“It is. What do you think?” I turned in a circle so he could admire my work.
“Are those buttons or snaps?” He stepped up to me, running a finger down the front of the shirt.
“Snaps.”
He hooked a finger over the edge of my shirt between my breasts and pulled. The top snap released. “I really like that. Ideal for a quickie in the woods.”
I pushed his hands away, so he didn’t get too caught up in the fantasy. I snapped my shirt closed. “I told you outdoor wear could be better.”
“Can we test it out sometime?” He slid his hand around me, pulling me to him.
“Sure.” Although sometime would have to be within the next thirteen days. After that, I’d be gone. “Right now, though, you have an appointment.”
“Duke!” Mitch called. “Car.” As Duke ran toward the front door, Mitch gave me a quick kiss. “To hold me until later.”
The ride to town was beautiful. The sky was clear, allowing a view all the way across the valley to the west. The trees were still lush green, only weeks away from changing to the reds, oranges, and yellows in the fall.
Mitch parked in town and took my hand as we walked into a little clothing boutique. Duke followed us into the store. The clothes in the store looked mostly bohemian with pretty floral peasant shirts, skirts, and dresses.
“Oh, it’s Duke!” a woman who dressed in what my mother would call hippy-style, but had to be close to seventy said as she came from a back room. She gave Duke a pat. “Mitch, thank you for coming. We’re at such a loss with this new computerized payment system,”
“Sorry I’m late,” he said. “This is my friend Hope. Hope this is Glynnis, the owner of this establishment.”
Glynnis' eyes lit up that Mitch had a friend with him. “Nice to meet you, Hope. Welcome to my shop.”
“Thank you.”
Her eyes narrowed as she looked at my shirt. “Who makes that?”
“I did.”
“Hope is going to start her own clothing line,” Mitch said.
“May I?” Glynnis asked, reaching a hand out toward my sleeve to touch it.
“Yes, of course. It’s a cotton lyocell fiber blend for outdoor wear.”
“And yet you can wear as everyday wear,” she said.
“Yes.”
“Hope thinks that outdoor wear isn’t pretty enough,” Mitch said.
“It’s gotten better, but overall, she’s right.” Glynnis patted my shoulder. “Those caps help prevent shoulder sunburn, right?”
“Yes.” I was so pleased she knew my goal with the design. “And yet still sleeveless.”
She stepped back. “Do you have more of them?”
“Ah…I’ve just—”
“She can take orders,” Mitch said.
I looked around her boutique, noting that she didn’t have any clothes like mine.
“I also own the outdoor store next door,” she said as if she knew what I was thinking. “Mitch, would you be able to set that up too?”
“Absolutely.”
An hour and a half later, Mitch and I left the Glynnis’ shops to have lunch at a restaurant overlooking the valley. I was on cloud nine as Glynnis told me to let her know when I had an inventory to sell.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so happy,” Mitch said as we sat at the outdoor table waiting for the waitress to bring us our iced tea. Duke lay at his feet, happily chewing on a biscuit Glynnis had given him.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever been so happy,” I responded.
“You’ve been validated. That’s always a great feeling.”
“Yes, that’s it. Validated. Did you feel that way when you started your business?” I asked, leaning back slightly as the waitress set our drinks down.
“When I got my first referral was when I knew I had something.”
We gave our order of barbecue and fries.
“Now you need a manufacturer. Have you identified any?” Mitch asked squeezing the juice from his lemon wedge into his tea.
“I’ve identified a few, but haven’t talked to any. I have a few more designs I want to sketch and create, but that will be the next step.” An excitement shot up my spine. “I can’t believe this is happening. For so long, it’s just been a dream. All of a sudden, it feels so real.”
Mitch reached out and took my hand. “You deserve it.”
I grinned at him. As I did, my happiness became bittersweet as it meant that when I launched fully into my dream, I’d have to leave him. “I couldn’t have done it without you, Mitch. Thank you.”
