Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 20660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 103(@200wpm)___ 83(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 103(@200wpm)___ 83(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
Slate shrugs. “What’s there to flinch about? She’s it for me. I knew it the second I met her. Wasn’t even about how she looked—though, Jesus, that didn’t hurt. But it was the way I felt around her. Like I could breathe again. Like I didn’t have to flinch when the world moved too fast.”
We go quiet.
All of us get it.
There’s a kind of peace some women carry with them. Emma’s that for Slate.
He clears his throat and gives a weak grin. “Didn’t mean to get all Hallmark on you.”
“Don’t worry,” Grady deadpans. “I’m still gonna mock you for it.”
Slate smirks. “Please do. Someone’s gotta keep me humble.”
“Yeah, well,” Grady adds, “you’re not the only one playing house lately.”
My head snaps up.
“Jack over there’s gone and got himself a live-in lady,” he drawls, squinting at me like he’s waiting for the swing.
Finn grins. “Yeah, I heard about that. Mail-order bride, right?”
“Not a mail-order bride,” I snap. I guess technically she is, but she’s so much more than that.
Grady holds up his hands. “Hey, no judgment. I mean, I’d mail-order a woman too if she looked like that.”
Finn whistles. “What’s her name again? Holly?”
“Don’t,” I growl.
“Touchy,” Grady says, then softens a little. “We’re just messing with you, man. But you’re not fooling anyone. You volunteered for this deck so you could avoid going home and dealing with your feelings.”
“I don’t have feelings,” I mutter.
He snorts. “Yeah. And I’m a nun.”
I want to tell them to screw off.
But they’re right.
I rub the back of my neck, staring out past the trees, the scent of cut wood and sweat clinging to my skin. Truth is, I can’t stop thinking about her.
That smart mouth. That smile she tries to hide when she’s being sarcastic. The way she stood in my kitchen like she belonged there. Like she’d always belonged there.
Overnight I went from a man who kept his boots by the door and his heart out of reach… to someone who gets pissed off when he doesn’t hear a giggle echoing down the hall.
I didn’t expect her to come with a kid.
Hell, I didn’t expect her to come at all.
But now?
It’s not so bad.
The chaos. The constant low hum of life in the house.
That kid’s laugh when she knocks over a tower of blocks.
The way Holly curls up on the couch with her hair falling out of whatever attempt at a bun she made that morning.
It’s good.
Too good, maybe.
I don’t trust good.
But I want it.
“Earth to Jack,” Finn calls. “You spacing out or composing love sonnets?”
I grunt. “Just picturing punching you in the mouth.”
“Aw,” Grady grins. “He’s blushing. It’s love.”
I toss a rag at him.
But they’re not wrong.
I’m looking forward to going home. To asking how her first full day in Devil’s Peak went. To hearing about which cranky store owner rubbed her the wrong way, or which local gushed over Josie’s sweetness.
To seeing her face.
And maybe, if I’m lucky—
Hearing that sweet little giggle again.
Yeah.
Guess I am playing house after all.
Chapter Three
Holly
The park is small but perfect, nestled at the edge of Devil’s Peak like someone carved it straight out of the mountain. Trees wrap the clearing in quiet shade, and there’s a faint breeze that makes the swings creak lazily.
Josie’s already taken over the play structure. Pink hoodie, pigtails, a pair of tiny boots that stomp like she owns the damn place. She giggles when she reaches the top of the slide, then hollers, “Mommy! Look how tall I am!”
I wave. “Queen of the world, baby.”
She beams, then barrels down the slide, laughing all the way.
“She’s a firecracker.”
I turn to the woman standing beside the bench. She’s tall, athletic, wrapped in a thick cardigan and wearing the kind of calm smile that tells me she doesn’t rattle easy.
“I’m Winter,” she says, holding out a hand.
Of course she is.
“Holly. That’s my chaos goblin up there.”
Winter laughs. “I’ve got one of those at home too. My boy Zane calls him a little wrecking ball with dimples.”
I grin. “Sounds familiar.”
“So, are you new to Devil’s Peak?” she asks.
I nod. “Yeah. Just moved in... sort of.”
Her brow lifts. "Sort of?"
“I answered a mail-order bride ad.”
Winter’s jaw drops. Then she lets out a loud, delighted laugh. “Oh my God. You’re her. You’re with Jack.”
I blink. “You know Jack?”
She snorts. “Everyone knows Jack. Or more accurately, everyone knows of Jack. He’s been the town’s resident recluse for the last five years. Built that cabin like a fortress. Never saw a woman come or go. Not once.”
I shrug, fighting the smile tugging at my lips. “I wouldn’t say he’s settled down. More like... putting up with the two new ladies in his life at this point.”
Winter watches Josie catapult off the end of the slide. “Well, he wouldn’t let anyone in unless he trusted them. Jack’s been living on that mountain alone for years. Hiding out. Protecting himself from things like love and happiness.”