Page 4 of Creed (Rock Hard Mountain Men #3)

Kayden

“Oh, fuck,” I said as I paced restlessly back and forth across the room. “Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck.”

These were the only words that I’d been able to utter for the last fifteen minutes, but there was so much more than I wanted to scream about.

Creed was gay.

How had I not known this?

I’d been friends with Creed since we were kids. We went to middle school and high school together. We’d talked to each other at least every couple of days for most of our lives.

How had the topic of sexuality never come up before?

Forcing myself to stop pacing, I stood in the middle of my studio apartment and took a deep breath.

The answer was simple. The topic of sexuality had never come up because I avoided it at all costs.

But still, hearing Creed confirm that he was actually gay hit me like a slap to the face.

I’d been in love with him since we were kids. He was my first crush, and the reason I became a travel writer in the first place.

When he left for the military right out of high school, I started traveling to keep myself occupied and to stop myself from doing anything foolish, like running after him. That had eventually led to my career writing about all the places I’d visited.

For thirty years I’d carried this flame, snuffing it down until it was nothing more than a barely glowing ember, but still never able to extinguish it.

What would I have done all those years ago if I knew I had a chance?

“No,” I reminded myself out loud as I started pacing again. “Don’t be stupid. Just because he’s gay doesn’t automatically mean he’d be interested in you. Besides, he’s already living with two other men. He’s building a home with them. It’s clear where he wants to be.”

Although, apparently those other men, Brody and Magnus, had found their own partners. So, maybe...

No.

I cut that thought off immediately. I couldn’t judge just based on that. For all I knew, they could have some kind of open relationship. I needed to play it cool and keep my thoughts and feelings to myself.

While camping.

With Creed.

Out in the woods, alone, just the two of us.

Probably sharing a tent.

“Oh, fuck,” I shouted again as I dived for my phone and quickly dialed my editor’s number.

It took several rings before the other end of the line picked up.

“Kayden, its two in the morning? What the fuck do you want?”

I checked the clock and flinched. Oops. She was right. It was the early hours of the morning. Traveling as much as I did, I lived in a constant state of jetlag, so my sense of time was permanently skewed.

“Oh, sorry, Helen. I didn’t realize the time.”

She grumbled, but I could hear her getting out of bed. Helen had been my editor for several years, and by now, she was used to my bad sense of time.

Although, even for her, two in the morning was probably pushing it.

“Well, I’m awake now. So, what do you want?”

“You know how we were just talking about where I was going to go for my next piece?”

On the other end of the line, I heard Helen shuffling through a few pages. “Yeah. We had it narrowed down to either the Himalayas, or the Andes mountains.”

“Well, I was thinking I could do something a little closer to home this time.”

“Closer to home?”

Her voice was completely deadpan. I couldn’t tell what she thought of the idea, so I valiantly pressed on.

“Yeah, you know. Like, exotic mountains are great, but for people who want to travel on a budget, we’ve got plenty of beautiful mountains right here at home.”

More paper rustling.

“We do have a collection of domestic travel articles that we’ve been putting together, but I thought you specifically requested to travel overseas.

If I remember your exact words were ‘If I’m going to go through the effort of traveling somewhere, it’s got to be some place worth the effort’. What’s changed?”

The true explanation, that my old childhood crush had just come out of the closet to me and now I was looking for any excuse to go see him, would have made me sound like a crazy person. Instead, I merely shrugged and tried to play it casual.

“I guess it’s true what they say. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. All these years traveling to foreign places has given me a new perspective on my home country, and I’d like a chance to explore it better.”

“Mmhm.” She didn’t sound convinced. “Well, whatever your reason, I guess we can make it work. But once you commit to this, you can’t change your mind at the last minute and decide you want to go somewhere else. So, I’ll ask you one more time. Are you sure?”

Was I sure?

Absolutely not. But I was doing it anyway.

“Of course,” I said. “When am I ever not sure?”

“Do I need to remind you about the llama incident?”

