Kept by the mountain man, p.1
Kept By The Mountain Man, page 1
KEPT BY THE MOUNTAIN MAN
SHAW HART
CONTENTS
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
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About the Author
Series by Shaw Hart
Also by Shaw Hart
Copyright © 2023 by Shaw Hart
www.shawhart.com
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage or retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic, photocopying, mechanical or otherwise, without express permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, story lines and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons, living or dead, events, locales or any events or occurrences are purely coincidental.
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*
I’m her boss, but she’s my everything.
Evie
I have three problems.
The first is my grumpy boss, Hendrix, making my job ten times harder.
The second is Claire and her mean girl clique in town.
The third problem is my biggest.
See, I just lied and told everyone in town that Hendrix and I have been secretly dating.
I only did it to get Claire and her friends to stop making jokes about me being perpetually single.
Now I’m just hoping that Hendrix never finds out what I did.
Hendrix
I’ve been shot at and almost blown up while I was in the Marines, but I think that the hardest thing I’ve ever done is try to ignore my attraction to my curvy assistant.
Then I find out that Evie has told people that we’re dating, and I start to wonder why I’ve been fighting my feelings so much.
When Evie asks me to pretend to be her fake boyfriend and go with her to the town fair, I agree, but I’ve got bigger plans than being my dream girl’s fake anything.
Evie is meant to be mine, and I intend to show her that.
And once she’s mine, I aim to make her my very real wife.
ONE
Evie
Could this day get any worse?
As if in answer to my question, the door of the bookstore swings open, and in walks Claire and her little minions. I swallow back a groan, not wanting to attract their attention.
Great. First, they don’t have the new book I wanted to read, and now I’m going to have to deal with the mean girls. I knew that I should have just gone straight home after work.
As if dealing with Hendrix’s grumpy butt all day wasn’t bad enough, now I’ll have to deal with Claire.
I growl as I think about Hendrix and all of his requests today. It had started as soon as I walked in the door this morning. He needed me to make him a coffee, sort his papers, and redo half of the research that I did the day before because he hated the font that I used. I know that a lot of those tasks are part of my actual job duties, but that isn’t the part that bothered me. It was how he spoke to me. He’s always barking orders at me, always finding a reason to seek me out. I’ve worked for Hendrix for nine months now, and I’ve never once heard him say the words please or thank you.
I guess I shouldn’t be too upset. I mean, I knew that Hendrix’s people skills were bad from the moment that I met him. My interview was… rough.
I had shown up at the coffee shop in town for the interview right on time. I was feeling pretty good about my chances as I sat at a table nearby and waited for the other interview before mine to wrap up. That was when I heard Hendrix snap at the man he was interviewing. He was so harsh that I was kind of scared to interview next.
That was my first clue that Hendrix was rough around the edges.
“Next,” he had called, and I tried to look confident as I took a seat across from him. I doubt that I pulled it off.
He hadn’t even spared me a glance as he looked over my resume and sighed.
“What experience do you have as a personal assistant?”
“None, but I’m a fast learner.”
“I’m not looking to teach anyone anything. I don’t have the patience for that, and I have no desire to hold your hand while you do the job I’m paying you to do,” he had snapped.
“With that attitude, no wonder you can’t keep an assistant,” I had snapped back.
I had pushed to my feet, and that’s when his stormy blue eyes finally looked at me. He had seemed shocked as he took me in, and I remember wondering what he was expecting.
“Good luck,” I had spit at him before he could get the last word in.
I was stomping off when he had called after me.
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
I was shocked, but I was too desperate to turn down the job.
I should have turned down the job.
The last nine months have been a weird rollercoaster of emotions. Some days, Hendrix is nice, and other days, he’s a grumpy, brooding jerk. It doesn’t help that I kind of maybe have a teeny little crush on the guy.
It started at the interview, as soon as I saw him, and it’s only grown from there. He’s attractive with dark brown hair and those blue eyes that seem to see right through me. I’d never admit that to my boss, though. I know that it would never go anywhere anyway. A guy like Hendrix is never going to be into a plus-size woman like me.
I sigh, shaking thoughts of my boss out of my head as I focus on my current problem and try to see where Claire and her friends went.
“Look at her, reading romance books because she knows that no man is ever going to love her,” I hear Claire say from behind me, and I groan as I turn around to face them.
“She might… if she lost some weight!” Jules says with a wicked laugh.
“No wonder she’s always single,” Martha adds, and I swallow down the hurt.
They’re right. I’ve never so much as been on a first date. I’ve never kissed a guy, held hands with anyone, none of it. I’m the perpetually single friend, and I hate it.
