Love, Always Finds A Way
MOUNTAIN MEN OF PINEVILLE
They’re grumpy(ish), possessive and hard living, but these former Army Rangers also have big hearts and an even bigger purpose. In the mountains above Pineville, they offer their fellow veterans, and former first responders, what they’ve finally found: a place to rest, reclaim, and reinvent themselves. But what these alpha heroes never counted on finding were women strong enough to match them in wit, determination and passion.
Welcome to Pineville, Idaho, where love always finds a way.
FIRST LOOK -- MOUNTAIN MAN GRUMPY SANTA, BOOK 5
CHAPTER ONE (unedited, not final version)
BAZ
The sound of ice-encrusted snow crunching under studded tires filtered into my cabin. I didn’t get many visitors, plus my place was well hidden amongst the Ponderosa pines off the only road winding up Pineville Mountain and last-minute drop-ins weren’t ever encouraged.
My family and friends knew better than to interrupt my metalwork, never knowing when I’d be in the “creative zone,” as my sister Astrid called it.
But today was an exception. Astrid had called asking if Josh, my ten-year-old nephew, could spend the night. The answer to that was always yes, so I’d set aside my welder and protective gear, secured the workspace then roused the tomcat I named Tom from his fourth nap of the day before making the short trek from my shop to the cabin I’d built myself.
They were my closest family plus a few cousins in town who I rarely interacted with, but they all knew for family, and a handful of close friends, I’d grumble a bit, but if they needed me, I was there. And for my sister Astrid and Josh, I was always available. Even when I was on a deadline.
A few years back I’d found a creative outlet after my retirement from the service, and hell, it had pretty much saved me from crawling into the bottom of a bottle. And now at forty-one, I felt I’d finally found some peace and purpose. My joints may creak now and then, but my eyesight was holding steady and my client list continued to grow, mostly by word of mouth, and it kept the ghosts of the past at bay.
Hell, I knew I was one of the lucky ones after seeing years of death and destruction. That’s one reason I’d welcomed several of my former unit brothers to what I considered my mountain. Fine, they owned the parcel they lived and now worked on, but that didn’t mean I had to like everyone who came up here and tried to plant themselves amongst the trees or perched above a ridgeline offering unequaled views of the valley and prairies below.
But West, Ridge, Lars and now Kane, the pretty boy of the bunch, had created a sanctuary for fellow veterans and first responders to rest, restore and re-invent themselves, and I was all in. In fact, I was working on a beginner’s program for any of their client guests who wanted to learn how weld, whether for art or to get a taste for the skill so they could apply for a trade program after their time at the lodge.
Guess that project would have to wait. Tonight, Astrid and Josh needed me.
I didn’t bother going to the door to let them in. I’d long ago given up scolding my sister for walking into the cabin if it was unlocked. But tonight, more than two sets of footsteps pounded up the stairs. I picked up a third.
The typical excited conversation of my nephew was interspersed with two female voices as foot stamping off snow rang out and Josh burst through the front door. “Uncle, you will not believe this! My story is going to be the fifth-grade play this year.” In a whirlwind of snow boots, backpack, and ski jacket, my nephew deposited his outer layer with each step he took, then skidded to a halt in front of me as I stood at the edge of the great room.
My senses took in everything. Sharp as ever, they’d served me well during my many deployments and didn’t let me down as my gaze zeroed in on the woman smiling shyly from behind my sister.
I barely heard Josh’s excited words as my body went rigid. It felt as if a bolt of electricity hit me when my gaze locked with the curvy female standing behind my sister. Hazel with flecks of green and gold shone back at me while the corners of her full lips quirked up in an impish smile that would be imprinted forever on my memory.
What the hell…where had that thought come from? I sounded like a love-struck teenager standing in front of his crush. That wasn’t me. Tearing my gaze from the unknown woman, I noticed my sister’s interested reaction as she looked between us. What was Astrid up to?
“Uncle, Uncle, this is my teacher. Ms. Riordan. She picked my story out of them all. And you just have to be in it! Please, please, please?” Josh was jumping like he had sand ants in his pants, and I felt like I’d missed the beginning and the middle of our conversation without having uttered a word. Not unusual for me. But at least I knew what topics were being discussed. Tonight, I had no clue. Josh did not look like a kid in distress. And my sister sure as hell didn’t look like a mom needing a break.
