Page 7 of Jealous Mountain Man (Seduction Summit Trails #5)

LARSEN

A fter we’d made love, Enzo was slightly distant—probably not something I would’ve noticed if I wasn’t so tuned in to his reaction to every word I said. But it had now been four days with no word from him.

“Can I try a little more of that one?” the customer asked.

He was a middle-aged guy, but nothing like the normal group of tourists who came through this tasting room. He looked like something out of a cheesy movie—a stereotypical bad guy who wore all black and had dark hair.

“Only one sample of each per customer,” I said.

“That’s a rule?” the guy asked. “Like a state law or something?”

“Just our policy.”

He reached for his wallet, and I knew what was coming next. “How about a little paper cash incentive?”

We were the only two in the store, and I was starting to regret that. I looked back over my shoulder toward the back room.

“My boss watches on camera,” I said. “I don’t want to lose my job. Besides, you can buy a whole bottle of the stuff minus the five dollars you’d pay for the tasting anyway. It’s probably not much more than whatever cash you were about to hand me.”

He held his wallet in his right hand for a few long seconds, studying me. But suddenly, he folded it up and shoved it into his pocket.

“Before I go, maybe you can help me,” he said. “I’m looking for a friend of mine who moved to this town. Name’s Enzo Osgood. You happen to know where I can find him?”

My mouth fell open. This guy was looking for Enzo. My Enzo. Well, judging by the way he’d disappeared on me, I couldn’t really call him mine. But one-sided or not, I had serious feelings for Enzo already, and this sketchy-looking guy didn’t seem like someone who needed to know where he was.

“I’m new to town,” I said. “I don’t know anyone just yet. You ready to check out?”

I did a sort of half-twist, preparing to head to the cash register. But he didn’t budge. And something in his glare froze me in place.

“You know Enzo,” he said. “You want to know how I know?”

Oh crap. He didn’t have to say any more. I knew exactly how he knew I knew Enzo.

“I just shot some video of him and shared it online,” I said, trying to sound calmer than I felt. “If that’s what you’re talking about.”

Okay, that was a lie. But if I was going to lie, why didn’t I just stick with pretending I didn’t know him?

I had a feeling not only was Enzo in danger, but I was too. Something told me this guy would think nothing of disposing of me if it meant getting to his real target.

“She’s not who you’re looking for.”

The male voice boomed through the small shop, making me jump. The guy in front of me didn’t jump, though. Instead, he burst into a big smile as he turned.

“Osgood,” the guy said. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“You found me, Chuck,” Enzo said, stepping into the doorway.

My heart beat a little faster. That was saying a lot because it was already at what I thought was peak speed. I let the intense feelings for Enzo wash over me briefly before reminding myself this was serious. One or both of us could get hurt. Or worse.

I could run. I could hide. I could get the hell out of here. But I didn’t want to. I wanted to stay and make sure Enzo was okay.

“Let’s take this outside,” Enzo said. “It’s between us.”

Chuck, now with his back to me, shook his head. “Oh, no. We’re going to do this right here, where nobody can watch.”

“There’s a camera,” I blurted. “It records everything.”

The guy stepped away from the counter, but he kept his focus on Enzo. “You think I’m stupid? You said just minutes ago your boss was back there, watching. It’s pretty obvious now that he isn’t. You lied about that, so I doubt there’s a camera.”

Enzo didn’t even glance at me. He didn’t dare take his eyes off the man in black.

“You had no right to turn me in,” Chuck said to Enzo. “The girl walked out in front of my car, and you know it. So, what if I was drinking? I would’ve hit her if I was stone-cold sober.”

From the look on Enzo’s face, it was clear he doubted that. I trusted Enzo a thousand times more than this guy.

“You threatened my life, multiple times,” Enzo said. “Both before I enlisted and after my discharge. It’s the reason I settled here instead of Cheyenne.”

The man laughed. “You legit thought I’d hurt you? Dude.”

“You killed a woman.”

“Girl,” Chuck corrected, as though that made it better. “And she walked in front of my car. I think she did it on purpose.”

“I was in the car when it happened. You fled the scene. Until I went to the police, her family had no idea what happened.”

“Did it fix anything, having them know? She’s still dead.”

This conversation was getting nowhere. Enzo could reason all he wanted, but this guy wasn’t going to budge on trying to justify what he did.

So I jumped in. “Why are you here? You came to town looking for Enzo.”

“Good question,” Enzo said. “If you aren’t here to follow through on your threats, why are you here?”

“A buddy shared your little video with me,” Chuck said, looking at me.

That look creeped me out. I had to resist the urge to step back and put some distance between us. Luckily, he flipped that stare back to Enzo.

“Really, I guess I was just looking for some closure myself,” Chuck said.

“What kind of closure?” Enzo asked.

Chuck shrugged. Suddenly, he didn’t look nearly as scary.

“I guess I’m looking to find out why you did it, man. We were good friends until you ratted me out.”

Enzo straightened, squaring his shoulders. This was a true showdown.

“Correction,” Enzo said, a muscle in his jaw twitching as his eyes filled with fury.

“We were good friends until you ran over a seventeen-year-old girl and left her for dead. We were good friends until you ignored me shouting for you to go back. We were good friends until you threatened me with your dad’s gun, saying you would use it on me if I said a word to anyone about what happened. ”

“And then you took off for the military,” Chuck pointed out.

