Page 28 of My Mountain Man Grump
“Of course.”
I start up the drive and Gran follows. “I might be a couple of days.”
“That’s why I got the camp beds out.”
I turn to stare at Gran, and she’s grinning at me. I shake my head, wondering how she always knows what I need before I do.
“And tell Olivia she can go to Sienna’s birthday party.” If going to a nail bar makes her happy, then let her go to the damn nail bar. I can’t protect her forever.
I head straight to the pickup. It’s time to go get Carrie back.
14
CARRIE
“Explain to me why you don’t like this guy again. Because you’re moping around like a lovesick teenager.” Suzie slides a cup of earl grey tea in front of me. I add a large teaspoon of sugar and a generous pour of milk in and stir it slowly.
“He’s just not a nice guy.” I think about Cole’s smile and the way he chuckles and Kyra falling asleep on his lap. “Sometimes he’s nice…” I think about Cole angry with me because I baked the girls cupcakes. “But sometimes he’s an asshole. He doesn’t let his daughters eat sugar.”
I expect Suzie to be shocked by this, but she sips her non-sugary tea thoughtfully.
“I should try that with George. He’ll probably sleep better.”
“No. You cannot deprive my nephew the pleasure of licking the bowl after I’ve been baking.”
Suzie shrugs. “You’re right. I could never be that disciplined. He must really love those girls.”
I sigh mournfully, thinking about the big mountain man with the soft heart when it comes to his daughters. He may be overprotective, but there’s no denying his love for them.
Ethan, the head of Search and Rescue, wanders into the staff room just as I let out a big sigh. He raises his eyebrows at me. “You still moping about that internet dude?”
I’ve known Ethan and all the team at Wild Heart Mountain Search and Rescue since Suzie started working here four years ago. They’re a tight group, and they were supportive of Suzie when she was a single mom. The guys have become like family.
“I’m not moping.” I sit up straight in the chair and try to pretend my heart isn’t aching. I don’t know what I expected Cole to do when I left, but I thought we shared something special. Turns out I know nothing about men.
Ethan brings over a packet of chocolate cookies and offers me one. “Your problem right there was going out and looking for love. Love is a waste of time, Carrie.”
I glance up at the big man with the scruffy beard and kind eyes and wonder what’s got him so down on love. Maybe he went chasing it once and got burned too.
“Life is better on your own, believe me.”
I grab two cookies from the packet and stuff one in my mouth as Ethan tries to convince me of the benefits of being single.
“You can do what you like when you like, you don’thave to share your cookies if you don’t want to, you can watch whatever you want to watch on the TV, and you don’t waste days moping around like you are.”
“Geez, Ethan, I just got back from my honeymoon,” says Suzie. “Don’t bring me down.”
He saunters back to the kitchen counter. “It might work out differently for you, Suzie, but you won’t catch me getting caught up with a woman. No way. Too much hassle.”
He pops a cookie in his mouth and leans back on the counter. He devours the entire thing in a few chews with his large square jaw.
The irony is that Ethan would be a catch for any girl. But it’s not the first time he’s professed to have sworn off love.
Mathias, who mans the phones with Suzie, appears at the door and his gaze finds mine.
“There’s a big guy here looking for you, Carrie. Said he doesn’t have your address but knows your sister works here.”
My heart flutters in my chest, and I stand up quickly. “Cole?”
