Monica looked back at him and could see that he had a little notebook and pen clutched between his hands. He looked so sweet and restful, if the rest of the town was like this, then she knew she had certainly come to the right place. She needed somewhere quaint, somewhere quiet, and somewhere she could really connect with.
“Thank you for the information,” Monica smiled as she picked up the number for a local taxi firm and headed toward the doorway.
“No problem,” the lady called behind her.
Grey Mountain was already shaping up to be a promising place for her, and now she had to just call a cab and make her way to the hotel. Once she had looked around town enough and got to know it a little better, then she would feel more comfortable leasing a private home for a few weeks.
She shoved the literature into the bag on her shoulder as she raised her cellphone to her ear and listened to the dial tone as she called for a cab.
Now that she had arrived, she no longer felt nervous. She felt ready to take on anything, and already she could feel the little hints of inspiration tugging away at the back of her mind.
This adventure was going to be something important, she could sense it.
3.
The hotel was in much better shape than she had been expecting. From how everything else had looked as she had merged through town in the back of the cab, she had thought that the hotel would also be a little old and dilapidated, but she was pleasantly surprised.
As she had walked into the lobby she had almost gasped when she had seen how fresh and modern the place was, as if it had only just been refurbished for the upcoming ski season.
She had approached the counter and the girl on the reception desk had also been incredibly helpful and friendly, and she had sorted her out with a room with a view straight away and had also told her of all the happening places in town to go to.
“Tonight is always good just around the corner,” she’d smiled. “When we’re out of season, it’s always a little quieter around town, but this stretch and all the bars along here are always pretty full. We even still get some people from out of town coming over because the atmosphere is so good.”
Monica had thanked her and headed to her room, and when she had opened the door and stepped inside, she had grinned from ear to ear with delight.
With the hotel being much quieter than it would have been in season, she had been given a great room. She flicked on the lights and felt herself warm up inside too. She had a huge set of double doors that led out onto a balcony with amazing views over the mountain. Her bed was a lush looking King size, and the adjoining bathroom was fresh and clean, with plenty of little bottles of complimentary treats for her to enjoy.
She laughed and shook her head, as if she couldn’t believe her luck. But she knew she had gone in and set the bar too high, now there was no way she was going to want to leave and head to a private cabin, and no way she could afford to stay.
“Good one, Monica,” she mused to herself as she unzipped her case and began to unpack.
As she hung up her clothes, she made a mental note not to get too comfortable. She was going to manage two nights in the hotel as a maximum and then she was going to have to find somewhere cheaper to stay and hopefully, strike up a deal with one of the local landlords.
When she had finished unpacking and sat on her balcony nursing a cool, crisp glass of Chardonnay from the minibar, she felt eternally grateful that she had this chance to break out and do something on her own. She had spent so much of her life working and helping fulfill other people’s dreams, it felt good to be able to say that she was finally doing something for herself.
She took a sip of her wine and looked out at the incredible view in front of her. The sun was beginning to go down after a long day, and in the winding streets not too far from where she was sitting, she could hear the town was beginning to come alive.
She bit her bottom lip and started to feel a familiar wave of mischief roll over her.
She had come to town to work, but she was still in need of a bit of inspiration… and now that she had heard that the bars and restaurants close by were still pulling in crowds, she didn’t see any good reason why she should have to stay in her hotel room.
She went back inside and looked in her full-length mirror. She was already showered, and she could easily slick on a little bit of make-up to make herself look a little fresher. She pulled a white blouse out of her closet and pulled it on over her head and then she put on some bracelets to jazz it all up a bit. She flicked her hair and slipped her feet into a little pair of heels, before she grabbed her purse and headed toward the door.
It was time to see what Grey Mountain was really made of.
It was time to find her muse.
As she wandered around the corner and onto a small straight street, her eyes were instantly captivated by how many dazzling little lights and bright colors were beaming back at her.
The street may have been small, but it certainly made up for its size with its personality, and she grinned as she found herself being drawn to a bar right in the center, which had rock music drifting out from inside and the sounds of cheer.
She approached the door and opened it slowly, and as she slipped inside, she was glad that she wasn’t instantly stared at by the locals, they all seemed rather occupied watching a football game on a big TV at the front of the room, drinking their beers and laughing amongst themselves.
Monica approached the bar and pulled out one of the tall stools to sit on. The guy behind the bar raised his head and smiled at her before he made his way over and rested down his hands.
“What can I get you?” he asked nicely.
Monica had no clue. She didn’t know if she wanted to eat or just enjoy some cold drinks, but what she did know what that she wanted to see a menu.
“Do you have something I could look at?” she asked, and he smiled and nodded his head before he passed her a thick, leather bound folder.
