RAISED: The Mountain Man’s Babies

by Love, Frankie

  My mind goes back to Josie’s kitchen when Beau warned me about a man who just moved to the mountain. Red.

  “It means she’s not going anywhere. And neither are you.”

  They grab my arm and pull me toward a back room. Inside Faith sits on a bed— and when she sees me her eyes go wide.

  “I was trying to find someplace safe and ended up here,” she sobs. “I didn’t mean… I should never —” Tears fall down her face.

  “Shut up,” the man hollers, but Faith screams and stands, trying to rush away from him.

  “Let me go!”

  Instead of letting her off the hook, he smacks the gun across her cheek, sending her back to the bed.

  My heart pounds as I try to figure out what these men want with Faith. If they wanted to have their way with her, wouldn’t they already have done so?

  But then it is obvious. They are too drunk to actually go through with it. The gunman, though, seems to register that I’m a threat. He backs me against a wall and pushes at my clothing. I shove back, desperate to get away—refusing to let him take control of me or Faith.

  “What the fuck, Dad?” a guy my age asks, barreling through the bedroom door.

  “Justin? Didn’t think you were coming back home tonight.”

  Justin moves to the bed. “What the hell did you do to Faith?”

  But before I can wait to hear the answer, the armed man hits me with the gun, sending me to the floor. I fall, clutching my stomach, praying that the baby, and Faith, make it out alive.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Tanner

  When I get back to the house, Virginia’s car isn’t in the driveway.

  “Where would she go?” Levi asks worriedly. He has right to be. The snow was falling pretty heavy earlier, but now it’s begun to clear.

  The moment I put the car in park, my phone registers a signal and I get a few incoming calls and a voicemail.

  I press play as the kids pile out of the car, and instantly my blood goes cold. “Levi,” I shout. “Faith is in trouble. Virginia went after her. I’m going up the mountain to get them both.”

  “Be careful,” he says. “Dad, the snow is pretty heavy.”

  “Of course. I’m in the SUV and can get around on the mountain. I’m more worried about the girls.”

  The kids tell me they love me and remind me to drive safely and I go through my contacts, calling Beau, the husband of Josie, one of Virginia’s closest friends.

  I tell him that my daughter is on Dead Man’s Ridge, at some cabin, and immediately Beau tells me to meet him at the gas station. “We’ll drive up together,” he says. “I’ll call Jax too. There’s trouble up there and you shouldn’t go alone.

  I appreciate his level-headed approach and tell Levi I’ll call him the moment I have word.

  Soon enough, I’m driving with Beau and Jax, headed up the other side of the mountain.

  “Who would she be with?” Beau asks, concerned.

  I play the message for him and tell him Faith has been angry since we came up here, that she met some guy named Justin. “And I think girls named Lisa and Jill?”

  “I think Jonah has mentioned Justin before,” Jax says. “Not a good kid, starting trouble, and I think his Dad has a cabin out there, too.”

  “She said she was at Lisa’s cabin.”

  Jax is already on the phone, asking Harper for information on this Lisa girl and Justin.

  “Alright, yeah, that would make sense. Well, shit, okay. We’re on our way.”

  “What did she say?” Beau asks as I drive through the winter wonderland, feeling anything but festive.

  “She said Lisa is a barista at Fresh Java in Eagle Crest, and apparently, she has been throwing parties up at her parent’s cabin. The Justin guy is Red’s son.”

  “Fuck.” Beau runs a hand over his beard. “Red was starting shit last month, just moved up here and hasn’t given anyone a real reason to trust him.”

  Jax nods. “Only comes to town to buy booze. Is always rude to Rosie at the diner. Harper says she ran into him at the grocery store and he looked like he wanted to have his way with her. Really freaked her out.”

  My pulse quickens. Faith and Virginia are up on this mountain ridge, with God knows who.

  My girls, I need them with me. If anything happens to either of them I’ll never forgive myself.

