Page 130 of Mountain Men Heroes
“Now that is the truth. Never piss off Mama Bear.”
She believed the older Savage.
Ivy kept quiet, sipping her warm milk around a big smile.
Damon’s father placed his warm hand on her shoulder and it encompassed the entire width of her smaller frame with a soft chuckle that lit the soft amber of his eyes. “Sorry, girlie.” He winked.
Dressed in black jeans and a blue and black flannel shirt, she got the fast impression the Savage men shared more than a facial expression. Their fashion choices were right up there with Paul Bunyan. The only thing they were missing were the suspenders and wasn’t that a shame. Well and the blue bull, but who knew what was hiding in these mountains really. But the suspenders, she took a second and imagined what the accessory would look like on Damon.
“Didn’t mean to startle you.” An easy grin played on his lips and she didn’t miss the mischievous spark in his eyes either.
She waved him off. “No worries. I didn’t realize you were in the back.”
“Mrs. Savage likes to kick me out every once in a while, so I come here and help out with the books from time to time.”
Ethan laughed. “You got into her pecan pies again, didn’t you, Pop?”
“Well, damn, boy, she didn’t say they were for dinner.” The Savage elder gave her a couple more pats on the back before greeting his son with a hug and then joined them at the bar.
“Speaking of siblings,” Ethan broke in. “You see Damon anywhere today?”
“This morning with a teenage boy in the back alley and then again about an hour ago. He got into the truck with the white-haired man from last night.”
Both of their brows pinched in confusion.
Okaaaay. “He’s this tall.” She reached above her head about a foot and a half. “White hair and whiter eyes. He has an oddly cold yet easy smile and spoke slow and with intent.”
“Reaper.” Again they reacted in unison.
“What the hell is he doing with him?” Ethan asked his dad.
She looked between them both. “I take it that’s not a common occurrence?”
“About as common as spotting Santa’s eight tiny reindeer.” Ethan quipped, turning on his stool. “Then again, Reaper did say things were changing. That he and his family would be shedding their reclusive ways and rejoining society more.”
Her brows pinched in question.
Ethan filled her in on a little town history. “They are a family not known for their community or people skills. Reaper’s old man has gotten his sons into a lot of trouble. Reaper, on the other hand, is about the only one of them that turned out half good. He’s the sheriff a town over and tries to keep his brothers in line. Not easy when the corrupt father instigates trouble. So far they’ve put Drake and his now wife in danger and shot me and wanted to do some nasty things to my Remy when we took a trip to our property outside of town.”
She nodded. “Zahara told me. He poisoned the surrounding water.”
The Savage elder nodded. “That’s right.”
“What was Damon doing in the back alley this morning? Does that have anything to do with Reaper?” Fighting in the back alley for fun kind of looked weird from one point of view, but when she considered it she wasn’t in Houston or some normal small town. This was Alaska and her sister warned they did things differently here.
Ethan reached over the bar and snagged the coffee and poured his old man a cup before helping himself to a fresh cup. “I was up in the backlands this morning after the guys took off for the ridges and avalanche country.”
“Yeah? It’s been quiet lately with how Reaper has fixed their family shit.” The Elder dipped his head her way. “Pardon, Ivy. Excuse my language.”
She waved him off. “I’m glad it all worked out.”
“I found today kind of piqued my interest. Damon would find it interesting too.”
“Find what interesting?” Damon strode through the front door with a soft ring of a bell the only sound.
Seconds before the door swung open Ivy’s face heated and her eyes lifted to the front door. As if on cue the wooden door with an oval-shaped stain glass depiction of a bear –the man loved his colored glass—swung open to reveal red plaid clinging to miles of muscles, low-slung jeans, and snow-crusted boots.
Golden eyes pinned her against the bar immediately. Fingers of anticipation stroked along her core, and she lit up like a Christmas tree the second she sensed the mere presence of the man in the same room as her. The man made her weak in the knees.