Of course she would bring that up. To make a long story short, I’d basically tried to pet a llama when I shouldn’t have, and nearly lost a finger for my troubles. There was a three-inch-long scar running down the side of my hand as a permanent reminder.

“This isn’t going to be anything like the llama incident.”

“And what makes you so sure?”

“Well, for one, there definitely won’t be any llamas involved.”

I heard her sigh on the other end of the line, and if I had to guess, she was probably rolling her eyes at me as well.

“Fine. Give me the details and I’ll file the request for your next project.”

I immediately started to tell her about my plan, but she cut me off before I could get two words out.

“Tomorrow. It’s the middle of the night and I’m not subjecting myself to any more of your insanity than I have to. Good night.”

I laughed at her aggrieved tone, and kept going even after the line went dead.

That was that. Once Helen put in the request there was no going back. She was a great editor, but she was also a hard-ass who refused to bend for anyone. It helped to keep me on target, and now her efficiency was going to ensure that I couldn’t chicken out from meeting with Creed.

It was going to be the first time in years I saw the man face to face. Although I considered him a friend, I usually avoided being around him for fear of losing control and doing something I would regret.

Now, with a new hope rekindled in my heart, I was planning on isolating myself in the mountains with him. Even I could recognize that it was a recipe for disaster, and probably just going to result in getting my heart broken, but I had to at least try. I’d regret it the rest of my life if I didn’t.

“Fuck,” I groaned one last time as I collapsed onto my couch. “These next few weeks are going to be... interesting.”

I must be a masochist. That was the only explanation for why I insisted on torturing myself.

A week later, I was packed up and driving out to a town called Emberwood to meet Creed. It took longer than I expected. My rental car was uncomfortable to drive in the way that all unfamiliar cars are. Plus, the mountain back roads were particularly confusing, and I got lost three times on the way.

“This can’t be right,” I muttered as I slowly guided my car down the dirt road. “This is just... trees. This is a forest. I haven’t passed another building for miles. I don’t think I’m even in Emberwood anymore.”

The sun was going to set soon. There were no streetlights out on these back roads. For now, there was still enough light to see by, but once the sun went down it was going to get really dark.

I was just debating if I should turn around and find a place to stay back in town for the night, when a small turnoff with a sign next to it caught my eye.

The numbers on the sign matched the address Creed had given me. I had no idea if I was even on the right road, but it was the only lead I had.

The road I turned onto was even more obscure than the one I left behind. It barely even counted as a road, more like a footpath. If it weren’t for the sign of fresh tire tracks, I would have turned around. Assuming I even could turn around on the narrow road on the edge of the mountain, that is.

It took another five minutes of driving before the endless tunnel of trees finally opened onto level land.

I immediately knew I was in the right place.

Everything was exactly as Creed had described.

There were two log cabin style houses, that apparently his friend Brody had built by hand, along with several other structures including a workshop, chicken coop, and a few other buildings I didn’t know the purpose for.

One of the houses was surrounded by an extensive garden, right next to a huge pit in the ground.

Reflective orange tape had been strung around the hole, warning people to stay away from it.

My curiosity was piqued. Creed had told me the story of the hidden tunnel under their property that had collapsed, but I would have to find an opportunity to see if for myself.

Caution tape be damned. I had never let a “keep out” sign prevent me from going where I wanted to.

I pulled my car up next to several rugged trucks on a flat gravel area. There were a few beams framing the gravel, like they’d started laying out the base for a garage but got distracted almost as soon as they started and now there was just the promise of a structure left behind.

The trucks were huge and made my four-door sedan look like a compact car. Remembering the harrowing drive to get out here, I could understand why they needed such impressive machinery. I would have to remember to rent a truck if I ever came out here again.

I was just stepping out of the car when Creed’s familiar voice greeted me.

“Kayden. You made it.”

With my back still turned to him, I hesitated.

This was the point of no return. Right now, I could still jump back in my car and make my escape.

It would probably mean an end to my friendship with Creed, but it was an option.

Once I turned around and faced him, I’d be stuck.

There was no way I’d be able to bring myself to leave, even if I wanted to.