  I should have told Virginia exactly how I felt about her, and not let Faith’s grief get in the way of our family’s future. Even if it is hard to accept.

  The idea of not living with Virginia is an impossible pill to swallow.

  “We’re gonna get there,” Jax says. “I promise.”

  I nod at my new-found friends, hoping like hell Virginia was right when she said this place was called Miracle Mountain.

  Because right now, I’m hoping to find mine.

  * * *

  “There’s her car,” I say when Virginia’s car is finally in view. The drive took longer than I wanted with the snow, but here we are. I kill the ignition and jump out of the truck, aching to have my girls in my arms.

  “Be careful,” Jaxon warns.

  I nod, knowing he’s right. But there is no part of my mind right now that cares about being cautious. I just want my family.

  Family.

  Because that is how I feel about Virginia.

  Maybe she wants to call this quits— but I don’t see how.

  I love her. I need her. And right now, I am going to save her.

  Running through the deep snow, I push open the cabin door — ready to fight, my fists raised.

  “Where are they?” I ask, shouting. “Where are my girls?”

  Three guys are passed out on the couch and I hear shouting from the back room.

  When I get there, I see a young man with a gun raised, pointed at an older guy. On the bed, Faith lies unconscious. My heart stops as I see my daughter with her eyes closed. I can’t lose another person.

  Looking around, I see Virginia, clutching her waist. When she sees me, she starts to cry harder, shock written on her face. She is crouched on the floor, terrified.

  I step toward the kid with the gun. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Nothing, I swear it, I was trying to get him off her,” he cries and at that moment I believe him. His hands shake so badly that he drops the gun.

  As it slams against the hardwood floor, it goes off.

  Virginia screams as the sound of a gunshot echoes through the cabin.

  She looks down, hysterical.

  The woman I love has been shot.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Virginia

  My skin burns, and blood saturates my coat. I’ve been shot. Closing my eyes, I fall back into the wall, unable to hold myself up.

  I feel myself being lifted from the floor, hear men shouting, feel arms wrapping around me, tight. Familiar.

  I sink against Tanner’s heat, my eyes filling with tears. Then my eyelids close, and the world goes dark.

  * * *

  When I wake, I’m at my house, in my room. Harper is at my side, wrapping my arm in thick gauze. “Oh, god,” I say, trying to register everything that has happened. “Where is Faith?” I ask, terrified.

  She moves toward me. “I’m right here, Gin, I’m okay.”

  I exhale, tears streaming down my cheek. “Was I shot? Was it a dream?”

  “It wasn’t a dream, but you’ve been asleep for a few hours,” Josie says gently. “Red’s son Justin dropped his gun and it went off. The bullet grazed your arm.”

  “Oh, thank god,” I whisper, thinking of one thing and one thing alone. My baby. “Where’s Tanner?” I ask, needing him more than anything else. Anyone else.

  “I’m right here, Gin,” he says, rushing into the room. “You’re awake.”

  I nod. “You found us,” I say, my breath ragged.

  “I did. Jax and Beau helped. They stayed up there with Red and his boys until the cops came.”

  My shoulders shake. “This is all s
o awful. I’m just grateful…”

  “Grateful that everyone made it out in one piece.”

  Beside us, Faith starts sobbing. “It’s all my fault,” she cries. “I went with Justin, I wasn’t thinking. I was being so stupid, so idiotic — and it almost killed us.”

  I look at Faith, she is a young woman, only a few years younger than me, and I know she is struggling with her role in this. “Mistakes happen, Faith. But miracles happen too.”

  “I’m so sorry I was so thoughtless before.” She gently wraps her arms around me. “I’m so thankful for you, for listening to me, for knowing what to do.”

  I wipe my eyes, looking at her father. “It is your dad who you need to hug. You scared that poor old man half to death.” I don’t have to ask, to know that it’s true. I’m sure Tanner was terrified driving to the cabin, walking in on his unconscious daughter, and seeing an armed man. It must have been his worst nightmare come to life.

