Her Older Mountain Man - Page 4

I wave as she pulls away and rumbles back down the lane toward her cabin, and then head back inside my house. It doesn’t escape me that she didn’t make any promises to come back, but that doesn’t bother me.

Colette Helvey doesn’t know it yet, but I want her. All of her, including the baby growing inside that sweet little tummy. One day, she’ll come back to my house, and when she does, it will be forever.

Chapter 3

Colette

“Don’t…move…” I whisper under my breath. The marmot grips the flower stem and munches the head, petals bobbing as they disappear into its little mouth. I snap off a quick shot and look down at the screen to see. Perfect.

I rise to my feet from my hiding spot behind the bush and startle the marmot, who abandons the flower and scampers away.

“Sorry, buddy,” I say as his chubby little marmot butt disappears down the mountain. “Thanks for the pictures.”

Maybe it was the full day of rest yesterday, or Owen’s unexpected kindness, but my batteries feel recharged. I woke up in my own cabin this morning and I felt so good that I pulled out my camera and headed outside to spend the day taking pictures. I discovered that the mountainside isn’t lonely at all—the trees, little critters, birds and sounds of the forest are all so vibrant and alive. I feel at home up here, in a way I never did back in Fairview when I lived with Luke.

My phone buzzes and I pull it out of my pocket, frowning when I see what it is. Another text from Luke. He called me last night and has sent me a few text messages today. I ignored all of them. I know I’ll need to talk to him eventually. We have a baby on the way, and there are things we need to discuss. Arrangements to make.

But not today. Today is for me, for exploring my temporary home and finding little scraps of joy to collect and cherish for myself. I shake my head—to shake him out of my thoughts, I guess–and keep walking. A dusty brown bird sprints in front of me, and I manage to snap a quick shot before it disappears back into the brush. Off in the distance, I see an elk’s tall antlers moving through a clearing, and I’m just adjusting my camera lens when a sound distracts me.

Thwack.

It’s coming from up the mountain. I lower my camera and turn my head in the direction of the sound.

Thwack.

Carefully, to avoid tripping on rocks and fallen branches, I pick my way up the mountainside in the direction of the sound. I must be getting close to Owen’s house now, I think, my face warming. Maybe he can tell me what the—

Oh.

Oh.

In the distance, I see Owen, shirtless and illuminated by the golden late afternoon sunlight, slam an axe down to split a log in two. My lips part and my center turns liquid as I watch his hard, rounded muscles flex and bunch. Colorful tattoos dance with his movements, whorls of ink that flow along the contours of his gorgeous body.

I hold up my camera and quickly snap a few shots of Owen as he stretches the axe back over his head. Owen’s not a boy—not like Luke was—but a man, with years and experience behind him. A smattering of dark hair covers his chest, trickling down his abdomen and disappearing into his waistline. His body isn’t gym-honed—it’s from years of an active life up here in the mountains. Functional, not decorative.

It’s…incredibly fucking sexy, I think, but I push the feelings down. What would he want with a pregnant girl in her early twenties? He’s probably just being nice.

I manage to get a few more shots of Owen’s fantastic—uh,form—before he sets axe head on the ground and turns to look directly at me. My stomach almost drops to the floor as I lower the camera and wave sheepishly.

“Got everything you wanted?” he said. He grins broadly at me and chuckles. The short laugh makes his abdominal muscles flex, and I want to curse my stupid libido for noticing.

“I—yeah, I think I did,” I say. I move to head back down the hill. “Well, I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Visit with me for a while,” he says. “Stay for dinner. You’re already caught.”

I take a step toward him. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

He shakes his head. “Nah. I liked it. You can come take pictures of me anytime.”

I laugh and walk over to him, not protesting as he wraps an arm around my waist to lead me to his porch. I settle down on a step and he sits down next to me. Our shoulders touch, and through the fabric of my sweater, his skin feels hot and welcoming. I can smell cedar and sunshine, and I want to run my nose along his neck to pull in more of that addictive scent.

I smile at him instead. “How’d such a nice guy end up out here all alone?”

He rolls his shoulders and leans back against his palms. “Used to work for this investigation…ah, collective, I guess. I decided to leave that line of work and do freelance cybersecurity, analysis, that kind of thing. This mountain is mostly family land and my grandfather left it all to me when he passed. I like space and quiet, so it made sense to move up here.”

“It’s beautiful,” I say. And I mean it.

He leans over and gestures at my camera. “Did you get any good pictures today?”