Page 14 of The Mountain Man's Determined Bride
Luke turned to her then. “What are you doing up here Margie? I didn’t tell anybody I would even be here and I didn’t think anyone knew Morgan was here either. I was trying to work things out with her.” Margie walked into the living room to sit down.
“I was supposed to come with Tyler but he got a call and had to go out on a run so I just said I’d go on alone. He said he’d meet me here later.”
“I should have known Bill would tell her brother she was here. Damn it. I’ll never get her back now. She is beyond pissed.”
He had to think. It didn’t make sense why Margie was here.I just don’t’ believe Ty would have Margie come up here with him. Margie’s up to something, I just don’t have the time to deal with it now.There’s no way he’d catch Morgan before she made it down the mountain. Hans down, she was more skilled than any of them at that trail. Proof of that was his trip up there in the first place. He’d be dead if she hadn’t found him and taken care of him. He’d like to think she did it because she cared but it’s what she did for a living so he wasn’t too sure.
“Okay Margie. Can you please just stay here and wait for Tyler?” Luke walked past the couch heading for the room he slept in. He needed to get his stuff together.
“No! I mean…uh why do you have to leave, I just got here?” Margie was nervously twisting her fingers in her lap while the wrinkles on her forehead creased in confusion.
“Are you kidding me? I came here forherand I have no clue what would possessyouto show up here uninvited. I also seriously doubt Tyler invited you so I’ll get in touch with him on the way down too and you can stay put til he can deal with you. I need to pack up and go after her.”
“It’s clear she hates you or she wouldn’t have left. You’re better off without her.” She motioned with a hand for him to follow her into the living room. “Come join me and we can catch up, just like the old days.”
“What? No. There are no old days for us.” He shook his head, frustrated at this unnecessary conversation. “This isn’t really any of your business Margie so just mind your own business and stay put will ya?” He disappeared from her site to pack his things but then reappeared just a couple minutes later to her standing in the kitchen blocking his exit.
“Seriously? What the hell…” Luke dropped his belongings by the door and tried to reason with her. “Alright, this is getting weird, what do you want?”
A slow smile crept across her face and Margie’s hands uncurled from her breasts, aiming toward his chest as she hovered in his personal space. “Now come on Luke, you know you wanna stay.” Her drawl, in which he figured she meant to be sexy, was making his skin crawl. While she ran her creepy nails along the inside of his duster, he slowly moved away from the door, turning slightly so she would be on the opposite side of him.
When he’d reached the point where his bags lay on the floor, he grabbed her hands carefully, pushing them away from him to make his move. He moved swiftly to the door, grabbing his belongings and closing the door behind him with her on the other side. He didn’t care whether she could fend for herself or not.
Chapter Twelve
“How the heck do I get myself into these situations Pepper?” As Morgan rode a different trail back down the mountain, her intended trip of solitude ending all too quickly, she questioned the events of the last few days, talking to an animal that she knew would never let her down.
When she’d first arrived at the cabin, it was all so bittersweet, a place from her childhood. Somewhere she could go by herself for some worry-free, much needed R & R. If she’d only known beforehand how not alone she would really be.
What would possess her uncle to meddle in her personal life she just couldn’t understand. Hadn’t she been through enough? Well to his credit, he probably didn’t know about the last guy. Tyler was the only one she’d told about that idiot but Uncle Bill and Tyler were pretty close so who knows. Maybe the whole thing was orchestrated by them both and Tyler was just keeping his distance knowing he’d be strangled for his involvement. Makes no matter, as of today, she was wiping her hands of it all.
“I’m tired of being hurt.” It’s time the men in her life knew they had no business making decisions for her. “I must be doing something seriously wrong.” Not paying much attention, Pepper suddenly stopped. “Hey boy, what do we have here?” Morgan jumped from the saddle to inspect a large group of logs that had lay across the route toward home.
“We can’t move all of these boy.” The horse whinnied while bobbing his head. “Awe buddy, I know you’re strong butthere are just too many and I don’t have any rope or anything to have you pull them with. Guess we’ll have to find a way around.” She remounted and looked around the area, stopping a minute to think.
“We shouldn’t have to go too far out of our way as long as we can meet up with the trail again in a mile or so.” Morgan nudged Pepper’s reigns to veer them off the path into the brush and around the fallen trees. The timber in the area was so old and tall, it was a surprise to see so much in one spot. Kind of like it’d been planted there for some reason. Kind of gave her the creeps to think someone else would be there messing around.
“I know I’m just over-reacting. There’s no one else up here and you’ll protect me anyway right Pepper?” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, looking in every direction, telling herself everything was fine. She’d never felt uncomfortable before being alone in the woods, she needed to stop thinking about it. Before they’d walked off the path very far, Morgan noticed the ground getting mushier and Pepper’s feet started to slide a little with each footfall.
“Oh boy, Pepper take those steps slow. I don’t want either of us falli…”
Things happened so fast her words were cut off then a scream escaped from her lips.
* * * *
Luke reached Bill’s just as the sun was going down and the old man met him out on the front porch.
“What the hell are you doin’ back here?” Bill wasn’t one to mince words.
“It took me an extra forty-five minutes with some downed trees blocking the path but I wanted to get here as fast as I could before Morgan took off again.” Luke climbed from his horse and tied her reigns to the front porch post.
“What are you talking about? I thought you convinced her to stay a while longer. What did you do now?” Uncle Bill came to the top of the steps, hands rested on his hips and a questioning look across his face.
“What do you mean? Isn’t she here? She left long time ago. Where else would she have gone?” He could have sworn she’d come back to her Uncle Bill’s. Tyler’s apartment was too far away and he couldn’t imagine she’d go all the way there on a horse.Well I suppose she can do anything she wants obviously but she loves her horse too much for that.
“Well, what happened?
“Bill, I need to use your phone.” Ignoring the question, Luke climbed the front porch stairs two at a time and rushed through the front door, the old man hot on his heels.