His Big Ride: Deepwood Mountain

By Lexi Hayes

He's an outrageously rugged motorcycle builder for the hottest celebrities. 

And he's my dad's best friend.

 

Me? I'm the shy bookworm that's come to Deepwood Mountain to start a new job at the library.

With Dad away on business I'm staying with Dash, of McCafferty Customs fame, in his mansion on the mountain.

And I can't help panting after this shredded, larger than life hottie with a really big…bike. A man straight out of one of my steamiest romance novels, who surely has no interest in a mousy librarian.

Besides, Dash is older and completely off limits. But I still dream of being his ride or die, my body wrapped around his big steel horse.

Help. Going down this road, I'm bound to crash and burn. 

 

Welcome to Deepwood Mountain, Montana, a small town where six best friends with big dreams went from blue-collar bad boys to big shot millionaires. But you know what they say about success… it's lonely at the top. All these men need is a woman to claim, protect, and treat like a queen. Are you ready for the mountain men of Deepwood?

 

His Big Ride is a short, steamy, instalove romance with an inexperienced but eager to learn heroine, a sinfully sweet as pecan pie hero and an honest to goodness happily ever after.

• Language: English
• Publisher: No Regerts Press, LLC
• Release date: Jun 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781957933016

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

WILLA

O H MY GOD, it’s so big.

Ash’s eyes go wide on the screen of my cell phone.

Willa, she says, warning me with the tone of her voice. What are you looking at?

I throw the rental car in park and gape up at the massive estate before me.

It's Dash’s enormous… house.

I turn the phone around to show her what I’m seeing.

She shakes her head. You think that's funny? Baiting your best friend.

I laugh and gaze out again at the home that looms like a magnificent citadel on the mountainside.

Dash McCafferty’s mansion is all aged wood, stone, and giant windows surrounded by tall pine and spruce, green and lush in the middle of spring. Though it's older and more rustic than my dad’s place on the other side of Deepwood Mountain, it has a certain wildness to it—a cacophony of different textures, shapes, and natural, earthy components. It consumes the entire landscape and yet blends seamlessly with it. Larger than life. Just like the man who owns it.

Lucky you that your dad’s place is being remodeled again, Ash says.

My dad is forever changing his mind. Meaning more renovations to the house he wants to make his permanent home here in town. Since he’s in Hong Kong on a consulting job, his best friend, Dash, offered me a place to stay so I can get settled into my new job at the library.

Growing up, I lived with my mom in L.A. and after college went to get my Masters of Library Science degree. Between college and visiting Dad while he was abroad, I rarely came to Deepwood Mountain, this small town in western Montana where he and Dash were raised. When I did make it out, Dash was either off filming his former reality show or customizing a motorcycle for a celebrity somewhere.

I’ve known Dash since I was a baby, but the last time I saw him, besides on TV, of course, was when I was sixteen.

So why is my belly filled with butterflies?

Where’d you go? Ash asks.

I startle, having nearly forgotten she’s there. Sorry. I turn the phone back and her dark eyes study me.

She presses her lips together with that all too knowing look of hers. You’re thinking about him again.

Am not. I mumble, slumping back in my seat.

You’re nervous.

I huff. Of course, I’m nervous. I’m going to be staying with a TV star and starting a new job. It’s a little overwhelming.

"Come on, babe. What have you got to worry about? Dash is a former reality TV star. You know I love my reality TV, but don’t let his pseudo-celebrity status intimidate you. He’s not a movie star or anything. Besides, you told me he’s completely down to earth. She clears her throat. And second, you’ve got this job in the bag. You’re an actual librarian. I can’t remember you ever wanting to be anything else. How many people can say they have their dream job?"

I guess. I sigh, glancing again out the window.

Let’s talk about the real reason you’re on edge.

I give her a skeptical look.

You think that crush you had on Dash might still be lurking around.

Ugh. Why did she have to know me so well? And have such a flawless memory? Years ago, I used to be obsessed with Dash. I was a teenager full of overactive hormones, and he was famous and charming… and smoking hot.

Okay, fine! I don’t want to make things weird or embarrass myself if...

Your panties get wet when you see him, she says with a wink.

Ash! I frantically lower the volume on the phone. She laughs. You’re a menace. I grumble, and get out of the car, looking around to make sure no one heard my scandalous BFF.

Just chill, will ya? Even if you're still smitten with this guy, he’ll probably just find it cute and move on. Don't make drama out of nothing.

I take a deep breath. She has a point. I can handle some awkward moments. It’s not like he’s going to throw me out. My dad would kill him. Maybe I won't even feel anything when I see him anyway—and all this fretting will be for nothing. I'm a grown woman now with different priorities. Books over men, to be exact.

You’re right, I can do this. I straighten my shoulders.

Ash smiles at me. That’s my girl. She glances at her watch. Shit. I gotta run or else I’ll be late for yoga.

I nod sadly, missing our regular yoga classes back in L.A.

Enjoy your cobra pose. I’ll catch you later. I wave at the phone. Miss you already.

Ash blows me a kiss. Me too, babe. Me, too.

The screen slides back to my wallpaper as she hangs up.

Standing up straighter, I admire the chunky cobblestone driveway and lanterns lining the edge of the drive.

I hear the familiar purr of a motorcycle and peer over to the rider backlit by the afternoon sun. I can’t tell who the big man in full gear and helmet is, but I’d recognize that bike anywhere. Blue Steel. A big metallic blue speed bike that Dash customized for himself. His pride and joy. I can’t believe he still has it after all these years.

The garage opens and he pulls in to a stop and turns the bike to face out toward the street. He quickly tears off his shiny slate helmet as he dismounts.

Hey, stranger, he calls, and his voice is deep and rough, like rushing water over river stones.

The world shifts as I gaze at him, and the air wrenches from my lungs in one big breath.

He's… ravishing—a word I never thought I’d use to describe a man, but at the moment it’s the only one that does him justice.

A muscle ticks in his perfectly square jaw as he ruffles his short black-as-sin hair, with gray scattered at the temples and threaded through the top. Like arctic lasers, his ice blue eyes pin me to the spot. Oh my, he could be Henry Cavill's long lost twin. Superman, for heaven’s sake! Yet more rugged, more sexy, and more… everything.

My knees wobble; I’m doomed.

Hey, I finally reply, my voice barely registering above a whisper. My heart is lodged somewhere between my chest and mouth, and it pounds like crazy.

He’s staring, and I self-consciously push my glasses up by the corner.

One sec, and I’ll help you with your luggage! He then takes off his riding jacket to reveal a pale blue Henley that clings to