“But when I returned home to find the town still talking about it, I finally turned you in.”

“Yeah, well you see where that got you,” Chuck said. “I did my time, and now I’m free and clear.”

This guy was a criminal, but he didn’t seem to be part of some big, organized crime syndicate. That seemed comforting to me, but I wasn’t sure it should be.

“I made a mistake,” Chuck said. “A mistake that cost someone her life. What was it to you, anyway?”

Enzo narrowed his eyes. “I let you slide for twenty years. The family had no idea what happened to Pamela. Your arrest gave them closure.”

“And landed me in the slammer for two years.”

“Two years is a small price to pay, considering you get to walk around while Pamela never even saw her eighteenth birthday.”

“If you really wanted to do the right thing, wouldn’t you have done it earlier?” Chuck asked.

“Not when I was a kid and my life was being threatened. So, what do you want?”

“I said I wanted closure.” Chuck crossed his arms over his chest. “I want to know why you did it.”

Enzo took a step toward him. “Take a look at Pamela’s parents.

Did you see their faces when the verdict was announced?

The relief? They just wanted answers. They forgave you for putting them through nearly twenty years of agony.

You served two years. They have a lifetime without their daughter—not to mention all the friends she left behind who cared about her.

You just left her in the road like she was an old couch. ”

For the first time, Chuck’s stance changed. He slunk a little, head lowered. Enzo was getting through to him.

“I shouldn’t have come here, man,” he finally said. “I realize that now. I ran you out of Cheyenne, and for that, I’m sorry.”

“It all worked out,” Enzo said, glancing over at me.

It was the first time he’d really looked at me since stepping into that doorway. The warmth in his stare told me things weren’t over between us—not by a long shot.

“Coming to this town was the best thing I ever did,” Enzo continued without taking his eyes off me. “It’s my home. It’s where I’m going to get married and start a family with the woman I love.”

Was I the woman he loved? Was it possible? I didn’t want to get my hopes up. But he was still staring at me. He hadn’t even glanced in his former friend’s direction.

“That’s good to hear,” the guy said, thrusting out his hand. “Truce?”

Chuck wanted to make peace, but they weren’t exactly going to be hanging out if Enzo ever went back home. Chuck may have done his time, but that didn’t erase the damage he’d caused. Finally, Enzo reached out his hand and they shook on it.

“I’ll take a bottle of that moonshine,” Chuck said, turning back to me.

I rang it up with shaking hands while he grabbed the bottle from the shelf. The whole time, I could feel Enzo’s gaze on me. He wasn’t rushing out the door. That was a good sign.

“Later, man,” Chuck said as he rushed past Enzo, bag in hand.

He seemed in an awful big hurry now that they’d had their discussion. I was thankful for that. But I was even more thankful for the way Enzo turned and flipped the lock, keeping the outside world outside.

“That got a little scary,” I said when silence fell between us.

Enzo took a few steps into the center of the store. I didn’t budge from my spot behind the counter.

“I was afraid to assume anything,” I said. “So I waited to see what happened next. I honestly wasn’t sure what that guy would do.”

“I’ve been worried for a while that he’d show up in town with a gun, ready to follow through on his threats,” Enzo said. “But I couldn’t let your association with me put you in danger too. I couldn’t.”

“That’s why you disappeared for a few days?”

“I headed back to Wyoming to track him down. Couldn’t find him.

And finally, his sister told me he’d come here.

He found out about your video. Since your location is on your social media profiles, I figured it’d be easy enough to track you down.

” He paused and sighed. “I rushed straight here. Sure enough, there he was, standing right at your counter.”

“I was ready to cover for you,” I said. “I didn’t know who he was, but I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you.”

“I would have rather you sent him on his way than put yourself in danger. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you.”

“I feel the same,” I said. “And that’s why I was doing what it took to protect you.”

“Well, it looks like everything worked out.”

He took another tentative step toward me—I assumed it was tentative because of the tightness of his features. He was afraid I would reject him. He didn’t get that we were both on the same page. Honestly, I didn’t fully get it either.

I glanced at the door, making sure nobody was on the other side of it. Then I stepped out from behind the counter, removing the last obstacle between us.

But I didn’t stop there. I walked straight toward him, not stopping until his arms were around me and my body was pressed against his.

It was like coming home.

“Don’t ever do that again,” I said.

He tilted his head slightly. “Do what?”

“Leave without telling me where you are. I was worried sick. I know it’s early in our relationship, but the silence is the worst .”

“I didn’t have your phone number,” he said.

“I tried to give it to you.”

“Yeah, I was dead set on getting my business taken care of first. You understand?”

“I understand.”

“I’ll never do it again.” He lowered his head, pressing his forehead to mine. “As soon as I finish kissing the hell out of you, I’m going to make sure I have your phone number and you have mine. Then I’m going to take you back to my cabin and make love to you all night.”

I winced. “I have two hours left on my shift.”

He groaned. “So I have to wait even longer.” He hesitated, looking around, then said, “It’s okay. I’ll give you the address to my cabin. You come straight there when you get off work. I’ll have dinner waiting for you.”

That was a plan I could get behind. I knew I’d be grinning for the rest of my shift.

“One more kiss before you go,” I said. “Just to tide me over.”

He smiled. “With pleasure.”

As his lips pressed against mine, I was grateful for a lot of things. But the biggest of all? My goal of becoming an influencer had led me into the arms of this guy, who was worth more than all the money in the world.