Page 7 of Comforted By The Mountain Man (Eden Ridge: Hunter Brothers #1)

SIERRA

I hate Oscar for conditioning me to be watchful and distrustful of kindness from potentially good people.

I also hate myself for trusting his charm at nineteen and believing him when he placed his hand on my still flat pregnant stomach and smiled in that park, under moonlight, after my father kicked me out. Excited, he promised me the world.

He promised to take me somewhere safe, with his brothers who would die to protect Oscar’s woman. Only, arriving to the MC clubhouse that weekend, I was Oscar’s bitch who he knocked up.

Oscar played it off as MC talk.

Looking around, in this small cabin, filled with seven beastly, tall mountain men, how they engage my son with such gentleness, his little face in heaven, surrounded by what he keeps calling, The Avengers, and Grace’s smile that looks genuine and not like the conniving but confusing acts of ‘kindness’ I grew used to from Club Whores.

Can I trust this?

It’s eight o’clock and we should head back. We’ve taken up a lot of this family’s time.

“Ryder, baby. Time to go,” I kneel down and whisper.

He gasps. “But Mama! Hulk hasn’t smashed Abominable Man yet.” He means Abomination. His lower lip sticks out.

“Ryder,” I brush his curls off his face. “These people have been very nice to us but it’s getting late. You need a bath and bed.”

“No Mama. I wanna see Hulk smash,” he demands with that stubborn face I want to laugh at every time but can’t because he’s being serious.

I sigh, preparing my maternal firm tone when Asher bends next to me, facing Ryder.

“There’s about thirty minutes left. He can finish the movie. Grace is still cleaning up dessert and my brothers are having whiskey around the back porch.”

“Yes,” Grace chimes in. “If it’s okay with you, of course, it’s okay with me that he finishes it. There’s a beautiful path leading to the creek if you’d like to walk off dinner in the meantime?”

Asher’s eyes focus on Grace before returning to me. “We could go for a walk, if you’re cool with it.”

Not paying us any attention anymore, Ryder’s hand waves me off. “Yeah, Mama. Go walk. I’ll be here.”

Asher’s unexpected, barely audible deep chuckle warms me more due to the look he’s giving my son. I should grab Ryder and run away; far, far away from all this. It’s too wonderful. It feels too good.

But I’m an idiot and a glutton for punishment because my mouth releases an, “Okay,” before standing and letting Asher lead the way.

In companionable silence, we walk along a rough, natural path mostly lit by moonlight and tiny solar lights Asher explains Grace set up around the property.

I’ve never been to the mountains before.

Never been this far north. The trailer parks in Southern California and then the MC clubhouse is all I’ve known.

The air up here is thinner but crisper. My lungs feel as though they fully expand for the first time ever. The peace of night sounds as we approach the running creek lulls me into safety. Still, a nugget of fear distrusts the serene feeling while at the same time, danger feels a million miles away.

“So, I spoke to Ezra and the others,” Asher breaks the silence when we reach the creek. Picking up a few small rocks, he starts chucking them causing a skipping across the water.

“The job is yours if you still want it. You can even start as early as tomorrow.”

Stunned, I stare up at him.

So tall. Long, strong neck, sharp jawline surrounded by a short beard. Deep, soulful green eyes that say so much even though he tries to hide as well.

All the Hunter brothers, honestly, are too good looking for their own good. And while they welcomed us in with warmth and honesty, the hidden shadows and secrets they carry behind their eyes felt kindred and familiar.

Asher continues, even with my spiraling silence. “Grace told me she let you know that she’d love to watch Ryder for you when you head into the distillery. Ezra has a company laptop he’s going to give you tomorrow so you don’t always have to come in. You can work from home.”

“I don’t have internet,” I say, wanting to address all the ways I’m not right for the job.

“We can get that situated for you this week. In the meantime, it’ll be best if you familiarize yourself with the place.

And since you’re stepping in for my family when we needed it, I’ll work on getting the parts to overhaul the pipes, and Beckett does woodwork and carpentry.

He’s offered to help slowly renovate the areas with water damage. ”

My head is already shaking before he’s finished. “That’s too much, Asher. No. I can’t accept that.”

“You haven’t experienced much kindness, no strings attached, have you?” he asks with a piercing gaze.

Immediately, my emotions lock up, and my facial expression shuts down. I turn to walk past him, looking out at the dark silhouette the mountains paint in the distance.

