Run to Me: A Mountain Man Romance (Clarke Brothers Series Book 3)

by Lilian Monroe

  Zoe surprises me when she agrees. “That’s true. But I can’t condone arson.”

  We’re quiet for a while, and I watch her walk through the wreckage. I show her the places where the fire started, remembering how it felt to splash gasoline over the ground and strike the match to light it up. Zoe crouches down near the spot where I dropped my match.

  “So what happened after the fire?” She asks. “No one’s really given me a straight answer. It sounds like it all sort of went away.” Her bright blue eyes are boring into me, and I know I have to choose my words carefully. It all went away because the Sheriff started the fire with us.

  I sigh. “Lang Creek is a funny kind of town. Change isn’t really encouraged here.”

  “But arson is?” She retorts. The corner of her lip is curled up into a grin. I chuckle.

  “I guess it is,” I answer. “More so than razing a huge swath of virgin forest to develop it, just for tourists to come destroy the land that we’ve cherished for generations.”

  “You sound like you agree with the people who burned this down.”

  My chest tightens. It feels wrong to lie to her, even though I hardly know her. I thought this whole business with the hotel and the fire and the McCoys was over! I thought the town had moved on from the fire, and I wouldn’t have to worry about it.

  Now there’s this woman sniffing around, and I know she won’t be as forgiving as the Sheriff’s office or the townspeople. Sure, she’s just here to consult on new safety procedures, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t get the authorities to re-open the investigation. I wonder how long it’ll take for her to hear the rumors that it was my brothers and me?

  “Maybe I do agree with them. I mean, look around,” I say, sweeping my arm across the landscape. “The forest is taking over again. If the hotel had been built, this whole area would be filled with people and cars and trucks and noise and garbage.”

  She makes a noise and nods, looking out at the forest.

  She sighs. “It is very beautiful up here. You’re lucky to have lived here all your life.”

  I snort. “I’m guessing that’s a ‘grass is always greener’ situation, because I sure didn’t love living here when I was a teenager.”

  She laughs. For the first time since she walked through the office door, she really laughs. She laughs like she did our first night together, like she did in the bar when we didn’t know anything about each other.

  Zoe is still smiling when she takes a step and loses her footing on some loose rock. She yelps, stumbling. I jump towards her, crossing the few feet of distance between us and lunge to catch her. I just about make it, but instead I land with a thud on the rocky ground with Zoe tumbling on top of me.

  “Unf,” she groans as she lands on top of me. It takes a couple confused seconds for us to disentangle ourselves from each other. She puts her hand on my chest to lift herself off me, and raises her eyes up to mine. She stops and my hand drifts to her waist.

  The moment only lasts a second, maybe two, but in her eyes I see something that she hasn’t shown me at all today: desire. Her eyes flash, and her body almost trembles on top of me. She parts her lips ever so slightly as her pupils dilate.

  I can feel her pulse, and when my hand lands on her waist she makes the tiniest of noises.

  Then, the moment is over. She lifts herself off and extends a hand to help me up. She brushes herself off and pats her hair down before blowing the air out of her lungs.

  “Wow, I, uh,” she says, shaking her head. “Thanks.”

  I grunt, feeling the spots where a rock dug into my lower back. “I think Sandy would kill me if I let you get injured on your very first trip outdoors.”

  Zoe laughs. “It doesn’t look like it would take much to set her off.”

  “She’s alright,” I say, grinning with her. “Tough woman, but a good boss.”

  Zoe looks over once more at the forest. There’s a bird chirping nearby, and the wind rustles gently through the leaves. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes before turning to me and smiling.

  “I like it here,” she says.

  I’m not sure why, but it makes me feel good to hear her say that. My heart thumps and I nod, clearing my throat and turning back towards the truck.

  “That’s the site of the fire, anyway. I’ll take you back along the old logging roads and show you some of the campsites we have.”

