Freedom in the Smokies

by Becca Jameson

  “I’m not wandering around the farm every day naked just because you like to feel me up. I’m sure your brothers and their wives don’t need to see my nipples.” She hooked her bra and reached for a T-shirt.

  “Okay, but it’s a shame, covering all that luxurious flesh like that.”

  She tipped her head in his direction as he pulled on a pair of jeans—commando, of course. One side of his mouth angled up.

  As soon as they were presentable, Micah led her to the kitchen, holding her hand in his warm palm.

  “Morning,” George greeted her from the island in the kitchen. “You must be starved.” He winked at her and pulled out a chair. “Lucky for you, I cooked.”

  “Lucky?” she asked, raising a brow and angling her gaze toward him. “I’ve eaten your cooking before. I’m not sure I’d call it lucky.”

  Enrique laughed from across the island and pushed orange juice in her direction. Micah squeezed her hand tighter as they took a seat. She glanced from Micah to Enrique and back. They were assessing each other. “What the hell is the matter with you two?”

  Enrique jerked his gaze to her. “Nothing. Why?” He leaned too casually against the island.

  She twisted in her chair and narrowed her gaze at Micah. “Why do you freak out every time we’re near Enrique?”

  “I’m not sure I understand why he came here,” Micah admitted.

  “What? I thought it was clear that he came to help. What’s the matter with you?” She paused. Shit. “You think there’s something between us? Is that it? This is all some misconstrued jealous boyfriend act?” Kaitlyn yanked her hand from his grasp. She shook with anger.

  Enrique chuckled. “Are you kidding? Is that why you’re so brusque with me? Dude, Kaity is like my sister. Just…oooh.” He cringed. “Now I get it. Micah, I swear to you I came when I heard your family name. I’m happy for you two. Ecstatic. My only motivation was to help in any way I could. I would never want anything to happen to Kaity, but that’s because she’s family, not because I ever considered claiming her. I’ve never looked at her that way.”

  She watched Micah’s shoulders lower a few inches as he relaxed beside her. With a small smile he turned to her. “Forgive me? I guess I let my irrational jealousy take over.” He looked back at Enrique. “Sorry. Thanks for coming. We did need the help. We couldn’t have taken McKinney down without you.”

  “Any time. Take care of Kaity for us. Everyone at Winston loves her—like family.”

  His words warmed Kaitlyn. Even though she’d lost her mother twelve years ago, she’d gained so much family since then. She loved these people who took her in and gave her hope when she was ten.

  George handed her a plate, his expression sober. “Enrique and I are leaving this morning.”

  “So soon?” Kaitlyn stiffened. She’d just connected her two extended families and now two of them were leaving.

  “We have to get back and take care of the farm business.” He ducked his head before continuing. “I can see there is no hope of you returning. Your home is here now. We’ll have to sell.”

  “What exactly does the will stipulate as far as selling the property?” Micah asked.

  “That if Kaitlyn doesn’t return to the farm, she has no other option but to sell the land. Margaret had no intention of ever letting the land fall into anyone else’s hands, though I can’t imagine why.” He shook his head.

  Kaitlyn stared at Micah. His mind was running. “What’s to keep her from selling the land to you?”

  George laughed. “Easy. Margaret knew I didn’t have the money to buy it.”

  Kaitlyn let a grin spread across her face as she caught on to her mate’s plan. “Who named a price?”

  George continued fidgeting around. He set salt and pepper on the table next to Kaitlyn and handed her silverware. “Kaity, that land is worth way more than I have in my savings account, love.”

  “Is it worth more than say…one dollar?” she asked, her face still glued to Micah’s, his smile confirming her thoughts.

  George chuckled again. “Yeah, a bit.”

  Micah cleared his throat. “I believe what my mate is saying is that the land is yours. She’s going to sell it to you for the price of one dollar.”

  George froze. It took him a moment, and then he opened and shut his mouth before he shook his head. “You can’t do that. That’s ridiculous.”