  “I love you, Daddy,” she says wrapping her arms around him, as her siblings enter my bedroom. “You’ve been our rock this year, and I’m sorry I didn’t trust you. If you want to be with Virginia, I won’t stop you. I want you to be happy the same way you want me to be happy.”

  Tanner kisses his daughter’s forehead, holding her tightly. “I’m just glad everyone is in one piece. The thought of losing either of you… I don’t want to imagine a day without either of you in my life.” Tears fill his eyes, and Levi claps his father on the back. The love in the room is overwhelming, and we all feel it. I know we do.

  Just then my brother Bear enters the room with Grace, and I shake my head, surprised to see them. “We had to come to make sure you were alright, sis,” Bear says, leaning down and kissing my cheek. “You’ve had quite a day.”

  “Quite a month, it sounds like,” Grace says with a sweet smile. She looks around the room as if seeing something I don’t. “We got here a while ago, while you were still sleeping. Tanner filled us in on how the last month has been.”

  “It’s been the best month ever,” Clover says with a grin. “Virginia made us cookies and cinnamon rolls and hot cocoa. And we can go sledding here and there’s a bunk bed.” She sighs in that contented way only an eight-year-old can manage. “It’s magic.”

  Tanner ruffles his daughter’s hair. “It has been magic, hasn’t it?” Then he steps toward the bed, kneeling before me and taking my hand. “Listen, I don’t know if you were planning on ending things—”

  I cut him off. “What? Ending things? I never wanted—”

  “But you were on the phone, with Laila…”

  I shake my head. “No, that isn’t what we were talking about.”

  Tanner’s eyes narrow. “You sure?”

  “I’m sure.” I’m about to tell him what I was saying on the phone—that I’m pregnant with his child— but before I can, he exhales, shaking his head, and smiling at everyone in the room. Then it’s like together, they all take a big deep breath of relief.

  “Well, good. That helps things. Because the truth is, I love you, Virginia. It’s crazy and unexpected but it’s real. And it is true. The day we met you told me this mountain was built on miracles, and it’s the truth. You are my Christmas miracle, and I found you on the most beautiful mountain in the world.”

  Now with half the room crying, Josie hands out tissues to Faith and Grace, Lily and Willa comfort one another. Clover climbs into my bed and tells me I look like a Christmas angel, the way my hair is spread around my shoulders.

  “Ask her, Papa,” Clover says. And Cash grins up at his father. The whole room seems in on something and I must have missed something while I was asleep.

  “Ask me what?”

  Tanner takes my hand in his. His eyes on mine and my heart is so full I feel faint.

  “Marry me, Virginia. Share your life with me and be my wife.” He holds out a diamond ring, offering it to me.

  I press my hand to my mouth, biting my lip. Tears fall down my cheeks and I shake my head. He can’t propose before he knows what kind of commitment he is making.

  “What is it?” Bear asks, sensing my apprehension. My big brother has been with me through thick and thin, he knows when I’m off.

  “I just… I have to tell you something first.”

  “What is it?” Tanner asks.

  Before I can answer, Laila bursts into the room. “Did I miss it?”

  “Everyone knew?” I ask looking around, as Colton comes in behind his pregnant wife. “Laila, how did you get here?”

  “Private jet, perks of marrying a movie star,” she says, grinning.

  “He just proposed,” Josie says. “But Virginia hasn’t answered.”

  Laila’s eyes go wide, and her eyes search mine. “Are you holding up okay?” she asks, moving Tanner down the bed and resting her hand on my bandage. “You’ve had a crazy day.”

  “We were just saying that,” Beau says from the back of the room. I try to count, there are nearly twenty of us in here. I close my eyes — my life has never felt so full in such a beautiful way.

  “You guys should all be at your homes, it’s Christmas Eve.”

  Just then Harper pops into the doorway. She is wearing an apron and looks flawless as usual. “Okay, you need to wrap this up, the turkey is done, and the kids out here are getting restless.”

