Page 6 of Tempted By the Mountain man

“You coming with me?” I ask Marty, forcing myself to continue down the hall.

I pass a couple of closed doors before I reach the one River indicated. I twist the knob and gasp. I’m not prepared for the sheer amount of items that greet me. Several stacks of boxes brush the ceiling. They’re neatly arranged, with tight paths between sections. There’s hardly room to sort through a box in here.

How the hell am I supposed to get through everything in the house in just a week?

It’s no wonder River was so eager to hire me. I’m no doubt the only sucker naïve enough to accept a job without asking the proper questions—like, how much is there to sort through in such a tight timeframe. A sane person would’ve requested photographic evidence or maybe a video before agreeing.

But desperate-to-get-out-of-town Jade, who was three Sangrias in, accepted the job without a single question about the actual scope of work involved.

To be fair, I was so stunned that I’d pulled off this ruse that saying no seemed stupid. I’d come this far.

And the idea of leaving town immediately was the best-case scenario I could’ve hoped for. Never mind that it came with double pay. I was growing tired of dirty looks at the grocery store, the post office, and even the gas station. It was as though Principal Seymour had posted flyers all over town, accusing me of trying to come on to him before the truth even had a chance to surface.

Asshole.

Karma would take care of him someday.

But today?

Today, I have to figure out how the hell I’m going to tackle this enormous job I’m massively underqualified to do.

Marty presses his weight against my leg, insisting on head scratches.

“Can I tell you a secret?” I say to the dog, crouching down. “I don’t know how I’m going to pull this off.”

Marty licks my cheek and my heart melts. I’ve always wanted a dog, but my apartment doesn’t allow them. And growing up, Grandma Charlotte was allergic⁠—

“Grandma Charlotte!” I whisper-exclaim, a wave of relief washing over me. My antique-loving grandmother would be in absolute heaven tackling a job like this. First thing tomorrow morning, I’d give her a call and beg her to be my consultant.

Maybe—just maybe—I can pull this off without River discovering I’m a fraud.

4

RIVER

Marty stares at me, safely out of the bacon grease splatter zone. I’ve never met a dog more enthusiastic about bacon. But if I’d been on a strict diet of only dog food for the past eight years, I’d probably go a little bonkers over bacon, too.

“It’s almost ready,” I reassure him when he lets out a soft whine. If I hadn’t personally adopted him after he retired, I’d have a hard time vouching for his Marine status. This dog takes retirement to a whole new level.

My attention pulls to the open doorway, where I have a direct view of the front door. At any moment, I expect to hear a knock.

Was it absolutely necessary to start sorting through Granddad’s mess at six-thirty in the morning? Nope. This is the time when I typically sip a cup of black coffee or go for a trail run. Bacon comes after the calories are burned.

To be honest, I no longer care if the clutter gets sorted at all this week.

Before Jade applied for the job, I loathed the idea of putting the task off any longer than necessary. I pride myself on completing tasks efficiently and in an orderly fashion. And yet, the shed I spent all of last week cleaning out now seems like the ideal place to shove all of this should I decide to deal with it later. I don’t care about the task. I care about getting to know the woman put in charge of it.

You’ve known this woman less than twelve hours.

And yet, somehow, I feel as though I’ve known Jade all my life. Maybe even across multiple lifetimes. It’s the same irrational impulse that convinced me to offer her the job on the spot, knowing full well she might not know the difference between a piece of junk and something that might bring in a six-figure sum at the right antique auction.

Granddad might haunt me for this.

Bacon forgotten, Marty jumps to all fours and charges the front door, no doubt at a faint knock I missed.

“Come on in,” I call out.

I turn my back, focusing my attention on the bacon so I don’t do something stupid like burn it. I don’t have to see Jade to know she’s going to distract me. I can already sense it.