Protecting Her Secrets (Mountain Men of Culver Springs #1)

Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Walker

I’m startled awake by a trilling alarm from my phone. Without much thought, I silence it and settle back in the bed. This happens a lot when you have motion sensors in the forest. Wildlife doesn’t care about property lines. I’d never tell Rowan this, but usually, I silence them at night. So why wasn’t it silenced last night?

I bolt upright and grab my phone, noting it’s six in the morning. Any other day, I would’ve already had my first cup of coffee and my chores done, but Sky and I were up late, relearning every inch of each other’s bodies. I peer over my shoulder and can only see the top of her head. It’s good to know she still sleeps with her face under the blankets, even though I find it weird.

The alarm sounds again, forcing my brain to wake up enough to realize the reason I didn’t silence them last night. Clicking into the app, I choose the last video showing movement. I cleared the road yesterday when we left the house, so that’s where I expected to find the alert, but it’s not. I play a video from one of my trail cams, realizing that almost five minutes have passed, which is plenty of time for someone to storm the house. As much as I’d like to think I’m ready for Klutch to try something, I’m obviously not.

I don’t have to worry about that this morning, though, because traveling over the snow is a bright yellow ATV with a pink cab cover and blue rims. They’re moving at the speed of a slug, giving me plenty of time to take a piss, brush my teeth, and pull on some clothes. I’m leaving the bedroom when Skylar rouses.

“Where are you going?”

“Remember how I told you about Miss Martha and Luther?”

“Yeah?”

A knock sounds on the door, making Sprocket bark. “They’re here.”

She sits up. “What time is it?”

“Six. Go back to sleep; you don’t need to come down.”

“I want to. You said they’re like your grandparents, so I need to get to know your family.”

“Okay. Come down when you’re ready then. Oh, by the way, I stopped at your rental car and grabbed your bag. I know it’s not much, but we’ll get your clothes replaced soon.”

“You did?” The utter shock in her face reminds me she hasn’t had anyone take care of her for a while. It makes me all the more determined to be that person.

I kiss her forehead before dashing to the door, not wanting them in the cold for too long. Sprocket worms his way outside as I pull the door open to find the elderly couple sneaking treats to my cow and goats. I watch them with affection, grateful to have them as neighbors.

“You’re spoiling them,” I call out.

“Hush. If these are the only great grand-babies I get, then I’ll spoil them if I want to,” Miss Martha says, scratching Moodonna’s nose. “Then again, I heard you’re hiding a girl here.”

“Let me guess. Lavanya?” I should’ve known the second we walked into the diner, the whole town would find out.

“It’s not like you bothered to call,” Luther says.

I slip on my boots and step out into the cold, offering an elbow to both of them. “It just barely happened. There wasn’t time.”

They release me when we reach the mudroom, and I help them with their coat, gloves, and boots. Miss Martha used to live in New York as a fashion magazine editor, so despite moving to a small town in the mountains, she’s dressed impeccably. Somehow, her crisp white button-down is unwrinkled, as are her tailored pants. She has a brightly colored silk scarf tied around her neck, a coordinating one tied around her head in a beautifully complicated way. And I’ve never seen the woman without her signature red lipstick that pops against her brown skin.

In contrast, Luther is a local and dresses like it. His worn jeans are held up by bright red suspenders the feed store sells, and his plaid button-down is so old, it has real Mother of Pearl buttons. He’s not one to waste time grooming himself, so he keeps his tightly coiled salt and pepper curls cropped short, and after spending years as a working man in the sun, he has deep-set wrinkles on his forehead and around his eyes.

“Gimme a hug, son,” Miss Martha says, her arms open wide. “How have you been?”

I sigh as I breathe in the woman who single-handedly convinced me that sometimes, family is chosen. “Good. You guys make it through this last storm okay?”

“Of course. I’d apologize for dropping in like this, but I’m not sorry at all. Do you know how embarrassing it was for me to hear from Lavanya that you’ve been married the whole time I’ve known you? You know that woman likes to gloat.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that.”

“Well, we’re here now, and I want to hear all about it.” Her dark brown eyes scan the kitchen and living room. “Did you scare her away already, son?”

“What? No. She’ll be down in a minute. We were up late last night, so we slept in a little.”

“That’s my boy.” Luther slaps my back. “You gotta keep them love drunk, or else they get bored and start asking you to go antiquing or take a salsa class.”

“We did both of those things last summer, so what does that say about you?” Martha looks the man up and down.

“Hi,” Skylar says, sidling up to my side.

“Well, there she is.” Martha takes both Skylar’s hands and does what appears to be a thorough inspection. “And you’re so lovely.”

“Miss Martha, Luther, this is my wife, Skylar.” The more I call her that, the more I like the sound of it.

“Skylar? What a pretty name.” Luther takes one of her hands in both of his, his wrinkled and watery eyes sparkling.

“It’s nice to finally meet you. Walker talks so much about you.”

