Page 11 of Mountain Grump Protector

“I’m aware of what it looks like.” My gaze darts toward my closed—and locked—bedroom door. I’m more than aware of what this whole situation looks like, and worse, how Willow is obviously feeling about it. She’s obviously never had anyone do anything nice for her, only because it was the right thing to do. Especially not a man.

I didn’t miss the way she looked at me.

There’s a long pause on his end. I know my friend well enough to know he’s deciding how hard to push me.

“You good?” he asks finally.

“Fine.”

“You’re sure.”

I blow out a breath. “She’s locked in my bedroom for the night, and I have my eye on the door. She’s safe. I’ll know if anyone comes up here tonight. Not that I really think they’re that stupid.”

“Right,” he says slowly. “I wasn’t worried about her.”

I set the glass down harder than I mean to, and water splashes onto the counter. He’s worried about me, something I haven’t given him cause to be in a long time. And that pisses me off more than it should, because I’d rather he not start worrying about anything he can’t control. Not tonight.

“I’m fine, Luke,” I repeat, this time with an edge he can’t ignore.

He blows out a breath. “Just be careful, buddy. Those men aren’t to be fucked with.”

“I can handle myself.”

“Didn’t say you couldn’t.”

“Right.”

It’s all I have left in me to say.

“I’m just a call away,” he says. “All of us are. You know that.”

“I do.” I scrub my hand over my face. “There’s one more thing. I’m into Hatch for the rest of what I owe, and I don’t keep that kind of cash up here. You headed to the city soon?”

There’s a pause, and then, “Tomorrow.”

“Can you pull a couple grand from my account and bring it up?”

Another pause. “You sure about this, Cal?”

“I’m sure.”

“Then it’s done. I’ll have it in a few days.”

We end the call, and I drop the phone on the counter before dropping my head. Murph leans against my leg, pressing the weight of his body into me until I rest a hand on his head and look up. Outside the window, darkness has fallen, dropping my yard, my shop, and my truck into shadows.

I’m not worried about Hatch and his buddies getting past me. We may be remote up here on the mountain, but we’re not stupid.

When Luke, Holt, Sawyer, Beck, and I bought up these properties years ago, we’d still been young and idealistic about the world. We had dreams that time, and experience hadn’t touched yet. By the time we left the military and settled on Iron Peak properly, things had changed. We’d changed.

Luke installed the state-of-the-art telecommunications system for his finance business, with the added benefit of keeping us all in communication, whether we wanted to be or not. Over the years, we’ve also added security systems.

There’s a difference between living remotely and leaving yourself exposed and vulnerable. We were grumpy mountain men—most of us anyway—not idiots. I value my privacy, and I won’t hesitate to protect it if it ever comes to that.

Eventually, I pick up my glass and move to the oversized chair by the front window and settle in, Murphy at my feet, my eyes on the darkness outside, my mind still fixed on the hesitation in my buddy’s voice when I insisted I was fine.

I know he remembers it almost as clearly as I do.

Over the years, I’ve been able to block out that memory more often than not, but Willow’s face tonight when Hatch laid his grubby hands on her brought all of those memories back in vivid color.