Page 1 of Mountain Man Tempted (Hard Timber Mountain Men #2)

HOLT

We were running late. Again.

“Come on, Lane. We were supposed to leave ten minutes ago.” I knelt down next to his bed, hoping he’d be able to pull himself together enough to get out the door.

We’d had another rough night, and he was overtired, overstressed, and overstimulated.

As someone who hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in almost four years, I could relate.

“I can’t go without my dinosaur socks, Dad.” He’d been flip flopping back and forth between crying and raging. Unfortunately, that was typical behavior for him, and I was fresh out of ideas on how to make things better.

“Where did you last see them?” Forcing him to go without his socks would only make things worse. I’d learned that the hard way, though it had taken me awhile.

“At camp. I took them off when we went swimming.” His face fell as he tried to remember. “I think I left them there.”

“I’ll stop by and see if they’re in the lost and found after my meeting. How does that sound?”

He sniffled. “What if they’re not?”

“Then I’ll get you some new ones.” I’d just need to ask my sister Jessa where she’d found them in the first place.

It’s not like a town the size of Hard Timber had kid-sized dinosaur socks readily available at the Hard & Handy.

Guilt made my stomach twist. Knowing how much Lane loved those damn socks, I should have thought of that already.

I’d learned over the years it was easier to have multiples of the things he loved the most. That way, when something inevitably got lost, I wouldn’t find myself in a situation like the one I was trying to claw my way out of now.

“Will they still have a T-Rex on them?” Lane wiped the back of his hand across a tear-stained cheek.

Sensing a light at the end of the very dark tunnel we’d been stuck in, I nodded. “Absolutely. But if you want me to check camp after my meeting, we need to get you to Miss Nellie’s.”

Lane took in a deep breath and climbed off the bed. “Okay.”

I gathered him into my arms, wishing I had all the answers so I could give him what he needed. Clearly, love wasn’t enough, but I was trying. “Love you, Laneosaurus.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

We found a pair of orange socks, his favorite color, and finally got out the door. Twenty minutes later, we parked in front of The Huckleberry Cafe, and I held Lane’s hand as we walked inside.

Nellie smiled and waved from behind the counter. “Good morning. How are two of my favorite fellows doing today?”

“Good. Thanks again for doing this. I shouldn’t be more than an hour.

” I set Lane up on a stool at the counter and pulled my tablet out of his backpack.

Usually, he’d be at summer camp, but the director had called me in at the end of last week and told me she didn’t think camp was the right place for Lane anymore.

That they weren’t equipped to handle “a kid like him.” Thank goodness for Nellie.

She’d volunteered to watch him this morning so I could get to my meeting.

I needed to find a more permanent solution, but I was taking things day by day.

“Lane and I are going to have lots of fun, aren’t we?” She handed me a huge cup of coffee to go and leaned down, so she was eye level with my son. “I need to make some snickerdoodles now that the morning rush has died down. Do you think you could help me?”

He looked up at me. “Can I, Dad?”

“Yeah. As long as you don’t eat them all.” I pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “I’ll be back soon. Listen to Miss Nellie, okay?”

“I will.”

Nellie handed him a plastic cup of apple juice. “We’ll get started in a minute. I just need to talk to your dad real quick.”

Lane nodded, his attention already snagged by the dinosaur cartoon playing on the tablet. I didn’t have time for one of Nellie’s chats, but it didn’t seem like she was giving me a choice. She came out from behind the counter and motioned for me to walk with her to the door.

“You can’t keep doing this, Holt.” Her thin arm linked through mine. “You need to find someone to help. I’m more than happy to pitch in when I can, but a boy needs to be playing outside, not stuck in the kitchen with an old woman like me.”

“First of all, you’re not old. I wish I had half your energy.”

Nellie waved me off with her free hand.

“And second, I know. He had another bad dream last night. It’s taking everything I’ve got just to get him up and dressed every morning. I’ve been looking, but I haven’t been able to find anyone yet.”

She patted my arm. “I’ve got someone for you.”

“Thanks, but I need someone who has experience working with challenging kids.” I hated acknowledging it, but Lane had some pretty significant needs. There was no way some local high school girl looking for a summer babysitting job would cut it.

“Trust me.” Nellie slid her arm from mine. “I asked her to stop by while you’re at your meeting. She should be here when you get back.”

“Nellie—”

“Just meet the woman. She has experience.”

I glanced at my watch. My meeting started in less than five minutes, and I still had to get to town hall. I didn’t have time to argue with Nellie. It never did any good, anyway. “Fine. I’ll meet her. But it’s not going to work out.”

“We’ll see.” She nodded at the door. “Have a good meeting. We’ll have warm cookies waiting for you after.”

With a final look at Lane, I pushed through the door.

* * *

My meeting went well over the one-hour scheduled time slot.

If it hadn’t been for the senior center needing the room for chair yoga, I’d probably still be sitting around the damn table trying to justify the need for replacing some outdated firefighting equipment.

I loved working on the crew, but it pissed me off when funds earmarked for new equipment had to be redistributed to other projects.

By the time I got back to the cafe to pick up Lane, my mood resembled the dark clouds rolling in over the mountains.

Not even the promise of warm snickerdoodles fresh from the oven could chase it away.

The lunch crowd was in full swing, exactly what I’d been trying to avoid.

I walked in, and the smell of something burning in the kitchen assaulted my nose.

Not wasting any time, I raced behind the counter and through the kitchen doors.

The long-time cook, Angus, stood in front of the grill. Nellie was next to him, her hair sticking out of her bun, her purple and white apron covered in black smudges. Both of them looked a little shellshocked, but nothing seemed to be damaged.

My heart rate spiked as I looked around for Lane. “Everything okay? Where’s Lane?”

