by K. C. Crowne
Mountain Man’s Secret
Kc Crowne
Contents
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Also by K.C. Crowne
1. Cassie
2. Jack
3. Cassie
4. Jack
5. Cassie
6. Jack
7. Cassie
8. Jack
9. Cassie
10. Jack
11. Cassie
12. Jack
13. Cassie
14. Jack
15. Cassie
16. Jack
17. Cassie
18. Jack
19. Cassie
20. Jack
21. Cassie
22. Jack
23. Cassie
24. Jack
25. Cassie
Epilogue
Taboo Cowboy (Preview)
About the Author
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Also by K.C. Crowne
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Mountain Men of Liberty Series (this series)
Baby for the Mountain Man| Junior for the Mountain Man| Knocked Up by the Mountain Man| Baby For Daddy's Friend | Triplets for the Mountain Man | Taboo Mountain Daddy|
Rainbow Canyons Cowboy Series
Untamed Cowboy |Taboo Cowboy |Cowboy’s Baby
Big Bad Daddies Series
Big Bad Doctor | Big Bad Daddy| Big Bad Taboo Daddy | Big Bad Prince|Big Bad Mountain Man| Big Bad SEAL| Big Bad Boss| Big Bad Sugar Daddy| Big Bad Mountain Brothers
Bearded Brothers Mountain Man Series
Her Mountain Daddy| Beauty and the Beard| Bride and the Beard| Built and Bearded |
Firemen of Manhattan Series
Big Bad Fireman’s Baby| Big Bad Firefighter| Big Bad Fire Daddy|
Spenser Sisters Reverse Harem Series
Men on a Mission| Christmas with Four Firemen| Dirty Cowboys
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Cassie
“Shit. I hate small towns,” I muttered to myself as I saw the one person in the entire world I was trying to avoid.
Jack Wiley.
Of course he would be in the store at the same time, because why not? That was how small towns tended to work. Mom needed a few things from the store; it should have been a quick in and out. She was at home, taking care of my father, who had recently suffered a heart attack. I thought the little shopping trip would be simple.
Then I saw him. His chestnut hair was just long enough to graze his chin, the beginnings of a beard outlining a perfectly chiseled jaw. His large stature was hard to miss; he towered over pretty much everyone in town and had arms the size of tree trunks and an ass that made jean makers weep. He could make anything look good with a body like his. His arms had new tattoos, more than when I saw him last. I imagined he had even more covering his chest and back as well, and what I wouldn’t give to see them.
Except I didn’t want to see him. Not yet. Not like this.
Jack turned the corner just as I ducked behind an end cap of cereal stacked eight feet high. I should be safe here, I thought to myself as I swung around the side. I took a deep breath, but the relief didn’t last long because the cereal boxes started shaking.
“No, no, please,” I whispered, trying to grab one of them. It was like a game of Jenga, however, and when one box got knocked loose, they all tumbled down. All eight feet of cereal boxes fell to the floor with a crashing sound that drew the attention of everyone in the small grocery store.
Including Jack. “Cassie?”
Dammit.
“Hi Jack,” I said, waving awkwardly from the other side of the mostly empty display. The cereal boxes hid most of me still, which was a blessing for the moment.
“What are you doing back in town?” He averted his gaze for a second as if he had trouble looking at me. Considering how we’d left things, I wasn’t surprised.
“Uh, I guess you haven’t heard,” I replied. “My dad had a heart attack. He’s fine, he’s recovering at home already, but I came back to help my mom and sister take care of him for a bit.” I nibbled my lip. That wasn’t the whole reason. I came back because I needed some help too.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said, running a hand through his hair. His eyes were steely grey. Almost blue, but not quite. “No, I hadn’t heard. Listen, I’m sorry about—well, you know.”
“Yeah, it’s whatever,” I muttered, trying not to let the hurt show on my face. My eyes welled up with tears though I blinked to get rid of them. I instead focused on picking up the cereal boxes.
“Here, let me help you.” He reached down to start picking up cereal boxes in front of the display. As long as he stayed on that side of the display, this little meeting would be peachy.
“You left town abruptly,” he commented quietly. “I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.”
“Well, last I heard, you were going to prison for murder,” I said, more scathingly than intended. “Can you really blame me for running? Not like you talked it over with me, even though I was called in to try and help you.”
“There was no helping me.”
I glanced at him, then back down at the cereal. “So, you decided to just turn yourself in for a crime you didn’t commit?”
“I had to, Cassie. I had to protect my sister. You know that.”
I knew Jack would do anything for his sister - my best friend, Madison. He was willing to give his life and his freedom for her safety.
