Page 3 of Mountain Man Obsessed (Hard Timber Mountain Men #3)

HARLAN

By the time the next Friday night rolled around, I was fried.

Being around Jessa for hours a day, watching her move through my space like she owned it, breathing in her scent, and trying to keep myself from reaching for her, had done me in.

I almost thought about not showing up for Friday night Trail Supper but didn’t want to give anyone a reason to talk about me behind my back.

I let Bubbles lead the way to the clearing where we met every week.

He was drawn by the smell of something sizzling over the campfire.

Probably steak since it was Trace’s night to bring the main dish.

I tightened my grip on the bag holding a few kinds of packaged cookies.

I’d meant to swing by the cafe for one of Nellie’s pies but ran out of time since Jessa kept fussing over the window displays.

She’d promised to lock up when she was done, so I finally left her there so I wouldn’t miss out on the food.

Thatcher saw me first. He held out his hand and gripped mine. “We were starting to think you might not show.”

“Need a drink?” Holt handed me a red plastic cup holding an inch of brown liquid. “Dane had to run to Missoula this week and brought back a couple of bottles from that new whiskey distillery near Hell’s River.”

“Thanks, man.” I downed it in one swallow. The whiskey burned down the back of my throat. Hopefully it would take the edge off and help me relax a little. I was wound up tighter than the strings on my grandpa’s old fiddle tonight.

“I bet he could use a couple more,” Ridge said. “Rumor has it you’ve been dealing with Baby J all week.”

I bristled at the nickname. We’d called Jessa that for years, but suddenly I didn’t like the way it sounded coming from another guy.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Holt tipped the bottle to pour another inch into my cup. “She told me Nellie set her up to work at the outfitters for some experience.”

“She didn’t give me much of a choice,” I mumbled.

“Who? Nellie or Jessa?” Thatcher said with a laugh.

“Hell, I bet neither one,” Holt said.

“You’re right about that.” I tossed the bag of cookies onto the table and took a seat on a tree stump close to the fire. Thatcher sat down next to me while Bubbles worked the crowd. He knew the guys would have treats for him.

“Is she driving you up a wall yet?” Thatcher asked.

“Up and down and right back up again.” I lifted the cup to my nose and inhaled the comforting scent of corn and rye.

Thatcher grinned. “Jessa tends to have that effect on people. She came over for dinner the other night and talked about the deal the two of you made.”

My pulse ticked up. Though it never would have bothered me before, I didn’t like the idea of Jessa sitting around a table with her brother and his girl and complaining about me behind my back. “Oh yeah?”

“It’s a good thing you’re doing, letting her get some experience.” Thatcher nodded. “And with Wild Wilderness looking at Hard Timber, sounds like you could use the help.”

I still wasn’t so sure about that, but it was too late to turn back. I’d given her my word, and I intended to keep it, even if being around her every day was the ultimate test of my willpower. “Did she tell you about the Adventure Weekend she’s planning?”

“Yeah. Sounds like a good idea, though I was a little surprised you agreed to that.” Thatcher stared down into his cup and swirled the liquid around. “It’s not really your style to host a big public event.”

“It’s my personal idea of hell,” I agreed.

“Don’t worry, Harlan. Jessa conned us into helping.” Holt sat down on my other side. “She talked me into doing demos all weekend long on how to build a campfire, and Ridge is going to teach people how to cook over one.”

“Great.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about her reaching out to my friends for help. Part of me was relieved since it meant it wouldn’t be up to me to fill the whole weekend with events. But it also meant this event was going to be big—much bigger than I was comfortable with.

“Relax, big guy. We’ll all be there to share in your misery.” Ridge chuckled.

“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?”

“Hell, if you don’t want to feel better, I’ve got something that’ll make you feel worse,” Dane offered. He was Thatcher and Holt’s younger brother, though he was still older than Jessa by a couple of years.

Thatcher shook his head. “Not now.”

“What?” I leveled a glare at Dane. The kid didn’t flinch. Maybe I was losing my touch.

“You sure you want to know?” Thatcher asked.

I looked around at the other guys. None of them would meet my eyes. None except Dane who clearly had something to share.

“Tell me.” I grounded myself by sinking my hand into the thick fur on Bubbles’s back. He’d given up on scraps until after dinner and laid down next to me.

Dane pulled out his phone. “Somebody started a poll in the comments of the Ex-List post. They’re betting on which guy from the Ex-List is going to be off the market next.”

“You’re shitting me.” That damn list had been haunting me since someone had anonymously published it a couple of months ago. Hell, it had been haunting all of us. But no one had figured out who’d posted it, at least not yet. We all thought Nellie had something to do with it, but she wasn’t talking.

“You won’t believe who’s got the most votes,” Dane continued.

“Probably you, hot shot,” I said. He was the only one of us who hadn’t given up on dating. Well, except for Thatcher who hadn’t stopped smiling since he met Joely, and Holt who’d finally admitted he was all in with Calla, his son’s nanny. Both of them were already taken, though.

Dane let out a deep belly laugh. “Good one, H. It’s actually you. Sounds like someone thinks you and Jessa would make a good pair.”

The color drained from my face, leaving my cheeks cold and numb. I hadn’t told a fucking soul about the secret feelings I had for Jessa. No one, and I mean no one, had any idea I’d been fantasizing about my best friends’ little sister. Hell, I didn’t even want to admit it to myself.

“Some folks in this town have too damn much free time,” Thatcher said. “The two of you might be more likely to strangle each other than hook up. No offense, man, but you’re not exactly her type.”