  Our boots crunch on the gravel as we head back to the car. The breeze sweeps by us and the leaves rustle some more. Another bird starts singing.

  My head is spinning. I know I need to be careful with Zoe, for my sake and my brothers’. I know it would be best to keep my distance, to keep her at an arm’s length.

  But when we slide back into my truck, we fall into a comfortable silence, and despite my best efforts to ignore it, I feel good having her beside me.

  Chapter 11 - Zoe

  By the time I make it back to the hotel, the tiredness has set into my bones but my mind is buzzing. I still can’t believe I’m working with Ethan.

  I drop my purse on the small desk near the entrance to the room and sink down on the chair. I close my eyes and enjoy a few moments of silence.

  Immediately, my brain starts replaying the day. I see Ethan as he glanced at me sideways in the truck, and the thrill it sent through my whole body. I can feel his hand on my waist and my body pressed against his when I fell. The look in his eyes was nothing short of electrifying.

  Shaking my head, I get up and sigh. I stretch my arms above my head and glance around the tiny hotel room that I’m going to call home for the next two to three months. I glance at the picture of Audrey that I’ve propped on my nightstand, and take a deep breath.

  I should forget about Saturday. It was one night, and it meant nothing.

  We seem to have an unspoken understanding about that, which simultaneously fills me with relief and a stinging sensation in the center of my chest. It was me who walked away without giving him my number, and it was me who pretended not to know him, so I shouldn’t be upset that he’s respected my wishes.

  I stand still, staring at nothing, until a knock on the door makes me jump.

  “Hi,” says a young woman when I open the door. She’s wearing a hotel uniform and holding a stack of towels. She smiles hesitantly. “Mara sent me over to make sure you had everything you need and to give you these,” she says, presenting me with a stack of thick, fluffy towels. I take them from her and smile. I met Mara, the young hotel owner, when I arrived yesterday. She had kind eyes and a warm smile, and this woman seems no different.

  “Thanks,” I respond, turning to put the towels down next to my purse on the desk. I turn around and see the young woman turning to leave. “Wait!”

  I rummage through my purse and find a couple dollar bills. I hand them to her and she frowns.

  “What’s this for?”

  “It’s a tip. For the towels.”

  She laughs. “You city people are so funny sometimes,” she says, grinning at me. “Don’t worry about the dollar. You’re here for, what, a couple months? You really gonna give me a dollar every time I knock on your door?”

  “I hadn’t really thought that far,” I admit, staring at the crumpled bills in my hand. I hope I haven’t offended her.

  She shakes her head. “You had dinner yet? I was just about to head down to Harold’s. You can use that money to buy me a drink. I’m guessing you don’t know anyone in town yet.”

  “No,” I say. “I don’t.” Well, except for a certain Mr. Ethan Clarke, who I know a bit better than I should.

  Her eyes flash and a smile appears on her lips. “Well I can introduce you to the main troublemakers,” she says, grinning. “None of them bite, unless you want them to.”

  I’m about to refuse, to say that I’ll eat in my room, but something stops me. It might be nice to spend an evening away from my thoughts. I might actually make a friend while I’m here. I nod. “Deal,” I say.

  “Good. I’m Katie, b
y the way,” she says, extending her hand.

  “Zoe,” I reply as we shake hands. I like her smile, and I can’t help but grin back.

  “Heard you were in town to investigate the fire,” she says, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly. Her question feels a bit too probing, so I try to skirt it.

  “Not really. I’m working with the National Parks to minimize the risk of wildfires. I developed a set of procedures back in Seattle and they sent me here. The fire at the hotel construction site was a major incident, so I’m trying to work with the Rangers to help prevent it from happening again.”

  Katie laughs, and I’m not sure why. She throws her head back and lets out a full-bellied laugh, finally shaking her head. “Don’t think it’ll happen again, you can be fairly sure about that.”

  “How do you know?”

