Take a Mountain Man Home for Christmas: A Mountain Man Romance Christmas Collection

by Crowne, K. C.

  Why on Earth would I have been driving so fast in these conditions?

  So many questions and no answers. I told myself not to get frustrated. Looking up the road from where I had come, I couldn’t see anything. Looking in the opposite direction, there was nothing as well. No road signs and no other tire tracks. I looked across the mountain tops. Was that smoke?

  I shielded my eyes against the setting sun to focus on the distance. It was smoke. Must be coming from a house or a camp. I tried to gauge the distance. I might not be able to make it before sundown. Somebody made that fire, though, and they might be able to help me. I had to try. I decided to start walking in that direction.

  The going was slow. My body ached with each step. A couple of times, I felt a sharp pain in my head. It felt as if it was penetrating my skull. I probably had a concussion. But I had to keep moving.

  As I walked, the road seemed to veer in the opposite direction of the smoke. It was climbing up a mountain ridge as well, which was making the going hard. I had to decide whether to stay on the road or head into the forest and keep going toward the smoke.

  The road seemed to get steeper in the distance, from what I could see of it, anyway. Plus, it led away from where I wanted to go. I looked at the forest and saw that the trees were dense but that I could maneuver through them. I looked at the sun. It was going down fast.

  Still, I hesitated to leave the safety of the road. I’d been hoping a car would come along. Surely, people lived up here. But now that the sun was setting, staying on the road wasn’t logical. There was no cover here. No shelter. And nobody was coming.

  I sighed. There was no other option if I wanted to find help. I left the openness of the road and headed into the pine trees. I worked my way through the trees and found that the going wasn’t too rough. The forest floor had less snow than the road because of the tree cover.

  I moved as quickly as I could, which really wasn’t that fast. I wasn’t going to reach the source of the smoke by nightfall. In fact, I couldn’t even see the smoke anymore through the trees. I hoped I was still going in the right direction.

  Being in the cover of the trees, it was even darker now. I needed to find a place to stay the night. Some kind of cover. At least I had the lighter and a cup so I could melt some snow to drink.

  Clang. Clang. Clang.

  I froze. What was that? I strained to hear the sound but couldn’t. Worse, the wind was picking up, making it hard to tell which direction the sound had come from. I guessed to the best of my ability and began to walk in that direction.

  I kept my ears open but heard nothing but the wind howling through the trees. Snow was falling now. I didn’t even know if I was walking in the right direction or even what that sound had been. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me.

  I was tired, and each step became a struggle. My head hurt. My body ached. I needed to rest. I looked around and noticed large boulders all around me. I walked toward a few that were clumped together and saw that they formed a kind of den-like structure. I decided it was as good as any place to spend the night.

  I gathered dead logs and twigs nearby. A lot of it was wet from the snow, so I selected the driest to start the fire with. I constructed a pyramid close to the den entrance and attempted to light the twigs with the lighter. I had trouble getting the damp wood to catch. What could I use to get it started?

  I remembered the paper cup in my pocket. No, I would need that cup. The money! I could use the money to get the fire started. I took out the paper bills. A ten, five, and three ones.

  I choose a one-dollar bill, just in case I needed the rest of the money later. I centered the bill between the thinnest and driest twigs and lit a corner. I prayed that the twigs would catch before the bill burned up. To my dismay, the bill burned quickly.

  I quickly added a second dollar bill to the pile and watched as it caught fire. I begged the twigs to catch. To my delight, the thinnest twigs caught. The fire spread to the thicker twigs, and I slowly added more, being careful not to smother it. Soon, I was able to add several bigger sticks and then two logs. The logs smoked for a while because they were damp, but I figured that the smoke was good. Maybe someone would see it, though it was highly doubtful since it was night.

  I pulled over a larger log, trying to ignore my aches and pains. I didn’t want to sit in the wet snow. I got it into position and sat upon it by the fire. The hot fire felt good on my bones. After I warmed up, I gathered some more wood so it would last the night.

