Green Mountain Collection 1

by Marie Force

  She came upon Colton in the kitchen and stopped short. She had a few things she’d like to say to him, but in the interest of preserving family harmony, she kept quiet.

  “What?” he asked when he saw her studying him with all-new interest. “Have you got something you want to say to me, too? Your boyfriend already gave me an earful. Feel free to pile on.”

  “No desire to pile on. I’ll just say she’s important to me, and I hope you’ll be kind to her.”

  “Jeez. What do you take me for?”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to insult you. It’s just . . . She hasn’t had an easy time of it, and all I want is for her to be happy.”

  “What does that mean? She hasn’t had an easy time of it?”

  Cameron shook her head, furious with herself for speaking before she thought it all the way through. “I’m sorry. I said too much. It’s her business and up to her who she wants to tell.”

  “You can’t just drop something like that on me and then walk away. Where is she anyway?”

  “She wanted a couple of minutes to herself.”

  “What aren’t you telling me, Cameron?”

  Thankfully, Will picked that moment to come in with their bags. She took her computer bag from him.

  “We’re upstairs, babe. Come on, I’ll show you our room.” With a pointed look for Colton, Will added, “It’s on the far opposite side of the house from their room.”

  With a smile for Colton, Cameron followed Will upstairs and down a long hallway with several closed doors. At the end, he opened the door and stepped into a spacious room that had an amazing view of the vast lake. A king-sized bed occupied one side of the room. “This is beautiful!”

  “Isn’t it? I love it here.”

  “I can see why.” She sat on the end of the bed, which was covered with a denim duvet.

  He sat next to her and linked their hands. “What do you make of all this?”

  “I don’t quite know what to make of it. Lucy seems very involved yet hesitant and uncertain, too. What did Colton say?”

  “Sort of the same thing. Mostly he doesn’t see how it’s any of our business.”

  “I guess it’s not, unless it goes bad, and then it’ll be our business.”

  “Exactly. That’s what I said to him.”

  “So we’re staying, and they’re staying?”

  “Looks that way.”

  “I’m really happy to see her.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’ve missed her so much.”

  Will put his arm around her and kissed her temple. “I haven’t forgotten our conversation on the way over here, but that’ll keep if you want to spend some time with Lucy.”

  “You’re sure you wouldn’t mind?’

  “I’m positive. We have the rest of our lives to spend together.”

  She loved when he said things like that. After all the changes she’d made in her life to make their relationship possible, he made it worth it every day.

  Once he’d dispatched Cameron and Will, Colton returned to the bedroom and began throwing clothes into his bag. Some of the clothes were his, some were hers, but it didn’t matter because he was taking her with him.

  Lucy emerged from the bathroom, where she’d apparently dried her hair, but thankfully she hadn’t straightened it. He loved those curls. “What’re you doing?”

  “We’re leaving.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I want to be alone with you, and I can’t be alone with you with them here. I’m doing what I should’ve done from the beginning and taking you to my mountain, where there’s no chance we’ll be bothered.”

  “Colton, wait. I’d like to see your mountain, but there’s no reason we can’t be here with them and do our own thing while they do theirs.”

  He shook his head. “I’ll know he’s here and he’s listening and taking notes so he can report back to my family. I can’t do it.”

  She pinched her lips with her fingers and seemed like she was trying not to laugh. “You really think he’s going to report back to your family?”

  “Yes! And the reason I know that is because it’s exactly what I would do if the roles were reversed. It’s how we roll, and it’s important to you that people don’t know about us, so I’m trying to respect that.”

  She came over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, making his mind empty of every thought that didn’t involve the feel of her pressed against him. “I think the proverbial cat is now out of the bag. While I appreciate that you’re trying to respect my wishes, it seems we’ve lost control of the situation.”

  “This isn’t what you wanted.”

  “But it’s what’s happened, so now we have to deal with it. As much as I’d like nothing more than to be completely alone with you, I’ve missed Cameron, and now that she’s here, I’d kind of like to spend a little time with her, too.”

  Colton gritted his teeth as aggravation battled with his desire to please her. “Fine. We’ll spend tonight with them, but tomorrow we’re going to my place and we’re staying there until it’s time for you to go home.”

  “Isn’t that logistically complicated? Two cars, a couple of hours . . .”

  “We’ll leave your car here, and I’ll bring you back on Tuesday morning.”

  “That’s kind of crazy, Colton. Driving two hours to bring me here so I can drive six hours home.”

  “I’ll take your rental to the airport and turn it in and you can fly back. I’ll buy the ticket.”

  “You’re being crazy. You know that, don’t you?”

  “I’m fully aware of that, and I’m fine with it if it means I get to have two more days alone with you.”

  She placed her hands on his face, a gesture that calmed and soothed him. That she could do that with only the press of her hands against his skin was just another reason to hold on tight to her. “Okay then, mountain man. We’ll do this your way, as crazy as it is.”

  He leaned his forehead against hers. “If we were doing this my way, we’d still be naked in that bed having the time of our lives.” Sure enough, his blunt words made her cheeks turn pink. “Instead it appears we’re going to be spending some time with my brother and his girlfriend.”

