Page 17 of A Very Mountain Man Wooing

“I’ll look for her,” Whit promises.

He hangs up and turns back to me. Movement catches his eye and he turns back to the window.

“She’s here,” he tells me as he starts to type a text out to Hunter.

“Thank God. I was starting to get worried. I should go check on her.”

“Hunter will be here soon. He’s got her.”

I nod as Whit heads my way once more and backs me up against the wall. His lips land on mine, and just like every time he’s touching me or kissing me, I forget about everything except for him.

Being with him is like standing in the middle of a storm. His hands tangle in my hair like wind whipping it away from my face, and I moan as he tugs on the strands. His hard body presses against mine, my only anchor as the storm rages inside me.

A ringing sound starts, and I cling to Whit tighter, not wanting anything to interrupt my time with him.

The ringing stops and starts again, and Whit growls as he pulls back. He pulls out his phone and frowns.

“It’s not my phone,” he says, and I frown as I look around for mine.

It stops ringing and starts again, and I panic, wondering if it’s Grier or maybe Mabel.

I run to grab it and my stomach sinks like a lead weight when I see the name on the screen.

Mom.

Three missed calls, all from her.

They’ve found me.

What else could this be?

I need to leave.

I turn around, my heart racing out of control as I wonder how much time I have to pack and where I should go next. North? Or maybe out East?

“Anise? Anise!” Whit says, his strong hands gripping my shoulders as he stares down at me in concern. “What is it?” He asks, and I open my mouth, but no words come out.

I swallow hard, tears stinging my eyes, when my phone starts to ring once again.

“You have to leave,” I tell him, my hands pushing against his firm chest, but he doesn’t budge.

“I’m not going anywhere. Not without you. Now tell me what’s going on.”

“I have to leave,” I mutter as I push past him and race out to the front door.

I can’t force Whit to leave, but maybe if I leave, they won’t hurt him. That’s the only way I can see out of this.

Too bad for me; Whit doesn’t seem to agree.

SEVEN

Whit

SeeingAnise run from me breaks my heart. We were finally getting close; I thought that she was letting her guard down, and now we’re back to square one. Or maybe it’s worse than that since now she’s talking about leaving.

“Anise, wait!” I call as she takes off toward the door.

I catch up to her easily and wrap my arms around her waist, lifting her off the ground.

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