Page 3 of Scarlett's Mountain Man
I wince. “Driving and talking on the phone.”
It’s not the safest, but I don’t want to wake up Juniper, and I don’t have a place to really rest my phone and for him to still hear me.
“Scarlett,” he scolds. “Pull over.”
“I can’t,” I reply.
“Why?”
“Um, because I don’t like putting my car into park when it’s on a slight incline. When I try to start again, it rolls back some, and it scares me,” I rush out.
It’s the truth and a logical answer. I will go out of my way to avoid any hills that I could stop on because I don’t want the possibility of my car not working.
“Little One,” he gently coos.
Tears prick my eyes, and I blink them back. No time for crying, especially when I am driving. And his words shouldn’t affect me. He is the owner of the lodge and probably has a family of his own.
“How far away are you?” he asks.
I’m glad he’s changed the subject, it eases my anxiety. But I have a feeling it won’t be the last time he brings up me driving and talking on the phone. If he’s gotten bossy now, what’s to stop him from getting all bossy later?
“Uhhh,” I stall. “I just saw the sign for Whiskey River Mountain Lodge,” I offer.
He has to know how far away I am.
“That was about five minutes ago, though,” I mumble.
“You’re almost here. I’ll be standing outside waiting for you,” he informs me. “Get here safely.”
“Oh, you can just hand me the keys when I get there,” I suggest. “I bet you want to get to bed.”
“It’s seven. I won’t be going to bed for several more hours,” he replies. “And it’s no problem. I can show you around and make sure you have everything. I’ll see you in a couple of minutes.”
Before I can say anything, he hangs up. I sigh and grumble under my breath. I hate it when people hang up on me without letting me talk. He probably wanted to get me off the phone, but still, I’m a safe driver.
All of a sudden, I enter a clearing a huge cabin appears in the distance.
“Wow,” I whisper as I take it in.
It’s tall, two or three stories tall, and massive. Are all of the cabins like this?
I slow down as I pull up onto the level surface. The closer I drive to the main cabin, the more small cabins I see.
“Oh my goodness,” I say, awestruck.
A wooden path leads to other cabins and the forest. Trees surround the houses, covering them from the sunlight if it is daytime.
“So beautiful.”
A man comes into view in the distance, and I know it’s Thorin. He’s huge, muscular, and has a beard.
Just my type. Everythinghewasn’t.
I put the car into park in front of him and roll down the window.
“Stay in the car,” I remind myself.
“Scarlett?” he checks, standing next to my car.
