Take a Mountain Man Home for Christmas: A Mountain Man Romance Christmas Collection

by Crowne, K. C.

  “I’d like that, too,” she replied. “And, Cooper, I realize that it’s only been a couple of days, but I don’t let my guard down for just anyone. The more time we spend together, the more my feelings grow for you,” she told me.

  I put my hands to her waist and pulled her to me. Not caring who was watching any longer, I put my lips gently upon hers. She hesitated but didn’t pull away. Our lips lightly brushed together, and a chill ran through my body. A good kind of chill.

  I finished the kiss with a peck and took her by the hand. She grinned at me and we walked hand and hand into the lodge, not caring who was looking. And trust me, they were all looking.

  I led Hailey to the bar and took a chance to glance over at my mother. She was watching us closely. I sighed and looked away, not wanting to lock eyes with her. I’d deal with her later.

  We ordered two drinks, watched the crowd dancing to pop songs on the dancefloor, and waited for dinner to be announced. I stayed close to Hailey, not wanting to leave her side and have my mother of Elsie come over to harass her.

  I had already decided that I was going to protect Hailey at all costs. Nothing bad was going to happen to my girl.

  Hailey

  We heard a loud creaking sound. I didn’t know how else to explain it. It was loud enough to hear over the music. I looked over at Cooper in question.

  He looked confused as well.

  Then, there was a thunderous rolling sound like a storm approaching in the distance. At first, I thought it was coming from the roof, but then I realized it was outside someplace.

  I got up off my stool. Something was wrong. I just had a feeling. Those sounds were not natural.

  “What was that?” I asked Cooper.

  “I don’t know. Maybe we should go outside and look,” he suggested.

  Cooper grabbed me by the hand and pulled me toward the door. Others had heard the sound as well and were giving each other confused looks. I looked around for Oakley but didn’t see her. She must still be out on the slope.

  Once we got outside and out in the lot, the thunderous sound happened again. This time, I knew it was coming from the mountainside.

  “Oakley is still up there,” I yelled and began running toward the lifts.

  Cooper followed right behind me and we saw it; a massive cloud of white coming down the slope. It was close to the top and we couldn’t make out any people.

  I looked over at Cooper. “An avalanche?” I questioned.

  He nodded. “I think so,” he answered worriedly.

  It took a minute for the cloud of snow dust to dissipate. I strained my eyes to try and see any movement up on the slope. I couldn’t see shit.

  “What should we do?” I asked, heading to the lifts.

  I was going to go up and find my best friend.

  “No,” Cooper yelled at me. “You cannot go up there! The snow is too unstable up there,” he said, motioning to the mountaintop.

  Just then, we saw several skiers come down the slope. They were yelling and crying in a panic.

  “There’s an avalanche!” they were yelling. “People are still up there!”

  “How many people?” Cooper asked them.

  “The guide and her boyfriend and Melanie Baker and her two kids!” the one guy yelled.

  “Yeah, and there’s another group over on the advanced slope,” the girl added, crying. “But we don’t know if it happened over there, or just here on this slope.”

  Cooper nodded and pulled out his cell phone. For some reason, he had Brad Hunter’s number in his phone.

  “Hi, this is Cooper Stone. There’s been an accident on the slope. There’s been an avalanche, two maybe,” he told Brad. “Yes, Oakley and Dax are up there along with a woman and her two children. Harley has a group on the advanced slope, too. My brother and his wife are with his group. Okay, will do,” he said before hanging up.

  “Brad said he and Cole were bringing up the snowmobiles and for us to stay put,” He told me and then dialed another number. Three digits... 911.

  I had remembered seeing a pair of binoculars at the small station at the bottom of the lifts. I put my finger up to Cooper to tell him that I’d be one minute, and I started to run over to grab them.

  I guessed that he thought I was going to try and go up the lift again, and he grabbed my jacket as he reported the incident to the 911 operator. He shook his head “no” to me and held on to me while telling her what was going on and where we were. I patiently waited for him to finish his call.

