My Three Hometown Mountain Men (Aspen Springs #4)

Prologue

COLE

EIGHT YEARS AGO

You’d think people would be more intelligent today with all the information that’s readily available to us, but no. That would just be too damn easy. People have to go hiking up the Rocky Mountains at the worst fucking times.

None of us gets paid to do search and rescue. Some of us do it for the distraction from reality, like my buddy, Owen. Others do it because they love helping people or being in nature.

I have always found the challenge of each call to be the most intriguing part. Don’t get me wrong, I love helping people, but the adrenaline rush is high on my list.

Still, I wish someone else had been available for this call. At least then I’d have someone to talk to while trekking up the side of the mountain. With my bad mood, it’s best if I’m alone. Don’t want to ruin someone else’s day.

I rode a four-wheeler up the trail as far as I could, but eventually I had to ditch it and continue the rest of the way on foot.

All of this to find a woman who went hiking yesterday. Martha, the old lady who lives next door to the missing hiker’s rental in town, called it in after the woman never returned after her hike.

This happens all the time here in Aspen Springs during the summer. People travel to our quaint little town tucked into the mountains of Colorado, thinking that hiking one of those beautiful mountains sounds like a lovely way to spend their day.

It wouldn’t be the first time I found a lost woman wandering the trail in a pair of flip-flops.

Fuck. I swing my backpack off and dig through until I find a protein bar. Hopefully, this will help me be less cranky. Doubtful, but it’s worth a shot.

My lack of action for the last however many months is partially to blame for my sour attitude. I need to add that to my list of things to get done. If only that were easier in a tiny town like Aspen Springs.

Three big bites and a few sips of water later, and I’m back on the upward ascent. My eyes are constantly darting around the area, searching for anything that might give me a clue as to where this woman is.

Luckily, Martha knew which trail the woman, Riley, was hiking. And she was right because I found the car she described at the trailhead a few hours ago.

The breeze whips across my face. I can smell it in the air. Rain.

I don’t even need to see the darkening clouds over the horizon to know that it will be here very, very soon. If I don’t find Riley within the next few minutes, I am most definitely going to be riding out this storm mountainside.

I wouldn’t choose to spend my afternoon this way, but it’s not the first time it has happened. I’m sure it won’t be the last time, either.

My phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out to find my youngest brother’s name on the screen. “Finn,” I say, answering the call.

“Wow… not even a hello,” he says with a huff of laughter.

I roll my eyes, not in the mood for his general levity. “Why are you calling me?” I ask, stepping around a boulder that’s sticking out into the narrow trail.

“Somebody’s cranky.”

“I’d probably be less cranky if you were here suffering on this mountain with me.”

“You love this shit, and you know it,” he retorts.

He’s right. I do. I guess I’m just getting lost in my head.

I drag in a deep breath. “What’s going on, Finn?”

It wouldn’t be out of character for him to call me for a completely innocuous reason, but I doubt that’s the case right now.

He sighs, clearly annoyed I’m not playing into his quips right now. “Just wanted to see if you found her yet, but based on your peachy attitude, I’m guessing that’s a no.”

“No, I haven’t. I know I’m in the right area, though.”

“Was her car where Martha said it was?” he asks.

The wind picks up a little, whipping against my face. “Yeah, it was at the trailhead.”

His voice grows a little more serious. “How high up are you?”

“High enough.”

“Cole.”

He knows the dangers of being above tree line during a storm just as well as I do. He and our middle brother, Theo, have all been on the search and rescue squad with me for a few years now.

There’s nowhere to seek shelter up here, so you’re exposed to everything the storm has to offer.

“I’ll get back down in time. I promise,” I tell him. “I’m keeping a close eye on it.”

I can hear his heavy exhale through the line. “Don’t be a martyr. Okay?”

“I won’t.”

“Love you.”

“Love you, too,” I say before disconnecting the call and sliding my phone back into my pocket.

I pause, hearing a noise off to the left. I stop walking, straining my ears to listen to it again.

Without the sound of my own feet crunching against the dirt and rock, I can hear something. I can’t make out anything definitive, but something is moving around.

Slowly, I start to move in that direction. It is coming from the far side of the boulder field I was trudging through.

Either I’m going to find this missing woman, or I’m going to stumble upon a wild animal who might want to eat me for lunch.

Stepping around the largest boulder, my feet come to an abrupt stop. I can confirm the noise was not coming from a wild animal. However, one is rearing up inside of me from the sight in front of me.

Before me stands a woman whom I must assume is Riley. She’s facing away from me, wearing only a sports bra and a dark green, lacy thong. Said thong is threaded between the two most perfect ass cheeks I’ve ever seen in my life.

I want nothing more than to lick or bite them.

Fuck me. What the hell am I doing? I’m supposed to be here saving this woman, but here I am ogling her ass and wondering how she would taste. Fuck my life.

I clear my throat, diverting my eyes toward my feet.

She lets out a shriek. I struggle like hell to keep my eyes downturned and not snap them back to her, even though I can feel her eyes on me now.

“Sorry… I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“What the fuck are you doing?” she snarls in a raspy voice that makes my dick twitch in my pants.

“Trying to rescue you… I’m pretty sure.”

“Rescue me from what?”

My eyes snap up when I point toward the churning gray clouds that are steadily creeping closer.

Fucking dammit, every inch of her is as perfect as her ass. She has long, wavy hair somewhere between light brown and dark blonde, tied up in a messy ponytail. Freckles are sprinkled lightly across her tanned cheeks and nose.

