Married in the Mountains: Camp Hardwood Series Read online

  Married in the Mountains

  Camp Hardwood Series

  Alexa Riley

  Contents

  Married in the Mountains

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Epilogue

  Rescued by the Ranger

  Chapter 1

  Stalk the Author

  Copyright © 2019 by Author Alexa Riley LLC. All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email to [email protected]

  http://alexariley.com/

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Edited by Aquila Editing

  Cover Designer: Mayhem Cover Creations

  Married in the Mountains

  by Alexa Riley

  Honey and Ford Cyprus fell in love at Camp Hardwood when they were kids. Today they own the camp and run it together like they always dreamed of.

  The only problem is how possessive Ford is over his wife. He doesn’t like to share her and hearing people call her Honey has him constantly grumpy. Will he ever get enough of her and cool his need? We don’t think so!

  Warning: This summer camp series kicks off with the married couple who make it wonderful and then teases more of what’s to come! Don’t miss out on these quick hot reads guaranteed to make you sweat!

  For summer nights under the stars…

  Chapter One

  Honey

  I watch as the young girl pulls on her oversized shirt, trying to hide the fact that she has a small baby bump. She looks young, with freckles across her nose and cheeks, but I saw on her job application she’s about the same age as my son.

  “Can I ask you something personal?” Her bright green eyes go wide for a moment. “Not about the baby, Piper.” Her face turns a few shades pinker when she realizes that I know. I’m guessing she thought it might hurt her chances at getting the job. “There’s no need to hide that from me. I was about your age when Ford knocked me up.” I end it with a small laugh, trying to put her at ease. I want her to relax and feel welcome because stress can be hard on a pregnant woman.

  “You can ask.” She finally smiles and this time it’s not forced like the others. She’s been extra nice, but this is a job interview and I can tell she’s trying to put her best foot forward.

  “I know everyone in town. That’s just how it is around here.” She nods and her long dark ponytail bounces with the action. The only people I don’t know are the ones passing through. “You’re not from around here so I’m wondering where you’re staying.” I knew that the moment I laid eyes on the girl I was hiring her. She’s lost and it pulled at everything inside of me to help her. My husband always says the strongest and weakest thing about me is my heart and that he’s been put on this earth to protect it. Young Piper here is tugging at all my strings and I know my husband is already digging into her background the best he can. It’s not just for my protection either.

  We always do a full rundown on new hires since they work with kids. I know hers will come back clean. She just needs a place to lay some roots and I’m going to help her with that. I can spot a girl in need and I would never turn my back on that.

  “I’m staying at the motel in town.” She shrugs while keeping her hands in her lap and fidgets with them. “Sometimes in my car.” That part is whispered and I hate that she’s feeling embarrassed as she drops her gaze to her hands.

  “Then it should be easy for you to move right into one of the cabins.”

  Her head jerks up in surprise. “You’re hiring me?” Hope lights up in her eyes. “Even knowing about—” Her hand goes to her stomach.

  “Yeah, sweetheart, I’m hiring you.” I stand up from my desk and she does the same, getting to her feet quickly. “Welcome to Camp Hardwood.”

  I pull her into a hug and she’s stiff for a moment before she relents and hugs me back hard. Piper holds on for a moment in a silent thank you and I give her all the time she needs.

  “Van.” I call out to my son as we pull back from the hug and he opens my office door.

  “Mom?” He looks at Piper and I swear each day he looks more and more like his father. We were only blessed with one child, although running a camp makes it feel like we have hundreds at times.

  “Will you show Piper to her cabin?” I toss him the keys and he snatches them in midair.

  “Sure thing.”

  I watch them go, feeling better now that I know the girl is safe. No one in her situation should be alone. I was all by myself until Ford came along. I met him at this very camp when I fell off the dock and into the lake and he swam out to save me. I’ve been his ever since. We came from two different worlds but that didn’t stop us. It also didn’t stop my now husband from punching Jimmy Mason right in the face and breaking his nose for pushing me off the dock that day. Back then I didn't know how to swim, but by the time camp was over that year Ford made sure I could swim like a fish. It’s always been his life mission to make sure I’m safe.

  I step out of my office, unsurprised to see Moose leaning up against the counter. I’m sure he’s who my husband called to run a deeper check on Piper. Ford might have more money than God, but Moose knows people that don't even exist to the rest of the world. I never pushed but I’m pretty sure he was some kind of government secret agent before he settled into an early retirement back here. The man is a giant, with dark hair and eyes. He has to duck to get into most of the buildings, but he doesn't seem to mind. Everyone calls him Moose but he looks more like a bear to me. I don’t know how he did anything super secret for anyone because the man is unmissable. If he’s in the room, you know it.

