Mountain Man_A Single Dad, Older Man Younger Woman Romance Read online

  “Here,” I say. “Drink some water. Your body needs it.”

  I bring the cups to her lips and watch as those full lips of hers wrap around the edge of the cup as she drinks thirstily.

  “I have to go! He’s going to find me.”

  “You aren’t going anywhere. You’re hurt. You’re staying here until you’re well,” I say.

  “I can’t. He’s chasing me. He’s going to get me.”

  “Nobody’s going to get you up here. I’m going to protect you. You’ve got my word on that. Just rest now. That’s what your body needs.”

  “Did he follow us?”

  “No one followed us, ma’am. You’re safe. Please, just rest.”

  I reach for a second cup of water and bring it to her lips. She drinks it down almost as quickly as the first. Then I see the tendons in that long beautiful neck of hers relax as the pillow swallows up her head again. She turns her head to the side and she’s out cold again.

  I gently brush her hair away from her face and look at her. It’s dark out. It’s the middle of the night, but there’s just enough moonlight to bring out the smooth angles in her face. I can’t take my eyes off those cheekbones of hers. And her eyes…when she half opened them for a few seconds just now. Wow! Are they ever beautiful.

  I can’t imagine anyone wanting to hurt her, let alone trying.

  But she’s got nothing to worry about anymore. Not as long as she’s here with me.

  I’ve got my own kind of security system set up out here. Anybody foolish enough to try and come onto my property will find themselves trying to crawl out of a hole all night.

  I took measure long ago to keep people away. I’m not out to hurt anybody, just make sure they don’t get close. That’s enough.

  I’ve been hurt by humanity enough as it is. It would be hypocritical if I turned around and did the same to other people. I may be thinking about the welfare of others, but that doesn’t mean I’m interested in letting a single soul back into my life ever again. Just Ellie and I and Mother Nature. That’s the perfect world for me, and there’s no reason that needs to change.

  But here she is. She brought change. A whole lot of it.

  But who is she? Why is some fella chasing her? Or is it more than just one person?

  I’ve got so many questions for her, but I don’t want to ask. It’s not my way of going about things. Better to keep private things private and if the she wants to tell me then she can.

  I’m not going to ask. None of my business.

  The only thing that is my business now is bringing her back to good health and keeping her safe. I can do both of those things with my hands tied behind my back.

  I bring my other hand up to the bed and take her little hand in mind. Our hands are so different, probably because our worlds are so different.

  Her hand is tiny and feminine. Her skin is soft and milky.

  My hands are big and calloused. My skin’s dark from carrying wood, filleting fish, lighting fires. I keep my hands clean but it’s just that the earth finds a way into your pores and into your life. Once you’re out here for a while everything changes. You stop living off the land and just become the land. It’s inside you. In your mind. In your way of living. In your heart.

  You live and breathe it everyday until you become it.

  For me that happened almost immediately. Same for Ellie.

  I just wonder how a women like this found her way out here.

  I run my hands over the back of her knuckles and give her a very tender squeeze. As she sleeps I just want to let her know I’m here. Let her know she’s safe. If she’s dreaming of bad people she can just stop that right now. Nobody’s gonna get her.

  I’m caught off guard when I feel her fingers grip at my palm. She’s trying to squeeze back.

  I look down at our hands and move mine so that our fingers are interlaced. Her grip tightens again and I squeeze back with the same pressure she’s giving me.

  We’re holding hands now as she sleeps. I look up now at her face. The lines around her eyes that brought attention to her worry quickly recede. There’s suddenly an easiness about her. I wouldn’t say that every worry she had went away, but it sure looks like most of them did.

  She needs me right now. It feels good. There’s something primal inside me that roars to life when a woman needs me. When I can be her hero.

  I’m not taking credit for anything that happened out there today. I did what any good man would do. But even so I do feel like maybe, just maybe, I was her hero today. Even if only a little bit.

  If I wouldn’t have been there who knows what might have happened.

  But I was. And surely there’s a reason behind that. It’s been three years since Ellie and I left everything behind and came out here to live. Every year I feel more and more belief for signs the universe sends you. I don’t believe in magic or fortune telling or anything like that. I’m not saying they’re not true or they don’t work, but it’s just that I don’t need them.

  Mother Nature has a magic all of her own and she’ll send you the signs. I’ve seen it time and time again. It just took me awhile to listen. Listen to the feeling in my body letting me know it’s about to rain. Listen to the call of the wild to let me know danger’s in the area. Learn how to read bears and elk and to not show fear. At first you fake it until it becomes real. Now it’s authentic.

  I fear nothing, especially man. Even as man continues to encroach on my little part of the world I’m not worried. I know how to push back when the time comes.

  But what I don’t know is her. And that’s all I’m interested in right now. I want her to wake up and tell me her story.

  But until then I’ll be right by her side, holding her hand and letting her know nothing can harm her. Not as long as I’m by her side.

  CHAPTER 5

  Trinity

  The smell of freshly brewed coffee brings me back to the present.

  Anything is better than my dreams last night. I need to wake up so this torment can stop.

