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

by Crowne, K. C.

  My family didn’t know who the father of my child was. I’d told them it was from a random hook-up, but I didn’t tell them it happened in Liberty. All hell would break loose if my parents found out who the father was.

  “It’s nothing,” I lied. “I’m just not feeling well.”

  Isabelle studied my face. She was my sister. Besides Madison and Hannah, she was my best friend and knew me better than anyone. “No, something else is wrong. What is it?”

  With a heavy sigh, I rested my head against the back of the seat and closed my eyes. I trusted Isabelle with my life, and I knew she would never tell our parents if I asked her not to. I just didn’t want that burden on her to have to lie to them if they ever outright asked.

  But she wouldn’t let it drop until she got an answer.

  “I ran into the father of my child in the store. I told him the news because obviously, he could see I’m pregnant, and it didn’t go well.”

  Isabelle sat up straighter, staring at me with her mouth open. “The father is from Liberty?” she finally asked. “We all assumed—”

  “That he was from Philadelphia, I know,” I said. “To be fair, I never said that, though.”

  “You never told us you were in town!” she countered, doing the math. “Last time we saw you was over a year ago.”

  “I came back for a short spurt,” I confessed. “Madison asked me to help her with Jack’s case, but then it all went to hell, and I left town.”

  Isabelle was a smart cookie and she knew me pretty well. I watched her face as the pieces fell into place. “Jack’s the father?”

  I didn’t say anything, which was as good as saying yes. I turned my head and looked at her as I put the key in the ignition and started the car, suddenly worried that Jack might find his way to our car and try to talk. That was the last thing I wanted right now.

  Even being eight months pregnant, I had to be the driver.

  My motion sickness was bad.

  Being pregnant made it ten times worse.

  I pulled out of the parking lot as Isabelle stared at me. I was already halfway home before she spoke again.

  “Dad is going to flip out.”

  “That’s why we won’t tell him. His heart can’t handle it. Besides, Jack told me he doesn’t want anyone to know, so I guess we’ll just continue with the random hook-up story.”

  “Did he really say that?” she asked, horrified.

  “Yeah, pretty much word-for-word.”

  “Well, everyone knows Jack’s been in some trouble. He’s pissed a lot of people off, so I can’t exactly blame him for not wanting his kid to be a possible target.”

  My sister, unlike our parents, knew I’d always had a crush on Jack. She knew I saw him in a different light than everyone else. She didn’t know him that well, but it was clear she trusted my instincts.

  It was a shame my parents didn’t have the same faith in me.

  I was a grown woman, but my dad still scared the shit out of me sometimes. Not because he was abusive, but because he could take away the security blanket I needed, at least right now, to know my baby would be fine even with a single mother. My college had been paid for, and now I had a roof over my head thanks to him since I had to take a break from law school and work.

  However, I knew very well that the love of my parents always came with one very clear condition: not to upset them.

  “I don’t really care what Jack’s up to or what trouble he’s in,” I said.

  Isabelle cocked her head to the side and gave me a look that said she saw right through my lies.

  “Maybe he was just shocked. I mean, that’s some pretty big news,” she said with a laugh. “He came to the store, probably to pick up some toilet paper or some groceries and then - surprise! He finds out he’s gonna be a dad in like a month? That’s not something you drop on someone in the middle of the cereal aisle.”

  “Well, that’s exactly what went down,” I muttered. “Cereal aisle and all.”

  “Wow what I would have paid see the look on his face. All jokes aside sis, can you blame him for maybe not responding the way you’d hoped?”

  “I dunno. I guess not,” I said after a few seconds. “But I just can’t deal with this right now. I can’t handle him freaking out on me, and I can’t let our parents know he’s the father.”

  I parked the car in the driveway as Isabelle made an X across her chest. “Cross my heart. I won’t tell anyone.”

  “Thank you.”

  “But one question before we go inside,” Isabelle said.

  “Go for it.”

  “What are we gonna tell mom about the chicken and stuff for dinner?”

  Isabelle cracked a smile at me, and I couldn’t help it, I started laughing. Not because it was funny – it wasn’t, really. Everything that had happened was just appalling. How was this my life? But leave it to my sister to bring a smile to my face and make me laugh in the midst of all the chaos. I loved the nut with all my heart.

  “We’ll tell her I got sick,” I decided. “Considering the nausea I’ve had during the whole damn pregnancy, she’ll believe us.”

  I was still chuckling, but Isabelle suddenly stopped. Her eyes were focused on the rear-view mirror, then she turned around and muttered, “Oh shit.”

  “What?” I turned around to see where she was looking. A pickup truck had pulled up across the street. Jack’s pickup truck.

  My stomach turned, and I felt sick. Everything I’d eaten that day threatened to come right back up, and I needed to get to the bathroom fast.

  I hopped out of the car and hurried to the front door. I heard Jack calling my name from the street, but I opened the door and stepped inside, slamming it shut behind me. I rested against it, trembling and feeling like I might pass out.

