Crazy for the Mountain Man (Whispered Echoes #18)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Rhodes

I stared at the blinking cursor, the blank page mocking me. The words were a struggle today, but I was on a deadline and chasing the clock was a losing battle I often found myself in.

My stomach growled and I blew out a breath as I stood up from my office chair and stretched my arms above my head. Maybe some food would help stimulate my brain.

Most days the words flowed but for some reason I felt stuck tonight. Maybe it was the pressure of the looming deadline or maybe I wasn’t happy with the way the story moved, but fuck it was annoying me.

I walked downstairs to the kitchen in search of something to eat for dinner. After searching the cabinets and fridge, I settled on a burger with a salad on the side.

As I got to work cooking, I tried to brainstorm the plot twist I wanted for my story, yet my mind kept coming up blank.

“Shit,” I muttered to myself, “Have I written too many books now to think of anything else?”

The past four years, I’ve hid out in my secluded mountainside cabin in the small town of Appleridge, only leaving when absolutely necessary. I spent my days churning out thriller novels about corrupt businesses and the fucked-up shit they do to people. Especially when it comes to money.

I certainly wasn’t an overnight success or anything, but after a couple of years of grinding away, my books gained some traction, which motivated me to keep cranking them out.

Now I’ve hit bestseller lists a few times and the demand for more books was sky high. At first, these books felt like therapy to me as I poured out the crimes of my past, the scandals I took part in, the disgusting way I ruined people’s lives all to make my own selfish gains.

Being a ruthless business banker wasn’t for the weak and the guilt I carried around every day was enough to weigh a damn ship down. When my mother died a sudden, unexpected death, I came back to Appleridge, guilt ridden and full of grief. I left her here to pursue a big life in the city after she raised me on her own. And now she was gone.

I made the choice then and there at her funeral to move here and start a new life. This was the only place I felt close to her. And while it would never be enough to replace her, at least there were plenty of good memories around this town to remember her by.

Thoughts churned in my head as I cut up the veggies for my salad when a sharp pain tore through my palm, a white-hot jolt exploding up my arm and into my veins.

“Fuck!” I yelled and when I looked down, blood gushed from the middle of my hand.

Instantly, a cold sweat broke out on my forehead and the room began spinning, the walls closing in on me. A garbled noise escaped my throat as I slid to the floor, everything around me going dark.

I woke with a start a few seconds later, took one look at my bloody hand, and passed out again.

When I came to, I scrambled to my feet, grabbing a towel from the counter and wrapping it around my hand. If I couldn’t see the blood, the less chance of me passing out again. I quickly downed the bottle of water sitting on the counter, grabbed my wallet and keys, and ran for the door.

My cut probably wasn’t deep enough for a stitch but there was no way I could look without passing out. Ever since I was a little boy, the sight of blood made me faint.

Once in my car, I drove to the local pharmacy. The pharmacy here in Appleridge had a small urgent care clinic that stayed open twenty-four seven.

When I pulled into the lot, I parked in front and hurried inside.

“Whoa, sir, do you need some help?” The young man at the front register pointed at my hand.

I hadn’t dared looked down the entire ride over here. Yet now my curiosity got the better of me and as soon as I saw the blood had soaked through the towel, my eyes rolled to the back of my head and my vision turned spotty until everything went dark, and I hit the floor.

“Sir! Sir! Are you okay? Can you hear me?” A kind female voice called out to me, but it sounded so far away. I tried to move closer, but my arms and legs felt like stone. All I could manage was a nod before I was ready to slip under again.

“We have an ambulance on the way. Stay with me. Stay with me, sir.” The sweet voice coated my insides like honey, and I wanted to hear more yet my body still didn’t move, like I was stuck on a glue trap.

“His hand looks pretty bad. Maybe you should check it out while we wait for the ambulance to arrive.” The sweet voice said before a deeper male voice answered.

Someone moved my injured hand and pain traveled up my arm, bringing me more out of the heavy fog I was in. “Ouch!” I grunted.

“There he is! I think he’s waking up.” The sweet voice said again, and I turned my head, following the sound, wanting to see who it was coming from. “We have help coming for you, sir, okay? You fainted at the pharmacy.”

I blinked a couple of times and when she came into view, my eyesight clearing, I had to blink again. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on. Wild auburn curls framed her adorable face, a splash of freckles danced across her nose, and her hazel eyes reflected so much kindness, my heart came to life in my chest, no longer a silent beat.

Who is she?

Why does she make my heart race?

A rush of annoyance washed over me, hating the way my body and mind were betraying me.

I didn’t let people in. Especially not beautiful women. And especially not this beautiful woman. Because I knew in my gut, there was something about her. Something causing my heart to remember it was alive.

Something that was going to change my life forever.

The next few hours passed by in a daze, all my energy gone, from losing blood to passing out, my body had enough. Yet every time my eyes peeked open, the same beautiful woman was by my side.

Who is she?

“Are you waking up sleepyhead?”

I turned my head towards her, her beaming smile warming me from the inside out. No. I don’t get warm. I don’t get the fuzzies. I don’t feel anything.

“Who are you?” I snapped, cringing inside at my grumpiness.

“I’m Brielle. I work at the pharmacy in Appleridge. I helped you when you ran in the store with your bloody hand and passed out. A couple of times.” She told the story like it was the best thing that happened to her all day.

Her happiness annoyed me. And then I became annoyed that I was annoyed at her happy demeanor. Fuck, I annoyed myself.

“Oh…uh…well, thanks, I guess? Name’s Rhodes. You don’t have to stay. I’ll be fine.” I tried to sit up higher in bed, but my head pounded and my hand throbbed. I looked down to find it well bandaged and wondered if it was time for more pain meds yet.

“I don’t mind. Better than going back to work, am I right?” Brielle joked and her eyes sparkled. Was she always so happy go lucky?

“I’ve always passed out at the sight of blood. It’s no big deal.”

“You cut your hand pretty bad. You needed a couple of stitches.”

I scrubbed my uninjured hand down my face and sighed. “A couple of stitches? Shit.”

“Yeah. How did you cut yourself, anyway?”

“Do you always ask people you don’t know a lot of questions?”

Brielle chuckled. “Guilty as charged. I can’t help being curious.”

A bubble of laughter threatened to escape my throat, but I tamped it down quickly. “It happened while chopping veggies.”

“Ah, the classic veggie chopping accident. I think it’s safe to say most people have been where you are.”

I studied her for a moment, an unexplainable pull between us, her sunshine to my nightfall, and the idea of kissing her popped into my head. I pushed it away as fast as I could.

“They plan to discharge you soon after you finish your bag of fluids. I followed the ambulance here, wanting to make sure you were okay, and in case you needed a ride back to your truck.”

“You didn’t have to do all of that.” I grumbled.

“I know. I wanted to.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

As Brielle had promised, she waited until I was discharged and drove me to my truck.

And as I laid in bed later that night, sleep didn’t come.

The only thing on my mind was her.