Take a Mountain Man Home for Christmas
A Mountain Man Romance Christmas Collection
K.C. Crowne
Copyright © 2019 by K.C. Crowne
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Contents
Also by K.C. Crowne
Description
Book One - Her Mountain Daddy
Book Two - Beauty and The Beard
Book Three - Built and Bearded
Book Four - The Gentlemen
Book Five - Bride and The Beard
Book Six - Triplets For The Mountain Man
Book Seven - Taken by the Mountain Man
Book Eight - Mountain Man's Secret Baby
Lumberjacked (Preview)
About the Author
Also by K.C. Crowne
Mountain Men of Liberty 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 | Taken by the Mountain Man| Secret Baby for the Mountain Man | Mountain Man’s Accidental Surprise | Quadruplets for the Mountain Man | Delivering His Gifts| Mountain Daddy’s Fate
Doctors of Denver Series
Doctor’s Secret | Doctor’s Surprise Delivery | The Irish Doctor
Lumberjacks of Grizzly Falls Series
Lumberjacked | Lumberjack’s Baby
Rainbow Canyons Cowboy Series
Untamed Cowboy |Taboo Cowboy |Cowboy’s Baby|Her Cowboy Daddies | Southern Charm| Cowboy’s Bride
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
Checkout KC’s full Amazon Catalog
All books are FREE on Kindle Unlimited and can be read as standalones.
Description
This holiday season take a big burly mountain man home for Christmas.
This collection is filled with seven satisfying and cozy small-town romances, each nestled in the snowy mountains.
You'll get lost in small-town life, with sweet and sexy mountain men. Cozy up next to seven highly acclaimed books from K.C. Crowne's Mountain Men of Liberty and Bearded Brothers series'.
A perfect collection of love stories to curl up with as you sip a cup of hot cocoa next to the fireplace!
Book One - Her Mountain Daddy
All I've given a d*mn about was the well-being of my boys...
But then I met their new teacher and everything changed.
I'm both excited and troubled by the feelings she stirs up.
Smart, caring, and hot enough to melt the snow caps on my mountain.
I need to run my family resort alongside my rowdy brothers,
Not fall hard for my kids' home school teacher.
But when Angela's past follows her into his home,
I'm forced to fight for my family's safety and the best thing that's happened to me in a long time.
Brad
Mmm mmm, that smells damn good.
My stomach rumbled as I walked into the main building and headed to The River Room, the resort’s striking restaurant that overlooked Colorado's Blue River. My twin boys, Reid and Bryce, ran ahead of me, looking forward to the homecooked breakfast our chef prepared especially for the family meeting.
As I walked in, I could hear the loud, rambunctious voices of my brothers disputing a bet they’d made the week prior. There was always a bet going on between my brothers - football, baseball, how many reservations we would receive for the week, as well as how many inches of snow we might get on the mountaintop.
I chuckled as I listened to them discuss who should be the winner of last week’s wager - how many guests would sign up for Cole’s trout fishing outing.
Cole’s fishing outing had a bigger turnout than expected, which was awesome. Which brought up a good point for this morning’s meeting. With the fishing outing turn-out so high, I thought adding it as a regular event should be considered. I was also planning to propose advertising it as such so we could draw more fishermen to the resort. We were always looking for more events to add to our roster to entice more guests with various tastes of recreational activities. We didn’t just want to be a ski resort.
Monday mornings at Hunter’s Mountain Resort was my favorite time of the week. The entire family got together for breakfast ─ the only time of the week we had time to sit and discuss business ─ and to talk about the upcoming week at the resort.
Dad had started the practice in the beginning. Over the years, it had become a family tradition that contributed to what this place was today. Since Dad passed away, my brothers and I made sure to continue the tradition as well as our father’s desire to keep the resort a family-run business.
I took my seat at the head of the long table by the big bay window and nodded at my mom, Mary Beth, seated at the other end. She was smiling at her “hefty husky hunks,” as she liked to call her boys, which was the nickname gossiping women in town had given us while we were growing up.
I let my brothers go at it for another few minutes as I helped myself to some scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, sausage patties, Texas toast, and OJ. My boys had already filled their plates and were listening to the back and forth bickering of my three younger brothers. When my brothers were in the same room together, everyone took notice.
“Don’t forget your fruit,” Ms. Everette, our housekeeper, said as she placed a small fruit bowl in front of each of the boys and me. “You need your daily dose of vitamin C,” she said, smiling at Bryce, who made a face at the blueberries and strawberries in his bowl.
“I hate fruit,” he informed her, pushing his bowl away.
“Bryce!” Mary Beth scolded him. “Don’t be so rude and thank Ms. Everette,” she admonished, frowning.