  “Not to me.” She took his hands. “That land is worth nothing to me. I never even considered owning it before. I don’t want it. It’s rightfully yours. You’ve been there all these years, loving that land and the animals on it. All that time, you belonged in the house. You’re family. I have no other living relatives. I don’t even have a father. And even if I did, you’d still be the rightful owner. Grandmother should have married you when my mother was born and made you family.”

  George stared at her with tears glistening in the corners of his eye. “I can’t do that, Kaity.” He shook his head again.

  “You can. And you will.” She turned toward Micah. “Can’t we call the attorney and work all this out?”

  “Of course, baby. I’ll call my lawyer right after breakfast.”

  “See? It’s done.” Kaitlyn tugged George into her embrace. “We’re family. I want you to have the land.”

  When she released him, George nearly fell into the seat next to her. Speechless. He ran his hands through his hair and she could see the wheels spinning as he grasped the meaning of her words.

  Before either of them spoke, Enrique set his fork down with a soft clang. “Kaitlyn…” he began, “…you do have a father.”

  She whipped her gaze toward him. “What do you mean?”

  “I believe I know who your father is.” He swallowed and she watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat.

  “How? Who?”

  “My mother told me. She accidentally saw your mother with a man one day shortly before Maggie fled California twenty-two years ago.”

  Kaitlyn held her breath. Was it someone she knew?

  “When you left last week, she confided in me. She was so upset, she worried she’d die knowing that secret and begged me to let her unload the information.” Enrique smiled, but the attempt was forced. His misery showed in his eyes.

  “Now, keep in mind, there’s no guarantee. But what are the chances my mother inadvertently catches your mom—in the act, so to speak—within days of her leaving? Mom never thought much of it at the time. She assumed Maggie had left to break off the affair…until you showed up ten years later.”

  “You’re killing me, Enrique.” Kaitlyn’s hands shook and she gripped the table with her fingers, attempting to still them.

  “Mr. Granger.” He sucked his lips between his teeth as soon as the words spilled out.

  “My teacher?”

  Kaitlyn’s mind flooded with memories. All those years of education under the careful tutelage of her private instructor—the very same tutor as her mother. The man had been very young when Maggie had begun with him. Not young enough to sleep with his student, but…

  God, he’d been so helpful to Kaitlyn. Her evenings and weekends had been spent with George in the barn, learning everything she ever wanted to know about horses and loving every second of his lessons. Free time she’d never realized she’d spent with her own grandfather.

  But her days… She’d spent every day sitting in that office learning her lessons with her own father. Had he known? He had to have. The man knew his math. It wouldn’t have taken a rocket scientist to realize Kaitlyn was his own daughter. Why hadn’t he ever said anything?

  She glanced back at Enrique. “Did your mother confront mine?”

  He shook his head vigorously. “Hell no. My mom rounded a corner in the house and found them in a lover’s embrace, but she simply backed away and neither Thomas nor Maggie ever knew they’d had a witness.”

  Micah rubbed circles on her back and George gripped her hand. “You okay?” They both asked at once.

  “Why
didn’t he say something?” she asked into the air.

  George squeezed her hand firmly. “Probably for the same reason I didn’t. Or some similar reason. If Margaret knew, she undoubtedly blackmailed him to remain quiet. But I’m betting Margaret never knew. I’d gamble he was sharp enough to realize how much would be at stake if he revealed the truth.

  “Imagine being in his shoes. His lover runs off in the night, leaving him without a word. Ten years later a child shows up. He probably counted his blessings that he had the opportunity to know you at all and spend his days with you. He’d never risk losing that involvement.”

  “Why didn’t Momma tell me, though? Why keep the secret from me?”

  George hugged her against his chest before he continued. “I don’t know, sweetheart. We’ll never know. Maybe she didn’t want the past repeated. Maybe she didn’t want you raised anywhere near her mother and the only way she knew to ensure that was to hide and keep you a secret.”

