Come Around (Made for the Mountain Man)

1. Axel

Chapter One

AXEL

“All I’m saying is that you should try dating someone for longer than a week.” My best friend Lainey wipes down the counter with a rag. “You’re twenty-five, Axel. That’s too old to still be playing the field.”

I roll my eyes at her.

“Oh, please. Plenty of guys my age play the field. And besides, you moved in with my dad after dating him for like a week.”

“That was different.” She points the rag at me like a weapon. “When you know, you know. And I knew your dad was it for me.”

“Gross.” I take a sip of my coffee to hide my smile. “And can we not talk about you and my dad’s relationship? I’m trying to eat here.”

Lainey laughs. “You’re not eating anything. You’re just torturing that coffee.”

She’s right. I’ve been sitting here for almost an hour, stirring this same cup of coffee and letting Lainey pester me about why I’m still single.

It’s our routine. I come to the diner when I’m home from tour, she feeds me, and gives me shit about my life choices.

I pretend to be annoyed even though these moments are the most normal part of my otherwise chaotic life.

“How was the tour?” Lainey changes tactics, giving me a momentary reprieve. “Did Colorado treat you boys well?”

“It was good. Exhausting, but good.” I finally take a real drink of my coffee. “We sold out most of the venues. Our label wants us to record another album before the end of the year.”

The tour had been a whirlwind of cities, faces, and hotel rooms. Highland Rye is finally getting the recognition we’ve worked so hard for, but sometimes I wonder if the cost is worth it.

Three months on the road, sleeping on a bus, and dealing with grabby fans has left me feeling hollow and drained.

“I saw your performance on YouTube.” Lainey smiles proudly. “The one where you sang that new song about the mountain. You sounded amazing.”

I feel my face warm at her praise. “Thanks. That one’s getting a lot of attention.”

It’s strange being back in Fit Mountain after spending months in cities where people scream my name and try to tear my clothes off. Here, I’m just Marcus’s son who plays in a band. It keeps me grounded, even if part of me resents how easily everyone dismisses what I’ve accomplished.

“So.” Lainey leans her elbows on the counter, her smile turning mischievous. “Did you meet any nice girls on tour?”

And we’re back to this again.

“I don’t have time for relationships, Lainey. You know that.”

“You could make time if you found someone worth making time for.” She raises an eyebrow at me. “Unless you’re planning to stay single forever.”

The truth is, I haven’t met anyone who holds my interest beyond a night or two.

Women throw themselves at me after shows, desperate for a piece of the lead singer of Highland Rye. They don’t care who I really am. They just want the fantasy, the story they can tell their friends.

“Maybe I like being single.” I shrug, trying to look nonchalant. “No complications, no drama, no one telling me what to do.”

Lainey snorts. “Please. You’re the biggest softie I know, Axel Ruins. You want the whole package. The wife, the kids, the white picket fence. You’re just too scared to admit it.”

Before I can argue, the bell above the diner door chimes.

I glance over my shoulder to see my Dad walk in. His eyes immediately find Lainey, and his whole face lights up. I watch as he strides across the diner and pulls her into his arms, giving her a deep kiss right over the counter.

I avert my eyes, but I’m not actually grossed out like I pretend to be.

My dad and Lainey’s relationship started out as a town scandal. He’s more than twenty years older than her. Not to mention she’s technically my ex-girlfriend. But they work. They just fit together in a way that makes perfect sense when you see them together.

“How are my three favorite people today?” Dad asks, placing his hand on Lainey’s rapidly growing baby bump.

Lainey practically glows as she leans into his touch. “The baby and I are fine. Your son is being stubborn about his love life again.”

Dad chuckles. “Leave the boy alone, sweetheart. He’ll find his woman when the time is right.”

“Don’t be so sure,” I reply. “Not everyone gets hit with the Fit Mountain curse like you two did.”

The “curse” is what locals call the tendency for mountain men to fall hard and fast when they meet their match.

One day they’re normal, the next they’re obsessively in love and acting like cavemen.

It happened to my dad with Lainey, and to several other men in town.

I always thought it was bullshit, just an excuse for grown men to act like possessive idiots.