“Everything’s fine.” Nellie fanned the smoke hanging in the air with a dish towel. “Angus looked away for a second, and some drippings caught fire. Lane’s in the back office. We got done making cookies, and he wanted to watch one of his shows.”

Even with Nellie’s reassurance, I wouldn’t be at peace until I saw him for myself. I passed through the kitchen to the small office at the back of the building. Lane sat behind the desk, his headphones over his ears, oblivious to the chaos going on in the other room.

He looked up when I came in and paused his show before he tugged the headphones off. “Hey, Dad. Miss Nellie let me scoop the cookies out and put them on the cookie sheets. Want to try one?”

“Sure, bud.” I took the cookie he handed me while giving him a quick look over to make sure he was truly okay.

“She said we can take the whole box home. Can I have one after lunch?”

“How many have you had already?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. A couple.”

A couple probably meant at least a dozen. “Why don’t we save them for after dinner?”

“Okay.” He huffed out a quick breath as his shoulders sagged.

“Come on, get your stuff. Nellie’s got a lot going on, and we ought to get home for some lunch.” I turned off the tablet and slid it into the backpack. Lane handed me the headphones, then reached for the box of cookies.

“You can’t leave.” Nellie blocked the door. “Calla’s not here yet, and you promised you’d stick around to meet her.”

“You said she’d be here when I got back.

She’s not, and I need to get Lane home for lunch before we have to head over to the fire tower to take care of some things this afternoon.

” Slinging the strap of Lane’s dino backpack over one shoulder, I waited for Nellie to get out of the way, but she didn’t budge.

“I’m sure she’ll be here any minute. Go grab a booth, and lunch is on me while you wait.” She knew she had me there. Lane would never pass up an opportunity for the hand-breaded chicken tenders Nellie served at the cafe.

“She’s got until we’re done with lunch,” I grumbled. “And you’d better not stall. I know exactly how long it should take to get a kid’s chicken tender meal and one of your elk burgers out to our table.”

Nellie put a hand on one hip. “It might take a little longer since I have to clean up the kitchen.”

“Fine. You’ve got ten extra minutes,” I said.

We stared at each other for a long beat.

Then she stepped to the side and let us pass.

I could have easily picked her up and set her down somewhere else, but I knew better than to mess with Nellie.

She was the heart and soul of Hard Timber.

That was another reason I didn’t want to meet the damn babysitter she’d decided to bring in.

Ninety-nine percent of the time things went Nellie’s way.

I wouldn’t give in on this though. No matter what happened.

Lane and I settled into his favorite booth at the back of the restaurant.

It was the one that had a photo of an old dinosaur dig hanging on the wall.

He was way into dinosaurs. Actually, it was kind of an obsession.

I kept expecting him to outgrow it, but until then, our lives revolved around facts about creatures that roamed the planet hundreds of thousands of years ago.

Nellie stopped by with two glasses of water. “Want anything else to drink?”

“Can I have chocolate milk?” Lane asked.

I shook my head. “We’ll stick with water.”

Nellie clucked her tongue but didn’t push it. She liked to spoil my kid but had already filled him with enough sugar to last him the rest of the week. I watched her check on a couple of other tables before heading back into the kitchen.

“Hey, Holt.” My buddy Harlan got up from a nearby table and came over. “Do you care if I eat with the two of you?”

“Not at all, though we’re going to be quick. Nellie wants to introduce me to someone she thinks might be able to help me this summer. I’m trying to get out of here before she shows up.”

Harlan laughed and slid in next to Lane. “Hey, kid. Find any dinosaur bones lately?”

Lane shook his head.

“How are you holding up?” I asked. Harlan’s jaw tightened.

He knew I was referring to the recent Ex-List post that had gone up on Hard Timber’s social media accounts and had since been printed and pasted up all around town.

It called out me, my two brothers, and a few of the other guys we hung out with as being emotionally unavailable assholes.

“I’m fine. You?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Just great. Everyone likes being call an iceberg, right?”

I’d memorized the short bit written about me.

Number Three - Holt Thorne - The Iceberg - Ever dated a brick wall?

That’s what it’s like trying to get emotion out of this guy.

Single dad with zero small talk skills and a thousand-yard stare that could freeze lava.

You’d think he’s never laughed in his life.

He’s not just cold—he’s cryogenically preserved.

“Better than being referred to as a jailer,” Harlan grumbled.

I didn’t comment on that, not with Lane sitting right there. We’d have time to commiserate together at the next Trail Supper. Friday night dinner with the guys was a tradition, and one of the only reasons I hadn’t completely lost my mind yet.

“Has anyone figured out who posted the list?” I moved my silverware out of the way as Nellie stopped by with a tray of food.

“You boys still yapping about that list?” Nellie set the plates down, including Harlan’s meatloaf.

She must have seen him switch tables from the back.

The woman had eyes and ears everywhere. “I’ll tell you what I told your older brother.

Maybe you should spend more time thinking about what got you onto that list than trying to figure out who wrote it. ”

Harlan shook his head and picked up his fork.

“Thanks for the advice,” I said though I didn’t really mean it.

She let out an exaggerated sigh. “Can I get you boys anything else?”

I was about to tell her no when someone called out for her from the doorway.

Every head in the place turned to see a young woman with pink hair heading straight toward Nellie with a huge smile on her face.

She had on a tie-dyed crop top that barely covered her breasts and a pair of cut-off denim shorts that hugged her thick hips.

Instant attraction swept over me like a fucking tidal wave, and I knew without a doubt that she had to be the woman Nellie wanted me to meet. The one she thought would be a good fit to watch over Lane all summer long.

There was no way I could let that woman into my home or into my life. Not when just looking at her made my traitorous heart beat to the tempo of Mine. Mine. Mine.