“I just want to understand. Help,” he says. “You look like you carry a heavy weight on your shoulders; every moment, of every day.”

My heart, feeling too big for my chest, my mind too tangled with scenarios, causes me to bite back, “And what? You want to save me,” I sneer, facing him, holding back tears.

Because, I do. I desperately want the promise of this man to be true and for him to take me and Ryder away from all bad things. Which is stupid. Childish. I’m angry more at myself for hoping.

Asher stands still, watching me before something shifts. He walks right up to me, and I hold my breath as his hands gently take hold of my face.

“No,” his voice rumbles. “You can save yourself. Hell. I have a feeling you already have. More than once before.”

Shit. I’m going to cry.

“Even heroes need friends,” he says, his calloused thumb brushing my cheeks. “Even with the task of saving the entire world, which they’re capable of doing just fine, they need people to have their backs from time to time.”

Asher leans in and whispers, “You don’t have to survive alone.”

“I do,” I choke. “You have no idea,” I whisper roughly.

“You’re safe here, Sierra. Both of you. You don’t have to run anymore.”

The battle with tears wins out and strays escape down my cheeks, waiting for Asher’s fingers to catch them.

“You don’t have to trip over lies and half-truths here,” he says and my body locks. “Southern Cal, Northern Cal? You suck at lying, Brown Eyes.”

I’d panic but the hint of a smile on his lips settle the anxious storm building.

I breath his soft exhales in until our chests rise and fall in synced rhythm.

Asher’s green eyes, that even in the dark shine, flicker to my lips.

His thumb, ever close, caresses outside my lower lip causing a gasp to stutter my lungs.

The quietest, deep rumble vibrates from within him and holy hell, my core just clenched like never before. Instantly, a heat spreads below, and my heart races.

Dropping his forehead on mine, he sharply releases air from his nose then gently pulls away, dropping his hands. I feel suspended in air and one wrong move, I’ll drop from high up, falling flat on the ground. And that’s when he takes my hand.

He begins walking us back to the cabin. More of my walls fall.

“I told you the truth earlier. I lived in Southern California,” I keep my voice low as though sharing these secrets could rock worlds. I guess, it could. Mine and Ryder’s.

“His father was involved with not good people,” I confess. “And it got him killed.”

Asher keeps his eyes forward but his hand squeezes mine, giving me strength to confide a little. Test it out. See if the ground falls out from under me if I do.

“And are you and Ryder in danger?” he asks, his voice tense, holding back what I feel is anger radiating from his body. Only, I know it’s not toward me.

“I want better for Ryder,” I say instead. “I want him to know good people. Look up to good men. Have different experiences than I’ve allowed his first four years of life.” My voice cracks with shame at the end.

“Hey,” Asher stops and faces me, taking my shoulders in his hands. “You are a wonderful mother.”

“You don’t know me, Asher,” I say, giving a self-deprecating smile.

“I pay attention. It’s what I do. All my life. I watch people and see behind the masks they wear. You are scared, and surviving, and holding it together, and you love that boy with your entire being. I see it.”

I sniff back the ugly cry that wants to finally unleash again.

“Life hands us shit sometimes. No matter how much we plan for different things and try to make them happen. We’re dealt the cards we’re dealt, and we make choices. We’re also human. Flawed and beautiful at the same time. We’re all capable of learning from experiences.”

“Have I learned from mine?” I challenge.

“You’re here, aren’t you? You accepted dinner with my family. Baby steps, Brown Eyes.”

Overwhelmed with wanting to believe every word and throw myself in his arms, I whisper, “Asher.”

He takes my face in his hands again and firmly kisses my forehead, whispering against my skin, “One day at a time.”

Pulling away, he steps back, takes my hand, and grins. “Let’s go get your little guy.”

“And then, Hulk smash smash Abominable’s face and he goes flying,” Ryder explains in high decibels, throwing himself on the couch to demonstrate.

I swear, this kid will never need caffeine in the morning.

“Grab your shoes, baby. Grace is about to get here,” I run around, finding my own shoes after digging through my duffel bag, desperately trying to find a decent outfit for work. Not working with much here.

“Gracie!” Ryder squeals, running to his room for his shoes.

Last night, after that thrilling, confusing, intoxicating encounter with Asher, we grabbed an already half-asleep Ryder and said our goodbyes. Asher drove us back and insisted on sticking around while I bathed Ryder in the actual bath, just to confirm the pipes would hold.