  “Not much to tell.” He pushes off the front counter answering my unspoken question.

  “Coffee.” I point to the pot sitting next to him and he shakes his head. I know he doesn’t drink it but it feels weird not offering it.

  “She’s got a little bit of a past like yours.” That makes my heart hurt more for her. I grew up in the system and bounced from one foster home to the next. The one thing that was always consistent for me was Camp Hardwood. It’s where I met my husband as a young girl. Even though we came from two different worlds, here we were the same.

  He had a family and a name for himself. His mom Betty sent him to Camp Hardwood because in her words, he was being a little prick and needed to be humbled. He claimed after he found me I took care of bringing him down a few pegs.

  He was my first everything and I was his up until they pulled me out of the system. I still went to camp every year because it became a part of Ford and me, and then about ten years ago Ford went and bought it. He heard it was going to be closed and he called it our retirement plan. But we had no idea how much work went into running a camp. Sure, we could hire people to handle some of the things we do around here, but we are hands-on and we do this together. We work side by side every day and my heart always hopes we are helping others find their soulmates like we did.<
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  “She’s drifting, but from what I found it’s in her blood to do it. I tracked her parents to a traveling circus. Sometimes she would travel with them, but when it was time for school or they grew tired of her she’d end up back in the system. It’s all a clusterfuck.” Moose shakes his head in disgust.

  Who does that to their child? I think it might have been more painful to have known my parents and to actually see them come and go from my life. I can’t imagine what it was like for that poor girl each time they left. She probably doesn’t know what love is. Everyone should know that, and now she has a baby on the way.

  “She seems sweet.” I let out a sigh. It says a lot about someone who can go through those things and still have an innocence to them. Moose nods again in agreement. He’s not a man of many words. “Have you seen my husband?”

  He points out back and I know without seeing him he’s drinking his coffee sitting on the porch. He hung a swing on it just for us and he always sits there when he’s waiting for me to come out of my office. I’m sure he and Moose already had a talk about the new girl. I told Ford I was going to hire her since I had a feeling. I know it’s silly but when I get a feeling it’s always right.

  I tell Moose goodbye before I walk on the porch and find Ford. He opens his arms for me to come and sit next to him and I go.

  “Hey, Mrs. Honey,” one of the new kids yells from across the way.

  Ford tenses and I roll my eyes, knowing what’s coming. Some things never change.

  “Mrs. Cyprus!” he yells back at the boy, who takes off, muttering a half-assed apology behind him.

  I don’t know if they do it to poke at my husband or because they truly forget. My name is Honey after all, but my caveman of a husband doesn’t like hearing anyone else call me that. I’m only his Honey, and he makes sure they know it.

  Chapter Two

  Ford

  Honey and I spend our normal few moments of quiet on the porch before I have to go meet with Moose. He’s the ranger at Camp Hardwood and he wants to talk about the outdoor activities we’ve got set up.

  This year we’ve hired a couple of new guys to run a zipline course through the trees and a cable bridge over the river. It’s nothing too high or too dangerous, but Moose likes to be extra thorough. I can’t say I don’t agree with his methods, but I trust him to do it on his own. He’s a man of few words, but he wants me to see it with my own eyes before we give it the green light for our campers.

  When we get to the edge of the woods we meet up with the adventure crew. They’re the best at what they do, which is why we put them in charge. Moose asks a few questions about the perimeter and security so campers can’t just wander off. After that we test the equipment ourselves and are satisfied to go ahead.

  “You think Piper is a good hire?” I ask Moose when we’re on the way back down to the lake.

  “Cyprus says she is.” He shrugs, thinking that’s the only confirmation he needs.

  I appreciate that he never calls her by her first name. “Yeah,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. “I just can’t think of what we’re going to do when she has the baby.”

  “Didn’t you have Van as a baby up here?” He looks over at me and raises an eyebrow.

  “You’re not wrong.”

  For some reason it felt like we were much older than her when we had Van, but we weren’t. Honey was young when I met her, it feels like so much time has passed since we’ve been together so long. She came to Camp Hardwood on a scholarship through her foster home, and sometimes I wonder what would have happened if she didn’t have that. I like to think that we would have found each other another way because she’s my soulmate. But then I shake it off because I can’t imagine a scenario where I didn’t find her.

  Moose leaves me at the mess hall as he goes to the outbuilding. He’s got most of his gear stored out there and he’s got a private cabin deeper in the woods behind it. He likes his privacy for the most part and I can’t say I blame him. He doesn’t talk about what he used to do for the government, but when he came in to interview for the job he said he wanted to be in the mountains and still help people.

