Page 4 of Claimed By The Mountain Man

“Hey, are you busy?” Hudson asks when I answer his call.

“I’m literally never busy anymore,” I tell him dryly.

He laughs. “That’s right. How’s civilian life treating you? You missing the Marines yet?”

“Every fucking day,” I grumble as I grab my boots and drop onto my couch to tug them on.

“Well, you’ll have to find something else. You could move to Maple Creek and work for me,” he offers.

It’s not the first time that my best friend has offered me a job. I know he’d love it if I lived closer, even though I’m only a half-hour drive away. We missed each other when I was overseas. He wants me to work for him, but I would hate to work in an office and have to wear a suit every day.

My friends here in town have asked me to work with them at the helicopter tourist business, Semper Fly. A bunch of ex-military guys work there, and I know most of them. I know I’d fit in. I just don’t know if it’s what I want to do with my life. Devon, the town’s new sheriff, asked me to be a volunteer deputy, and I thought about taking him up on that. It seems more my speed. I’m still thinking it over, though. I have savings left, even after buying this cabin in the small, quiet town of Wolf Valley. I have time to figure out what I want to do with my life now that my time in the military is over.

I enjoyed the peace, quiet, and solitude of this place when I first moved here. I needed time after my last deployment went , and I got out. It’s been a few months now, and I’m bored. I miss having a mission, a purpose. I miss knowing what was expected of me and what I would be doing each day. Now I wake up and putter around my cabin, desperate to find things to do to fill the day.

“Nah, I’ll enjoy my semi-retirement a bit longer,” I tell Hudson.

He sighs. “Well, if you change your mind, the offer is always there.”

“I know. I appreciate it, Hudson.”

He grunts, and I smile as I lace up my boots.

“How’s your girl?” I ask, knowing how to distract him.

“Hazel is perfect,” he says happily.

Hazel is his assistant. He was in love with her for almost a year before I finally convinced him to make a move. They’ve been together for close to six months, and he’s never been happier.

I wish I had that, I think, not for the first time. I want someone to spend my life with. Someone to talk to, to laugh with. Someone to love.

“We’re grabbing dinner at this new place tonight. You want to drive up and join us?” Hudson asks.

“And crash your romantic date? No, thanks.”

“Yeah, all right.”

I grin. “I’m headed out to mow the grass before the sun sets, but I’ll talk to you later. Tell Hazel I said hi.”

“I will,” he promises. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Later.”

We hang up, and I toss my phone onto the entryway table before going outside. Some of the bushes down by the road have become unruly, and I debate whether to trim them back first or start on the grass. I look toward the road, and that’s when I see her.

When I first catch a glimpse of her, I think she’s an angel. That’s my first thought. I take a step closer, squinting to make out her features. She’s wearing what appears to be a wedding dress.

I frown, heading down for a closer look.

I watch as she opens the hood of the broken-down car, waving her hand as smoke spills out into her face. She turns her head away, and my heart races in my chest. My palms grow damp, and I freeze in my tracks.

I don’t know anything about this woman. Not her name, what she’s doing here, or even what she looks like, but I know she’s meant to be mine. I can feel it in my fucking bones. It’s a gut instinct, and I always trust my gut. It hasn’t steered me wrong yet.

She was going to marry someone else, I realize. Maybe she still is, although she looks like she’s running from someone, not toward them. I’ll have to put a stop to that. I don’t know who was stupid enough to lose her, but I won’t be making that mistake.

I walk toward her quickly as she bends over the hood. I need to stop her before she burns herself trying to fix the car.

I’ll fix her car, and maybe while I do that, I’ll be able to come up with a way to show her that she doesn’t need to run anymore. That this is exactly where she’s meant to be.