Page 6 of Shelter for the Mountain Man
“Living alone on a mountain takes courage,” he adds.
“For a woman?” She raises an eyebrow.
“For anyone.”
“Weren’t you trekking alone? That can be dangerous, too.”
“Yeah but…” Okay, I just stepped in it… I can feel the heat raising up my cheeks. “That came out more sexist than I meant. Obviously, you’re capable and… it’s just…”
“It’s just that you’re trained to protect. And assessing danger is part of your training. What did you do in the army?”
“Spotter for our snipers.”
“How long were you in?”
“Twelve years. I’d planned on a career, but things… It didn’t work out. I transitioned to reserves.”
“Injury?”
“Tried to save my marriage.”
“From what?”
“I was deployed a lot. My ex would get bored while I was gone. She liked my paycheck, but I guess not my distance. Or maybe she liked that too much.
“Did she know you were you in the army when you married?”
“Yes.”
“Then she knew the score, no excuse. What happened?” she asks.
“She hooked up with some guy and while I was gone had his baby. She said she wanted us to work out, but I found out she was still seeing the other guy on the side. She gave me the divorce. I gave her the house.
“I have a friend from my military days who lives not far from you.”
“Jaxon?”
“Yes. We kept in touch. He invited me to come for a visit. I’ve been staying in one of his buildings in Kennedy. I applied for a deputy position. It looks good for me to get it, but the sheriff said it would be a week or so before we’d know. I decided to do some trekking to familiarize myself with the area.
“It was my second day out when I saw some guys offloading stuff from a boat. They looked suspicious. I took some photos and was heading out when they drove my way on their ATV and saw me. I remember the gun shot.”
“Two guys in flannel coats? You got pictures of them?”
“Yes.
“That’s great. The sheriff can use those as proof.”
“You said you’ve seen them before. Do they know you live here?”
“Maybe, but probably not. They don’t wander around.”
“Fawn, we need to let the sheriff know asap. If they’re smuggling drugs. If they heard or saw you helping me, they could come for you.”
She shakes her head. “Storm’s too bad. No reception. Not even my satellite phone. I heard the men talking. They saw you laying on that ledge and thought you were too hurt to survive. I had Marble scare them off by howling.”
If her satellite phone isn’t working mine probably won’t either. I’d let Jax know where I was and the direction I was headed that morning.
“When the guys on the ATV don’t find my body, they’ll come looking.”
