Page 1 of Traveling with the Mountain Man

CHAPTER ONE

Sawyer

I drove my camper van into the campgrounds and parked next to my rented space. My dog, Betsy, a five-year-old golden retriever who came everywhere with me, barked from the passenger seat next to me.

“I know girl, I’m ready to get out of this van too.”

She licked my hand in response and wagged her tail. I loved having her with me, a companion when times get lonely, and my big protector.

I couldn’t wait to take a long hot shower, eat a good meal, and sleep, hopefully more than a few hours. With the heat lately, I haven’t slept well, only a couple of fans to keep me cool, but I’m not complaining. with no schedule tying me down, I’d eventually catch up on sleep.

Besides the weather forecast predicted a cool down in temperatures starting tonight and into tomorrow. Hopefully a nice breeze will come through.

I’d only just arrived in Rustic Junction, Colorado, the first town on my adventure. Tomorrow, I planned to hit up some touristy stops before heading to my next stop on Route 14.

The van life was now my life, and I intended on enjoying every second. Route 14 traveled through several states and gave me ample opportunity to be the tourist I’d always wanted to be.

After settling in and setting up a pen area for Betsy, I took a shower in the camp’s facilities, the hot water pure heaven on my skin.

Back at my van, I got a fire going in the firepit and began prepping some dinner.

Since all I had was a cooler to keep food fresh, I made daily stops for that day’s meal instead of worrying about food going bad.

Today’s dinner was chicken kabobs with veggies over the fire.

Betsy helped me eat some of the chicken along with her own meal of dog kibble.

I finished with a few roasted marshmallows for dessert before putting out the fire and calling it a night. Inside the newly renovated van I purchased, there’s a small kitchen area with seating, a storage area, and my bed, with my dog’s bed on the floor next to mine.

With the fans on, the windows cracked, and the van locked, I closed my eye, anticipating building inside me from all of the dumb touristy shit I can’t wait to do.

“Alright, Bets, let’s gas this baby up and see what we’re exploring today.” I said as I parked my van in a spot at the local visitor’s center. “Probably something outdoors so you can join, hmm?” I killed the engine and patted Betsy on the head before hooking her leash up.

We climbed out of the van together and as we began to walk, a woman’s yelling caught my attention. I stopped in my tracks and turned my head towards the sound.

Sure enough, a young woman looked very upset only a few feet away from where Betsy and I stood.

I studied the younger woman, her wavy light brown hair cascading down her back, as she paced back and forth while talking animatedly on the phone. She stopped and started again, pointing at the car in front of her and throwing one hand up in the air.

Even though she obviously looked distressed, my horny ass checked her out anyway, taking in her soft features and curvy, sexy body, her short summery dress hugging them in all the right places.

Her large breasts showed ample cleavage, and her legs were long and tan, and I pictured them wrapped around my head while I made her scream.

My fantasy developed quickly inside my head and my dick twitched to life for the first time in months.

That was until she stomped her foot and ended her call, tossing the phone into the passenger seat of the car through the open window. She threw her hands up in the air, let out a frustrated growl, and kicked the tire of the car before yelping in pain. “Fuck my life!”

Without another thought, I strode over to her. “Are you okay, ma’am?” Betsy dutifully sat at my feet.

She whirled around, her eyes wild, stress radiating off her in waves. “Ma’am? Really? Just make my day worse why don’t you?” She rolled her eyes, but a smile played on her lips. When she saw Betsy, her eyes lit up.

“Sorry.” I tipped my head toward hers. “My mama raised me with manners, unfortunately.” I grinned and that got a laugh. “Having some car trouble?”

She sighed before petting Betsy on the head. “How could you tell?”

I shot her a wink. Blood roared in my ears. I wanted to be near her, close to her, figure out who she was, as if there was a magnetic force pulling me towards her. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Unless you’re a mechanic, then probably not.”

“Nope, I wish. Would be a good skill to have. Maybe inside the visitor center we can find some info?”

“Why do you want to help me? I’m a complete stranger.”

“Again, my mama raised me with manners. And if she were here right now, she would be telling me I better help the pretty young lady in trouble. We all need a little help sometimes, right? By the way, I’m Sawyer and this here is Betsy.

” I held out my hand and when she slid her tiny one in mine, something inside me shifted, causing my breath to catch in my throat.

Her cheeks turned pink as she stared at our intertwined hands. Did she feel it too? “Leilani. Nice to meet you. And your adorable doggie.” When her eyes lifted to my face, her gaze stopped at my mouth and fuck, the urge to kiss her was strong.

This woman was a complete stranger to me, yet somehow, it felt as if we were destined to meet.

The image of kissing her became clearer in my mind and my mind drifted there wondering what she tasted like, how her lips would feel against mine…

Betsy barked and jolted me from my very distracting thoughts.

Leilani laughed as she rubbed Betsy’s ears, my dog lapping up the affection like she was starved for it.

“Maybe they’ll have a list of car shops around here or something.” I tipped my head towards the building.

“Hopefully. I tried doing a Google search earlier, but my service is spotty. I was surprised my phone call lasted as long as it did.”

“Yeah, seems to be that way around here.” I started walking towards the building, Leilani falling into step beside Betsy and me. “Where are you headed?”

“Should I be telling a stranger that?” Leilani quipped, laughter in her voice.

“Good point. But Betsy here keeps me in line.” I teased and ruffled my dog’s ears. “We’re traveling along Route 14, getting some sight-seeing in.”

“I’m traveling down Route 14, too. Taking some pictures, doing a little sight-seeing, too. Until my car decided to be a bitch.”

I chuckled as I held open the door for her.

Inside the visitor center, cool air blasted our faces when we walked in.

A few people mulled about but it wasn’t too busy.

I was grateful dogs were allowed inside.

I hated leaving Betsy chained outside while I went in somewhere.

I always got a bad feeling when doing it.

As we walked around the tables, I spotted some guides for the local hot spots, and Leilani found a list of service garages.

Back outside, Leilani patted Betsy and smiled up at me. “Thanks again from your help.”

“Do you want me to wait to make sure you get some help?”

“No, I couldn’t ask that of you. I’ll be alright. I’m a big girl. I just need to pull up my big girl panties.” She attempted a smile, but it fell flat.

“It’s no big deal. Betsy and I could use a good walk while you make your phone calls. Holler if you need anything okay?”

“Okay, thanks, Sawyer. I appreciate it.”

“You bet.” I winked and watched her reaction, the way her body seemed to viscerally react to me. I fucking loved it. I wasn’t about to leave this pretty girl alone until I knew she was safe.

Even if it meant asking her to join me on the road.