“You could have talked it over with me,” I muttered. “Though it’s not like we were dating, so I guess I should just get over it, huh?”
“Cassie—” Jack stood up, placing several boxes on top of the display. “It’s not like that.”
“It’s not like what? You didn’t just toss me aside like all the other girls you’ve tossed aside before?”
“No, it’s not—”
After a few moments of us picking up my mess, a stockman walked over to us. “Oh, let me get that,” he said. “You don’t need to be bending over like that. Not in your condition.”
“Your condition?” Jack asked, straightening.
I stepped closer to the display, my protruding belly failing me again by knocking the boxes we’d already stacked back down to the floor.
“Sorry,” I mouthed to the stockman.
“It’s okay, but maybe step back so it doesn’t happen again, please?”
An easy enough request, sure, but that meant exposing myself to Jack. Both the stockman and Jack stared at me as if waiting for me to move. The poor guy wanted to get back to work and didn’t want to worry about me knocking things over again.
Jack asked again, “What did he mean by your condition? Are you sick?”
I’d always been a curvy girl. I had hips and thighs, my belly was never completely flat, even if I was in pretty good shape. Maybe if we’d run into each other a few months ago, I could have played it off as some weight gain.
But now? No, the minute he saw me, Jack would know I was pregnant.
“I didn’t want to tell you like this…” I said.
“Tell me what?”
Jack didn’t wait for me to answer. He stepped around the display. I wanted to hide amongst the cereal boxes, to just disappear into a puddle of milk and Cocoa Bits.
“Jesus, Cassie,” Jack mumbled when he saw me for the first time since I’d left Liberty several months ago. “How far along are you?”
“About eight months,” I said, sticking my chin out. I placed a hand on my swollen belly, feeling protective of the child inside me – my little boy. I watched as Jack did the math in his head, but I answered his question before he had a chance to ask, “And yes, it’s yours.”
Jack grabbed my arm and walked me down the aisle, almost walking too fast for me to keep up. “Jack, let go of me,” I said, yanking my arm free. He pulled me into a walkway leading to the back of the store.
“Sorry, it’s just—No one can know about this, you hear me?” His voice was low, almost a whisper. He leaned close to me, nearly resting his forehead against mine. His lips were mere inches away from mine. His thick, luscious lips that felt so good pressed against mine.
“Don’t worry about it,” I growled, stepping away from him. With my hands on my hips, I stood my ground. “No one has to know, and I don’t expect anything from you. I can raise this child alone. I just didn’t think it was fair keeping it from you, but since it’s clear you don’t want to be in his life, don’t even worry about it.”
“Cassie, wait. That’s not—”
I turned on my heels and marched through the aisle. I walked past my cart, needing to get out of the store before I completely broke down. Tears burned in my eyes.
Stupid girl, what did you expect? It was a one-night stand, nothing more. Yes, you always had a bit of a crush on him, but that doesn’t mean it was reciprocated. It was just sex.
Just a hook-up.
I walked out the sliding glass doors and into the parking lot. The sun beat down on me. It was unseasonably warm for early fall in Utah, and I waddled to my car with perspiration building on my face. I prayed that my tears would mingle with the sweat, not giving away my emotions to my sister waiting in the car. She had her own errands to run, and we’d agreed to meet at the car when we were finished.
Isabelle stared at me as I opened the driver’s side door and climbed inside. “Uh, did you forget something?” she asked with a chuckle.
I knew she was kidding, but I wasn’t in the mood for her teasing. I shot her a look that silenced her laughter.
“Cassie, what’s wrong? What happened?”
My family didn’t know who the father of my child was. I’d told them it was from a random hook-up, but I didn’t tell them it happened in Liberty. All hell would break loose if my parents found out.
“It’s nothing,” I lied. “I’m just not feeling well.”
Isabelle studied my face. She was my sister. Besides Madison and Hannah, she was my best friend and knew me better than anyone. “No, something else is wrong. What’s up?”
With a heavy sigh, I rested my head against the back of the seat and closed my eyes. I trusted Isabelle with my life, and I knew she would never tell our parents if I asked her not to. I just didn’t want that burden on her to have to lie to them if they ever outright asked.
But she wouldn’t let it drop until she got an answer.
“I ran into the father of my child in the store. I told him the news because obviously, he could see I’m pregnant, and it didn’t go well.”
Isabelle sat up straighter, staring at me with her mouth open. “The father is from Liberty?” she finally asked. “We all assumed—”
“That he was from Philadelphia, I know,” I said. “To be fair, I never said that, though.”
“You never told us you were in town!” she countered, doing the math. “Last time we saw you was over a year ago.”
