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

by Crowne, K. C.

  Emily

  Two Weeks Later

  Harley and I had only seen each other once since the wedding. Kellan and I had to take Chole home for her week with Shawn. It killed me to let her go with him, especially now that Shawn knew we’d obtained an attorney who had won the motion to have the judge and courthouse venue changed to an out of town one.

  Shawn came himself to pick up Chloe and barely spoke a word to me, the hatred radiating off of him in waves. I wondered where Penny was but couldn’t ask. I worried that Shawn would kidnap Chloe and run away with her, but Kellan reminded me that Shawn would never ditch his career and high status to take a kid he really didn’t care about.

  Kellan was right, I knew, but I was still so relieved when Shawn dropped Chloe off the following Sunday. Harley showed up the next day for our custody hearing on Wednesday. Cooper had everything in place. We were optimistic that we would win full custody and the right to relocate Chloe to Colorado.

  I’d never been so stressed in my life. The two days before the custody hearing would have been unbearable for me if Harley hadn’t been there to hold my hand. I didn’t sleep the night before, and on Wednesday, Harley drove Kellan, Chloe, and me to the courthouse.

  Cooper surprised me. He was a tall, handsome man who held himself with dignity and pride and stole the floor in the courtroom. All eyes were on Cooper Stone.

  And, to my surprise, Penny showed up.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked her. “I’m happy to see you, but are you sure you want to do this?” I asked, voicing my concern.

  Shawn was in rare form today. His face was red with anger that Cooper was making his high-price attorney look like a fool.

  She nodded resolutely. “Shawn fired me. He didn’t give me a reason, just said to not come back. It made me worry even more about Chloe because I wasn’t there to keep an eye on her, so I had to come,” Penny told me.

  “I’m sorry he fired you,” I said, frowning.

  “It’s okay. I’m graduating in the fall, and I’m already looking for a job. It’ll work out,” Penny replied, smiling.

  Cooper called Mike to the stand first. Mike shared his gruesome story, as well as his medical records and bloody photos. The judge took a good, hard look at them. When he asked Shawn what he had to say for himself, all Shawn could say was that he’d caught Mike and me together. Mike testified that we were only friends and that he worked as an EMT at the same firehouse as Kellan.

  Next came Penny’s testimony. She simply told the judge what it was like at Shawn’s house. She explained how she took care of Chloe throughout the week, most days never even seeing Shawn as well as a few more things that painted Shawn in a bad light. The judge glared at Shawn through his eyeglasses, and I finally felt like things might go my way.

  Cooper then presented some pretty character damaging information that Dax’s PI friend Jackson had dug up on Shawn. As it was presented, Shawn’s face went from red to white, back to red. Then Cooper called Harley’s and my character witnesses, which were Kellan and Mike, plus Dax and Oakley, who had agreed to come as well. Dax also showed the judge pictures of the resort and of the large Hunter family. The judge agreed that the resort was a good environment to raise children.

  After the final statements, the judge took a five-minute recess. Cooper said he had a good feeling about the final judgment. When the court reconvened, the judge ruled completely in our favor. I’d won full custody and could relocate Chloe to Colorado. Shawn would have four visitations per year, where I would fly Chloe home and stay at Kellan’s house.

  Even better, the judge approved Mike’s civil case against Shawn on the spot. Mike would get his day in court.

  I’d never been happier than when I heard the judge rule in my favor. I finally had full custody of my daughter.

  Things were finally looking up.

  Harley

  Four Months Later

  Emily and I started our business. We built it from the ground up, with the help of my brothers and Reid and Bryce. Once the gym was expanded and the new spa building was complete, we had all new equipment delivered to us.

  Guests had been booked in advance for the next month for new fitness programs and spa treatments. Dax advertised like the social media champion he was and even got two awesome commercials accepted by the local and Denver TV networks.

  Everything was finally in place.

  We announced an official Grand Opening ceremony, and the resort was packed for the celebration. Not only did we fill all the guest rooms, but many locals came to support our family as well.

  “Are you ready?” I asked Emily. She held the giant scissors in her small hands. Heavy silken blue tape closed off the entrance to the new spa.

  “I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life,” she announced, grinning.

  “Cut the tape!” the people yelled from the crowd milling around us. My entire family stood on either side of us as cameras flashed.

  “Do it,” I told Emily.

  Emily pushed the big silver scissors together to cut the tape. With a snapping sound, the tape gave way and flung to either side of the new building. Everyone cheered as we opened the doors to our new business.

  Once Emily and I were able to slip away from the crowd, she told me this was the best day of her life. “All my dreams have come true, and I owe it all to you, my husband.” She looked up into my eyes, blushing.

  “I couldn’t have done it without you,” I told her, matching her intense gaze.

  “We make a pretty good team, don’t we?” she asked.

  I leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. “We sure do, Mrs. Hunter.”

  Emily smiled. “I have a surprise for you. I waited to give it to you today.”

  “What?” I asked her.

  Emily looked at her belly, then back up to meet my eyes. “I’m pregnant, Harley. Chloe’s going to have a new brother or sister!” she yelled excitedly.

