She finished her breakfast, and just as she was getting up to leave, her phone pinged and she had a reply from the cabin lettings place.
Hi there, sure, we have a cabin available for the next month up on Pine Avenue. Number 32. I can meet you there around noon if that’s any good for you?
Monica felt herself light up inside and a wave of relief washed over her. She began to type a hasty reply.
M: That would be perfect, thanks so much! See you there.
She gathered up her things and made her way back to her room to pack and get ready to check out. Maybe things were looking up after all and she didn’t need to be so worried all the time. Now, all she had to do was go to the bar and find Jack on her way and find out what the hell had truly happened and if they had been joking.
It was time to put on her big girl panties and face the music.
The bar was open from 9am serving breakfast and brunch, and although it was very, very quiet, there was still a small trickle of people coming in and out of the place.
Monica pushed the door open and headed straight for the counter. As she stepped inside, memories from the night that she had spent in there came crashing back to her, and when Jack came out of the swing doors at the side of the bar, he stopped, and his mouth gaped open.
“Holy shit,” he said with a smile. “We thought you may have skipped town.”
“Are you kidding?” she asked as she sat down on one of the high stools and acted as if nothing was the matter. “I’m not that weak.”
Jack smiled, and she laughed.
“Have you spoken to Evan?” he asked her quietly so that the other customers in the bar couldn’t hear their conversation.
“I’ve been on lockdown at my hotel for the past two days,” she said honestly. “I’ve been working, you know…”
Jack nodded his head as if he wasn’t sure he truly believed her, and she looked away.
“He’s been looking for you,” Jack said. “I think you guys need to talk, don’t you?”
Monica breathed in and sighed loudly.
“Yes, I guess we do,” she half laughed. “I was kind of hoping I would walk in here today and you’d tell me you were having me on… But it wasn’t a joke, was it?”
Jack shook his head.
“I’m afraid not,” he whispered.
Monica rolled her eyes and shrugged.
“So… I am married?” she had to laugh.
Jack nodded again.
“He’s been in here both nights since, looking for you,” Jack said. “I told him you were staying at one of the hotels, but he couldn’t find you.”
She felt her heart swell a little. It was nice to know that Evan hadn’t just brushed it under the rug. He had wanted to find her and speak with her, and she guessed that had to count for something.
“Well, I’m sure we’ll bump into each other at some point,” she said. “I’m not planning on leaving town any time soon.”
“You could come back later?” Jack offered. “I think he’ll be in again…” he trailed off and Monica shook her head. “You know,” Jack continued. “Evan has always kept himself to himself, and I’ve never seen him let his hair down like he did the other night. The fact that he’s been back twice since is like an absolute miracle.”
He paused, and Monica didn’t know what to say.
“He wants to see you,” Jack reiterated. “I don’t know what for, but, I mean, obviously, you two need to talk.”
She nodded and then she got to her feet.
“Thanks, Jack,” she smiled. “If you see him, let him know I’m still around, okay?”
Jack smiled and watched her as she wandered toward the door.
It was almost noon and she had places to be. It was time for her to head on up to Pine Avenue and hopefully find her new home for the next few weeks.
8.
After she had shut herself away in the hotel room, Monica hadn’t actually seen a lot of the little town she was about to call home. As she walked down the quaint little streets and found her way to a more residential area, she couldn’t help but sigh at how idyllic it truly was.
She had grown up in such a bleak and soulless town. But Grey Mountain was the complete opposite, and it was surprising her at how much she was feeling connected to the landscape and nature around her.
She wandered past log cabins and smiled at how unique they all were. None of them looked the same, and they all had their own perfect little charm. Pine Avenue was long, and it weaved its way right up the mountain, but luckily for her, where she needed to be was quite near the bottom, and when she saw the cabin, she felt the grin spread out over her face.
It was incredible, and perfect for what she needed.
It was small and wooden, set back amongst the trees, and rustic looking with a chimney and a little red door. She clapped her hands together and felt her face flush red with excitement as she crunched over the gravel of the driveway and made her way toward the front of the house.
The trees that surrounded it were high and they acted as a barrier between the cabin and the main road, and the place was so well rooted and old looking it easily could have been there for a hundred years.
She wrapped her arms around herself to shield herself from the chill, and somewhere from behind her she heard the sound of a heavy engine coming her way.
A black truck pulled off the main road and swung around onto the drive. It came to a halt and she brushed her hair behind her ears as she waited for the landlord to step out and into the light.
She kicked at the gravel on the ground, unsure of how to hold herself whilst she was waiting. She had never done anything like this before, and she had no clue of how it would all go, but as the door to the car creaked open and she heard a heavy set of boots hit the driveway, she looked up and her heart almost stopped.
In front of her, stepping slowly toward her, was Evan.
Her accidental husband.
She swallowed hard and her heart beat loudly in her chest.
