Page 6 of Seeking the Mountain Man

I laughed at my own joke, but she wouldn’t get it. Truth was, I didn’t really know much about that guy. None of us did. He just seemed to have a chip on his shoulder, and I didn’t have patience for people like that.

I continued like that, all the way up to the top of the mountain. She could make a whole business out of fixing up the single guys around here. Problem was, none of us planned to leave, and I had a feeling her clients wouldn’t want to live up here in the sticks.

“What’s down that way?” Kenzie asked.

It took me an extra second or two to figure out what she meant. But I should’ve known right away. The most scenic area in the entire town—maybe the entire state—was off to the right. It was a large creek with a waterfall.

“Best kept secret in town,” I said.

“I want to see it.”

I almost drove off the road looking over at her, I was so surprised. She wanted to see the waterfall?

Who was I to deny a woman’s wishes?

Shrugging, I took the turnoff and pulled into a parking spot close to the waterfall. A good, long walk would probably help sober her up, but I wanted to keep her inhibitions lowered a little longer. Mostly because I liked the idea of her flirting with me.

“What’s the story here?” she asked as we started down the dirt path toward the water.

“Story?” I looked around. What was I missing?

“This little area. There has to be a story. Did the road come through here because someone discovered it?”

I had no idea. Should I admit that? Maybe I could make up something.

“I can’t lie to you,” I blurted.

Her steps had been determined, but now she slowed a little. She turned to look at me as she walked.

“I really don’t know enough about this town,” I said. “But I can find out and get back to you.”

Now her steps slowed to a full stop. She turned to look at me. As I turned, facing her, my fingers itched to reach out and grab her. I wanted to run my hands over that waist, up to her breasts, and slide my thumb over those nipples that poked through the thin fabric of her shirt.

“I can do my research,” she said. “I was just thinking, if I’m going to sell my clients on uprooting their lives and moving here permanently, I need to know as much as possible about it.”

“Then I’m your man.”

With a big smile, I gestured toward the waterfall. She started walking, but I hung back a little, doing a little fist bump of victory. I had an excuse to talk her into hanging around a little longer. She needed to learn more about this place, and I was her guy.

“This is beautiful in the daytime,” I said when I caught up to her at the water’s edge. “We’ll have to come back tomorrow.”

Silence. Had I scared her away? Maybe she’d freak out and ask to go back to her car.

“I’m staying at the hotel next to the restaurant,” she said. “But I have a ten a.m. checkout.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yep.”

That wasn’t good news. I stared at the rushing water, feeling the verbal punch in the gut she’d just delivered. My reaction shocked me. I’d just met this woman. How could I already be so disappointed she was leaving?

“You’ll miss lunch at Scoreboard,” I said.

I was shooting in the dark, coming up with any old excuse to keep her around a little longer. It wasn’t even that I wanted to get into her pants. I did, but this was much more.

“It’s a warm night,” she said. “You ever skinny-dipped?”

Was she kidding? I looked around. Yes, it was warm. Spring had definitely sprung in Misty Mountain. But this was a creek, not a lake or pool. Plus, we’d be visible from the main road.

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