  “Are you sure?” I asked, and Emily nodded. “I’m going to be a father? Wow,” I said, trying to picture it.

  “You’ve been a perfect father to Chloe. Now you’ll have a son or daughter of your own.” Emily said happily. “Are you happy?”

  “I have never been happier in my life. And it all started the day I stole the cab from you,” I grinned.

  “So, you do admit to stealing my cab?” Emily squinted her eyes at me.

  “Um... maybe,” I said, blushing.

  “Still my Mr. Smug,” she said quietly, smiling lightly up at me.

  “What?” I asked, confused, but she shut me up with a kiss.

  Epilogue

  Emily - Eight Months Later

  I looked around the room at my family. Everyone had come to celebrate. I looked from face to face, each one of them smiling at Harley and me.

  To my right were Brad and Angela. Angela was holding Abby so she could peer down at me. Reid and Bryce, Brad’s twins, men now at nineteen, beamed at each other. I looked at Cole and Lindsay, who had her camera out and had been there the entire time, capturing each moment. I couldn’t wait to see the video she took and all the pictures. She’d promised to make us a photo album. Cole held up Raini, who was giggling excitedly.

  Dax and Oakley stood close. Little Dax was now two years old, and he was struggling to get out of Dax’s arms. All he wanted to do was explore his surroundings and get into everything. He was a real handful. I grinned at his chubby cheeks and thought about what I had to look forward to.

  Mary Beth was to my right, and I smiled into her lovely, motherly face. Over the last year, she’d become more of a mother to me than my own mother ever was. I was forever grateful to her for all her support and for being there for me when I needed her the most.

  Kellan stood next to Mary Beth. His handsome face was all smiles. I was so happy he could be here with us to share in this special moment, even if my parents were absent.

  Lastly, I looked at my wonderful husband and life partner, Harley. I studied his charming features. He gri
nned at me with that special grin he only had for me.

  “Do you want to hold him?” I asked.

  Harley nodded his head. He was still emotionally recovering from the birth of his son. A tear fell from his eye as I handed him our new bundle of joy.

  “Family photo,” Lindsay called out. She set her camera up on a tripod and set the timer. All seventeen of members of the Hunter family crowded around the hospital bed and smiled at the camera.

  “Perfect,” I said when the camera flashed.

  My life was perfect.

  Book Six - Triplets For The Mountain Man

  It’s the perfect arrangement

  With a doctor on the mountains.

  A secret NO ONE can know.

  He gets his family - and I avoid my nightmare.

  But can Abe save us when we need him most?

  He’s everything I've ever wanted.

  A gifted surgeon. Tall. Dark. Extremely handsome.

  And he wants to knock me up.

  But there’s one tiny technicality: I'm his surrogate.

  Everything goes as planned...

  Until darkness shows its ugly face.

  And our relationship blossoms into a full-on love affair.

  Will the man of my dreams save us from disaster?

  And will I ever be able to go back to my old life after I deliver the triplets to their father?

  Felicity

  “Dammit,” I muttered as I pulled myself out from under the sink. I glanced at the clock and realized it was time to open. The garbage disposal would have to wait. Out of everything that had gone wrong lately, it was pretty minor in comparison, but it was yet another thing on my ever-growing to-do list.

  All of it costing money too.

  I wiped the sweat from my brow and stood up, sure to wash my hands and clean myself up in the restroom. I stared in the mirror and realized how tired I looked. I’d styled my hair in a neat bun earlier, before heading into the diner, but now my hair was falling around my face. My hair didn’t stay in elastics very well; it was too straight and fine.

  Not the best look for the head chef of a restaurant. And even though Smothered in Love was just a hole-in-the-wall diner, I treated my job as if I was the head chef of a fine dining establishment. Because one day, when the stars aligned, I’d open something a little fancier than my current diner. Not that I didn’t love the diner and the food we served -- I’d always keep it open -- but it was time to move on to something bigger. It would be nice to actually use my culinary degree and cook fancier fare than what I served here.

  But all my money was tied up in Smothered in Love. Currently, it wasn't a very good return on my investment either.

  I pulled my hair back into the neatest bun I could muster in the bathroom without a brush. It still felt a bit messy, but I was being too hard on myself, surely. That’s what my mom had always told me - I was always too hard on myself.

  Perfection was usually my goal, but very rarely the result. Something always got in the way of that.

  I checked the time on my phone. “Crap.”

  We were supposed to be open for business three minutes ago, and where was Allison, the opening server? I would be in the kitchen, and I couldn’t do it all. Luckily, we didn’t usually pick up until closer to six-thirty, but we often had a few stray guests show up at six when we opened for business. Including a couple regulars who showed up at opening, on the dot, every single day.

  I hurried to the front door and unlocked it, apologizing before the door was even swung open.

  “I’m so sorry; I’ll throw in a free biscuit for your wait.”

  Dr. Abe Hammond was the only person standing outside the door that morning. The rain was pouring down around him, and he didn’t have an umbrella.

  “And a ten percent discount,” I muttered. “I’m so sorry.”

  Abe stepped inside and chuckled heartily. “It’s fine, Felicity. It was three minutes.”