  She pressed a lingering kiss to his lips. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

  Hugging her tightly, he said, “I’m so going to hold you to that.”

  CHAPTER 10

  The wait is over. Out-of-doors it was a storybook sugaring day. Inside the sugarhouse it was, to quote a neighbor who stopped by to help stoke the fire, “like ski racing in the world championships without any practice. Ready, set, go.”

  —Colton Abbott’s sugaring journal, March 9

  They spent an enjoyable afternoon at the beach in front of the house with Will and Cameron. Lucy loved the way the brothers bickered incessantly but with an underlying affection that was reminiscent of her relationship with her sister, Emma. There was nothing she and Emma wouldn’t say to each other and nothing they wouldn’t do for each other. She sensed the same sort of bond between Will and Colton, even if they were annoyed by the other’s presence at the house.

  “I should tell Dad we caught you with a guy,” Will said, sending the girls into fits of giggles as Colton scowled at him.

  “If you do that, I’ll tell him you drank all his scotch.”

  “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Do it and you’ll find out.”

  Even though Colton was clearly pissed off by the turn of events, Lucy couldn’t help but laugh at his distress. She wondered if he knew how adorable he could be, and seeing him with his brother gave her an all-new perspective on his personality. It was a good perspective that only made her like him more than she already did.

  She ran her finger around in the sand, stopping only when she sensed him hovering over her shoulder.

  “That’s amazing. You just sat there and drew that?”

  Lucy snapped out of her musings to take notice of what she’d drawn. The man in the sand
looked an awful lot like him. She’d drawn him without even thinking about what she was doing.

  “That’s awesome, Luce,” Cameron said.

  “You totally captured him,” Will added.

  Lucy felt like she’d exposed her private thoughts through the image that had appeared at the end of her index finger. She swept her fingers across the sand, erasing the drawing. “Just scribbling.”

  “Will you do that again sometime on paper?” Colton asked her.

  “Maybe.”

  “Have you shown her your drawings yet?” Will asked.

  “No.”

  “You can draw, Colton?” Lucy asked.

  “His drawings are amazing.” Will stood as the sun headed for the horizon on the far side of the lake and the temperature began to cool. “Let’s make a fire. Do we have hot dogs?”

  “We have hot dogs,” Colton said.

  “That we’re happy to share with you guys,” Lucy said with a pointed look for him.

  “We’ll get them,” Will said, reaching out to help Cameron up.

  “You may as well get the s’mores stuff, too,” Colton said begrudgingly.

  “Yay,” Cameron said as she and Will headed for the house with all four dogs following them.

  “It’s very nice of you to share with your brother,” Lucy said.

  “Whatever. He didn’t give me much choice.”

  “You never told me you could draw.”

  “You never told me you can, too.”

  She smiled at his reply. “Today was fun. Being here with them . . . I haven’t gotten to spend a lot of time with them together. It’s nice to see how good he is to her and how much he loves her. It makes me happy to see her happy.”

  “I like seeing how much she loves him. He deserves that as much as she does.”

  “Awww, underneath all that bluster, you’re a romantic!”

  “Ew, I am not. Don’t say such awful things about me.”

  Lucy tossed a small handful of sand at him.

  “Oh really? We’re throwing sand now?”

  “We’re not throwing sand. I am.” She sent another pinch of sand in his direction and hit him square in the face.

  He stared at her, disbelieving, as he spit a mouthful of sand to the side before lunging at her, making her scream with laughter as he came down on top of her. When he had her pinned to the beach blanket, he looked down at her with a sinister expression on his face. “It’s a good thing I’m not a vengeful kind of guy. You forget I was raised with six brothers and three sisters. I know everything there is to know about exacting revenge.”

  She batted her eyelashes at him. “Please don’t hurt me, big strong man of the mountains.”

  With a low growl, he brought his lips down on hers, drawing her into an incendiary kiss filled with the frustration she’d felt coming from him all afternoon. He’d gone along with what everyone else wanted to do, even if it wasn’t what he wanted. Apparently, she thought as his tongue tangled with hers, this is what he’d rather be doing.

  “Oh jeez,” Will said when he returned to find them making out on the beach.

  Colton groaned against her lips but didn’t stop kissing her and didn’t make any move to end their embrace.

  “Don’t look, Cam,” Will said. “You’ll hurt your eyes.”

  Colton’s scowl made Lucy giggle. Since they were no longer alone, like they should’ve been, he reluctantly moved off her and willed his raging boner into submission. There were some things a guy shouldn’t have to share with an audience. “I’m going for a swim,” he announced.

  “The lake is freezing,” Will said.

  “Good. It’s just what I need.”

  Before his brother could make any of the predictable jokes—the same jokes he would’ve made if the roles had been reversed—Colton jogged to the shoreline and dove into water that was, in fact, frigid. It was so cold he worried about freezing his balls right off. But the cold water had the desired effect on his libido. It shriveled right up with the rest of his important parts.

