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

by Crowne, K. C.

  Hannah was at my side, and she held my hand as I trembled and wept. She didn’t ask me why I was crying for a man who was so horrible to me. She knew. Despite all the horrible things he’d done and all the heartache he’d brought, he was still my father.

  Hannah stiffened beside me, and I looked around. My mother stood on the other side of us, tears in her eyes. She didn’t say anything at first. She placed her hand on my free hand, the one holding onto the casket.

  Our eyes met, and I saw the pain she was feeling. As much as I wanted to pull away and tell her to shove it, I couldn’t do it. Just like with my dad, there were good memories with my mother too. She wasn’t always passed out on the couch every minute of the day. At least not when I was younger. She used to play with me and take me on walks to the park.

  And to see her hurting, well, it softened my ire against her some.

  I briefly squeezed her hand before removing mine from hers.

  “Come on, Hannah,” I said. “I’m ready to go.”

  “I’m sorry, Maddy.”

  There was something in her voice that made me stop mid-step. A sincerity I hadn’t heard from her in years, if ever.

  My mother had apologized before, but it was always an I’m sorry, but sort of thing. She always turned it around so she was the victim or she wasn’t really apologizing. This time, however, there was no but.

  “I know I was a terrible mother,” she said, speaking softly. “And I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But I wanted to say I’m sorry anyway. You deserved better, and I hope you’re happy. I really do.”

  I let out a choked sob. It felt like my mother was back. The woman who used to make us pancakes with smiley faces. The mother who loved us and made sure we knew it. The alcohol and drugs had stolen that woman from me, but hearing her now, a sliver of hope that maybe she was back tickled my heart.

  I’d missed her so much. I didn’t even realize it until that moment, but I had.

  I turned toward her and offered a small smile. “Thank you, Mom. I am happy. I’m living a good life.”

  “Good. I’d really like to be part of that life if you’d let me,” she murmured, as if afraid to say her hope too loud. She averted her gaze, staring at her feet instead of at me.

  “I—I don’t know. I need some space right now, and I don’t plan on being here long.”

  “I know, sweetie. I understand.” She nodded and began to turn away.

  “But maybe we can work toward a relationship.”

  My mother lifted her head and met my gaze again. There were more tears now, but she was also smiling. Just a small smile, but I could tell my words had touched her and given her hope.

  “I need to be able to trust you again,” I warned her. “That’s going to take time. Please, don’t push me, alright?”

  “Of course, Maddy,” she gushed, sniffling. “Take all the time you need.”

  I let go of Hannah’s hand and surprised all of us by walking over to my mother and enveloping her in my arms. She felt so tiny and fragile against me, and I held her close. We both cried.

  “I love you, Maddy.”

  “I love you too, Mom,” I said, pulling away from the embrace. I stepped away from her, and Hannah took my hand again, holding it as we left. She didn’t say anything until we stepped outside.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. “That was really amazing.”

  “I’m fine,” I assured her. “I just need a moment. Do you mind if I go see my grandfather’s grave before we leave?”

  “Oh, of course,” she said, releasing my hand.

  My grandfather had been more like a dad to me than my own father, at least from the age of six until he passed when I was about twelve. He was my mother’s father, and Jack and I had been very close to him. We’d even lived with him for a bit.

  I walked toward the cemetery next to the funeral home, the only one in Liberty. I had to walk past the spectators on the street, but they too were more focused on the cemetery than the funeral home. I didn’t think much of it until I reached my grandfather’s gravestone.

  I stopped several feet away, staring at my brother’s back. I contemplated turning and walking away. I knew it was silly; he was still Jack - even if he barely resembled the brother I’d last seen six years prior when he was on his way to prison.

  Part of me was also angry at him for being sent to prison in the first place. He’d left me behind when he was all that I had. But before I could turn around, he glanced back at me, as if he’d felt my presence.

  “Well, what’s taking you so long?” he asked brusquely. “Come say hello.”

  My feet barely moved. It took everything in me to walk those last few steps toward him. As soon as I was within reach, Jack wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly. I was stiff at first, uncomfortable after so much time. But a sob caught in my throat, and I wrapped my arms around my brother.

  “You son of a bitch,” I sobbed into his shoulder.

  “Still mad at me, sis?”

  I wanted to say yes, but it was hard to be mad after such a long time. This was Jack. He was the reason I survived childhood at all.

  I pulled away and punched him playfully in the arm, just like old times. “No, but you’re still a bastard for leaving me.”

  His face fell. “You know I didn’t want to, Maddy.”

  “I still don’t understand what happened.”

  I had tried to get some answers out of him years ago, but Jack had refused to talk to me about it. All I knew was what I’d read in the local papers or heard at his trial.

  “I know you don’t, Maddy, and I think that’s for the best.” His face no longer reminded me of our dad’s. He was softer, gentler than before. The anger was gone, replaced with something more like sadness.

  “I was at your trial. I know you didn’t pull the trigger. I also know you didn’t know what the guys were up to that night. You just thought you were drinking at the quarry.”

  “That’s all true,” he acknowledged.