He waved my comment away. “Of course, you could have. But I’m glad I got to be a part of it. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to pursue a dream.” He looked out over the valley, and I wondered what he was thinking. Had he lost his dream? Had he failed to make a new one after Gwen and his partner tarnished his first dream?
I wanted to ask him about it, but our waitress appeared with our food.
“Do you ever think you’re going to move back near your family?” I asked when she left.
“You mean leave the mountains? No.” He took a bite of his barbeque as some of the shredded pork fell from the bun onto his plate. “Barbecue is messy but so worth it.”
I nodded but didn’t let him change the subject. “Do you ever get bored or want more?”
He eyed me over his ice tea glass as he sucked from the straw. “I have all that I need. I’d be greedy to want more.”
“Only if you equate more with money. What about a new passion or goal? What about being with your family?” I dipped a fry into ketchup.
“I see my family plenty.” He was answering my questions, but I could see the slight tension in his jaw telling me he didn’t like my questions.
“What about having your own family. I saw you with your niece. You’d make a wonderful father, Mitch.”
He shoved an entire fry in his mouth and then sipped his tea. I thought he wasn’t going to answer my question. But finally, he said, “Why do you keep harping on my life? I’m perfectly content. My life has order and meaning. Just because it’s not fast-paced enough for you, doesn’t mean it doesn’t work for me.”
“I’m not criticizing your life.”
“The hell you aren’t.”
I sighed. “I’m just not sure I believe what you’re trying to talk yourself into. You were hurt. I get it. But Gwen and your partner win each minute you hide from your dreams and goals.”
He wiped his mouth with his napkin. I got the impression he was trying to keep calm. His voice was even when he spoke, but I heard the underlying annoyance.
“I’m not petty like that, Hope.”
I took his comment to mean he thought I was petty.
“I don’t purposefully ignore them nor do I go back into their lives and then hassle them about the choices they make.”
I understood he was talking about me now and how I’d treated him after our disastrous encounter nine years ago.
“It’s a good thing you’re leaving in two weeks, as it sounds like life is too slow for you up here. If you need to, you can leave sooner,” he finished.
“Mitch.”
He held up a hand to stop me. “I’ve given you a place to stay, an office, and even helped you on your business plan, and yet all you can do is tell me I’m screwing up my life. You’re still that spoiled, ungrateful girl I met when we were kids.”
His words hurt, as I was sure he wanted them too. “Not petty, huh?”
He looked away. “What do you want from me, Hope?”
“I want you to be honest with yourself, Mitch. You love it up here. Great. I can’t blame you as it’s beautiful. But you can’t tell me you’re satisfied bumbling around your home all day, doing the occasional freelance job and cleaning hiking trails.”
“You’re wrong.” But he didn’t look me in the eyes when he said it. Finally, he turned back to me. “Is this how it’s going to be for the next few weeks, Hope? Each time your business moves forward, you fuss at me ab
out my lifestyle choices?”
I began to feel guilty about pushing so hard. I truly felt like he was missing out on life by not taking on a new dream. But maybe I was projecting my life on him. Or perhaps I was hoping he’d say he wanted me to stay and help me with my dream. Clearly, that wasn’t going to happen. He’d told me to leave if I didn’t like it.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. I just want you to be happy, Mitch.”
“What has happened to make you think that I’m not?”
“You sounded wistful when you talked about things coming together for my business. I just thought you missed that,” I said.
“I don’t. I have fond memories, but I have no desire to go back to my old life.”
I held my hands up in surrender. “Got it. I won’t bring it up again.”
“Hey Mitch,” a young woman who looked barely out of her twenties sauntered up to us.
“Lydia, hi.”
She put her hand on his shoulder as she looked at me. Was she claiming him? Had she and Mitch been a thing? She couldn’t even be out of college yet.