He looked as shocked as she did, but he ran a hand through his hair and then he put it in his pocket and shrugged.
“Hi, Monica,” he said.
He looked so good. Better than she had even remembered.
He was bigger and broader than her memory had led her to believe, and his eyes were so deep and intense they were captivating her even from across the driveway.
She didn’t know if she could speak, everything she wanted to say was caught in her throat and she started to stumble over her words.
“Ev, Evan…” she managed. “Hi. What are you doing here?”
He cocked his head to the side and gave her a look that made her feel stupid.
“Obviously, I own this place,” he said matter-of-factly.
Monica felt her face burn. The last person she had been expecting to turn up was him. And now they were face to face again and she didn’t know what to say or do.
“Did you know it was me when I texted?” she asked him with confusion.
He shook his head.
“No, but let’s just say I had a feeling,” he said. “I haven’t heard of anyone else coming into town in the past few days looking for a place. But Mo over at the train station did mention she’d given a leaflet for one of the cabins to a cute girl who had arrived on Thursday.”
Monica bit her lip and looked down at the ground. Was he flirting with her, or just being charming to ensure she took the house?
He strode up toward her with a set of keys in his hand and a smirk on his face.
“I thought you’d skipped town,” he said.
“Yes, so I heard,” she was trying not to blush. “I just saw Jack back at the bar.”
“Oh yeah?” he asked her. “Were you in there looking for husband number two?”
He cracked a mischievous smile and it made her smile too.
“Very funny,” she said. “And obviously, we have a lot to talk about…”
He looked back at her over his shoulder as he slid the
key into the lock and turned it so that the door opened.
“Yes, we do,” he said as he held the door open and let her step inside before him.
The cabin was small and dark, and as she wandered into the hallway, she was sure she could smell something that she could only describe as baking. It was sweet, like cookie dough, and it made her mouth water.
“Is someone here?” she asked with wide eyes.
Evan shook his head.
“The last occupier left yesterday, I had the cleaners come by last night,” he shrugged.
“It smells like someone’s been cooking,” she offered as she looked up at him for some kind of explanation.
“That’s just the homely smell this place has,” he shrugged. “I often find it’s a selling point.”
Monica looked back at him with a wry smile and couldn’t quite figure out if he was joking or not.
“So,” he said. “You want this place for a few weeks?”
Monica nodded her head and bit her bottom lip. Being in his presence again was completely disarming. He had taken her by surprise and now she didn’t have a clue what to say or do.
“Well, it’s yours,” he said as he raised his arms. “I mean, you are my wife, after all…” he put a stress on the word and then he looked at her with a bit of intrigue.
“Listen,” she said. “About that… I mean, I don’t exactly have a good memory of what happened.”
“Me neither,” he said as he crossed his huge, muscular arms over his chest.
She suddenly felt embarrassed again. She had no idea how to have this conversation.
“Obviously, we need to get it annulled,” he said sternly. “I’ll look into it.”
Monica nodded her head and just hoped that her face wasn’t a crimson red.
He sighed and stared at her. She couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or playing with her. She couldn’t figure him out at all.
“Take the cabin, free of charge,” he said. “We’ll get this sorted and then I take it you’ll be leaving town?”
He stared at her as if he was demanding an answer.
Monica shrugged and then she nodded.
“Yeah, sure, thank you,” she said quietly.
Evan went to head toward the door and then he faltered. He looked back at her over his shoulder and gave her a weak smile.
There was something in the air between them, but Monica couldn’t figure out what. It was charged and powerful, and each time she looked into his eyes, she saw both danger and safety, and it was confusing her because she was drawn to it and couldn’t explain why.
She knew the moment she had laid eyes on him that he was trouble.
And she hadn’t been wrong.
He raised his hand and waved and then he was gone. The door to the cabin creaked closed behind him and Monica closed her eyes. She listened and held her breath as his boots crunched back over the gravel, he opened the car door and slammed it behind him, and then the truck’s engine started.
When she opened her eyes again and allowed herself to breathe, her heartbeat was whooshing through her ears and she felt dizzy. On the table by the inside of the front door she could see that he had left her the keys.
She leaned back against the wall and sighed.
That had been the last thing she had been expecting.
Evan? An owner of real estate in town? She never would have had him pegged as that.
She was sure that he had told her he worked the land up on the mountain… Had he lied? Or had she misunderstood?
She rolled out her shoulders and tried to shake away her apprehension. There wasn’t a whole lot she could do about this now. She was in town, she was staying put for a few weeks to work, and Evan had assured her he was going to get to work at getting their drunken marriage annulled.
“What a goddam mess,” she whispered to herself.
She slumped down onto the old couch in the living area and sighed. She may have gotten herself into a big mess, but at least they were going to work together to get themselves out of it. And she was pretty sure there could be worse people to be married to. Evan wasn’t exactly hard to look at, and she had genuinely had fun with him the other night in the bar.
