Rocky Mountain Hero (Roberts of Silver Springs Book 2)

by Cassie Hayes

  “What are you two up to today?” Josh asked nonchalantly, as if he didn’t know.

  Amy groaned. “Spike’s going to teach me to climb that freaking wall. I’m sure I’ll get halfway up again and freeze, just like last time.”

  Spike pulled her against his side and kissed the top of her fuzzy head. “You’ll do great, my love. I’ll be by your side the entire way, talking you through it.”

  She shot him a look that was part grateful, part doubtful. “Mmmhmm.”

  “You better go get dressed,” he said, patting her sweet bottom. Sometimes he still had a hard time believing he could touch her anytime he wanted. His body buzzed just thinking about it.

  “Ugh,” she grumbled, but shuffled off toward the bedroom.

  As soon as the door closed behind her, Spike turned to Josh. “Is everything ready for later?”

  Josh grinned. “Yup, it’s all handled.”

  “You called everyone?”

  “I told you, man, it’s all handled. Trust me.”

  The thing was, he did trust Josh. Spike never would have imagined growing so close to his old friend again, not after everything that had gone down, but they were as close as brothers now. Only family, Amy, Ethan and Zach stood before Josh on the list of people Spike loved most. Having an insta-family was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

  In a sudden, slightly sappy fit of emotion, Spike pulled a surprised Josh into a tight hug, then released him just as quickly. Sniffing, he turned to the donut box at the same moment Amy escorted a giddy Ethan from their room.

  “You’d better not eat too many of those,” she teased Spike. “I don’t want your reflexes to slow down, just in case you have to catch me.”

  He encircled his arms around her waist, and smiled down at her — her hair in a wild ponytail, not a stitch of makeup, ratty sweatpants — yet she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. When he spoke, emotion cracked his voice.

  “I’ll never let you fall, Amy. Never.”

  She stared up at him, desire and love burning in those bottomless blue eyes. When her gaze dropped to his mouth, he lowered his head to accept her invitation.

  “Ahem!”

  Spike pulled his head back to see Martha, Josh and Ethan grinning at them.

  He grinned right back.

  “Okay, you’re all strapped into your harness, and look…I’m clipping you into the belay line. You will not fall, understand?”

  Amy’s entire body vibrated with fear. She’d never been afraid of heights in her life, but after “The Incident,” as it had become known, the thought of climbing a rock wall terrified her. The idea of humiliating herself again — in front of Spike…again — held zero appeal, but she wanted to at least try the things he loved so much.

  “And remember, we’re not on the timed wall this time, so you can take as long as you need. Are you ready?”

  Amy looked into his eyes, and the same sense of comfort she’d experienced the last time she was on a stupid rock wall washed over her again. Spike shared his love, strength and confidence with her. As long as he was by her side, she could do anything.

  “Ready.”

  They ascended slowly, carefully. Spike would point to a hold, and Amy would slip her fingers into the curved cup. Then he would point out a toe hold, and so on. He never told her what to do, or where to go, allowing her to choose the hold she was most comfortable with. Most of the time it was the one he suggested, but sometimes not.

  Each foot she rose up the wall, the more confident she became. By the halfway mark, she no longer waited for him to make suggestions. She’d found a rhythm, and instinctively knew which hold to reach for. Her thighs burned and her fingers ached, but she couldn’t stop grinning. This was so much fun!

  Spike stayed with her the entire way, encouraging her with “Atta girl!” and “You got this, babe!” and “Look at you go!” He’d always been proud of her, but this was different. She could tell how impressed he was with her courage, and to tell the truth, so was she. Never in a million years would she have expected to be here again. As long as she didn’t look down, she felt she could go on for days. And it was all thanks to Spike.

  The last six months had been the happiest of Amy’s life. Freed from the specter of Beatrice’s threats, she enjoyed life on a level she’d never known existed. The financial help from Josh had certainly eased her money worries, but more than that, he was fully committed to becoming the best father possible. He’d even taken parenting classes. Ethan now had two wonderful men to look to as role models. She couldn’t have asked for more.

  With the expansion of her office cleaning business, she’d taken her mom on as a partner. Martha still worked part-time at Mo’s — Amy suspected there was more between her mom and Mo than they would admit — but she was quickly learning how to run a small business.

  And then there was Spike. The man no one had thought would ever settle down — including him — now hated to spend a night away from her. He’d barely waited a week after the big reveal at the community center to tell her he loved her, and to her great surprise, she said it right back without hesitation.

  She’d never thought love — or at least, real love — could develop so quickly. Yet when the time came, she’d known all the way down to the tips of her fingers it was true. After a lifetime of pain and rejection, she decided to jump in with both feet, and she couldn’t have been happier.

  “You’re almost there!” Spike said.

  Amy dared to glance up, and saw she was just a few feet from the top. Even though her muscles screamed, this had been far easier than she’d imagined. Getting down might prove tricky, but she had faith Spike would coach her through it, as he had on the trip up.