He was right. Jessa went for good-lookin’ city boys who had their shit together.

Not guys with arms full of tattoos who preferred riding a Harley to navigating the twisty mountain roads in a tripped-out, overpriced, all-wheel drive SUV.

She’d always been looking for a way out of Hard Timber, while I couldn’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.

The two of us made about as much sense as ketchup on steak.

Both had their place, but they sure as hell didn’t go together.

“Are we any closer to figuring out who put up the list?” I asked, hoping to turn the conversation away from me and Jessa.

“Nellie still isn’t talking,” Holt said. “She might be a little worried about what you’ll do to the person who decided to call you ‘The Warden.’”

All of us on the list had been given awful labels, but mine was the worst. Some anonymous poster who didn’t have the balls to share his or her real identity had described me as a jailer. I’d read the damn post so many times, I could recite it in my sleep.

Harlan Flint doesn’t date—he issues orders.

Step into his world and suddenly you’re not a girlfriend, you’re an inmate.

He’ll tell you how you pack your gear, how you tie your boots, and probably even how to breathe.

He’s not just broody, he’s bossy, the kind of man who’ll watch you like a hawk and call it “keeping you safe.” Some women call that protective.

Most call it exhausting. Around here, they don’t call him The Warden because he’s charming.

They call him that because once you’re his, good luck getting paroled.

Fuck that. And fuck the person who wrote it. If that was the way women in Hard Timber saw me, then I didn’t want to have anything to do with them.

“Steak’s ready.” Ridge’s announcement brought a welcome change to the conversation. Even Bubbles perked up.

“Can I get you another whiskey?” Holt offered.

I shook my head. My dad had racked up enough DUIs to support the entire sheriff’s department for a decade. I might follow in his footsteps when it came to running the business and being able to live off the land, but that was where I drew the line.

Conversation died down while we dug into steak, potatoes cooked in the coals of the fire, and fresh corn on the cob.

We’d come a long way from the first few Trail Night Suppers when we roasted hot dogs.

I looked at my buddies sitting in a circle around the fire.

We’d been there for each other through everything.

I’d never risk their friendship for anything, not even the woman who made my heart beat just for her.

After polishing off every bit of steak and a thorough discussion of where the current best fishing spot was, it was time for me to call it a night. I had to be at the store early to go head-to-head with Jessa over changing any more of my displays.

I left the cookies for the guys to finish off and headed back to my place. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Jessa to lock up, but it was only a few minutes out of my way to stop by the store to double check the door.

Not much was happening in town as I passed through.

A few cars sat outside The Knotty Tap, Ridge’s bar, including my dad’s.

Great. For a guy who didn’t like company, he sure spent a lot of time at the local watering hole.

Wasn’t my problem anymore, though. He didn’t want a thing to do with me, and the feeling was mutual.

Lights still blazed in the windows of the store. My gut clenched as I stopped in front. Hell, if she’d left all the lights on… Then Jessa stepped into the front window and set a wide-brimmed hat on top of a mannequin.

What the fuck was she doing? I’d left her there hours ago. I got out of the truck and headed straight to the front door. She hadn’t even locked it. Anger made my pulse skyrocket.

Her eyes went wide as I stormed into the store. “Harlan, what are you doing here?”

“I drove by and saw the lights on. Why the hell are you still here?” I stalked toward her, the anger I’d felt shifting into relief as I looked her over to make sure she was okay. “And why the fuck wasn’t the door locked? Anyone could have come in here while you were alone.”

“Oh my.” She looked up at me, her eyes sparkling as she bit back a smile. “Were you worried about me?”

Fuck. This woman… she could drive me mad with a single look. I wouldn’t admit that was exactly what I was worried about. It would be better to focus on the store. “Somebody could have come in and wiped me out.”

“Mmhm.” She looked around, her gaze pausing on a display of hunting knives. “Yeah. I suppose that could have happened. Too bad there’s nothing here that I could have used to defend myself.”

It wouldn’t take an expert in interpersonal relations to tell she was mocking me. “You really think you’ve got what it takes to be able to defend yourself? What if the guy was my size?”

“Is your fictional bad guy focused on robbing the store or attacking me?” She rolled her eyes.

I moved closer, forcing her to step back until she bumped into the wall. Then I put my palms on either side of her head, caging her in. “What if he wanted to do both?”

She stared up at me and pulled her bottom lip into her mouth as she flattened her palms against my chest. Heat sizzled through me at her touch. My cock twitched, especially as she drew in one deep breath right after another. Fuck, I could see right down the V-neck of her t-shirt if I wanted to.

Seconds ticked by while we locked eyes. She was so close I could almost taste her, and it was torture. My hands stayed braced against the wall, blocking her in, and I forced myself not to move. Not to give in.

“You shouldn’t look at me like that,” I ground out, my voice low and rough. “I’m not a guy you want to play games with.”

Her lips curved in the faintest, most infuriating smile. “Maybe I’m not playing.”

I clenched my jaw, dragging in a breath through my nose, trying to find a shred of control I could cling to. “Jessa…”

“Say it,” she whispered, her palms pressing harder against my chest, her eyes sparkling like she knew exactly what kind of fire she was feeding. “Say you don’t want to kiss me.”

Fuck. The challenge was all over her face, and the truth burned a hole straight through me. I held still one more second, one more breath, then snapped.

I crushed my mouth to hers, the kiss rough and reckless, everything I’d been holding back for years exploding at once. She made a sound, half-surprised, half-triumphant, and fisted her hands in my shirt to drag me closer.

Just like that, I was gone.