Hashtagged By The Mountain Man

by Frankie Love

  Before I delete it, though, I notice that I’m tagged by someone I don’t recognize.

  Clicking on the handle @ClimbThisMountainMan, I prepare myself for something inappropriate.

  Instead, my hands begin to tremble. My heart begins to shake.

  This cannot be happening.

  The account is brand new and there is only one photo on the stream.

  It is a photo of Kodiak, in the coffee shop. Our coffee shop. And the shop is filled with thousands of daisies, he’s in my favorite grey T-shirt, and he’s smiling. A big, mountain man grin that he rarely shows anyone, but a grin I know is saved for me. Only me.

  He’s holding a sign that says: #FollowMeBack.

  It was posted an hour ago. My mouth goes dry.

  Does it mean what... I mean. what does he want?

  I swallow, my eyes blurry with tears, my heart holding onto this thread of hope.

  This is not the time to overthink anything. It is the time to chase my dreams.

  My one dream.

  Kodiak and me.

  I pull on cut-offs and put on a bra, toss on a tank top, a pair of flip-flops. I brush my teeth and tie my hair in a messy bun and wonder if he means what I think he means, and there is only one answer to my question.

  Yes.

  I run down Main Street, knowing I look disheveled and wondering if Kodiak really wants what I’m serving, but I know it doesn’t matter. He already knows what I am; who I am: A slightly obsessed girl who fell in love serving extra whip mochas one day at a time.

  The door to the shop is unlocked and I run in, stopping in my tracks when I see him there, with everyone I love.

  My mom and dad and Windsor and Matilda and his friends Hazel and Clive and Charlie and well, his whole crew. Even Sandy is here.

  And I burst into tears because it’s all too much. It’s all too everything.

  "Don’t cry," Kodiak says, reaching for my hand and lacing our fingers together and I don’t know if I am actually as crazy as it appears, but I knew after just one date that Kodiak was the man for me. The only man.

  And he is still here, waiting for me.

  "I’m sorry," I say through a flurry of tears and he cups my face and he kisses me. A kiss that says hello and promises to never say goodbye. A kiss that puts the broken pieces of my heart together like super glue. Because, really, is there any other glue that could be used for a girl like me?

  I look in his red-rimmed eyes that are tear-filled, like mine -- and see that maybe I had a sleepless night, but I think Kodiak did too. We both tossed and turned, and it would have been okay if we’d been rolling around in one another’s arms, but we weren’t. We were both alone.

  But I’m in his arms now.

  I pray he never lets me go.

  "You said you’re mine if I want you?" he asks.

  I nod.

  "I do, I want you, Kensington. All of you. Your messy house and your twisted thoughts and every one of your hashtags. I want to smile with you and make a life with you and take selfies with you for the rest of my life."

  Swallowing, I try not to hyperventilate as he kneels before me, pulling out a black box. My family and friends gasp in a knowing delight and my heart is swooning as I take it all in. This is actually happening, IRL, right here, right now.

  "Marry me, Kensie. I don’t just want to be your mountain man, I want to be your husband."

  His words hit home, smack dab in my heart. I nod, shaking, wrapping my arms around him, breathing him in.

  "Yes, yes. I will marry you," I say, my words all jumpy and my heart all fluttery and my future so freaking bright, I’m blinded by it. Well, not just by my future but also by the massive diamond ring he’s holding up. It’s huge and heart-shaped and I can’t even with this because it’s more than perfect.

  It’s like he gets me. He knows me. Instead of walking away, Kodiak followed me right back.

  My parents are hugging, smiles on their faces. Winny and Tilly are looking so love-struck a surge of hope rushes through me. I hope they find their own HEAs sooner than later, too.

  "I think it’s time for coffee," Sandy says as everyone begins to offer up their congratulations.

  Kodiak chimes in, "Actually make those single shot, tall, extra whip mochas for everyone."

  We all laugh and I’m deliriously happy, looking exactly like the obsessed stalker I am.

