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

by Crowne, K. C.

  Before the BMW pulled away, I got a glimpse of the man’s profile in the side mirror as he glanced into it to look for traffic. Firm jawline, tailored with a five o’clock shadow.

  Harley.

  No. It couldn’t be.

  But I knew it was him.

  And now he was gone.

  Glancing at Chole and Kellan, I wondered what he’d seen. Most likely, he had come to surprise me and caught me with my daughter and Kellan. My daughter had called me “Mommy” several times. I knew her voice carried. I could clearly hear her giggling and playing basketball from the front porch when Kellan took her to the park nearby.

  And…Kellan. I’d mentioned my brother to Harley, but he wouldn’t know this was him. After seeing us interact and our familiarity with one another, Harley had probably assumed Kellan was Chloe’s father. And my significant other.

  Shit!

  For a brief moment, I had the urge to run after him. But the car was down the block, and I’d never catch up. The last thing I ever wanted was to hurt Harley. It was unintentional, but it didn’t change the fact that it happened.

  A sense of panic set in.

  My heart started to skip entire beats, and I was panting rather than breathing. I couldn’t catch it, so I leaned down, palms on my knees and concentrated on my breathing. Slow, even breaths. I occasionally had panic attacks, and this was a technique I’d learned to manage them.

  My heart raced, and my chest tightened. I felt as if I was going to have a heart attack.

  Kellan rushed to me and put his hand on my back. The warmth of his hand felt comforting. He remained silent and let me breathe through it. Luckily, after about five minutes, my heart rate slowed and the short breaths became naturally longer. My body trembled, and Kellan took my arm to lead me to the house. With Chloe’s hand in his, he took us home.

  “You okay, Mommy?” Chloe asked, concerned as Kellan helped me to the couch.

  “I’ll be okay,” I whispered, smiling reassuringly at her.

  Kellan got me a glass of cold water, and I sipped from it. Finally, I started to feel better and sat back into the couch. Chloe sat to one side, and Kellan sat at my other.

  “Has it passed?” he asked softly, nudging me with his elbow.

  “I think so,” I answered, swallowing.

  “What brought this on? You’ve been doing so good lately.”

  I quickly glanced at Chloe, then at Kellan. He understood. I didn’t want to say in front of her. He smiled at Chloe and suggested, “Chloe, why don’t you go pick out a movie for us to watch?”

  “Okay,” she agreed happily and hurried to the movie rack.

  “I saw Harley,” I whispered to Kellan, wide-eyed.

  “What? When? Where?” He was shocked. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. He was in that silver BMW parked in front of your truck. Did you see it?”

  “Yeah, I did notice it. I just thought it was the neighbors.” He paused in thought. “Now that you mention it, a BMW M6 Gran Coupe is a bit out of place in this neighborhood. Unless it’s Mom and Dad visiting,” he mused.

  “It was his fancy watch. It’s very unique. He wore it the night we got married,” I murmured, frowning.

  “Maybe you just thought it was the same watch,” he suggested.

  “Yes, but I saw his profile in the mirror when he looked into it before pulling away. I saw his jawline and beard. I know it was him, Kellan,” I said matter-of-factly.

  “Okay, so why the panic attack? I thought you were talking to him?” He was obviously confused by my behavior, and honestly, I was too. But for a different reason.

  “I stopped answering his texts a little while ago.” I shook my head sadly.

  “Why would you do that?” Kellan inquired.

  “Because he asked me to partner with him at the spa he and his brothers are building. He asked me to move to Colorado,” I informed him, frowning. “I never told him about Chloe.”

  I watched my baby put the disk in the DVD player. Kellan picked up the remote from the coffee table and pushed play for her, and she plopped down in front of the TV as My Little Ponies began to sing. Chloe sang along and swayed to the music, bringing a smile to my saddened face.

  “What do you want to do?” Kellan asked me.

  “I don’t know,” I moaned. “I feel so horrible. He saw all three of us together.”

  “That’s why he drove off without coming up,” Kellan considered, nodding knowingly.

  “Should I try and call him?”