  It seemed reasonable. Kaitlyn wiped the tears from her eyes. She smiled at Enrique. “Thanks for telling me. Do you suppose I could confront him one day?”

  “Of course. This secret wasn’t his. It wasn’t mine. It was your mother’s. I’ll bet he’d love it if you came forward. If not, he never would have agreed to be your tutor all those years.”

  Epilogue

  Two years later…

  “Don’t even think about it,” Micah mumbled into Kaitlyn’s ear as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. Even after all this time, she still trembled when he ran his hands over her. A jolt to her system always brought her fully alert as though he’d shocked her.

  She smirked. “Come on. Give me some credit for common sense, Micah.” She cinched the strap around the horse’s belly and pulled it tight. “I’m not the one going riding, you dolt.”

  Micah angled her head to his and kissed her. He raised an eyebrow as he pulled away. “I don’t much like you out here working this close to the horses. What if one of them kicks you?”

  “Seriously? How often have I been kicked by a horse?” Kaitlyn wiggled free of her husband’s grip and moved to the other side. She couldn’t concentrate with him touching her.

  “I’ve been keeping an eye on her.” The voice came from behind Micah as Thomas Granger approached.

  Kaitlyn smiled up at her father and nodded. “See? I have plenty of keepers.”

  “I’m the one going riding,” her dad said. He slapped a hand on Micah’s back. “And this old gal here is plenty tame enough for Kaitlyn to work with. You know that.” He winked at Micah and Kaitlyn chuckled.

  Even seven months pregnant, she was still full of energy and couldn’t stand to be cooped up in the house all day.

  When she finished preparing the mare, her dad took the reins and walked the gorgeous thoroughbred out of the stable.

  Micah tugged her against his side as they followed. They stopped next to the fence to watch. Kaitlyn sighed. She’d much rather be riding than watching, but it couldn’t be helped. Horseback riding was a complete no-no for pregnant women.

  And there were a hell of a lot of pregnant women around the farm. Somehow all three of them had managed to get pregnant within a few months of each other. Soon there would be so many babies, the house would be filled with chaos.

  Thank God Thomas had come to live with them. As soon as things at the California farm had been settled and the deed turned over to her grandfather, George, Kaitlyn had flown to the farm to confront her childhood tutor, Mr. Granger.

  Sure enough, George and Enrique had been right…about a lot of things. Thomas Granger was indeed her father. They even did a paternity test to confirm it. He hadn’t said a word to her growing up—or anyone else for that matter—for fear he’d lose what contact he had with her if Margaret Winston knew the truth.

  Thomas had considered himself the luckiest man on earth the way the arrangement had panned out. Margaret had contacted him herself when Kaitlyn arrived at age ten and begged him to come back to work for her. He’d known immediately she had to be his own child.

  It still made Kaitlyn sad that her mother had fled the farm and never told a soul where she was, especially Thomas. The man hadn’t known she existed for ten years. But she also understood her mother’s point of view. Hell, Kaitlyn had lived in the woman’s shoes after her death. And Kaitlyn herself had fled the moment she graduated from college. Escaping her grandmother had been her only thought. And she’d have scrambled away even faster, harder and farther if she’d been pregnant.

  She shivered at the thought.

  “You okay, baby?” Micah hugged her tighter against him and ran his free hand over her huge belly.

  “Better than.” She tipped her head up to gaze into his eyes. All the love in the world existed there.

  “How’s my son doing this morning?”

  “He’s kicking the hell out of my bladder at the moment.” But she loved the feeling. Knowing the little guy was squirming around in there gave her peace of mind.

  “Let’s go back inside.” Micah angled his head toward the house and tugged her shoulders. “It’s cold out here.”

  She gave him a playful shove. “You can’t fool me, buddy. You don’t care a hoot about the temperature. You just want to get me back in bed.”

