Made for the Mountain Man (Mountain Man Mail Order Bride)

1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Violet

"Um, excuse me. How much longer is this going to take?"

The guy behind the counter, whose name tag reads Carl , doesn't respond to my attempt at a firm tone. My panic rises as he fiddles with the large printer in front of him, muttering curses.

Glancing at my phone, my stomach drops when a fourth text comes through from my boss.

Caroline Branch

What the fuck is taking so long?!!

"Sorry, folks. Color ink's out. Coming in on the next truck. Probably around 5 pm." Carl slams the door to the errant printer and glares at us as everyone waiting erupts into protest. "We had a huge order come in that we weren't expecting. You can try the other copy place a few blocks down." Carl scowls with a flippant shrug of his red polyester-clad shoulders like it makes no difference to him whether we take our business elsewhere.

How I wish I could be more like Carl—because Caroline is going to freak out. And my anxiety makes me want to fix the problem while dreaming about climbing into a hole for the next six months to wait out the results. I shake my head, letting out a long breath to calm my racing heart before sending my boss the bad news.

Ms. Branch, the copy shop is out of ink, which I know sounds insane, but it’s true. I'll need to run down to Cary's Copies to get this done.

I sigh, closing my eyes momentarily before typing out the next message.

I won't get back uptown before the end of the meeting.

I chew my lip anxiously before racing down the street, knowing three little dots are flashing with each step I take. The ping of my phone slows me down, stopping me dead in my tracks when I read her response.

Caroline Branch

Don't worry about it, Vivian.

Violet , I correct silently for what feels like the millionth time since she started with our company three months ago. The first week, I spoke up each time, but she never got it right. Eventually, it was easier to pretend I didn't notice.

I stare at my phone. There is no way she’s cool with this. I watch the three dots appear and stop. Appear and stop. And then, there it is.

Caroline Branch

Go home. I don't need you anymore today.

The rough bricks scratch my bare forearm and snag the sleeve of my work shirt as I slump against the wall. But I don't care. Caroline's been looking for a reason to fire me and bring in her own people. If I ignore her request and return to the office, she’ll accuse me of insubordination. If I go home early, she’ll complain about my terrible work ethic.

Damn it, Carl!

Forty minutes later, I unlock my apartment door to the blare of the TV and the excited squeak of a chew toy.

"Bad day, Vi?" My roommate Naomi glances at me as she disentangles her long legs from a yoga pose.

Kicking off my shoes, I throw my bag on the floor and bury my face in the couch. Naomi's dog, Freddy, comes over to lick my hand.

"Yep," I mumble into the couch cushions. Dragging myself up to a sitting position, I nod. "Pretty sure I'm getting fired tomorrow."

Naomi makes a face. "Financial aspect aside, isn't that a good thing?"

I stare at her incredulously. "Right...I thought you liked having me as your roommate?"

Naomi shrugs. "I can swing the rent for a few months while you look for another job, Violet. You don't need to put up with her."

I whimper, and Naomi jumps up, rushing to my side.

"Interviews are so hard for me." I sniffle. "I get anxious and talk myself out of the job while in the interview. And if the person interviewing me is a guy and remotely attractive, I can't speak. At all. I sit there and nod, even when it's not a yes or no question. It's like someone puts a mute button on me. So, yeah, I shouldn't have to put up with a crazy evil boss, but I'm b-b-broken." I finish my tirade with a sob.

Naomi throws her arms around me. "You're not broken, Vi."

I sniffle against her shoulder, looking up at her through wet lashes. If I roll my eyes any harder, they’ll take off down the hallway.

"Okay, maybe a little broken,” Naomi concedes. “But you’re amazing, and being unable to talk around men doesn't change the fact that you’re kind, funny, and a total babe."

I let out a sharp laugh, tamping down my tears. "Shut up. And thank you." The contrast between my soft curves and Naomi's lithe yoga body is apparent when she hugs me, refusing to let me go until I hug her back.

"Rachel and Jess are coming over tonight," she reminds me. "Takeout and romantic K-dramas are always a crowd pleaser, right?" Naomi wiggles her eyebrows.

I shake my head. "Not in the mood. I'm going to take a long, hot shower and go to bed." I give Naomi a final squeeze before shuffling down the short hallway.

"And going to bed wouldn't be code for texting with Brooks, right?" Naomi calls after me.

I pause, my cheeks heating as I turn and shrug. Just hearing his name makes my present circumstances slightly more tolerable.

Naomi claps gleefully. "I fully support dirty-talking mountain men."

My mouth drops open, and I narrow my eyes at my roommate. "How do you know he talks dirty?"

"A good guess?" she says unconvincingly, glancing away to rub Freddy's ears.

My hands fly to my hips as I stare her down.

Naomi finally looks at me again and bites her lip. "You said I could use your computer to make the brochure for the dog fair at the rescue."

"Yes?" I’m confused what this has to do with Brooks' sexy talk. And then it occurs to me. "You saw our messages!" I shriek.

"Not on purpose, Vi. I promise." Naomi gives me a guilty look. "But once I saw one, well...can you blame me? It was like that book you recommended, except in real life." She fans herself and says a silent oh my god .

I cover my eyes and wail, "Naomi!"

