Chapter 1
June
Message to SnowWhite from MountainManDelta4
Yes, I am looking for a serious relationship. Of course we would need to get to know each other first. Maybe, eventually, have you come stay for a few days to see if we like each other in person and what you think of life in the mountains.
Message to MountainManDelta4 from SnowWhite
I can be there tomorrow.
I type the words before I chicken out.
There is a long pause. I grip the wash cloth in my hands. Silently pleading with the universe that he says yes. Hoping this is the right thing to do. I have to get out of here. And this might be my only chance.
A lot of dots showing he is thinking about how to respond. But then, after an agonizing wait, one little word.
Message to SnowWhite from MountainManDelta4
Okay.
* * * * *
This is crazy. Absolutely the craziest thing I have ever done. But I just turned twenty one and it is about time I had a little crazy in my life.
I thought things would change after high school. And then when I turned eighteen..nineteen..twenty. It finally occurred to me that if I want my life to change then I’m going to have to be the one to change it.
And so, I’m taking charge of my life. Well, at the very least I am changing location. I have always dreamt about a cabin in the mountains, ever since I saw Snow White as a kid. That movie had a big influence on me. The idea of running away, of meeting my Prince Charming. I really thought that was how it worked.
Instead of an evil step mother, I have a drunk father. There is no castle in my story. And instead of the woodsman to lead me into the forest, I have a stolen, thirty year old beat-up car. But I am on my way to something better.
I feel bad about taking the car. Dad doesn’t drive and if he could have sold it for money he would have already done it. The few times he has let me use it I have thought about hitting the road and never coming back. But I didn’t have a plan then.
I squeeze the steering wheel tight. Surely anything has to be better than the life I was dealt.
Maybe if my mother had been around….no, there is no point looking back. I’m all about looking forward. Forwards on the open road.
Winding down the window and holding my arm out of the truck, I let my hand ride over the wind. My ponytail whipping about. Just for a minute I lean my head out. Like a dog. Laughingas the wind rushes over my face. I must have lost my mind. But I don’t care. This is the first bit of freedom I've ever felt. And it feels good.
I just hope Hudson St. John is a good man. I wish I was able to do this on my own. It’s hard to put my trust in a man. All I’ve known is my father. He keeps me shut up in the house. His slave. Cooking and cleaning. No friends to talk to, nobody to laugh with, no affection, nobody to help. With no money, no job, no references and not much education, I don’t have a lot of options open to me. So when I heard about this dating site for mountain men looking for serious relationships, looking for women who would pack up and move to the mountains, an idea started to form. The website promised a chance to meet your perfect mountain man. But I would settle for just being anywhere but here.
I’m not a great catch, but maybe mountain men aren’t that picky. Hudson’s profile said he was looking for a woman to share his life with. Well, I’m a woman, looking for a new life. And I love the mountains. Or at least pictures of mountains.
If this doesn’t work out then I will make a new plan. I’ll go on to another mountain town and try to find a job. I’ll sleep in this beat up car if I have to. But from now on I am moving forward and I’m never, ever going back.
Chapter 2
Hudson
This woman is moving fast. We matched, she messaged to ask if I was serious, and now she is on her way here to visit. She is either brave, crazy or stupid. Well, I like a little bit of crazy. Lots of people call me crazy. In my younger days I was a little wild. But now I work fire & rescue, putting my crazy flying skills to good use. I’m the guy who sayswe can do itwhen others won’t.
But now I’m ready to settle down. I see my friends finding love and having kids. For a long time I’ve been thinking that I would like a wife and a couple of kids, that I want that to be my next crazy adventure. Of course, it would have to be the right woman. That’s why I finally caved and joined the Mountain Mates dating website. But I thought we would talk online for a bit.
But maybe June will be perfect. Or maybe I get a weekend of crazy and a funny story to tell the guys at the next poker night. Still it won’t hurt to just let my brothers know that I have a stranger coming to stay. Just in case anything goes wrong.
I look around the cabin. I’ve got a spare bedroom, and I try to keep the place clean. I’m big on being trapped indoors, so there isn’t too much to keep organized. My mom likes to say each of her children are messier than the last one. My olderbrother, Woodrow, has everything organized, belt buckles and boots shining. I’m the middle child and I would say I’m the most normal. I’m not obsessed like Woodrow and I’m not a total mess like my younger brother.
But, there is one man living on his own clean and then there isvisitor clean. And crazy though she might be, I want this lady visitor to feel comfortable during her stay.
