Mountain Champion (Green Mountain Guardians #5)

Chapter 1

RONAN

“Soooo… where are you headed to after this?”

Hazel leans against the bar as she looks at me with a speculative expression. I can practically see the thoughts whirring in her eyes. “Any other errands to run?” she prods. “Chores to take care of at home?”

Rather than coming right out and asking her what she’s getting at—I know Hazel well enough by now to know she’s not asking out of innocent curiosity—I play along.

“No other errands,” I reply. “Just a quiet evening with Murphy. Maybe I’ll take him out in the snow with his laser pointer once it gets dark. Get some pent-up energy out.”

“Hmm.” She drums her fingers on the worn wooden bar while scanning the dining room of Blissful Brews, which is the best—and only, if you want to get picky about it—brewpub in our small town.

I know she’s checking on her customers because even at her most scheming moments, Hazel’s nothing but conscientious.

But the customers at the handful of occupied high tops seem satisfied; happily chowing down on their wings and pizza.

The aroma of my to-go order wafts through the paper bag holding the two large containers of soup, making my stomach rumble.

Beer cheese and sausage for one, and a slightly healthier Italian Wedding for the other—enough to get me through dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow.

It’s only four, which isn’t my usual dinnertime, but I missed lunch thanks to an extra busy shift at the mountain.

“So…” Hazel begins again, her voice carefully casual. “If you don’t have any errands, and you’ll want to wait until it’s dark to take out Murphy… it sounds like you might have an hour or two to do something else.”

And there it is.

The reason for Hazel’s avid interest in my evening plans.

It’s not that she wouldn’t ask me how I’m doing or greet me when I come to her place of work. She’s engaged to one of my best friends, after all. We see each other probably once a week. But this interest? There’s an ulterior motive to it.

Biting the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling, I ask, “And what would you suggest I do in this hour or two?”

“Well.” Hazel widens her eyes innocently. “You know my coworker, Angel, right?”

I barely smother a laugh. Hazel darn well knows the answer.

Angel works at Blissful Brews, just like Hazel does.

Has worked here for as long as I’ve been coming to Bliss, the sleepy little town that’s home to my main place of business, Green Mountain Guardians.

So that has to be close to… four years now.

Plenty long enough for me to know who Angel is.

“Of course I know her.” Raising an eyebrow at Hazel, I add, “But what does Angel have to do with my evening plans?”

Only I have a feeling I know, because this isn’t the first time I’ve been on the receiving end of my friends’ well-meaning matchmaking attempts.

And this isn’t the first time Hazel’s brought up Angel—dropping little comments like, “Oh, you’re thinking about getting some new paintings for your house?

Angel went to school for art. Did you know that?

I bet she’d be happy to help you pick some out.

” Or, “Do you like those cookies? Angel actually made them. She’s a great cook.

I’m sure she’d make you some, if you asked. ”

But as with all the other matchmaking efforts, I’ve done my best to deflect them.

It’s not that I have a problem with relationships. My closest friends are all in them, and they seem perfectly happy. I’m just not interested in one for myself.

Breathing against the flare of bitterness that still hits me at random and unexpected moments, I work my features into a smile.

Hazel doesn’t know why I’m so averse to a relationship.

No one does. She probably thinks I’m the typical commitment-phobe who’ll change his mind once he finds the right woman.

“Weeell.” Hazel gives me a hopeful smile. “When Angel left after the lunch shift, she mentioned that she was going to put up her Christmas lights this evening. And—” Her face creases with concern. “I’m a little worried about her trying to do it by herself.”

With images of Angel setting out a few blow mold snowmen and maybe stringing some lights on the bushes, I ask, “Why are you worried?”

Hazel casts a quick glance around the dining room again. One table looks like they might be ready for refills, so she explains quickly, “Angel said she wants to go all out this year. Lights on the eaves, around the windows… She said something about wanting to make it extra special for Haley.”

The mental image in my mind shifts. I’ve seen Angel’s house—only in passing, and I’ve never stopped by, let alone gone inside—so I know it’s a two-story Cape with a dangerously sloped roof. “She wants to put lights on the second floor? By herself?”

