Carver Ridge Bachelors: Timber

By Rita Sawyer

Tim met the woman of his dreams, but he let her get away. For six months he searched for her, but though he had some basic information he wasn’t able to find her. Then when he’d almost given up she walked back into his life. He’s determined to get her to give them a second chance.

Trish had believed Tim the first time he’d said he wanted a relationship with her. Then he’d gone home and hadn’t contacted her. So she tried to push him out of her head and heart. Six months later she’s still working on it. When a chance at a mountain vacation lands in her lap she takes it hoping to spend the two weeks purging out of her system for good. The last she expected to find was Timber standing in the lobby of the lodge.

Can Trish trust him this time when he says he wants her? Will she risk getting her heart broken even worse than it already was?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rita Sawyer
• Release date: Aug 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005658281

Rita Sawyer

Rita Sawyer writes contemporary romances. Her stories vary in heat level from sweet to sizzling, but hopefully they all have a hint of humor. She grew up in Massachusetts and lives there now with her husband and kids. More about Rita and her books can be found at www.RitaSawyer.com. Readers can contact her at [e-mail].

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Carver Ridge Bachelors:

Timber

By

RITA SAWYER

Carver Ridge Bachelors: Timber

Copyright © Rita Sawyer, 2020

Edited by Rebecca Sawyer

Cover Design by Rebecca Sawyer 2020

Image by www.123rf.com/profile_frugo

Electronic Publication Date: August 2020

Print Publication Date: July 2020

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without permission, except for use in reviews. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the internet or via any other measures without permission is illegal and punishable by law.

Please purchase only authorized editions and do not participate in electronic piracy. Your support in the author’s rights is appreciated.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Author’s Note

A few of the Mitchell cousins made appearances in some of the Brazen Sister series books. They’ve been running around my since 2009 and I decided it was time for them to get their stories told. I hope readers enjoy them as much as I do.

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Epilogue

Prologue

Tim wanted to go home and find something on TV to veg out to for a few hours before going to bed. That wasn’t going to happen. His cousins were determined to keep him from wallowing. They gave him two days a week to himself. The other five days of the week one or more of them were dragging him out somewhere or invading his house.

He guessed that they’d decided they had given him enough time to get over his heartbreak. Tonight’s babysitting duty had fallen on his cousin Blake. Of all ten of his cousins, only Blake and Mick didn’t try to get him to find another woman to get his mind of the one who got away.

Though he could understand his cousins’ concern he wasn’t ready for that. The woman of his dreams had slipped through his fingers and her memory was still branded on his heart. So, for now, his cousins would have to be happy with him letting them have some control over his time to sulk.

Chapter One

I can’t believe you’re abandoning me for two weeks, Angie complained as she dropped down on the bed knocking over the bag Trish was packing. Who am I going to bitch to?

Trish stood the bag back up. You could try not complaining about your job for two weeks.

Angie busted out laughing. We both know that won’t ever happen while I have Captain Dickhead for a boss. The longest I’ve gone has been three days, and that’s because he was off at corporate meetings for a week.

Angie’s boss was a total dickhead. Everybody who met him agreed on that. He didn’t care who you were, he gave everyone a taste of his rotten attitude. Trish often wondered how he’d gotten the job in the first place. How he managed to keep it with the way he treated people around him was an even bigger mystery. That didn’t matter to her as much as the way he acted when it came to Angie. The jerk went out of his way to find any little thing to give her shit about. Trish had her suspicions about his attitude towards Angie, but until her friend decided to fight back or quit she was keeping them to herself.

Trish tossed the thick socks she’d bought on an impulse that afternoon into the bag. It sucks that Kimmie doesn’t want to go, but after what happened I get it.

Lucky for you she didn’t have any trouble switching the reservation?

I know. After Bobbie gave her such a good deal she didn’t want to cancel outright. When Kim called her about changing the reservation to me she told her I was willing to pay the normal rate, but Bobbie refused. I’m getting a really great deal, so it worked out perfectly for me. I need this vacation so bad.

Trish spent six days a week as a personal assistant slash secretary for her father. On the seventh day she was considered as being on-call, but her father did his best not to bother her. Still, that meant she worked seven days a week. She was also his liaison with his teams. That included dealing with their expense reports, something that she hated doing. Her father liked to remind her that one day he’d retire and the firm would be hers. Trish didn’t see it happening any time soon. Still, in his eyes, she needed to know how to handle every little detail in case he wasn’t around to ask.

She didn’t have the heart to tell him that she didn’t want the company. Her cousin Liam was the one who should take over. He was much better suited for it. Since leaving the military he’d worked as her father’s right-hand man. The guys respected her but treated her more like a little sister. Liam commanded their respect in a different way and in her eyes he would be the man to lead them if her father ever did decide to retire. She just needed to find a way to get her father to see it. Trish sighed hoping this time away might help with that.

Hey. She threw a pair of socks at Angie who was stretched out across her bed with her eyes closed. You know you could come with me.

No thanks. Angie shook her head. Not all of us get a three week paid vacation every six months. I’m saving my hard-earned vacation time for relaxing on a beach somewhere. Who goes on vacation in the mountains in the winter?

A couple who plans on doing nothing but cozying up in front of the fire. Trish hated that she sounded a little covetous.

Too bad Kimmie found Jacob and his secretary cozied up on the couch in his office instead. Angie let out a little growl, I still think we should go kick his ass.

I offered to send Liam, but she said no. And it was better that she found out now than after they tied the knot. Trish tossed her sweater into the bag with more force than necessary. Men suck.