  “True. I do like it when you’re in bed.” He kissed her neck and continued to whisper in her ear. “On your side…one leg bent forward…your hot, needy pussy open for me…”

  “Stop it, Micah.” She wiggled against his grip. Her pussy grew wet anyway. She never could stop herself from getting aroused by his damn words. The man had a tongue that worked wonders, both in and out of his mouth. Even hugely pregnant she couldn’t resist him.

  She’d assumed he’d simmer down and give her some space as she got bigger, but no. The man doted on her pregnant more than he had before. The look in his eyes when she climbed into bed naked or stepped out of the shower told her everything.

  He didn’t miss an opportunity to run his hands over her distended belly or wrap them around her growing breasts. And her nipples were so sensitive he could make her come from stimulation to them alone.

  Micah tugged her into the house. The kitchen was bustling with activity.

  Juliana was the farthest along with only a few weeks left. She leaned over the sink, peeling potatoes as Kaitlyn stepped inside.

  “You can barely get your arms far enough away from your body to hit the sink, Jules,” she teased.

  Juliana laughed. “You wait. A few weeks and you’ll be in the same predicament.”

  “Ugh.” The grunt came from the other side of the island. Brianna waddled across the tile floor with a scowl on her face. “I’m not looking forward to either stage. I already feel like a whale.” She held her belly with both hands. Hers was the smallest. She still had a full trimester left.

  Between the three women there would be two baby boys and a girl in the house in the next few months. It felt like a commune.

  Kaitlyn smiled. It was family. And now that her dad had built a home on the property only a half a mile away, she had almost everyone she loved in one place. Not her grandfather, of course. George was busy running the farm in California—and, from what she’d heard, chasing around a new love interest.

  She missed the man dearly, but he visited often. She’d even gone to California a few times before she’d gotten pregnant, a trip she never thought she’d make again after she left the first time.

  But time had a way of tamping down the bad memories and filling in the holes with all the good things that happened. In retrospect the majority of her days and evenings had been spent with family—the two men who had been the most important people in her life, her father and her grandfather.

  Kaitlyn could only hope she’d be half as good a mother as they had been at raising her. She closed her eyes and tried to grasp the few memories she had of her own mother nurturing her before she died.

  Warm hands wrapped around her middle and Micah pulled her into his embrace
again. His palms covered her belly and she laid her head against his chest. “I love you,” she whispered into his neck.

  “I love you too, baby.”

  The world was a perfect place.

  About the Author

  Becca Jameson lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and two kids. When she isn’t writing, she can be found reading, editing, scrapbooking, running, swimming, biking, or taxiing kids all over creation. She doesn’t sleep much…or sit down often…but she loves to be busy! Unlike many other authors, Becca had never written a single word until a few years ago. After enjoying several years on the editing side of the business, Becca decided to give writing a try. Now she can’t stop! And the voices in her head are clamoring to get out faster than she can get them onto “paper”! Still experimenting with both contemporary and paranormal genres, there is no telling what she may come up with next. To learn more about Becca Jameson, visit her blog at www.beccajameson.com, email her at beccajameson4@aol.com, or tweet her @beccajameson.

  Look for these titles by Becca Jameson

  Now Available:

  Durham Wolves

  Rescue in the Smokies

  Fire in the Smokies

  Coming Soon:

  Emergence

  Bound to be Taken

  His commands ignite flames in her that rival any forest fire…

  Fire in the Smokies

  © 2013 Becca Jameson

  Durham Wolves, Book 2

  When Jaxon Durham isn’t raising thoroughbreds with his brothers, he’s using his heightened senses to search for missing hikers in the Smokies. This time the call is for a firefighter gone missing on the front lines.

  In his wolf form, he’s the first to track the firefighter to a cave, but he’s stopped cold by a stunning realization—it’s his mate. To his relief, the body covered in fireproof gear is female.

  Brianna White can’t decide if she’s died and gone to heaven, or unconscious and having a delicious dream, when the wolf standing before her shifts into a naked man. Either way, she can’t resist the urge to go along for the ride. She never expected to fall so instantly, and so hard, for the sexy hunk.