MOUNTAIN MEN OF PINEVILLE

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CHAPTER ONE ​(please note, this is not the final version)

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VIC

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Taking a drink of water, I let my gaze roam over the scenery surrounding my almost finished mountain cabin. I was damn proud of what I’d been able to accomplish since leaving the service and joining my oldest brother here on Pineville Mountain. The pine-scented air and dramatic views of the valley below had brought me some much-needed peace.

But I wished I’d known before committing to teach guitar lessons at the Triple R Lodge that there was something in the water or maybe it was in all the fresh mountain air, that had led not just my brother but the other men working here to fall and fall hard for their now wives.

Each of the former Rangers had voluntarily given up their bachelor card not long after they opened the retreat for veterans and first responders. Even pretty boy Kane had succumbed, then when Baz had fallen for a local teacher over the holidays, I’d seriously considered leaving.

 Good for all of them, but my future did not include marriage. Hell, I wasn’t even thirty yet, and I had a lot of living still to do before I even thought about becoming tied to just one woman.

“Bro, quit your daydreaming. Let’s finish this last shelf. Then we’ll install the door to the second bedroom and finish the trim work. I thought you wanted that occupancy permit by the end of the month? So, move your ass. I’m hungry, and Dylan’s making my favorite dinner tonight. If you hurry, I might invite you over.” Lars’ irritation-laced reprimand never failed to send me back to my pre-teen years. He was the oldest of the six Olsen siblings and still treated me like I was ten.

“Excuse me if I don’t move as fast as you do, oh great master woodworker. Some of us mere mortals have to measure twice and think about what we’re doing.” I immediately ducked. Chuckling, I threw up my hands. One of my favorite things to do was poke the overgrown Viking, and I knew what to expect next. And sure enough, one of his work gloves sailed over my head.

“You know you need to get a handle on that temper now that you’re going to be a dad. You have what, two months before Dylan’s due date?”

Lars’ features softened at the mention of his wife and their impending bundle of joy. He was going to be the first of us to have a kid. Which was strange to imagine the overgrown Viking lookalike as a father. Better him than me, though.

“Where’d you go again? Christ, Victor, it’s a wonder you can even get through a lesson based on how many times you check out from reality.” My brother put his tools back in the metal chest at his feet. “You can finish your own damn shelves. I’m done.”

“C’mon. You know, I was just teasing. You’re going to be an awesome father. We all know you’ll be a big teddy bear when that little girl arrives. Besides, you can’t stay mad at me. I’m your favorite.” I flashed him a smile that always worked to charm any woman within a fifty-yard radius. But all that got me was the matching glove to the side of my face.

“Hey, remember what Mom always said….” I lost my train of thought as the sound of a car came from behind me. I turned to see who’d arrived. As far as I knew, everyone who lived and worked here hadn’t left. Squinting into the late afternoon sun, I shielded my eyes and watched as the car slowed, then stopped. Lars walked over and spoke with the woman behind the wheel.

“Whoa.” My one-word reaction seemed inadequate to describe what was really running through my head and body. I was close enough to see the brunette beauty’s features, her full lips moving as she spoke to Lars but far enough away I couldn’t make out what was said. Hopefully she didn’t think I was weird as I kept staring.

With a wave, she continued right past me as she followed the gravel road toward Kane and Chassie’s place. I glimpsed a child in the backseat with matching dark hair, who was excitedly waving her arms at me. Without thinking, I waved back, but the attractive woman behind the wheel didn’t glance my way once. Her chin high, and her lips had thinned into a slight frown.

Huh? A smile for Lars, but not for me. Maybe she was just concentrating really hard on not running into me, or she wasn’t used to driving on a winding gravel lane through the mountainside. Sure, it wasn’t the typical reaction I got from a woman. I mean, I knew I was attractive to the opposite sex and never had a problem with them responding in kind to me.

“Stop peacocking and put your shirt back on. Don’t even think about it. Chassie will kick your ass. That’s her sister and niece. They’ve moved here from Texas and will stay with her and Kane for a while.”

“What? Can’t I smile at someone without everyone thinking I’m on the make?” I’d forgotten about my shirt. The weather was unusually warm today, and I’d worked up a sweat as we worked with the live edge slabs of wood. I snagged the henley and put it back on as I watched the car disappear around the bend.

“When are you not on the make? Now c’mon, finish that last cut and get cleaned up. I’ll take pity on you and let you come to dinner. Because if I don’t, then Dylan will just invite you anyway.” Lars stomped off toward his cabin that he’d built with West and Ridge. They were the original three who’d started this whole place. Part of the deal in working here was that instead of taking a salary, we were given a lot to build a cabin on, and as long as we put in the sweat equity and learned new skills, the cost was manageable. It was a concept that had appealed to me. Giving back to our brothers and sisters in arms was needed now more than ever. So many were lost and hurting.

After arriving several months ago for a visit, they’d given me the opportunity to join them in this venture even though I served in the Marine Corps. And something had shifted and changed within me. I was still trying to work through all that I’d witnessed between the men and women here.

Being the youngest and only single guy around, they all expected me to be with a different woman every night, or on the weekends at the least. But I’d been so wrapped up in creating a music program and spending more time with Lars learning how to build stuff, my priorities had seemed to shift.

But I wasn’t sure how comfortable I was with this new me. I hadn’t had a date since I moved here. And I loved women. Being around them, touching them, kissing them, and of course sleeping with them. But I always moved on pretty quickly. Maybe the thrill of the chase was gone? Who knows, but I didn’t seem to miss it.

Was there something about seeing these couples all happy and shit that had me off my game? They all seemed to actually like each other and wanted to spend time together outside the bedroom. They were friends with their wives, not just lovers.

And that just blew my mind.

I’d never had that with a woman. Sure, I’d been friendly toward women in the service that I hadn’t been attracted to, but I guess I just never thought what I saw my brother have with his wife Dylan was even possible. And while I knew our parents loved each other, they were so busy raising us and working that I’m not sure they even thought about being friends beyond the mundane day-to-day stuff.

And now this mysterious woman arrives, and oh, shit! Lars had said it was Chassie’s sister. The beautiful woman whom I’d only seen for less than a minute, who couldn’t be bothered to look my way, was the woman they’d teased me about a few months back.

Jesus. Serves me right that the first woman to spark any kind of interest within me had connections here. And she had a kid in the back seat.

A cute, friendly kid, but still. I had better things to focus on than a woman who couldn’t return a smile, right?