Mountain Man's Secret Baby

by Lauren Wood

  “Maybe it will come tomorrow.” He smiled at her and pulled her into his arms.

  He was tempted to take her again, but his stomach growled loudly. It reminded him that he hadn’t eaten yet. “Hey let’s eat a bit.” He pulled her up out of bed and they went to eat.

  Epilogue

  Derrick had asked her to try and mend fences with her adoptive parents when they first got together. However, as he learned more of the story, he had stopped pushing her.

  Christy had never shared everything she had gone through with anyone but Derrick. He had sat there one night and held her, as she relived the past.

  Derrick had held her tightly as she told him about the beatings she had received from the mother. “All the while the father would let it go on. But there was one time he did stop her. She was using a metal wire to spank me with. It hurt so badly, she didn’t hit just my butt either, but was hitting my back with each swat. I don’t know how long it continued, but he finally held her hand before she could hit again. When she pushed me off of her, all I could see in her eyes was pure hatred. Do you know what it’s like to be hated? She had asked him.

  “No I don’t baby.” He had told her and kissed her lightly on the forehead. “I don’t understand how they adopted you and then made you feel so bad.”

  “You know I didn’t either it took me years to actually understand it all. Right after we had Jimmy though I got it, I understood her.” She had responded.

  “How did that make you understand here?” He had asked her, curious to what she had discovered.

  “Remember I told you one time that they had lost their daughter? That was the reason they were looking for a girl to adopt. It was also the reason they had decided to adopt an older child like me. When we had Jimmy, that time he got really sick, and we weren’t sure if he would make it. I felt such fear, anger and so many emotions at one time. I couldn’t imagine what it would have been like to lose him. It would have literally broken my heart into a million pieces. Now you add in the fact that they pick a child who isn’t theirs and add them to the family. How could you really love this person? When you looked at the girl you would only want to see your own child. Instead you were looking at someone who wasn’t who you really wanted. I forgave her at that moment. I still think that they made a mistake. I don’t think she was mentally prepared for another child. They should have not even adopted me in the end. However, somehow I toughed it out until I was 17. But trust me once I could I got out of there. Would I like to tell her I forgave her? Maybe one day I’ll write a letter to her and tell her. But I don’t really want to see her face to face. Because even though I forgave her, I still would love to tell her that she made a huge mistake.” Christy had explained.

  She had eventually written the letter to her mother. She didn’t place a return address on the envelope. As far as she was concerned she didn’t want to talk to them ever again.

  Tomorrow would be their 10 year anniversary. Christy couldn’t believe the time had passed so quickly. So much had changed in both of their lives.

  Derrick had been drafted by the Miami Dolphins and was already breaking many NFL records. He had driven them into the Super Bowl his very first year. Even though they lost that first time, they had run a couple in the past years.

  Christy had sold her book, and was now a real author. No more ghosts writing were in her future. With each book she wrote, she used parts of her and Derrick’s love story. They sold like hot cakes, people loved her romances.

  She had laughed one night when she had walked into the bedroom to find Derrick curled up on the bed reading her latest book.

  He had looked up at her and said, “Hey you have the story about how we first met in here, that’s really cool!”

  Christy traveled with him to away games, they were never far apart. She swore she had fallen even more in love with him with each passing day.

  Derrick walked into the kitchen, Christy was cooking pancakes. “Oh man those smell wonderful!” He came up behind her and hugged her.

  “They are your favorite!”

  “Yeah I love these things; I swear I could eat them every day. But imagine how much weight I would put on.

  “Where are the kids?” She asked.

  “I told them to hurry down to eat or I would eat all the pancakes.” Derrick laughed.

  Just then the three children piled in the door. “Dad didn’t eat all the food did he?” Jimmy asked.

  He was their oldest; he was the result of her donor visit. He was the spitting image of Derrick, down to the dimples on his cheeks when he smiled.

  “Hey tell John to stop touching all the pancakes.” Amanda yelled. “It’s gross did you even wash your hands?” She chastised her brother.

