Paired with the Mountain Man (Mountain Man Mail Order Bride)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Adalynn

“Did you know there’s a new dating website for mountain men?” Suzie sipped on her second glass of red wine, her cheeks already rosy. Her eyes lit up like they always do when she’s excited to talk about something, usually the latest town gossip. “I’ve heard a few men around here have profiles. Based on what my sister told me.”

“Wait, wait, how does your sister know? And what website is this? We need to check it out.” My head buzzed from the alcohol, and I was all warm and fuzzy inside.

I loved the girl nights we had together, a tradition we’d upheld for years now.

We traded off whose place we went to, but there was always lots of wine, chick flicks, junk food, and lots of girl talk. Then we crashed on the couch together and nursed our hangovers the next morning by dragging our asses out for brunch. Eggs, toast, and bacon at the local diner was the perfect hangover cure.

“Shannon said it’s called Mountain Mates. That’s where she met the guy she’s dating now.”

“Your sister met a guy on here? Okay this I have to see. Who from Apple Falls has a profile?” I placed my now empty wine glass on the coffee table and scrambled to my feet, a bit unsteady, but on a mission. I had to check this website out. I grabbed my laptop and the bottle of wine from the kitchen table and hurried back to the couch.

“If I see your brother on there, I’ll die.” Suzie giggled, her ears bright red.

“Please no. Ew.” I made a face of disgust and handed her the bottle of wine while I opened my laptop and navigated to a new browser tab. Suzie filled my glass and topped hers off while the website loaded.

“You’re right, ew. Aren’t you glad I never found your brother attractive?”

“I’d seriously question your taste in men if you did.”

“Oh, stop it, your brother’s a catch. For the right girl. Maybe Forrest will be on here.” Suzie wiggled her eyebrows at me and at the mere mention of his name, my heart tripled in speed.

I shot daggers at my best friend. Out of love of course.

She held her free hand up in surrender and ducked behind her glass. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. We’re still hoping he’s secretly in love with you. Got it.”

I shot her another look of disapproval and rolled my eyes before grabbing my glass off the table, being careful to keep it away from my laptop. After a big gulp, I inhaled deeply and typed in Apple Falls in the location search box. “Let’s see who we’ve got.” I said before hitting enter.

Apple Falls, a small town on the outskirts of Appleridge Mountain, where Suzie and I grew up together, had its fair share of growly mountain men. Two of them happened to be my older brother Jack and his best friend Forrest.

The one I’ve secretly pined over for years. But no one knows about my secret crush, except Suzie and it needed to stay that way. Not only did Forrest not give me the time of day, but my brother also wouldn’t like it. Why the hell would I make a fool of myself?

It’s bad enough I had to see Forrest on the regular, half naked, his tan bare chest glistening in the sun as he worked in the family orchard. My parents started this business years ago when they were first married, and now with Jack and Forrest running the orchard, they’ve set off to travel the world, leaving everything in our hands. I handled the marketing side of the business and spent a lot of time creating brochures and new ideas to bring visitors to the orchards.

Right away, several profiles from Apple Falls and the surrounding towns within a ten-mile radius, populated on the screen.

Suzie and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.

This is gonna be fun.

Two glasses of wine later and we’ve scrolled through every profile, laughing at some of the men we knew, and happy to see neither Jack nor Forrest.

That is, until we get to the very last one.

AppleMtnMan43’s Profile:

Forrest O’Neill, Part Owner of Miller Apple Orchards.

Looking for some fun and maybe the one? Whatever that means. ;)

I gasped and my hand flew over my mouth.

“What’s wrong, what is it?” Suzie said but as soon as her eyes landed on the screen, she whispered, “Oh no.”

We both looked at the profile in silence. I clicked through the pictures, each one making my stomach twirl. Forrest looked so handsome, his physique on display whether fully clothed or shirtless in the hot sun. I loved how he loved to garden and landscape, his face lighting up with delight every time he talked about it. I loved how he smiled, only lifting one side of his mouth. I stared at his lips and lost myself in the fantasy of kissing him, what he would taste like, what it would feel like to have my dream come true.

“Yo, earth to Adalynn, you in there?” Suzie elbowed me in the side, and I sprung back to reality.

“Yeah, sorry.”

“Another Forrest fantasy huh? You’ve got it bad, girl. Just ask him out already.”

I looked at her like she’d grown three heads. “I think you’ve had too much wine. You’re cut off.”

“Oh relax. Jack will get over it and himself, and you and Forrest will live happily ever after. I see the way he looks at you, Ads. Stop denying it already.”

“He doesn’t look at me in any way except ew, she’s like a little sister to me.” I grimaced, my stomach all twisted in chaotic knots I’d never be able to untie. Not when it came to how this man made me feel.

I needed to forget about him. I moved my finger along the trackpad towards the exit button when Suzie grabbed my arm. “Wait. I have an idea.”

With the wild look in her eyes, I knew her idea wouldn’t be good. Suzie was a bit of a troublemaker even if her heart was in the right place.

“No,” I groaned, drawing the word out. “No way. I don’t want to hear one of your ideas. Knowing you it’s?—”

Suzie cut me off with a loud laugh and I couldn’t help but join my best friend, both of us in a fit of giggles fueled by too much wine. “We’re making you a profile.”

“What? That’s crazy. You’ve definitely had too much wine.”

Suzie nodded her head and tried to grab my laptop, but I held on tight. “Fine, you can make it. I’ll sit here and help.”

“I’m not making a profile on Mountain Mates. Especially not when Forrest is on there.” I snapped the laptop shut and set it down on the coffee table. I grabbed the wine bottle only to find it empty, so I headed to the kitchen to grab more. And maybe some chips. I needed something salty and delicious. Suzie followed behind me, hot on my heels.

“You just need more wine.” She said when we walked into the kitchen. She uncorked the wine while I dished out some pita chips and french onion dip.

“Please explain to me how you think a profile of me on there would help anything. Forrest would see it, tell Jack, and then they’d have a field day roasting me. No thanks.” I sat down at the table and began devouring the chips and dip.

“What if we changed a couple of things?” Suzie said before she disappeared into the living room and returned quickly with our wine glasses.

“Bad idea, nope, no way am I catfishing anyone.”

Suzie poured our wine and laughed, causing her to spill some on the table. “Catfish? Ha! Like the TV show?”

“Yep, bad idea, Suz.”

“We’ll only change your name and your picture. Everything else will be you.”

“Nope. Now pass me that wine. All this talk made me extra thirsty.”

We spent the rest of the night drinking way too much until we passed out on the couch. I remembered doing something on my laptop again, Suzie typing while I laughed and took selfies.

But it was all very hazy, my memories unclear.

Until the next morning when I opened my laptop, the bright screen making my headache worse, only to find a message from user AppleMtnMan43.

Wasn’t that the username from Forrest’s profile?

AppleMtnMan43: Hey! Looks like we matched! What’s up, girl?

I clicked on the profile and zoomed in on the picture.

Forrest’s handsome face filled my screen. Dark brown eyes, a sexy as fuck full beard with clean shaven lines, and all the ink I wanted to lick. It should be a crime to look that good.

But then I froze when my mind truly comprehended the situation.

Uh oh.

My worst fear was confirmed.

I was totally fucked.