, where winter meant drizzle and damp cold, never this—this magic. The first time I saw real snowfall was here, with them.
But as breathtaking as it is, there’s something even more mesmerizing in this truck.
Ryder West.
The man behind the wheel, his gaze locked on the flurry of white hitting the windshield, is more striking than any winter landscape. Dark hair, darker eyes, his jaw shadowed with just enough scruff to make me wonder how it would feel beneath my fingertips—rough and warm.
He hasn’t changed. Not really.
The same thick, tattooed arms that pulled me into his life years ago still flex as he adjusts his grip on the steering wheel. The same quiet intensity lingers in the way he watches the road, like he’s calculating every risk, every threat.
It’s torture, always sneaking glances. No matter how much time passes, I’m still the woman he took in out of pity. Still Kallie’s friend. Still off-limits.
Still stupid enough to wish otherwise. Oh, boy, do I wish. Enough to the point that I’m breathless, lungs burning from pleading the same few words over and over again.
He doesn’t mind me sitting at his side, not that any of us have much of a choice.
Thanks to my motion-sickness, Kallie is always happy to let me sit shotgun whenever we’re in a vehicle. She wouldn’t ever think that I’d want to sit next to her dad, not by choice.
It’s probably better that way. As much as I hate having a weakness, I try my best to be an optimist whenever I can be.
While Kallie chatters about her classes and her exams, she’s happy to fill the silent air. If it were just the two of us, I don’t think the air could get more awkward. That’s what makes her the best. She’s my opposite, filling the gaps I can’t fill myself.
Where I can barely find much to say, her words come endless until someone puts a stop to her.
Ryder doesn’t last long before he’s lifting a hand like a stop sign.
“I think I’ve heard enough about school. Tell me something else interesting.” A simple request.
Nothing comes to mind. I don’t think I’m too interesting. My hobbies surround my major, so I’m not too sure he’d want to hear about my latest sketches of figuring out anatomy.
“I can tell you about a guy I met at a party.” She lets out a low laugh like she’s already noticing the way my ears grow pink. “Who was that dude who was talking your ear off?”
Oh boy. He was someone I don’t even remember, that’s who. I can’t even recall his face.
Why does she feel the need to pull me in with this topic? Does she think talking about guys with Ryder will soften the blow? He’s protective of her, so I doubt I could save her in any way.
It might be my imagination, but I swear his eyes flick toward me—just a fleeting glance, there and gone before I can be sure. Just as I start to doubt myself, I catch the way his gaze lingers on Kallie through the rearview mirror, his brows pinched together.
