Sin in the Mountains (Passion Ridge #5)

1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Scarlett

"Rachel? Have you seen the silver heels I bought last week?" I blow an errant hair out of my eyes and look around my room, before pulling another large box from the pile in the corner. "They have to be here," I mutter.

My roommate pokes her head around the door. "They're here. You showed them to me a few days ago." Seeing my distress, Rachel crouches to search through the pile of clothes in the corner.

"I know, but where are they?" I disturb a carefully balanced stack of papers and mail, groaning as it cascades across my floor and under the bedside table. "It's a sign. I shouldn't be going to Duhring Park. Miranda will understand if I miss the wedding, right?"

Rachel snorts. "Or, it's a sign you need to unpack your boxes and organize your room."

"Pssh. You’re far too practical." I grin in spite of my mounting anxiety.

"You know, I'm starting to think you aren't planning to live here long." Rachel sits back on her heels and eyes the stacks of boxes around the room.

"Tired of me already?" I tease.

Rachel shakes her head quickly, her brown eyes going round. "No. I love having you here."

"Me too," I say sincerely, and then look around warily. She has a point. "I think I'm still in shock at how quickly I was displaced last time. I want to be able to move at a moment's notice, in case I'm ever kicked out again. Not that you'll evict me," I insist, putting up a hand to ward off Rachel's protest.

Rachel nods, giving me a sympathetic look, and then she shudders. "I don't know how you lived with him for seven months after you broke up." She leans forward and pulls things out from under my bed as she continues to hunt for my shoes.

I shrug. "He made a better roommate than a boyfriend." And I think I'm having a slightly-beyond-quarter-life crisis , I add silently. I don't have time to melt down this exact second, but it's looming.

"Until he got you both kicked out." Rachel's beautiful face scrunches up with anger. My bubbly, gorgeous, wouldn't-hurt-a-fly roommate's eyes flash with disgust for my ex-boyfriend. Chad was definitely not the one, but I thought he was at least a somewhat decent roommate. And he was. Until he stopped paying rent. Without telling me. And pocketing my half.

It's becoming clearer to me by the day that my radar for good choices is always slightly off kilter. Prime example: I worked my butt off in college to get a great internship with the top finance company in the city, but I ended up working for a blathering idiot who strings me along with the promise of a promotion every few quarters. I've paid my time back after getting my MBA, and then some, so I should look for another job, but I'm starting to think I don't love what I do. Hell, I think I might actually hate working in finance. And probably the worst of it is remembering how fast I ran to get out of my hometown, yet every time I drive over Passion Ridge back to the city, the loneliness pummels into me like a boulder.

Hey, meltdown. Give me three more days and then you can hit me like a tsunami .

Rachel points her finger at me. "Scarlett, you deserve a guy who wants to take care of you."

"I can take care of myself." My defense mechanism kicks in immediately. No problems, no worries. Everything is fine, fine, fine.

"Of course you can. And he'll know that but will still take care of you anyway," Rachel says, the dreamy glint in her eye making her practically swoon. "Those are the men worth your time."

I can't help but grin at her romantic ideas about love, born entirely out of romance novels and the many film versions of Pride champagne emoji

Addy

bride emoji

Paige

Ladies! Final call to send me your hair and makeup pics so Caitlyn and I can make a schedule. lipstick emoji

Betty

Miranda, you are going to be an exquisite bride.

Miranda

kiss emoji I love you all. Thank you for making my wedding so special!

Shaking my head, I turn to Rachel who is waiting patiently for my response. "No buts. I'm excited, and this weekend is going to be all about celebrating my bestie and her soon-to-be husband."

Rachel hesitates but thankfully decides to drop it.

Squaring my shoulders, I take another deep breath. Faking it until I make it is kind of my superpower.

I send the group a quick heart emoji and throw my phone on the bed. Hands on my hips, I look around. "It's going to be a great weekend. Assuming I can find clean underwear."

"I don't know. It's always more fun without underwear." Rachel winks at me as she stands up. "I'm gonna let you find your own undies. Clean or not."

