To Claim the Mountain Man

Chapter 24

ISLA

That Sunday evening, I curled up between Garrett and my dad, nursing a lasagna and garlic bread induced food coma. The first Broncos game of the season played in the background, but I scrolled through the pages of my latest Kindle find instead of watching. Football never appealed to me until the playoffs, anyway.

The other team scored a touchdown, and Dad tipped his head back and groaned before pushing up from the couch. "I need another beer," he announced. "Garrett?"

"I'll take a Coors," he answered, never peeling his eyes from the television.

"Isla?" Dad offered.

I shook my head. The red wine I'd had with dinner still made my cheeks feel warm, and I planned on driving myself back to the cabin soon.

Dad lumbered out of the room, his stride stiffer than I remembered. With eight years of military service and twenty years serving as a firefighter, his age was beginning to show. I frowned after him and made a mental note to ask Mom about his health and whether he'd consider an early retirement.

Garrett cursed under his breath at the game, and, for a moment, I thought about joining my mother and Natalie in the kitchen, where they were hovering over Mom's tablet and shopping for the baby. In the end, filled to the brim with lasagna and not entirely certain I could stand if I wanted to, I settled deeper into the couch.

Tapping my phone's screen, I found the spot where I'd stopped reading. Before I could flip the page, the device buzzed in my hand, and my heart lurched into my throat at the name that scrolled across the top of the page.

Heath: Heading back to my mom's for the night. You're not home, are you?

I glanced sideways at my brother to make sure that he didn't see his best friend's name. Garrett kept glowering at the television, so I casually angled my body away from him to respond.

Me: I'm at my parent's. Lasagna night. 🤤

A second later, I sent another text.

Me: Everything good with your mom?

I didn't have to wait long for a response.

Heath: Damn, I'm jealous. Everything's fine. Just want to make sure it stays that way.

Pity clenched at my chest. I couldn't imagine being in Heath's position—taking responsibility and caring for the woman who should've taken care ofhim.It made me wonder how long things had been this way. How quickly he'd been forced to grow up.

Me: That's good. Do you know how long you'll be gone?

Me: You know... In case my pipes start leaking again.

Heath: There was never a leaky pipe, was there?

I barely bit back my giggle, a stupid smile curling on my lips.

"What's got you smiling like that?"

I almost jumped out of my skin, my phone falling, mercifully, face down on my lap. "Nothing."

"Uh-huh," Garrett chuckled, completely unconvinced. He shot me a knowing smirk. "You texting that math teacher that Mom kept asking you about?"

I leaned my head against the couch's backrest and rolled my eyes. "Ugh, she's obsessed. He's only a friend, andno.I'm not texting him."

"Riiight," he drawled but dropped the subject.

That was the good thing about Garrett. He wanted to know about my love life about as much as I wanted to tell him about it—which was not at all.