The Mountain Man's Mail Order Employee
(2026)(A book in the Mountain Man Sanctuary Season Two series)
A novel by Avery Shaw
I don't know what possessed me to sign up for a rural matchmaking service.
Actually, I do. Mace dared me. Said I'd been alone so long I'd forgotten how to talk to a woman who wasn't paying me to lead her through the backcountry. So I filled out the profile for Mountain Match — some old-fashioned service that pairs "rugged rural men" with women looking to leave city life behind — figuring no one would actually pick the antisocial wilderness outfitter in middle-of-nowhere Nevada.
Noelle Sharpe picked me.
Her application said she wanted a fresh start somewhere remote. Somewhere she can get a job. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere no one would think to look for her.
That last part wasn't on the form. I read it between the lines.
She shows up in Whisper Vale with two suitcases, haunted eyes, and a smile she's working way too hard to keep steady. The matchmaking deal is simple — two weeks getting to know each other, no pressure, she stays in my guest cabin. If it doesn't work, she goes home.
Except I don't think she has a home to go back to.
Within three days, I know two things. One: Noelle Sharpe is brave, beautiful, and stubborn enough to argue with me about creek crossings while waist-deep in snowmelt. Two: whatever she's running from is a hell of a lot worse than she's letting on.
I signed up for a match. What I got is a woman I'd burn the world down to protect.
She came to my mountain looking for sanctuary. She's going to get that — and a man who's already decided she's never leaving.
The Mountain Man's Mail Order Employee is a steamy wilderness romance featuring a gruff mountain outfitter, the curvy woman who chose him from a matchmaking catalog, and a two-week work trial that turns into a forever claim. Guaranteed HEA with no cheating.
Actually, I do. Mace dared me. Said I'd been alone so long I'd forgotten how to talk to a woman who wasn't paying me to lead her through the backcountry. So I filled out the profile for Mountain Match — some old-fashioned service that pairs "rugged rural men" with women looking to leave city life behind — figuring no one would actually pick the antisocial wilderness outfitter in middle-of-nowhere Nevada.
Noelle Sharpe picked me.
Her application said she wanted a fresh start somewhere remote. Somewhere she can get a job. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere no one would think to look for her.
That last part wasn't on the form. I read it between the lines.
She shows up in Whisper Vale with two suitcases, haunted eyes, and a smile she's working way too hard to keep steady. The matchmaking deal is simple — two weeks getting to know each other, no pressure, she stays in my guest cabin. If it doesn't work, she goes home.
Except I don't think she has a home to go back to.
Within three days, I know two things. One: Noelle Sharpe is brave, beautiful, and stubborn enough to argue with me about creek crossings while waist-deep in snowmelt. Two: whatever she's running from is a hell of a lot worse than she's letting on.
I signed up for a match. What I got is a woman I'd burn the world down to protect.
She came to my mountain looking for sanctuary. She's going to get that — and a man who's already decided she's never leaving.
The Mountain Man's Mail Order Employee is a steamy wilderness romance featuring a gruff mountain outfitter, the curvy woman who chose him from a matchmaking catalog, and a two-week work trial that turns into a forever claim. Guaranteed HEA with no cheating.