“Aspen has a little sparkle, sure,” Theo’s warm voice calls from behind me. “But this place...Hollow Peak has its own brand of magic. It’s in the mountains, in the pines, in the dirt beneath our feet, in very air.”
“That should go on your brochures for the lodge, Theo,” I tease him as I turn to let him wrap me up in a hug.
“Good idea. How is the place treating you so far?” he wonders, giving me a quick squeeze before we go sit at two of the rocking chairs situated along the wide curve of the porch.
“So amazing. I needed to disengage from the world for a moment.”
“This is a good place to do it. Just remember once you engage again, those problems that brought you here will still be there, waiting.”
“Ugh, I know, don’t remind me. Daddy is determined it is time I settle down. None of my brothers got the settle down clock ticking for them.”
“Your father treats you differently because you’re very different from your brothers. You’re very different from most of us, Rain. He just worries about you,” Theo muses, always there to defend his brother while still being kind to me.
My father is not a bad man by any means. He is just...stubborn. Set in his ways. His ways say I should get married, have babies to continue our legacies, show up at all the Mallory Estate events, smile and like a docile daughter. None of that fits who I am—and to be honest, it is sort of his fault I am the way I am.
I was a spoiled brat earlier in my life. I was the baby girl my parents had hoped for, with four older brothers to cater to me or come to my rescue if I needed them. Once they began going off to college, starting new lives in far off places, I realized I had no idea how to take care of myself without them. I am my father’s daughter—so I am stubborn too—so I started figuring it out.
“He does not need to. I am a big girl now,” I argue even as I pout like that long gone brat I once was.
What I learned along the way was, I had it good back home in The Pillars. Manicured lawns, sprawling mansion, flashy car, and a black card to cover any expenses I wanted. I was born into a life of excess but on my own travels, I came to see most struggled in ways I could never dream of. My father may think I am not settled or lack direction, but he is wrong.
I may not be settled with a ring on my finger and an heir in my belly, but I have direction. My purpose has become to use my means to ease the burdens of others. Whether it’s funding animal shelters for a few decades, building havens for survivors of domestic violence, or quietly settling a veteran’s medical debt, I use our old money for something new.
I hope to atone for all those years being a spoiled brat.
“Yes, that is very clear to the rest of us. Your father on the other hand...just give him time. He wants to be sure you’re taken care of.”
“I can do all the taking care of I need. Speaking of taking care of things, what was that ruckus last night about?”
Slowing his steady rock, Theo hesitates. His eyes swing my way before he lets out a sigh that lets me know a story is coming. One that will more than likely end with me taking that story on as my new mission. I never push or prod people who don’t want help, but I still show up to offer it when I can.
“Well...that might be something youcan’tfix, bumble bee,” he hums as he glances towards the mountains in the distance.
Last night, my very first night here, he was talking with another guest at the lodge about an upcoming festival. The guest was upset a certain someone was refusing to partake the way the rest of the town intends to. Theo was quick to defend the mystery person as he often is. It’s something we sharein common—fighting for others who don’t or cannot fight for themselves.
“Spill the story, unc,” I tell him, pushing his chair to get him rocking again. I ignore the bumble bee comment. Theo started calling me that when I was a little girl. Always buzzing around, wanting to be part of things, drawn to all the beautiful things in the world.
“Most of the folks in town take part in festivals in some fashion. They have booths or donate time, anything to lend a hand. One resident just...does not. He should not have to. He lives here but he is not from here. They might forgive it if he embraced the town the way other outsiders do. He doesn’t.”
“Is he some kind of mountain recluse?” I tease, letting out a laugh—until my uncle swings his gaze back to me. I nearly choke on my coffee. “No way. Is that actually a thing? Men really just lock themselves in cabins to forget the rest of the world exists?”
“Reece just wants to be left alone,” my uncle explains. I do not miss his pointed look or the tone of his voice. What he means is he wants me to leave this man alone. Only the moment he said his name, the moment he said he wanted to be alone, I decide I cannot possibly do that.
“Alone up on a mountain? Who wants that?”
“Rain, I know you mean well but...some folks want exactly that. Leave that man alone.”
Shooting a pout at my uncle, I do something I never do.I lie.I promise to leave that man alone. To not go up to his mountain peak to lure him out with a smile and an offer of kindness. Who would refuse that? Not even a man who locked himself up in a cabin could, I decide.
Turns out—I am wrong about everything.
Ido notleave that man alone. I go to his cabin to be kind. To seek him out for a chance to show him what he is missing. It is not until I am staring up at stormy, tortured eyes that I realize Iam missing something too. I never thought I would find it hiding away on a mountainside. I was wrong. Because standing on his porch, he asks me the one question no one ever bothered to.
“What purpose is that, princess?”
“Why, to bring you back to the land of the living, handsome.”
“Why would you want to do that?”