  I filled the cup with snow and set it close to the fire. This wouldn’t allow for the water to boil, so I decided to take my chance and just drink it. The snow was fresh, and I didn’t notice any animal tracks nearby. Hopefully, it wouldn’t make me sick. The water tasted wonderful. I didn’t hesitate to fill the cup again and go through the same process.

  The water filled my stomach but didn’t squash the hunger pangs. There was absolutely nothing to eat. I looked around and saw the pine needles. I could make pine needle tea. Pine was high in vitamins C and A, which would give me a small amount of energy. It was also a natural decongestant and antiseptic, which was good because of my situation.

  How do I know that? I wondered to myself. In fact, how did I know how to start the fire? I must have outdoor skills. I was out here hiking, so that did make sense. At least I wasn’t totally screwed out here. And the fact that I somehow innately knew these things made me hopeful that my memories would return quickly.

  I gathered some pine needles from the trees and put them into a cup of snow to heat. Once heated well, I drank fresh, tasty tea. I took the left-over pine needles from the cup and smashed them together and held them against the wound on my head. At first, the wetness stung, but then it felt good. I held the needles there until they dried.

  With nothing else to do, I made the fire as large as I could. I snuggled into the small den and tried to get some sleep. I wasn’t sure sleeping was a good idea if I had a concussion, but I was exhausted. Watching the fire, I soon drifted off.

  I woke in the middle of the night to find that the fire was almost out. The snow was falling fast, and the wind was howling between the boulders. I shivered and got up to add more wood to the fire. I looked up and saw nothing but white. I hoped I’d be able to reach the house tomorrow before I froze to death. I had no idea what time it was as I couldn’t see a moon.

  I heated some more pine needles and drank the tea. The hot water warmed me some, and I was able to drift off for another couple of hours. When I woke the next time, the sky looked lighter. I repeated the process of adding wood to the fire and heating up pine needles. At least I could keep my energy up. I’d start hiking at daybreak.

  I couldn’t fall back to sleep, so I made the fire big and cuddled into the den to wait for dawn. Even with the fire, my body shivered. The wind screamed, and I could see the nearby tall trees rock in the storm. I was miserable. I tried to tell myself it wasn’t as bad as it could be. But that was hard to believe.

  Cole

  Another day, another job to do. But I wouldn’t trade in my life for anything.

  Bella and I grabbed breakfast before heading down to the resort to check in with Brad for the day. Not that I had to check-in, but I wanted to gloat about how all the wood was cut for both buildings yesterday, completed all by my lonesome.

  “What’s up, man?” I asked my brother, lightly rapping on his open office door.

  “Come in, brother,” he called. “What can I do for you on this fine morning?” Bella pushed her way inside the small office before I could open the door. She hurried to Brad and nuzzled him with her nose. “Hey, Bella?” he asked her, rubbing her behind the ears. She ate up every second of the attention.

  I walked in and faced him as he sat at his desk, behind his computer. “Just wanted to let you know that I won’t be needing your help after all. Not for the woodcutting, anyway,” I informed him, hands on hips.

  “You cut all the wood yesterday? For both buildings?” he asked, slightly amused.


  “Yep. All by my lonesome. Who’s got the bigger muscles now?” I asked, jokingly, pretending to flex my bicep.

  “Um, do I really have to answer that?” Brad asked, grinning.

  “Yes.”

  “I would never admit your muscles are bigger than mine. But they are definitely bigger than Dax’s,” he decided.

  I laughed. “You know I’m gonna tell him you said that.”

  Brad laughed, shaking his head. “I’d expect nothing less.”

  “I’m heading up to check out the ski lifts. It looks like the usual snowfall. Nothing major. What you up to today?” I asked him.

  “Nothing too much. Have to do some inventory in the afternoon after I finish these schedules. I promised Angela and the boys I’d be home for taco night.” Brad smiled to himself.

