Stone Heart_A Single Mom & Mountain Man Romance

by Rye Hart

  “That’s fine. Anything’s fine. Whatever’s better for you is fine. Or I could meet you halfway. But there’s this place in downtown Gatlinburg that makes a wonderful cup of coffee.”

  “I thought you never went into town?” she asked.

  “Well, I did yesterday,” I said.

  Silence fell on the conversation again. I knew I was asking a great deal from her. I knew I was tugging on ropes I had no business tugging on. But I didn’t have any other choice. The dream was swirling around in my head while visions of those two shops standing side-by-side rattled my mind and I was willing to do anything to get her back out here.

  “I’ll pay for your trip,” I said. “However you decide to take it.”

  “That’s not necessary. I mean, I guess I could come back. I don’t have a job yet or anything.”

  “I promise you, it’ll be worth it,” I said.

  “What’s all this about?” she asked.

  “A future.”

  I could hear her breathing before some shuffling started happening on the other end of the line. I listened carefully as I stood from my bed, pacing my room while Whitney did whatever it was she was doing. I felt my hands shaking while my heart pounded hard against my chest. I was more nervous than I could ever imagine in my life and, soon, I was wiping sweat from my brow before she spoke again.

  “I have no idea why I’m doing this but I’m in my car now,” she said. “I’m about six hours from you, so I won’t even get into downtown Gatlinburg until around three.”

  “So, you’re coming?” I asked.

  I heard her car crank up and I couldn’t help the smile that sprang to my cheeks.

  “I’ll see you at three. What’s this place called?”

  “Coffee and Company.”

  “I’ll pull it up on my GPS and get there,” she said.

  “And Whitney?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “I am, too. Look, we’ll talk more when I get there. Let me get on the road.”

  “I’ll see you this afternoon.”

  Hanging up the phone, I started cleaning myself up. I groomed and picked out an outfit, then got some stuff done around the cabin. By the time two-thirty rolled around, I was getting into my truck, anxious to meet up with Whitney and talk with her face to face. I wanted to make this drive worth her while, so on the way to the coffee shop, I formulated my argument. I laid out all the numbers in my head and repeated them to myself, then made a decision I should have made days ago.

  I needed to open up to Whitney finally.

  The coffee shop was right across the road from the vacant buildings. I went inside and waited for her, sipping on my coffee while my leg shook. Every time the door opened, I’d whip my head up, but the moment I saw Whitney, I froze. She looked tired. Like maybe she wasn’t eating well or sleeping. I stood up and watched her walk up to me. Then I immediately gathered her in my arms.

  “How was the drive?” I asked.

  “Long,” she said, sighing.

  “Before I launch into the speech I’ve prepared, I have something I want to share with you.”

  “Can I get some coffee first?” she asked

  “Of course. Get whatever you want. It’s on me.”

  I watched her while she ordered and I surveyed every movement she made. Every time her body swayed and every time her leg trembled. I had no idea what in the world was running through her mind but I knew I wanted to take it all away. I wanted to help her in any way I could, even if it was just as a friend.

  Though I hoped by the end of all this, she’d be more than that.

  “Okay,” she said as she sat down. “Hit me.”

  “My nightmares,” I said. “You need to know about them.”

  “Liam, you don’t have to talk about them if you don’t want to. It was wrong of me to push that.”

  “But I want to. That’s what I was battling. I was going between wanting to tell you everything and wanting to protect the man you saw me as.”

  “Why would I think any differently of you after you’ve told me all this?” she asked.

  “Because I was a coward, Whitney.”

  “I highly doubt that,” she said.

  “On my last deployment,” I began, “I was captured.”

  “Wait, what?” she asked.

  “I was captured and held by the enemy. A prisoner of war.”

  “Holy shit, Liam,” she said, incredulously.

  “My entire unit was captured. We were ambushed on a small patrol boat and boarded. My unit and I, we were all taken to shore. I was forced to help them and heal their wounded unless I wanted to die myself.”

  I could see the shock rolling over her face but I didn’t want to give her the chance to speak until I’d told her everything.

  “It was me and three other men. Callen Paxton, who survived with me, and two other men. I was forced to heal the enemy’s wounded but they threatened my life if I tried to help my own. I watched them die, right there. The only reason they let me help Paxton was because I convinced them he was necessary to what they wanted from me.”

  I watched as Whitney’s hand reached out and came down onto my forearm.

  “I should’ve been willing to die. I should’ve been willing to accept the sacrifice for my country but I didn’t. I was a coward and, instead of healing my own men, I watched them die while healing dozens of enemy fighters.”

  “That doesn’t make you a coward, Liam. It makes you a survivor.”

  “I don’t expect you to understand—”

  “Liam, look at me.”

  I raised my gaze to hers and I could see the sternness that had set in. She squeezed my forearm and made sure I was looking at her. Then she drew in a deep breath and began.