  No matter how warm the summer got, Lake Champlain was always freezing. It was one of the things that could be taken for granted when it came to life in Vermont. As he watched Lucy laugh and tease with Cameron, Colton waited until he was sure he had things under control before he emerged from the ice bath to join them on the blanket.

  The fire Will had lit went a long way toward restoring feeling in Colton’s important parts. Living on the mountain, he was used to being cold and usually wasn’t bothered by it. Today though, he was annoyed that the deep freeze had been necessary to ward off an embarrassing situation. If this weekend had played out as planned, he wouldn’t have to worry about such things. He could’ve walked around sporting all the wood he wanted and no one would’ve known except the subject of his desire.

  His thoughts left him in a foul mood as the others talked cheerfully around the fire while they roasted hot dogs over the open flame.

  Lucy nudged his shoulder. “What’s the matter?”

  Did she want the whole list or would it be enough to say he was extremely out of sorts from being forced to share her with anyone—even her best friend and his brother—when they had so little time to spend together? “Nothing.”

  “Then why are you so quiet?”

  “Who can get a word in with you and Cameron sucking up all the air?” He could tell by the way her brows narrowed and her lips puckered that she hadn’t appreciated the comment. And she wondered why he was keeping his mouth shut? It was because he was in a foul mood that he had no desire to inflict on others.

  “So sorry we are talking too much. We haven’t seen each other in a while.”

  “I don’t care if you’re talking to her. I didn’t mean that.”

  “Have a hot dog,” Will said, handing over fully roasted dogs to Colton and Lucy.

  “Thanks.” Colton ate his in three big bites while Lucy took far more delicate bites of hers. By the time he finished the first one, Will had a second one ready for him. His big brother knew him well.

  “Has he always eaten like that?” Lucy asked Will.

  “For as long as I can remember. He’ll probably have a big old potbelly by the time he’s thirty.”

  “Screw you. I will not.” Colton flexed the muscles he’d acquired through endless hard work.

  Cameron and Lucy admired his shameless display while Will groaned with disgust.

  “It’s okay, Will,” Colton said. “I don’t blame you for being jealous.”

  Cameron rested her hand on Will’s bare chest. “He has no need to be jealous of anyone. I think he’s perfect.”

  Will’s smile lit up his face as he leaned in to kiss his girlfriend.

  “Barf,” Colton said.

  “Stop it,” Lucy said.

  That she sounded sincerely irritated with him caught him by surprise. Although how could he be surprised when he’d been in a grumpy mood all afternoon? “Sorry.” He stood and shook the sand off the towel he’d been using. “I’m going up to grab a shower. Anyone need anything?”

  “I’ll go with you,” Lucy said as she rose. “I’m starting to get cold, so I’m ready to get out of this bathing suit.”

  “Take your time.” Will nuzzled Cameron’s neck. “We’ll be fine without you.”

  “Just like we were fine without you?” Colton asked.

  Lucy gave him a push to direct him to the stairs that led to the house. “You’re in one hell of a mood.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I’m all . . .” He waved his hand when he couldn’t come up with the words he needed.

  “What?”

  “Out of sorts.”

  She followed him up the stairs. “Why?”

  He waited until they both reached the landing at the top before he turned to face her. “Because! We have so little time to spend together, and I’ve been looking forward to having you all to myself. I can’t help it that I feel greedy where you’re concerned.”

  The smile that stretched across her face
surprised him. “I suppose I can put up with your surliness if you’re going to say things like that.”

  “So you like that I’m greedy where you’re concerned?”

  “What girl wouldn’t like to hear that from the guy she’s interested in?”

  “I feel like I’m totally out of control with you, being flung all over the place and never sure of where I stand or what’s going to happen next. It’s making me crazy.”

  Lucy wrapped her hand around his and gave a gentle tug. “Come on.”

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “You’ll see when we get there.”

  Captivated by the warm glow in her eyes, Colton dutifully followed her to the backyard, where they used the hose to rinse the sand off their feet before going inside.

  Lucy led him to the bathroom and turned on the water in the shower. With her hands behind her back, she untied the bikini top that had been distracting him all afternoon. She let it drop to the floor and then tugged at the ties on the bottom half. “Are you just going to stand there or are you going to join me in the shower?”

  The question and the challenging tone in which it was issued spurred him to action. He shed his swim trunks in record time and stepped into the steam with her.

  Lucy turned to him, linked her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I’m sorry our time alone together got interrupted. I’m sorry you feel out of control—”

  “Lucy—”

  She put her finger over his lips. “Let me finish.” Resting her hands on his chest, she looked up at him. “I feel better now that Cameron knows. I wish I hadn’t been so rigid about keeping this a secret for so long. The secret made it all far more dramatic than it needed to be.”

  Colton couldn’t argue with that. He felt the same way.

  “I want to go with you tomorrow to your mountain. I want to spend more time with you and get to know your family and the people you love. I want you to do the same with me in New York.”

  “What’re you saying, Luce?” he asked in a voice that barely registered as a whisper.

  “I’m saying I want this to be real. I want us to be real and not just a weekend fling. I’m saying—”