  Bathroom, now, I told myself.

  I pushed away from the door and barely made it to the bathroom in the hallway before I started throwing up.

  This day just kept getting better.

  Jack

  “I need to talk to Cassie,” I said.

  Cassie’s sister stepped in front of me, blocking my way to the door.

  She was a little thing, all of 5’2” or so, well over a foot shorter than me.

  Yet she stood like a statue, with no intent to budge.

  She always had gumption.

  Just like her sister.

  “She doesn’t want to talk to you right now,” she retorted. “Give her some time, Jack.”

  The front door of the house opened, and Charles Lorenzo stepped out. As soon as he laid eyes on me, he scowled. “Get away from my daughter, boy.”

  “I came to talk to Cassie,” I said, holding my hands up in surrender.

  Isabelle remained where she was, between her father and me. She looked a lot like her dad. Both girls did. They took after the Italian side of the family with their long, dark hair and the largest brown eyes I’d ever seen. However, unlike his daughters, Charles was a big man. Not as big as me, but still a force to be reckoned with in his youth, I was told.

  He strode toward me, taking big steps as if to reach me faster. He stepped between Isabelle and me, nudging her to the side. Isabelle, in her defence, didn’t seem to want to move, but she had no choice.

  “What’s going on out here?” Jeanie Lorenzo came out of the house, staring at the three of us.

  “Mornin’, Mrs. Lorenzo,” I said dryly. She taught math at the local high school, and even though she was always polite and professional, I knew she didn’t like me. She thought less of me because her family had money.

  “What in God’s name is going on, Charles? What’s he doing here?”

  Jeanie Lorenzo was a petite woman, like her daughters. She was rounder than I remembered, putting on a little weight in her golden years. Last I heard she’d retired, no longer having to work because of some investments paying out or something. The Lorenzo family was well-to-do. Nice, large house. Brand new cars every other year. Vacation homes scattered around the country. A daughte
r in law school and another still trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life and the ability to take time off to travel the world.

  The scorn on Jeanie’s face was obvious.

  Charles answered his wife. “I’m trying to figure that out for myself, Jean.”

  His wife joined him, standing by his side and matching his frown.

  “I’m here to talk to Cassie,” I repeated.

  Charles scoffed, shaking his head. “Listen, I don’t know what business you have with her, but I can promise you Cassie doesn’t want to see you.”

  He doesn’t know. Cassie hadn’t told them I was the father of her child, which was for the best. Not only to protect her and the child but also so her parents didn’t disown her. I wouldn’t put it past them to pull some shit like that.

  “She’s a big girl, Charles,” I said. “I think it’s up to her if she wants to see me or not. Why don’t you ask her?”

  “Because I’m not letting my daughter associate with the likes of you. It’s bad enough she insisted on hanging out with your trashy sister, but—”

  I lunged forward, causing Charles to back up and shut his mouth. My fists were balled at my sides as my blood boiled beneath my flesh. “Don’t you dare talk about my sister like that.”

  “Madison is married to the sheriff,” Isabelle piped up. “Soon enough, she’ll be a therapist. I’d say she turned out fine dad.”

  I didn’t take my eyes off Charles, but I appreciated Isabelle stepping up for Madison. She’d always been a good kid. Just like Cassie. Somehow neither of them got their father’s asshole gene.

  “I don’t care what she’s doing now,” Charles said, regaining his composure and feeling cocky, apparently. “She’s a Wiley, and your lot is trash as far as I’m concerned.”

  I moved forward, afraid I wouldn’t be able to control my fists. Isabelle and Jeanie stepped between us. Jeanie put her hands on her husband’s chest, while Isabelle just stood there, looking at me as if she was trying to tell me something with her eyes.

  Charles began to shout at me, telling me to get the hell off his property, just as the front door opened again. Cassie stepped out onto the front porch.

  “I’ll talk to you. Just stop with the shouting,” she seethed, walking down the steps slowly.

  As soon as I saw her, I was taken aback by her beauty for the second time in one day. Cassie’s hair was a rich brown, almost black in some lights. But with the sun shining down on her, it was a deep, chocolate brown.

  Her skin was fair, even paler than usual at the moment, a stark contrast to the dark eyes and hair. Her dress seemed to highlight her pregnant belly, or maybe it was the way her hands rested upon it protectively.

  She was carrying my child.

  A lump formed in my throat, and even though I wasn’t one to cry, I came close to it.

  She was so fucking beautiful, and she was pregnant with my kid.

  In another reality, I would have been ecstatic.

  If my life was different.

  “Like hell you are,” Charles screamed at his daughter. “Get back in the house, Cassie.”

  “Dad, calm down,” Cassie said, rolling her eyes as she approached. “Do you really want the entire neighborhood knowing our business? Let me just get this over with and talk to him.”

  “I don’t want you spending time with this low-life, Cassie.”

  “I’m a grown woman, Dad,” she reminded him, her voice rising. She continued past her father and past me as well. I turned to follow her. Her dad continued calling out to her as I caught up to her.