"Thanks, Rach. I'm leaving straight from work tomorrow to make it to the rehearsal in time, so I'll see you Sunday."

"Sounds good. Or maybe you'll stay a little longer." The romantic dreamy look comes back into her eyes. "The men of Duhring Park seem to be falling one by one from what Violet tells me. Maybe you'll meet the mountain man of your dreams this weekend." Rachel blows me a kiss before closing the door behind her.

I've met him, and he's not interested.

No, no. We're not going there tonight.

I finish packing, deciding I'll have to buy underwear when I get into town tomorrow since I'm working through lunch to make it in time for the rehearsal. Like I don't work through lunch every day anyway. My boss, Alistair, is going to be insufferable when he finds out I'm leaving early. I shake my head. Next week's problem.

Dragging myself to the hall bathroom, I wash my face before bed, maintaining my three-day streak to follow my skincare regiment. It was my new year's resolution, and considering it's October, I figure better late than never to fulfill yearly promises. Find new job and figure out life are also on the list, so washing my face should be painless compared to those goals.

My phone is buzzing when I get back to my room, and I pull the covers back on my bed as I answer.

"Hello, stranger." Drake's warm voice greets me.

"Hi, Drakey." I settle into my bed, plumping up a pillow so I can stay awake to chat.

"How's your week going, Nugget?" I can hear him typing away at his computer in the background. Drake's life is work, and he never completely puts it aside, even to chat with his favorite sister.

"Fine," I answer, trying to sound sincere.

"Yeah? Is Chad good?" The clicking gets louder and I'm grateful he's somewhat distracted, so I yawn loudly instead of answering. "You sound tired."

I haven't told my brother about my current living situation or that Chad and I broke up last year. He would have immediately had me move in with him, citing the dangers of living with strangers in the city, and it would have made it even more difficult to figure out my next steps. And he definitely would have tried to talk me into getting back together with Chad.

I love my brother, but he can be a lot. I'm not exactly demure, and I've had the term "ball-buster" thrown at me during my career more times than I can count, but Drake is like me times one hundred.

Sometimes I wonder if he's ever going to see me as a capable adult. He's not even two years older than me, but Dad always said Drake came out of the womb with a plan.

Our parents moved south when they became empty nesters and are living their best lives in retirement. Drake lives in the city, but he's way across town and travels constantly for work, so we check in regularly via phone. He's always been my biggest champion, pushing me to keep working hard and achieve my goals, but he is not somebody I can talk to about my reservations with work and definitely not my love life. He thought Chad was a great guy because he was in finance and could drink like a fish.

"Good thing I'm about to go to sleep then," I respond with a little more bite than I intend. I sigh. "Sorry."

Drake chuckles. "Okay, I'll let you sleep. We can talk tomorrow."

"Miranda's wedding is this weekend," I remind him.

A long silence stretches before Drake clears his throat. The clicking has stopped, and Drake gives me his full attention. "Forgot about that. Well, in and out. You'll be back home before you know it."

Home. The city has never felt like home to me. "Yeah." I hesitate and then open the can of worms we avoid during most of our conversations. "When was the last time you were in Duhring Park? Have you kept in touch with anyone?"

Drake lets out a short, sharp laugh. "No, Nugget. The last time I was back there you were graduating from high school."

"Right. You and Levi made that huge sign for me." I blow out a puff of air as the bittersweet memory hits me. Graduation was the last time I can remember Drake and his best friend, Levi, hanging out together. Before they had their falling out.

"I've moved on. I don't have anything in common with"—Drake clears his throat before continuing—"with anyone there anymore. It happens. Hell, you've probably felt the same with your friends there too."

No, I haven't , I want to say, but instead I make a noncommittal sound. "I'll call you when I'm back." I follow up my promise with a fake yawn.

"Get some sleep, Nugget."

"Will do. Goodnight."

I hang up and stare at the ceiling, my thoughts racing with plans for Miranda's wedding, Drake's comments, and worry over my future plans.

Only one face pops up as I finally drift off to sleep. The one person I avoid every time I go to Duhring Park.

The mountain man of my dreams.

Levi Harrison.