Hawk Valley Mountain Men Box Set

by Mazzy King

  Tears fill my eyes. “I will wait. I promise.”

  He says nothing but squeezes me tighter.

  I’m not sure how long we stay that way, but his phone buzzing in his pocket makes us break apart. He glances at the screen.

  “I have to go,” he says quietly, then pulls me to him again and kisses me fiercely.

  One last time.

  “Take care of yourself,” he whispers against my lips. “Do good things. Be brave. And know that wherever I am, I’m thinking of you.”

  All the words I want to say lodge in my throat, blocked by the huge lump in the middle of it.

  Loch kisses my forehead, then walks to the truck and gets in. He waves to me, pain all over his face, and then he’s driving away.

  And I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again.

  Chapter 8

  Ava

  One month later

  Graduate: noun. A person who has successfully completed a course of study or training. A person who has been awarded an academic degree.

  Badass graduate. Me, a person who has been awarded an academic degree, magna cum laude.

  Exhausted graduate. Me again, after a long day of ceremony and celebration.

  Today has been one of the best days in my life in a lot of ways. I finished college after working my ass off for four long years, but also, I survived something that shook the entire foundation of my being, triumphed over it, and rose above. And those are the words I decorated my graduation cap with—Rise Above.

  A week ago, I received a call from one of the most prestigious global travel e-magazines. With hundreds of reporters and photographers all over the globe, it gets millions of hits each month and advertising opportunities are through the roof. It recently opened a satellite office in Hawk City, and they want yours truly to be one of three resident staff photographers. And because I also like to write and wrote for the university newspaper, I’ll be penning some of my own articles too. It’s not my ultimate dream job, but right out of college, it’s a damn good start.

  As I lie in bed in my new apartment, alone now after a long day spent with family and friends, I think about how grateful I am for not just my accomplishments and the next chapter, but also for having a new lease on life. The fear still lingers, but it’s just a whisper in my mind, a reminder to be cautious and careful when I’m out. It’s no longer the screaming wail in my head promising sure death if I take one single step outside.

  And the person I have to thank for that…isn’t here.

  There’s gratitude, yes. Always. But there’s also sadness. A longing.

  It’s been five weeks since I said goodbye to Loch. Five weeks which, in the grand scheme of time, would not even register as a blip on the radar. But they’ve felt like forever to me, because I don’t know when this separation, this silence, will end.

  I decide to indulge in something I ignored completely my last few weeks of school in order to concentrate—TV. I settle back for some mindless reality shows and it takes hardly any time for me to grow drowsy.

  My cell phone buzzes on my nightstand.

  I jerk awake and fumble for it. It’s from a number I don’t recognize.

  Unknown Caller (Maybe Spam): Hey, beautiful. I couldn’t let today pass without telling you congratulations and how proud I am of you. I’ve had a pretty busy day, so I’m sorry this is coming to you so late.

  I don’t need caller ID to tell me this is definitely not spam.

  Me: I’m sitting here with my mouth wide open. I can’t believe you’re texting me now. I thought you weren’t supposed to?

  Unknown Caller (Maybe Spam): I’m definitely not, but there was no way I wasn’t going to talk to you on your graduation day. I made arrangements for a gift for you, but you have to go down to get it. It’s kind of big.

  Me: Is it a car?

  Unknown Caller (Maybe Spam): There’s only one way to find out…

  There’s no way he got me a new car. It’d be kind of silly, anyway. Public transit is my main mode of transportation, even though I do own an older car.

  It’s late, and I’m cozy, but there’s no way I’m not going to see what he sent me. I slip on some athletic slides and head out of my apartment to the elevators and jab the down button.

  It’s not until I’m almost to the lobby that I realize he said you have to go down to get it. How did he know I live on a higher floor?

  For that matter, how did he know I moved into my own place? I haven’t been able to talk to him…

  Butterflies go batshit-crazy in my tummy as I run out of the elevators, through the lobby, and out the secured main entrance.

  There’s a car on the street, all right. But that’s not the gift.

  The guy standing outside it, wearing a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows, jeans, and boots is.

  I’ve imagined a moment like this a million times in my head. How I’d react. How I’d greet him. I always strove for beautiful dignity in those fantasies. I’d be wearing a beautiful dress, hair and makeup done. I’d allow my eyes to glisten as I floated into his arms.

  Now, in my Adidas slides, sweatpants, university T-shirt and messy hair, I just start bawling. I fly into his arms.

  Loch squeezes me, murmuring into my hair. “It’s okay. I’m here now. Don’t cry.”

  “I missed you so much,” I wail into his chest. In fact, the full impact of how much I missed him comes forth now, and even I hadn’t realized it was this much.

  Loch cups my face in his hands and tilts it up toward him. He’s cleanshaven and looks a little tired, but he smiles down at me and kisses each of my tears away. “I missed you too, Ava.”

  We hug on the street for what feels like hours. Then I pull back. “How did you know where I live? Did you use your fancy, top-secret security technology?”

  “I called your mom,” he replies, to my disappointment. “But I did use some software to reach your parents.”

  “You told her…about us?”