  Reaching out blindly, she felt around for the next hold, but only found flat wall. Risking another peek up, she saw only one hold anywhere near her. It was directly overhead, but much farther away than the rest had been. That seemed odd, since the wall had been practically littered with them on the way up. Grey circles of smudged dirt between her and the lonely hold gave her the impression other holds had been removed recently.

  Weird. She stretched her right arm, but the tips of her fingers barely brushed the underside of the hold.

  “Crap!” she muttered.

  “You’re gonna have to take a leap of faith, Amy.”

  She turned to Spike, hoping to draw some more strength. He had a strange expression on his face, almost anxious, which made her reach out to stroke his cheek. She almost lost her footing, and latched onto the wall again, in a replay of “The Incident.”

  Her heart thudded so loudly, it drowned out the clamor of the training center. What exactly was she doing up here? She’d known better than to try this, yet here she was, making a fool of herself again. Tears of shame sprang to her eyes. She didn’t dare look at Spike for fear of seeing the inevitable disappointment in them.

  No, Spike isn’t like that.

  Amy focused on slowing her breathing, which slowed her thrumming heart. She had no idea how much time had passed — a minute, an hour, who knew? — before she could think clearly again.

  You’re gonna have to take a leap of faith. Spike’s words echoed in her head. He was right, and his tone had said he knew she could do it. Reaching for the stars was never easy, but even if she failed, she knew he’d be there to catch her.

  Blowing out the breath she’d been holding, Amy glared up at the final finger hold. She braced her toes on the holds, bent her knees, and let her body uncoil like a spring. Her fingers slid easily into the cup, but it wasn’t as deep as she’d expected and she almost lost her grip. Pure determination kept her glued to the hold until her toes found purchase.

  As elated as she felt, she still wasn’t entirely secure. This finger hold was different than the rest. Leveraging herself upward using the toeholds, she used her other hand to grasp the top of the wall. That eased the pressure on her fingers enough for her to realize something loose inside the cup was causing the problem.
Digging around, she managed to catch hold of the item between the tips of two fingers. Gingerly, she pulled it out. Light glinted off the object, momentarily blinding her. When she could see again, she stared in disbelief.

  A ring.

  A pang of sympathy stabbed her heart. The poor woman who lost her engagement ring was probably frantic right now. If she’d lost such a beautiful ring…

  It struck her as strange Spike hadn’t said a word since she’d succeeded in grabbing the last finger hold. Slowly, she turned to face him, her heart speeding up again, but this time for a completely different reason. Was this really happening? The smile on his face told her it was.

  “You took that leap of faith, Amy. Are you ready to take another?”

  Everything came into focus for her. He’d encouraged her for months to try climbing again, but she’d been too afraid. He never pushed, always insisting that she would do it when she was ready. All this time, he’d been waiting to propose, knowing he needed to gain her total trust before she would climb the wall or accept his proposal. When the moment came, he believed in her abilities so strongly, he put the ring at the very top, never doubting she’d make it, even if she hadn’t been so sure.

  Nothing in Amy’s life had turned out as she’d expected, and for that, she’d be eternally grateful. If she’d settled for her wildest dreams, she would have missed out on so much. And there was so much more to come! Who knew what the future would hold. The only thing she knew for sure was, with Spike by her side, her life would never be boring.

  “Y—“ Tears choked off her answer. Before she could clear her throat and try again, someone shouted at them from below.

  “Did she say yes?”

  Amy looked down to see the floor beneath them crowded with bodies. Her mother, Josh and Ethan, Zach, the entirety of the Roberts family, and even her best friend Ronnie. They were all wearing silly party hats and grinning.

  “Not yet!” Spike shouted down, then wrapped his arm around her waist and caught her gaze. “Are you ready, Amy?”

  It was the same question he’d asked the day they met, yet it was totally different. Thankfully, the answer was the same.

  “Yes,” she said, slipping the ring on her finger.

  This time, they both let go together.

  Did you enjoy Back Home Again?

  I’d love it if you would spare a moment to leave a review on Amazon!

  Keep reading for the first chapter of Rocky Mountain Soul, Book 3 in the Roberts of Silver Springs series!

  Excerpt

  Rocky Mountain Soul

  Erin Fowler moved to Denver to forget the one who broke her heart. When circumstances bring her back to her hometown of Silver Springs, what will she do when faced with the man who says he’s sorry for the mistakes he made as a boy?

  Jackson Roberts has never got over his high school sweetheart, and has carried the guilt for what he did to her all those years ago ever since. He’s determined to make things right, and prove the love he had for her then has never wavered. Will he get the chance to win back the only woman he’s ever loved?

  What will happen when the mistakes of the past are threatening to destroy their chance to build a future?

  Chapter 1

  The words to the song she’d played over a thousand times reached her ears, hard to hear over the sound of crunching metal. The world around her spun, seeming to throw everything into a slow motion scene right out of a movie. Faintly, she thought once again how true the words were as Lady Antebellum’s song, I Guess I Wanted You More, poured from her speakers. Her body jerked sideways, her head banging on the roll bar of the Jeep as she closed her eyes to the motion of the vehicle rolling into the ditch.

  Branches broke beneath her, slapping her on the face as the glass broke and she continued to tumble farther down into the ditch.

