My Guarded Valentine (Hope Peak’s Valentine’s Day)

4. Buck

Chapter 4

Buck

T hat next morning, I scrolled through my phone to find my friend Mitch‘s number. I had known Mitch for years, but he lost his job recently. Since it stopped snowing, the tow truck would be able to take her car to Mitch’s place. He had a deal with the local mechanic to work there because they had an extra bay open most of the time. I always let him look at my cars and my snowmobile. Whenever they needed to be fixed, I knew he would do a good job with Mitzi’s car. I blew a breath out before I started texting him. There was something alluring about the stranger, Mitzi. It had been years since I’ve wanted another woman. I liked my solitary life in the mountains. It beat the hustle and bustle of the city, even though I still kept up with work through remote work. I own the company and have other people to do the big business in town. Occasionally I go into town to check on things and make appearances, but I always keep it on the down low. I was just a figurehead at this point. Just a name on a sign; they didn’t need me. All the vital work was done; a weight lifted from my shoulders when I gave up a portion of it. I had sacrificed years in that company. I didn’t spend enough time with my brother. Years I didn’t spend finding love and slept around. After I woke up, I swore off relationships and moved to the mountains. Did her words spike something inside me? Did she see the hurt on my face? But I hated the hurt on her face when she pouted about her job. I wanted to help her.

What was worse was that I wanted her.

There was something inside me that wanted to fix everything that made her sad. Which meant I needed to get her car fixed. I texted Mitch and got dressed. After I walked to the kitchen, I’d make her breakfast and then I’d log into work for a few hours. This was my simple life. I enjoyed it…before Mitzi.

Just as I was about to finish my pancakes, I was captivated by the sight of her breasts jiggling as she descended the stairs. As need rose in my body, I swallowed. I needed to be better than this. I didn’t deserve to have someone in my life like that. At the perfect time, my phone buzzed, and I noticed the text from Mitch. He agreed to take her car and was going to pick it up within the next few hours once he was able to get one free. I needed to talk to his husband about maybe setting up a mechanic’s shop for him. I know if I told him, he’d refuse it.

Turning the phone off, I looked up and smiled at Mitzi. Her hand crept up to her hair, and she spun it around her finger. Perfect…maybe she was perfect. “Good timing. My friend Mitch is going to pick your car up in the next hour, depending on what’s wrong with it. He’ll fix it. I don’t know if an oil change could do that to your car. Maybe there was something else wrong with it?” I said.

Her face lit up and my heart burst at how I could give her that genuine ounce of happiness. “Ugh. I don’t like that you’re probably not feeling like it will be fixed in an hour?” she asked. Her laughter filled the room. Hearing her laughter bounced against the walls of this cabin made me realize how utterly alone I’ve been over the last few years. I’d spent so much time running away from the pain and forcing myself to punish myself. It was nice to hear another. I noticed she laughed when she was nervous. Deep down, I wanted to know her more. I hadn’t responded to Mitch. There was a part of me that wanted to keep her forever. Quickly shook my head and typed okay to Mitch.

“I am not sure what kind of thing caused the problem. Maybe you’ll be lucky. Do you have luck like that?” I asked as I texted.

She laughed. “No, absolutely not. My luck is exactly what happened. Important things are going on and my car breaks down.”

With a groan, I stood up, my muscles protesting the sudden movement. “I have to get some work done. I hope you enjoy breakfast.”

“What do you mean, are you not eating with me?”

I paused as I looked down at her face. She looked so earnest when she asked me that normally I didn’t eat breakfast. I had my coffee in my hand and I was ready to stare at the screen for a few hours. Sometimes I made breakfast and took it with me, but I never ate it here for breakfast.

“Normally there’s no reason for me to eat breakfast here,” I explained.

She smiled weakly and bit her bottom lip. “Now you do. And last night you were so adamant that you had to treat your guest right. I can’t believe you were gonna make me sit here by myself in the dark in the cold, just like this.” She giggled before Mitzi pushed her bottom lip out in an overexaggerated pout. I sat beside her. Mitzi turned to me, and our eyes locked. She smirked.

I waved to the windows. “It wasn’t going to be dark in here. There’s ample sunlight pouring into windows, and it’s reflecting off the snow on the ground, which means plenty of light. You practically need glasses to be in here.”

She giggled as she stabbed her fork into her pancakes. “Don’t make me eat by myself,” she replied.

I sighed. I got back up and grabbed a plate, and filled it up with plenty of pancakes with a slab of butter on top. She pushed the chair out beside her as if she hinted that I should sit beside her. As soon as I did, she leaned over my plate, looking at her plate that was bereft of coffee. The scent of her filled my nostrils and a blossom of heat bloomed inside me. I tried to push those feelings down.

“Do you have one of those fancy cup makers or do you have a pot?” she asked. “Of course. I hope you have some good beans in there. You know that’s key for a good pot of joe.”

I chuckled. “There is a pot. It’s by the microwave over there. Do you need me to get it for you, or can you handle it on your own? There’s cream inside the fridge. That’s about all I have other than sugar.”

She stood up and poured herself a cup of coffee. I couldn’t help watching her hips tilt to one side as she slowly stirred the cup with her cream inside it in a manner like she does this every day staring into her cup of ambition. She turned around and sat beside me. Mitzi started to eat her pancakes and moaned lightly just like she did last night, which was ever so tempting. Either my celibacy was making everything erotic or she was the most beautiful woman I had ever encountered. I couldn’t help my attraction to her. I knew I had to be better than that. There are some people that deserve all the love in the world. I wasn’t one of those people. I don't even deserve the air I breathed.

“I only need to work for a few hours. Then, if you want, we can stop by Mitch‘s and see how your car is. He’ll probably text me in the meantime, but you can talk to me yourself.”

She groaned. “I am not excited about the bill. There’s a reason I was avoiding it, especially since I’m about to be jobless.”

“Don’t worry about that, I told you I’ll cover it.”

“Why would you do that? I’m a stranger!”

“Like I said, Mitch has been through some shit. If me getting him to work on your car helps him out in the end, I don’t care. He doesn’t want handouts and all my cars. All my machines are on top order because of Mitch. He has a newborn baby and he can’t seem to get a job around here. I wanna help out as much as I can.”

Her mouth for a perfect oh as her fork was suspended in the air. She looked at me in shock. “That is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard anyone say. God, I need to find a guy that is as nice as you.”

But it couldn’t be me. I chuckled. “So you’re telling me you’re single?” Why did I ask her that? I wasn’t looking for a girlfriend, but I couldn’t help myself. The old me seemed to pop up around her.

The burst of giggles interrupted my thoughts as she covered her mouth. She radiated pure happiness. Even though last night she was pretty angry about her job, I wanted to give her the world.

“Yeah. Single as a Pringle. Do people still say that? God, I’m lame. Forget I said that.”

“Maybe when we’re in town, we can find some people like you said last night. There has to be some sort of story in there and people love heartwarming filled small town stories.”

She nodded as she started drinking her coffee. The rest of our meal was filled with small talk and light flirting. After we ate, I went to my office, but I couldn’t get my mind off Mitzi.