Her Mountainside Haven

by Jo McNally

  The front of the card was a watercolor image of Main Street in Gallant Lake, American flags snapping in the breeze coming off the water. Colorful clapboard businesses lined the street, with a few brick structures in the mix. The little gazebo on the waterfront was hung with bunting, and families strolled the sidewalks. Jillie recognized her friend Amanda Randall’s artwork right away. Amanda had donated the image to the commerce club to raise funds to continue the beautification of downtown. It was being sold on notecards and T-shirts all over town.

  Jillie received it three days ago. She could see the indentation the pen made on the cardstock. It must have pained Danzer to write this.

  Dear Miss Coleman,

  I’m sorry our initial meeting wasn’t under better circumstances. I want to be a good neighbor. Would it be possible to meet somewhere to try again? I’d very much like to discuss the old access road, which is partially on your property. I’m willing to pay any reasonable lease amount to use it this fall. My number is below if you’d like to call or text. Thanks in advance—Matt Danzer

  Her suspicions were right. He wanted to use that old access road. Which was not going to happen. She stared at the card a moment longer, blinking away an image of intense blue eyes hidden behind a shock of golden hair. Why was she keeping this note? Not gonna happen. She tossed it back onto her desk. Not in the trash can. Not yet.

  She got back to work with the outline for the final Monsters in Shadow book. There were sticky notes of different colors scattered across the large whiteboard on her office wall. Each color represented characters, both monster and human, in her series. The colors allowed her to visualize whether the book was balanced. She scowled at the blue notes. This Robbie character was being very pushy, showing up in scenes never meant for him. Monica wasn’t written to need the help of Robbie or anyone else. Heroines didn’t need some man swooping in to save them. Not in Jillie’s books, anyway.

  She’d been rearranging scenes for an hour when she was disrupted by what sounded like a dump truck depositing a noisy load of...something. Rocks, maybe? She’d heard it yesterday, too. Her curiosity propelled her out of her office. She needed to clear her head, anyway. She grabbed her phone and her jacket,snapping the leash on Sophie. There was no harm in seeing what they were doing over there at the ski lodge. Just to be sure they weren’t anywhere near her property line or her access road. She led Sophie straight through the woods toward the sound. The wet leaves were slippery under her feet, but she wanted to get close enough to see what was happening.

  No one was likely to describe her as confrontational, but this was her home. Besides, that’s what the phone was for. If there was a problem, she’d call Dan Adams.

  She got her first glimpse of the bulldozer while she was still hidden in the trees. Hard to miss the large yellow piece of construction equipment chugging its way up her access road. Well, it would be hers after it traveled another fifty feet or so. At the helm was none other than her supposedly harmless new neighbor, Matt Danzer. He was dressed more appropriately than their first meeting, wearing jeans, work boots and a faded Carhartt jacket over a dark Henley. His hair was the same—long and wavy on top, and looking as if he’d just raked his fingers through it. His head kept swiveling from watching where he was going to looking behind him. The blade of the bulldozer was pushing a pile of small gray stones up the long-unused roadway. She watched from behind a towering pine tree, knowing exactly where the road crossed onto her land.

  It would happen just beyond the tall, dead remains of what had once been a massive tree—one of her favorites on the mountain. Now it was just a blackened trunk, about fifteen feet high. The leafless remains of the treetop were already beginning to decay at the base of the trunk. The oak had snapped after a lightning strike during a spectacular storm the previous summer. Jillie had been watching out the window and saw the fireball erupt. The roar of thunder had made the A-frame rattle.

  The dozer slowed. Matt looked at the burned-out tree trunk and the bright orange no-trespassing sign Dan and Asher nailed to it last week. His shoulders fell. His gaze went from the road ahead to the tree and back again. She could feel the temptation he had to keep moving forward. Onto her land. But in the end, he shook his head and shifted the large, noisy piece of machinery into Reverse. At the bottom of the hill, another dump truck was depositing more stone in the corner of the parking lot.