I hate listening to Claire and her friends. I hate being the butt of the joke, and as I stare at them, something in me snaps, and I find myself doing something crazy.
“Actually, I’m not single. Like some of you,” I say, aiming a pointed stare at Claire.
“Really?” she asks, her voice dripping with skepticism.
“Yup.”
“Who? Who would possibly date you?” Martha asks.
Then, I do something that I regret instantly.
I say, “With Hendrix. We’ve been seeing each other for a bit now. Surprised that you haven’t heard.”
Instant regret.
I’m freaking out, wondering what possessed me to say that, but on the outside, I remain calm. I paste on a fake smile and hold my head high as I turn and march out of the bookstore. Seeing their shocked expression feels good, but not enough to stop my freak out.
“What the hell did I just do?” I ask in shock as I stop at a red light.
Sweetheart Falls is a small town, and it doesn’t take me long to make it back to my apartment. I park and hurry inside, slamming the door behind me and sucking in a deep breath.
“Why did I say that? What the hell do I do now?” I ask as I start to pace back and forth.
My apartment is tiny, so the pacing is really just shuffling two steps forward, turning, and repeating it back to the front door.
Well, Hendrix never goes into town, so maybe he’ll just never find out about what I said. I mean, it’s not like he has a ton of friends in town, and he hates gossip and small talk, so the chances of him learning about us dating are slim to none.
I start to relax and I let out a deep breath as I sink down onto my thrift store couch. My phone rings, and I tense, wondering if it’s Hendrix, but when I look at the screen, I see my friend, Olive’s name instead. I smile as I answer.
“Hey, you! I’ve been meaning to call you,” I tell her.
“I beat you to it,” she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice.
That’s Olive for you. She’s always smiling, always happy. It’s one of the reasons why I love her. She always sees the best in the world and in people.
“How’s Xavier?” I ask her.
“Good. He’s grumbling to himself as he makes us dinner as we speak,” she says with a laugh, and I can’t help but join her.
I’ve known Olive for most of my life. We grew up together, and after high school, we both left town and went our separate ways, but stayed in touch. I tried to take a trip across the United States. I wanted to travel and experience the world a little bit. It was working out well, until I went to Montana and ended up losing my purse. That’s how I wound up working for Hendrix and living in Sweetheart Falls.
I’m close to having enough saved to quit and leave town. I’m actually looking forward to heading home. I plan to join Olive and her sisters in Wolf Valley, Oregon, and start to put down real roots. I just need to put up with Hendrix and thi
“What about you? How have you been?” Olive asks me.
“I’m okay. I’ve been working a lot. I’m hoping that I’ll be home before the holidays.”
“No way! You’ll have to come over and spend it with us!”
“That sounds great,” I say honestly.
When I left town a few years ago, I was so excited to get out and away from home, but the more time that I’ve spent away, the more homesick I become. I just want to be home with people that I love and who love me. This trip has started to become lonely, and I just want to be back where I belong.
“I’ll get the guest room ready for you,” Olive says, and I smile.
“It’s still going to be at least a few weeks,” I tell her, but she ignores me and keeps making her plans.
“How’s work?” she asks, and I sigh.
“The same.”
“So, still crushing on the boss while also fantasizing about strangling him?” she asks, and I laugh.
“Pretty much.”
“Just make a move already! Especially if you’re quitting and leaving town soon.”
“Well… actually,” I start, and I hear Olive gasp on the other end of the phone.
“What happened? Did you kiss him? Did he kiss you? Are you two in love?” she asks me rapid fire.
“No, not any of that. I just might have accidentally told some people in town that we were dating.”
“How does one accidentally do that?”
“Well, when the girls are mean, judgmental jerks, who keep pointing out how single you are…”
“Got it. Well, why not date him for real?”
“Date Hendrix? Well, even if I could somehow convince my boss to go out with me, that has disaster written all over it. What happens if things don’t go well? Then what do I do?”
“They’ll go well!” She insists.
I love her optimism, but I’m a little more realistic… or maybe that’s pessimistic.
“We’ll see,” I hedge.
“You should go for it,” she encourages me.
I change the subject, and we talk about what she’s been up to a little bit before we end the call.
As I lay down on the couch, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like if Hendrix and I were dating for real.
Does Olive have a point? I am leaving soon. Maybe I should finally go for it with a guy.
Maybe.
TWO
Hendrix
She’s wearing that damn skirt again.
I would swear that she’s trying to drive me insane, but my assistant never seems to notice me or the effect that she has on me. Hell, it’s been nine months of her working for me, and she still has no idea that I’m in love with her.
