Yearning In The Mountains (Greene Mountain Boys), page 1
Yearning In The Mountains
Greene Mountain Boys
Olivia T. Turner
Contents
Copyright
Yearning In The Mountains
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
Epilogue
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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
Cover Design by Olivia T. Turner
Yearning In The Mountains
I thought I was in the right rental cabin.
I thought this was my shower.
I thought I could walk around the place naked.
I was wrong.
This is Duncan Dove’s cabin.
The mean, reclusive mountain man.
He finds me walking out of his shower in his place without a stitch of clothing on.
And then I have the balls to yell at him.
This possessive bearded alpha takes one look at me and I know that I’m not going anywhere.
Wrong rental property or not, I’m staying here.
And I’m not sure if he’ll ever let me leave.
This city girl is about to have the vacation of a lifetime when she meets the only other person living on the mountain—a hot, obsessive, bearded mountain man who won’t let her go!
Insta-love at its finest with no cheating and a super sweet HEA guaranteed. Enjoy!
To my neighbor Cynthia.
Who loves watching the shirtless neighborhood landscaping guys as much as I do.
Chapter One
Vivian
“Where are you now?” my mother asks through my headphones while we video chat. I just called her and my dad from the back of my Uber.
“I just arrived in the Greene Mountains,” I tell them. “I’m heading to the rental cabin now.”
“It doesn’t look very sanitary,” my mother says as she scrunches her nose up and looks all around me. My dad lowers the Wall Street Journal and looks at the screen for the first time. “They didn’t have a limousine for you?”
“It’s the mountains, Mom, not Paris.”
“I still don’t understand why you didn’t go to Paris,” she says, shaking her head. “It’s Fashion Week.”
“I’ve been to Paris a hundred times,” I tell her as my dad goes back to his paper. “I’ve never been to the mountains.”
In fact, I’ve never really been in nature. My parents are all about cities. Milan, Tokyo, Montreal, Buenos Aires, Barcelona, Dubai—I’ve been to them all. My family vacations growing up were all about luxury, socialites, and concrete. I never saw a tree unless it was growing out of a sidewalk.
Once, I asked my parents if we could go camping instead of flying to London for a week. My mother scoffed and said that camping is for people with no taste.
“Or no money,” my father added.
London was amazing, so were all of the other vacations (I’m not complaining), but there was something about the wild mountains that intrigued me. Sometimes, during stressful times at work, I find myself staring at the mountainous photos on my screensaver and wondering what if…
What if I gave up the fashion empire I started in Manhattan and moved out here for good?
But then the phone rings or Martin barges into my office with the crisis of the hour and the thought disappears as quickly as it came.
“We took you to Zurich that one time for the Holidays,” my mother says, looking offended. “Remember, Jack? We rented that chalet with the broken hot tub and that slovenly property manager was such a jerk about it.”
“I remember,” my father mumbles as he reads.
That’s not quite the way I remember it, but whatever. My mom was such a bitch to the guy and expected him to come fix it immediately even though it was Christmas Eve.
“It’s not too late to turn back and fly somewhere reasonable,” my mother says. “You’re too pretty to be eaten by a bear. Don’t you agree, Jack?”
“Much too pretty,” Dad mumbles.
I sigh as I fight the urge to roll my eyes.
“You’re breaking up,” I lie. “I better go.”
“The reception here is fine,” she says. “Why don’t you jet over to Cabo San Lucas if you need some mountains? You can rent a villa on the—“
I hit the little red X on my screen and my parents disappear.
I need a break from them as much as I need a break from work. We live in the same building on the same floor.
I don’t remember ever giving my mother a key to my place, but she has one and she uses it daily. She’s always popping over. Always commenting, criticizing, driving me crazy. I can’t take it anymore.
I would never have chosen to live in the same city, let alone the same building as her, but when I told them I was moving out, they rented an apartment on the same floor as them without telling me. It was a big surprise.
Surprise! You’re never getting away from us!
What was I supposed to do? Give up an amazing fully-paid apartment in Manhattan? I was starting a business and trying to save every cent I could. It would have been stupid and irresponsible to turn it down, so I didn’t.
And I’ve been regretting it ever since.
“First time in Montana?” the Uber driver asks, breaking the silence. He’s an older man with long scraggly hair and an old ripped T-shirt so dirty that I would be ashamed to wear it while painting.
“Huh? Yeah. First time in the mountains.”