She flicked through the pages and felt her eyes widen at all the different types of dishes and drinks that were listed on every page. She had been expecting something small and unimpressive, but this place seemed to have something for everyone and she was totally spoiled for choice.
“Wow,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting all of this.”
“You a tourist?” the guy asked as he dried some glasses with the edge of a wash cloth.
“No,” she said. “Well, kind of… I’ve come here to work. I needed some peace and quiet.”
“And you’ve come into this bar?” he laughed.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting it to be so lively,” she smiled. “But I am kind of glad.”
“Yeah, it always gets pretty wild in here,” he smirked. “These mountain men sure know how to party.”
He winked and then he moved down the bar to serve another customer, and Monica found herself looking nervously around to try and see what he meant.
When she could fully take in the group of men near the front of the room, she realized that they all had a similar look about them. They were all big and muscular, and they all looked rough and ready, as if they had spent their day working outside and had come to wind down and sink a few beers.
She tried not to smile too widely. She had never really seen men like that before. They all looked so raw and masculine, she had only really thought that guys like that could exist in movies, but there she was, sitting amongst them.
She turned back to the counter and closed the menu.
“You decided?” he asked her as he wandered back up to her end.
“Sure,” she said. “I’ll take a bottle of red wine and the biggest, juiciest steak you’ve got.”
The bar boy raised his eyebrows and nodded his head.
“Good choice,” he smiled as he took the menu and slipped it back down behind the bar.
When her food arrived, she almost gawked at the size of the piece of meat on her plate. It was so big it was almost dangling off the edges, but it looked and
smelled amazing. She sliced into it and took a deeply delicious bite, before she sipped her wine and felt as if she was melting into heaven.
“Any good?” the guy behind the bar asked her.
She moaned and nodded her head.
“T0 die for,” she said. “I haven’t eaten anything like this in a long while… it feels totally overindulgent but absolutely incredible.”
“We have a good reputation,” he laughed.
She nodded her head and took another bite, and the guy who had been serving her held out his hand.
“I’m Jack,” he said with a shy shrug. “If you need any advice on where to go in town or what to do, just hit me up. I’m the go to guy.”
Monica smiled and again was bowled over at how friendly and kind everyone had been to her since she had come to town. It was like they loved having new people amongst them and they were glad to welcome her into the fold.
When her plate had been long cleared and she was halfway down the bottle of Malbec, she could feel herself relaxing more and more. She felt warm inside and she was having a good time. At different intervals, some of the locals had been coming up to the bar and ordering drinks and Jack had introduced her to a whole host of people.
She had met two girls who looked around a similar age to her and worked as waitresses at a restaurant across the street. She had met some older gentlemen who had been in town for decades and owned some of the other local businesses, and she had even been introduced to a bona-fide cowboy, who she had to admit had been a little scary.
“This place is so different to where I’m from,” she said to Jack as she pushed the cork back into the top of the bottle of wine. “My town is small but it’s industrial, and we don’t have views like this or the small-town vibe that I love so much here.”
“Yeah, this place is pretty special,” he smiled. “And with us being such a hot tourist spot during ski season, I guess everyone in town just loves having new faces around.”
“I bet,” she grinned.
“You done?” he asked her as he motioned to the bottle in front of her that now had its cork firmly fixed in place.
“On this, I am,” she said. “I’ll take it back to the hotel with me.”
“Sure,” he smiled.
“What cocktails do you do?” she asked mischievously.
“Oh well, for that one I insist you try out our Mountain Mojitos,” he laughed. “They’re pretty special and they sure have a kick that will wake you up if you’re feeling nice and sleepy after the red.”
“Done,” she said as she reached up and gave him a high-five.
Jack laughed and got to work on making her drink and she shook her head at how cringey she was being. She hadn’t had a drink in a long time and it was obviously having a quick effect on her.
She got to her feet and made her way toward the bathroom and she began to notice different little features of the bar that made it come to life. The walls were all wooden, and they were covered in framed pictures of locals, of other parts of town, and of famous faces that had visited at some point or another. There were vintage advertisements, old beer mats, stag heads and dart boards. It was an eclectic mix of bric-a-brac, but it all came together and worked exceptionally well.
“I love it here,” she whispered to herself as she pushed open the door and made her way into the ladies’ room.
She looked at herself in the mirror as she washed her hands and smiled at her reflection. It had been a while since she had taken any true notice of herself and her appearance, and it felt good to be able to see herself in a different light.
She looked more radiant than she had remembered, as if her making the decision to liberate herself and change up her life was having a positive effect on her soul.
She ran a comb through her hair and smoothed on some lip balm, and then she made her way back toward the door and headed into the main body of the bar.
The place was really starting to fill up, and the group of men that had been at the front of the room when she had arrived seemed to have grown to twice its size, they were all cheering and rooting at the television screen, downing big tankards of ale and slapping each other on their backs.
