Page 30 of Wrecked on the Mountain (Stone River Mountain #2)

Chapter Seventeen

Jamie

I move quickly, packing gourmet breakfast foods into insulated containers while the coffee brews in my high-end machine.

And fuck me, we're gonna need coffee. Lots of coffee.

Brooke has finally awoken and now perches on my kitchen counter wearing nothing but my flannel shirt, her bare legs swinging as she steals bites of the artisanal pastries I picked up from Chloe's bakery yesterday.

"You know," she says, popping a piece of almond croissant into her mouth, "most people just bring granola bars on hikes."

"And did you know that most people have terrible taste," I reply, carefully packing imported cheese and farm-fresh fruit into the cooler. "And did you also know that you're awfully chipper for someone who barely slept?"

She giggles and I pause my packing to step between her legs, my hands sliding up her bare thighs under my shirt.

I grip her ass with a hungry squeeze, fighting the temptation to fall to my knees and devour the real breakfast treat between her legs.

"I'm just saying, Jamie… This is all very fancy for watching the sun come up," she observes, her breath catching when my thumbs brush against the sensitive skin at her inner thigh.

"This isn't just any sunrise, sweetheart," I say seriously, looking into those eyes that have completely changed my world. "This is our sunrise."

"Our sunrise?"

Instead of answering with words, I kiss her forehead and keep packing.

Because this sunrise, this moment I've been planning since I left those gifts on her porch, isn't just about showing her my favorite place.

It's about sharing my soul with the woman I'm falling in love with.

I finish packing with nervous energy I haven't felt since before my first deployment. Every detail has to be perfect today.

The food, the setup, the timing.

I want her to see Stone River through my eyes, to understand why I never want to leave this place.

More than that, I want to tell her something. Something so beautiful I need the sun to rise at the exact moment I mutter the words I never thought I'd say again.

"Ready?" I ask, helping her down from the counter as I swallow my nerves.

She nods and disappears into the bedroom to throw on jeans and boots while I load the gear into the truck. When she emerges, bundled in my spare jacket with the purple travel mug filled with coffee in her hands, she's studying the route on the hand-drawn map I gave her weeks ago.

"Ready! Lead the way, Mountain Man," she says with that grin that makes me want to carry her back to bed and forget about sunrise entirely.

But I've been planning this moment for days. And Brooke Shields is about to see exactly why I never wanted to live anywhere but here.

The drive to Cascade Ridge takes around ten minutes on winding forest service roads that become progressively narrower as we climb.

Brooke sits curled in the passenger seat, my jacket dwarfing her frame, watching the landscape change from valley pines to alpine firs as we gain elevation.

The temperature drops dramatically up here, so I crank the dial on the heater and move my hand to rest on Brooke's thigh.

"How did you even find this place?" she asks as we turn onto what's barely more than a dirt track.

"Hiking with my dad when I was twelve," I say, navigating around a fallen branch. "Got separated from him in a fog bank and stumbled onto the ridge by accident. Been coming here ever since."

"Even when you were deployed?"

"Especially then. Whenever I came home, this place... it kept me grounded. Reminded me what I was fighting to come home to."

"You really love it here, don't you?"

"No place like it."

When we finally reach the end of the road, I park next to the trailhead that leads to my custom-built observation deck. The setup I've created over three summers of careful construction is invisible from here, hidden by a stand of old-growth pines.

"It's a short hike from here. Maybe ten minutes. Today we're taking the easy way," I tell Brooke, shouldering the pack loaded with gear. "Could've hiked from my cabin like I usually do. It's about three miles through the back trails, but for your first time, this'll be enough."

I don't mention that I've never brought anyone here before.

That this spot has been mine alone for over twenty years.

That so much of the healing I've done, from the brutalities of war, to Rebecca leaving my sorry ass… it's all been done right here.

"Oh. And before you go making fun of me again, I don't usually pack heated blankets, camping chairs, or backup hand warmers," I admit, checking the straps. "But for you today, I went all out."

"Heated blankets?" Brooke smiles, warming her hands with her breath. "No doubt about you, Strike. You sure know how to spoil a girl."