  As soon as he hung up, I told him about the binoculars. He nodded and let go of my jacket. I ran over and grabbed them. Putting them up to my eyes, I couldn’t see anything at all. All I saw were huge mounds of snow that were not on the slick slope before.

  Sighing, I handed the binoculars over to Cooper who took a look. “Can't see shit but a bunch of snow,” he stated.

  I nodded in agreement. I reached for my phone and dialed Oakley’s number. It went straight to voicemail. She probably had no service up there.

  I sighed. Now what?

  “What did the 911 operator say?” I asked Cooper.

  “I told them we had five missing people, at least. Maybe more on the second slope. They are sending a Search and Rescue helicopter.”

  “That’s good,” I said. “Oakley has avalanche safety training,” I told Cooper. I unzipped one of my jacket pockets and pulled out a small, foldable shovel. “She should have one of these with her as well. It’s protocol for all instructors to have one.”

  Cooper looked at me surprised. “I had no idea that you had that in your pocket. Have you had avalanche training, too?” he asked me.

  I nodded that I had.

  More guests were coming out of the lodge and asking what was going on. Congresswoman Stone and Mr. Stone came over to Cooper and asked where Jackson was.

  “He’s on the second slope, Mom. From the sound of it, I think that the avalanches just happened here, on this slope. I didn’t hear the sound come from behind the lodge where the second slope is located. I’m sure he and Bethany are fine,” he told his mother and Bethany’s parents who had shown up behind the Stones.

  They all shook their heads and looked on, terrified.

  Cooper took my hand and held it tight. There was nothing we could do but wait.

  A few minutes later, Brad and Cole came buzzing up the driveway on snowmobiles.

  “Have you seen anything?” Brad asked us.

  “No,” Cooper and I replied. “I called 911. A Search and Rescue helicopter is on its way,” Cooper told Brad.

  “Thank, God,” Brad said. “Hope they hurry.”

  We heard yelling from near the lodge.

  “Now what?” Brad asked.

  Then Harley Hunter came cross-country skiing from the trail alongside the lodge. He had the bride and groom and a few other guests with him.

  “Jackson!” Mrs. Stone yelled and started to run over to her son.

  “Bethany!” Bethany’s parents cried and followed behind Mrs. Stone.

  Mr. Stone looked at Cooper and gave him a small smile. He put a hand on his son’s shoulder before heading over to talk to Jackson.

  Harley ditched his skis when the trail ended and came running over in his ski boots.

  “I guess you guys heard that,” he stated. “Who’s still up there?” he asked.

  “Dax and Oakley. A woman and two kids,” Cole answered him, shading his eyes from the sun to look up the hill.

  Cole pointed. “What’s that? Looks like movement.”

  Cooper looked through the binoculars. We all looked at him for an answer.

  “It’s Melanie Baker!” he exclaimed. “Looks like she’s alone. Maybe she knows where the others are!”

  We all ran over to meet Mrs. Baker who was slowly making her way down the hill on a broken ski. When she got closer, we could see she was all roughed up. She had been crying and her face had some blood dripping down it.

  “My kids are trapped up there,” she cried when s
he got close.

  Harley ran over to her and helped her down the hill. “Can you tell us where?” he calmly asked her.

  Mrs. Baker nodded her head and pointed. “They are about three-quarters of the way up. Right in the center! The ice shifted under our feet and Oakley grabbed on to me,” she sobbed.

  We waited to hear about the others.

  “I saw the man grab my kids before I lost sight of them. The avalanche took us but we didn’t get buried. Oakley sent me down the hill and she climbed up to find the man and the kids. But that was the first avalanche. I heard another one after I was on my way back down!” she started to sob hysterically. “When I turned around to look, I couldn’t see Oakley anymore, just a big cloud of snow. Are they dead? Where are my babies?” she cried, wailing now.

  “Nobody is dead,” I blurted out. “Oakley has avalanche training. And Dax is a big guy. He will protect your kids,” I told her.