"And let me say, you have a mouth on you. Sexy little kitten."

I turn on my heel and storm into my room.

"My grandma always said the quiet ones are the loudest in the bedroom!" Naomi yells after me.

"Stay off my computer, Naomi!" I give my bedroom door a hard push and flop onto my bed.

Shaking my head, I think back to that night a month ago. I went out with the girls to a few clubs and froze when a cute guy asked me to dance. After a few seconds of staring at him, he held up his hands like I was crazy— which I am —and said, "Never mind," before backing away slowly. It was humiliating.

Naomi, Rachel, and Jess tried to console me at the kitchen counter when we got home. After a few more drinks, they convinced me to set up a dating profile on Mountain Mates, one of the dating websites geared toward serious relationships, not casual hookups. Drunk me thought it was an amazing idea. I wrote about how I wanted to camp for the first time and how much I loved the peace of the mountains, both of which were true. But even drunk, I knew it wasn't an option. Eventually, I'd have to meet a guy in real life, and most people aren't into dating statues.

The next morning, I woke up to a few messages and immediately started to delete my profile. But then Brooks' subject line caught my eye.

Love is overrated...

Intrigued, I clicked on it, and the first line in the message continued his thought.

...yet, it's all I want.

Something about his sincerity made me respond. We've been messaging ever since.

I glare at the door of my bedroom as I imagine Naomi reading the sexy little notes from Brooks. Biting my lip, I open my computer. I grin as I re-read the last one from him.

Brooks

Hey, beautiful. I should be working on a piece for a customer right now, but I can't stop wondering what you taste like. It's difficult to work when I have to keep forcing myself to think unsexy thoughts. wink emoji

I smile. This message came through right before Caroline threw her legal pad across the room when I reminded her that she insisted a formal presentation was unnecessary for tonight's meeting. I had to run to the copy place after that and never responded. I type out a quick message, hoping he's around.

Sorry. Work was terrible today. Pretty sure metal and fire need your full focus. Stop thinking about my kitty emoji, or ur going to hurt yourself.

I squish into my pillows, getting comfortable on my bed as I wait for his response, chewing my fingernail nervously. The sexy talk is fun, but I still get a little anxious every time I send something. Less so after some of the things he's sent me, but a part of me always worries he'll be grossed out by something I've said.

The first time I sent something dirty, I shut off my phone and computer for twelve hours before I convinced myself it didn't matter since he didn't know what I looked like or where I lived. When I booted everything back up, he'd sent me five messages, each steamier than the last. They still help me on lonely nights, wishing he was lying next to me.

I grin, biting my lip as his response comes through.

Brooks

Screw work. Baby, if I had your kitty emoji here with me right now, I'd bend you over my desk and make you scream my name until you water emoji. Come visit me. I'll make your day better. wink emoji

Tempting. sweating face emoji

Are you texting from the ER, or did you manage to keep your head on straight?

I think Brooks is a welder artist of some sort. We agreed in the beginning to keep any identifying information out of the conversation while we got to know each other. Over the last month, I've learned that Brooks lives in the town he grew up in, loves kids of all ages, and helps the high school athletes with training. Oh, and he's become my best friend, whom I’ll never meet in person.

I shake my head—another day's problem.

Brooks

Violet, I want you to come.

Yes, please. How would you do it?

Smirking, I reach into my bedside drawer and select my favorite toy. I’ve scoured my smutty reads to get better at sending Brooks sexy messages. I’m getting the hang of it, if I do say so myself, and he seems pretty pleased with what I’ve said. I blush, thinking of Naomi reading those, and remind myself to yell at her again tomorrow. The dirty talk doesn't usually ramp up this quickly, but I'm all in after the day I've had.

Brooks

No. Violet, I think it's time to meet. In person.

My heart plummets into my stomach, and I drop my vibrator like I've been electrocuted. I didn't think this day could get any worse. I shake my head and close my eyes, hoping that when I open them again, his request will have disappeared.

Brooks

I'll visit you, or you can come here. What do you think?

No, no, no!

I want to cry. What did I expect? The whole point of a dating website is to actually date at some point. In person. Face-to-face. I just wanted...more time. To become someone else.

Brooks

I'd love to take you on our official first date. [heart emoji]

Panicked, I slam my laptop closed. Damn it.

A ping comes through on my phone, and I glance at it anxiously, unable to resist. But it's an alert from my work email—a meeting invitation for first thing tomorrow morning with my manager and the head of HR. The meeting subject is Performance Discussion .

The HR manager is a young guy in his thirties, and I could not be less attracted to him. For one, he spends too much time on his hair. Two, he's either boning my boss or wants to bone her. And three, I'm obsessed with a certain mountain man who possibly welds for a living, so nobody else compares. But that won't get my voice to work, so the discussion will most assuredly be one-sided. Which means I'm job hunting tomorrow afternoon.

The thought of unemployment barely registers compared to the devastation of losing Brooks.

As tears roll down my cheeks, I shove my computer to the side and curl into a fetal position. Pulling my bright pink quilt over my body, I sob into my pillow.

I'm a broken statue-woman.

Life is passing me by.

And worse. I'm losing my sexy mountain man soulmate.