"Just getting started, sweetheart."

I give her ass a playful swat and find the trail that winds through the dense forest, the scent of pine needles and earth filling the air, before it opens onto the ridge.

I watch Brooke's face as my observation deck comes into view, a platform nestled amongst the towering pines, with the subtle darkness of dusk still on the horizon, stretching out in a breathtaking panorama.

Her gasp of amazement is like music to my ears, making every painstaking hour I spent building this place worth it.

"Jamie... this is incredible. You built this?"

The deck is pretty good. Even if I say so myself. Crafted from cedar and positioned to take advantage of the most spectacular view in the entire fucking country. It doesn't get much better than this.

"Took me three summers," I say, pride swelling in my chest as she turns in a slow circle, taking it all in. "Wanted the perfect spot to watch the world wake up."

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," she whispers, tears shining in her eyes.

I get to work and arranged everything perfectly as Brooke takes it all in.

I set up the heated blankets to drape over our camping chairs, a small pop-out table set with our elaborate breakfast spread, even battery-powered heaters to keep the cold at bay.

But still, as amazing as it all looks, it's got nothing on the view.

As the sun begins to rise, the endless mountains roll toward the horizon, layer upon layer of peaks painted in shades of purple and gold in the pre-dawn light. Stone River is nestled in the valley below like a jewel, the town lights twinkling as people start to wake for the day.

I help Brooke into one of the chairs, wrapping a heated blanket around her shoulders before settling beside her with my arm around her waist.

We eat, laughing and drinking in the open mountain air. It's crisp and clean, filled with pine and the promise of a new day arriving before our very eyes.

And having her here in my sacred space feels like the most natural thing in the world.

"Brooke," I say, my voice rough with emotion as the eastern sky starts to lighten. "I need to tell you something."

She turns to face me, sunrise beginning to paint her face gold, and the words that have been burning in my throat for days finally break free.

"What is it?" She asks, suddenly looking more alert.

"I'm falling in love with you," I say, my heart pounding like I'm about to jump out of an airplane. "Hell, I think I'm already there."

"Oh my God. Jamie…" she whispers.

Her eyes fill with tears, happy tears that spill over as she reaches up to cup my face.

"I know it's fast," I continue, needing to get it all out.

"I know you have a life in Chicago, I know this wasn't part of your plan.

But watching you with my family last night, seeing how perfectly you fit into my world.

.. I can't pretend anymore. I love you, Brooke.

I love your laugh and your stubbornness and the way you make me want to be better than I am. "

"You love me," she repeats, like she's testing the words.

"I do. I love you," I confirm. "And I know it's crazy, but I can't fight it. I've tried, because I swore I would never let myself feel like this ever again, but with you, I can't help it."

The sun crests the mountains at that exact moment, flooding the valley with new dawn light, and Brooke's face is radiant as she looks at me.

"I love you too," she says, and my world fucking tilts . "I've been terrified to admit it, but Jamie... I love you. I love this place, I love your family, I love the man you are when you're taking care of people."

"Brooke…"

"You know what's crazy?" Brooke interrupts, her voice soft as the sunrise grows before us. "I've spent fifteen years trying to save my father through every patient who came through those hospital doors. Working myself to death, thinking that was how I honored his memory."

She gestures to the valley spreading below us, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"But sitting here with you, watching this... I finally get it. Dad wouldn't have wanted me to destroy myself trying to save everyone. He would have wanted me to live. To find peace in places like this."

"Brooke..."

"I'm healing, Jamie. For the first time since I was nine years old, I'm actually healing."

I lean over and kiss her, smiling and tasting the salt from her tears. When we finally break apart, she's looking at me with eyes dark with want that has nothing to do with the sunrise.

"Take me right here," she whispers against my mouth, her hands already reaching for my jacket. "On your deck, with this view. I want you to make love to me in the place that saved you."

"Brooke..."

"Now, Jamie. I need you. Here, with this view, in our spot."

The way she says our spot makes my heart leap.

I'll never be able to say no to this woman. Never.