  Kellan thought about it. “It’s up to you, Emily. Whatever you decide to do, I have your back,” he said sincerely.

  “He came all this way to talk to me,” I said more to myself. I rose and grabbed my cell phone from the table by the front door. I dialed his number. No texting now. I needed to hear his voice. Straight to voicemail.

  I dialed Harley again.

  Voicemail.

  I needed to find him. Knowing Harley, he’d be staying at the nicest hotel closest to my address. I used my phone to look up hotels. The best one was the Sheraton near the Historic District overlooking the bay.

  “Will you watch Chloe for me? I know it’s last minute,” I begged Kellan.

  “Of course,” he answered. “Go.”

  I nodded and grabbed my keys. Crap, Kellan’s blocking me in. He unclipped his key ring from his jeans and tossed them to me. “Take my truck.”

  “Okay,” I agreed. “Thanks, Kellan. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “Emily.” He stopped me with a hand on my arm. “If you find him, take your time. My next shift at the firehouse isn’t until tomorrow night.”

  I smiled at him and headed out the door.

  Harley

  I was blinded with fury as I drove back to the hotel. I was driving too fast but didn’t care. What was the point of having a powerfully fast car if it couldn’t be driven fast?

  Once back at the hotel, I decided to work out. No way I could get a flight back at that very second. Might as well stay the night, book one the next day and get the hell out of there.

  As I vehemently worked out my frustrations, I couldn’t get the image of Emily and that man out of my head. Why didn’t she tell me? She’d lied to me the entire time! All the times we’d been intimate, both in person and over the phone, she’d been with someone else.

  I was enraged. I worked out fiercely, moving from one machine to the next with no concern that I was overdoing it. My body shook and told me it was time to quit. My muscles couldn’t take any more strain in one workout.

  Frustrated, I grabbed a towel to mop up the sweat that poured from my body and decided to shower in my room. I passed the indoor pool and took the stairs when I saw a family lined up in front of the elevator. I walked up the back steps, which emerged near the entrance to the building, forcing me to walk through the common room to the elevators.

  I emerged from the stairwell. I glanced around and stopped in my tracks. No one had hair that yellow. Emily was at the front desk, and the attendant had the phone up to his ear. She was having him call my room.

  I hesitated. I was shocked she had found me. I’d thought I’d been well-concealed at her house, but maybe not.

  I took a deep breath. My body was still trembling from the strenuous workout and the leftover anger coursing through me. I watched as the attendant put the phone back in the cradle and shook his head. I read his lips.

  “Would you like to leave a message for Mr. Hunter?”

  Emily nodded and told him in her soft, singsong voice what to write. I couldn’t help but notice how sexy she looked from behind wearing short, cutoff jean shorts that hugged the roundness of her ass. The outline of her leg muscles glowed with a tan. She was much tanner than she’d been in Vegas. She had on a snug, white tank top, accenting her perfect tits.

  As I studied Emily from behind, my cock twitched in my shorts.

  The man wrote down the message and placed it in a white envelope.

  I stepped backward toward the s
tairwell. I couldn’t make it to the elevators without being seen. I reached the thick door and began to push on it. Slowly, it creaked open. One more step and I’d be through the door and out of her life. Forever.

  But did I really want that?

  My mind reeled.

  What was she doing there? She’d looked happy with her family.

  I had so many unanswered questions.

  I hesitated too long.

  Emily turned from the front desk, and our eyes locked. I saw her beautiful, heart-shaped face light up with her smile. My body reacted to her sexuality, and my dick grew to its full length, anger be damned. She moved in my direction, and I saw her bloodshot eyes. She’d been crying. My heart melted. I thought I’d gotten to know Emily over the last couple of months. But as it turned out, I didn’t know a damn thing about this woman.

  “Harley,” Emily whispered.

  “Emily,” I returned in a not-so-friendly tone.

  She winced. I felt bad but held my stance. She had some explaining to do. Did I even want to hear her explanations? If everything she’d ever said to me was a lie, why would she stop lying now?