Monica was too busy watching them and laughing to herself that she almost didn’t notice as she sat back down on her stool at the bar that there was someone else there too.
As Jack placed down her Mountain Mojito and gave her a knowing grin, she suddenly became aware that the seat next to her had also been filled.
She turned and looked to the side, and in that moment, she felt her entire world shift.
She felt her jaw sag open a little and her spine tingle with anticipation.
The man sitting next to her, he was like a beast… and it was clear that he likely had the attitude to match. He cast her a side wards glance and then he smirked cockily. He was all darkness and brooding bravado, but it made her feel hot under the collar. She smiled back at him and he raised his bottle of beer to his lips and drank from it, his eyes boring into hers and never leaving them for a second.
She chewed her lip and her heart began to skip a little.
He was still watching her, and it was beginning to unnerve her.
He was tall and dark, he had strong and thick looking arms that were covered in wiry hair, and a beard to match. His smile was playful and experienced, as if he knew he could pull her in and make her his if he so wished… and even though that was the kind of attitude that would normally drive her insane, there was something about the way he was looking at her that made her not want to care this time.
She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smiled shyly, and picked up her ice-cold mojito and held it between both hands. It was in a large cut glass tumbler with big shreds of mint and a black straw.
“This is huge,” she said to Jack, trying to divert her attention from the massive mountain man that was sitting next to her and giving her the eye.
But, she swiftly realized she had said the wrong thing.
The man sitting next to her let out a guffaw, and Jack quickly blushed a deep red.
Monica quickly found herself turning red too and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“Obviously, I meant the drink,” she said as she looked sideways at the mountain man on the stool next to her and rolled her eyes.
Jack laughed too and shrugged.
“I told you it was worth trying,” he said.
The mountain man shifted and turned his whole body so that he was facing her directly and looked into her eyes. He was so handsome, and each time she caught his eye it was only becoming more and more apparent how much she was attracted to him.
Jack was smirking and wiping down the countertop, and then he stepped back and moved away slightly, as if he was aware that something was about to happen, and he didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.
The mountain man stared at Monica, and she was trapped there in front of him, not daring to speak or move, as she demurely sipped her drink and felt her whole body react to him in a way she had never felt before.
He smiled at her again, and this time, she saw something else behind his eyes that was more than mischief, it was pure and unadulterated lust.
“Do you look at every girl like that?” she asked him, feeling cocky and confident, and wanting to throw back a bit of sass when he was so obviously feeling unbelievably confident in himself as it was.
He grinned and then he swigged the beer again, before he lowered the bottle and leaned in a little closer.
She could smell a hint of pine on him, of the outdoors, and of a masculine scent that could only belong to a man who was used to working out in the midst of nature, but also one who took care of himself. His cologne was woodsy, and it matched him perfectly, the scent was making her nipples stiffen and she bit her lip as she tried not to grin from ear to ear.
“What do you think?” he asked cockily as he tilted his head to the side and took her all in.
Her heart was racing, and her skin was
tingling.
She didn’t know how to respond… but she did know what she thought about the whole situation…
She knew she was completely fucked.
She was in his sights, and now that she was there, she wasn’t going to be able to leave.
This mountain man was hot as hell, and he was edging closer.
She sipped her drink and smiled.
She was ready to play.
4.
“So are you going to tell me...” he said as he pulled his stool in closer to hers and she felt his warmth radiating from him.
“Tell you what?” she asked.
She was sipping her mojito way too fast and she could feel it already going to her head. She was feeling frisky and flirty, and she was enjoying every second of him paying her some attention.
The last date Monica had been on hadn’t exactly been the most fun. It had been a blind one set up by her mother’s friend, and she had done nothing but want to bail from the second she had arrived.
“Aren’t you going to tell me where you’ve come from?” he asked her with a wry smile. “One second, I was just sitting here, minding my own business, and then the next… boom…” He held his hands up and framed her face jokingly.
“Well, I was actually sitting here before you,” she said as she sipped her drink again. “And Jack will vouch for me there. So, I guess the real question, is where did you come from?”
She raised her eyebrows and he cracked his handsome face into a smile.
His jaw was perfectly squared off and his rugged looks were heightened with the twinkle in his eye. He was a rare mix of barbarian and gentleman, but Monica could tell he was also a whole world of trouble.
“She’s right,” Jack said as he slid up next to them on the other side of the bar. “She’s been here for a couple of hours now.”
She smiled and raised her hand to give Jack a high-five.
“But, unfortunately, Evan is a Grey Mountain man through and through…” Jack said with a raised brow. “So, I guess he’ll turn it around to where did you come from in general…”
Accidental Mountain Man Page 2