  I go to the mess hall and check in with the kitchen staff. Most of my responsibilities each day are checking in and making sure everyone has what they need and report problems to the people we pay to fix them. The head chef tells me about a new “bug juice” she’s got for this year’s campers, and supplies for the weekly bonfire cookouts. Every Saturday on the last night of camp we have a big fire and grill out while the kids make smores. It’s a tradition Honey and I had, and we’ve kept it going. One last blowout before we have to say goodbye. It was always the worst part because we had to say goodbye, but the best part because we were able to sneak into the boathouses and mess around. I closed off boathouse number seven when we took over the camp. It felt wrong to let anyone else go in there when it was such a special place for us. Now it’s our secret lounge on the edge of camp we like to sneak away to when we’re feeling frisky.

  After I meet with the kitchen staff, I move on to the maintenance crew, groundskeeping, scheduling managers, and planning staff. We’re in full swing for the summer already and we’ve got a crew running this place.

  Honey and I are so lucky we’ve got plenty of people to make this run if we’re not here, but we love this place so much we couldn’t stand not being involved.

  After all my check-ins are done, I walk to the lake. Lifeguards are doing swim test today and I know Honey likes to be there for the beginners. I think it’s because she almost drowned, so now she feels like she has to put as many eyes on the water as possible while we assess the swimmers.

  “Hey, Mr. Cyprus,” Zara calls as she passes by me.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be at archery with the Blue Jays today?” I check my watch and see she’s running late.

  We sort each week of campers into bird names. It makes it easier to know who is supposed to be where and on what activity. Zara is a scholarship kid like Honey was and those are always the ones we look out for extra close. They often don’t have all the necessary equipment to bring with them, but we keep on hand what they need. They can also get into trouble or separate from groups because they’re used to relying on themselves for everything. It’s a dangerous game when being in the woods or doing something that could get them injured. She just started yesterday, so I need to follow up with her counselor that she’s being looked after.

  “I’m on my way. I wore flip-flops by mistake and I had to run back.” She points to her feet and I see she’s got her sneakers on.

  “What’s the first rule of camp?” I raise an eyebrow and she lets out a sigh.

  “Always have a buddy.” Her blue eyes look chagrined and then she nods. “I won’t forget next time.”

  “All right,” I say, knowing she probably snuck off from her counselor to go back alone instead of taking someone with her, once again thinking she can do it on her own. “Hustle up and remember to stay on the trail flagged white. It will take you all the way up to the archery field.”

  “Got it,” she says and takes off in a run with her long blond hair whipping behind her.

  I’m making a mental note to speak with her head counselor just when I reach the edge of the lake. I look up for just a second and then everything inside me goes rigid. Honey is on the long dock in the distance walking back and forth. Her dirty-blond hair is piled high on her head and she’s got on sunglasses. I can see from the look on her face she’s staring hard at the water as she and a crew of lifeguards do the swim test. But that’s not what has me on edge. It’s seeing every inch of her olive skin tanned by the sun and on display. She’s wearing a bikini I’ve never seen before and I don’t like it. Her ample breasts swell against the thin material and the triangle of the bottoms hardly covers her juicy ass. She looks like she could be on the cover of Sports Illustrated and all I want to do is throw a blanket over her body and keep people from looking at her.

  “Honey!” I bark across the
water and she looks up at me.

  Slowly she raises her sunglasses so I can see her eyes and then she has the audacity to wink at me. She turns around and struts away and I see red. She’s doing this just to have a go at me and the worst thing I could do right now is give her a reaction.

  But I’m not a smart man when it comes to her and before I can think straight, I’m pulling my shirt off and making my way toward her.

  Chapter Three

  Honey

  I let out a small scream as if surprised my husband is grabbing me from behind. I could hear him coming with his heavy footsteps on the wood dock. He’s a big man and the boards groan under his stomps.

  It catches me off guard when he jumps with me in his arms. Seconds later we hit the water together with a splash and before I can recover he’s all over me.

  “Ford.” I try to sound forceful, but it’s hard when he’s being a sexy mix of possessive and teasing.

  I had it coming. I knew the swimsuit went a little far, but damn I love getting my man all worked up. People ask how we don't go crazy being out in the middle of nowhere. How could I when I have a husband like him to play with? It’s easy to work him up and down and no one knows how to work my husband like I do. But he still has the ability to surprise me. I didn’t think he was going to take me into the lake.

  “You looked like you needed to cool off.” He pulls me close and I wrap my legs around him. We can’t touch bottom where we are right now at the end of the dock.