As soon as I looked up at her in that café, I knew that she was meant to be mine. She was wearing a pair of tight black pants and a frilly purple top that made her blue eyes sparkle. It was her eyes that got to me. They’re so blue, a light, clear blue. They remind me of the ocean, and it somehow puts me at ease. Her dark brown hair had been pulled up into a high ponytail, the end swishing just below her shoulders.
I had offered her the job, hoping to spend more time with her and show her that I was the man for her, but that’s not what ended up happening.
I knew that Evie was the one for me the moment that I laid eyes on her, but it seems the feeling wasn’t mutual. She’s kept a wall between us ever since she started working for me.
I get it. I’m a grumpy, reclusive asshole who prefers computers over people. Evie loves people. She’s so sweet and friendly. She can talk to anyone and put them at ease. She’s my opposite. That makes her a great assistant, but it also means that she would probably never be interested in someone like me.
That’s why I haven’t made a move on Evie. It feels like a sure thing that I would get shot down, and then things would be awkward. She might even quit, and I can’t have that. I need Evie in my life, any way that I can get her.
I’ve never been great with people. I never really had to be. I was the quiet loner in high school, and I joined the Marines right after I graduated. There, I was surrounded by all kinds of people, but most of us in my platoon were grumpy guys who preferred to hang out by ourselves.
I got out after I was shot. I had put in just over eight years by then and had to scramble to try to come up with a new plan and career. Luckily for me, all of those years hanging out by myself allowed me a lot of time to explore different interests, and I ended up getting really good with computers. When I was medically discharged, I decided to find a small town and start my own IT company.
That was eighteen months ago, and I’ve already got a whole roster of clients. It’s been great so far. I take on the clients that I like and get to spend most of my time by myself on my computer as I fix issues.
I hired an assistant to handle the client-facing portions of the job and to research new potential clients. I was terrible at it. Unfortunately for me, the first few assistants never lasted for more than a few weeks. Not until I hired Evie.
To be honest, Evie could be the worst assistant in the history of the world, and I still wouldn’t ever fire her. I need to be around her sunny self every day. She’s become the only bright spot in my days.
“I’m about to call the Ecorp company back. Do you need anything?” Evie asks me, leaning against my open office door.
“It’s almost lunchtime. If you’re taking that call, then I think I’ll head into town and grab something to eat.”
“Grab me a sandwich and something sweet?” she asks, and I nod.
It took me all of a week to learn what Evie likes and doesn’t like. She loves pumpkin spice anything, Ube, and caramel. She hates white chocolate, coffee, and traffic. That’s just scratching the surface though.
Evie is smart, loyal, funny, and kind. She’s an optimist, always seeing the best in people, always looking on the bright side.
I stand and head out to my car, doing my best to stop thinking about my curvy assistant as I make the short drive into town. My cabin is on the outskirts of Sweetheart Falls. I moved here after I left the Marines. I had just started driving until I was sick of being in the car. I was hoping that this place would eventually feel like home, but it hasn’t. The only thing that feels like home, is Evie.
I stop outside of Evie’s favorite deli and head inside to order us some lunch. I groan slightly when I see Richard standing in line. His smarmy face lights up when he spots me, and he walks back to join me.
“Hendrix, my man!”
I’m not your man.
“I heard the big news. Congrats, man. Bagging Evie!” he says as he holds his fist out for me to bump.
“What?” I ask, trying to make sense of what he’s saying.
“I heard that you and Evie were together.”
I wish.
“Claire was talking about it last night at the bar. She said that Evie told her you two were together at the bookstore,” he says, his voice loud and carrying in the small deli.
“Evie told people that we were dating?” I ask dumbly.
Evie told people that we were dating? Why would she do that? Could she… could she maybe like me? Could she possibly want more than a boss and assistant relationship with me too?
“Yeah, man! Everyone in town has been talking about it,” Richard tells me.
I’m not sure what to do with this information. Part of me wants to run back home and confess that I love her, and I want to be with her, but I need to be smart about this. For all I know, this could be some weird twisted rumor, and then I would just embarrass myself.
No, I need to play this out. I need to think about it from all angles.
I need to talk to my assistant.
Richard orders, and then it’s my turn. I place our order on autopilot, pay, and grab the takeout bag before I head out to the car. My mind is racing as I drive back to the house, and I try to play it cool as I head inside.
Evie is just finishing up her phone call, and I head into the kitchen to sort our food. Evie’s office is in the dining room, and she ends her call and joins me a minute later.
“We got another client!” she tells me, grabbing the cookie that I hold out to her.
