Page 1 of The Mountain Man's Determined Bride
Chapter One
“Let’s get this trip over with Pepper, we’re almost there.”
Morgan rode her Palomino up through a small rolling area of the Rocky Mountains, specifically the Bitterroot Range, on the well-worn path she’d traveled more times than she could count. So many times, in fact, Pepper knew his way without her gentle nudging guidance. The snow-covered trail was heavily used but not by many people. This particular road of sorts had been made by the wildlife that inhabited the mountain. She was also pretty sure when cattle got loose, as they sometimes did from her uncle’s farm, this is where they grazed, or at least in the general vicinity.
Unfortunately, it had been too long since she’d graced this beautiful part of the world. A fact she regretted more every day. She did, however, enjoy her main job as a member of the certified search and rescue in Montana, where she lived in the foothills of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Mountains. There was never a dull moment when inexperienced hikers thought they knew the mountains, until they got themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere, with barely enough warm clothes and very little food or water. Onlyonetime had she been on rescue when they’d arrived a little too late. An emotional and sometimes unavoidable part of the job she hated the most. She’d taken some downtime from the heavy schedule of search and rescue to pursue one of her other passions, matchmaking. She couldn’t seem to get her own love life on track, so it helped to focus on other people’s relationships. Thus, Montana Mates wasborn. Once or twice since, she’d even thought it might be a good idea to use her business to find herself a mate, but she’d not found the courage for that yet.
In the here and now however, Morgan was free to be herself. A few nights ago, she’d let her team manager/assistant know she would be gone on an extended leave of absence to recuperate from the harsh holidays and their accompanying stress; just to get her head on straight again. She felt only a little ashamed because she was basically running from her problems which didn’t solve anything, and she knew that. Eventually she’d have to go back to her life and face the demons, or rather her ex-boyfriend and his new pregnant wife.
“It can definitely wait til after my vacation.”
She was looking forward to enjoying her time off with her two favorite people. Unfortunately, her brother wasn’t due at her uncle’s for a couple days, so she decided to occupy herself until then. Morgan had her saddle bags packed full and told her Uncle Bill and his eccentric neighbor/girlfriend Elsie that she and Pepper would be spending a few quiet days staying at his cabin in an area he’d officially nick-named, Morgan’s Mountain.
“Do you think he’ll actually keep to his word Pepper?” She remembered her uncle saying,“I’ll leave ya alone but you gotta promise to check in at least once a day on the emergency portable.” Her horse whinnied, shaking his head.
“Yeah, I’m not so sure either but the only way that radio will hold its power is if it isn’t used, they are so old. I did bring an extra battery pack, but I didn’t tell him.”
Her cell wouldn’t get any service in that part of the mountain, so she didn’t have to stress about any matchmaking business. Her assistant was trustworthy and could run thingsjust fine in her absence. For her day job, she carried a two-way, so she already knew how to use the radio. While her uncle normally wanted them to stay on his own specific channel, she also knew how to get ahold of the authorities at the bottom of the mountain in Holly too, just in case of an emergency.
After passing a clump of healthy Christmas pines, she recognized her old stomping grounds and felt an odd tug in her chest. Stopping at a half-lit part of the path to check in with her uncle, her heart felt whole, and she was glad to be home again.
“Morgan to Uncle Bill, are you there?”
“Hey sugar; read you loud and clear.”
“Great. We made it up the mountain. I’ll give you a shout out tomorrow.”
“Sounds good to me. Weather channel says a storm’s a brewin’; gonna blow in a bad one real soon so better batten down the hatches early just in case. There’s a couple logs out back, but I didn’t get a chance to cut those up, sorry. The ax should be leaning against the back door for ya though. Over.”
“Thanks Uncle Bill. No problem, I’ll take care of it. You and Elsie have a good night and love you. Over and out.”
Chopping wood was a skill she’d mastered at a young age, thanks to her brother and uncle, and between those two, no one knew her better and never doubted her ability to take care of herself. Well, therewasone who might doubt the fact, but she didn’t want to think about that person now… orever.
“Let’s go Pepper.” Morgan nudged her horse to continue on the trail. Another half mile or so up the crooked path and she’d find the old family cabin hidden away in the woods. What used to be a run-down hardly-ever-used ranger shack lent out byher uncle years ago had since been redone. Minus the electricity, it now had all the comforts of home and a steady-flowing spring-fed creek a short walk away. In addition to a huge fireplace and a decent wood burning stove to cook on, it had enough insulation within its walls to keep a body warm all winter if need be.
Once she finally reached the small stock barn, Morgan settled Pepper in a stall with plenty of hay.
“How’s that boy? I’ll fetch us both some water and we’ll be good for the night.
She grabbed two buckets and headed off toward the creek.
* * *
“Why didn’t I check the weather before I headed up this mountain?” Disgusted at his lack of rational thought, Luke pulled at his duster, closing off any chance of the bitter wind trying to sneak through at his neckline.
It wouldn’t have mattered. He was determined to see her again but just the thought of her made his brain go all fuzzy. Good lord, he rode in this kind of weather all the time on his own mountain ranch chasing cattle and whatnot, so he needed to suck it up. The conditions shouldn’t bother him but apparently, he wasn’t in his right mind. He was distracted with this mission, it was personal. And up this particular mountain side of all places, one in which he hadn’t been on in a handful of years.
Seriously, I must be stupid.
His old neighbor down the hillside made mention in passing a few days back that his niece was coming into town for a while. Bill Masters only had one niece, so he knew exactly who the man referred to, but he dared not ask any details about her visit. Luke had been best friends with her older brother Tuckin high school. But when it came to Morgan Masters, well he knew her just a bit better than any of her other family. Even in the few years she’d been gone, he’d lay money on her not having changed a lick.
“I know Duchess, I’m a sucker.” He shook his head in aggravation.
It was obvious by the way he was trekking off into the wilderness onhermountain that he still had some messed up, deep rooted feelings somewhere even though he’d tried every day to keep them buried in the past. Damn stupid thing to do, chasing after her now but he’d been the reason she left in the first place. Or at least that’s what he’d been told. Luke knew she couldn’t run forever but it’s what she knew. Once a runner, always a runner. Oh, how he wished that weren’t true. It made him wonder what she was escaping from this time to make her come all the way back home.
Luke sure hoped he was going in the right direction. It was getting harder to see. He tried his hand-held emergency two-way, keying the talk button with no luck.
“Now why didn’t I check the batteries before I left?”Brilliant Walker.