Baby For The Mountain Man

I was thankful for their help and support, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good. My father was dead set in marrying me off, so if this fell through he would just find someone else. There was no amount of arguing or debating or reasoning that would ever make my parents see that I was just as capable as my brothers. I was their little princess, but in the Lucas family that came with a price.

And it was a price I was going to pay no matter what.

Whenever I decided to make my leave again, I had to make sure it was foolproof. Because when I left again, I couldn’t ever come back. Not for my brothers, no for my family, and not for Cassie.

I had to leave all of it behind for good.

Eight

Travis

I needed some things from town after the shit with the storm cleared out. I was out of almost everything, especially since I wasn’t prepared for the next storm that came barreling behind it. I grabbed my keys and cranked up my truck, sighing as it sputtered to life. This thing was beat up and old, and I knew at any moment it would stop working on me.

This truck had been my life support going through the transition with my ex. After she left me at the altar, I made the decision that the family business was not for me. After jetting around the world and treating her to all of the decadence this planet had to afford, I was ready to settle down and go nowhere. I wanted nothing to do with the family business because I wanted nothing to do with the money that woman drained me of. I took the trust fund that opened up for me when I turned 30 and invested it wisely. Now, I was living off the quarterly dividends as well as the interest that was building as my money continue to accumulate.

I knew that at any moment my father would accept me back into the family company fold. I kept my eyes peeled for people who were scouting the mountains when they didn't need to be here, just to make sure no one would try to blindside us again. It was how I continue to repay my father for the graciousness he afforded me after my heart had been broken.

Even after I had worked to pay off the cabin he had built for me.

Now, the mountain life was all I knew. I hunted down my own meat, I grew my own vegetables when I could, and I fixed up old cars and machinery to turn around and sell for a little bit of money. Fixing things was more of a stress release for me than it was a blossoming company. I knew that when my parents passed, I would have to step up alongside my twin brothers in order to take it over. Which meant it wasn’t wise to get myself into anything that would tie me down after they passed.

I could already identify a few problems I needed to fix with the truck as I drove down the mountain. The steering wheel was shaking a bit and the brakes didn't have as much traction as they needed to have. Plus, there was a roaring sound coming from the back of my tires as they hit the highway. Which meant that the wheel bearings need to be checked.

It sounded like I was going to have to make a stop at a junkyard before I made my way back home.

After scouring through a junkyard and finding a few things, I headed to the grocery store. One of the things about heavy rain storms like the ones we were getting was that it washed away the seeds I planted. I knew I was going to have to start over with the little garden I was planting in the back of my cabin, which meant I needed fresh vegetables until I could start sprouting my own.

I walked through the grocery store and grabbed a few items. Things like toilet paper and cleaning supplies. Kleenexes and paper plates. I didn't have a lot of proper dishware in my cabin because the only person eating it was me. Paper plates and napkins and plastic silverware just made things easier for me. I walked through the produce section and pick out a few things I knew I could use. Nice red peppers and some spaghetti squash as well as some vegetables that were already chunked up so I could make a nice stir fry. I ran down some recipes through my mind as I walked up and down the aisles, grabbing snacks I didn't need and a case of beer just to help the time fly by.

But when I turn down the spices aisle to go pick up some things for dinner, I saw a very familiar face.

There she was, with her long brown hair and her dazzling hazel eyes. She was carrying a small handheld basket as she stuck a few spices in her carrying case. It was the first time I had gotten a good look at her since I found her on the side of the road. I got a moment to take in just how beautiful she was. Her rounded hips and her luscious breasts. The way her hair cascaded down her back and the way her legs were toned and full. She stood with her shoulders rolled back even though she was hunched over a spice, her teeth biting down on her lower lip as she concentrated.

My eyes scanned Ava as she stood there, turning the bottle of cumin around in her hand.

“It’s a good spice,” I said.

I watched her eyes whip over to mine and take me in.

“If you’ve never tried it before. It’s a good all-around spice,” I said.

“I have,” she said. “Tried it, I mean.”

“I thought you said you lived in Seattle.”

“I do. I mean, yes. On the outskirts of the city. But my parents own a house not too far from here,” I said.

“Which mountain?” I asked.

“They aren’t on one,” she said.

“So, you didn’t recognize the area when you got lost?”

“Never been up the mountains. I thought my GPS was taking me through a shortcut. I hit some traffic coming in on the main road and I told my phone application to reroute me.”

“Yeah. You’ll hit a lot of traffic on Main Street. It’s the only way in and out of Kettle,” I said.

Her eyes settled onto mine as a small grin twitched her cheek.