Billionaire Mountain Man

“So, you’ll get all dreamy instead of doing something about it? Look at you. You’re totally into him.” She wagged her eyebrows all sexy like. “You should go over to his house and pretend to ask for some sugar, hoping he comes out naked. At least then you can see him in his full glory. You know, really check out the goods.” She laughed, but I knew she was only half joking.

I did need to step out of my shell.

“Yeah, that’s what a good neighbor should do.” I smirked, imagining him naked and dripping with water like he just stepped out of the shower. I’d die right there in front of him. Just keel over dead without a word. He’d lived next to me for the better of six years. I needed to find a way to use that to my advantage. Instead of hiding in my house, maybe going out to plant a garden in short shorts? What was the point? The fucking hogs would just tear it up.

Wait…the garden wasn’t the point at all. I glanced up to see that it was getting late. Bailey needed to get back to Cat, and I wanted some time to myself to think about whether I had the nerve to do anything about Hunter. It was doubtful at best.

“I better get going. Thanks for having me here.” I kissed my best friend’s cheek. She stopped me from going and insisted that I eat dinner with them, but I refused her kind offer.

“I promised I would eat dinner with Mom tonight. I can’t disappoint her. You know her.” I laughed before kissing Cat’s soft cheeks. She kissed me back and hugged me with her tiny arms. I patted her head before I turned my back, waving my hand as Bailey and Cat watched me go.

“Thanks, see you soon!” I scrambled for my keys in my pocket as I stood before my car. As I got in and smiled at the two of them.

“Take care, Kylie!” Bailey and Cat were waving goodbye, standing on their front porch watching me back out of their driveway.

As I drove away, I thought of Hunter. I definitely needed to do something about my crush on him. My mother and Bailey both had the same valid points. I needed to work up my courage to speak to him before I regretted it. There were a million women who wanted his attention.

So, did I think trying to get it would be easy? Or that he’d want to pay me attention? I didn’t. That was part of the problem.

Drifting on to different ideas made my trip home quick without me realizing it. I pulled into my garage and waited in the car, leaving it running. A strange, unfamiliar car rolled past the front of the house, giving me the creeps.

It looked like the guy, or whoever was driving, was checking the area for something or someone. I got out of my car and walked toward the road, deciding to ask the driver if he was lost. My mother would have had a fit if she knew what I was doing, but she wasn’t there, and people were inherently good in my opinion. As I walked toward the car, it sped off, leaving me standing there looking like an idiot.

Strange.

Chapter Five

Three Days Later

Hunter

“I think I need to go hog hunting as soon as I can. Those fucking hogs keep on destroying my lawn. I’m getting tired of cleaning up their shit again and again.” I dropped the box I was carrying, pissed off at the terrible mess the wild hogs had made of my yard again. It had only been three days since the last fucking time.

“Count me in, Hunter. I am dying to get some game down on the ground.” Garren was a certified hunting enthusiast. Pairing up with him on every hunting trip enabled us to take home a lot of game.

As we picked up the boxes to restock the displays, he stopped. “So, when do you plan to take down those filthy hogs?”

I thought about it. I wanted to slay those thugs as early as possible, ending their reign over my property. They had done so much damage and needed to die. Not to mention, the wreckage they’d made of Kylie’s place too. Hmmm…it was something we had in common. I’d bring it up next time I saw her. Give us something to talk about. For all the women in town trying to vie for my attention, the one girl who turned me on ignored me most days. It was fucking comical. It was my life.

“I would like to get rid of those pests as early as I can. If you can’t make it on Saturday, perhaps on Sunday?” I asked, continuing to walk by, to which Garren followed behind my back. Putting the boxes down, I took the contents of the boxes and arranged them.

“I will still be out of town on Sunday. Maybe on Monday?” He wiped the glass counter, keeping his eye on the task.

I nodded and continued working. “Sounds pretty good to me.”

Just before we finished our task, I heard Vince’s bus pull up to my gun shop. Vince came running along inside, the big grin on his face consistent even after he gave me a tight hug.

“How was your day, buddy?” I asked after Vince loosened his embrace around me. Once again, he showed me the back of his fist, five stars stamped on his hand.

“Teacher said I did great on today’s performance test! She loved how I recited the poem!” I smiled at him, kissing his forehead. He was doing a great job in school, even though I was busy all the fucking time with the shop. The same guilt wrapped around my heart, reminding me of the broken promises I’d made. He deserved better.

“How about I buy you some ice cream and chips? We can watch one of those cartoon films you like afterward. Would you like that, buddy?” I asked, trying to make up to him all the things I said that went to waste. His innocent green eyes grew big in amusement.

“I would love to! I want to watch the one with the huge dinosaur in it, then the boy who can fly, then after that the dog who can speak to humans, then…” He kept on reciting the ones he wanted to watch, getting his movies lined up in order. I looked at Garren, who was watching us the entire time, smiling to himself as he spoke to a newly arrived customer.

“Man, can you fill in for me?” I whispered, keeping my voice toned down so as not to disturb Vince, who was still enumerating the list of films he wanted to watch. Garren nodded, telling me he could take it from there and close the shop on my behalf.

I mouthed him a brief thank you as I took Vince’s belongings and grabbed his hand. “Alright, Mister Big Stuff. Let’s get out of here.”