Lost In The Mountains, page 1
LOST IN THE MOUNTAINS
GREENE MOUNTAIN BOYS
OLIVIA T. TURNER
Copyright© 2023 by Olivia T. Turner.
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This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, businesses, companies, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Edited by Karen Collins Editing
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Lost In The Mountains
I took one wrong turn on these crazy mountain roads in the middle of an intense rainstorm and now I’m stuck.
The road is pure mud. Or, it may even be quicksand with the way it’s sucking up my tires.
I’m not going anywhere.
Which sucks because I have somewhere important to be.
I’m the maid of honor at my BFF’s mountain retreat wedding and the rehearsal dinner is tomorrow.
How the heck am I going to get there in time?
There’s no one around to help and if I leave, I’ll probably wind up as a grizzly bear’s dinner.
I need a man.
A big muscular mountain man to lift my car out of the mud.
And just when I’m at my most desperate, one arrives.
Tyler Becker.
Big muscles, slick tattoos, and a beard that could make a nun rethink her life choices.
He steps out of the truck like a dream come true.
And here I am, looking like a nightmare.
Wet, cranky, and covered in mud.
But for some crazy reason, this gorgeous mountain man is quite taken with me.
He seems a little obsessed.
For someone who was hopelessly lost a minute ago,
I’m suddenly feeling found…
Carrie might be lost, but she’s exactly where she needs to be—in the big tattooed arms of a hot possessive mountain man. This obsessive alpha knows how to treat a city girl right!
Age-gap insta-love at its finest in a SAFE read with no cheating and a super sweet HEA guaranteed. Enjoy!
To the gorgeous man who works at my gym.
If you ever shave that beard, I’ll kill you.
Contents
Copyright
Lost In The Mountains
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Epilogue
Epilogue
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Chapter One
Carrie
I don’t think this is what Mia had in mind for her wedding…
Rain is slamming into my windshield like I’m driving under Niagara Falls. My poor old wipers are doing their darndest to keep up, but failing miserably. I can’t see a thing.
I’m a bit of a nervous driver under the best of conditions, so this is really starting to freak me out. Secluded dirt mountain road, torrential rain, no cell phone reception—this is bad.
I stop the car and cringe when I hear the violent sound of rain pounding the roof.
What the heck should I do?
I look at my phone. That stupid circle keeps turning, but nothing is being updated. There’s no reception.
There’s nothing but giant trees all around me. I start to think maybe I should have gone left instead of right back at the split about thirty minutes ago.
Mia and Julian are getting married at the Greene Mountain Lodge on Saturday and I’m the maid of honor. I thought that leaving on Thursday would leave me enough time to get there, but with this crazy rainstorm, I’m not so sure. I can’t see a thing and it’s starting to sink in that I’m lost.
The Greene Mountain Lodge is within walking distance of the cute little town on Greene Mountain. I don’t see an adorable little town with cobblestone streets, overpriced stores selling knick-knacks that no one really needs, or cozy pubs that have overpriced beer with weird stuff in it like cranberries and cinnamon. I don’t see a spectacular lodge. I don’t see my friends. I don’t see anything but rain and trees!
“Where the fuck am I?” I scream as I slam my palm onto the steering wheel, setting my horn off like a toddler having a temper tantrum.
There’s no backing out of here. The dirt road has turned to thick mud and it’s crazy steep with these insane drops around every corner. It would be a challenge with full visibility and a team of air traffic controllers guiding my way with those little orange batons. On my own in this rainstorm, turning back would be impossible.
I have to keep going.
I’m not sure what’s at the end of this road, but I’m going to find out.
I put my car back into drive and hit the gas. The tires move, but I don’t. They spin in the mud with an angry whirling sound.
“Shit!” I scream as I hit the steering wheel again. “I need a goddamn man!”
I’m a proud woman, but some things require a man. And pushing a car up a mountain through the mud in the middle of a rainstorm is one of them.
I try again and again, sinking deeper into the mud with every slam of my foot.
“Fuck!!!” I scream as I slam my hand onto the horn again. The windshield wiper in front of me snaps and flies off. The thing wasn’t doing much good against the onslaught of rain anyway. I pretty much have the same visibility but without the scraping sound.
Think, Carrie. There’s no one here to save you. You’re on your own, kid.
I look at my receptionless phone and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to keep it together. I wish my dad was here. He’d know exactly what to do. I’d get a lecture about checking weather reports and not leaving out of state without being prepared for every possible scenario, but at least I’d be moving.