“Josh, hush. Can’t you see Uncle Baz has no clue what you’re saying? Start from the beginning, please.” Astrid used her sternest mom voice. It calmed Josh down, but something laced just underneath kept me on high alert.
“Oh, sorry. This is Zoe Riordan. Josh’s teacher. She just moved back to Pineville this year, and we’re going out for dinner to catch up. I hope you don’t mind my bringing her, but her place was on the way here…so, uh, yeah. Zoe, Baz. Baz, Zoe.” Astrid rocked back and forth on her tiptoes as she introduced us. A dead giveaway that she was nervous. What it could be wasn’t clear. But I’d get it out of Josh when his mom and teacher left.
“Nice to meet you. Josh hasn’t stopped talking about his uncle since school started.” Zoe stepped forward; a lock of her auburn hair fell across her cheek. I found myself moving a step back from her and fighting back the urge to brush the wayward curl aside.
An unreadable look filled her eyes at my movement. But she recovered quickly, then tugged off one of her gloves and offered a delicate hand.
“Same. Except I haven’t heard about you.” My voice sounded raw, as if I'd just chewed gravel as I took her hand in mine. I immediately let go and swore at the confusion and hurt that filled her eyes.
Scorched. It was the only word I could use to describe the sensation as our flesh touched. And I wanted more. The slightest brush of her fingers against mine had lit me inside out and I instinctively knew that if I’d continued holding her hand, I would have pulled her against me, demanding a longer test of my instant reaction to ensure it was real.
What the ever-living hell was going on with me? It wasn’t as if I hadn’t ever met a beautiful woman before. And yet, here I was acting like a damn fool.
Zoe’s eyes flared wide before her face morphed into a comical twist as she turned her attention to Josh. “I can see why you wanted me to meet him, Josh. He’ll be perfect. And on behalf of my entire fifth grade class, I’d like to thank you, Mr. Johansson, for agreeing to help out.”
Help out? Just what had my nephew promised this time?
As I opened my mouth to ask, Astrid cleared her throat and tugged on the back of Zoe’s jacket. “Great. You two have met, and now we can leave. I’m starving. You’re hungry, right, Zoe?” My sister couldn’t back up fast enough.
“I’ll pick up Josh around ten tomorrow. Thanks, Baz. Oh, and don’t forget. You promised you’d come to Friendsgiving this year. It’s next Sunday, five sharp.” She kissed Josh on the head which was the only place he let her now that he was ten, and gave me a quick side hug before she hustled herself and Zoe out my front door.
I wasn’t going to watch. But my intentions and my willpower both lost out to curiosity. The backside of Zoe Riordan was almost as good as the front. Her ski jacket nipped in at her waist, it accentuated her curvy hips and long legs. Long legs were my kryptonite.
Damn. She had to be close to five-ten which for a man almost six-five who preferred a woman I didn’t have to hunch over to kiss was a rarity.
And Zoe was the worst kind of kryptonite: forbidden, off-limits. The type not even Superman had ever been up against. A flash image of those long legs wrapped around my waist as I pounded between Zoe’s thighs, my cock buried deep, securely wrapped inside her tight sheath, nearly had me adjusting myself.
Yeah, Josh was quite old enough to know about spontaneous erections and me having to explain how to deal with them politely when in mixed company wouldn’t go over well with my sister. I sucked it up and willed my flesh to behave.
These lustful thoughts for my nephew’s teacher, and apparently newly reconnected friend of my sister, had to be, needed to be buried, deep, deep down. Never to be revisited. Besides, it had to be a one-off reaction. A reaction from a man who hadn’t been with a woman in far too long. Which wouldn’t have been an issue had I not been worried I’d catch what all my buddies had recently contracted. Every last one of them had gotten themselves married.
A loud “ew” erupted from Josh. “You were looking at my teacher’s butt. Gross.”
Ignoring the scolding, I pointed toward the couch. “Park your butt over there. Now, explain to me what you’ve promised your entire class and Zoe, ‘er teacher what I’m helping with.”