  “You were captured and you survived. You did what was asked and, in the process, saved one of your own. You fought tooth and nail to get back to a country you loved. A country you were dedicated to. That Purple Heart in your bedroom doesn’t go to cowards, Liam. It goes to heroes. To soldiers that our children look up to. To people who lay their lives on the line and climb through the mire to rise above everything that’s been thrown at them. You saved the life of that man, Liam, and you saved your own. Taking the easy way out in that kind of situation would’ve been the cowardly move. There were people who vetted you for that medal, who wanted you to have that honor because they knew you deserved it. You are not a coward, Liam. You’ve only convinced yourself you are.”

  Her words battered against my ears like waves against a rocky shoreline. I wanted to believe her. I really did. And I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to convince myself she was right. But I could feel the warmth of her touch radiating up my arm. I could feel her voice cleansing the thoughts in my mind and her innocence penetrating my soul again.

  And all because she was there. Right there. In front of me.

  “Here’s what I do know,” I said as I took her hand. “You have brought a light into my life I haven’t experienced since that deployment. I hadn’t experienced one nightmare since that first night we spent together. Your presence chases out the darkness I feel caving in around me sometimes and the light you shone into my world helped me to see new possibilities for myself. So, if you’d give me the chance, I’d like to show you a possibility for your own.”

  I could see the confusion on her face but, instead of pulling away, all she did was tighten her grip on my hand.

  “Just hear me out before you interject because I know it sounds nuts. If you turn around, you’ll see two vacant pieces of property right across the road. Don’t do it now, just wait until I’m finished.”

  “Okay,” she said.

  “They both have a decent amount of space to them, which is surprising for how they’re laid out in the front. They’ll need some work but most of it I can do on my own. For both buildings. It’s the perfect place for two things I can think of that we briefly talked about during our time together.”

  I coul
d see the curiosity and intrigue rolling over her face.

  “They would be perfect buildings for a legal practice and a medical clinic,” I said.

  “Liam,” she said breathlessly. “That’s…”

  I watched her turn around to survey the buildings, her eyes taking them in while her back was turned to me. I sat back in my chair and allowed her to process everything I’d already thrown at her. The nightmares. The reason behind them. Why our time together meant so much to me. The buildings. She had enough to chew on and, if she wanted more information, I knew she would ask for it.

  “How in the world could we do something like that?” she asked.

  Not the question I was expecting but it was better than I figured I would get.

  “Well, it’ll take me a couple of years to get my clinic up and going. I did a one-year internship rotation at the Naval Hospital, so I’d need to complete one more residency year at a civilian hospital to narrow down what I’d want to focus on. I’m sort of bouncing between a pediatrician and a general practitioner. I’m not sure what the area needs just yet. But once that rotation year is done, I’d be able to legally practice medicine in the civilian world. What would you need to do?”

  She looked at me as if I’d grown a second head but she didn’t turn down the idea.

  “I’d have to figure out what branch of law I wanted to practice,” she said. “My specialization is in corporate law and I can’t imagine many corporations in Gatlinburg could use an on-staff attorney.”

  “Did you not like corporate law? Or did you just not like the people you were working for?”

  “I’ve always enjoyed corporate law. I just hoped to help people settle disputes. Merge acquisitions. Help businesses expand without being blindsided by anything. Help with divestitures and counsel them in-house on legal matters that might arise with disgruntled employees. I always thought businesses got thrown under the bus in the media for that kind of stuff and I wanted to help them get out of those types of situations if it was possible. I didn’t want to help cover up issues. I wanted to help resolve them.”

  “Gatlinburg is booming with business,” I said. “It’s growing at an exponential rate and with that type of growth comes a need for services like that. From boutiques to mom-and-pop shops, all the way up to places that might want to hire you as in-house counsel. The pool is here. It’s just a pool that isn’t filled with blood-thirsty sharks.”

  “We’d also need a business license in the state of Tennessee,” she said. “Both of us. And you would need malpractice insurance.”

  “And we’d also need insurance for our business as well,” I said.

  “Liam, this is crazy,” she said breathlessly.

  “Look, both of our dreams are to help and serve those in need, right? I want to help people medically and you want to help people with their businesses. We could make this work. We could design and tailor our practices to provide the best service for the locals of this town and we could make it affordable.”

  I saw the untamed look in her eyes and then I watched them fill up with tears. A smile crossed her face as she sat back and laughed and, in that moment, I knew I had her. Bringing her hands up to her mouth, she shook her head—like she was in disbelief of all the things that were happening around her. And I didn’t blame her. I was still having a hard time wrapping my head around the entire idea myself.

  But the fact that she was smiling was a good thing.

  “We could help people,” she said.

  “Yes.”

  “With our own businesses,” she said.

  “Exactly.”

  “The two of us. Side by side.”

  “Side by side,” I said, grinning.

  She scoffed before she picked up her coffee and chugged. Then, she set it down and looked me dead in my eyes.

  “Okay,” she said.

  “Okay, as in, you’ll think about it?” I asked.

  “Nope. Okay, as in let’s do this.”

  “Really?” I asked.

  “Really,” she said. “Let’s do it. Let’s open our side-by-side businesses and save the world together.”