I try to pull up Google on my phone to see what to do in this exact situation, but again, no freaking reception. God, what did people do before the internet? Did they just like know stuff or figure it out themselves? Ugh!
There’s no other choice. I have to go out there.
“No!” I gasp when I open the door and a freaking tsunami pours into my car. Everything is soaked. I’m drenched before I even step out of the car. My brand new cute shoes that I was planning on wearing to the pub tonight sink into the thick sloppy mud and get instantly ruined. “Shit! I hate nature!”
It was a beautiful summer day when I left Calgary, so I’m wearing capri jeans and a tank top. No rain jacket, no hood, no water pump to get rid of all the water flooding the inside of my car.
The rain is cold and it’s falling so hard it hurts. It’s like being whipped with little pebbles.
I take one look at my tires and instantly know that I’m fucked. The bottom halves of my tires have disappeared. The mountain ate them.
Maybe I can push it?
I slip and slide on the way to my trunk and give my car a push with all of my might. My feet slip back and I belly-flop into the mud.
“Gross.”
I’m so frustrated I could cry. This rain is freezing! My fingers are already numb. I can feel mud between my toes, in my underwear, in my mouth. Oh, gross, it’s in my hair!
I grab onto the slick bumper and try to pull myself up. I slip and fall a couple more times, but I eventually manage to get to my feet.
What if I grab some branches and wedge them under the tires? Maybe my car can drive itself out that way?
I have no other options so I head toward the closest tree and grab onto a thick branch. I push it as hard as I can, but it doesn’t crack.
“Argghh!” I scream in frustration and then let it go.
The tree fights back. The branch swings back and slams into my chest, knocking the wind out of me and sending me stumbling backward. God, that hurt!
“Fuck you!” I scream when I finally catch my breath. I’ll have to remember to come back to this exact spot in December with a chainsaw. I’ll get the last laugh when that stupid tree is in my family room covered in Christmas ornaments.
“This is ridiculous,” I mutter as I gather some sticks off the ground. Why couldn’t Mia and Julian get married in the city like normal people?!
I gather a bunch and then shove them under the tires. They’re all pretty tiny and brittle. When I step back and look at the pathetic pile, I know immediately that it’s not going to work.
I wish I had a Jeep or a truck or anything with some power. This is a city car. It’s meant for paved roads, not slick muddy mountains. When I bought it second hand I was more concerned with the bluetooth connectivity than the horsepower. Well, lesson learned.
The trunk!
Didn’t my dad buy me an emergency kit to use? Yes! He did!
Maybe it has a flare gun or a satellite telephone in it.
But as I’m opening the trunk and pushing my bags around, I remember that I took it out when I helped Mia move. I shoved it into the back of the garage behind my mom’s gol
“Damn it,” I whisper as I open the bottom and check where the spare tire is. It’s not here.
Lightning cuts through the air, quickly followed by a deafening crack of thunder. I scream and run to the driver’s door, yanking it open, and jumping inside.
I’m freezing. I crank up the heat as I grab a shirt from the back and use it as a towel. This is so bad. It’s already 4:30 and my… No! I’m almost out of gas!
The little arrow is barely hovering over the line with the big E under it. I’ll never make it through the night.
I have to turn the engine off. If I can get out of this mud, I’ll need the gas to get out of here and away from that asshole tree.
With my heart pounding, I turn the key and everything shuts down.
Lightning slices through the sky and another booming roar of thunder scares me to my bones.
I have to be at the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night. The wedding is the next morning. I’m the maid of honor. I have Julian’s wedding ring in my purse!
I can’t miss this… Mia would never forgive me.
I have to figure out a way off this fucking mountain.
My stomach sinks when I realize the truth.
I have no idea how I’m going to pull that off.
I’m completely and utterly fucked.
Chapter Two
Tyler
“What the hell is this?” I mutter as I slow to a stop on the muddy mountain. A car is parked in the middle of the road. “Fucking tourists…”
It happens a few times a year. City folk heading for Greene Mountain get off at the wrong exit and inevitably get lost. Some get stuck. One guy even drove up to my house and demanded to stay the night. It’s always a pain in the ass.
“Move!” I shout as I slam on the horn.
I can see the outline of the person’s head whipping around through the back window. I hit the horn again.
The door whips open and a young woman in her early twenties charges out. I don’t get a good look at her because her wet black hair is plastered to her face. Her teeth are clenched and she’s glaring at me with crazy eyes, looking like that psycho girl from The Ring.
“I’m stuck, obviously!” she screeches as she comes charging over, slipping and sliding in the mud with every step.
