Page 55 of The CEO and the Mountain Man

He gave a wet snort. “Yep.” He gestured to his son, who was sitting on a log and retying his combat boots. “I’m gonna…”

“Of course.”

I watched as Clark made his way over to River and sat next to him. Clark mentioned that he had been working hard on just letting his son talk. So, I gave Colt a heads up, and he and everyone else understood that we needed to give the father and son some space.

I sidled up next to Miguel. “It’s really hard to see someone you care for go through grief like this.”

“I hate not being able to do anything about it.”

I heard the break in his voice. That surprised me. “You seem to really like him.”

“More than I should.”

“Same, with his dad.”

Miguel and I gave each other sadboi looks, then sort of laughed at our own pathetic messes. We watched as Clark inched closer to his son, finally reaching for his hand. River didn’t pull away, which I hoped was a good sign. It looked as if he said a few words, then rested his head on his dad’s shoulder. Clark snaked his arm around his son, and a few minutes later, River was laughing.

I’m guessing Clark was reminding him of his propensity to fall into the water. The fact that he was such a good dad shouldn’t have been as sexy as it was, but it really was.

By the time we got back and ate a quick dinner in the main hall, everyone was ready for bed. River sent me a conspiratorial smirk before grabbing Miguel’s hand and walking off toward the bunkhouse.

Clark walked right up to me. “Hey, you.”

“So, I take it River knows about us?”

“He guessed.” Clark’s eyes found his son again, and a wistful expression took over. “He looks so comfortable with himself. Makes me proud.”

“That he’s leaving you alone for the night makes me grateful.”

Clark elbowed me in the ribs, smiling.

“I have to go take care of a few things at the bunkhouse. See you in about an hour?”

He nodded. “I’ll be ready for you.”

Chapter 16

Beau

Iwent to Clark’s place, a little nervous about what I had in my overnight bag. We hadn’t really discussed it, but I was hoping he would enjoy what I had brought for him.

He opened the door in those sharply pressed khaki shorts and a stretched-out T-shirt, a soft smile on his face.

His brows met in the middle. “Why do you look so nervous?”

I held up my overnight bag. “I’ll tell you in a minute.”

A smile lifted his lips as he let me in. “Did you bring me a present?”

“In a way…” I said, trying to sound mysterious.

Only then did I realize that the lights were flickering. “Are those candles?” I was looking through the slightly ajar door to his bedroom.

He nodded, seemingly proud of himself.

“You’re not the only one with plans for tonight,” he said, rubbing his hands together.

I narrowed my eyes, even though I couldn’t help the goofy smile on my face. “What areyourplans?”