Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
I hop out of the truck, drop to my knees, and put my arms out as he shuffles over. He’s so freaking cute!
“Remember me?” I ask as he waddles right into my arms, wagging his tail like we’re best friends reunited after years apart. “You’re such a good boy. Thank you for saving me last night.”
His nose quickly finds the bone in my hand and his tail gets a new burst of energy.
“You want this?” I ask as I hold it out to him. “I got it for you.”
He gently takes it in his mouth and then waddles away to chew it with his long ears swaying from side to side.
The screen door slams shut and I look up with a gasp. That must be Colin. He’s standing on his porch with nothing on but a pair of faded jeans and a mean ole scowl. Even though he doesn’t look friendly (or particularly happy to see us), he’s still incredibly handsome in his own rugged curmudgeon way. He’s got long brown hair, a thick beard, and intense brown eyes. Where Noah is all perfectly sculpted and cut muscle, Colin is just big. His muscular frame is built like a tank.
I much prefer Noah with his easy smile and beautiful face.
“Did you come to break another window?” Colin asks in a sharp curt tone.
“I came to give you the money,” Noah says as he walks over. I wouldn’t go near that guy, but Noah doesn’t seem intimidated in the least. “And a bit extra for the trouble.”
Colin grunts as he takes the thick envelope. He frowns as he rifles through the crisp bills.
I look around for any sign of a female, but I don’t see anything. Geez, what is with these mountains? They’re teeming with hot single men. It’s like all the men have to be at least six feet tall with huge muscles, tattoos, and be hot as hell to enter.
It feels like I wandered into a parallel universe or something where the rugged masculinity is off the charts.
I should start a real estate company in town and market it to single women around the country. If single women knew about this place, every hot-blooded woman in the country would want to move here. Every time a house came on the market, I’d have a feeding frenzy on my hands.
Colin grunts as he shoves the envelope into his back pocket. “Next time you break into my house, put the screen back. I killed about a hundred mosquitos.”
“Will do.” Noah gives him that easy smile. It turns me to mush, but it doesn’t seem to do much to Colin but make him grunt.
His dark brown eyes snap onto me and I feel my whole body tighten.
“Is that the girl?”
Noah looks at me and smiles. “That’s her.”
“You better stay on the trails,” Colin warns me with a scowl. “There are lots of hungry grizzly bears out there just waiting for someone to wander into their den.”
“That’s enough,” Noah warns. He walks beside me and puts his arm around my shoulders. He’s so protective, I love it.
“Oh,” Colin says with a roll of his eyes. The sight of us together seems to put him in an even worse mood. “Are we done here?”
“We just wanted to say thank you for lending us Charlie,” I say, “and apologize for breaking your window. I know it was an inconvenience for you, but it meant so much to—“
He just turns around and goes inside. The screen door slams shut and my mouth drops.
How the hell can he be so rude? Even the people in New Jersey aren’t this rude! I thought people out here were supposed to be nicer.
I’m standing here in shock as Noah looks at me with a shrug. “That’s Colin,” he says with a grin. “Now let’s get the fuck out of here.”
I say bye to Charlie (who is thrilled with his bone) and then get back into Noah’s truck.
“He works in search and rescue?” I say as we roll back down the road. “I don’t think I’d want to be saved by that guy. He’s terrifying.”
“He’s not so bad,” Noah says as he turns around a bend. The cabin disappears behind the trees. “He’s good at his job, but he’s had a hard life.”
I’m curious about what happened to him, but I don’t want to ruin the afternoon with sad stories. It’s not every day that I’m on a date (this is a date, right?) with a hot muscular park ranger, driving around the scenic mountains in his truck.
“Have you seen Jasper’s Lookout?” Noah asks as he rolls down the windows.
“No,” I say as I lean back and let the nice breeze tickle my face. “What’s that?”
“It’s the most beautiful spot in Montana. It’s perched high on Silvergray Mountain and you can see the whole town and miles of stunning wilderness around it.”