“You’ll see.” Dad takes the stool next to me and claps a hand on my shoulder. “When it hits you, you’ll understand.”

I roll my eyes again, but there’s a small part of me that envies what they have.

Even with all of Highland Rye’s success, I still come home to an empty house, and sometimes that emptiness feels like it’s inside me too.

But I don’t say any of that. Instead, I decide to change the subject.

“How’s the baby?” I ask Lainey. “Still cooking nicely?”

Lainey gives me a look that says she knows exactly what I’m doing, but she lets me change the subject.

“Your future sibling is doing great. Doctor says everything looks perfect. Twenty weeks along and growing right on schedule.”

Dad’s face softens as he looks at her belly. “Still can’t believe we’re having a baby.”

“Believe it, mister.” Lainey grins. “This little one’s going to have you wrapped around their tiny finger.”

I smile at their happiness, even if the conversation about settling down made me restless. Maybe I should head home and work on some new songs. The label wants material, and sitting here watching my dad and my best friend be disgustingly in love isn’t exactly inspiring.

“I should probably get going.” I stand up and toss a ten on the counter. “Thanks for the coffee, Lainey.”

“But you barely even touched it.” She frowns. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine, I promise,” I tell her. “I’m just tired from the tour.”

My Dad claps me on the shoulder. “Take care of yourself, son.”

I’m already turning toward the door when the bell chimes again.

And that’s when the world stops. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen has just walked into the diner.

She’s petite, with curves that make my mouth go dry. Her long blonde hair falls in loose waves around her shoulders, and when she turns, I see that her eyes are a brilliant green, like emeralds.

Suddenly, I can’t move. Can’t breathe. Can’t look away as the woman —my woman, something inside me snarls— walks to the counter, her hips swaying in a pair of jeans that should be illegal. My heart slams against my ribs as one word thunders through my head, drowning out everything else.

Mine.

“Hey, Mike,” she says to the cashier. Her voice is musical in a way that makes my dick ache. “Just the usual, please.”

The cashier—Mike, apparently—smiles at her.

“Coming right up, Sami.”

Sami. My woman’s name is Sami.

I hate that Mike knows her name. I hate that he gets to smile at her like they’re friends. I hate every man who’s ever looked at her.

What the fuck is happening to me?

I’ve seen beautiful women before. I’ve had supermodels throw themselves at me after shows. But this woman? She’s different.

She’s...everything.

“Um, hellooo?” Lainey snaps her fingers in front of my face. “Axel? What the heck is wrong with you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I finally manage to tear my gaze away long enough to look at Lainey.

“Do you know the woman standing at the counter?” I growl.

Lainey follows my gaze. Her eyes widen slightly before a knowing smile spreads across her face.

“That’s Sami Holland. She moved here about three months ago from Connecticut, right after you left for your tour. She’s around our age, I think. Maybe a year or two younger.”

“Is she single?”

Lainey’s grin widens. “As far as I know.”

“Family? Job? Where does she live?” I fire the questions at her like bullets.

“I have no idea where she works or lives. And I don’t know about family. She keeps to herself, mostly.” Lainey presses her palm to my forehead. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay? You look like you’re about to pass out.”

I feel like I might. My heart is hammering so hard I’m surprised the whole diner can’t hear it. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to walk over there, throw Sami over my shoulder, and carry her out of here. To claim her.

To make sure every man in this place knows she belongs to me.

“Here you go, Sami.” Mike slides a to-go bag across the counter to her. “Have a good rest of your day.”

“Thanks, you too.”

Sami turns toward the door, and I get a full view of her face. She has high cheekbones, full lips, and those incredible green eyes that seem to see everything. She’s not wearing much makeup, but she doesn’t need it.

She’s perfect.

And she’s walking away from me.

Fuck.

Panic shoots through my chest. I can’t let her leave. Not when I just found her.

“I have to go,” I say, standing so fast my stool scrapes against the floor.

“Axel, wait.” Lainey grabs my arm. “Where are you going?”

“I need to talk to her.”

I pull away from her grip, my eyes tracking Sami as she pushes through the door.

“But you don’t even know her,” Lainey calls after me.

I pause at the door and look back at her. The certainty in my chest burns like fire.

“I know she’s mine.”