Then she saw Duke. “Duke!” she bent over, putting her cleavage in Mitch’s view. Fortunately, Mitch didn’t seem to notice.
“How’s your computer? Did you get your video working right for your Youtube channel?” he asked her.
“Yes, and I got over twenty thousand views.” She straightened. “I was having some issues with the sound though. Maybe you could help me again.”
“Sure.”
“Lydia.” A woman from the across the restaurant called to her.
“Mom calls.” She rolled her eyes. “See ya.”
I ate my sandwich and drank my drink quietly.
“All of a sudden you have nothing to say?” he asked.
“All of a sudden you liking the mountains became clearer.”
He frowned, and then he laughed. “You’re jealous.”
“She’s probably not even twenty.”
“She’s nineteen.” He leaned forward to speak in a low tone. “And if you think I fucked her, you really do have a warped sense about me.” He stood. “I’m going to go pay. I’ll meet you at the truck.”
Goddammit. Why did I keep messing this up?
I found him standing by his truck, talking to an older man while petting Duke.
“You need to come back to poker night sometime Mitch,” the old man said.
“You took all my money last time,” Mitch said good-naturedly.
“Rumor is that you have some to spare.”
Mitch laughed. The old man continued on his way. Mitch opened my door to let me in and then opened the back door for Duke, before coming around and getting in the driver's seat.
We were on the road back to his place when I finally found my voice. “I’m sorry.”
He didn’t say anything at first. Finally, he said, “Did you really think I fucked her?”
“No.”
He gave me a sideways glance that told me he didn’t believe me.
“No, I don’t think you fucked her, but she wishes you would, and I didn’t like seeing that.”
Tension in his jaw lessened slightly. “So, you are jealous.”
“I guess I am.”
He grinned.
“I guess you wouldn’t mind if a young man came up and shoved his assets in my face.”
“Hell no, I’d mind. I’d mind his ass all the way down the mountain.”
I smiled. “Good.”
Mitch—A Moment to Remember
Mitch
Admitting I would be jealous if another man hit on Hope wasn’t the same as admitting that I had feelings for her, was it? I mean, she said she was jealous of Lydia, but that didn’t mean she cared for me or wanted more from me. At least not in the love department. She did seem to want me to have aspirations or ambitions beyond living a quiet life in the mountains. But I was perfectly content. Yes, she was a nice change from the regular days I usually had, but that didn’t mean I felt like I was missing anything in my life and needed to change it. My life was carefully crafted. I was fortunate to have the money to build a life that let me decide what I did when I did it, and how I did it. Not many people could do that. Even most billionaires worked during the day. Me. I got up when I wanted. No meetings. No appointments. No deadlines. The only must-do on my schedule was my weekly dinner with my family.
Yep, life was good. No sense in changing it. At least not for the long run. The changes over the last few weeks were enjoyable. I’d had more sex over the last few weeks than I’d had over the previous few years. Despite what Hope initially thought, I hadn’t fucked Lydia or anyone else from the area since I moved there. The few hookups I’d had occurred during the occasional trips I took, or at a party, Parker had thrown that I’d decided to attend. While enjoyable at the time, it didn’t take long for it to feel unfulfilling, and so as time went on, my sex life became nearly non-existent. Except of course, in my head with the help of my hand.
With Hope, sex wasn’t just pleasurable, but it was quite fulfilling as well. I considered inviting her up on occasion after she left, but decided it would be best to end it for good when she left. No sense drawing out something that wouldn’t go anywhere. She needed to build her business, and at some point, she’d meet someone else, get married, and have babies. A part of me didn’t like the idea of another man touching her, of planting his seed and making a baby, but that was the price I had to pay for the choice of life I wanted. Turns out she was right. I was making a trade. But as much as I cared for Hope and enjoyed my time with her, I could see there was no future. Her life was in northern Virginia, and mine was here. She clearly preferred a man who had goals and ambitions, which wasn’t me.