  “Chris was the one who decided to hold up the liquor store.”

  Jack steeled his face but nodded. “I was still involved.”

  “You were waiting in the car,” I countered angrily. “You thought he was just going to buy some beer with a fake ID. I heard all of it.”

  “He still killed the cashier, Mads. And I was there.”

  “I know, but you didn’t do anything.”

  “I drove the getaway car.”

  “Yeah, but you didn’t know what happened until later,” I argued, my voice slightly hysterical. “You just thought he stole something. You were just a scared kid—”

  “I was twenty-two years old. Hardly a child,” he reminded me, shaking his head. “Does it matter now? I served my time; I’m out now.”

  “Right,” I said, pressing my lips together. “I’m just trying to wrap my head around it. All these years, I tried picturing it in my head, tried to imagine how you could be part of something like that. I’ve been obsessed with finding out every little detail, and now…well, now I might actually get the answers.”

  “I’d rather you not do that,” he said. “I’d rather focus on you, your life. I’ve missed you, sis. How’ve you been? Hell, where have you been?”

  “I’ve been good,” I chuckled, wiping the tears from my cheeks. I was starting to feel better already. “I’m living in Los Angeles if you can believe it. I have an apartment, a job, and I’m going to school part-time.”

  “I’m so damn proud of you.” He sucked in a deep breath, a small smile on his face. “I always knew you’d find a way out of this shithole family. You were always the smart one.”

  My cheeks burned, and my face hurt from the giant smile on my face. “You’re smart, too, you know.”

  “Not smart enough to avoid hanging with the wrong crowd, apparently,” he said softly. “But I’m trying to get my life together. Hard to do when I’m stuck here so I can see my parole officer, but as soon as I’m off parole, I plan on getting the hell outta
here. Go where people don’t know my name.”

  “Well, there’s always L.A. I’d love to have you,” I offered.

  Jack smiled at me, but that smile quickly wavered. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, sis. It seems like you’re doing just fine on your own. Probably better not to get involved with my shit.”

  Jack turned back to our grandfather’s gravestone, and the air around us shifted. The silence was uncomfortable, but I didn’t really know what else to say.

  “You still come here, huh?” I asked.

  Jack shrugged. “It’s the first time since I got out of prison. Figured if I was in the neighborhood, I should say hello.”

  “Yeah, I thought the same,” I said softly.

  We remained quiet for a few moments, paying our respects to our grandfather. After a while, Jack turned to me.

  “It’s good seeing you again, Madison. I hope you know I love you.” He let out a deep breath. “And I hope you have a good life.”

  “This isn’t the last you’re going to see of me, Jack. I’m still in town for a few days, and I could stay longer—”

  “I think it’s best if you didn’t see too much of me.”

  “Why?” I asked astounded. “You’re my big brother. You could refuse to see me when you were in prison, but now that you’re out, you can’t hide from me.”

  “Seriously, Mads, just put me behind you and move on with your life.”

  I looked at him incredulously, a pit forming in my gut. Something wasn’t right. I looked at him sideways, frowning. “What’s goin’ on, Jack?”

  He pursed his lips and refused to look me in the eye. He ran a hand through his scruffy hair and let out another sigh. “The less you know, the better, Madison. That’s all I can say for now.”

  “Are you in trouble? I can call Cassie. She’s almost a lawyer, you know, and I bet she could offer some advice to help you.”

  “Madison, I said—”

  “I know, the less I know, the better. But you’re my brother. I love you. I’m worried about you. If I can help—”

  “You can’t,” he insisted, his voice rising and reminding me a lot of Dad again. “So please, just go back to L.A and forget about me. It’s better for you that way.”

  He turned on his heel and stalked away. I tried to follow him, but my short little legs couldn’t keep up with his long ones. I called out to him to wait up, but he didn’t stop or look back.

  I slowed and stopped, alone in the graveyard, a crowd of people watching me closely. I raised my hand and flipped them off. “My family isn’t your fucking entertainment,” I shouted at them. “You’re all pathetic.”

  I returned to the funeral home, but before I found Hannah, I made a quick call to my boss in Los Angeles. I hated having to do this; I had a decent job. I told him I needed more time in Utah, and when he refused to work with me, I quit on the spot. I had several more weeks until classes started again.

  There were other jobs. There may not be another opportunity to help my brother out of whatever mess he’d found himself in.

  Teddy

  “Long day, huh, boss?” Mike asked as I headed out of the station. I was always on call, but some days, I actually did go home to sleep. This was one of those days.

  “Yeah, tell me about it.”

  My phone buzzed, and I didn’t recognize the number. A lot of people in town had my number in case of emergencies, but this one stood out to me because it was from Los Angeles County.

  “Hello, Teddy Williams speaking.”

  “Teddy, can we talk?” Madison asked without preamble. She sounded frantic. “I got your number from Hannah; I hope that’s okay.”

  “Sure, what’s wrong?”

  “I just, um, I need to talk to you about Jack. But not over the phone. Can we meet somewhere?”

  “Do you want to meet at Smothered in Love?”

  “Yeah, that works for me. I’m near there. Is now okay?”

