Mountain Man Hollis (Cedar Spring Lake Mountain Man #12)

ONE

Meredith

Under normal circumstances, I’m a hoot to be around.

Unfortunately, these circumstances are far from normal and I’m not feeling nearly as hooty as I typically do.

I’m tired. I’m sweaty. I’m hungry.

A tired, sweaty, hungry Meredith is not a pleasant Meredith to be around. I’d know, I’m stuck with this curmudgeonly grouch until I get fed, bathed and put down for a nap. Am I an infant?

Aspen greets me with a hug when I get back to the waiting room, or whatever the room with all the chairs in a police station is called. The amount of lingo they’ve been using around here, they might as well be speaking a different language. I can see them calling it a four two niner sus pad.

Did I just doze off on my best friend’s shoulder? It’s been a long night.

“Are they finally done with you?” she asks sweetly, like her voice has any other tone.

“Yeah, something like that.”

I wave off her question because walking out on the anal probing I was receiving isn’t exactly my finest moment. I don’t want a stupid bottle, I want nom-noms.

Oh god, I really do sound like an infant. To be clear, it was a bottle of water they were offering me, not breast milk, which I might have taken had they offered cookies with it. Anything other than a bag of styrofoam bits masquerading as oyster crackers someone didn’t use in their soup.

I did not survive an attempted murder that claimed the cabin and everything I own to be offered someone’s leftover oyster crackers. Now I’m wishing I hadn’t crushed those little white morsels of goodness to death with my fist. They seem a little less offensive now.

“It doesn’t sound like they have any clue who these guys are,” she says, gently removing me from her shoulder. “Or what they were doing at the cabin.”

“Did you feel like you were being accused of something too?”

“Oh my god, I know. Especially the cute one that looked like a guy you’d hit on at a frat party only for the kiss to come and he cocks his eyebrows like whoa I have a girlfriend, I just thought we were connecting on a spiritual level, bro.”

“He did the eyebrow thing to me, twice. And that perfectly windswept bedhead, you know that took an hour to perfect. I swear he was trying to break me with his good looks, like that soulful gaze of his could make me crack. Please, frat boy, I’m a rock.”

“Damn right you are! He’d need more than a chiseled jaw to break Meredith Cushing.”

“He’d need to freakin’ jackhammer me to make me crack.

Yeah, I heard it at the same time as you,” I giggle when her face contorts into contemplation mode.

“Although I wouldn’t be opposed to some sexy cop jackhammering, there’s no information to extrapolate.

Yeah, I said extrapolate, I heard it last week and I’ve been waiting to pull it out. ”

“Strong pull out game, I didn’t even see it coming.”

“That’s what she said,” we laugh at the same time, way too tired for life at this point.

I’m told the chunk of time I can’t recall was spent napping, somewhere between getting checked out by EMTs on the dock and waking up in a small bed at the fire station, but I’m not convinced I fell asleep, or that it was for more than thirty seconds if I did.

Speaking of getting jackhammered, and whatever other dirty phrases have us cackling and blushing, Aspen’s sexy firefighter comes strutting in like a peacock, flashing his feathers after getting lucky with the lady he rescued.

Way more up my alley than my bestie’s, it probably would have been me getting the firehose, had I not been ‘asleep’ in the back of the truck.

Yes, asleep gets air quotes. I feel no more rested than I did before that stretch of lost time.

He’s carrying a box of pastries like he’s angling for a threesome, and if those things taste as good as they look, it might just happen. “I figured you two could use a little pick me up.”

“Ohmigod I love you,” I blurt out, digging in to some kind of bear claw, at least I think that’s what it is, white frosting for claws and everything.

The way the two of them blush awkwardly at my confession has me questioning if they did a lot more than bang while I was allegedly sleeping. Not like they went to dinner without me, that’d be means for dismissal, but like they fell in love.

I’d barf if I was okay losing the bear claw I’m currently making out with but it’s too delicious to waste a crumb. It’s a good thing the island is too small to have any bears, they wouldn’t be safe around me.

“So, my shift is over,” he says hesitantly, not sure if either of us can hear him over our incessant chewing.

“It looks like that plastic badge rent-a-cop Hollis is done with you. I was thinking, I can take the two of you down to the mall, maybe get a hard drive to back up your artwork. I wouldn’t want to see anything happen to it.

Get some clothes while we’re there, to replace what you lost. My treat. ”

“Thomas Redford,” Aspen coos, dropping her bear claw to wrap her arms around him.

Yep, if she let go of something as delectable as that pastry in order to hug him, she’s falling hard.

Can’t say I blame her, he’s a sweetheart.

Not to mention hot as the grumpy rent-a-cop, or whatever he called him, the rescue gods just blessed Redford with a much better personality.