As she sat there and thought about everything that had happened in the past few days, she couldn’t help but smile.
It was certainly going to be a story to tell the grandkids.
9.
She unpacked her clothing for the second time since she had arrived on Grey Mountain, and she spent the rest of the day finding her way around the cabin and making herself at home.
It really was a charming little place. The kitchen and the living area were all in the same space, and they had big windows that looked out onto the forest beyond. It was old and rustic, and there was a real fireplace filled with logs in the main living area, and the kitchen looked like it hadn’t been replaced for around thirty years. She smirked as she looked at the cooker and the refrigerator. She was going to have a challenge when it came to trying to make anything in there.
She slumped down on the couch and pulled a wool blanket around her shoulders. She was exhausted, but she knew she had to work. She needed to get some more thoughts down, and some more ideas for posts she could actually use.
She yawned and let her head roll back as she pulled the laptop onto her knee. She tapped at the keys to make it come to life, but all she could do was sit and stare at the screen. It was going blurry in front of her, and she couldn’t think of one damned thing to note down.
“Urgh,” she said out aloud. “This sucks.”
At the same time, her stomach growled and she rested her hand on the top of it.
“When was the last time you even ate?” she asked herself as she tried to rack her brains for the answer.
It had been that morning when she had nibbled at fruit during breakfast. Since then, she had been so distracted nothing but water had passed her lips.
She got to her feet and slammed the laptop closed before she lay it down on the kitchen island and headed toward the front door. She didn’t have the energy to go shopping and cook, but she did have the energy to head down to the bar and choose something off their extensive menu.
She grabbed her purse and the keys to the cabin and then she made her way outside. It was only early, and she had a full night ahead of her… What better way to spend it…
When she slipped back down onto the stool in front of the bar counter, it only took Jack a couple of seconds to register it was her that had arrived. He gave her a salute and wandered over with a bar menu and set it down in front of her.
“Back again?” he asked her.
Monica nodded her head and tried not to smile too wide. She felt as if she had had a positive day, and now that she had cleared the air with Evan, she was back to feeling like her old self again.
“I sure am,” she said. “There’s only so much cabin fever I can take.”
Jack smiled at her.
“Cabin fever… I see what you’ve done there,” he winked.
She couldn’t help but grin, he had obviously heard about her new accommodation.
“Has Evan been in here by any chance?” she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Maybe,” Jack teased. “I guess you’ll have to wait and see.”
She felt her heart pick up pace a little and she shifted in her chair. She would be lying to herself if she tried to say she hadn’t been hoping to see him when she had come down to the bar. She had done nothing but think of him all day, and she was eager to see him again.
She flipped open the menu and scanned down the lists and lists of delicious looking food. Her stomach was going wild, and she felt as if she could eat everything in sight, but her eyes settled on the pasta and her mouth started to water.
“Carbs,” she nodded her head. “They are clearly needed.”
She closed the menu and Jack wandered back over.
“What can I get you? A mountain mojito?” he joked.
“No chance!” she laughed. “I’m never touching one of those again.”
“Shame,” the voice cut in from behind her, and a tingle ran up her spine. She didn’t need to turn around to know who was standing there and it made her heart pound hard in her chest.
It was him.
Evan.
She smiled and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before she demurely looked over her shoulder.
“Oh, look who is it,” she teased.
Evan crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her as if he wanted to tell her off, and it made her pussy throb a little. He had such a way of staring at her that it made her melt.
He stepped forward and pulled out a stool and sat down next to her, and suddenly, she had an epic case of déjà vu.
“What a nice surprise,” he said cockily as he ran a big hand through his hair and smiled across at her.
“I think you’re following me,” she said jokingly.
He smirked and reached for his own menu and started to flip through the pages.
Monica sat there trying not to fidget or look in his direction. How had it come to be that she had run into him twice in one day? It was as if they were both looking for each other but neither would admit it.
“So?” Jack asked as he tapped the closed menu in front of her.
“Okay,” she smiled. “I’ll have a GLASS of red… Just one glass. And an arrabiata.”
“Very brave,” Evan chipped in. “I can only assume you’ve never had that from here before?”
“Obviously not,” she retorted.
“It’ll blow your face off,” he said as he closed his own menu and slid it back toward Jack. “A big juicy T-Bone,” he said. “Rare and bloody.”
Monica winced. She loved steak, but she would never be able to eat one like that. The thought was completely terrifying, but she supposed that Evan was as masculine as they came.
Jack disappeared toward the kitchen and Monica suddenly felt the silence between her and Evan. She had been completely at ease with him, and she enjoyed his company, but because she hadn’t expected to see him again so soon, and the fact they were sitting in the exact same places as they had been the night they met, suddenly she was feeling nervous.
Accidental Mountain Man Page 5