“Sorry, Ms. Everette,” he said, glancing at me. “I didn’t mean to be rude to you. But I really do hate fruit.”
“I know, Bryce,” Ms. Everette replied. “But remember, you are a young boy who needs to eat his fruit and veggies to grow up into a big strong man like your father and uncles. And I should know. I fed the same fruit bowls to them when they were children and look how strong they all turned out to be. And smart,” she added, beaming at me.
I smiled at Ms. Everette. She’d been our trusted housekeeper since I was a teenager, and I was fond of her, like a grandmother.
“Fine.” Bryce popped a blueberry into his mouth. “Yuck,” he cried comically, scrunching up his face to show his repulsion. His brother, Reid, giggled irrepressibly at him, and everyone at the table laughed.
“Trade me blueberries for cantaloupe?” Reid asked. Bryce nodded, and they traded the fruit, both satisfied now.
I love these kids, I thought proudly, thinking of how their mother would be pleased with how they were turning out.
I wish she c
ould be here to see them. How big they’ve gotten. How smart they are.
The thought of my childhood love, Samantha, brought a ting of pain to my heart. I missed her like hell. I swallowed hard and took a drink of OJ to cover up my emotions.
Time to get down to business.
“Okay, guys…let’s get this meeting started. There’s an idea I want to discuss with everybody. But first, let’s start by going over each of our plans for the upcoming week. Cole?”
At the sound of Cole’s name called, Bella, Cole’s German Shepard looked up at me. I reached down and patted her on the head. I knew it was pointless to tell Cole for the thousandth time that the dog shouldn’t be in the dining room. Perks of being part-owner.
Still laughing at Bryce, Cole’s hazel-colored eyes shone in the sunlight coming through the big picture window. Tugging on his reddish-brown, bushy beard, thinking, he finally said, “Well, I got all the drains cleaned out in the guest rooms last week. We shouldn’t get any reports of clogs this week. And I just finished mending the roof over the ski lodge, so no leaks there. And, of course, the fishing trip went exceedingly well, if I do say so myself,” he announced, grinning.
“Yes, I wanna talk to you about the fishing outing,” I told him. “What are your plans for this week? Do you think you can add another trip? Say on Thursday?”
“Sure thing,” Cole replied excitedly. “It was a lot of fun. And this week I plan on resurfacing some of the concrete walkways, as well. The winter took a toll on them, lots of cracks. I don’t want any of the guests tripping.”
“Okay, great,” I agreed, turning to my other brother. “Dax?”
Dax was looking at Cole and seemed to be in deep thought about something he’d said. “Dax?” Cole nudged him.
“Hmmm, I got an idea,” he replied, pushing his sandy blond hair back from his face.
I always wondered how he could stand to keep his damn hair as long as he did. Today, it hung loose, but usually, he kept the front pulled back from his eyes in a small ponytail with the rest hanging long down his back.
“I think we need a good media run on Cole’s upcoming fishing trips. Maybe even a new commercial. We should have thought about this before trout season began, but it’s not too late going into the summer.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” I told Dax excitedly. Looking at Cole, I added, “We should make your fishing outings a weekly event. Maybe even twice a week if we get a lot of fishermen coming up.”
Mom chimed in. “You can even have the guests bring back their catches and I, or one of the cooks, can help gut and clean them to prepare them for their dinner?”
“Mom, that’s a great idea,” Harley piped up. “Expanding the business is what I’ve been talking about. We can expand on the fishing even more. Maybe build a new out-building to add a cleaning station for the guests to use. And some outdoor grills for cooking,” he suggested.
“Yes, that’s something we can discuss for sure,” I agreed. “Dax, you get started on the advertising so we can make this happen.”
“Already on it. I’ll get started this morning with social media ads,” he said, peering out the window, deep in thought about his work.
I followed his gaze to the Blue River. Beautiful, I thought.
The water sparkled in the sunlight. With the weather warming up, it would be good to add more springtime activities. My gaze moved up to the mountain tops in the distance. Snow would always cover the high elevations, but down by the river, spring wildflowers were in bloom. I was always amazed at the beautiful, secluded, and rustic feel of the resort. And always so damn lucky to live here.
Returning my attention to the meeting, I asked Harley what his plans were for the week.
“Got the spring fitness program starting up this week, and still got the sign up for the private ski lessons available. Got an extreme snowboarder booked for this week too. That should be fun. Got a lot of kids coming in for spring break, so I was thinking of doing some kid activities. Tubing and a family nature hike, I think,” Harley answered, rubbing his dark, five o’clock shadow he called a beard.