  “I’m just looking for one’s with more chocolate chips.” He had said, rubbing his hand that had been hit by his sister.

  “Now kids, I can always make more, so stop it. John, just eat from the top of the pile please.” Christy asked.

  Amanda was 8 and in a phase where everything was gross, especially her younger brother. John was 6; he had a wicked tendency to push his sister even at his young age.

  “You know what tomorrow is darling?” Derrick asked Christy.

  “Of course I do, it’s 10 years!” She laughed.

  “So since I’m off for a few months, how about we take a trip somewhere to celebrate?” He asked.

  “Hey do we get to go?” Jimmy asked.

  “Of course we wouldn’t go anywhere without you three.” Derrick answered.

  “Oh can we go to Disney Land?” Amanda asked.

  “Yeah can we dad and mom?” John asked as well.

  Derrick looked at Christy, “What do you think?” He asked.

  “Sure why not?” She shrugged her shoulders.

  She looked over her family and pride filled her very soul. All those years ago she had felt so unloved in this very situation.

  THE END

  GIFTED LANCE

  Chapter One

  Sasha stared at the man across from her. There was just not something quite right with his face. Was his nose too small? Were his eyes too close together? She cocked her head. Maybe his eyebrows were too bushy.

  “Wouldn’t that be great?”

  Startled, she shook herself out of her daze. Shit. He had said something to her. What was his name again? “Tell me about your job, Don,” she said trying to divert his attention away from the fact that she had absolutely no idea what he’d just said.

  He looked crestfallen. “I just did.”

  Double shit. “I’m sorry,” she said with a smile. “Long day at work, and I just zoned out.”

  Her smiled must have encouraged him because his face brightened. “I bet. So you’re a baker? I love cupcakes!”

  Of course he loved cupcakes. He probably loved everything a normal ten-year-old boy loved. Why did she let her sister set her up on these blind dates? They were always a complete disaster!

  The check arrived, and she watched as he grabbed it. At least he was going to be a gentleman and pay for dinner.

  “Mom said girls like to feel independent on first dates. Dutch?” he asked with a smile. “You owe twenty-four dollars plus tip.”

  Mom said? This date was so over.

  After giving him the brush off at the car, she locked herself safely inside and quickly called her sister.

  “Sasha!” she squealed. Sasha could hear her niece and nephew screaming in the background. Apparently they didn’t want to go to bed. “Is the date over already?”

  “Already?” Sasha asked. “Calla, it felt like it lasted forever. Where the hell did you find this guy? Boring R Us?”

  Her sister got oddly quiet on the other end, and Sasha started her car with narrow eyes. “Calla. Where did you find him?”

  “Maybe you just didn’t give him a chance,” she said softly.

  That did it. “Calla Lilly Thompson! You tell me where you found him right here and now or so help me God!” Their mom had a thing for
flowers. Sasha’s full name was Sasha Rose.

  “Okay,” she said with a huff. “You don’t have to yell. I signed you up for this online dating site. Don looked so handsome in his picture, and he seemed so stable and nice when we talked.”

  “You mean when you talked and pretended to be me? Well that explains why our conversations made absolutely no sense,” Sasha grumbled. “You will take me off that dating site right now. If you don’t personally know the guy, you don’t get to set me up with him.”

  “I just want you to be happy,” her sister sniffed. Sasha rolled her eyes. Her sister wasn’t really going to cry, was she? That hadn’t worked since they were ten.

  Calla was two years younger than her, and she’s always felt guilty about being the first to get married. Sasha never felt bitter about it because she loved her brother-in-law, but she’d be lying if she didn’t admit that she wanted what they had. But it was so difficult to meet a decent man these days. Either they were taken, they were single and deservedly so, they were gay, or they came with an insane amount of baggage. And Sasha didn’t want to settle. She wanted to feel that initial spark of passion.

  “Stop crying,” Sasha demanded. “Take me off the website.”

