Kept By The Mountain Man (Sweetheart Falls)

Chapter 2

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.

She always prefers to eat her dessert first, and I smile as she takes a big bite of the sweet treat.

I wanted to wait, to see if she would say anything, but she’s acting normal, and my patience is wearing thin. I need to know if she loves me too.

“I ran into Richard at the deli,” I start, and I watch her make a face.

She thinks that Richard is smary, kind of like a greasy car salesman. I have to agree with her.

“I’m sorry,” she says, taking another bite of her cookie, and I bite back my own grin.

“He told me that there’s a rumor going around town.”

“There always is,” she says, finishing off her cookie.

“This one is about me… about us.”

“Us?” she asks, her pale blue eyes snapping to mine, and I nod.

“Yeah. Us.”

There’s a beat of silence and then I just blurt it out.

“I know, Evie,” I tell her, and I watch her whole body tense up.

Well, that can’t be a good sign.