“Sounds good. Always keeping the guests engaged,” I said, grinning at him. All the guests loved Harley. They loved his charm, and the single women would sign up for his activities just because of his good looks. But, to be fair, he was great with people as well.
“Of course,” he replied, grinning.
“And, Mom, I’m understanding that you have an appetizing menu planned for dinners this week?” My mouth watered thinking of her steak with a wine mushroom sauce.
“Yes, I was thinking of using up those deer steaks and beef filets. And we have an order of fresh salmon coming in this afternoon. I’ll collaborate with Michael about how we should prepare them and plan a nice lunch menu, as well.” Mom said, writing down her ideas.
“Great. I love that wine mushroom sauce,” I hinted. Mom looked up and grinned at me, tapping her pencil on her chin.
Turning back to the others, I told them what I had planned for the week, which was basic operations stuff, coordinating the staff, and making sure everything flowed smoothly.
“Last thing, can everyone email me their tentative schedules and events so I know where I can find you all week?” Everyone nodded. “If no one has anything else to add, that’s all I have for now.”
Everyone shook their heads and turned back to their breakfasts. The meeting had gone well, as usual.
We finished eating, and I helped Mom and Ms. Everette clear the table. Michael, our Head Chef, was in the kitchen, and Mom went to plan the menus for the week. Cole, Dax, and Harley left to attend to their business for the day, and I took the boys to the common room.
“Kids, enjoy your spring break, but be good. Don’t bother the guests,” I told Reid and Bryce.
“We will,” they chimed.
“I plan to find a homeschool teacher in the next few days to start next week. That way, you won’t have to go back to the middle school. Sound good?”
“Sure, Dad,” Bryce answered. “Homeschooling sounds awesome. More time for fishing and hunting!”
“Homeschooling is going to suck,” Reid grouched, frowning. “I like regular school. Who’s going to teach me computer stuff here? The teacher will probably only know basic school subjects.”
“We can ask Uncle Dax to teach you that. In fact, I know he wouldn’t mind you watching as he creates his social media ads today. He’s already said you are welcome to help any time.”
“Yeah, but what about my friends?”
“Don’t worry,” I promised. “You can have your pals up here on weekends.” He nodded, though he didn’t seem convinced. I urged, “Go see what Dax’s up to.”
As Reid went to find Dax, I asked Bryce what he was planning on doing for the day.
“I think I’ll go see what Uncle Cole’s doing.”
“Okay, but make sure he doesn’t mind you tagging along. I don’t think he will, but I haven’t volunteered you as a helper during the break,” I said, grinning at Bryce’s eagerness to follow in his uncle’s footsteps.
They are so different.
“Alright, see you for lunch,” Bryce said as he headed to the front door of the main resort building.
“See you then,” I agreed, yelling after him and smiling at his enthusiasm.
I headed to my office, which was at the rear of the first floor. Each brother had a small office behind the common room and dining area, near the large kitchen and pantry. The guest rooms were located on the second, third, and fourth floors, along with ten guest cabins scattered around the grounds that were rented for a more secluded retreat.
Now for the hard part, I thought, as I turned on my computer and began looking through homeschool teacher applicants. I hadn’t imagined it would be so hard to find a good teacher. We lived on the outskirts of a small town, but I was willing to pay a killer salary for a good teacher for my boys.
Last week, the boys and I conducted several interviews, and they all went
south ─ and fast. On paper, the applicants looked great. When they showed up for their interviews, however, they were less than par. One lady had no references to give me, even though she said that she had experience as a teacher. Another had an awkward, giggly personality, which made us all feel uncomfortable.
Sighing, I started to comb through the list. If it wasn’t for my late wife, Samantha, who wanted to homeschool our children, I might not be considering this. But we had discussed that once our kids became teenagers, we would do it.
Working in public education for several years before we married, Sam saw how cruel teenagers could be. Also, there were a lot of problems in the local public schools we didn’t want our kids to be involved in. We’d also wanted our kids to learn about family values and to be a part of the family business early on.
Now that the kids were twelve, soon to be thirteen, I felt it was time to honor Sam’s wishes. In fact, I’d wanted to do it before they went into the middle school this year, but I didn’t get to it before the school year started. Feeling guilty, I wanted to make it happen now.
Hmmm, this one looks good, I thought, looking at Angela Barret’s application, which claimed she was a college professor.
Odd that she would want to go from teaching college classes to two middle school-aged kids, I thought. But, hey, what do I know? Maybe she got tired of the big city life and moved here for some peace and quiet? Her app said she lived right in town, which was perfect.
Take a Mountain Man Home for Christmas: A Mountain Man Romance Christmas Collection Page 1