  Kodiak pulls me to stand, lifting me by my waist, I’m high as a kite right now and only have eyes for him. The world disappears, and I wrap my legs around him, his hands on my ass.

  "What are you staring at now?" Kodiak asks with that rugged smile of his sending a rush of desire over me. God, I want this man, and I want him bad.

  I grin down at him, unable to believe this is my life. "I’m staring at my fiancé."

  "Take a photo," he teases. "It lasts longer."

  But I shake my head. "No. This, right here, you and me? It will last a lifetime."

  Epilogue 1

  Kodiak

  One year later...

  I may live in a mountain town, but I don’t need to summit a peak to get a good view. The one right in front of me is the only one I’m interested in.

  When I look at my bride walking down the aisle, I know this is more than picture-perfect.

  This is real life, full color, everything.

  Kensington is in a beautiful dress, strapless and flowing. She looks like she stepped out of a flower garden, there’s even a crown of daisies in her hair. Her smile is a bright as the day we met, and I wonder how I ended up here.

  Thank God, Clive told me to take a mother-fucking chance. If I hadn’t listened to the man, I wouldn’t be here right now. A year ago, after I read Kensie’s letter, I knew what I had to do. It was time to do the damn thing.

  I called the owner of the coffee shop, Sandy, and arranged the proposal. I wasn’t messing around--never. Her family wasn’t shocked. Apparently, they knew where Kensie’s heart was. It was with me. I went to her parents’ home and pulled her father aside and asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage.

  When he gave it to me, I knew I was the happiest man to ever live on this mountain. Her dad clapped me on the back and welcomed me to the family, just like that.

  I knew Kensie was all in, and I needed her to know that so was I.

  When she said yes, flinging her arms around me, I knew I was a lucky bastard to call this sweet young thing my bride. She wants what I want, and now, as we stand at the altar, exchanging vows, the future is ours for the taking.

  "You may kiss the bride," the pastor says, and I lift Kensie’s veil, and I kiss her softly.

  Soon enough, I’m gonna pull this girl against me and kiss her so much harder.

  We leave the chapel, everyone rising to their feet clapping, and we run to the limousine waiting to take us to the reception thirty miles away. We wanted a lakeside party, and so it is a bit of a trek.

  Lucky for me.

  In the limo, the window is down, and we wave at our friends as family as we drive away, knowing we will see everyone soon enough at our reception. The photographer is snapping photos as we drive away, and Kensie’s laughter is infectious.

  "We’re married!" she says, falling into her seat as the limo leaves the chapel in the dust. I roll up the partition between us and the driver, needing absolute privacy.

  "Yes, we are, wife." I pull her to my lap, and her fingers are already on my belt, undoing it. "Are you sure?" I ask.

  "I told you I was going to make love to my husband the first moment I got," she tells me.

  I smile -- something I started doing a hell of a lot more often after Kensie and I got engaged.

  Pushing up her dress, my cock gets hard, feeling her creamy thighs in my hand. "I remember, you said you wanted to start our marriage off right."

  "Exactly," she says. "I made you wait an entire year to get hitched, the least I can do is offer a proper thank you."

  My fingers run between her legs and I cock an eyebrow. "No panties?" />
  She shrugs, taking off her crown of daisies, her veil, placing them beside her bouquet on the seat opposite us. "Why bother?"

  I shake my head at this woman who never ceases to amaze me. "I’m glad we waited a year," I tell her. "You look like a summer bride."

  A smile plays on her lips, a shimmering bronze over her cheeks. She’s glowing.

  "Yeah," she laughs. "I’m just glad we didn’t wait any longer." She pushes my slacks down, takes my hard cock in her hand, stroking me. My shaft is so fucking rigid under her gentle touch. I drop my head on the headrest, her touch never failing to hit me right in the heart. She rolls her hands under my balls and all I can do is tell her I love her. Love everything about her. Her touch reminds me that we were made for one another.

  "Why is that?" I ask, my fingers running over her wet slit, her tight little pussy already greedy with need. I love getting my girl--my wife--all worked up, and I fucking love that it doesn’t take much.

  "Because, husband, I wouldn’t have fit in my dress."