  Leaping out of my chair, I pulled her against my body and swung her around. I couldn’t believe she was actually agreeing to this. I couldn’t believe she actually said yes. She was giggling into the crook of my neck while tears of happiness sprung to my eyes.

  Whitney was staying and that was the only thing I wanted.

  “I just have one request,” she said.

  “Anything.”

  “I need a place to stay tonight,” she said. “I don’t have the cabin at the resort anymore.”

  “Not a problem. You’re coming to my cabin. With me.”

  We finished our coffee before I dragged her outside and I whisked her away to the cabin. I held her hand the entire way and I could feel it shaking with excitement. Her eyes seemed brighter and her skin seemed to glow a little more and it was all so surreal. I couldn’t wait to get her inside and simply hold her close to me.

  But Whitney had a much better idea.

  The moment I closed the cabin door behind us, her lips were on mine. They slowly pulsed against me, coaxing my tongue from my lips while her hands slid my coat off my shoulders. My hands began to dance around her body, relieving her of the fabrics that lay between my fingertips and her skin.

  I slowly backed us into my room before we both collapsed naked onto my bed.

  I let my beard tickle along her skin while I showered her with attention. I rolled her pebbled nipples between my lips and sucked them to tight little peaks. I felt the heat of her pussy drenching my skin while I slowly caressed down her body, watching as goosebumps ricocheted across her skin.

  Every single inch of her was beautiful and I simply couldn’t get enough.

  “Please,” Whitney said. “I need you.”

  Those three little words lit a fire in my gut that burned only for her. I crashed my lips back down onto hers before I slid between her legs, lining myself up with her entrance. Inch by inch, I filled her to the brim, feeling her shake and writhe beneath my body. My hands came up and planted next to her head just as our lips pulled apart and I gazed into her eyes so I could take her all in.

  I rocked into her, feeling her pussy grip at every part of me while her hands grabbed onto my back. I felt her nails digging into my skin as I held her gaze, losing myself in the sea of her eyes like I did in my dream. In a flash, I could see the whole of my future underneath me. Coming to life while the red tint of lust cascaded across her skin. She was beautiful—a gem among rocks— and I would spend the rest of my life convincing her that she was important to me.

  Our hips met in tandem with one another while her juices coated my cock. I could feel her dripping down my balls as her legs ran up the backs of mine and, soon, she was hooked around my waist. I pressed into her deeper than I’d ever been before as the hair of my pelvis grazed her swollen clit. Her body jumped and her breathing came in short pants. Her nails dug in deeper and her eyes began to flutter closed. I reached my lips down to cover hers one last time before I picked up my pace, pounding into her and feeling her body jump against mine.

  We came together in a glorious symphony of groans and whimpers while my dick filled the caverns of her body with the love I felt for this woman. She was heaving for air and pulling my body down onto hers and I allowed myself to fall into her. She kept her legs around me, wanting me deep inside of her while she tried to gain her composure.

  I panted into the crook of her neck before I pressed kiss after kiss into her soft, supple skin.

  There would never be a moment where I would ever make her regret the decision she’d just made and I knew I would spend the rest of my life fighting to have her at my side. Whitney might’ve thought I saved her life that day but the truth of the matter was she had saved mine. She showed me what it meant to find redemption and she showed me what it meant to be seen in a nonjudgmental light. She accepted me for who I was, for the brokenness I still had, a
nd for the memories that would forever plague me. And instead of running away from me, she came running toward me.

  I held her close to my body as I slowly tipped us over, then pulled the covers over our bodies before I finally slid from between her legs.

  I finally knew what it felt like to be forgiven and I finally knew what it felt like to be home. This was what I had been fighting for behind enemy lines.

  Her.

  My own little slice of paradise.

  EPILOGUE

  LIAM

  ONE YEAR LATER

  “Coming!” I called out.

  There was a knock at the door but I knew exactly who it was. I whipped it open and drew Paxton into my arms, slapping his back before I ushered him into the cabin.

  “Come in, come in,” I said.

  “You look good, Canter.”

  “Thanks, I feel good,” I said. “What brings you around? When did you get back from your deployment?”

  “About a month ago. I’m sorry I didn’t come by sooner, just been tossing around some things.”

  “Like what?” I asked.

  “Well, I’ve got five more years until I can retire, so I’m trying to stick it out. But they’re wanting to station me somewhere else for the last five years and I’m just not sure if I’m up for something like that.”

  “Where do they wanna put you?” I asked. “Any clue?”

  “It’s a toss-up between Okinawa and Pearl Harbor-Hickam.”

  “If you can deal with the travel, Okinawa’s beautiful,” I said. “But there’s nothing wrong with a little bit of Hawaii.”

  “Anyway, enough about me. I know it’s a big night for you, so I wanted to stop in and see how you were doing with everything. How’s the practice coming along?”

  “I’ve gotten a good bit of progress done on it,” I said. “I’m just glad to be done with that residency rotation. That shit kicked my ass.”

  “What specialization did you end up going into?” he asked.

  “Pediatrics,” I said. “There aren’t many in this area and I figured, with it being a high tourist area that attracts families, having an emergency pediatrician in the area would do this town some good.”