“What, do you think I want to be parked here on this goddamn mountain?! Like I’m just chilling here for fun?!”
My heart pounds a little harder when I see the fire in her bright blue eyes. Her clothes are drenched and they’re sticking to her body, showing off every delightful curve. Every time she swings her arms, those perky tits jiggle. They’re mesmerizing. She’s mesmerizing. I can’t look away.
“But keep honking, asshole!” she hollers as she arrives at the hood of my truck. “It’s soooooo helpful!”
I roll down the window as she stomps through the mud with gritted teeth. Rain pours into my truck, drenching my arm and splattering all over my shirt, but I don’t care. This woman has got my full attention. I don’t want anything between us. I want to see her in full flawless view.
“Maybe your loud ass horn will magically wedge me out of the mud!” she shouts as she arrives at my door. “Or, maybe it will anger a bear and he can come push me out. Either way, keep honking! It’s so goddamn constructive!”
Her bare shoulders are rising up and down with every angry breath. She’s staring at me with her hands balled into fists.
“How long have you been out here?” I ask.
“A long fucking time!” she screeches.
The cold rain is pouring down on her. She looks freezing. Her skin has goosebumps all over it and her nipples are rock-hard. I’m trying not to look, but it’s damn near impossible.
“Come warm up in my truck,” I tell her. “I’ll put the heat on.”
I flick it on and the heater starts to roar as hot air is pushed out.
She swallows hard as she looks in my truck, the anger quickly dissipating out of her. “Oh yeah?”
“I’ll see what I can do about your car,” I say as I take off my seatbelt and open the door. She steps back as she watches me with those big blue eyes.
There’s something about this girl that fires up my protective instincts. I just want to take care of her. Get her warm. Get her fed. I want to take care of all her needs. All of them.
“You look cold,” I tell her as I leave the door open. “Hop inside. It’s nice and warm.”
I don’t have to tell her a third time.
“Thank you,” she whispers as she rushes past me and climbs into my truck. My eyes drop to her nice round ass before she closes the door and takes it away.
Now, I’m the one drenched in the freezing cold rain. She doesn’t seem as concerned for me as I was for her.
I chuckle as I head to her car. Fuck… Those tires are sunk in deep. How did she even manage to do that?
There’s no getting her car out of that mess. I thought I might be able to push her forward or tow her back, but I’m just going to end up tearing apart her bumper and probably denting a rim. That car is in desperate need of a tow truck.
I suck in a breath and turn back. The sight of her behind the wheel with her wet hair slicked back stuns me to the core. She’s watching me with those big blue innocent eyes and it feels like a jolt of lightning to the heart. Like my whole life just flipped upside down.
I’m standing in the rain, staring at her in awe with a fluttering in my stomach.
I want her.
She’s the one for me. I don’t know how I know, but I know.
I can feel the obsession spreading through me, quickly taking over every inch of my stunned body.
Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. This is all new territory.
I’ve had women hit on me before. Hell, the cashier in town was giving me the eyes, but I’ve never been interested like this. I’ve never been so captivated after one look.
Is this love at first sight? Am I losing my mind?
She rolls down the window and I snap back to earth. “Can you fix it?”
I shake my head as I walk over, never letting my eyes leave her. “It’s wedged in there good. You’ll need a tow truck to get it out.”
I wonder what I would have done if I was able to tow her out. Would I have pulled out her car and let her drive out of my life? Or, would I have lied and kept her here a little bit longer?
I’d like to think I’d choose the former, but I know it would be the latter. I’m not ready to let this girl go.
“How can I get one here? Do you have a phone?”
“Cell phones never work up here,” I tell her, which is sort of true. My cell doesn’t get great connectivity but I have a satellite phone in the back for emergencies like this. I’m not about to tell her that though. She’d probably call her boyfriend to come pick her up.
My chest gets unyieldingly tight with that thought. I’d probably throw his ass off the mountain if he showed up.
This girl is mine. I’ve decided it. She showed up on my mountain, which means she belongs to me.
“I have a landline at my place,” I tell her with my pulse racing. “You can come home with me and call.”
She bites her bottom lip as she looks around nervously.
“Fuck,” I whisper under my breath when I see her straight white teeth pressing into her plump pink lip.
Those sexy blue eyes are suddenly back on me and my legs feel a little weaker. “Your place?”
I nod.
“But you’re a stranger.”
“So are you.”
“Yeah, but you’re like three times my size! How can I know that you’re not going to… do anything?”
“We’re alone right now,” I say as I open my tattooed arms and look around. “I’m keeping my hands to myself. I promise it will be the same at my place.”
