Grump of Misty Mountain (Misty Mountain)

Chapter 1

ONE

FINN

Two things hadn’t changed since I retired from the Army. The first. I still woke up at five a.m. without setting my alarm and, second, my need for release. My self-imposed celibacy mostly caused the second since I moved to Misty Mountain a couple of years ago.

Pushing forty-three, I was amazed by the second and frustrated by the first. And for a moment, okay, maybe longer, I wished I hadn’t shut myself off from relationships—even a one-night stand no longer appealed.

Lately, I’d been wondering, a lot, if I’d passed up the chance to find an honest to goodness partner in life by cutting myself off from dating. The need to find someone who valued the same things as me and who could provide a softness to help calm my rougher edges had become forefront in my thoughts.

A part of me said it wasn’t too late, but another warned me I was too old to change my ways for any woman. So, for now, I’d keep to myself, write my stories and tinker with my motorcycle. A Harley Softail Heritage. If someone had just met me, and knew anything about vintage motorcycles, they’d probably think I was entering my mid-life crisis era. Maybe I was.

But cycles had been my passion long before the army and no matter where I was stationed, I always found one that needed a bit of TLC.

However, wallowing in my thoughts would not write the last chapter of my book, and my body was signaling its need for caffeine and sugar. It was Monday and that meant a trip into town for coffee someone else made instead of the instant crap I lived on. And my mouth watered at the thought of the crisp, apple fritters Ms. Clara sold down at the Pine and Petal Cafe. A weekly indulgence that kept me from turning into the cliché of a grumpy-hermit-mountain man most of my hometown friends and former rangers I served with had accused me of when I told them where I was moving after retirement.

During basic training, my unit brothers nicknamed me grump, and I’d never been able to shake it. I’d always been on the stoic side, even as a kid, but that had more to do with my home life. On my eighteenth birthday, I signed up with the Army to escape from the chaos of my dysfunctional parents.

Spending years of eating sand and slogging through deserts and rocky, mountainous terrain was enough to turn anyone into a grumpy ass, as far as I was concerned. But I never regretted it because the best thing to come out of my twenty-plus-year hitch was being an Army Ranger and realizing family, a real family, wasn’t always made by blood, but forged by blood.

Blood, sweat and honor among men and women who, no matter the enemy, always had my back and I theirs. Now separated physically but still connected through technology, I stayed in touch with many of them. I also didn’t mind that my fellow townspeople had labeled me grump the same as my friends had so long ago.

Since moving to Misty Mountain, I’d mostly kept to myself, which had the locals speculating how I supported myself. With no desire to reveal that I wrote military thrillers for a living, publishing under a pen name was one of the smartest decisions I’d ever made. I let them think what they wanted and just kept my face expressionless when someone at the cafe or the Rusty Elk Tavern, where I’d stop for a beer or two with Hank the owner, tried to dig for gossip about me.

Over time, I’d come to like this small town, but that also meant dealing with the mentality that came with living in a place that had a population less than three thousand. Everyone knew each other’s business, who was dating who, etcetera, etcetera.

And so when I walked into the bustling Pine and Petal Cafe to pick up my weekly order, I was not expecting to see anyone other than the queen of gossip herself behind the counter. Ms. Clara, the sweet owner, was speaking to a woman wearing an identical apron with the cafe’s logo on the front. However, the mystery woman’s face hidden behind one of the low hanging menu boards. But what I saw definitely had me looking twice, considering how long I’d been neglecting my libido.

Taking a third look, I drank in all her curves while silently willing her to step just a few more inches to the left so I could find out what she looked like.

“Finn, there you are. Was wondering where you were. I’ve got your fritters set aside. Near sold out of them again. They’ve become almost as popular as my cinnamon rolls.” Clara’s words managed to do what I couldn’t.

I tore my gaze away from the new employee and settled on the cafe owner. “Thanks. And I’ll take a large coffee today. Need the extra boost.” My voice came out rougher than I wanted, lust riding me hard as I tried to hide my interest.

“Now wipe that perma-scowl off your face or you’ll get nothing today. I have someone I want you to meet.”