  I laugh. “Harper? What in the world? Have you been here the whole time?”

  Jax wraps his arms around his wife. “We heard there was a reason to celebrate. Let’s see the ring.”

  The room grimaces collectively, then they all look at me.

  “She hasn’t answered,” Clover says.

  I know I need to fill in the awkward silence. “The thing is… the truth is…” I exhale.

  Laila squeezes my hand, then stands and moves from the bed so Tanner can get closer.

  “Tanner, I have to say something, and I wasn’t planning on telling the whole mountain, but…”

  “But what? Virginia, we can get through anything together. That is what family does. Thick and thin, we will be one another’s rock.”

  “I’m pregnant, Tanner, I just found out, it’s so early and I haven’t seen a doctor, but…” Tears stream down my cheeks. “We’re pregnant.”

  The room gasps and I understand why. The news is shocking, to say the least.

  “Oh, Gin,” Tanner says, cupping my cheek in his hand. “You are going to be such a wonderful mother.”

  His words are the ones I needed to hear. I’ve been so scared of my ability to be a mother, never having had one — a real one— of my own. And Savvy’s shoes are big ones to fill. I don’t want Tanner to forever compare me to his first love.

  “You’re happy?”

  “We’re going to raise this child together, like a family.”

  “I’m going to be a big sister?” Clover exclaims. “It really is a Christmas miracle!”

  The room bursts in laughter and excitement and I take Tanner’s hands in mine. “Being your wife would be the greatest joy of my life. With you, I’m happy and safe and known.”

  He kisses me then, and the kids are here for all of it. I know their little hearts must be filled with so many conflicting emotions, but when Tanner slides the delicate diamond ring on my finger, they circle around us, all of them, Faith, Levi, Willa, Faith, Cash, and Clover. They give hugs and welcome me to the family.

  My arm still aches from the bullet wound, but already my heart is healing in ways I never thought possible.

  “I love you, Tanner Bay,” I say, as he presses his hand to my belly.

  “I love you more, Virginia Sutton.”

  I catch my brother, Bear’s eye, and he gives me the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on that stoic man’s face. He knows what this means for me. He found his second chance on this mountain, same as me.

  Really, the same as everyone here.

  So many of us came here lost and alone and found our forever.

  Epilogue

  Tanner

  Christmas Morning
One Year Later …

  The house begins to fill with whispered laughter as tiny feet pad down the stairs. I roll over, Virginia is just beginning to wake, and she groans slightly. “We need to make a rule — no getting up on Christmas when it’s still dark.”

  “Agreed,” I say, running my hand over my wife’s bare arm. “Besides, your first present can’t be given unless we’re alone.”

  She looks over at the crib in the corner of the room. Ava, named as a sweet remembrance to my first wife, Savannah, is three months old and is sound asleep. “Is the door locked?”

  I nod.

  “Then what are you waiting for?” she asks playfully. “Give me my gift.”

  I run my hand over her body, under the flannel sheets, slipping beneath her panties. “Have you been a good girl this year?” I tease.

  “So good,” she moans softly. “Definitely made the nice list.”

  “Too bad,” I say, unbuttoning her sleep shirt, my mouth on her round, full tit. “Because the naughty list is much more fun.”

  She spreads her legs as I move lower on the bed pressing my mouth to her pussy. “You don’t suppose Santa could make an exception, just this once, do you?”

  “Anything for the mother of my daughter,” I tell her, breathing in her sweet scent of cinnamon and vanilla.

  “Oh, so you’re Santa, the man I should be talking to?”

  I chuckle, loving my wife so damn much. This year has been rocky in many ways — adjusting to a new life here as a family. Virginia’s pregnancy. Then this spring, we worked through all the pain and heartache as Faith truly learned to spread her wings. Ava’s early weeks of colic. Levi learning the art of dating. Willa, Lily, Cash, and Clover all stumbling through starting public school for the first time in their lives.

  But we made it.

  We more than made it, we thrived through each and every growing pain as a family.