  I sit up straighter, trying to take in the meaning of her words.

  She reaches for her handbag, pulling out her phone.

  "Uh, Kensie, I know you love your Instagram account, but uh, maybe this isn’t the time for a photo op?"

  She grins, turning the phone to face me, just as she begins to sink down against me.

  I look at the photo she has pulled up. It’s not on social media, just her camera roll.

  "Seriously?"

  "Your smile right now is literally everything," she tells me.

  "You’re pregnant?" I ask, looking at the pregnancy test, the two pink lines.

  "We are."

  I cup her face with both my palms, drawing her closer, kissing her hard, just like I promised myself I’d do when we stood at the altar. Her pouty lips part and our tongues find one another, the kiss filled with our life and our love, our future.

  Damn her mouth is sweet as cream. My cock is deep inside her pretty little cunt, and she whimpers against my mouth as I begin to thrust inside her pink pussy.

  She moans, riding my cock like she does so well, and I unzip her dress and cup her little titties, loving the way my cock feels deep inside her. She is home, she is my everything.

  My wife, the mother of my child--a fucking bride in white and a goddamn dream come true.

  "Oh, Kodiak," she screams my name like she was born to do, and I grab her hips, wanting to come nice and deep inside of her. My life is her life, my heart her heart.

  "I love you, Kens, so fucking much," I tell her, licking her nipples and kneading her ass and taking her for what she is: mine.

  "Come for me, wife," I growl. Her head falls back, her tits bouncing as she gets fucked on her wedding day by the man who is going to take care of her for the rest of her life.

  Epilogue 2

  Kensie

  Six years later...

  I kiss Versie on the head, closing my wedding album--my daughter wants to thumb through the pages nearly every day.

  "Your dress was so pretty, Mama," she says, looking up at me with glittering grey eyes. Eyes just like her father’s.

  "Thanks, sweet pea." I set the album on the coffee table then reach for the early reader we’ve been working on. "But no more daydreaming. We need to work on your sounds, okay?"

  Versie would spend all day in her princess dresses, trying on her tiaras, playing her favorite game: Royal Wedding. Her grandmother came up with that game of make-believe, of course. Smiling, I think that after naming her Versailles, I can’t expect much else from my five-year-old daughter.

  Kodiak and I spent our honeymoon in Paris, and when there we decided that if we had a girl, we’d name her after the castle we toured. My mother was over the moon.

  Running my hand over my belly, I wonder what we will name this boy who is due any day. My mother thinks he should be Buckingham, Buck for short, but my sister Windsor votes for Conway, a castle in Wales. Either way, Kodiak might just draw the line at naming his first son after my mother’s tradition.

  I wouldn’t blame him.

  "If I do my lesson like a big girl can we watch Harry and Meghan’s wedding again, Mama?"

  I give my daughter a wry smile. "I don’t make deals, chickadee."

  "Bran gets to play after he does his work. At school, it’s called recess."

  She’s referring to Windsor’s oldest son--my nephew, also named after a castle--who also started kindergarten this fall. But Win sends Bran to school, and I’m keeping Versie home. It was always my dream to homeschool, and I am finally getting to see that dream come true.

  "Well, chickadee, YouTube clips of weddings is not recess. We can go to the park this afternoon though, after reading and math."

  Versie smiles, and I look at the clock. Almost noon. Kodiak will be home for lunch soon. Pulling out Versie’s reader, we work on her phonetic sounds, then play a matching game where she has to string letters together to form words. She is doing so well, and I can’t help but feel a swell of pride.

  When the front door opens, Versie abandons the game and runs to her father. "Papa!"

  I don’t blame her. If I weren’t nine months pregnant, I’d be jumping into my hubby’s arms too. But I’m not jumping anywhere right now. I call it a win if I manage to pull my bum into something besides yoga pants.

  "Hey, Princess," he says, lifting Versie from the ground and swinging her in the air. "How is school going?"

  "Perfect," she says. "I was just beating Mama in a game."