  As fast as it happened, everything stopped. The music still played, while all around her, outside her vehicle, was nothing but silence. Something warm trickled down her face, so she moved to bring her arm up and wipe it away from her eyes. As she did, she realized she couldn't move her body. The Jeep lay on its side, the soft top torn away, letting the breeze outside blow against her skin.

  Her body was pushed up against her door, looking out along the ground. She tried to put her elbow down to pry her legs out and move out of the wreck.

  Pain shot through her arm, and she fell back against the ground. How was she going to get out?

  She could feel panic start to well up inside her. This road wasn't a well used road, so she didn't know how long she might be stuck here. Why didn't she just stick to the highway instead of taking back roads?

  What if she was left out here, trapped in her mangled Jeep all night? It was only May, so the night would still be chilly. Not to mention, she didn't know how bad any of her injuries were. She tried to turn sideways, to see if she could find her purse that held her cell phone.

  Everything started to spin again as the pain pulsed through her body.

  A sob caught in her throat. She thought about her grandma, the only family she had in the world. The woman who'd raised her, and who she was supposed to be coming home to help while she recovered from her stroke.

  Continuing to struggle, and trying to ignore the pain, she suddenly thought she could hear tires up on the road. She screamed as loud as she could, praying whoever it was would see the tracks and notice her upturned vehicle below in the ditch.

  She cried with relief when she heard it stop, followed by the sound of a slamming door.

  "I'm down here!" She'd fallen far into the brush near the ravine, but thankfully she hadn't landed in the water.

  Suddenly, a wet nose poked in through the broken top of the Jeep, pressing up against her cheek. Her hand automatically came up to push it away, sending another jolt of pain through her body.

  "Tank! Stop that, get back." A man's voice could be heard as he grunted to pull the large dog back who was now licking her face.

  Strangely, the dog's presence seemed to have a calming effect on her, as though she somehow knew as long as this dog called Tank was here, she'd be all right.

  "Are you all right in there?" She could see the man's boots, but still wasn't able to see his whole body, as he crouched down to look inside.

  The air flew from her lungs when the man's face came into focus.

  "Jack?" The calmness she felt when the dog had first arrived was replaced with sobbing that she couldn't seem to get under control.

  Jackson Roberts, her high school sweetheart. Her ex-boyfriend who broke her heart.

  They’d spoken a few times over the years whenever she was home, but it had never been the same between them. It had been awkward and difficult.

  However, seeing him now was like finding that old comfy blanket you'd had all your life, and thought you'd never see again. She wanted to grab him and never let go.

  "Erin?" He was just as shocked. "Are you all right?" This time, his words were strangled with worry as he stood up and tried to move pieces of the wreck out of the way. The dog must have sensed the new stress, and was back over licking the tears away before they could make their way down her cheek.

  "I'm calling for help, just hold on." His voice reassured her somehow. Vaguely, she heard him calling and giving directions, and she was sure she heard him giving some other details she wasn't sure about.

  Suddenly, he was down beside her again, his phone on the ground beside him as he reached in and moved his hands over her injuries. "Where does it hurt?"

  "I'm not sure. Everywhere I think."

  She heard him curse as he tried to move in closer. "Tank, get out of the way!"

  She had to smile through her tears as she saw Jack wrestling with a large dog to get in closer, while he crouched down on the ground beside her. His eyebrows were furrowed as he tried to pull against the metal of the Jeep.

  "Don't move. Until we know your injuries, I need you to just lay still and not move around too much. I’ll get you out of here."


  Suddenly she remembered. Jack was working now as a paramedic in their hometown of Silver Springs. He’d know how to take care of her.

  She let her head fall back onto the leather seat, just wanting to rest for a moment before the pain she knew would come when they tried to cut her out of here.

  "Erin, stay with me. Keep your eyes open. Do you know if you hit your head?"

  His fingers were feeling along the back of her head, and she cringed as he moved over the bump from where she'd made contact with the roll bar. "Ow, yes, it hurts there."

  He pulled his hand away, and she tried not to panic when she noticed the blood on his fingers.

  But, he smiled at her, and just let himself lie on the ground beside her. "You're going to be okay, beautiful. I promise."

  She wondered if he even noticed he'd called her 'beautiful' like he always used to do when they were together. It had rolled off his tongue like he'd never stopped saying it. Whenever he'd said it, she'd always believed him.

  He tore at his shirt, and reached in to press his hand against her jaw. “You have a bit of a cut here, so I’m going to need to stop the bleeding a bit, okay?” He pressed hard, and even though it hurt, she didn’t want him to pull his hand away.

  The dog, who she could now see was a large black lab, laid down beside him and stuck its head in to lick her again. Erin almost had to smile at how the dog seemed completely unaware that there was anything out of the ordinary going on, and it was just laying down between two people on the ground chatting.

  Apparently, this dog named Tank had no idea she was stuck inside a crumpled vehicle with injuries she knew nothing about, other than the blood that seemed to be coming from everywhere.

  "Just keep talking to me, okay?" Jack’s voice was soothing. In the distance, she could make out the sound of sirens working their way toward them.