Big Daddy Mountain Man (Big Cedar Daddies #3)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

“Thank you, Sir!” Amber Hanes said as she gleefully took hold of the check and examined the amount printed on its front.

“You know, you ought to have a bank account,” Manuel Reyes told her with a good-natured smile. “You could lose that check. And with an account the money could be directly deposited. It’s safer and quicker. Easier, too.”

Amber lowered the check and looked at her boss. He was a short, thin Hispanic man with silver hair, a close-cropped mustache, and kind, wise eyes. They were standing in his tiny office at the back of his family restaurant, with the smell of delicious dishes wafting in through the open door. The sound of plates and silverware clinking, as well as the cooks conversing in Spanish, drifted in, too.

“One day I’ll have one,” she said. She then offered an apologetic and embarrassed smile. “I had some issues a while back and banks won’t really open an account for me. But I’ll be okay. I’m getting back on my feet!”

She said that last part with her trademark optimism, causing the older man to smile and chuckle.

“I have no doubt you will do whatever you set your mind to. But are you sure I can’t talk you into staying?”

She held up the check and grinned. “No. This gives me what I need to go to Big Cedar. I’ll cash it on my way to the bus station and then I’ll have enough for my ticket!”

A ticket for the bus that left that very afternoon, she realized. She had to hurry, but there was still time to make it. She didn’t want to spend another day in Oklahoma City.

Not at the apartment she lived in.

Not with Donnie lurking about. The one who made her afraid to sleep in her own apartment.

She didn’t want to think about him right now, though. She’d caught up on rent, taken care of a few things, and with that paycheck had the funds she needed to get out of town.

Life was looking up. Why dwell on the negative when there was so much positive?

Manuel sighed but smiled, too, nodding as he said, “Well, I wish you well. We’ll all miss you. And if you ever come back to Oklahoma City, just know you have a job right here waiting as long as our doors are open.”

That would be a while, Amber silently noted. The Mexican eatery was quite popular and had become a staple on the city’s southwest side. She’d wandered in six months back, looking for a job. She knew she must have been quite a sight: tattered clothes, frail and thin, looking every bit as down and out as she was. But Manuel had put her to work and everyone there had been so kind to her.

Now, though, it was time to move on.

“I’ll miss you, Mr. Reyes,” she told him, unable to stop a tear from falling down her left cheek.

He appraised her affectionately for a moment before saying, “Just promise me you will come to us if you are ever in trouble, mija .”

Amber smiled. She didn’t know much Spanish, despite working at the restaurant, but she knew enough to know that was a term of affection. It warmed her heart.

“I will Mr. Reyes. And thank you.”

He smiled wider, opened his arms, and hugged her tightly.

“I do not know what is in this Big Cedar,” he said in his thick accent. “But I hope you find exactly what you need.”

Amber was still smiling as she pulled away. What Big Cedar had was people like her: Littles.

And Bigs who loved and cared for them.

Maybe she’d find her Daddy there. It was time to set out and see if he was in those mountains of Southeastern Oklahoma, just waiting for her like she was waiting to meet him.

Maybe.

Someday.

For now, though, she just needed to get to that unique community nestled in the mountains and take the rest one step at a time.

“Thank you again. For everything,” she said.

“Thank you. You have worked hard here and will be missed.”

Before Mr. Reyes could say anything else, his daughter, Reneta, came in holding a bag that she offered to Amber.

“I made you tamales for your trip,” she said. Having been born in Texas, she didn’t share her father’s thick accent.

“Perfect!” Manuel said. “Now you will not be hungry. I also filled a bag for you. But it will not be as good as Reneta’s tamales.” He picked up a sack from the cluttered desk and gave it to Amber.

She opened it to see fruit and tortillas.

He looked sheepish. “I wanted things that would not spoil,” he explained with a shrug. “But those tamales will keep just fine, mija. Is it a long bus ride to where you are going?”

“No,” she said. “Only five hours, and that’s just because of the stops. Really, Big Cedar is just a few hours from here.”

The kind man’s eyes twinkled. “Ah. Then that means you can come back for a visit sometimes. No?”

“I’ll be back. I promise.” She threw her arms around Manuel Reyes one more time and then turned her affections to Reneta, giving her a big hug too.

“Vaya con Dios,” Mr. Reyes told her. “And remember you always have friends right here.”

The words continued to warm Amber’s heart as she told them goodbye, walked through the kitchen, and said her farewells to the rest of the staff.

“Wait!” Mr. Reyes called out when Amber was almost at the restaurant’s front door.

She turned to see him hurrying toward her with keys in hand. “How did I forget? You need a ride to the bus station!”

Amber laughed. “I was just going to hop on a crosstown bus that would take me to the Greyhound?—”

Mr. Reyes shook his head vigorously. “No, no. This is no good. I will drive you, mija.”

There was no arguing with Mr. Reyes once he’d made up his mind, so Amber didn’t even bother trying. Instead, she gave him a relenting nod and said, “Thank you. But I need to swing by my apartment and grab my stuff on my way.”

He waved it off. “Why do you act like this is an inconvenience? It gives me more time with you. Come, come. We will go now. And we’ll stop and cash that check on our way.”

They walked to the rear parking lot, got in his car, and she gave directions to her apartment.

She was so thankful to finally be starting her new adventure. In just about an hour, she’d be on the road to her new life in Big Cedar.

But first, she just needed what few possessions she had from her apartment. That wasn’t too big of a deal. In theory.

She knew, though, that Donnie might think differently.

Yuck! When it came to Donnie, everything became a big deal.

And the potential for danger went through the roof.