Wild for the Mountain Man (Whispered Echoes Season 2 #16)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Ayra

“Yoo-hoo, El! It’s me!” Fellow Halloween lover and one of my closest friends, Gracie, exclaimed as she walked through the front door, carrying a box in her arms. She plopped the box down on the counter and looked around. “It’s finally opening day! I’ve been dying to see this year’s new stuff.”

“Hey girl! Nice to see you. I wish I could say I have lots to show you but only a few new things came in. I had to do some re-budgeting.”

Gracie’s face fell. “Oh no. Is everything okay?”

“Kind of. I mean, business is good. Not great, but good. I could use some help with my online shop. But what I’m most worried about is my new landlord. Not only did he raise the rent, but he’s a bit of a grump. He didn’t want to rent to me for only a month when the previous guy didn’t care.”

“Is he from around here? Because everyone knows you open once a year in this exact spot for only the month of October.”

“I don’t know. We’ve only messaged back and forth a few times. But I’m not letting it dampen my spirit, so let’s have the best opening day party yet!” I said with more enthusiasm that I felt.

No. I wasn’t letting this grumpy guy ruin something I counted the days down for.

Gracie rounded the front counter and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “It’ll be okay. You’re getting more popular every year. And I’ll help you with your online store. I took an online course.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. Just buy me a muffin.”

“Already done.” I motioned towards the back where there was a small kitchen, break room, and storage room. “There’s a tea waiting for you too.”

Gracie’s eyes lit up, and she hugged me. “I knew there were reasons I love you.”

I laughed. “What’s an opening day without Ruby’s apple cinnamon muffins?”

“There’s a new bakery in Apple Falls that recently opened. One baker does insane cakes. Like those you see in the food competitions. Pretty tasty cookies, too.”

“Gracie! Are you cheating on Ruby?”

“Never! It’s called expanding your horizons.” Gracie grinned before disappearing towards the back.

After a sip of my pumpkin spice coffee, I went back to setting up. I liked to make the opening day a big deal, with free candy and apple cider.

The bell on the front door chimed, and my head snapped up. Shit, I meant to lock it after Gracie came in. Besides, I wasn’t expecting anyone for another hour.

My eyes landed on another set of eyes, bright piercing blue ones. Above the tables and displays of product, he stood tall, whoever the man was, and I swallowed hard, his wide frame filling my door frame.

Who is that?

Dirty blonde shaggy hair covered the top of his head, with a bit of gray coloring at the temples, and the sides trimmed short, along with a full, light brown beard. I imagined the sexiest smile I’d ever seen on anyone’s face, yet he didn’t sport a smile. Whoever he was, he looked annoyed.

His tight jeans hugged him in all the right places and his flannel, with the sleeves rolled up, and his fully inked forearms, made my head fill with dirty fantasies. He’d definitely be able to toss me around the room and then some.

He definitely was older, I’d guess, in his thirties, but my twenty-five-year-old didn’t care. It pumped like it was fifteen.

“Can I help you? We’re not open yet.” I pointed to the sign on the window.

He looked at it and shrugged. “Why’s the door unlocked, then?”

“Sorry, did you need something?” I avoided his question and his panty melting stare. Why it turned me on I had no clue because his cold grumpy vibe sure wasn’t.

“Yeah, I wanted to come by and introduce myself. Name is Walker. Walker Augustine. I’m your new landlord.”

My stomach dropped to my feet.

Him?!

He’s my new landlord?

As I opened my mouth to speak, Gracie burst through the back door and said loudly, “Oh my God, El, these muffins are an orgasm for my mouth. Don’t you—” She stopped short and clamped her mouth shut, muffin crumbs in both corners.

I bit my lip to keep from laughing as I watched Gracie’s cheeks flush in real time. When I snuck a look at Walker, he bore no trace of a smile. None. Only a look of pure annoyance.

I desperately wanted to roll my eyes and kick the guy out so I could go back to setting up, but he didn’t budge from where he stood in front of my counter, his intense stare not wavering.

Gracie raised her eyebrows at me, then disappeared as quickly as she swooped in, leaving me alone with grumpy Walker once more.

“My father told me you only rent for a month here. Is that right, Elora?”

The way he said my name, the syllables rolling off his tongue, caused a tingling sensation throughout every limb.

I ignored it. There would be none of that.

“Your father? You mean Ed?”

“Yeah, he gave the business to me.”

The puzzle pieces clicked into place. Ed, my previous landlord, had mentioned he had a son, but had said little else.

It still surprised me he left town. He loved it here, where he lived for years, raised his kid, and buried his wife.

But there was the problem- everywhere he turned around here, he saw her. And that hurt.

“Ed told me about his wife, your mother. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks,” he grumbled. “Back to my question. You rent this space for a month each October, right?”

No wonder he’s grumpy. He just lost his mom. Who wouldn’t be upset? “Yes, that’s correct.”

“I’m not sure that’s going to work anymore. I want to make some changes around here.”

“But Ed said there wouldn’t be any issues when you took over, besides the rise in rent, which I don’t think is fair, and neither did Ed. He kept me at a locked rate.”

“And he set himself up to fail because of that. Expenses go up, prices go up, and he should’ve been raising the rent. But it doesn’t matter now, because I’m here to fix it.”

My attraction for him teetered on the edge of annoyance and anger.

“Okay. Well, it was nice to meet you. Now, if there isn’t anything else I can help you with it, I need to get back to my work.

” I smoothed out the cloth on the refreshments table and opened the bag of paper plates, setting them out in a single pile.

“I’ll draft up a proposal. I’m going to need you to rent for at least six months a year.

It’s only fair, as it’s not always easy to find good tenants.

Nor is it easy to find ones that want to stay.

How am I going to quick a good set of tenants when the six months is up just because you want to come back? ”

He made a good point, yet I grew angrier by the second.

There was no way I’d find another place I could afford. But Ed did it for me. He knew my parents. Why was his son being such a jerk?

I can’t lose my business, and I can’t afford to rent it for six months straight. I’d bankrupt myself.

“My store is very niche and holiday specific. I don’t need a year-round store front. I’d lose money hand over fist.”

Walker stared at me and said nothing. “Well, I’ve already lost money. And I don’t want to do so again. So, we’ll need to figure something out.” Then he turned on his heel and walked out the door without one look back.

Okay, it was one thing to be sad.

But it was another thing to be rude and unwilling to work with me.

My new landlord was officially a grumpy silver fox.

I was in trouble.