He glances at me through the rearview mirror. “When I pulled up, I thought you’d be staying at the Greene Mountain Lodge.”
“Why is that?”
“On account of the pretty clothes and fancy suitcases. It’s the most luxurious spot for miles.”
“Oh,” I say with a forced laugh. “I rented a nice place on Bearskin Mountain.”
“There ain’t no nice places on Bearskin Mountain, lady. Unless of course you’re staying with Duncan Dove, but he never has visitors.”
Now, I’m starting to get nervous.
I pull up the listing as he turns onto a dirt road. We’re surrounded by tall trees and thick vegetation. My back presses into the seat of his pickup truck as we start to drive up a steep incline.
“Here,” I say as I find the luxurious cabin and show it to him.
He stops the truck and looks at it for a long moment.
“That’s the address,” he says as he checks the GPS on his phone, “but I ain’t never heard of a place like that up here.”
My muscles twitch as I glance out the window.
Shit.
This is a new rental site that I’ve never used before and the listing didn’t have any reviews.
No, it can’t be…
It’s probably just a new building and who is this guy anyway? There’s no way he knows every piece of property in this vast mountain range.
“I’m sure it’s going to be fine.”
“If you say so,” he says with a shrug as he hands my phone back.
I guess I can always head into town and stay at the Greene Mountain Lodge if the place turns out to be a scam.
He continues driving up the mountain and I cling to the handle on the door as I get bumped and rocked around.
The scenery is spectacular, but I can’t really focus on that right now. I have a bad feeling in my gut about this. It takes another half an hour or so to wind around the mountain before the tip of a roof pokes out of the trees up ahead.
“You were right,” the driver says with a chuckle. “There is a place up here.”
I sink into the seat while exhaling in relief. Thank goodness for that.
But as he drives up to it, the panic returns. It doesn’t look anything like the photos. It’s deserted, rundown, and falling apart.
The luxurious cabin that I booked was constructed with full logs and has a large wraparound porch that looks out onto the stunning mountainous view.
This piece of shit cabin has a blue plastic tarp stapled over the rotting wood and the porch is littered with trash.
“It doesn’t look much like the pictures,” the driver says as he parks the truck.
“You think?!” I snap as I start to hyperventilate. “Is that a freaking hole in the roof?!”
Oh my god, it is! There’s a huge hole in the goddamn roof!
I can’t stay here.
“Well, let’s get you settled in,” the driver says as he steps out of the truck.
“Wait!” I nearly scream.
Eit
Oh no. This is my worst nightmare. The windows are filthy. Two of them are cracked. The chimney has disintegrated and its bricks have fallen onto the sunken in roof.
The grass is so tall around the place that it looks like the earth is in the process of reabsorbing it into the ground. Trust me, nobody will miss this hellhole when it’s gone besides the termites.
A knock on the window makes me jump.
“Come on out, Miss.”
He opens the door and I cling to my seatbelt. “I can’t stay here.”
“Well, you can’t stay there,” he says, pointing into his truck. “I gotta head back to work.”
“You are at work,” I say in a desperate tone. “I’m paying you.”
“This is just a side hustle,” he says with his hands on his hips. “My real job is cutting down trees. The boss lets me do this on my lunch hour when business is light, but there’s a tree that needs cutting on that mountain down there and I gotta get to it before dinner or my boss is going to whip my ass.”
“Can you drop me off in town?”
He shakes his head and spits on the ground. “Not going that way.”
“I’ll make it worth your while,” I say as I open my purse. Shit, I only have a ten on me. I shove it at him, hoping he’ll take it.
He does.
I nearly cry, I’m so relieved. I don’t have to stay in this murder cabin. I’ll be in a luxurious cabin with a bathtub, room service, and a king-sized bed before I know it.
“You should take some pictures of this place and send it to that company,” he says. “Might be you can get a refund for all that money you spent.”
“Great idea!” I say as I hop out of the truck with my phone in my hand.
They’ll have a hard time refusing a refund when I show them a picture of the freaking hole in the roof.
This place is even worse up close. There’s a ton of water damage and there doesn’t seem to be any electricity. Is that an outhouse?!
Oh my god, it is!
I walk over in disbelief, taking photos of it from every angle. It’s disgusting.
I’m sooo happy I don’t have to use that thing. I would die.
What was I thinking wanting to stay in the wilderness? I guess my mother was right—I’m not made for this part of the world.
