Page 4 of Kissing My Mountain Man

“Nature is nature,” she says, and I can almost hear her eyes rolling. “You’ll be outdoors. There’s nothing you like more.”

“I like being alone more.”

Devrie is quiet for a moment. “Well, maybe this once you will open your eyes to the beauty that surrounds you, and you won’t be so quick to want to be alone.”

Doubtful.

When I don’t say anything, she continues, “I know that you think you’ve closed yourself off to love, and I’m not entirely sure why, but there is someone out there for you. You can’t keep hiding away on that mountain.”

The faint echo of pain in my chest hits when I think back to my time on the force years ago. I won’t allow the memory of her face to come to the forefront of my mind, but I know it’s there. It will always be there.

“I just wanted to fish,” I finally say.

“Tomorrow, you can. But today, I need you to help out my friend.”

I sigh. “Yeah, alright.”

“Thank you. You’re the best.”

“I know.”

Devrie chuckles, and we say our goodbyes before hanging up the phone. I cross my arms and lean on the porch railing, staring out at the beauty that surrounds me.

“You don’t get views like this in the city,” I say to myself.

In the distance, I hear the sound of a car heading up the dirt road toward the station. Must be Landry. I can’t hold back the scowl that settles on my face. I may be following through with my promise to my sister, but I don’t have to like it—or her.

I squint my eyes to get a better view as the car pulls to a stop in front of me. I can’t get a clear look in the car, but there are two females when I was only expecting one.

What the hell?

Annoyance surges in me as I think about how Devrie didn’t say anything about needing to take two women up the mountain today.

The driver has shorter cropped hair that she tucks behind her ear as she stares up at me with a frown that might intimidate another guy but not me. She can’t be Landry. Devrie said she was excited to be up here. Whoever this woman is, maybe she can talk Landry into not following through with the plan, and I can get out to the river.

The glare of the rising sun blocks any view of the woman in the passenger seat. I can see her hands moving, so she must be saying something. She moves to pull something from the back before getting out of the passenger side door.

When she turns to me and swings her hiking pack onto her shoulders, I’m gut-punched at how gorgeous she is. A heart-shaped face with big brown eyes and a dark brown bouncy ponytail swinging with each step.

My dick reacts instantly as my gaze moves down the hourglass figure of the woman walking towards me. Devrie is right about my heart being closed off, but I can’t shut off the way my body reacts to a beautiful woman walking toward me.

She smiles up at me with a look of excitement I haven’t been able to muster in years and asks, “Are you ready for an adventure?”

Yes, I fucking am.

ChapterThree

LANDRY

Denny nods his head once without saying a word and pushes off the railing. Well, he’s certainly got the whole brooding mountain man vibe down, but he looks nothing like Devrie tried to paint him.

“Thank you so much for doing this,” I say, unable to keep the grin from spreading on my face. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to get this opportunity.”

His penetrating gaze shifts from me to over my shoulder. “Is she coming along too?”

I turn to see Bellamy as she narrows her eyes on Denny, and I sigh. “No, she’s my ride.”

“Is she okay? She doesn’t look happy.”

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