  Kodiak laughs. "Were you now?" He sets her down and takes my hands, helping me stand. "Hey, baby," he says, leaning down and kissing me sweetly on the lips. I close my eyes, savoring his mouth on mine. It never fails to make me swoon.

  "What smells so good?" I ask.

  "I got takeout. One of Matilda and Benji’s food trucks were open. I got you a chicken and waffle sandwich."

  "Sounds like heaven."

  We walk through our living room and into the open-air kitchen and begin unpacking the food Kodiak brought home. It all smells so good.

  "How is business this morning?" I ask him as I grab forks and napkins. Then pull out my phone and snap a photo of my bestie’s food, posting it to Instagram, #FoodPorn.

  The three of us sit down at the table in the kitchen nook and begin devouring my best friend’s insanely delicious food. My sandwich is a little spicy and I need something to drink.

  "Awesome. Sold a few bikes and booked a tour for next weekend."

  I look over at him in alarm. "You won’t be going on it will you?"

  He reaches over, placing his hand on top of mine. "Of course not, Kensie. You’ll be having our son any day now."

  As if on cue, I feel our baby kick--hard.

  "Ugh, I am ready for it. Any minute would be just fine." I stand to get myself a glass of juice and just then, a gush of water hits the floor.

  "Mama!" Versie exclaims. "You went potty!"

  Locking eyes with Kodiak, we burst into smiles. "No sweetie, my water broke. I’m having the baby."

  "I’ll call Dr. Jarna," Kodiak says, moving into high gear. "And the bag is packed, in the front closet, right?"

  I nod, my hands wrapped around my belly, and I begin to waddle toward my room to change.

  "Guess we won’t make it to the park, sweetheart," I tell Versie.

  But she just laughs. "No, this is way better than recess. I’m gonna be a big sister!"

  When the nurse places my son in my arms, I can’t help but let out a massive sigh of relief, tears filling my eyes. We did it. After getting pregnant so quickly with Versie, it took us three years and two miscarriages to have another strong, healthy, full-term baby.

  I count his fingers and toes, running my hand over his hair, thick and dark like his father’s. An upturned nose just like his big sis. Our baby boy. Here.

  "He’s so beautiful," I say looking up at Kodiak, whose eyes are fixed on me. I know I must look a mess, sweaty face and exhausted eyes and legs still shaky--la
bor is no easier the second time around. But Kodiak looks past all that and sees me.

  He always has.

  Later, after the everything has quieted down, once the half dozen labor and delivery nurses finish up and I’m in a clean nursing gown and fresh, hospital grade undies--with two stitches to boot, I’m back in bed.

  I lean against a few pillows and Kodiak insists I take a sip from what looks like a gallon of water in a massive cup. I dutifully drink from the straw then ask for my baby, already imagining a photoshoot as a family of four.

  He places our son in my arms and I cradle him, just as obsessed as I was when I stared into Versie’s eyes after she was born.

  Just as obsessed as I was when Kodiak and I met all those years ago.

  I used to say it wasn’t insta-love when it came to Kodiak and me, it was Instagram-love.

  And I wasn’t exaggerating. This love is picture perfect, no filter needed.

  Maybe a picture is worth a thousand words, but this life with Kodiak? You have to see it to believe it.

  Preview

  Claimed By The Mountain Man

  PROLOGUE

  EVERLY

  Grabbing the Prosecco from the fridge, Everly finds three mason jars, pops the cork, and divvies up the bubbly. The goal tonight is to forget the reality of the situation she and her two best friends have found themselves in.

  Homeless. Jobless. Boy-less.

  Champagne will certainly help the cause.

  “Is that the last bottle?” Delta asks, as Everly balances all three glasses in her hands and walks back into the living room.

  Everly moans as she delivers the drinks. She’s wearing her hair in a messy bun and her nerd-girl glasses contribute to her low-key appearance. But tonight she isn’t acting low-key. Tonight she is dramatic and drunk.

  A dangerous pairing for any twenty-two-year-old woman.

  “The state of my checking account was so depressing I was like, eff it, and bought two more bottles,” she says.