Christmas With A Mountain Man (Rich & Rugged: A Hawkins Brothers Romance Book 5) by Ellie Hall

Author:Ellie Hall [Hall, Ellie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction, Forever Love, Christian Stories, Inspirational Reads, Love Inspired, Bachelor, Single Woman, Hearts Desire, Clean & Wholesome, Life-Changes, Second Chance Reunion, Honesty & Trust, Home & Family, Lifetime Love, Romantic Schemes, Love-Family & Forever, Action & Adventure, Small Town & Rural Area, Beautiful & Feisty, Rich & Rugged: A Hawkins Brothers Romance
Publisher: Ellie Hall
Published: 2019-11-15T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Rocky

Gravy and biscuits. Rocky had done it. He’d gotten too close. But Frankie wasn’t wrong. He did have feelings. Big ones. Ones he didn’t know what to do with. It was like her laughter was still echoing off the mountains. It had worked its way into his ears. Into his heart. He didn’t know what to do.

He was on a hike with the dogs in the woods and strode along the trail. He’d gone deep into hiding for years. But she’d drawn him out. Her laughter, her voice, her insistence. Her beauty—inside and out.

A vista of Hawk Ridge and the valley spread in every direction—the tiny town below and a bird circling high above. The tops of the mountains were wreathed in snow, but below, the evergreens persisted beneath the tree line. They were still alive. And so was he. Thanks to Frankie. She’d brought him back to life. Reminded him that he wasn’t terrible. She saw the goodness in him. She had a way of making him feel comfortable in her presence. For once, he felt like talking.

And listening. He felt called just then. Called by the Lord to drop to his knees, say a prayer of repentance, and see that he was worth being saved. He hadn’t believed that for too long. So he dropped into the snow and closed his eyes.

The dogs paused. Waited.

A sense of calm, true peace, washed over him. Not the self-imposed kind from retreating to the mountain for all those years, but the kind that only came from faith. When he blinked his eyes open the vista of the mountain and six peaks filled his vision as though reminding him that they were there, they’d always been there even when he sometimes felt alone. Just like his Heavenly Father had always been there even if Rocky didn’t acknowledge it a the time.

Tears sprung to his eyes and then laughter spilled from his lips. Happy tears. Deep, belly laughter of relief. God was good.

When Rocky got back to the cabin, he tended to the dogs and then went into the bathroom. The reflection of a man he hardly recognized stood in the mirror. Shaggy hair. A big beard. Who had he become? He didn’t blame himself for holing up in the mountains with the dogs. At the time it had been necessary. But was it still?

He looked deep into his gray eyes—something he hadn’t been able to do for years. He wasn’t sure who he was becoming, but it would be the best version of himself, for Frankie.

He took out the scissors and started trimming. The click of claws on the wood floor pricked his ears. Kuma was watching. And whining.

“What is it, girl?”

She let out one sharp bark and then someone knocked on the door.

He glanced in the mirror and laughed. With his lower face covered in shaving cream, he looked like Santa Claus. He grabbed a hand towel and wiped it off.

When he opened the door, Frankie slid into his arms like she’d been doing so all along like she belonged there.

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