I look down proudly at my wife and bring her back to my side. She looks beautiful in a long denim skirt with a slit up the center that goes to mid-thigh. She paired it with a black, long-sleeve shirt that fits tight to her body and has a square neck. It’s sexy without being overt. There must’ve been hair products in her bag as well because her damp curls are perfect tight ringlets instead of the wild mane she has had since she got here.

“You look beautiful.”

“Thanks. Feels good to have a change of clothes.”

“Were you not planning on staying, dear?” Martha makes herself at home, making a pot of coffee while Luther sits on a bar stool at the island.

“I need to talk to you two about that. Let’s get that coffee served, and then I can catch you up,” I say.

“Walker,” Skylar protests, no doubt wanting to keep the situation private, but that’s not how small mountain towns work. It’s hard living in a remote area with limited resources, so we stick together. It can be annoying at times, but I’ve learned to take it for what it is—love.

“It’s all good, sweetheart.” I release her and pull out the sugar and powdered cream I have left, since I threw a temper tantrum at the store and never did get the produce and dairy I needed. Remembering I have a loaf of sourdough, I get that out and my last jar of jam from this past summer.

If Skylar was surprised I make bread, I can’t imagine what she’ll do when she finds out I like to can and make jams. Is that something she’ll help me with this year? Will she find it as relaxing as I do? Or will she find it boring? Our life in Bakersfield consisted of hanging out on the river or going to bars, movies, and restaurants. I can’t imagine that changed much for her after I left. Now, all I can offer her is baking, gardening, hiking, and, in the summer, when all our chores are done, a trip to one of the many lakes around here.

Is that enough excitement for her?

“Is that from Mardough, Walker?” Miss Martha asks.

“You know about his sourdough starter?” Skylar asks.

“Mardough is the son of my starter, Herculyeast.”

Skylar laughs and helps me carry everything to the living room. Curiosity is evident on my pseudo-grandparents’ faces as we settle in. I’ve been nothing if not boring and predictable since we met, and I can imagine this is making them uneasy, but they need to know trouble might be coming. With them being my closest neighbors, they’ll be part of one of our exit plans, but only as a last resort. It’d kill me if something bad happened to them over this.

“Well, the anticipation has been properly built up, so why don’t you tell us what’s going on?” Luther rests his forearms on his thighs, ready to dig into whatever problems need to be fixed.

It kills me to watch Skylar retreat into herself as I speak, and even when I give her the opening to tell her own story, she doesn’t take it. Instead, she stares down at her cup of coffee.

“Excuse me, son. I need to interrupt you for a second,” Martha says, stopping me from finishing, but I was near the end anyway. Not even the interruption grabs Sky’s attention, but Martha’s words do. “Look at me, sweet girl. Now I want you to hear me and hear me good: do not be embarrassed by any of this. You are a survivor.”

“I should’ve left a long time ago.”

“Wrong. That man made you believe you had no choices. He broke you down until you didn’t believe you deserved any better. That’s not on you; that’s on him.” She grabs my hand. “But you’re one of the lucky ones. You found a man who sees you for the shining star you are and who will keep lifting you up until you believe it yourself.”

“I am lucky.” She gives me a small smile.

“Our stories aren’t much different. From the outside, I was—what do you kids call it? Oh yeah, a boss babe.” She smiles, doing a little shoulder shake that has us all chuckling. “But at home, I was married to a man who treated me like I was nothing. He sucked away all my value until I felt like a shell of a human. I knew it was wrong, and I had no intention of meeting up with anyone in person. But I was desperate for a few kind words, maybe someone to secretly share my hopes and fears with, so I joined a dating website and met Luther. He slowly chipped away at my outer shell until he learned the truth.”

Luther nods. “The second she told me what her loser husband was like, I bought her a plane ticket and a fishing rod. She used the plane ticket, but the rod is still hanging in the garage.”

“I gladly accepted small-town life, but I still do not want to touch worms and sit on a boat for hours.” She rolls her eyes before turning back to Sky. “It took a month of planning to get out here because I had to hire a lawyer and put in my notice at work, all without him finding out. Then, one day, instead of going to work, I left divorce papers on the table, packed two suitcases, and used that plane ticket. So when I say I understand, I really understand. But you have to let go of all that guilt, baby. You made it out.”

Skylar scoots over on the sofa and curls into me. “You’re right. I made it out.”

Luther steps in. “Now, I know what’s happening is scary, but Walker did the right thing. Culver Springs takes care of its own, and since you’re Walker’s wife and our newest resident, you’re part of that. By the end of the day, everyone will know your story and will be on the lookout for anything suspicious.”

“I appreciate that.”

“And no one will think any differently of you. This town has been known to take in more than one person down on their luck and needing a helping hand,” Martha says.

“I just don’t want anyone to get hurt. He might give up on me someday, but if he ever found out about the baby. . .”

That gets Miss Martha’s attention. “You’re pregnant with his baby?”

“My baby,” I say, resting a hand on her lower abdomen. “He’s just a sperm donor.”

“Well, that changes everything,” Luther says, standing. “Come on, Martha. We need to get home and make some phone calls. Skylar, I swear on everything I am, that scumbag won’t get anywhere near you or that baby. Trust us Geezers. We may be old, but we’re mighty.”