Chapter 3 Kellan
KELLAN
Life on the mountain starts early each morning, and rarely does a day go by without a hiccup.
This morning’s fiasco was Don Juan the goat getting his head stuck in the fence.
But the disastrous morning didn’t end there.
After I wrangled him free, I introduced Gerry to the flock. It’s common for existing members to go hard on new birds as their pecking order is disturbed, which is why I only introduced him visually, in his own small cage.
Somehow, as I stepped away, Rascal and Attila, two alpha roosters as I like to call them, broke into Gerry’s enclosure and did some minor damage.
“Is he going to be okay?” Greer asks as I bring Gerry over to an exam table I have set up in the guest room.
Her hair is piled in a messy bun atop her head, a few copper strands escaping to frame her face. Her eyes carry just a hint of exhaustion that makes me want to pull her close and let her rest against my chest.
She’s wearing one of my old T-shirts she must have borrowed. It’s way too big, yet I find it more charming than any fitted dress.
“Go back to sleep,” I tell her.
CLUCK-CLUCK-CLUCK!
“Easier said than done.” She grabs a med kit from the counter and brings it to the table. “Not that your bed isn’t comfy. It’s just hard getting used to a new place, is all.”
It’s hard to reconcile this woman with the lanky string bean I last remember her to be. She’s softer now, with curves that tie my thoughts in knots, and every time she leans in close to watch me work, her scent—something sweet like vanilla—fills my lungs and scrambles my thoughts.
I extend my hand. “Grab me the Hen Healer from that bag.”
CLUCK-CLUCK-CLUCK!
She sifts through the contents, a smile widening on her mouth when she finds the salve. “Here!”
I clean and treat Gerry’s wounds. He pecks and clucks his indignation, which is only quelled when Greer places a handful of mealworms on the table.
“I’ve always wanted to work with animals,” she confesses.
“That could still happen.”
She rolls her eyes. “Sorry, but you’re the last person who should be giving me career advice.”
Offended, I snap, “And why is that?”
“Because you got your associate’s at seventeen, when most people were getting their high school diploma. Then you went in the military and took full-time classes while enlisted.”
I hate that she’s comparing herself to me, especially after knowing what she’s dealing with.
But those feelings she has can’t be fixed in the span of a conversation. They have to be chipped away at over time, which I aim to do.
“I’d argue that I was more driven than smart, but I get your frustration.” I put Gerry back in his enclosure and grab my work bag. “The kitchen’s fully stocked. Make yourself at home.”
Her face falls, and a tinge of guilt needles me.
“I’d love to stay and help more, but I have important clients to attend to, like Elliot the Emu, who needs a house call.”
Greer bites her plump lower lip, and the sight sends a bolt of heat straight through me.
Those lips—soft, full, begging to be kissed until they’re swollen and breathless.
I imagine them greedy and demanding, wanting more and more from me.
More than I’ve given a woman in quite some time.
The thought nearly makes me groan aloud.
I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I swore off women years ago.
But something about Greer sends my mind into a tailspin.
I clear my throat. “If you need anything, call the office. The number’s on the refrigerator.”
She shifts nervously in her stance. “Actually, I was hoping you wouldn’t mind if I tagged along?”
As I’m about to go full-grump on her because she needs to be focused on her studies, I realize she probably doesn’t want to be stuck in my cabin all day alone.
“I guess it’d be good for you to get a feel for the town. There’s a diner that makes a mean pie, and a library that might have things to help you study.” I look at my watch. “Be ready in twenty.”
She bounds toward my bedroom, which I insisted she take, closing the door behind her.
Dread coils deep within me, creating a hollow feeling I thought I’d left behind.
This was supposed to be simple. A favor for her brother. A roof. A bed. No complications.
But having her around makes me remember a time when loneliness didn’t rule my life.
She reappears in record time wearing baggy jeans and a tight-fitted yellow shirt that accentuates the dramatic curve from her waist to her hips, and my brain all but short-circuits.
My mouth goes dry; I have to force myself to look away before she catches me staring like a starved wolf.
“Ready,” she chirps, rushing for the door.
I grab the keys and head out to my truck, glancing at her beater.
“That’s Rus’s old car, ain’t it.”
“Yep. He gave it to me a few years back. The only reason my parents let me keep it was so I could drive back and forth to work.”
I slide into the driver’s seat of my truck and reach over to help Greer up.
“I didn’t know they made trucks this high,” she grumbles.
“It helps with the rocky terrain.”
I head down the mountain, trying my best to keep my mind on all the things I need to do and far away from my unwanted houseguest.
If she’s so unwanted, why did you offer to let her stay with you?
I tell myself it was to help Rus, but surely there are other less invasive ways I could have done so. I have plenty of money to make it work. Perhaps I could rent her an apartment. That’ll surely clear my debt.
Before going to the clinic, I drive around Iron Peak, showing her the local diner, library, and a few other places she might be interested in. She takes it all in, but I can’t help but notice the worried expression on her face.