  Her phone beeped, and she looked at her Bluetooth dashboard. “Hang on. Work is calling me. I’ve got to go.”

  “But,” her sister interrupted, but Sasha hung up on her.

  “Sasha Morrows,” she said.

  “Sasha! Oh thank god!” Her boss, Billy Anderson, sounded frantic. “Miriam just called. She quit. Quit! Something about moving to Vegas and eloping. I have no idea. But I’m still in Florida, and someone has to man the Hairy and Fluffy party tonight. Susan finished baking, but she thought Miriam would ice them after they cooled. Please tell me you’re free tonight. I’ll do whatever you want,” he pleaded.

  “Three days of paid vacation next month,” she said immediately. She wanted to spend some time digging her toes in the sand and listening to the ocean.

  “Done,” he said immediately. She smiled.

  “Text me the address. I’ll head that way now.” She’d wasted her sultry red dress on the date, so she might as well wear it to the party.

  “You are a lifesaver. A doll. My absolute favorite,” he gushed as he hung up on. Sasha rolled her eyes. By next week, Billy would be flipping out on her for something she hadn’t even done. She loved her boss, but he was a bit touchy. Especially when his husband was out of town, which was often.

  She pulled up the directions to the party, turned her car around, and headed downtown. Hairy and Fluffy Dating Agency held a massive mixer three times a year in order for their members to meet. Shifters of all types were hoping to meet their mates and humans were hoping to hook up with an alpha.

  Sasha knew the rumors. Shifters could sense their mates immediately, and Sasha thought it was ridiculous. How could you imprint on someone when you knew nothing about them? What if your soul mate was actually a huge asshole? What did you do then?

  No. While Sasha certainly wanted some passion in her life, she relied on good old-fashioned logic. She wanted to get to know someone before she decided they were her soul mates.

  Chapter Two

  Cole nearly growled at his mother. She stood in the kitchen with her hands on her hips while he shook the invitation in the air. “This Meet and Greet has my name on it. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about this, would you?”

  “No.”

  “Why are you standing so defensively, then?”

  “Because you’re always accusing me of something. Yesterday you thought I’d deliberately shoved a nail in your neighbors tire so you’d have to change it. Last week you accused me of collaborating with your brother so that you’d have to talk to his receptionist. I swear Cole, you’re getting a little paranoid.”

  He felt his anger rising. He knew she was behind those little antics. His mother was tired of waiting for grandpups. She wanted Cole to marry, and she wasn’t below a little manipulation to get what she wanted.

  “I told you that I would find my mate in my own time,” he hissed.

  She smirked. “I know for a fact you haven’t satisfied your wolf in months. At the very least, you need to let him out to play.”

  “How did you….” He shook his head in frustration. “Never mind. It’s my life, and I’ll do as I please.”

  “Celibacy is dangerous Cole Grayson, and you know it!” She sauntered over and ripped the invitation out of his hands. “A Hairy and Fluffy party? A bit too forward for my tastes, but at the very least, you’ll find some damn release.” She slapped him on the chest with it. “Go. Find some pretty little thing to take home. Someone substantial enough to take your wolf, and pull that damn bug out of your ass.”

  Cole growled. “If I find out that you had anything to do with this…” he threatened.

  “You’ll what? I gave you life, Cole Grayson. So you adjust that attitude of yours, or I will take you over my knee!”

  “I’m not going.”

  “The hell you aren’t going. If you don’t, I’ll come visit you at work with a new woman to toss at you for the next month.”

  The horror struck deep. “You wouldn’t,” he whispered.

  “I’ll even cook. I think the boys at the fire station would enjoy that,” she said with a sly smile.

  He groaned inwardly. His mother was the worse cook. Having her show up at the station while he was on duty would be a disaster. And he knew his mother. It was best not to call her bluff. “Okay, I’ll go,” he grumbled. “But I don’t promise that I’ll talk to anyone.”

  She smiled. “Well I didn’t send that invitation, so maybe fate is finally stepping in. Go home and shower, darling. You smell terrible.”

