Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 53516 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53516 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
I built my life on solitude, cold mountain air, and zero complications.
Then she showed up.
Soaking wet, half-frozen, and utterly infuriating with her sunshine personality and her stubborn refusal to leave.
Rosalee Samuels was supposed to take care of my kid, not worm her way under my skin.
Not make me feel things I swore I’d never feel again.
But when she looked at me like I was more than just a grumpy recluse?
When she made my cabin feel like a home?
Suddenly, keeping my distance wasn’t just hard, it was impossible.
And when her past came knocking? Let’s just say I’d burn down the mountain before I let anyone, especially her ex, hurt what’s mine
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter 1
Xavier
"Stupid damn hikers," I grumbled to myself as I stomped into my cabin and tore the knit cap from my head. It was after sunset, and it was cold as hell up in the mountains where I made my home—too cold and too close to night for newbies to try out the most difficult trail in these parts. I shucked off my boots, my coat, gloves, and scarf, which were just the first layer of clothing for a nighttime rescue.
It took me and Chase, the other mountain rescuer, an hour to locate them and damn near three more hours to get them down from the rocky summit they had no idea how to climb down from, and they were too scared to even if they did. We finally got them to the mountain ambulance service close to an hour ago, and all that was left was paperwork.
It was the worst part of the job—other than the people, of course.
Chase was snuggled up in a cabin on the other side of the mountain with his wife of six months, and I was here, at home. Alone. It was how I wanted it, how I’d set my life up for the past few years. And I was more than satisfied with my life.
Mostly.
I shrugged off those thoughts the way I always did when they became a little too intrusive and stripped out of the rest of my clothes, stepping into a steaming hot shower to rinse away the chill, the dirt, and the grime. A long, hot shower was just the thing after a mountain rescue like that, and it was only possible because I'd sprung for the best water heater on the market, sparing no expense to have it installed up here in the middle of nowhere. I stepped out of the shower with a sigh when I saw it was already after ten at night.
It was too late to visit Triple Horn, the private sex club I visited once a month—sometimes more—to get my needs satisfied. Too late, and I was too damned tired to get what I desperately needed, which was a hot and dirty hookup with some hot but ultimately anonymous woman before I settled in for another four weeks of solitude and peace. Yeah, it was definitely too late, so I dressed in flannel pants and a black T-shirt and settled in front of the fire with leftover chili from yesterday. It wasn't the night I had planned, but I was warm and my belly was slowly filling up.
"At least it was silent," I grumbled when my phone rang and vibrated on the coffee table. There was only one person stupid enough to call me this late. "What do you want, Nate?"
My brother's deep laughter rumbled through the speaker. "Hey, it's nice to hear your voice too, baby brother."
I rolled my eyes, but my lips twitched with a smile because Nate was the only asshole who could still make me smile. "Yeah, of course it is. Why are you calling?"
"I have a problem, and I need your advice."
I shook my head even though Nate couldn't see me. "You run the company now." Yeah, it was technically still my company. I started it, and I was still listed as the owner, but Nate was the CEO of Outer Edges, the outdoor sporting and clothing company I started fresh out of college, which now seemed like a lifetime ago.
Nate sighed, and I felt a lecture coming on. "Yeah, I run the company now, but it's still your company, Xavier. You still own most of the company, even if you don't want that to be true." He snorted, and I could almost see him shaking his head at me. "You can pretend to be the grubby mountain man all you want, but you're still the billionaire businessman who started this company."
"Fine," I growled and leaned back, my chili forgotten as I listened to some supply problem. "Don't sacrifice the quality, period. Our customers won't mind paying extra if we have to pass it on to them, but I don't want that to be the go-to move." That mentality was one of the reasons I burned out on the business side of things.
"Okay, good. Now we're talking." Nate laughed. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"
"It was terrible," I groaned and picked up my spoon again. "And now my chili is cold, Nate. Thanks."
"Do you ever eat anything but soup?"
"Chili is not soup," I shot back.
"A close relative," Nate said, his exasperation clear. "There's something else."
I froze with another spoonful of chili halfway to my mouth. "There always is with you, Nate."
He laughed again as if the whole damn world was just one big joke. "It's Mom. She's planning another one of her dinner parties and she expects both of us to be there."