  Her eyes glimmer again, and she tucks a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear. “Wouldn’t be any reason to!” I’m about to ask her more, but she nods down the hallway. “Come on, get ready and meet me in the lobby in ten minutes. I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

  She winks at me and turns down the hallway. I stare after her for a few moments before closing the door. This job doesn’t seem as straightforward as I first thought.

  I get ready slowly, frowning as I mull over her words. The Rangers said the same thing in the staff meeting–that there was little chance of it happening again. How can everyone be so sure?

  Unless they know who did it, and why it was done. Katie said there wouldn’t be any reason to start the fire again. Between that and Ethan saying it was started to stop the developers from digging up the forest, maybe the fire was started with somewhat noble intentions.

  I step outside. The door to my hotel room closes behind me and I take a deep breath, heading down the long hallway towards the front of the building.

  Katie is waiting for me, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. She smiles when I appear in the lobby and nods her head towards the door.

  “Come on,” she says. “Harold’s has the best burgers in town.”

  “Good,” I answer with a grin. “I’m starving.”

  We walk in silence as dusk falls over the town. The sun has disappeared behind the mountains, sending brilliant reds and pinks across the sky. I inhale, staring at the vast landscape.

  “It’s so beautiful around here,” I breathe. Katie smiles, inhaling deeply through her nose.

  “I love the smell of the air here. I spent some time in New York City when I thought I wanted to leave this town, and the smells used to make me retch. Literally! Coming back home was the best thing I ever did.”

  “Don’t go to Seattle, then,” I laugh. “The smog in the city will choke you to death.”

  Katie makes a noise and we walk on in silence.

  “So what were you doing in New York?” I ask after a pause.

  Katie inhales deeply and sighs before answering. “I was restless, I guess,” she finally says. She glances up at the peaks in front of us and shakes her head. “Then I clicked my heels together and said ‘there’s no place like home’,” she grins. “This town has a way of getting under your skin.”

  “I can see that,” I say, glancing at the sunset again. My heart flutters and I take a deep breath. Audrey would love it here. My thoughts flick back to my conversation with her this morning, and worry snakes into my heart. I hope she’s okay. I hope the kids at school aren’t bothering her.

  I watch as Katie kicks a pebble off the sidewalk, and I try to think of something to say. The seconds tick by in silence as we walk towards the other end of town, and after a little while it feels like I’ve waited too long to respond.

  Finally, the curiosity that’s been gnawing at me becomes too much to bear. With a deep breath, I change the subject and ask the question that’s been on my mind since she dropped off those towels at my door.

  “So what happened with the fire?”

  Katie glances over at me and laughs. Her eyes spark again as she nudges me with her elbow. “Zoe, you have no idea what you’ve just stepped into. This is a multi-generational feud. Love, drama, cheating, crime, fraud, arson. It’s got it all. Even an arranged marriage!” She sweeps her arm as she speaks, across the vista of mountains and forest and sunset sky in front of us. “And it all starts with a family called the Clarkes, who lived up on that mountain over there.” Katie points to the tallest mountain in view, over to the left. The very top of it is flat, but it has a sheer cliff face that seems to fall for hundreds of feet, crashing into the forest below.

  My heart skips a beat and I frown. The Clarkes? As in… Ethan Clarke?

  I try to smile at the same time and feel my face contort into a weird expression. I just don’t know how to react right now. Katie laughs again and I can’t help but relax a little. I shake my head and smile at her.

  “You’ve met Ethan Clarke already, I would guess. He’s a Park Ranger.”

  I nod, trying to keep my face steady. “Yeah, we’ll be working together.”

  “He has two brothers, Aiden and Dominic. Dominic is married to Mara, who you’ve met. They own the hotel.”

  I nod. “Right.”

  She starts firing names and families and places at me, and I try to keep up. Her laugh is easy, and as we get to Harold’s she hooks her arm into mine. I feel myself relax, and I smile at her. It’s nice to meet someone friendly.

  I mean, Ethan is friendly, but it’s nice to talk to someone that I haven’t slept with.