  The lodge looked better than she’d remembered. The overgrown grass had been cut. Just that clearing of grass around the lodge and on the slopes was an improvement, even if it was turning brown like mown hay. The property looked...cared for. A crew of workers scrambled around the building. One group was using a small scissor lift to raise new windows in place. Another crew was on the roof, installing solar panels. Jillie couldn’t help smiling in approval. She’d covered the south-facing side of her roof with solar panels.

  Matt hopped off the bulldozer to talk to one of the men working at the lodge. He gestured up the mountain in her direction. Even though she and Sophie were hidden in the trees, she instinctively shrank back. But when he gestured to the piles of crushed stone and then back up the mountain, she realized he was looking at the road, not her.

  She heard Sophie’s low growl an instant before she heard a stranger’s voice coming from farther up the slope.

  “The best paparazzi shots are from up higher, but you’ll be trespassing to get them. I’m pretty sure you are trespassing right now.”

  The man’s voice sounded somewhere between annoyed and amused. Not threatening. She frantically searched the forest in that direction, but didn’t see him until he stepped out into a small clearing. He was young, maybe midtwenties. He had dark hair and a slight but powerful build. He gave her a weary smile before he spoke again.

  “I get that you people are only trying to make a living, but if my brother sees you, you’re toast. There’s no story here, just a raggedy old ski lodge. And I’m just a raggedy old skier trying to recuperate in peace. So beat it, okay?” He took a step closer, and Jillie stepped backward. At the same moment, Sophie surged forward, snarling at the man. Jillie was usually sure-footed in the woods, but the rain-slicked fall leaves were like walking on ice. She caught her heel on a tree root and had to clutch the tree trunk to stay standing.

  “Oh, damn...” The young man took a few more steps in her direction. “Are you okay? Never seen a paparazzo with a guard dog before...”

  “Stay back!” She gasped out the words, and he froze in his tracks. Sophie’s growls changed to high-pitched barking as she looked between Jillie and the man who was obviously Matt Danzer’s younger brother. Jillie let go of the tree trunk and straightened. “Sophie, quiet.”

  The dog immediately stopped, sitting close and leaning against her leg to calm Jillie. Ready to protect her at a moment’s notice if needed.

  “Wait...you’re not from the press, are you? You’re our neighbor. The one with the barely contained werewolf as a pet?” He looked at Sophie and grinned, nowhere near as intimidated by the dog as his older brother had been. “You’re a good girl, aren’t you?”

  Inexplicably, Sophie’s butt wiggled in the undergrowth as she wagged her stub of a tail at him. Some guard dog, Soph. Also inexplicable was the fact that Jillie was still standing there and not running back to the house. Or having a panic attack. She’d been caught by surprise—her biggest trigger. But there was something about this man, his quick smile and his relaxed bearing, that put her at ease.

  “You’re Bryce Danzer, right?”

  “Guilty as charged.” He folded his arms across his chest, leaning against a tree as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “I thought you were someone from the press snooping around, but you’re Jillie Coleman. The one who chased my brother up a tree.”

  A startled laugh bubbled up, and she put her hand over her mouth to try holding it back. “That honor goes to my dog, I’m afraid.”

  “So he really was i
n a tree?” Bryce tipped his head back and laughed loudly. “Did you take a picture, by any chance?”

  “Uh...no. Sorry.”

  “Damn, that would’ve been awesome. Finally, something to hold over him for a change!”

  “Do you not get along?”

  Bryce straightened. “I shouldn’t make it sound like that. Sometimes he takes his manager role too seriously is all.” He brushed his hair off his face, the move reminding her of his brother.

  “His manager role?”

  “Now I know you’re not paparazzi, Jillie... Can I call you Jillie?” She nodded. “You don’t know the story of the good boy/bad boy Danzer brothers?”

  She remembered her conversation with Mack. “Oh, right. You’re the skier. A gold medal winner? The bad-boy brother?” She had a hard time imagining this guy being all that bad, but there was a bit of devil in his eyes. He took a deep bow to acknowledge her guess and she continued. “And your brother is your manager?” The good guy.

