Blooming for the Mountain Man (Spring in the Mountains #3)

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A wildflower festival scavenger hunt with a fifty thousand dollar grand prize. She has to win the money, but someone else might win her heart first.

I came to Wildwood Valley for one reason: prize money.

My mother’s cancer treatments are finished. The hospital bills aren’t.
Fifty thousand dollars. Interest stacking. Collection notices. Quiet kitchen-table tears.

When I learned the Wildflower Festival scavenger hunt offered a cash payout large enough to erase our debt, I made a survival plan.

Trail maps. Route strategy. Festival checklist.
Zero distractions.

Then came Evan.

Grumpy mountain outfitter. Trail expert. Small town hero.
Owner of the local adventure company. Keeper of secret paths.
The man whose booth seat I accidentally stole.

He tells me my route washed out weeks ago.
He offers a better one.
He offers himself as my guide.

I can’t afford emotional risks.
No small town romance. No rugged mountain man temptation.
No falling for the local golden retriever energy wrapped in flannel and sun-warmed skin.

But Evan shows me hidden waterfalls.
Secret meadows.
Rare wildflower blooms no one else knows how to find.

He looks at me like I’m something worth keeping.

Somewhere between the first trail marker and the last sunset, my prize money plan becomes something else.

Because the real question isn’t whether I can win the scavenger hunt.

It’s whether I’m brave enough to choose:

The cash prize…
or the mountain man who makes Wildwood Valley feel like home.

Tropes you'll love:

🌸 Small Town Mountain Romance
🧭 Festival Scavenger Hunt Competition
🏔️ Grumpy (but Soft) Mountain Outfitter
💰 Age gap romance
💔 Medical Debt Redemption Motivation
🥞 Pancake House Meet-Cute
📍 Forced Proximity on the Trails
🌄 V-Card Heroine
🌼 Wildflower Festival Setting

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