  “Don’t worry, Zoe,” she says with a laugh. “The Clarke Brothers look a lot scarier than they are. If you’re not careful, you’ll fall in love with one of them.”

  I stiffen and Zoe laughs again. “You and every other woman in town,” she continues, mercifully ignoring the very obvious tension in my body. She points to a building up ahead.

  “There’s Harold’s,” she says. “Buy me that drink and I’ll tell you a story.”

  Chapter 12 - Ethan

  I pull up outside Aiden’s garage, noticing Dominic’s car parked outside. Both my brothers must be here. The lights are on, so they must be working on a car. I kill the engine and jump down, strolling over to the open door.

  My brothers look up when I walk in.

  “Hey, Ethan,” Aiden says, glancing up briefly and wiping his hands on a rag. Dominic slides out from under the car they’re working on and grunts a hello.

  I nod to him. “Shouldn’t you be at home with Mara?” I ask. “When’s she due, anyway?” Dominic scratches his head and heaves himself up. He wipes his hands down the front of his old paint-stained t-shirt and sighs.

  “Needed an evening away from it all. I think I was getting grumpy, because Mara pretty much ordered me to come here. She said the baby isn’t coming out any quicker and my fussing was only annoying her.”

  I chuckle. “Sounds like Mara.”

  Dominic grins at me and nods to the fridge, tucked away in the corner of the garage. I head over to it and grab three cans of beer. My brothers nod as I hand them the drinks, and I nod back.

  Sometimes, we spend hours without speaking a word to each other. My older brother isn’t much of a talker, and all three of us brothers have developed a sort of non-verbal language to communicate. I lean against the work bench and crack open the cold can of beer.

  “As long as this baby holds off long enough for them to clear the rockslide off the freeway, I’ll be happy.” Dominic stares off through the doorway at the sliver of horizon we can see through it. “The roadworks crew told me it would be another forty-eight hours before they’d get it cleared.”

  “You drove down again today?” Aiden asks, wiping his lips after taking a sip.

  Dominic grunts. “Baby’s due any day now."

  The nearest hospital is about thirty miles away, to the north, and access to it is completely blocked by the rockslide. I chew my lip.

  “There’s no doctor closer?”

  Dominic sighs, shaking his head. “They won’t airlift her to the hospital in Albany
for the birth unless it was life-threatening. There’s a midwife a couple towns over, but I’d just be a lot more comfortable if we could go to our regular doctor.”

  “How long does labor last anyways? Doesn’t it usually take hours? Could you drive to Albany?”

  Dominic grunts again. “Doc said it would be best not to. Said the drive is too long and it wouldn’t be safe.”

  He’s still staring off in the distance and I take a deep breath. He’s got a lot on his plate right now. Dominic crumples his can in his hand and tosses it in the trash.

  “So what’s up?” Aiden asks. I frown, and the two of them chuckle. “The last time you came here at this hour on a work night was to convince me to burn down that hotel.”

  I tip the can of beer back and savor the last few drops before tossing it on top of Dominic’s can in the garbage. My brothers are still staring at me expectantly, and I shrug. The truth is, I don’t know why I’m here. After spending all day trying to ignore the aching in my stomach whenever Zoe was near, I just wanted to get away.

  Dominic and Aiden exchange a glance. Dominic grins at me. “I gotta warn you, Ethan, my criminal days are over. I’ve got a baby girl to take care of now.” His eyes are glimmering and I finally chuckle and shake my head.

  “I’m not going to ask you to do anything illegal,” I say.

  “But…?”

  “There’s this girl,” I start.

  Aiden starts laughing, and a sharp flash of anger rushes through me. He shakes his head, and looks at Dominic. Aiden’s looking at me, shoulder moving up and down as he laughs until he shakes his head and grabs another beer from the fridge. He hands one to me and one to Dominic before cracking one for himself.

  “It’s always a girl,” he explains. “Who is she? Is it Katie?”