  “But it’s raining.”

  “And I’m not made out of sugar.”

  Abe’s dark brown hair was cut short and trim to his head. He was starting to grey at the temples, but it showed more in his beard than on his head. His beard was turning whiter and whiter by the day.

  His dark brown eyes were filled with warmth and radiated with a golden tint that reminded me of fine bourbon. His smile was always a bright spot, even on the drabbest mornings. It was more of a smirk than a smile, a confident grin that seemed to hint there was more inside his mind that he didn’t care to share. I always wondered what he was thinking, but it was none of my business to ask.

  And his body… I swear, the mountains knew how to breed them. He was closing in on six and a half feet, and big all over. He could have been a lumberjack instead of a doctor.

  I wondered where he found dress slacks and a white jacket to fit him, but again, it wasn’t my place to ask.

  “Sorry, did you say something?” I blushed as I realized I’d been too busy checking him out to hear what he had to say.

  “Yes,” he said, draping his wet jacket over the seat and sitting down. “I just said I’ll have the usual, and I’ll take you up on the free biscuit, but I absolutely refuse to pay even less for your amazing food. You already don’t charge enough.”

  I cracked a smile. “I’ve told you I can’t raise my prices. The folks in Liberty can’t afford hipster cafe prices. I have to know my market.”

  “I understand, and I trust that you know more about this than I do, but seriously, your omelettes are well worth paying at least twelve dollars for.”

  “Thank you, but not everyone has twelve dollars to spend on an omelette.”

  Sometimes, it felt like Abe didn’t understand the rest of us here in Liberty. Most of us were middle class, or lower-middle class. And while I had dreams of opening a higher-end restaurant to cater to the ones that could afford it, our town needed a local diner that everyone could afford - a place to come together and enjoy good food. That was why I opened the place. That was why I intended to keep the place going for as long as possible.

  Abe nodded. “I know, I know. I’m just paying you a compliment, Felicity.”

  My cheeks burned again, and I turned away from him. I’d always had trouble taking compliments. I could always find a way to improve or argue with it. Not that I was insecure, I wasn’t. I just felt like there was always room to do better.

  But getting a compliment from someone like Abe, who was smart and successful, who didn’t have to eat at my dinky little diner but chose to, day in and day out meant a lot.

  “I’ll be right back with your coffee,” I said, changing the subject.

  I turned on my heels, trying to hide the smile on my face. It had been a rough few weeks, but all of that was in the back of my mind as I grabbed Abe his coffee. I went to the back and got to work on his breakfast - a cowboy omelette. My omelette wasn’t just some eggs, cheese, veggies, and lunch meat thrown together either. I had ham fresh from the butcher, straight from the pig. Fresh scallions, red and green peppers, and three kinds of cheese - not the shredded kind. Monterey jack, cheddar, and gouda.

  They were also the size of a large dinner plate once it was all finished. Enough that most people could eat it for two meals. People that weren’t as large as Abe, that is.

  I grabbed a freshly baked biscuit with our famous apple butter and served him his breakfast.

  The rain meant less people were out and about, so we were slow, which was good since I’d heard nothing from Allison. Luckily, I had other staff coming in soon, it would give me a chance to call her and make sure everything was okay.

  But for now, it was just Abe and me.

  I leaned against the counter, keeping an eye on the front of the restaurant. I didn’t want to hover over Abe, but he usually seemed to like the company. As a single man in his late forties, I imagined he could get lonely. I never understood why someone like him was still single, why he’d never settled down.

  “You know, I’ve always wondered somethin
g,” I said.

  Abe took a massive bite of his omelette. “Oh yeah? What is it?”

  “Your name. Abe. Is it short for something, like Abraham Lincoln?”

  Abe chuckled to himself, taking a big swig of his coffee to wash down the omelette.

  “No, Abel actually,” he said.

  “Oh, but Abe isn’t much shorter than Abel. You just drop one letter,” I teased.

  “Yeah, but it sounds tougher, don’t you think?” He winked at me as he took another bite.

  “I don’t think anyone would ever question your toughness.” I gave the guy a once over. Even sitting down, he was huge. Massive compared to me, and I wasn’t that short - more like average height for a woman. But standing near him felt like standing next to one of those Redwood trees.

  “Nah, Abel was also my dad’s name,” he said, lowering his voice. His smile faltered and he looked a lot less cheery all of a sudden. “It was just easier to call me Abe and him Abel, less confusion for my poor old mom.”

  Then it hit me. I’d heard around town of Abel Hammond Sr. passing away not that long ago, and I don’t know why I didn’t put it together.

  “I heard about your father’s passing,” I said. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Abe offered a small, forced smile. “Thank you, Felicity. I appreciate the sentiment.”

  I stared deep into those eyes, and for a second, I felt like I’d seen a part of him he kept hidden. Normally, he kept to himself, except with me. He was always cheery with me though. Flirty in a waitress-customer sort of way. But I saw inside of him, saw something more personal than just the mindless teasing we normally engaged in.

  “Felicity, I’m so sorry!” Allison’s voice pulled me from the moment. “I overslept, my alarm didn’t go off and—”