Page 3 of Masked Mountain Man (Cold Mountain Nights #3)
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Bale
Present Day
“ U ncle Bale, you haven’t voted on Aunt Jessa’s dress yet.” My six-year-old niece Molly jerks her head toward my sister-in-law Jessa, who’s standing on a small platform in the middle of the room wearing a white wedding gown.
Molly waves her voting paddle in the air like she’s at an auction, placing her bid—just like she did with the last seven dresses. Molly’s paddle is facing the side with the words, ‘Heck yes, say yes to the dress.’
My brother, Bay, is marrying Jessa, the mail-order bride that our sister-in-law, Junie, arranged for him without his knowledge. It’s clear it worked out, given the fact that this will be their second wedding in just a month.
Jessa and Bay were married four weeks ago by a justice of the peace. Now, they want to host a big wedding for family and friends at their mountain cabin.
“Didn’t they already get married last month?” I hold up my boutique-supplied paddle with the words ‘Oooh La La’ written on it with my vote.
“Yes, but it wasn’t a fancy one like this one is going to be. Isn’t that right, Uncle Bay?”
“Sure is, Molly.”
I shift my gaze to my brother. “Are you even supposed to be here anyway? I thought it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride’s wedding gown before the wedding.”
“Not for us, it isn’t.” Bay looks at Jessa as if she’s the only one in the room—I nearly choke on the love filling the air as she meets his gaze.
I’m surrounded by it with those two—my brother Brooks and his wife Junie, and my oldest brother Bran and his wife Millie.
It was bad enough when Brooks and Bran found Junie and Millie—even if they aren’t as much of a recluse as Bay. But the fact that my brother, who never leaves his house and lives deep in the mountains, finally found love really irritates me.
Here I am, the brother who has spent years searching for the love of his life, only to find her four weeks ago and then lose her.
“Don’t worry about him, Molly. Your Uncle Bale is a grumpy son of a gun because he hasn’t found himself a woman yet.” Brooks says, causing everyone but Junie and Molly to laugh at my lack of a love life.
“What about Clover?” Molly’s childlike innocence breaks through the laughter. “She’s really pretty and makes the best dresses, almost like she’s a fairy Godmother.” Molly spins around in her flower girl dress, which she put on as soon as we arrived, and refuses to take it off.
Junie already tried to set me up with Clover, the seamstress and designer at Curves by Design.
At first, I was tempted to see if Clover was my mystery woman from the masked ball, but once Junie said Clover wasn’t at the masked ball, I realized she wasn’t my woman, so there was no point in meeting her.
However, I did meet Clover’s sisters since Junie said they were at the ball, but none of them was my Cinderella.
“Did someone say my name?” A voice I have only heard in my dreams for the last four weeks fills the air, announcing her arrival.
Spinning around at the sound of her voice, I realize I’ve finally found the woman I’ve been searching for over the past four weeks—only to see she’s been right here all along, at the town bridal shop.
“Cinderella.” I take a step toward her, not believing my eyes.
“I’m sorry, sir, you must have me confused with someone else.” She might deny knowing me, but I see the recognition in her eyes as she frantically scans the room looking for the best escape route.
Coming to her rescue, Junie steps between us before I can throw her over my shoulder and carry her back to my lair.
“Clover, this is my brother-in-law, the single one I was telling you about. I don’t think I ever told you his name—it’s Bale.
” Junie looks between the two of us. “But something tells me the two of you have already met.”
“Yes,” I say at the same time Clover says, “No.”
“Hmm, interesting.” Junie taps her index finger to her chin. “Everyone, why don’t we take a break and head to the bakery for a snack? I’m sure Autum and Iclyn will have saved us something good.”
“Sounds good. I’m getting tired of changing in and out of all these dresses," Jessa says as Bay helps her down from the pedestal and whispers in her ear, making her blush.
I try not to be jealous of my brothers, but damn if I don’t want what they have.
“I’ll tell Laurel you’ll be back in a little while. She’ll be the one to help you.” Clover spins on her heel and dashes out of the room.
I step forward to follow her, but Junie grabs my arm and stops me mid-stride, saying, “Hold up there a minute, Loverboy. I’m not sure what’s going on between you and Clover, but she’s really sweet—I don’t want to see you break her heart.”
Gritting my teeth, I hold back my reply. Sure, I might enjoy flirting with women, but I’ve never taken one home and made love to her like I want to with Clover. Hell, I’ve never even kissed a girl—never wanted to.
It’s not like I ever planned to be a twenty-seven-year-old virgin. It’s just that I’d never found anyone I wanted to be with until Clover.
Clover. Like the color of her eyes.
“She’s mine.” I grit out. “I would never hurt her.”
Junie studies me for a few more seconds, then says, "Okay, but if I find out that you have hurt her, you might never want to eat any brownies I make for you.”
She doesn’t have to spell it out—the threat is clear. Hurt Clover and face a laxative in my favorite dessert.
“I won’t.” Satisfied with my answer, she drops my arm and lets me pass.
It doesn’t take me long to catch up with Clover in what I assume is her office, since it’s covered in fabric with sketches hanging on the wall—all except for the wall right beside her desk, where one of our charity firefighter calendars hangs.
Her eyes track mine as she gasps in surprise upon realizing what I’m looking at. “I bought it for charity. It was a good cause.” She says in a rush.
“Sure, you did.” I chuckle.
“What’s so funny about that?” She crosses her arms over her chest.
“What’s funny is that it’s September.”
“So?”
“So, Clover, what’s funny is that it’s September, but your calendar still shows February, the month I was the model.”