  She took a few steps closer. Her eyes roamed over my sweaty, toned body. I wanted to smile as her gaze lingered on my hard-on, but I dropped my hand to hold the towel over it and kept a straight face.

  Her big, blue-grey eyes met mine. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I waited for the next lie.

  Emily finally found her tongue. “Can we talk please?” she whispered. Her eyes looked at me hopefully.

  My brain told me to say no, but my body made me say yes.

  Emily

  Harley led me past the front desk, and I motioned to the attendant I’d found him. We took the elevator up to his room on the eighteenth floor. The doors opened, and as we walked into the bright hallway, I realized this was the first time we’d ever walked together that Harley didn’t offer me his arm or hand.

  I swallowed tears.

  But could I blame him?

  Harley swiped the keycard, and we entered his room. His tank top, soaked from his recent workout, clung to his chiseled torso. He went directly to the mini fridge and bent to pull out a bottle of water. His lined shoulder muscles rippled as he leaned into the fridge. He stood and put the bottle to his lips, guzzling the clear liquid in several gulps. I watched as his bicep swelled like a balloon as he held the bottle to his upturned lips. He tossed the empty plastic bottle into the trash.

  I was in awe in the presence of this fine specimen of a man. Why on Earth would I ever let a man like this go?

  With one quick motion, Harley pulled the wet tank top off his body and threw it onto the chair where his travel bag sat. He bent and rummaged through the fridge once again. This time, he pulled out a bottle of beer. He reached in for a second beer and handed it to me. He stood up, twisted off the cap, and took a big swig.

  I waited patiently for him to be ready to talk to me. He had remained silent since we left the lobby. I wished he would say something, but I would be doing most of the talking.

  I was holding my beer bottle to my bosom with both hands. Harley took it from me, twisted off the cap, and handed it back . I nodded thanks and took a small sip. He wasn’t looking at me but at the floor instead

  “Harley, I can’t believe you came here,” I said. I didn’t know where to start because there was a lot to say. I needed his complete attention. I needed him to listen.

  I needed him to understand.

  His eyes finally lifted to mine. “You stopped answering my texts. I was worried about you,” he said crossly.

  I nodded. His look said it all ─ how mad he was at me. When I didn’t say anything right away, Harley glared at me.

  “You were worried about me.” I smiled to myself. Harley had been the only person to say that to me in my life besides Kellan.

  “I wanted to see you, Emily. Is that so hard to believe after everything?” he asked angrily.

  “No,” I admitted. “I need to tell you something. It’s not easy to say.”

  “Don’t worry. I already know,” he barked.

  I grimaced. I wasn’t sure exactly what to say, so I just started at the beginning. “I never lied to you, Harley. I just didn’t tell you everything. Please, can I explain?” I begged him with my eyes.

  Harley’s gaze softened as he looked into my pleading eyes. It wasn’t much, but it gave me the encouragement I needed. “Go ahead,” he said.

  “I have a little girl. Her name is Chloe.”

  Harley nodded. “I saw. What about the guy? Is he your husband? Boyfriend? And don’t bother lying because your little girl looked an awful lot like him.”

  “Neither,” I said, shaking my head emphatically. “He’s my brother, Kellan. He spends a lot of time with Chloe and me,” I told him earnestly. “And that’s why they look a lot alike; because they are related.”

  He nodded, and some of the stress in his shoulders eased. “Why didn’t you tell me about your daughter?” Harley asked. The scowl on his face relaxed, giving me the courage to continue.

  I took a sip of beer and another deep breath. “I was married a long time ago, but I’m divorced,” I began my story.

  “Okay.”

  “It was all wrong from the start. When I met my ex-husband, Shawn, it was all glitz and glamour. He came from a prominent family, had a lot of money, and was successful. The CEO of the Institute for Court Management, to be exact.”

  Harley raised an eyebrow in question of the title. “It’s not really important what he does, just that his position was one of importance and one that impressed everyone, including me at the time.”

  Harley nodded his understanding, and I continued.