  “For now.” His voice trailed off as if he was lost in thought for a moment. “He also basically raised me.” Mack hadn’t mentioned that detail, and Jillie didn’t remember hearing about it. She’d love to know more, but Bryce was already moving on. “Anyway, it’s fun to be able to poke fun at him for doing something embarrassing.” Bryce looked down at Sophie again. “And he painted your sweet dog as a fire-breathing Cerberus. You’re just a sweet girl, aren’t you?”

  Sophie’s mouth dropped open in a wide smile, her butt wiggling again.

  “Your brother wasn’t quite the dog charmer that you are.” Jillie let herself smile back at him. He was carefully keeping his distance, respecting her space. And while he seemed like the type who was always casual, she had a feeling he was making a point of maintaining such a relaxed posture, to keep her at ease. A thought slid through her writer’s mind that he could also be some psycho killer trying to lull her into feeling secure. But she’d learned a while ago that her writer’s mind tended to go off the rails when it came to making reliable judgment calls. “To be fair, Sophie was running off-leash that day and came up on him unexpectedly. She tends to be calmer if she’s on-leash with me.” That wasn’t always the case, but for some reason she was defending Matt’s side of the story. “Did you know he sent me a letter?”

  “Yeah. The police chief told us it would be a bad idea to just knock on your door, so Matt went the snail-mail route.”

  A chill went through her. “You talked to Dan Adams about me?”

  “More like he talked to us. He paid us a visit and warned us off bothering you. Which is what makes it so interesting that I found you spying on the lodge.”

  She straightened. “I’m not spying. I’m just...walking my dog.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You were literally hiding behind a tree.”

  “I saw your brother driving the bulldozer this way and wanted to be sure he didn’t trespass again.”

  Bryce looked down the access road, then back to her. “Did Matt ask you about leasing your portion of the road in his letter?”

  “Yes, I did.” Matt Danzer was twenty feet below them, standing near one of the property markers. He looked down and gestured toward it, making sure she saw that he was on his side. “I have no intention of trespassing again.”

  Sophie stood, growling. They say to trust a dog’s instincts about people, but Jillie knew her dog might be picking up on her own tension. Something about Matt unsettled her, which unsettled her dog. Jillie’s eyes narrowed. “You still have a penchant for sneaking around.”

  “It was unintentional. Again. I saw Bryce talking to someone and thought it might be some nosy fans of his. They’re bound to hunt him down here eventually.” He nodded to her hands. “No pepper spray this time, Ms. Coleman?”

  She pulled her shoulders back and raised her chin.

  “It never occurred to me that I’d run into the same threat twice.”

  His hesitation was there and gone so fast she almost missed it. His smile deepened.

  “I don’t know, I’ve heard there really are bears around here.”

  A ripple of fear ran up her spine, then fizzled. That was odd. Then again, this was a guy who’d hidden in a tree, so he wasn’t exactly intimidating. And he wasn’t technically a stranger anymore. But he still made her feel...something. Not fear. She couldn’t quite define it. As long as he stayed over there, she could put on a brave front. She looked toward his feet, feeling playful for some reason.

  “At the moment I’m not as worried about bears as I am snakes.”

  She bit back laughter when his body recoiled at her words. His brows gathered tightly together as he started looking at the ground around him. A-ha. The man was afraid of snakes. His brother started to laugh.

  “She got you with that one, Matt. Hit your biggest fear on the first try, too. I’m impressed.”

  Matt continued scanning the leaf-covered ground as if he expected a giant anaconda to spring at him on Watcher Mountain. His voice thinned. “There aren’t poisonous snakes here...are there?”

  There was something empowering in being the one less afraid for once. Even after Sophie had chased him up that tree, Matt had managed to act superior. But that act was fading fast today, along with the color in his face.