Maybe when you get back you won’t be such a man-hater. Angie teased. I’d suggest finding a hot guy and having a wild fling, but that’s what put you in this funk in the first place.

Trish growled not needing the reminder of her moodiness lately, or the reason for it. Between her father and the men that worked for him someone pointed it out daily. They’d all noticed the change in her attitude even though she’d tried to hide it at first. It was plain to see that she hadn’t done a very good job of it. A few of the younger guys had offered to find the jackass who had bruised, no matter what anyone thought she refused to admit it was broken, her heart and take care of him.

Since they all carried at least one weapon of some sort she had no doubt they could make him disappear. But her dad’s men were the good guys, so they’d probably just rough him up a bit to let him know he’d fucked up. Trish didn’t want or need them to handle it for her. He was gone and it was over. He couldn’t hurt her anymore. At least he wouldn’t be able to if she could forget all about him.

This trip would hopefully help her get him out of her head for good.

~* * *~

Timber was sitting in the freshly remodeled great room at the Brazen’s lodge. He took a sip of his coffee and listened to his cousin and friends talk about their upcoming bowling tournament. Okay, so they were mainly taking jabs at each other and talking shit.

He laughed along with them. When Blake said it didn’t matter how good any of them bowled because the Brazen women were going to wipe the floor with all of them everyone nodded in agreement.

You got that right, Bobbie, the youngest Brazen sister, called out from behind the registration desk.

Timber figured his cousin was right. Bobbie and her sisters weren’t fooling around. The Brazen sisters could be fun and sweet, but they were some of the most competitive women he knew. Bowling was their game, had been since they were all little kids.

The door opened and Victor started to his feet. He was waiting on his wife Jessie to get there so they could go home. When he sat back down Timber assumed it wasn’t her. After a few minutes his curiosity got the better of him and Timber turned to see who it was. The woman standing in the entryway had her back to him, but something about her held his attention. She tugged the stocking cap off her head and a mass of auburn hair tumbled down around her shoulders.

‘Trish’ was the first thought that hit him at seeing the silky locks. Timber closed his eyes against the flash of sorrow that hit him. He’d caught glimpses of women before that he’d thought and hoped were her, but none of them had been. It wouldn’t be her this time either. He opened his eyes, but instead of looking away he kept his gaze on the woman. She flicked her hair and his breath stalled in his chest when he saw the little heart tattoo behind her ear.

Trish, he said softly as if she would disappear if he said it too loud.

The guys all stopped talking when he slowly got to his feet. Blake reached over and rescued the coffee cup that was close to falling out of Timber’s hand. He watched the woman walk toward the desk where Bobbie had been sitting.

Bobbie had rounded the desk and the ladies wrapped each other in a hug. What the fuck was going on? He couldn’t tear his eyes off Trish. It had been six months since he saw her last. She still managed to knock something loose in his chest just looking at her.

This was crazy. Why the hell was she there? And why was she hugging Bobbie? Honestly, he didn’t care as long as she stayed long enough for them to talk. Tim didn’t know what the odds of her waltzing into his life twice were, but he knew if she left him this time the odds of his coming out of it whole were zilch.

She sat down in the chair in front of the desk. Timber didn’t move though he wanted to rush to her side. Instead, he stood there staring, no longer paying attention to anything but her. She had on jeans and a big puffy jacket that hid most of her from him.

Blake laid a hand on his shoulder and leaned in close to his ear. Timber breathe.

He inhaled and exhaled slowly. Timber nodded to tell him he was okay. He was focused on what was going on in front of him, but at the same time, he felt detached.

I’m so glad you decided to come, Bobbie said.

Me too, Trish said, Kimmie said she talked to you about the changes to the reservation.

Yup. You’re going to have such a great time. Bobbie took her seat in front of the computer. Let me pull up your reservation. I’ve already changed it from Kimberly Dove to Trish Morganton.

Fuck. That could be part of why he hadn’t been able to find her. He’d been looking for Trish Morgan. She’d lied about her name. It was a shock, but he didn’t care. Timber had to believe she had a good reason for it. Now that he knew she was staying maybe he could find out why.

I’ve got you down for two weeks, Bobbie said and Trish nodded.

Timber felt something shift inside him. Trish was there and she was going to be staying.

But I have a few other questions that Kimmie couldn’t answer. Bobbie paused what she was doing and looked at Trish. How is she doing?

She won’t let us kick his ass, but she threw all his shit out all over her lawn. Trish laughed and Bobbie joined her. She’s not happy with me because I had a couple of my dad’s guys sit on her porch and make sure Jacob got the message he wasn’t welcome back there, like ever.

If she hasn’t yet, she’ll forgive you soon.

She’s a softy when it comes to the people she loves, Trish said. Thankfully she can also hold a mean grudge. That scumbag Jacob is gone for good.

Timber took a few steps forward needing to be closer. He moved toward the counter but stopped far enough away to keep himself from reaching out and touching her. If he went that far he might do something even more stupid before he found out what the hell was going on.

He could hear the keys clicking as Bobbie typed something into the computer. The original reservation was for two.

Timber sucked in a breath. Shit. Was she there with another guy?

We can change that to one.

Okay. And Kimmie requested the cabin with the most privacy. It’s the one furthest from the main lodge. We do have a few others that are open and they’re also closer to the lodge. If you’d like I can switch you to one of those?

Timber heard the words flow out of his mouth before she could answer, even though he hadn’t planned on saying anything, yet.

She does. He wanted her as safe as could be while she was there.