  “I’ve been working on my car,” he said self-consciously. Cautiously, he gave himself a whiff. Even his wolf was disgusted.

  “Wear something nice,” she said as she rose up on her tiptoes. He immediately bent down so that she could give him a kiss on his cheek. “And be on your best behavior. I don’t want to hear about you getting into any fights. You need a lover. You need to find your mate.”

  “Yes, mom,” he said with a sigh. What was the point in coming over here? His mom always won.

  Always.

  Besides, it had been awhile. He was tired of loveless fucking. He did need a lover, and he did need his mate.

  But a Hairy and Fluffy party? How the hell was he going to meet one there?

  Chapter Three

  The party hadn’t quite started by the time Sasha got there. She checked on the baked goods. Susan had done a decent job, and she’d left enough ingredients to make more. Sasha pulled out her emergency apron and began finishing off some of the cupcakes.

  “Oooh, those look lovely,” Lydia said with a smile. Lydia owned the dating agency, and she looked Sasha up and down with a smile. “And my, my, so do you,” she purred.

  Sasha blushed. The dress showed off her ample cleavage and bit more of her plump thighs than she would have liked, but her friend had told her she was a knock out in it.

  “I was on a date when Billy called me,” Sasha explained. “Don’t worry, though. I’ll be behind this apron and in the kitchen all night.”

  Lydia frowned. “Well, if that’s what you want. Did the date go well?”

  “No. No it did not,’ Sasha cringed as she remembered Don. Christ. What on earth did he say to make Calla think that he’d be a good match for her?

  A slow smile crossed Lydia’s face. “Then perhaps you’ll find something else to cream tonight.”

  She walked out before Sasha got her meaning. “Wow. This should be an interesting party,” Sasha murmured. She finished the first couple trays of cupcakes and cookies and sat them out in the meeting hall. The table was full of finger foods and punch bowls. Lydia must have expected quite the turn out.

  A few of the guests started trickling in, and Sasha immediately ducked back through the doors to the prep room. There was no way she was going to get
roped up into this.

  In an hour, it sounded like things were in full swing. She’d just finished decorating another batch when Lidia came in. “Sasha, darling. We’re out of cupcakes. Do you have some more?”

  Sasha nodded. “Coming right up,” she said with a smile. She grabbed her tray and bumped the door with her hips. It swung open, and she was immediately overwhelmed with the sexual charge of the room.

  Beautiful woman roamed the room wearing slinky dresses and coy smiles. It was trendy these days to mate with a shifter. Some whispered it was the best sex ever, and clearly these women were looking to get laid. Men prowled the room searching for their next target. Sasha shuddered. She was glad she wasn’t the object of one of these intense stares.

  She sat the tray of cupcakes down and wiped her hands on her apron. If the first batch had gone well, they were going to love these chocolate ones.

  “I love a woman that can bake,” a deep voice purred. “I bet you’re going to taste just as sweet.”

  Sasha grimaced and glanced to her left. The man had a pretty face, but he also had sleaze written all over him. “I’m not here for the party,” she said succinctly. Before he could object, she turned her back and headed back into the prep room.

  Just before she pushed through the door, the man entering the room caught her eye. In that first moment of eye contact, all of her breath rushed out of her lungs.

  Tall. She was a tall woman, and he easily towered over her. Hard. Even that button up shirt couldn’t hide the muscles that were rippling as he moved. Bronze skin. Amber eyes. She immediately grew wet. God, that man would do nicely between her thighs.

  Two slinky blondes immediately sidled up next to him, and it gave Sasha a cold dose of reality. She was here to work, not pick up a guy to fuck. Shaking her head, she pushed through the doors.

  As she worked on the cookies, she couldn’t get him out of her head. It had been awhile since she’d had a decent lover, and she could already tell that he’d be phenomenal. He was the type of man who could push a woman up against the wall and fuck her senseless. That was the kind of man that Sasha wanted.