  Taco night. I grinned at my older brother. Married life suited him well. “You go, family man,” I kidded. Then more seriously, I added, “I admire you. Taking care of those boys after Sam died. Not sure I’d be able to handle it.”

  “Cole, you pretend to be such a hardass. But I know you’ll make a great husband and father one day,” Brad told me. He was smiling at me, but he really meant it.

  “A husband? A dad? No way!” I said, chuckling, trying to picture it. I had no interest in a serious relationship. Women were nothing but trouble.

  “Maybe one day,” Brad mused.

  “Maybe,” I conceded, highly doubting it as I turned to leave his office. “Taco night,” I pondered quietly, mostly to myself. Tacos sounded good, but I could have them without a wife and kids. I nodded at Brad as I left his office.

  “Let me know what’s going on with the ski lifts, will you?” he yelled after me.

  “Will do,” I answered. “Come on, Bella.”

  Bella reluctantly left Brad’s skillful ear massage and followed me outside to the truck, where we headed up to the ski lifts. The roads and walkways were still clear from yesterday, and I was glad I didn’t have to spend time plowing or salting them today.

  I saw Harley as soon as I pulled up to the lodge’s parking area. He appeared to be tinkering with the lift’s control box. I parked close to the bottom of the lifts, where the main mechanics that operated them were located. Gears were positioned down here and up at the top to keep the lifts going up and down the mountainside proficiently.

  I hoped the problem was with the lower gears as it would be easier to deal with them. If not, I’d have to lug all my tools up the mountainside. Probably on a quad, or snowmobile, if one could make it up the slippery slope. Or I’d be taking a ride up the mountainside on the ski lift myself.

  “What’s happening?” I called as I opened the passenger side door for Bella. She hopped out and ran over to greet my youngest brother.

  Patting Bella on the head, he replied, “Just trying to get a head start on figuring out what the problem is. The lift got slower and slower yesterday. I think it might stop altogether today.”

  “Let me take a look,” I offered as he moved aside to let me see.

  I pushed the green button, which initialized the startup of the motor and then pulled the outer lever to start the gears. The motor whined and hesitated before slowly working up the power to turn the gears and put the heavy lifts into motion.

  “Yeah, I think the motor’s shot,” I told Harley. “Listen to it whine. The gears all look good to me. At least these do. And the upper gears are newer than these, aren’t they.” He nodded. “There’s no breakage. Looks greased up good. It’s the motor, it’s struggling.” We were both disappointed. It would be a costly repair.

  “How long will it take to replace the motor?” Harley asked me. “I got lessons today. I keep saying we need a second lift. One lift for all these slopes isn’t a good idea. Not with as much traffic as we get up here.”

  “Putting in new lifts is extremely costly,” I reminded Harley. “Anyway, this lift has serviced all of our slopes just fine. It’s centralized. And we’re never so busy that there’s a long line waiting to use it.” I continued, “If the day comes and we get extra busy, then we’ll discuss expanding.”

  “You’re the boss,” Harley responded sarcastically.

  I just gave him a look. “Come on, Harley. Be realistic.”

  “I am.”

  Ignoring him, I remembered that I didn’t have an extra motor laying around to fix this. I would have to go into town and buy one from the local hardware store. My buddy, Alec, owned the place and stocked up on gear motors for local businesses. I just hoped he had the right size in stock.

  “I’ll have to go into town and see Alec,” I informed Harley. “Keep it running for now. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “Okay,” Harley agreed, though unhappily. “I’ve got lessons until about 2:30, though. I hope the motor lasts until then.”

  “Hope so, too,” I agreed. “See you about 2:30.”

  “Alright. Later,” Harley said, heading off to greet a couple of guests. Mark, the ski attendant, pulled up, and I filled him in with the details. “If you notice smoking, turn it off,” I warned him. “Call Brad immediately and get anyone on the lifts off with the snowmobile.”

  Good thing our lifts weren’t too far from the ground for most of the way up the mountainside. Realistically, you could jump off and be fine. We’d designed the lifts like this purposely to prevent any accidents from happening since we were secluded.