Rumors abounded about Clara’s matchmaking tendencies, so I knew where this was going. I’d avoided her meddling in my life for so long I’d hoped she’d given up on me. If I needed to scratch an itch, I either used my hand or left the area and found a quick hookup in the neighboring city. But of course, I never shared any of that with Clara.

I did tell her often I was quite happy with my solitary life, but she’d just wave me off with a grin and tell me not to give up on finding love.

“You really should try the lavender honey latte. It’s A-mazing. I’ve had at least a dozen since I started working here last week.” The woman attached to the sultry voice stepped from behind the sign, wearing a sunny smile.

Shock and awe suddenly had a new meaning. Dark chocolate eyes and equally dark, silky looking and wavy hair swung around the most beautiful face I’d seen in a long time, maybe ever.

Each of my nerve endings went on high alert, similar to what would happen right before giving the go order during a high-risk mission when I was still active with the Rangers.

But this was so much better. There was no area of my body that wasn’t aware of this woman, especially my lower region, which was growing by the second behind my jeans' zipper.

“Finn, this is Sami Lynch. She answered my ad last week, and she’s been a godsend. Hardly had to train her. She’s an artist with foam, too. Sami, this is Finn Campbell. Don’t let his gruff and battle-hardened exterior fool you. He has a heart of gold. My Hank thinks highly of him. They’re both veterans, you know.” Clara winked at me.

I narrowed my gaze, lifting my chin in defiance to her description. I nodded at Sami and this time; I managed not to ogle her body. Much. I wasn’t going to play into whatever Clara was trying to orchestrate. She had that darn twinkle in her eye.

Shifting from one foot to the other as both women openly stared at me. But I’d been stared down by enemy combatants while taking crossfire and surely I could handle two petite women.

“Welcome to Misty Mountain.” There, I played nice. Hopefully, this torture would soon end. But Clara didn’t give up.

“See. Man of a few words. But he’s not hard on the eyes, so we put up with him. Especially since he gets a dozen apple fritters every Monday.”

Sami’s cheeks bloomed with a pretty pink blush. Had she noticed me checking her out? I kept my face neutral. At least I hoped I did since my body was still rioting.

“Did you want one, Finn?” Sami asked.

Silence filled the cinnamon-scented space. Both women wore expectant looks on their faces. I scrambled to put together if I missed a question because all I could focus on was Sami’s smile and her full, deep rose hued lips. What would they taste like? Feel like wrapped around my aching cock, which was doing its best to suck all the blood from my overactive brain.

Yes. The answer was yes. Didn’t matter what it was. Clara may have outed me as the town grump, but for this woman, I was tempted to change my ways. Wait, where had that thought come from?

“The latte. It won’t take long to make.” Sami’s smile did me in.

And, yeah, I was going to try one of those damn foo-foo coffees Clara had forever been pushing me to order. Anything that would give me more time to continue watching Sami.

“Um, sure. Why not?” I croaked out. Damn, that sounded lame. In an attempt to cover my embarrassment, I cleared my throat. “Summer allergies.” Then I smiled for good measure. And what do you know, it didn’t hurt.

Sami didn’t seem to notice my awkwardness and was that some interest in her eyes when I smiled at her? Then, with a slight bounce in her step at my acceptance of the specialty coffee, my gaze zeroed in on her full breasts as they jiggled.

My mouth went dry as an image flashed in my mind. Sami lying under me as I caressed, then sucked first one, then her other nipple into my mouth while she moaned and writhed underneath me. Would they be the same rosy-red as her lips?

Shit, I didn’t want to be caught staring, even if I was. So, I shifted my gaze back to her face and prayed she hadn’t noticed my leering. Nodding, I quickly stepped to the side so the person in line behind me could give their order.

Clara’s soft chuckle followed me as I stood silently, trying my best to pretend I hadn’t just ogled her new employees’ breasts. Shouldn’t be hard considering I’d never shown an interest in any other woman when I’d come into the Pine and Petal.

To take my mind off Sami’s tempting little body, I instead tried to guess her age. She looked younger than me, but at forty-two, that wasn’t hard.