  “At the time, I thought I was lucky. My parents even approved of him,” I said with a shake of the head. I chuckled and told him, “My parents don’t approve of anyone. Anyway, I got pregnant. I couldn’t tell anyone but Shawn and Kellan. My parents are strict Catholics and would have disowned me. Getting pregnant out of wedlock is a big no-no. Shawn asked me to marry him, and I accepted.”

  I paused to sip my beer, remembering. It seemed like an eternity ago with all that had happened. Harley drank his beer and patiently waited for me to continue.

  “For the first part of the pregnancy, things were good. At least I thought they were. But in the last trimester, Shawn became distant. He didn’t look at me the same anymore. He told me I was fat, and he wasn’t attracted to me,” I said, looking down at my beer.

  Harley shook his head in disgust. I continued before he could comment. “Shawn started going out a lot and sometimes not even coming home after work. One day, I went through his planner he’d accidentally left on his desk in his home office. He always planned his entire day. I saw a dinner reservation with someone name Celeste. I took down the address and went to see what he was doing.” I cleared my throat as the memory crept into my brain. “I saw him go into the restaurant with a tall brunette. Maybe a business meeting, I thought. She was dressed the part. But, deep down, I knew. So, I waited until they came out, and before they got into his town car, he kissed her. And I knew.”

  I looked at the floor. The memory was as painful then as it was that night. “I’m sorry, Em,” Harley said. I offered him a small smile before continuing.

  “It hurt like hell. But I the baby was coming soon, and I didn’t know what to do. I tried to go to my parents, but they said I was imagining things. They blamed it on me. Said I needed to try harder to keep Shawn interested in me.” The hurt and anger were clear in my voice. “And, of course, they also don’t believe in divorce, being Catholic and prominent members of the community. Just imagine, their only daughter getting divorced before her baby was even born? It would make the family look bad.”

  I paused to take a drink. “Kellan was the only one who believed it was true and that it wasn’t my fault. He saw who Shawn was. As soon as we were married, Shawn had pushed Kellan away, jealous of our close relationship, or so I had
thought. I realize now, it was more than that. Shawn saw Kellan as a threat. Kellan wasn’t welcomed in our house.”

  Harley sighed. “I can only imagine how hard that was on you.”

  “It was really hard,” I agreed. “Kellan is my best friend. I had to sneak out to meet him. But toward the end, Shawn was hardly ever home, so it wasn’t that hard to do. One day, Kellan took me to a work dinner with him. He’s a firefighter, and there was a fundraiser dinner. I ended up meeting a guy named Mike, who was an EMT for the department. We hit it off. But it wasn’t anything sexual. More like a good friendship.” I made sure to be clear about that.

  Harley nodded.

  “Mike was lonely, too. He’d recently divorced his unfaithful wife, so he understood me. Kellan got along well with him, and all three of us started to hang out on a regular basis. When I had Chloe, Kellan and Mike were there for me. Shawn only spent a couple of hours at the hospital.” I wiped a tear from my eye.

  Harley went for a tissue on the desk. He took me by the arm and led me to the bed to sit. “Do you want another beer?” he asked as he grabbed one for himself. I shook my head no. I’d hardly touched the one I had.

  Harley sat beside me. He waited for me to dry my eyes and begin again. “After Chloe was born, nothing changed. One afternoon, I had plans to meet Kellan and Mike at the park with Chloe. Kellan had an emergency call, and it ended up being just Mike and me. For whatever reason, Shawn needed me that evening for a dinner party. I guess he was expected to bring his wife. That was the only time he paid any attention to me, when he needed something from me.”

  I drank my beer, remembering that day. “But I wasn’t home,” I continued. “Shawn asked the housekeeper, who told him I took Chloe to the park. He knew which park we frequented, and he drove there to find us. We were getting ready to leave. He showed up just as Mike was giving me a goodbye hug. A friendly hug,” I emphasized. “But of course, Shawn saw it how he wanted to see it. He ran over, yelling and telling Mike off. Next thing I knew, Mike was on the ground, bloody with a concussion. Shawn beat the shit out of him. Mike ended up spending a week in the hospital because of me.” I burst into tears, no longer able to hold them in.