Haley's Mountain Man

“Even if that guy is cute, sweet and funny?”

“Even if.”

“Intelligent and warmhearted?”

“Even if,” she repeated. “And if he’s that amazing, why aren’t you dating him? Unless. Oh, no, Suzette. You’re not trying to fix me up with one of your leftovers, are you?”

“One date, and not even a real date, and we didn’t even kiss,” she said with a flick of her wrist. “So nope, not a leftover. Promise.”

“Darn close, though. Jeez.”

Letting out a huff, Suzette said, “Just say the words, Haley. Dating. Funk.”

“So speaks the woman who juggles three men on any given weekend.” Haley was only half joking. Her friend always seemed to have a man on each arm.

“Only because I’m not as choosy as you.” Narrow shoulders lifted in a slight shrug. “If a nice guy asks me out, I tend to say yes. Whereas you tend to pluck excuses from the air in order to say no.” Bracing her elbows on the table, she rested her chin in her hands. “I have a better question for you. How many dates have you turned down in the past few months?”

Mentally doing the math, Haley frowned. She’d declined a handful of invitations, so what? Lonely was one thing. Dating someone she wasn’t interested in was another. “I don’t see the point in spending an evening with a man based on how nice he is.”

“Because spending an evening with a nice guy is … such a horrible experience?”

“Not at all! He should be nice, obviously, but there should also be something more.”

“Sexual attraction is always a plus, but—”

“I’m not even talking about that,” Haley interrupted. Not that she disagreed. But, “I don’t want to know every detail about a man’s life before we order drinks. I want to be … curious about a man, about what makes him tick.”

And that right there was her real issue. Despite how nice many of the local men were, she just knew them too freaking well for them to hold any real interest. When you could all too easily picture a man swallowing mouthfuls of glue or picking his nose from their elementary school days, it was hard to see him in a different light. Unfair, she knew, but the truth.

Sure, she’d dated plenty in the past. None of those relationships had evolved into anything. Some of those failures she placed squarely on her big brothers’ shoulders. Sweet as they were, they could also be a little too overprotective. The rest … well, the guys had either turned out to be jerks, or there simply hadn’t been enough chemistry.

In other words, unless she moved to another city—which she had absolutely no desire to do—her future love life looked pretty darn bleak.

Maybe she should let Suzette fix her up. The thought was defeating somehow, and for whatever reason, not something she wanted to do. Yeah, she should get a pet.

A cat, maybe. Or ten. Didn’t all spinsters have a houseful of cats?

“Are you saying what I think you are?” Suzette asked, her voice this side of shocked. Perhaps even a little amused. And damn if Haley could figure out where her mind had gone.

“Er, I don’t know,” she said. “What do you think I’m thinking?”

“Are you considering having a summer fling with a hot, hunky tourist or two?”

Laughter burbled out of Haley’s throat. It felt good, even if the thought was ludicrous. “Oh, come on, that is not why I’m ready for summer. You know me better than that.”

“I do, but a girl can hope. Besides, why not?”

She had nothing to say to that. Not one thing.

“It could be fun,” Suzette prodded. “How will you know unless you give it a try?”

“Um, because I do. I’m not interested.” Tourists weren’t around long enough to appeal, and she wanted something more meaningful than a fling. Tired of trying to explain a yearning she didn’t quite understand, she said, “You were right to begin with. I’m too picky.”

“Look, Haley,” Suzette said, her voice becoming serious, “you’re thinking too hard about this! Date a few guys. Have some fun. You don’t have to marry any of them, but it has to better than sitting at home wishing for twelve-hour workdays. Which is rather nuts, you know.”

“I know, but—”

The door flew open and a man entered. Blinking, she watched him stride toward Lola, the owner of the Beanery and, as it so happened, a close friend of Haley’s mother. He held a clipboard in one hand, the other was squeezed into a fist at his side, and every ounce of his body seemed intense and … hard, as if he were prepared for a fight.

She had drawn the same impression when she’d originally met him, back in December. His name was Gavin Daugherty, and he was somewhat of a newcomer to Steamboat Springs. At the time, he’d come into the sports store looking for work as a ski instructor. They hadn’t had any positions available, but her brother Cole had latched onto her interest—curiosity—and for a while, had seemed bent on finding out more about Gavin.

Fortunately, Cole’s attention had become otherwise occupied by his now-fiancée, Rachel Merriday, and he’d seemingly forgotten all about Gavin.

But Haley hadn’t. The man had been on her mind a lot.

Silly, really, as she knew hardly anything about him, and had seen him only a few times since. Curious, she watched as he got into line behind four others to wait his turn. The woman in front of him instantly stepped forward, putting a few more inches of space in between her and him. Gavin stepped forward as well, as folks were apt to do when a line moved. The woman attempted to move up again, but she didn’t have any room left to do so.

Instead, she sidled to the side. Without missing a beat, Gavin retreated a few inches and gestured for the woman to retake her place in line. She didn’t look at him and, rather than moving closer, she stepped another few inches in the opposite direction, and then several more.

A slow burn began inside as Haley put two and two together. She had a sense that people backed away from Gavin often. She supposed that was due in part to his size, as he was a giant of a man. Probably around six-foot-five, he had the build of a linebacker that only began with the wide, muscular breadth of his shoulders. And okay, he could use a haircut and a shave to get rid of the Grizzly Adams look he had going. Even so, his appearance didn’t scare her or make her uneasy. She could see, however, how others might view him as intimidating.

“So what do you say?” Suzette asked, interrupting her thoughts. “Can’t be next weekend, but if I can put something together for the weekend after next, are you game? Please say yes.”

“Um, sure,” Haley said, entirely focused on Gavin. “Whatever, whenever, is fine.”

“That’s great! We’ll have fun, you’ll see. And I know you’ll like Matt.”

“Uh, what?” Returning her attention to her friend, Haley said, “Wait a minute. Who is Matt and why does it matter if I’ll like him or not?”

“Matt is the guy we’ve been talking about. He’s one of the teachers I work with.” Suzette smiled smugly and crossed her arms over her chest. “And you just agreed to a double date.”

“No way, Suzette.” Haley shook her head to back up her words. “I’m not interested in a blind date, double or otherwise.”

“You already agreed,” Suzette said in a singsong voice. “So, tough. I swear, he’s a great guy. And since he didn’t grow up here, you can learn all about what makes him tick. That is what you said you wanted, right?”

Scowling, she pushed a strand of hair off her cheek. “It is, but you’re being unfair. I didn’t know what I was agreeing to.” Unable to stop herself, Haley turned to look at Gavin again.

“Yep, but whose fault is that?”

“Mine, but you took advantage.”

“True. I’m holding you to it, though. For your own sake.” Following the direction of Haley’s gaze, she asked, “What is so interesting up there that you can’t stop staring?”

Letting the topic drop—for now—Haley asked, “Do you see that guy?”

“Mr. Mountain Man? Yeah, he’s hard to miss.”

“If you were standing in line with him, would you feel uncomfortable or … threatened?”