  I open my eyes. There he is. The man who was holding my hand when I passed out.

  He looks over at me and sees that I’m waking up. He says nothing.

  He just looks back over the stove where he pours coffee into a cup and then pours what appears to be milk into it. But it looks thicker than milk. I’m not sure what it is.

  He comes over to me, holding a glass of water in one hand and helping me lean forward with his other.

  I should be scared but I’m not. I wouldn’t call him a gentle giant, but something more along the lines of protective. He makes me feel safe, even though I know I should be terrified.

  He brings the cup of water to my lips. I’m parched and quickly drink it down. He returns to the sink to get another.

  I notice the taste is something different. It’s water all right, but is that…snow? It tastes like a fresh stream or a snowflake that you catch on your tongue as a kid. He’s arranged some sort of mechanical system where the water dispenses like it would in a regular office water cooler, but it’s anything but. It’s made of wood and there’s a lever attached. What is this he’s offering me? I don’t know, but it’s more delicious than any water I’ve ever tasted.

  Maybe that’s because most water doesn’t taste by definition. Also my body is probably beyond dehydrated. But even though I know this isn’t regular water and this is no regular man.

  He returns and places his hand on my back again to bring me forward so I can take a sip.

  I get half way through and pull my head back from the cup. He eases me back down onto the bed, propping up the pillows so I’m no longer lying.

  I immediately notice the absence of his hand and the strength of his fingers. His hand is just so…big. All of him is big. At least the parts I can see.

  He walks over to the kitchen and returns with the cup of coffee he was preparing, setting it down on the nightstand next to me. I see a book lying there. It’s Nature, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. A short book which
I’ve always meant to read but never got around to. Part of me is even surprised he can read, and another part of me is embarrassed at myself for thinking he couldn’t.

  “Good morning,” a voice says.

  I turn back and notice a little girl. She’s so, so cute and dressed like what I imagine a little Amish girl would be.

  “Good morning,” I begin, but my words are raspy and I miss a few sounds. I clear my throat and try again. “Good morning.”

  “I’m Ellie. What’s your name?”

  “Hi Ellie. I’m Trinity.”

  “Trinity. Like three. The three of us.”

  “Yes,” I say. “Like the three of us.”

  Ellie makes a cute face and then runs off to the other side of the room. Is this his…daughter? How could a girl so young be living all the way up here like this?

  “You were mumbling some fella’s name in your sleep,” the man says. “Do you need to get in touch with him and let him know where you are?”

  “No,” I say quickly. “Thank you,” I say more slowly. The abruptness of my no was too obvious.

  “Everything all right?” he asks.

  “Where am I?”

  “A few miles outside Breckenridge Resorts. You came over the top of the river bank like a bat outta hell. Landed right in my lap and knocked yourself out.”

  His words take me back. I remember it now. I saw him. He was chasing me.

  “You’ve got some pretty nasty bruises, but you’re gonna be okay.”

  What’s okay to him and okay to me are probably two different things. I was basically knocked out cold. I might have experienced a concussion and now here I am in some log cabin.

  “When can I leave?” I ask.

  “You’re welcome to leave whenever you want. I’m not holding anybody against their will. But I don’t recommend it. You should stay in bed for a few days. Let your body rest and heal. Then if you feel better and want to be on your way then so be it.”

  His voice is gruff, but there’s a fair and indifferent tone to it. It reminds me of my great-grandfather. He was a throwback. A macho guy. But when the chips were down I know he loved me and he’d do everything he could to protect me. I remember sitting in his lap marveling at how big and masculine he was. I haven’t seen a man like that in years…until this man.

  He has that same tone as my great-grandfather. It comes across as indifferent, but I know it’s not real. He cares deep down. He’s a person that does the right thing. He just doesn’t want to put his true feelings out there. Maybe he’s been hurt before as my great-grandfather was. Serving in a World War and losing your spouse early will do that to a person.

  “Do you take your bacon crispy or wet?” he asks.

  “Crispy,” I say.

  He shovels a couple eggs onto my plate and a minute later the well-cooked bacon.

  His little cabin smells like heaven at this point. Wood, coffee, bacon, eggs…it smells like nature. It smells like a real man lives here. A real man that I’m very interested in learning more about.

  CHAPTER 6

  Trinity

  The next morning

  I wake up early the following morning. The sun’s not even up, or at least it doesn’t seem to be. Through the thick logs of his cabin I guess I can’t be to sure.

  I’ve been in this bed since I arrived. It’s surprisingly incredibly comfortable, but I need to get up and stretch my legs and move about.

  I ease out of bed and then lift my hands up to the ceiling and come up on my tiptoes.

  I quietly walk towards the door and open it and step outside.

  It’s still dark outside and he’s there. He’s got a shotgun across his lap and a cup of coffee by his side.

  He doesn’t even look over at me.

  “Mind if I join you?” I ask.

  He stands and reaches for another wooden rocking chair that matches the one he was just in. He carries it closer to the door and sets it down. I sit in it.

  “Animals?” I ask.

