Rescued By the Mountain Guardian (Mountain Man Rescue #4)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Raci

The only light casting onto the street beside the moonlight were the lights from the large cabin, the wedding reception still going strong. It was well past one in the morning and all I could think about was taking off my shoes and collapsing into bed.

I rented a room at the local Appleridge Inn in the center of town, about a twenty-minute drive down the mountain. But first, I needed to find my car.

Walking down the long drive, I could barely see anything ahead of me as my expensive Louboutins crunched the gravel beneath them as I searched. Where the hell did, I park and why could I remember?

As I got further away from the cabin, the darker it became. All the cars looked the same, dark blobs parked on both sides of the street, as crickets and frogs croaked all around me.

A rustling sound came from the distance and I paused, a streak of sheer terror pulsating through me. I didn’t need to be worried about bears, right?

Fuck! Where the hell was my car?

And then I heard a loud rumble in the distance.

The very unmistakable sound of thunder.

No, please. Please don’t rain. It would only make finding my car even more impossible.

But my pleas weren’t heard.

I felt a raindrop. Then two.

Then the sky opened up, and rain poured down on my head. And not just a bit of rain.

It was full on buckets.

Sheets came at me sideways, soaking my dress instantly straight down to my expensive high heels.

No! Not my Louboutins!

I wanted to cry. I wanted to sink in the mud.

My heels. My expensive high heels.

Ruined.

I looked down at the mud covering them and stomped forward, too sad to even pay attention to where I was going. They were my favorite pair with the red soles and now they’re a shitty mess of mud.

When I looked back up, I realized I wasn’t in the driveway anymore. Somehow, I was surrounded by woods. Very dark woods. All while it still poured out.

I must’ve looked like a drowned rat.

Tears slipped down my cheeks as I trekked forward, hopeless loss, clothes ruined, and at a loss for what to do. Fishing my phone from my purse, I held it up hoping to call an Uber or someone to help me, but the screen flashed no service available.

Shit!

Not only that, but the battery was dangerously low, so I powered it off and shoved it back in my bag. What the hell was I supposed to do?

I kept walking since I had no idea what else to do and up ahead, a cabin sat with a single light shining from the front window. Was it the same cabin with the wedding reception?

It couldn’t be. It looked a lot smaller, but I marched towards it anyway, because at this point, anything would help.

The rain continued beating down on me and I shivered, coldness seeping in with the wet.

So much for having a fun night out.

Granted, it was fun at the beginning. The reception was a lot of fun, and I caught up with family I hadn’t seen in a while, but losing my car and getting rain on? Definitely not the best way to end the night.

As I got closer to the cabin, I confirmed it wasn’t the same cabin as the wedding, but a much smaller, cozy one. The single light from the living room shone bright, casting a soft glow on the front of the house and the yard. It was clean and well kept, and a pickup truck sat alone in the driveway.

All I needed was a ride to help find my car. Then I’d be on my way back to the Inn and I could forget this even happened.

Were people in small towns friendly enough to give a ride?

Hell, if I couldn’t get a ride, were there at least Ubers around here at this time of night?

I doubted it, but I had to try. I couldn’t spend the night roughing it outdoors. Where the hell would I even go pee?

Hurrying up the driveway, I stopped in front of the door and raised my hand to knock.

Then I lowered it.

Fuck, what was I thinking? It was probably close to two am by now. I couldn’t just knock on a stranger’s door and ask for help at this hour.

I’d need to figure something else out.

As I turned to go, a loud barking noise blasted through the air and I jumped.

I quickly looked around, afraid I’d find a mad dog charging at me, but I saw nothing.

That was until something slammed against the other side of the door, and there in the glass on the side of the door, was a very large, very loud husky with piercing blue eyes.

The dog jumped and barked, scratching at the glass.

I swallowed hard and stepped back, afraid any second the dog might rip through the door and attack me.

Slowly, step by step, I moved backwards, the dog still going crazy.

Then the porch light came on.

And the door was opening.

Yet no dog ran at me.

Instead, a large, gruff looking man stood in the doorway, taking up the entire space, his presence clearly made known. “Who are you?”

I held my hands out. “Sorry! I don’t want any trouble. I got caught in the rain and can’t find my car. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you.”

“You lost your car? Who loses their car?” He asked me as his crossed his arms over his wide chest. His feet took a wider stance as his dog very calmly sat next to him, a complete one hundred from his wild barking mere seconds ago.

I took a tentative step closer. “I was at a wedding.” I pointed in the general direction of where I came from, the man’s head following.

“I couldn’t find my car in the dark. Next thing I know, the rain comes pouring down.

I took a wrong turn and ended up here. Soaked.

Ruined clothes. A dead phone with no service.

If you could possibly give me a ride or let me borrow the phone, I’d be on my way. ”

“So, you expect me to open the door and help out a stranger? Is that the reputation small towns give off?”

“I mean, aren’t small towns known for being friendly? Neighborly, perhaps?” I looked down at my ruined heels once more and grimaced. Ugh times a thousand.

“Yeah, but at two in the morning? Doubtful.”

The man didn’t budge.

His dog whined.

I wagged my fingers at the dog who started to go wild again but a quick snap of the man’s fingers and he was back to behaving.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s late. But maybe you can take some pity on a lost city girl who looks like a drowned rat and ruined her most expensive pair of heels?” I said as stepped in front of the door once more, directly underneath the porch light.

Being that close let me take a good look at him and I quickly realized how handsome he was. Holy shit.

He looked like a Greek god.

“Your most expensive pair of heels? What will you ever do?” The man said with full-blown sarcasm, not even a hint of a smile on his face.

I held back my eye roll. Of course, he thought I was just a city girl lost and helpless.

Okay, so maybe I was those things, but he didn’t have to look at me like I was.

“If you have an extra thousand dollars lying around, I’d love to replace them. But right now, I’ll settle with coming inside, drying off a little, and possibly using your phone? As long as your dog doesn’t eat me.”

“Who, Bluey?” The man asked, while glancing down at the dog. “He’s a marshmallow. But yeah, come in and dry off. We can find your car in the morning.”

“In the morning?” I asked as he held his door open, one hand holding onto Bluey’s collar.

“Yeah, it’s dark, muddy, and rainy. We can wait until the morning. Don’t worry, you can sleep in my bed and I’ll take the couch.”

“No, I can’t possibly ask—”

“You didn’t. I’m telling you. Now come in, before you get more wet.”

Little did I know then that stepping into his cabin would change my life forever.