Page 15 of Kissing My Mountain Man

Denny thrusts a few more times, and he joins me in this shared release. We cling to one another, riding that wave of complete and utter bliss.

When it’s done, Denny lays next to me as we try to settle our breathing. His palm resting against my chest, over my heart.

“Oh. Wow.” I sigh.

He nods. “Fuck me.”

I turn my head to look at him. “I think I just did.”

We both burst out laughing. Denny pulls me against him and wraps the blanket over each of us. Sleep comes quickly, and the last thing I see before I close my eyes is the soft glow of the campfire still burning next to us.

ChapterSeven

DENNY

The sound of birds chirping wakes me. I peek one eye open and then the other, trying to remember why I’m outside, and the image of Landry pops into my mind. Everything around me feels damp from the dew that fell last night. The fire that was built is now just a pile of smoking orange embers.

I move my hand around next to me on the blanket, but Landry isn’t there. Sitting up, I look for her along the tree line, but she’s nowhere in sight. Her clothes are gone, but her pack is still sitting next to mine. She couldn’t have gotten far. My clothes are still scattered on the ground next to where we tossed them last night. Quickly I get dressed and pull on my boots, hoping Landry hasn’t wandered off too far.

I walk around the homestead and find her sitting on a large boulder with her back toward me. As I get closer, I see that her shoulders are shaking. My heart drops as I realize she’s crying. I run over to her and cup her face in my hands.

“What’s wrong?”

She looks up at me through tear-filled eyes, both red and puffy. “I couldn’t sleep.”

This still doesn’t explain the tears, so I wait for her to continue.

“So, I got up to read more from this.” She holds up the journal in her hands.

I frown, looking down at the leather-bound cover and then back up at her. “Okay, but why are you crying?”

My mind leaps to the worst-case scenario.

“He came back for her, just like he promised.”

The breath I was holding whooshes out of me. “I don’t understand?”

Landry smiles through the tears still falling down her cheeks. “John had heard the sheriff and the men coming in the middle of the night. He knew he had to lead them away from Clara to protect her from harboring a fugitive. There was a shootout that ended with two of the sheriff’s men getting killed. He knew he’d have to wait for the dust to settle before he could come back.”

“How long was he gone?”

“Two years.” She sighs. “It took two years before he could come back. And a part of him wondered if she’d moved on and found someone else.”

“I still don’t understand. Did they end up together?”

“Yeah.”

“How is it that no one knew about him?”

“He was a fugitive from the law. But thanks to the seclusion of the mountain, they were able to live out the rest of their days in peace.” Landry rests her fingertips over her lips and shakes her head. “Do you know what this means?”

I shrug and shake my head.

“The Clara Bishop we know of history isn’t the same as the legacy she left behind. This changes everything. John likely had a huge influence on Clara and the reputation that she built in the community. I need to talk with my thesis advisor. This new information could be just the thing the biography I’m writing about her needs to get attention from a publisher.”

I watch her as her excitement grows, but something in my gut nags at me. I mean, this is a huge find, but something about this feels wrong.

“Denny? What is it?”

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