  “The worst kind. Men,” he says.

  “Men?”

  “You were calling out the fellas name again. You mentioned him before. I reckon he might still be looking for you. I’ve got some traps set up on the outskirts of the property. I’m just waiting to hear him trip up one of them. And if he somehow manages to get past them, which he won’t, well then Bessie here’s my second line of defense,” he says as he stares off into the distance and runs his hands along his rifle.

  “What kind of fella are we dealing with?” he asks.

  “I’m not sure what he’s capable of?” I say. I stop. “Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?”

  “You’re a good woman who’s being chased by a bad man. It’s my duty as a man to look after you. To not let this man come near you.”

  “Your duty?” I ask.

  “It’s what I believe in and I’ll fight to the death for my beliefs.”

  “But you don’t know me.”

  “I know you need help and you wound up falling square in my lap. You’re my responsibility now. I’m gonna watch after you and make sure you’re safe.”

  “I don’t want to be a burden.”

  “You’re not a burden. If I can take one more bad guy out of this world it’s one step closer to my daughter living in a safer place…a safer earth.”

  I’m really not sure how to process this guy. I never would have taken him as my type, but there’s just something about his protectiveness. Something about how he’s different than any other guy you could ever meet in Denver. In the city those guys are lumbersexuals pretending to dress up and look like lumberjacks. This guy is practically the real thing. They go to the gym and take who knows what kind of pills to build their bodies. The strongest substance this guy’s put in his body is coffee and he’s built his muscles out here in nature.

  “Thank you,” I say.

  “No need to thank me. It’s what I should be doing.”

  “Can I ask you something?” I say.

  “You just did, didn’t you?”

  I laugh. I guess he does have a sense of humor after all. “What brought you out here? I mean you probably weren’t born out here were you?”

  “No, I wasn’t. But nature called and I answered and here I am today. And now that I see the light I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  “You’d never move back to a city?” I ask. I wrap my hands around my body trying to stay warm. Without missing a beat he stands and walks back inside. He pulls a big, thick coat from a hook on the back of the door and hands it to me. He’s still got that rifle in his other hand. I’m not one for violence, but wow…it is a turn-on I must admit. Just the power of it and knowing what it can do.

  “You couldn’t force me to,” he says. “People there are just in a rush to get from one cage to another. They sit in a cage all day. They call that a cubicle. Then they get in a cage called a car and drive home to another cage called an apartment. And they’re just out for themselves, as anyone locked up in a cage would be.”

  “But aren’t animals out here also out for themselves?”

  “We are, but if I don’t poke the bear he doesn’t mess with me and vice versa.”

  “There are bears out here?”

  “Plenty, but I don’t do things that attract them. Plus bears are more honest. At least I know if I put myself in a bad situation he would kill me. There are no games about it. In the city you never know who’s got your back and who’s out to stab you in it.”

  Wow. Does this guy have trust issues or what? Then again I’m dealing with the same thing right now. The more I think about it I’ve been dealing with this forever. My first boyfriend didn’t want to wait for me like I asked so he just cheated instead. And the whole reason I’m out here is because my boss was a liar and a thief too. Come to think about it…who’s the last honest person I met?

  “You’ve got a point,” I say.

  “I know,” he says calmly as if it was never in doubt in his mind. And it surely wasn’
t. “What brings you out here?”

  “You really want to know?”

  “We’ve got plenty of time to kill until the sun comes up,” he says.

  I try not to laugh at his dry sense of humor. “I worked in one of those cages you talk about…a cubicle. Last week I took a trip from my cubicle cage to the ladies room cage,” I stop to see if he’s smiling. He’s not. Oh well. “And I notice a tiny hole in the toilet paper dispenser in the women’s bathroom. I looked carefully at the hole and couldn’t believe what I saw. Once I managed to pry open the container I found a tiny video camera and audio recorder and it was running! I called the police immediately and by the afternoon both NBC 9 and ABC 7 out of Denver were reporting that he’d been filming the women’s bathroom for years, streaming the video on the dark web making millions. He was taken away in cuffs, but somehow had managed to post five million dollars bail and was out.”

  “I decided it would be smart to move out to California or somewhere far, far away, but I just wanted one day up here to enjoy one final day in Colorado before I left. That and to take some time and make sure this was the right decision.”

  “And he found you,” he says.

  “On my first run down the hill. It was like he knew I was here.”

  “Then he probably knows you’re here now. He’s probably plotting and scheming, but he’ll never get close to you. No way. No how. No chance.”

  “He has a lot of money, power, and influence.”

  “But none of that counts out here. Can he survive in the wilderness? Unlikely and certainly not in the ways that I can.”

  “But where does that leave me?”

  “You’ll stay here until he shows his face. And when he does I’ll deal with him.”

  “Shouldn’t I get away while I can?”

  “If you run, you’ll always be running…until you’re caught. You should stay here and let me take care of this once and for all.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Trinity

  Three days later

  “Where are you going, pa?” Ellie asks.

  “We need some more firewood. It’s warm today so I’m going to go chop some,” he says. “I’ll be back soon.”