Caleb told me before he died that someone had made him an offer on his land. They’d been interested in setting it up as a hunting rental, but he hadn’t been looking to sell. I didn’t blame him. It was bad enough keeping an eye out for irresponsible hunters who ran through the woods with rifles. Unleashing a bunch of outsiders on the mountain would put all of us at risk. In my mind, hunting wasn’t for fun, it was necessary for survival, but I’d come across too many kills that had been abandoned because they weren’t trophy worthy to know that not everyone felt the same way.
Caleb respected the land too much to let it go. But now with his will hung up in probate, no telling what would happen. The wrong person didn’t need much to take advantage. One scared niece. One push. One signature, and it would all be over.
I brushed away the bark that clung to my shirt, determined to prevent any of that from happening. Maybe people would be talking about it tonight at the Rusty Elk. I was heading into town to make good on my promise to show up at Hank’s, and I wasn’t looking forward to it.
Walking into the dimly lit bar, the scent of fried food and spilled beer greeted me. I settled on a stool at the counter and promised myself I’d only stay long enough for one beer. I’d say hi to Hank and let him see I was still breathing. That ought to be enough to keep him from heading up the mountain.
“Griff. Long time no see.” Hank wiped a ring of water off the bar in front of me. “What can I get you?”
I checked the chalkboard behind him that listed the seasonal brews they had on tap. “Give me one of those amber ales.”
“Tall or short?”
“Definitely short.” The sooner I downed my beer, the sooner I could be on my way.
Hank must have realized my plan. “It’s not going to kill you to hang out for a couple of hours. We’ve got a few new guys here tonight. They would really benefit from hearing how you’ve been able to move past all the shit you went through.”
I shook my head as I reached for the pint glass he handed me. “Pretty sure I’m not setting the best example on how to cope with life after the service.”
Hank got serious. “Even after all these years, it would still help to talk about it.”
“No thanks.” Spilling their guts might help some soldiers, but not me. I didn’t want to forget what happened, didn’t want to be free of the pain. I deserved every bit of it. No one seemed able to understand that. No one except my foster mother back in Texas. Mama Mae had been the one to encourage me to move to themountains. She could tell I was barely holding on when I arrived back in Texas, the only survivor of a mission that went horribly wrong.
Fuck. Just being in this place surrounded by other guys who were carrying too much baggage threatened to drag me down. I’d figured out how to deal with my own demons. Surrounding myself with other vets who were fighting their own wasn’t doing me any good.
I got up to leave and bumped into Dawson. He was another lost cause. We nodded at each other, each of us drowning in our own guilt. I glanced past him, past Finn sipping a beer at the bar, my eye on the door, whenshewalked in.
Every muscle in my body tensed. Dropping off firewood or following her through the woods was one thing, but now she was here. In my space. Sucking all the air out of the room and smiling like she’d been living in Misty Mountain forever.
The mountain might be dangerous because of the wildlife and unpredictable weather, but even that would be safer than leaving Juniper alone to fend off some of the town’s most damaged men. I reclaimed my spot at the bar and watched her shrug off her jacket and fold it over her arm.
“Who the hell is that?” Hank stopped in front of me, his gaze tracking Juniper’s progress toward the bar.
I hunched over my beer, hoping she didn’t see me. “Caleb’s niece. She moved into his place a few days ago.”
Hank’s brows knit together. “She’s your new neighbor?”
“Yeah. Showed up unannounced and probably would have frozen to death the first night if I hadn’t lit the stove for her.”
She had her camera bag slung over her shoulder and had stopped at the other end of the bar to chat with Hank’s wife, Clara. Her hair was held back in a low ponytail and her cheeks were pink from the cold. Clara said something that made her smile, and I could hear her high-pitched laughter over the lowdin of the crowd. That laugh—bright and unguarded—hit me like a sucker punch to the chest. I hadn’t realized how quiet my world had become until she stepped into it and started making noise.
Several of the guys must have heard her too because half a dozen of them turned their attention toward her. If she noticed, she didn’t flinch. That only made it worse. She slid onto a stool and shifted her focus to a hockey game that played on a nearby screen.
“So, the two of you must have already met…” Hank started.
“We did.”
“And?” he prompted.
Reluctantly, I lifted my head and shrugged. “And what? She doesn’t belong here, and if she’s not careful, she’s going to get herself hurt.”
“The odds of that happening are slim to none with you looking after her. Any word on when her uncle’s estate will be out of probate?” He crossed his arms and eyed me like I’d just promised to become Juniper’s personal mountain guide.
“Nothing yet.”
“I heard the family is trying to sell it. Seems like it would be in your best interest for Caleb’s niece to stay.”
That’s what I’d been worried about. If the family sold it out from under her and that asshole who’d tried to buy it from Caleb ended up with it, I’d be fucked.