“I came back for a short spurt,” I confessed. “Madison asked me to help her with Jack’s case, but then it all went to hell, and I left town.”
Isabelle was a smart cookie. I watched her face as the pieces fell into place. “Jack’s the father?”
I didn’t say anything, which was as good as saying yes. I turned my head and looked at her as I put the key in the ignition and started the car, suddenly worried that Jack might find his way to our car and try to talk. That was the last thing I wanted right now.
I pulled out of the parking lot as Isabelle stared at me. I was already halfway home before she spoke again.
“Dad is going to flip out.”
“That’s why he can’t know. Jack told me he doesn’t want anyone to know, so I guess we’ll just continue with the random hook-up story for now.”
“Did he really say that?” she asked, horrified.
“Yeah, pretty much word-for-word.”
“Well, Jack’s been in some trouble. He’s pissed a lot of people off, so I can’t exactly blame him for not wanting his kid to be a possible target.”
My sister, unlike our parents, knew I’d always had a crush on Jack. She knew I saw him in a different light than everyone else. She didn’t know him that well, but it was clear she trusted my instincts.
It was a shame our parents didn’t. I was a grown-ass woman, but my dad still scared the shit out of me sometimes. Not because he was abusive, but because he could take away everything - my college had been paid for by him, and now I had a roof over my head thanks to him since I had to take a break from law school and work.
“You know, I don’t really care what he’s up to or what trouble he’s in,” I said.
Isabelle cocked her head to the side and gave me a look that said she saw right through my lies.
“What? Are you really surprised that Jack Wiley doesn’t want to be a father to a baby conceived during a random hook-up?”
“Maybe he was just shocked. I mean, that’s some pretty big news,” she said with a laugh. “He came to the store, probably to pick up some toilet paper or some groceries and then - surprise! He finds out he’s gonna be a dad in like a month. That’s not something you drop on someone in the middle of the cereal aisle.”
“Well, that’s exactly what happened,” I muttered. “Cereal aisle and all.”
“So, can you blame him for maybe not responding the way you’d hoped?”
“I dunno. I guess not,” I said after a few seconds. “But I just can’t deal with this right now. I can’t handle him freaking out on me, and I can’t let our parents know he’s the father.”
I parked the car in the driveway as Isabelle made an X across her chest. “Cross my heart. I won’t tell anyone.”
“Thank you.”
“But one question before we go inside,” Isabelle said.
“Go for it.”
“What are we gonna tell mom about why we didn’t get the chicken and stuff for dinner?”
Isabelle cracked a smile at me, and I couldn’t help it, I started laughing. Not because it was funny – it wasn’t, really. Everything that had happened was just so absurd. How was this my life? But leave it to my sister to bring a smile to my face and make me laugh in the midst of all this chaos.
“We’ll tell her I got sick,” I decided. “Considering the nausea I’ve had during the whole damn pregnancy, she’ll believe us.”
I was still chuckling, but Isabelle suddenly stopped. Her eyes were focused on the rear-view mirror, then she turned around and muttered, “Oh shit.”
“What?” I turned around to see where she was looking. A pickup truck had pulled up across the street. Jack’s pickup truck.
My stomach turned, and I felt sick. Everything I’d eaten that day threatened to come right back up, and I needed to get to the bathroom fast.
I hopped out of the car and hurried to the front door. I heard Jack calling my name from the street, but I opened the door and stepped inside, slamming it shut behind me. I rested against it, trembling and feeling like I might pass ou
t.
Bathroom, now, I told myself.
I pushed away from the door and barely made it to the bathroom in the hallway before I started throwing up.
I couldn’t see him.
Jack
Cassie’s sister stepped in front of me, blocking my way to the door. She was a little thing, all of 5’3” or so, well over a foot shorter than me. Yet she stood in my way.
“I need to talk to Cassie,” I said.
“She doesn’t want to talk to you right now,” she retorted. “Give her some time, Jack.”
The front door of the house opened, and Charles Lorenzo stepped out. As soon as he laid eyes on me, he scowled. “Get away from my daughter.”
“I came to talk to Cassie,” I said, holding my hands up in surrender.
Isabelle remained where she was, between her father and me. She looked a lot like her dad. Both girls did. They took after the Italian side of the family with their long, dark hair and the largest brown eyes I’d ever seen. However, unlike his daughters, Charles was a big man. Not as big as me, but still a force to be reckoned with in his youth, I was told.
He strode toward me, taking big steps as if to reach me faster. He stepped between Isabelle and me, nudging her to the side. Isabelle, in her defense, didn’t seem to want to move, but she had no choice.
“What’s going on out here?” Jeanie Lorenzo came out of the house, staring at the three of us.