by Kate Tilney
Shawn still doesn’t seem to be buying what I’m saying. He digs into his pocket and pulls out an envelope. He slides it across the desk to me.
“What’s that?”
“Open it.”
Again with the ordering me around. When we’re done here, I’m definitely kicking his ass. Even if it’s just at a game of pool. I’d hate to upset Lila by beating her brother to a bloody pulp.
I rip open the envelope and a slip of paper falls out. I pick it up and look. It’s a check. For more than the money I’d need to pay off the rest of Granddad’s debt and to make improvements on the lodge. It’s made out to me and signed by Shawn.
I hold it up. “What’s this?”
“It’s what you need to save your business.”
“I said I wouldn’t take a loan.”
“It’s not a loan.”
Rage flashes through me. “Is this a payoff then? You give me money, and I leave your sister alone.”
“I wouldn’t put it that way,” he says, mimicking my earlier words. “Let’s just say it’s a means to an end.”
Hands shaking, I rip the check in half once. Twice. I keep going until it’s shredded. I throw it at Shawn and rise to my feet.
“If your sister doesn’t want to be with me, that’s fine.” I grip onto the edge of the desk so I won’t reach out and slug him. “But I won’t take a penny from you.”
“Even if it means losing your business?”
“I’d give up it up tomorrow—the lodge, the land, everything—if it meant being with Lila.” My heart thunders in my ears. “If she wants me to get a job back in Seattle, I will. Whatever it takes. She’s all that matters to me.”
Surprise flashes in Shawn’s eyes. His jaw falls slack. “You’d give up the lodge for Lila?”
“I just told you I’m in love with her. She’s my future. And you can’t put a price on that.”
Chapter Seven
Lila
I freeze at the door, and my heart clutches. Did I just hear . . . Did he just say . . .
Flint loves me?
No, he doesn’t just love me. You love your mom and your cat . . . and your sister. He said he is love with me. The way you are in love with the person who makes your heart beat. The way I am in love—have been in love most of my life—with him.
I shove open the door. Both men turn with a start. I stride past my brother who—quite frankly—looks like he’s stumbled into a movie with French subtitles without his reading glasses. I’ll make sure he’s still breathing later. Right now, I only have eyes for the man staring at me like he’s watching the sunrise for the first time after a week of darkness.
“You’re still here?” He folds his arms around me, pulling me fiercely against his chest.
“It should be pretty obvious I am,” I tease, even as I burrow closer to him, my own arms slipping around his waist. “I won’t lie. I thought about leaving. But now, there doesn’t seem to be a reason for me to go”
A grin spreads across his face, lighting his bright blue eyes.
“If I have my way, there will never be a reason for you to leave.”
“Like you could get rid of me.” I lean up on my toes and press my lips to his whiskered chin. “But first, I have a confession.”
“Oh yeah?”
“I heard what you said just now. I suppose it’s only fair I tell you.”
Concern flashes in his normally unflappable face. “Okay.”
“It just so happens that I’m totally in love with you, too.”
He gives a shaky laugh. “I’m glad we’re on the same page here.”
“Don’t get too used to it. I’m sure there will be plenty of times we don’t agree with how to run the business.”
“But I promise to always listen to your ideas.”
“And I promise not to make any big sweeping changes without checking with your first.”
Flint’s eyes crease around the edges. “Deal.”
Behind me, Shawn clears his throat. “I suppose this is my cue to write another check.”
“We don’t need it,” Flint says, not taking his eyes from mine. “My business partner says we don’t need a bailout.”
In the past five minutes, he’s called me his business partner and said he’s in love with me. I’m not sure anything could make me happier than I am at this moment.
Pulling myself out of Flint’s arms, I turn toward my brother.
“We’re still going to have some things to discuss.”
He nods, but there’s a grin on his face now. “I’m sure we will.”
“But for now, I have just one thing to say.”
“Shoot.”
“Get out, and shut the door.”
Shawn laughs, but does as I’ve ordered. And while I still need to give him a lecture on the importance of not jumping to conclusions and letting me fight my own battles, that can wait. I’m kind of in the middle of something here.
When I turn back around, Flint is on one knee, a velvet box in his hand. My breath catches.
“Oh my God,” I whisper.
“I planned to do this somewhere beautiful and perfect—like a waterfall or a mountaintop—because you’re beautiful and perfect and you deserve everything beautiful and perfect.”