The way he said it with a smirk, I get the impression they’re friends.

“That’s too much. You don’t need to do that.” Meredith rubs his arm, staring deeply into his eyes. It’s obvious, she’s got it bad. “But if you’re really sure, we’d love to. You down, Mer?”

“For a trip to the mall? I’d be in the car already if that blueberry danish wasn’t about to attack my mouth. I didn’t know there was a mall in Cedar Spring. How have we never been? Teenage us would have practically lived there.”

His chuckle tells me there’s no mall in Cedar Spring. “It’s a bit further than downtown. I’m guessing the hiking gear at Bolton’s store wouldn’t exactly be up your alley. And you’d be more likely to find a pregnant bigfoot than computer parts around here.”

“I’m afraid I’m not quite done with this one yet,” the grumpy cop with the gorgeous frat boy hair grumps in his grumpy tone while grumping against the wall like he’s been waiting there for me.

“No mattew how mawy times you awsk,” I slur over bites of a blueberry danish made in heaven, though the box claims they’re from Claire’s Eclairs. “My stowy’s not changing. We’re done here.”

“Hollis, come on,” Aspen’s firefighter says, throwing air punches at Officer No-Fun. “They’ve been through a lot. Didn’t she already give you everything you need?”

“Honestly, no, not even a little bit. She said she had to think about it when I asked who owns the island and fell asleep while mulling it over. Twice.”

“Your honor, I’d like to have his accusations stricken from the record,” I shout, pounding my fist like a gavel. “He’s inseminating we were trespassing on the island.”

“Let the record state she said insinuating,” Aspen calls out, giving me a thumbs up.

Shit, I said inseminating, didn’t I? Dammit, stupid Deputy Buzzkill with his stupid hair and panty dropping smile has me all flustered.

I’m blaming it on whoever made the jackhammering comment earlier, totally their fault.

What do you mean it was me who said it? These court transcripts all need to be thrown out.

“We have every right to be on our island. Look at the map, it’s got my flippin’ name on it. And I don’t like you insinuating, not that other word you thought I used, that we were in the wrong. I’m going to the mall, and you, Officer Clueless, are getting me a lawyer.”

“You don’t need…” He trails off, sighing at the ceiling, throwing his mighty strong looking hands to his hips, which appear to be quite swivel-able I might add.

“You’re not in any trouble. You and your friend are the victims here, I’m just trying to get to the bottom of it so I can protect you.

We only have one green faced assailant in custody and Judah says he’s not talking.

You gave us the name Ace, which isn’t exactly a lot to go off here.

If this was something personal, they might still be looking for you. ”

“Maybe order the lovely lady something to eat and she’ll be more cooperative,” Aspen’s firefighter says with a shrug, slipping a bill in the sexy cop’s chest pocket. “Get her something nice, like you would a date you wouldn’t cheapskate out on. Maybe she’ll give you what you want.”

The grumpy cop rolls his eyes. I was right, they’re definitely buddies. “I’d like to keep some semblance of professionalism. I’m also keeping this money you slipped in my pocket. Alright, Miss Cushing, what kind of breakfast are you in the mood for?”

“Why, Officer,” I flirt, batting my lashes at him.

“I usually have to spend the night with a man before he treats me to breakfast. I’ve had a hell of a day, or yesterday I guess, I’m gonna need the works.

Eggs, sausage, hash browns, toast, pancakes.

No, waffles. Bacon. You know what, let’s stick with the pancakes.

Would corned beef hash be too much? I think I’m gonna scrap the pancakes and do waffles instead. ”

“How about both?” he suggests with what he thinks is a subtle eyeroll.

“Just for that attitude, yes, both, except we’re gonna add french toast to the order as well. And a comfier chair because the one in that room is biting my ass and it hasn’t nearly earned that privilege yet.”

Am I imagining it or did he nibble on his lip when I winked at him? I’m exhausted, everything I look at is winking and blinking and getting all fuzzy. A big breakfast should help with that.

“And a fluffy puffy pillow,” I add. “What? You’re seriously gonna make me miss a day of shopping with my bestie and her hero?”

I could probably guilt him into letting me go but I opt to take one for the team and let Aspen spend some quality time with her firefighter.

I’m a good third wheel but by the looks of it, she doesn’t need the assist. Plus, the breakfast I’ve requested has me all hot and bothered.

Just the breakfast, not the guy who looks like he should be playing the hotshot rookie cop on a TV show.

It’s all about breakfast and getting Aspen alone with her man.

If Officer Grumpy meets my demands, I suppose I’ll cooperate. But he’s just going to have to get used to me hitting on him, whether he likes it or not.