“I’m sure.” I liked my life the way it was and didn’t want to commit to more. Making custom hunting knives was an art, not a business. I wouldn’t rush the process, not when I didn’t need to rely on the money coming in. I’d spent too many years executing orders passed down by someone else. Now I lived life on my terms.
“If you change your mind, I could sell twice as many.” Jack slipped the knife back into the leather case. “I envy you, Griff. You’re living the life a lot of us would if we could.”
It might look like I had everything I needed from the outside looking in, but I’d built the kind of life I needed, not necessarily the kind I wanted. No one knew about the past that had followed me to Misty Mountain… the ghosts that chased me and wouldn’t let me go.
I lifted the box off the counter and offered a grim smile. “See you next month.”
“Oh, before you leave, Hank’s been asking about you.”
Instantly suspicious, I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”
Jack chuckled. “Said he hasn’t seen you around, and if you don’t show up on Thursday night, he’s going to haul himself up the mountain to check on you.”
Hank was ex-military just like me and owned the Rusty Elk Tavern. Unlike me, he’d made peace with his time in the service and had started hosting a beer and darts night once a month for vets to hang out and support each other. I’d been a couple of times, but it wasn’t my scene. I preferred to keep my thoughts, regrets, and guilt all to myself.
“Last time he tried that his truck got stuck in the mud and I had to haul him out,” I grumbled.
“So, save yourself the trouble and put in an appearance on Thursday.”
“Fine. I’ll be there.” Stopping in at the Rusty Elk for a quick beer was more appealing than having Hank show up unannounced and suffering through a couple hours of small talk. Resigned, I loaded my stuff into the truck before I ran into anyone else with a hidden agenda.
On the drive out of town, I thought about what Mrs. Mackey had said. I’d heard Caleb talk about his niece from time to time. She was his brother’s kid and the only member of his family who hadn’t written him off. He’d even gone to Chicago for her college graduation a couple of years ago. After that, he didn’t talk about her much. If Mrs. Mackey was right and his niece was moving in, I wasn’t looking forward to meeting my new neighbor.
I passed the turn off to Caleb’s place on my way home, but didn’t see anything out of place. The heavy tree coverage prevented me from seeing the lodge from the road. His place sat a quarter mile back in a small clearing. The man liked his privacy almost as much as I did.
As I pulled into my own drive, my grip on the steering wheel relaxed. Going down the mountain always stressed me out. Thescent of pine and the earthy promise of spring helped me relax, and the knots in my shoulders loosened. Out of habit, I scanned the area as I came to a stop in the big circle drive. Everything looked just like it had when I left a couple of hours ago.
Scout padded over as I got out of the truck. He knew the sound of my truck and never barked unless there was something he needed to alert me to.
“Hey, boy. Did you keep an eye out while I was gone?” I reached down to scratch behind his ears. He was smart enough to know that I’d ordered a couple of soup bones in my monthly supplies. Tonight, we’d sit by the fire, and I’d let him enjoy one. But first, I needed to unpack, then see what I could find out about my new neighbor.
I lifted my field binoculars and trained them on the front of Caleb’s place. From my vantage point on the huge outcropping of rocks marking our property line, I could see a silver SUV. A woman entered the frame. Short and curvy, her auburn hair piled on top of her head, and she had on one of those puffy designer jackets the tourists wore. The edge stopped right above her full ass. My gaze slid past her hips to a pair of heeled short boots. No warm coat, useless boots. She wasn’t even going to last the weekend up here.
The best thing for me to do would be to ignore her. She’d find out soon enough she wasn’t made for the mountain. Then she turned. My grip on the binoculars tightened along with the muscles in my chest. She was young. And absolutely stunning. Her jacket clung to her curves, showing off her figure. With a heart-shaped face and full lips, she could have been a pin-up model on one of those retro calendars my Army buddy used to hang on the wall by his bunk.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. While I watched, she unzipped a bag in the back of her SUV and lifted out a camera. She slowly lifted it to her eye and pointed at the edge of the clearing. I followed her line of vision and caught sight of a fox. It leapt over a fallen tree. The air was so still and quiet, I could hear the shutter click a few times. Then the fox darted into the woods, leaving her standing there with a look of awe on her gorgeous face.
Something in me softened. Seemed like she appreciated the beauty of this place as much as her uncle. Then the wind shifted. A tree branch snapped above me, and I jerked my attention to where a squirrel scrambled along the limb of a huge pine. I glanced back at the woman. She’d turned toward the sound and appeared to be staring straight at me.
I wasn’t new to sticking to the shadows. There was no way she could spot me from her vantage point, but still, my stomach knotted as she lifted the camera and pointed it right at me. Instinct kicked in and I remained motionless. There was nothing wrong with monitoring my property and making sure she wasn’t a threat. But watching her felt a little more like spying than being vigilant. The less I saw of the beautiful redhead, the better off I’d be.
A hawk screeched overhead, and she shifted her camera up, tracking the bird through the sky. I took the opportunity to retreat. If I decided to introduce myself, it would be on my terms, not because she’d caught me watching her.
She’d probably be gone in a few days. Caleb’s place was even more rustic than mine. A woman like her looked like she might try roughing it for a day or two then bail. With luck, that’s exactly what would happen. Too bad I’d never been a lucky man.
CHAPTER 2
JUNIPER
The silence hit harderthan I expected. No traffic, no neighbors, no sirens wailing down Lakeshore Drive. Just trees and shadows and the hum of my own second-guessing. I looked around the inside of the lodge, wondering where to start. With the afternoon light fading fast, I needed to spend more time getting ready for my first night than snapping pictures outside with my camera. Even after only being at the top of the mountain for a couple of hours, I could understand why my uncle loved this piece of land.
He’d only been gone for a few months, but the lodge felt empty and lifeless. I’d been prepared to do some cleaning but hadn’t been ready for the all-consuming silence. After what I’d been through over the past year, I’d wanted a complete break with my old life. As I looked around the rustic interior, I realized I might have gotten much more than I’d wished for.
That was my style though, jumping into unchartered waters with both feet. My parents had warned me not to move to Colorado, tried to flat out forbid it, but that had only made me want it more. There was no way I could turn back. I might have been a little naive about what to expect, but I had a spine ofsteel, just like the tall, unyielding skyscrapers where I grew up in Chicago. I wouldn’t give up on my first night.
“What do you think, Appie?” I picked up the cat I’d had since high school. He let out a grumpymeowbut didn’t struggle. It might have been selfish to bring him with me, but I didn’t want to do this alone. “Everything’s going to be okay, right?”
He didn’t answer, just looked around in disdain. I set him down in a well-worn leather recliner and pulled up the mountain-themed playlist I’d made on my phone to cut through the silence. Once I made up the bed with my new flannel duvet, I’d feel more settled. I sanitized the small bathroom, grateful for the indoor plumbing, then chased dust from the bookshelves.