My eyes fill. “Don’t you realize by now I don’t need flowers and jewels to be happy.”
“You may not need them, but you’re going to get them.”
He takes my hand in his. A jolt of electricity runs through me. I wonder if it’ll always be like this between us. It has been for a decade. I can’t imagine that changing in ten more.
“Lila Edison, will you give me all of your forevers? You already have mine.” He flips the box open, revealing a gorgeous antique cushion-cut diamond ring. “Marry me?”
“Yes.” I throw my arms around him and kiss his whiskered cheek, his brow, his nose, his lips. “Yes, I’ll marry you. I’ve always been yours. I always will be.”
Epilogue
Flint
Three Years Later
“Come on, baby, jump. Daddy’s got you.”
Despite my assurances, my two-year-old daughter, Harper, doesn’t look convinced. Folding her chubby arms over her bright pink swimsuit, her lips purse into a pout.
She shakes her head. “Too scared.”
My heart clenches. I know her mama will say that she isn’t really afraid. That she’s just testing me. Making sure that she really does have me wrapped around her little finger.
But the thought of either of my girls feeling even a moment of fear while I’m around makes my stomach hurt. I protect what’s mine. Harper and Lila are mine. And I’m theirs.
Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I swim closer to the deck.
“Daddy won’t let you fall.”
Her little lip quivers and my heart aches. “Promise.”
“Cross my heart.”
Eyeing the lake with a little less worry, Harper drops her arms and—after taking a deep breath and a running jump—flies into my arms. As promised I catch her, bouncing her into the water. She kicks around, and with my hands supporting her, she practices the breathing technique she learned at swim class.
“Look at me, Mommy,” Harper calls out. “I’m like a fish.”
From her lounge chair on the shore, Lila waves at us. Then she runs a hand over her swollen belly. She’s due to deliver our son in another week. Her parents and brother are driving in tomorrow to help us out with Harper while we get ready for the new baby. I’ve hired on a couple of extra employees to help with the lodge so my girls and I can spend the next couple months getting to know Bode.
It’s hard to believe that in just one more week—or sooner if Lila has a say—we’ll be a family of four. It wasn’t that long ago that it was just me. Trying to keep my grandpa’s business going as my only link to a family.
Lila changed all that. First by showing up and turning the business upside down, and then right side up. Making it even better than before. Business ha
s been so good, last year we added on an addition to the main lodge and another row of cabins. She was even right about doing a series of videos online showing beginners how to do everything from fly fish to make fluffy pancakes. Jacobs and Dorothy pretend to be embarrassed by their virtual celebrity, but secretly they love it. Just like they love my girl.
Everything good I have in my life comes from Lila. She helped me accept what was in my heart. She gave me what was in hers. Now, the proof of that love is splashing around in the water and sleeping in her belly.
There’s nothing more I could want. I have a wife to love, a family to protect, and a thriving home and business to house it all. Some people are just born lucky. I’m damn glad I get to be one of them.
***
Thank you for reading FLINT. If you want more mountain men the next standalone story in the series, RHETT, will be available January 29, 2020.
Emmy
I'm crazy late on finishing my new book. When the publisher says "turn it in, or else" I book a cabin in the Montana wilderness.
Just my luck, the cabin's owner is hot. Really hot. And distracting. Very distracting. Let's just say it's a good thing I'm writing a romance, and I need the inspiration.
Rhett
I needed cash. She needed quiet. It seemed simple enough. But the minute she sets foot in my cabin, it becomes anything but simple.
Still, I don't mind being the inspiration for her new book. Especially not if I get to help with some of the research under the covers.
Kings of the Mountain is a series of steamy, sweet, insta love short story romances. Read RHETT if you like curvy, bookish heroines and alpha heroes who find a happy ending in each other.
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Thank you for reading FLINT: Kings of the Mountain #2.
XOXO
Kate
Also by Kate Tilney
Extra Long Weekend
BROCK: Kings of the Mountain #1
FLINT: Kings of the Mountain #2
RHETT: Kings of the Mountain #3
About the Author
Kate Tilney writes short and sweet steamy romances with alpha heroes and the relatable heroines who love them. When she isn't curled up with a good story, Kate can be found listening to true crime podcasts, re-watching TV shows from her youth, and dreaming up another happily ever after.