Page 9 of Marrying the Mountain Man

“Not a wise move, dude,” Phoenix said, shaking his head as he pulled into a parking spot next to a motorcycle. “That’s one way to get your ass beat.”

Those words snapped me out of my shock. That “dude” was my father, and the guy he was talking to—the one standing next to the motorcycle—looked every bit like someone who could beat someone’s ass.

“Jared Knox,” Phoenix said, answering my unspoken question. “He’s on my logging crew. Former Marine. He’s seen some things. Like the rest of us.”

I was curious about that, and any other time, I’d ask him more about his experiences. But right now, I could only stare at the muscular guy with tattoos who was towering over my dad.

“That’s my dad,” I told Phoenix, pulling the handle and pushing my door open.

“What? Wait!”

But I didn’t wait. That meant Phoenix’s voice rang out over the parking lot as I hopped out of the truck. It’d barely stopped moving when my feet hit the ground, but I kept going, running around that motorcycle and stepping in front of my dad.

“Don’t hurt him!” I said.

The man with the tattoos didn’t look quite as menacing once I was standing right in front of him. In fact, he had a half-smile and kind eyes. Maybe it was the motorcycle. Maybe it was the tattoos. Maybe it was the fact that my parents had sheltered me so much, I didn’t know the difference between safe and scary people in the real world.

“Cherry,” Dad said. “I was just asking this guy if he’d seen you.”

Now that there was clearly no danger, it was a little odd that I was standing between the two of them. I stepped aside and faced my father for the first time since…

Since I’d met the man who would become my husband.

“Are you okay?” Dad asked.

The concern on his face almost had me believing he really cared. Almost. But I quickly remembered why I’d run away in the first place.

“Just fine.” I took another step back, crossing my arms over my chest. “Happier than I’ve ever been. I’m getting married.”

Dad’s reaction seemed to come in slow motion. His expression went from concerned to confused to angry, taking a good half minute between each. I didn’t let my smile fade in the slightest, though. Nothing he could say could take away my happiness.

“You certainly are not,” Dad said. “You’re hopping in that car right now and coming home with me. Your mom and I have been worried sick.”

“I might have something to say about that.”

Phoenix’s voice behind me gave me the strength I needed to face off against my dad. I moved into position, feet slightly parted, shoulders squared. He wasn’t going to manipulate me into doing what he wanted this time.

“Who is this?” Dad asked.

“My fiancé,” I said. “We’re getting married tomorrow.”

Crap. We were supposed to already be married by the time my parents found out about it. That way, they wouldn’t be able to do a darn thing to stop us.

But maybe this was better. This would force me to stand my ground.

“That’s impossible,” Dad said, looking at Phoenix like he was gum on the bottom of his shoe. “You can’t possibly have gotten to know this guy in a day.”

“You’re right.” I nodded. “We’ve been getting to know each other on the phone for a long time.” He didn’t have to know exactly how long. “We’re in love and we’re getting married, and you can’t do anything about it.”

Maybe I shouldn’t have used that language. It was almost like a dare. But it was the truth. There wasn’t anything he could do about it. I was twenty-one years old, and we were in a town where he knew absolutely nobody. Plus, I had my fiancé and whoever this guy to the left of me was to back me up. My father might be able to bully people in his own town, but here in Blackbear Bluff, the loggers were in charge.

“You can’t just steal my daughter,” Dad said directly to Phoenix.

“Looks to me like your daughter has a mind of her own.”

That came from Jared, who shrugged when we both looked over at him. He had a hand on the handlebar of his bike and a slight grin on his face. To him, this was no doubt entertainment, and it wasn’t like I could blame him.

“He’s right,” I said, gesturing toward Jared. “I’m a grown woman. I make my own decisions now. I love you and Mom, but you have to let me live my life.”

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