  So much for going home and getting some sleep, I thought. “Sure, but can I ask what this is about? Is everything okay?”

  “I honestly don’t know. I’m hoping you can help.”

  I walked past my car in the parking lot and made a beeline to the diner. Madison hung up since we’d be seeing each other in a few minutes. I had to admit, I was worried. She sounded desperate and a little hysterical. Mike said the funeral went smoothly after I left, but maybe we’d missed something. Or maybe something happened afterward.

  I walked up to the front door of the diner and saw Madison sitting at a booth by the window, staring out of it. Our eyes met, and she jumped up from the booth and greeted me as I entered. She had changed out of the black dress from earlier into a pair of tight jeans and a yellow shirt almost sheer enough to see through. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun on top of her head, but tendrils framed her delicate face. Her eyes were red, and it was clear she’d been crying.

  “Thank you for coming,” she said, leading me back to her booth. My gaze fell on her ass before I had a chance to stop myself. The way her hips swished with every step was intoxicating. I scolded myself once I realized what I was doing.

  I noticed we were sitting away from everyone else. It was after the dinner time rush, so the place wasn’t too full. I slipped into the booth, and she sat across from me, wringing her tiny hands.

  “What’s up?” I asked her, my brows furrowed. “Is everything okay? You said this was about Jack?”

  “I just confirmed what I already knew, mostly. That he had no idea Chris had killed the cashier at the liquor store when he drove off and—”

  “Yeah, I knew that,” I said, interrupting her. “And he cooperated with us on the investigation. That’s why he got a lighter sentence.”

  “Well, I just don’t think it’s fair that the entire stupid town has labeled him as a murderer. And I think he’s in some kind of trouble too, but he won’t tell me what.”

  My ears perked up, and I cocked my eyebrows. “Oh yeah? Why do you say that?”

  Madison started to speak, but our waitress stopped by the table. “What can I get you?”

  “Just a coffee for me, please,” she said.

  “Same.” Since it was clear I probably wouldn’t be getting much sleep, might as well get a dose of energy.

  The waitress scurried off, and as soon as she was out of earshot, Madison leaned over the table, getting close enough that I smelled the soft vanilla scent of her perfume.

  “He just kept telling me that I needed to go, that I shouldn’t see him again or get caught up in his shit.”

  “Well, you know, people have been talking about him being tied to the recent robberies…”

  She shook her head. “No, my brother would never do anything like that.”

  “I want to believe that too, but prison can change a person, Madison. Do you really know your brother anymore?”

  She opened her mouth to argue but snapped it shut quickly. She fell back against the booth and scowled at me. “Fine, you’re right. I don’t know him very well anymore. But I really don’t think my brother is capable of that. He’s not like that. He’s never been like that.”

  “Right now, I still think he’s innocent, but from what you’re telling me…” I spread my hands. “Well, I can’t say I’m not slightly concerned. It sounds like he’s caught up in something at the very least.”

  “What can we do, Teddy?”

  “About what?” Our coffee was served, though neither of us touched it.

  “About everything. I know Jack. If he could, he’d go back to living a normal life, but it’s very unlikely he can get a job or anything in this town with his reputation.”

  “And what do you want me to do?”

  “I don’t know,” she sighed. She rubbed her temples as if she had a headache. “I just don’t think it’s fair that his reputation is ruined even though he had no clue what was happening, you know?”

  “I can’t control what people think, Madison.”

  “I know, I know. I just wish
there was something I could do. His life has been hard enough as it is. Can you at least go easy on him?”

  “I am going easy on him by not hauling him into the station. But if I find out he might be involved with these robberies, I have no choice but to bring him in for questioning.”

  She nodded, understanding, but another thought grabbed her. “And what about my father’s death?” she asked, nibbling her lower lip.

  “What do you mean?”

  “There are rumors circulating that Jack killed our father. I don’t buy it, of course, but I wanted to know your thoughts.”

  I leaned back in the booth and sighed. “I really can’t talk about ongoing police investigations, Madison.”

  “I know, I’m sorry,” she grumbled. “I just don’t think there’s any way he would have done that, and I heard something else today.” She leaned forward eagerly again. “My father’s old friend, Stanley, said something about my dad getting what he deserved.”

  “Is Stanley local?”

  “No, he lives in Vegas, I think,” she said. “Guess he came down for the funeral.”

  “What’s his last name?”

  “McBride. Stanley McBride. He’s smart. He doesn’t do the work himself, always had my dad or other lackeys do it, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t have a record.”

  “I’ll look into him,” I told her. “But Madison, you really need to be careful. Maybe consider heading back to LA.”

  A smile curled at the corners of her mouth. She stared at me, her blue eyes looking larger than usual. I felt like she stole the breath straight out of my lungs with just one look, and I don’t even think it was intentional.

  “Why, Sheriff, it sounds like you might be worried about lil old me,” she cooed.

  “I am,” I said seriously. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Considering our history…”

  “The past is the past, Madison. You’ve grown into a beautiful, smart young woman. You’re nothing like the rowdy teenager I used to pick up every other weekend.”