Page 7 of Scarred Mountain Man
She’s giving you everything you want: time away from her.
“Fine. But I'll light up the fireplace.”
“Good. Because I’ve never done it before.”
“You haven’t?”
“Not really. It's warmer where I come from, there’s no need for a fireplace.”
“How would you light it up if you were alone?”
“I didn't think it'd be this cold. But I’d figure it out, eventually.”
"I'm sure you would." She has that spark, the one that tells me she’ll fight to get what she wants, no matter the challenges.
"Although I have to say, that could be in the cabin's instruction manual."
I eye her, trying to understand what she means.
“You know, like when you go to a hotel and there's a set of instructions to follow. There should be one in the cabin as well.”
“I don't think Aiden would think of that. But I’ll tell him next time I see him.”
“Do you know the owner of the cabin?”
“Yes. We hardly talk because we prefer to keep to ourselves but he’s a nice guy.”
“Oh that explains it. I didn't meet up with him, I just picked up the keys fromHappy Place.”
“That sounds like him.”
“That sounds like you.”
My right lip doesn't resist curling up. I really need to stay away from this woman.
“Let’s teach you how to light that fireplace,” I say as I turn away. I really can’t be ogling her like an idiot.
Chapter 6 - Miranda
The cabin is still cold when we arrive, Oliver is quick to light up the fireplace and leave like I’ve some kind of infectious disease. I guess he’s sick of having to put up with me. I did say I want to be by myself but it feels kinda lonely now. I should have thanked him for offering up his cabin.
I don’t want to be a burden. When I offered to come and help with the cooking, he said he preferred to cook alone and I had already bought all the ingredients. That hurts but is probably for the best. Why is this gigantic man not raising any alarms for me? I’ve mostly stayed away from men all my life. I’ve never felt comfortable around men. Not that I haven’t felt attracted to men but not enough to do something about it. It felt safer to be a virgin than to take a risk. Over the years, I’ve learned to err on the side of caution and men never felt attractive enough to forgo the rule. Oliver on the other hand, has awakened things — dangerous things — in me I’ve never felt before. It terrifies me despite being also thrilling. This rush, is that what it feels like? To have someone on your mind at all times? To trust someone intuitively? Everything in him should scare me, his scars, how big and tall he is, his rough voice, but deep in my core I want to get to know him more, I want to prove to myselfthere’s nothing wrong with me, that I can be with a man. And with Oliver, I think I can do that.
At the same time, I’m already asking too much of him. So it's good I'm here, not being a nuisance to him for a few hours at least.
Realistically, I could never paint in his home, I wouldn't be comfortable sharing the subject of my paintings with him.
With everything that happened yesterday I’m eager to be back with my paints. I spend the rest of the morning absorbed in this new painting. Using both my hands and brushes to try and get the atmospheric feel from last night, the desperation of not knowing where I was, the rain. It’s not always that inspiration hits me like this, each stroke, each line is made without an ounce of hesitation. I’m so in the zone that I lose track of time until I hear a knock.
The sound startles me, I jump and quickly go to the front door.
“I brought you some food,” Oliver says when I open the door.
Getting back to reality after zoning out like that it hits me how much I’ve missed him already, even if I last saw him five hours ago. Is this what people feel when they are actually attracted to someone? It sounds inconvenient, my cheeks get too hot to hide.
“I thought I was coming to your place.”
“I thought you might be busy, so I brought you food. Hope you like it.”