“I know it’s smaller than Summerton, but it has what you need.”
“It’s not the size that bothers me…well, not in the way you might think.” She looks out the window and sighs. “I was just hoping there’d be a place for me to work.”
“That again?”
Her head snaps to look at me. “I don’t think you understand that it could take me years to pass my GED test.”
“I understood that when I agreed to take you in.”
“Then you should also understand that feeding and housing someone who contributes nothing is going to get old—especially with me sleeping in your bed.”
I could just tell her that I intend to rent her an apartment, but something makes me hesitate. A nagging feeling I can’t quite place.
I pull into the clinic parking lot and kill the engine. “Let me help you down.” I exit the truck and rush around to assist Greer, arriving right on time to catch her as she tumbles from the cabin.
Her limbs flail wildly as her face crashes into my chest. My arms weave awkwardly around her, holding her in place for a long moment.
“Oof!” she gasps, her feet scrambling beneath her.
Her soft body molds against mine—full breasts pressing into my ribs, hips fitting perfectly under my hands.
Heat explodes through me; my blood roars south as her intoxicating scent wraps around me like a drug.
For one dangerous second, I imagine lifting her right back into the cab, pinning her against the seat, and claiming every inch she’s offering without even knowing it.
When she finally rights herself and pulls away, I feel a sense of unexpected loss. Like something was just taken from me.
“I’d say I’m sorry, but I think your sky-high truck is what’s really to blame.”
“In the military, we would have called that a spatial awareness issue.”
She frowns. “Yeah, that kind of goes along with being dyslexic.”
“Oh…” How could I have been so insensitive?
“Lighten up.” Greer giggles. “It was my fault.”
An unfamiliar smile curves my lips, which I immediately banish. The last thing I need is to get too close to this girl. Or any, for that matter.
“Could you hurry your independent ass inside? I’ll be in the doghouse with Lucy if I take much longer.”
“Lucy?”
As expected, Lucy is waiting at the door, tail twitching in silent judgement as I enter the clinic.
“Lucy, Greer; Greer, Lucy.”
“Well, hello!” Greer chirps, putting her curvy backside on display as she bends to pet the stark-black cat.
The tight yellow shirt rides up just enough to show a sliver of soft skin at her waist, and her jeans hug her round ass like they were painted on. My hands itch to grab those hips and pull her back against me.
I shake my head, casting treasonous images from my brain, and bark out, “She’s a bit touchy before morning meal.”
Lucy growls, her hair standing on end. Greer backs away.
I grab a cupful of kibble.
Greer looks around the clinic. “Do you have any staff?”
“Just Lucy, the resident mouser. She was a stray. Hated other cats. Doesn’t like people all that much. She’s happy enough, just so long as there are no missed meals.”
“If you need any help around the clinic—”
“I didn’t ask for any.”
“I know, but if you do—”
“I’ll put out a want ad.”
Frustration lines her face, but it had to be said. The very last thing I need is her strutting around the office, distracting me with those curvy hips and—
“Maybe I can apply at the diner.”
“Yeah, you should go do that,” I snap, knowing full well they’re not in need of help. “Just make sure you’re back at the clinic at four.”
Regret washes over me as I watch her leave, her hips swaying with every step, leaving me hard and aching in my jeans like some teenager who can’t control himself.
Which means I need to get her the hell out of my house, my clinic, and my life.
With fifteen minutes before my first scheduled appointment, I call Rus, hoping he sees things my way. He answers on the second ring.
“Hello?”
“Hey, ah…Greer is settled and doing well.”
He sighs. “I can’t tell you how thankful I am for your help. I’ve been worried sick since she went missing.”
“Yeah, about that. Did your parents really try to marry her off?”
“Are you surprised? They’ve never been good parents, but over the last few years, they’ve become monsters.”
“And you didn’t bother to do a damn thing about it?”
“I didn’t know how bad it had gotten until she fled, but trust me, there will be a reckoning—I’ll make sure of it.”
“She’s talking about getting a job. I told her to focus on getting her GED, but she’s about as thick-headed as you are.”
“I won’t argue with that.” His voice is quiet. Solemn. “Even after all these years, I knew I could trust you.”
My stomach drops. I wish I had the grace to properly apologize, but nothing I could say would be sufficient.
“You know, when Greer went missing, it got me thinking of you…” Rus says, voice low. “The way you disappeared, and how confused I was.”
My throat suddenly goes dry.
“I thought it was something I’d done. Then, guilt turned to anger, and I cursed your name more often than I care to admit. I thought maybe you’d gotten cold feet before the wedding. But that’s not it…”
I press my eyes closed as memories of days long past play in my mind.
“I’m sorry to ask, but I need to know: what made you run?”
I hit END CALL and pocket my phone without saying goodbye, because there are some ghosts I’m just not ready to face, and some conversations I might never be ready to have.