What was it about her that I couldn’t stop my gaze from returning to her as she made my coffee and interacted with Clara and the other customer? I felt dumbstruck at just being in her presence and that was definitely something I hadn’t felt since, well, maybe never.

Now using my peripheral vision, which I’d long ago developed in the service, I continued to spy on the maybe just over five-foot-tall woman as she made quick work behind the espresso machine. Wasn’t there a saying, “Great things came in small packages.”

Well, I’d like to unwrap her packaging and discover if her luscious curves and skin were as soft as they appeared.

“Finn, here you go.” Sami stood behind the antique walnut counter, my drink in hand and her face prettily flushed. Had I done that to her? Had lust been written all over my face?

Again I blanked my expression, then caught my reflection in the mirror covering the back wall behind the register. Knitted brows and the slash of my tight-lipped mouth reflected back at me. No wonder everyone thought I was grumpy all the time.

Couldn’t be helped. I wanted Sami more than any woman I’d ever been with, but I also didn’t want to scare her off with this strange, out-of-control possessiveness that had overcome me.

With my debit card in one hand, with the other raised to accept the coffee, I wanted to make a quick exit as soon as I paid. Then go home and regroup. Figure out my reaction to her.

Just as we were inches from the tradeoff, Sami lurched forward, and the cup went flying. Right into my chest.

Hot liquid exploded, splashing under my chin. I released a hiss as the bulk of the coffee started seeping into my leather jacket. A beat up, broken-in jacket I’d had for over two decades. It’d seen worse during that time. Thankfully, it saved me from a skin blistering accident that could have sent me to the local urgent care center. But damn, it was my favorite.

“Oh, no! I’m so sorry. I—I don’t know how that happened.” Sami look mortified as she grabbed a hand towel and came around the counter, frantically trying to wipe up the sticky mess. Even through the thick leather, her erratic strokes heated my chest from the inside out. Then her scent—a mingling of woman, and was that coconut, wafted around me, ratcheting up my desire at least ten more notches.

Holding back a moan from the contact, I lifted my free hand, circled her wrist and gently pulled her away. “Accidents happen.” The need to comfort her overcame me, but even to my ears, my voice sounded rough, irritated, and devoid of any softness.

I needed to get out of there before I said or did something stupid, like hugging her. Or lean down and find out what her now pouting lips tasted like. So, I stepped back from her. My sudden move startled her, and I cursed the hurt that flashed within those mesmerizing brown eyes.

“I’ll pay for the dry-cleaning. Here, let-let me have—” she stammered.

I croaked out, “No! Uh, it’s old, and anyway, I needed a new one.” My gaze collided with Clara’s who was calmly cleaning up the counter. A not-so innocent look on her face had me quickly replaying the incident as Sami tried to give my chest one last swipe with the now soaked towel.

Had Ms. Clara given Sami a hip bump as she passed behind her, setting my box of pastries down?

With a wink, the cafe owner said, “The fritters are on me this week, Finn.”

“No, that’s not right, Ms. Clara. I did this. I’ll pay for them. And Finn, if you won’t let me get your jacket cleaned, there has to be something I can do to make this up to you.” She lifted her chin higher, stubbornness written all over her pretty face. “I mean, you probably don’t want another coffee, but maybe you could come back tomorrow? I’ll make another one, and I promise to set it on the counter this time.”

“Uh, yeah, that would be a no.” No sooner were the words out of my mouth, then I realized what an ass I sounded like. Dammit, think before you speak Campbell . Man, I was just digging myself deeper with every word out of my mouth.

Sami’s eyes hardened, an icy wall slamming down as my words rang out.

Yeah, it was better this way. I didn’t need a complication like her in my life. And I didn’t need or want the town grapevine in my business.

But damn, watching her walk away from me with her back ramrod straight, I wish things could be different. Because her heart-shaped ass and the angry swing of those hips were destined to have a starring role in my dreams tonight.

But as I left the cafe, my fritters in one hand and adjusting my misbehaving body with the other, maybe there was a way I could make things right with Sami without giving Ms. Clara any further encouragement for her sneaky matchmaking ways.

Because the oddest thing had happened the moment she’d touched me. The word mine had screamed in my head.