“I know.” Hazel nods in emphasis. “I told her it wasn’t safe. But she was insistent. Then I offered to have Alec come over tomorrow to help.” She pauses. “He’s working late today on an install out in Montpelier. Although you probably already knew that.”

I did know that, as a matter of fact. Since all my teammates at Green Mountain Guardians have side jobs—Alec’s home security installation company and my part-time work as a medic at Stowe Mountain Resort, for example—we try to stay on top of everyone’s schedules.

But I don’t say all that. I just reply, “Angel doesn’t have anyone else to help her?”

“I don’t think she’d ask,” Hazel says. “She’s pretty independent. I wouldn’t ask you—”

My small snort of disbelief interrupts her. Hazel frowns and lightly whacks my arm before conceding, “Okay, fine. Maybe I’d ask, anyway. But she’s just so nice, Ronan. And she works so hard trying to take care of everything on her own. And… she’s really pretty. You can’t tell me she isn’t.”

“She is pretty,” I agree. Interest in relationships withstanding, I’m a red-blooded male with functioning eyes.

Petite Angel with her bright blonde hair and huge blue eyes and a body that looks incredible in whatever she wears?

Angel with that sweet ass the shape of a little peach and breasts that bounce just so whenever she hurries across the dining room?

Yes, she’s pretty. Beautiful, in fact. But that doesn’t change anything.

“I’m not looking to date,” I add. “You know that.”

“Oh, of course,” Hazel responds a little too quickly.

“I just thought if you were free, maybe you could swing by her house. Make sure everything’s okay.

I just hate to think of Angel up there on a ladder, all by herself…

And what if something happens, and her daughter is the only one around to help? How traumatic would that be?”

The mention of Angel’s daughter is another reminder why dating Angel wouldn’t be a good idea. A single mother wants commitment. She wants a man who’s open to a ready-made family. A man who wants to go to school concerts and dance recitals and all the other shit my buddies do with their kids.

I’m not that man. I don’t think I ever will be.

Still, Hazel has a point. I don’t like the idea of Angel putting herself in danger like that. And really, it wouldn’t be much of an inconvenience to swing by her house to check on things and put Hazel’s worries to rest.

“Okay. I’ll stop over there,” I say. “Not for long, though.” As Hazel’s face brightens, I remind her, “It’s not going to lead to anything, Haze. Don’t get any ideas. And don’t go off telling the others and getting them going, too.”

Hazel plasters on a smile as she glances over at one of her tables and gestures that she’ll be right over. Then she turns back to me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ro.”

I shoot her a come on look. “So you’re not going to tell Winter, Lark, and Rory about me going over to Angel’s? And you three won’t sit around plotting how you can orchestrate another meeting between us?”

Winter, Lark, and Rory are the partners of my other Green Mountain Guardian teammates, and they’re just as invested in me finding a relationship as Hazel is. Which is why I know damn well that Hazel will be texting them about Angel only minutes after I leave.

“Would I do that?” Hazel asks innocently.

I chuckle. “Yes, you would.” Grabbing my takeout bag, I angle my chin towards the exit. “I should probably get going then. If I want to check on Angel before it’s dark.”

“I guess I ought to check on my tables, too.” She darts forward to give me a quick hug. “Thanks, Ronan. For going over, even though I know you don’t want to.”

I pat her back before releasing her. “It’s fine, Hazel. You know me, if there’s a damsel in distress…”

She grins. “All of you guys are like that.”

As I start walking away, I reply, “Part of the job, you know.”

“No,” she calls after me. “It’s because you’re a good person, Ro. The job is only secondary.”

Her comment follows me as I hurry to my car, my head ducked against the brisk November chill and the few scattered snowflakes that appeared during the fifteen minutes I was inside. With my free hand, I adjust my collar so it covers my neck.

Am I a good person? I’d like to think I am.

I work for a company dedicated to protecting people when they find themselves with nowhere else to turn.

I’m a medic at a ski resort, providing care and comfort to frightened skiers and snowboarders.

I was a Green Beret, and then Delta, risking my life time and again for my country.

As I begin to make my way towards Angel’s house—in a town of just over one thousand, it’s not unusual to know where most people live—I let my thoughts fall back to the events that brought me here.