Although, besides the horror cabin, the scenery is quite spectacular. It makes my—
“What?!”
I gasp as I whip my head around when I hear an engine start.
The driver is behind the wheel, giving me an apologetic look. “Sorry, lady. Gotta go!”
“No!” I screech as I run over. “You can’t leave me here!”
“You’ll be fine,” he shouts back as his truck starts rolling. “There’s a river down there with some fresh fish in it and you can drink the water too.”
“What?!” I scream as he drives away, leaving my Louis Vuitton suitcases in his dust. “Come back! Please!!”
He doesn’t stop.
My heart beats frantically as I watch his truck disappear down the steep road that we just drove up.
He just left. Like that. What a jerk!
I have to call another Uber.
Oh shit.
There’s no reception on my phone. I try and try, but getting nothing but a frozen screen no matter what I do and no matter how high I hold it.
“What do I do?” I ask no one in particular as I look around in horror. “What the heck am I supposed to do now?”
A landline.
The word just pops into my head.
“Yes!” Maybe there’s a landline phone in the cabin. I can call the lodge and offer them a gazillion dollars to send someone to pick me up. I’ll leave this place, stay in a gorgeous suite, and leave all of this behind me. It will be nothing more than an amusing little anecdote I can tell at some fancy Manhattan parties.
I just have to… go in.
Gulp.
I take a deep breath, wrap my sweater around my head in case there are any bats hanging from the ceiling that are thinking about getting stuck in my hair, and slowly shuffle over to the porch.
With my phone’s flashlight on, I carefully step over the rotting planks of wood and head to the front door. It’s off the hinges and just leaning against the open doorway. Of course, it is.
I lift it and lean it against the cabin.
“Hello?” I say nervously as I look around the dark place, flashing my weak phone light around. “Anyone home?”
There are freaking plants growing inside this cabin. All the water leaking in from the ceiling mixed with the rotting leaves and it’s created a whole ecosystem in here.
My hopes for finding a working landline diminish by the second.
I still haven’t stepped foot in the place. Not sure I’m going to either.
When I flash my phone’s light into the corner and see eyes reflecting back at me, I scream.
And run.
And curse.
A lot of cursing.
I curse the scammer who listed this place, the driver who left me hanging, and most of all, I curse myself.
What was I thinking? Really?
I thought that I would become one with nature and have a spiritual awakening. This is anything but!
I’m still breathing heavily with my heart pounding as I grab my suitcases and head for the road. I don’t care if I have to walk all freaking night, I’m leaving this place. I’m not staying here for another second.
I drag my two big heavy suitcases down the dirt road and I never look back.
After an hour, I’m dying. My shoulders are killing me, my feet hurt, I’m hot, sweaty, hungry, cranky, and one of the wheels on my suitcase broke off, so I’m half dragging, half rolling it down this stupid mountain.
Just when I think that I might not make it, I see a dirt road turning off this cursed road and my body perks up.
“Is that…?”
There are fresh tire tracks in the dirt. Could it be?
With nothing to lose, I head down the road.
“Oh my god!” I whisper when I see the cabin coming into view a few minutes later. “Oh, fuck yes!”
It’s the log cabin from the photos!
The nice luxurious one with the beautiful wraparound porch.
It wasn’t a scam. It’s all real!
I leave my suitcases on the dirt road and run the rest of the way, squealing in joy as my brown hair flows in the wind behind me.
I’m so happy that tears flow down my cheeks.
I run right up to the front door and pause when I see the address. It’s different from the listing, but that’s just a clerical mistake. This is the house! My house for the week!
The door is unlocked, so I head right in.
“Hello?” I call out as I kick off my shoes and look around.
It’s beautiful in here. Absolutely perfect.
This place is getting five stars from me as soon as I can get my hands on an Internet connection.
The owners left a sweater on the chair beside the kitchen table and some food out, but it’s not a big deal. They didn’t clean the coffee pot either—it’s half full—but I’m not about to complain about little things like that after the last place.
I just head straight for the huge bathroom with the giant walk-in shower, stripping my sweaty clothes off along the way.
I’m butt naked by the time I step on the warm tiles.
“Yes,” I whisper as I open the glass door of the shower. “Fuck, yes!”
I turn on the warm water, step under the huge rain showerhead, and moan as I start the best shower of my life.
Chapter Two
Duncan
“What the hell is that?” I mutter to myself as I pull onto my private road and see the strange sight before me. “That’s a new one.”