  “I told her I had the pleasure of meeting you last month in Hawk Valley, and that I was currently on my way back to the US, and that I’d love to get in touch with you. I explained who I was, sent her my credentials, and even had a senior officer confirm my identity.”

  “She never said a word,” I breathe.

  “I swore her to secrecy,” Loch replies, and kisses my forehead. Then he trails his mouth down to mine. His lips are gentle, as if seeking permission, and I kiss him back to let him know I’m all his.

  “You waited,” he murmured against my mouth.

  “I promised you I would.”

  “Next time…” He hesitates, and I wince. I don’t want to think about a next time right now. “It could be even longer.”

  “Then I’ll wait even longer.” I look up into his eyes. “I know I’m not that experienced, but I love you, Loch. Isn’t that what people who love each other do?” Oh, wait. He’s never said—

  “Yes,” he replies, and kisses me again. “And you beat me to it, Ava. I love you.”

  I beam up at him. “Then I’ll always wait for you, Loch Holmes, no matter how long it takes. You just have to promise you’ll always come back to me.”

  “That’s the easiest promise I’ll ever make.” He cups my face again. “You’re safe with me, Ava. Your life and your heart and your mind and your soul.” His eyes turn teasing as he makes a point of checking me out. “Maybe not your body.”

  I giggle, tugging him toward the door. “Come on. We have five weeks to make up for.”

  “Roger that, ma’am.”

  Epilogue

  Ava

  Five months later

  I lean back in Loch’s arms, stretching my legs luxuriously as I gaze up through the glass ceiling of the covered back porch. The remodeling he did over the summer was possibly the best work he’s ever done with his hands.

  Except for the work he does with his hands on me…in bed.

  The fireplace crackles merrily in the corner across from where we’re sprawled
together on the cushy sofa, drinking wine and watching the stars. The clouds are wispy, offering peeks at the brilliant stars as they drift along.

  “This,” I say, “is heaven.”

  His chest rumbles under my head as he chuckles. “Yeah. It was a pretty good idea.”

  I’ve decided fall in the mountains is the best time of year, for now. Loch promises that I should see what winter brings. Though snow-capped mountains sound heavenly, it’s hard to imagine the icy beauty of that competing with the red and gold hues of the trees sweeping down the mountainsides. I’ve never taken so many pictures in a single day as I did today on our hike.

  “I wish I could be here more than just the weekend,” I say with a sigh. “This place is good for my creative soul. Oh, yeah, and you’re not so bad, either.”

  He laughs again. “Gee, thanks.”

  I sit up and turn around to face him. “What would you think about that? Me being here more.”

  “I’d love it.” He brushes a lock of hair behind my ear and studies me. “But there are a couple things to consider. What about work?”

  “The magazine has remote opportunities. If I tell them I’m moving, they either let me work remotely, which wouldn’t impact my work, or they fire me, and I take my talent elsewhere.”

  He smiles, taking my hand. “Okay. So work isn’t an issue. But I have to travel a lot—at the drop of a hat. You know that. Will you be okay being here alone?”

  “I could visit my family at those times.”

  “You could, but what if the weather’s bad and you’re stuck here? I don’t want you to be scared to be on your own, but I want you to consider those possibilities.”

  “Well, you have state-of-the-art security you designed yourself. And, thanks to you, I know how to defend myself, with or without a weapon,” I say.

  One of the things we do a lot of is train. Loch, as haunted by my mugging as I used to be, insisted on it. Over the last few months, he’s patiently shown me different moves and also how to safely and comfortably handle a firearm. He’s an excellent teacher, and the best part is that our training sessions, after hours of being hands-on with each other and rolling around on the mat together, usually end in one way.

  I smile at him. “I’d be okay being here by myself if I had to.”

  He toys with my fingers. “I have one last concern you should consider.”

  “What’s that?”

  Still holding my hand with one of his, he reaches into his pocket with the other and pulls out a small, round velvet box.

  My heart stops.

  He strokes the back of my hand—my left hand, I realize now—with his thumb as he pops the lid on the box with his other thumb and shows me a beautiful diamond ring. It’s not tiny and it’s not ostentatiously big. It’s just perfect—for me. As if he had it made with my exact taste in mind.

  “I definitely want you to live here with me,” he says softly. “But I really want it to be as my wife.” He pulls the ring out of the box and slides it onto my finger. It’s a perfect fit. Then he presses my hand gently between the two of his. “Ava Hedrick, will you do me the honor of being my wife, and let me love you for the rest of our lives?”

  I gape at him. “You—really? You want to marry me?”

  He gives me a one-sided grin. “Well, this is a pretty expensive prop if I were just kidding around.”

  I squeal and launch myself into his arms, rattling the wineglasses on the coffee table. “Yes! Yes, I want to marry you, Loch!”

  We kiss passionately under the stars. His arms tight around me reassure me that though these mountains are a huge, wide open space, I’ll be safe with him.

  Forever.

  5 | STONE

  Chapter 1

  Stone Jericho

  I should be paying attention to this conference call, but as I stare out the window of my top-floor corner office at bustling Hawk City below, I just can’t focus.