And those eyes…

Light green eyes are staring into my soul. She looks like she wants to kill me. The venom in her stare is palpable with her arms crossed across her chest and not two fucks to give about what she’s wearing.

Or, I guess, what she’s not wearing.

“I’m guessing you’re Riley,” I say, staring back at her just as intensely.

A flicker of unease flashes over her eyes but quickly vanishes. “So, are you here to kill me or sweep me away to your sex dungeon?”

“No,” I bite back, speechless that someone with a mouth that kissable could have an attitude so fiery.

Who am I kidding? Her attitude only makes her more kissable.

Her eyes widen. “So… why the fuck are you here? And how do you know my name?”

“Search and rescue.” I probably could have added a little more detail to that statement, but this woman is damn distracting.

“Why the hell was search and rescue called to come save me?” she asks, with finger quotes around the word “save.”

“Because you didn’t make it back to town last night.”

Her hands fly out at her sides. “Who would even know? I don’t know anyone here.”

“Martha,” I say.

Her face softens. “Busybody,” she mumbles under her breath.

She’s not wrong. Martha and her bestie, Louise, are the town gossips with their fluffy white hair and floral tops that scream “Grandma of the Year.” They have good hearts, though.

“She was just worried,” I say, running my hand over the stubble lining my jaw.

She lets out a heavy breath. “Well… I don’t need your help. I’m fine.” She gestures toward the pile beside her. There’s a well-used backpack with what looks like a small tent strapped to the front.

“You camped out here last night?” I ask.

She nods.

Call me impressed. While the weather was beautiful last night, it isn’t something I often see women doing alone. I don’t even know Riley, but something tells me she is full of surprises.

I nod in return. My eyes dart back toward the storm. “You still need to get down off this mountain.”

“Well aware,” she says, voice full of attitude. Her hands move down her body, which I had been trying to avoid staring at, but now that she has drawn attention to it, I find myself admiring all her beauty.

“Hence why I’m changing into some warmer clothes and then getting out of here—or at least I was trying to before you came stomping in like some wannabe knight in shining armor.

” She sucks in a quick breath before continuing.

“I do not need anyone to save me. I’m fully capable of taking care of myself. ”

“To be determined,” I say, and her eyes flare with fury. “You’re the one still hiking up here when this storm’s been predicted for days.”

She looks from side to side. “Wait… am I hallucinating, or are you on the same fucking mountain with the same fucking storm raging toward us?”

Her venom is making me equal parts angry and turned the fuck on. The urge to wrap my hand around her neck for two very different reasons is strong.

“As delicious as you look right now, you might want to put on some more clothes, or this descent is going to be rather uncomfortable.”

One of her eyebrows shoots up toward her hairline. “I don’t know which one of us would be more uncomfortable because…”

Her eyes move down to my crotch and the half-hard imprint my dick is making against my pants that are too tight at the moment.

“That looks like it would be a pain in the… well…” She contemplates for a moment. “Dick.”

Damn. She’s cute.

“Be my guest. If you want to hike down in your bra and thong, I’ll gladly stare at your perfect ass all the way down,” I say, devouring the sass pouring out of her in waves.

She lets out a groan, turning away from me. She bends over her backpack, and my brain goes completely blank.

I thought her ass was mesmerizing before, but fuck. Now she’s bent over, and the only thing concealing her pussy from me is a thin piece of lace.

Images of gripping her hips while I slam inside of her in that exact position flit through my brain. Followed by flashes of me on my knees behind her, licking a trail from her clit all the way to her ass.

I’m not half-hard anymore. I’m almost fully erect with the unsolicited porn show happening inside my brain.

Shaking my head, I try to clear the images away, but they aren’t going anywhere. I’ve never had this kind of instant attraction before… with anyone.

She finds whatever she was looking for in her bag and peeks at me. “Like what you see?”

I know I should be embarrassed for getting caught staring, but I’m not. I shrug. “It isn’t the worst thing I’ve seen today.”

That’s a gross understatement. I’m pretty sure she is the single best thing my eyes have ever had the pleasure of crossing paths with.

I stand there staring at her like an idiot as she dresses in a pair of athletic leggings and a long-sleeved top. She quickly slides on a pair of socks and her hiking boots, then puts on her backpack.

“Ready?” I ask.

“Who said I was going to hike down with you?”

“There’s one trail leading down to where we’re both parked, so we are doing this together, whether you like it or not, sweetheart.”

She pushes past me, heading back in the direction of the trail. “I guess you’d better keep up then,” she says over her shoulder.

Shaking my head, I follow behind her, not minding the view one bit. Enjoying the sights around me is my favorite thing about hiking.

The scenery around the town I grew up in is gorgeous, but this view tops any other I’ve ever had on a hike. Riley is truly something else.

Suddenly, she pauses, whipping around to look at me. “I don’t even know your name.”

“True.”

The anger that had dissipated in her gaze flares back to life.

“Do you want to know my name?”

Her eyes narrow even further.

I lick my lips. “I think you do, sweetheart.”

“Don’t sweetheart me.”

I step closer, until less than a foot separates us. “It’s Cole.”

“Well… you’re an asshole, Cole.”

“Not the first person to call me that.”

“Shocking,” she says, bringing her hands up to grip the straps of her backpack.

I place my hands on her shoulders, spinning her around. “Come on. Let’s go, sweetheart.”