  “Mrs. Baker, Dax is my brother. I’m Brad Hunter. I know my brother. He would hold on to those kids no matter what,” he assured her.

  Mrs. Baker cried softly to herself and another guest came over to help her.

  “We need to get up there,” Harley said.

  “I’ll come with you guys,” Cooper offered.

  Brad thought about his offer and then shook his head. “Stay here in case the guests need something. I don’t want anyone else up there in harm’s way. Harley, Cole, and I will take up the snowmobiles,” he told Cooper.

  Brad looked at me. I nodded.

  “I’m not sure where the helicopter will land, so if it tries to land around here, tell them we are up there,” Cole called out as they jumped on the snowmobiles and slowly began the climb up the mountain.

  I looked at Cooper and he looked at me in return. All we could do was wait.

  * * *

  An eternity seemed to go by before the helicopter showed up. We saw it land and then take off again sometime later. Brad, Cole, and Harley came back down the mountain on the snowmobiles.

  “The kids are okay. Someone go and tell Mrs. Baker. They are being taken to the hospital and she can meet them there,” Brad called out.

  We heard a commotion of excitement from the crowd about the kids.

  Cooper and I looked at the Hunter Brothers for an update on Oakley and Dax.

  “Oakley was unconscious. They were all stuck in an ice hole. Only the boy got out. I gave her CPR and she started to breathe again. She’s got a bad head injury and is really banged up. Dax, too. They took her and Dax both to the hospital with the kids,” Harley told us.

  “We’re going to go and meet them there if you guys want to ride with us or follow us,” Brad suggested.

  I looked at Cooper. “I’ll take you,” he told me.

  I nodded and told Brad that Cooper and I would follow them there.

  * * *

  Cooper and I sat in the waiting area, waiting to hear how Oakley and Dax were. Oakley was the worst out of the two. She was still unconscious, and they had taken her up to get an MRI of her brain.

  A little bit later, we got the news that Oakley was in a coma. They didn’t know if or when she would wake up or if she would have any permanent brain damage. But at least she was not brain dead and did have a chance to recover.

  The news was devastating, though. I asked if I could see her and they let me in. Dax was sitting in a chair by her bed. He got up to let me sit there while I visited.

  “Are you okay?” I asked Dax.

  He just looked at me and shook his head. I put my hand on his arm and went to talk to Oakley for a bit. Besides for her head bandage, she looked as if she was sleeping peacefully.

  I called her sister, Alice, her mom and stepdad, and her dad. They all said they would come the next day.

  I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t want to go home on Monday and leave Oakley there. But who knew how long she would have to stay?

  I was happy when Brad offered for me to keep the cabin while Oakley was in the hospital. He said that I could stay as long as I needed to, and we’d take it one day at a time.

  Crying, I thanked him a hundred times over. The last thing that I wanted to do was to leave my best friend in her condition.

  We all stayed for a while longer. It was evident that Dax had no intention of leaving Oakley’s side so Brad said that either he or Cole would return with some clothes for him.

  Cooper suggested that we go back to the resort, as well. “I’ll bring you back tomorrow,” he told me. Anytime you want.”

  I agreed. I was tired and there was nothing that I could do there. I made Dax promise that he would call me as soon as there was a change. He promised me that he would, and I let Cooper take me back.

  * * *

  Back at the cabin, we were sitting at the table having a drink and I asked Cooper to stay with me for the night. I didn’t want to be alone.

  “I had no intentions of leaving you alone,” he told me.

  “What about tomorrow when you check out?” I asked him. “I don’t want you to leave. But I know that you have to,” I said sadly.

  I saw him thinking. Part of me hoped that he would say that he would stay. But I knew that that wasn’t logical. He had a job. A good job.

  “What if I do stay?” he asked me.

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “How can you stay?” I asked him. “What about your job?”

  “First, would you want me to stay?” he asked. “Tell me the truth. I don’t want to force myself on you.”