  “Actually, we do have timber rattlesnakes around here.” His eyes went wide, and even Bryce started checking the ground around his feet. Jillie knew what fear could do to a person and didn’t have the heart to inflict it on someone else. “But it’s too cold for them to be moving around. They’re usually starting to hibernate by now, so you’re safe for the next five or six months.”

  Both men visibly relaxed. And they both maintained their distance from her. She wasn’t sure if Dan had told them to do that, or if they instinctively knew she was more comfortable with some space.

  “About that road, Miss Coleman...um... Jillie...” Matt started. “I’m just looking for a way to move the contractor’s equipment up the mountain over the next few weeks so they can get to the summit and work on the lift and install snow machines.” She swallowed hard. She absolutely hated the thought of random strangers working around her place. He rushed on, probably noticing her hardening expression. “I need this road.” He looked up the mountain again, heaving a large sigh. “I’ll add a new road on the south side of the slopes, but I don’t have time to do that before ski season starts. I’ve barely got time to do anything before then.” He turned his intense blue eyes her way. “The old lift needs repair, and I’m putting in new snowmaking machines. The workers won’t be able to get up there without using this road. I’ll pay you...”

  “It’s not for sale.”

  “No, I mean I’ll pay you to use it... I’ll lease it from you until I can come up with another plan.”

  It wasn’t an unreasonable offer. She glanced at her phone to check the time. She’d already lost too much writing time talking with the Danzer brothers. If there were trucks and tractors going up and down this path every day and disrupting her, she’d get nothing accomplished. Forget being a few weeks late—she’d never finish the book. She shook her head adamantly.

  “No. It’s not for lease. It’s not for sale. It’s not for public use. Period.”

  His mouth dropped open. “But...it’s in the middle of the woods. The road’s already sitting here.” He brightened. “In fact, I can guarantee you we’ll leave it in better shape than it is now. I’ll fill the ruts and level it off. We can even add a layer of fresh gravel. This will be the prettiest private road you ever saw...”

  “It’s not up for negotiation. I said no, and I’m not changing my mind.”

  “Why the hell not?” His fingers curled, then straightened against his thighs.

  “Matt...” Bryce warned. Jillie talked right over him.

  “Because it’s my property!” She gestured up the mountain. “And I can do what I want with it. And wh
at I want is to not have noisy construction equipment disturbing my work.”

  He scrubbed his hands down his face in frustration, staring up at the bright blue sky dotted with cotton-ball clouds. She jumped when he clapped his hands together as if he’d just had a brilliant idea, flashing her a bright smile. “Okay, so you don’t want to be disturbed. I take it you work from home. I know what it’s like to work from home. We can solve this. What if...”

  Jillie stiffened. “Any solution that involves your contractors coming on my land is a nonstarter.”

  His face fell, taking his smile with it. She almost felt sorry for him, as he’d clearly assumed she’d just accept whatever he was going to propose.

  “Jillie, I...” He took a few steps toward her, but stopped when Sophie growled. “Don’t you think you’re being a little unreasonable here? I’m not asking to parade equipment up to your front door. I only need to use the road for a month or so.” He leaned to the side and looked past her. “I can’t even see your house from here, so how bad could it be...?”

  “Look, not trespassing on my land may be inconvenient for you, but that’s not my problem.” She gestured to the lodge below them. “So you may as well get to work on a plan B.”

  He glared at the ground, and she could see a muscle ticking in his cheek. It was wildly uncharacteristic for her to put herself in a situation where she was facing down two strangers alone in the woods. Her grip on Sophie’s leash tightened, and the dog responded by leaning tight against her leg, growling at Matt again.

  Anger flared in his eyes. “What are you going to do, sic your dog on me?”

  “Chill out, Matt.” Bryce walked toward his brother. “This isn’t the way to do it. We’ll figure something out that works for everyone.” He winked in Jillie’s direction. Bryce’s charm didn’t send the same electrical energy across her skin as Matt’s did. “And if not, we go to plan B, like Jillie said. In the meantime, pull in the Big Bad Wolf routine and walk away.”