When we got back from our trip to town, Hope went up to work, while I grabbed the latest thriller I was reading, went out to the hammock, and read, napped, and enjoyed the afternoon. Duke lay by my side, occasionally snapping at butterflies or bees that drew too close to him.
The sun was setting enough to tell me that it was about time to start thinking about dinner when the door opened, and Hope appeared.
“Slacker.”
See. She didn’t want to spend her life with a lazy ass like me. “Someone has to enjoy the beautiful day.”
I got out of the hammock, stretching as I turned to look at her. There was something on her face that gave me pause. “Everything okay?”
She nodded. “Great even.” So why didn’t her face match her words? “I’ve got appointments with three manufacturers next week to discuss my plans. And the bank just pre-approved my business loan.”
I grinned. “Hope, that’s fantastic.” While I’d be happy to invest with her, I knew she wanted to earn her own way. The bank loan was another validation. I grabbed her and swung her around in a hug.
She laughed. “It’s surreal.”
“It’s deserved. You’ve been working hard. We should celebrate. I’ve got champagne somewhere. Then you can tell me why you’re less excited about this than I am.” I took her hand and tugged her inside the house.
“I am excited.”
“Not fully,” I said, going to the wine chiller and pulling out the champagne. I grabbed two flutes from the cupboard and popped the cork. Foaming bubbly sprayed from the bottle, which I tried to catch with my mouth. I poured us both a glass, handing her a flute. “To your success.”
“Cheers,” she said, clinking her glass with mine.
We each sipped, and then I said, “So what’s the problem?”
She sighed. “There’s no problem. Well, I’m a little nervous, but I’ll deal with that.”
“What then?”
“I’m ready to go. Once I have the meetings, the rest of the work I’ll need to do at home. I won’t need the extra week here.”
“Oh.” I didn’t like that. I was looking forward to the two weeks.
“I’ve been enjoying myself here. With your help, I’ve been so productive that I’ve achieved results early.”
“This i
s good, Hope. I mean, I’m disappointed to have you go earlier than planned, but honey, you’re on the cusp of success. Once you get your manufacturer and have your samples, you’ll get them distributed quickly. I know it. You already have one potential buyer with Glynnis.”
“I know. All of a sudden things are moving faster than I was prepared for.”
“Plus you can sell direct online if you wanted,” I said.
“Oh, I hadn’t even thought of a website.”
“Fortunately, you have a friend who knows a little something about computers and the Internet.”
She pressed her hand over my heart. “You’ve done so much, too much already. I feel like I should make you a partner.”
I shook my head. “I had help when I started. His only request was that I pay it forward. That’s all I ask of you.”
I was happy for Hope, but as the week progressed, she spent most of her time working on her designs, crafting them in the software I’d created for her, and then sewing them. She was on the phone with bankers, lawyers, and accountants. Except for our morning walks, and nights in bed, we didn’t have as much time together. I missed her already, and she wasn’t even gone.
On Thursday, I decided to persuade her to spend at least part of the day with me. It was the middle of the week, and school was back on, so the trails to my favorite waterfall would be deserted.
On our morning walk, I took her hand. “Can you spare a few hours today? I want to take you somewhere special.”
“I think I can take a break for a few hours.”
I pulled her hand to my lips to kiss it as I turned us back to the house. “Let’s go then.”
I’d already packed my SUV with what I needed. I put Duke in his pen to stay home, leaving him his favorite toys and a biscuit. Today was just for Hope and me. I drove us further up the mountain into the national park. I parked at the head of the hiking trail.
“Where are we going?” she asked as I put on the backpack.
“It’s a surprise.” I took her hand and guided her to the trail.
During the walk, we chatted about her progress so far, and plans for the upcoming week. Mostly we walked in silence, taking in the beautiful scenery and clean scent of the air. We passed a couple coming down, but for the most part, the trail was empty as I’d hoped.
Her Mountain Hero Page 11