  I sat up. “Force yourself on me? You could never do that. Of course, I want you to stay,” I said hoping he would say that he would do so.

  “Then, I’ll stay.”

  I smiled. “That’s it. You’re just going to stay? How?” I asked him again.

  “Well, I do a lot of my work on the computer, which I have with me. Boring paperwork and stuff. I’m sure if I talk to Brad, he’ll let me have temporary access to a printer and fax machine if needed,” he said thinking. “And, if I am needed at one of my client’s firms, I’ll hop a plane and go. Then, come straight back, of course,” he said grinning.

  “You will just hop on a plane and go, and then hop on another to come back?” I asked shocked that he would say such a thing. “It’s expensive to fly, you know?” I asked him.

  How could he be so nonchalant about it? We really were from different worlds. The realization worried me a bit.

  “Hailey,” he began.

  “What?”

  “I don’t know how to put this, but I have a lot of money. Enough for several lifetimes to be exact. Really, I don’t even need to work, but I refuse to be a trust fund brat.”

  “What?” I said dazedly. “You did not just say that. You’re joking, right?”

  Cooper chuckled. His blue eyes were shining. “Not joking.”

  “How?” I asked, stunned.

  “My family comes from generations of money. Plus, I make a nice salary. Most of my money is from my own salary. I busted my butt to be where I am today. I have several high-profile clients. I used my inheritance when I turned eighteen to get through law school and I got my Masters in Business, as well. And I don’t need my family’s money anymore,” he explained to me.

  “Wow,” I shook my head. “I didn’t know.”

  “Don’t look at me like that. I’m still the same guy who you’ve spent the last couple of days with.”

  “Sorry,” I said.

  “Seriously. I’m just a regular guy. That’s why I don’t get along with my family and their friends so much. I’ve never fit in with them. And it pisses my mom off so bad,” he added laughing.

  “Yeah, I can see that,” I said, smiling. “No wonder why your mom doesn’t like me. I’m a nobody in her eyes. Definitely not good enough for her son,” I acknowledged.

  “Don’t say that, Hailey,” Cooper told me sternly. “I’m attracted to you because you are real and down to Earth. You’re nice and caring and loving and smart. That’s what I want in a partner, not a rich snob who ju
st wants to spend her days shopping for new shoes and bigger boobs.”

  I looked at Cooper closely. The look in his eyes told me that he was being completely honest. He wasn’t feeding me a line to keep me on the hook. He’d proven as much already.

  As if he was reading my mind, Cooper looked me directly in the eye and said, “Yes, I am serious.”

  I smiled at him. He grinned back and got up to get another beer and the bottle of wine for me. I stood up and followed him to the fridge. When he turned around, I surprised him and threw my arms around his neck.

  Cooper reacted just as I had hoped that he would. He put down the bottles on the counter and kissed me.

  Cooper

  I kissed Hailey for a long moment. I loved feeling her lips pressed up against mine. She was a good kisser, and I genuinely enjoyed her touch.

  She was holding me tightly, her arms wrapped around my neck. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking after what I had just told her. I wanted her to trust me. I wanted to make her happy.

  She moved her hands down over my torso and the feeling gave me the shivers. Her touch was electrifying. I followed pursuit and let my hands travel over her curves, her breasts and hips, down over her ass.

  She was breathing quickly, in short, raspy breaths. Her quick breaths told me that she was turned on, which in return, turned me on. My dick grew long and solid in my pants.

  I wanted to please Hailey; to make her feel good. We’d both had a hell of a day.

  She was still wearing her ski pants. I lifted the hem of her shirt and pulled it from her arms. She stood back from me and unclasped her bra. I watched in amazement as her tits bounced from their tight enclosure.

  She bent down and pulled her pants from her body, standing naked before me. Every time I saw her naked, I was amazed at her beauty.

  Hailey undressed me in the same manner. We both stood naked before each other. My fingers trailed over her breasts down to her warm mound. She separated her legs, and I pushed my fingers up into her pussy.