  “…returns forecasted to be very good,” says my advisor Matt on the other end of the line. “I really think you should pursue this, Stone. And we have to move fast.”

  “Fine,” I reply absently. “Send the paperwork to Evelyn. I’m out of town this weekend.”

  “Back to the cabin?”

  “The only place I can really think. Talk to you later.” I disconnect the call with Matt and stand, stretching.

  I’ve worked hard to build my tech company, and the fruits of my labor have certainly paid off. At thirty-five, I’ve cemented the company as one of the fastest growing and successful businesses in this industry. I have a penthouse here in the city, but my favorite place to be is in the remodeled cabin I have high in the mountains of Hawk Valley.

  I grew up there, and even though my parents decided they wanted nothing more to do with the often cold mountains and moved to Arizona, I’ll never stop living there, even part-time. The mountains are in my blood, and I belong to them. When the stresses of life beat me down, I know I can go there and find my solace.

  A gentle knock on the doorframe pulls my attention from the window. I turn to see my assistant Evelyn Adams standing before me. As always, I have to put in sincere effort to keep my face neutral whenever I see her.

  I’m pretty sure blazing lust in my eyes doesn’t exactly make for a professional work environment. And I’ve wanted Evelyn from the moment she walked into my office two years ago for the executive assistant position she now holds.

  It’s just the two of us in my top-floor office. The floors below us are occupied by the people who make up the various departments of the company. Developers, business analysts, payroll, marketing. Admins are one floor beneath me. I don’t have a big executive staff because I don’t need one. As soon as Evelyn tells me she needs more help, I’ll hire whoever she wants. But she’s never complained about the workload, and I do my best to make sure I’m not a pain in her ass. But she’s a superstar anyway, and I don’t doubt she can handle anything that comes her way.

  “Yes, Evelyn?” I ask.

  For a young woman only a couple of years out of college, her poise is remarkable. It’s one of the things I find the sexiest about her—although her glossy black hair and gray eyes set into a singularly beautiful face don’t fall short, either. She’s always dressed professionally, but I can’t help but salivate over the way she fills out her skirts and dresses. Her body is deliciously curvy, and it often drives me to distraction.

  I know I sound like a letch. But I swear I’ve never treated her with anything but aloof courtesy. Even though I’d love to show her another side of me and see every side of her.

  She folds her hands demurely in front of her, tipping her head back to meet my gaze. In her four-inch heels, I still have a good six inches of height on her. “I’ve cleared your calendar for the rest of the afternoon, as you asked.”

  “Thank you,” I tell her. “I’m heading out to the cabin for a long weekend. I need to get away.”

  Her full, pouty pink lips I want desperately to taste stretch into a polite smile. “I’m sure that will be very nice, sir.”

  Always so polite. Always so on. What does she look like when she loses control?

  I don’t know why she’s been so heavy in my thoughts lately. I could never have her, because she would never cross that line. I date occasionally, unenthused, usually when my friends set me up with someone. The last woman I dated—Katrina, a Fortune 500 company heiress—was for less than half a year, and I broke up with her four months ago. We didn’t see each other often, and it was a relationship that was going nowhere fast, and I suspect she was using me for my money and status in the industry. She didn’t take our separation well.

  But I can’t find it in me to care. I can’t find it in me to care about anything except the woman in front of me.

  I think she’s had a boyfriend here and there, maybe. At any rate, flowers have shown up for her on Valentine’s Day before and once on her birthday. But I’ve never seen her with anyone, never heard her on the phone or caught her exchanging naughty
texts with a smile on her face.

  I can’t date her anyway, but…the surge of jealousy I feel is maddening sometimes.

  “You should take the afternoon off too,” I say. It’s on the tip of my tongue to invite her to the mountains with me, an illicit urge I quickly tamp down. “You work very hard, Evelyn. You deserve a break.”

  She glances down briefly, then offers me another polite smile. “I’ll do my best, Mr. Jericho. There’s a few things I need to put in order before I leave.”

  To hell with it. Come with me. Let me pamper you.

  Let me love you.

  I might be lovesick, but I’m not a fool.

  I’m her boss. She’s my assistant.

  That’s where it begins, and where it ends.

  Chapter 2

  Evelyn Adams

  I slip out of Mr. Jericho’s office and return to my desk to finish my work. If he says I can leave early, I plan to. I need to get my thoughts together.

  I need the weekend to figure out how to tell him…I’m quitting.

  I intended to do just that a moment ago when I walked in his office, but every single time I look into his blue eyes, my courage, my will, escapes me.

  I’m in love with him. And I can’t work for him.

  I just can’t do it.

  When he hired me right after I graduated from college, it was every girl’s fantasy—assistant to the hottest man alive who happens to be an uber-wealthy CEO of a rising tech company. I was so nervous around him in those early days, but he proved to be a pretty kind boss. Not overly friendly or personable, but kind, thoughtful, and he did what he could to make my job relatively simple. The more I grew in the position, the more responsibility he gave me until I reached the point where I am now—capable of effortlessly running his day-to-day and doing what I can to make his job relatively simple. And overtime…my crush grew into something more.