  “Okay,” Mark said, nodding his head in agreement. He had a worried look on his face, though.

  “Nothing to worry about,” I promised him. “Just stay close to the control box. There’s a small fire extinguisher on the inside panel if you need it. The most important thing is to flip the switch as soon as you notice smoke. Probably won’t come to that. Just want you to be prepared.”

  “Okay, no problem,” he repeated, a bit more relaxed now.

  “I’ll get it fixed this afternoon,” I said, adding, “Hopefully.”

  I called Bella and let her inside the truck. I took a moment for a quick phone call to Brad to let him know I was going into town. “You need anything?”

  “Na, think I’m good. Tell Alec hello for me.”

  “Sure,” I replied and hung up.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sandra, the widow, pull up beside me in her red, black-topped convertible. Unable to resist, I looked over. She gawked at me for a moment before winking and flipping her bleached blond hair behind her shoulder. Dark blue eyeshadow covered her lid.

  Oh. My. God.

  I forced a small smile and threw my truck into reverse. I hit the gas, and Bella launched forward as the truck lurched back from the parking space. I put out my arm to stop my dog from going into the windshield, headfirst.

  “Sorry, Bella,” I mumbled as I pulled her back into the seat. She just looked at me with her big brown eyes and her tongue hanging out happily. So forgiving.

  * * *

  In town, I pulled into AR Hardware. The doorbell chimed, announcing my entrance as I walked into the building, and Alec Randel wandered out of the backroom to greet me.

  “Cole! What’s going on?” he greeted me, happy to see me.

  “Hey, man,” I answered, extending my hand to accept his outreached one. “Same old, same old.”

  “I hear ya, man. What brings you into my quaint shop this morning?” he asked me, his green eyes grinning. His red, shaggy beard mostly covered up his smile. I always thought it was funny how he kept his hair on his head cut short but let his beard and sideburns grow wild.

  “I need a new motor for the lifts,” I informed him. “Ours is just about kaput.”

  “Oh, bummer,” he replied, wiping his hands on his torn-up blue jeans. “Sorry about your hand,” he said, glancing at the grease mark he’d left on my hand. “I was actually working on a buddy’s truck motor in the back. But, yeah, I think I have what you need. Come on back,” he invited me, waving me into his workroom.

  Alec ran the hardware store and worked on automobiles in his spare time.
There was a garage attached to the back of the store where he did the work. In fact, he was a genius at fixing anything with a motor, snowmobiles, quads, tractors, you name it. If it had a motor, he could fix it.

  Wiping my hands on my jeans now, I thought I should ask him for some advice about replacing the ski lift motor. He was happy to offer it. He led me to a box that contained the parts I needed and heaved it into my arms. Digging around the heavy motor, he pulled several parts out of the box and walked me through the replacement process.

  “Any questions?” he asked me, tossing the parts back into the box with little care. Without waiting for an answer, he walked over to his own project.

  Alec was a funny dude. I listened to him talk loudly as he continued to work on the truck motor hanging in his garage. Even though the motor was big, Alec was even bigger, making it look small while he stood beside it.

  Clang. Clang. Clang.

  He smacked a wrench off a screw, trying to loosen it. His voice echoed over the clanging. He was telling me about some girl he met at the local pub and that she was really into him, but he not so much into her.

  “Girls are nothing but trouble anyway,” I informed him. That was my motto, and I was sticking to it.

  “I hear ya, man. She keeps calling and calling. I don’t answer or call back. Think she’d get the hint? Nope. Ring, ring, ring. There she goes calling again.”

  I chucked. “That’s why I don’t get involved.”

  “I blame it on the beer,” he said, grinning.

  “If that’s the case, maybe you should stop drinking the beer,” I said, laughing.

  “Never!” We both chuckled.

  “So, you think I’ll be able to do this by myself?” I asked him when he finished his story. I’d only worked on the gears, never actually replaced the motor.