  “Cassie, I—”

  “Not here,” she hissed. “I’ll talk to you, but not here.”

  “Alright.”

  We walked to my truck, and I opened the door for her. I helped her climb inside, my hands on her waist as I lifted her into the seat. I hurried over and climbed inside as well.

  “Where to?” I asked, my hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

  “Anywhere. I don’t care. Just drive, please.” She sounded tired, and I was worried about her.

  I put the key in the ignition and pulled away from the curb. We drove for about two minutes before Cassie said, “So talk, Jack. You wanted to talk to me, and now you’re not saying anything.”

  “I don’t really know what to say,” I admitted.

  She sighed. “Maybe you could start with an ‘I’m sorry for hooking up with you and then abandoning you.’ That might be a good start.”

  “Cassie, you know why I had to do what I did.”

  “Yeah, I do now, but at the time you could have talked to me. I came here to help you, and you didn’t even trust me enough to talk to me.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to get pulled into my mess, but you know, I’m not the only one who did something wrong here.”

  “Oh yeah?” Her voice was like a knife, cutting me right in the gut with her words. “Tell me what I did wrong, Jack. Go ahead.”

  “Well, for one, you’re just now telling me you’re having my baby. You’ve known for eight months and didn’t think to contact me?”

  “Well, geez, let’s see – first, you’re arrested for murder, and while I didn’t think you actually committed the crime, I had no proof either way. Then, when you got off, I tried to call you, but you never returned my call. That told me everything I needed to know.”

  “I’m sorry. It was a hectic time,” I said, which even to me sounded weak. “I didn’t realize you were…”

  “Yeah, well, I didn’t think it mattered. I know your history, Jack.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I shot her a sideways glance and caught her rolling her eyes with a sigh.

  “It means I know you tend to love ‘em and leave ‘em. Nothing wrong with that, you’ve always been very open about not wanting anything serious. It’s my fault for thinking maybe…”

  She trailed off but didn’t have to finish that sentence for me to know what she meant. I turned onto a road that led out of town. The roads were narrow and twisted and turned through some of the most beautiful scenery Utah had to offer.

  “Cassie, it was different with you,” I finally admitted.

  “Was it?” she asked, her voice clipped.

  “Yes. I wouldn’t have gotten involved with you if I was intending to dump you. You’re my sister’s best friend. I wouldn’t have done that.”

  “So then, why did you drop me?”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but the answer was more complicated than I could explain. My feelings for Cassie went deeper than I was comfortable admitting. I’d never been in love, and what we had wasn’t love. It was too early for that. But I felt something with her I’d never felt before.

  She was no longer just my little sister’s best friend. She had grown into a beautiful, smart, and kind woman.

  Plainly speaking, she was too damned good for the likes of me.

  “I’m involved in some complicated stuff, Cassie. I would rather not drag you into it,” I finally said. When she didn’t respond, I knew I had to elaborate. “Dangerous stuff. You heard what happened to Madison? How she was almost killed because of me? Well, I don’t want that happening to anyone else. Especially not you or my kid.”

  “But they caught the guys who did that, Jack. They’re behind bars.”

  I shook my head and gripped the steering wheel tighter. “Not all of them.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Listen, the less you know, the better. And the less people that know you’re carrying my kid, the better too. It’s safer that way. I don’t want to give anyone leverage over me. Madison has Teddy now, so I feel she’s safer than she used to be. But you and a baby too? I can’t let you get pulled into my shit.”

  “I can help you. I have contacts, you know? I may not be a practicing lawyer yet, but I know people. Powerful people that can help you.”

  I shook my head. “No way, Cassie. We’re dealing with powerful people as it is. I can’t trust anyone. Besides, I have a pla
n of my own. Don’t you worry about me.”

  “But I do worry about you, Jack.” Her voice was so soft, so genuine that it pulled at my heart. It made my insides ache, hearing the way she said my name.

  I wanted to look at her, to stare into her beautiful eyes, but I couldn’t do that. I had to stay strong, keep my eyes on the road in front of me. Both literally and figuratively.

  “I’ll be fine. And don’t worry, even if the world can’t know I’m the baby’s father yet, I won’t be some deadbeat. I’ll take care of the baby and you, as soon as I’m free from all this shit.”

  I swung back around, completing a loop without even realizing it. We weren’t too far from Cassie’s house. I decided it was as good a time as any to drop her back off. I pulled up to the curb in front of her house, and Cassie just stared at me.

  “I think it would be best if we didn’t see too much of each other. We don’t want folks talking, getting ideas. Not that I think anyone would imagine a low-life like me getting with someone like you anyway.”

  “You’re not a low-life,” she said fiercely.

  “That’s not how they see it,” I said, meaning the people of Liberty. “And you, well, you’re one of Liberty’s shining stars. You’re gonna be a big-time lawyer one day, make everyone so proud of you. Your dad is right – I should’ve stayed away from you. But now it’s too late for that, and I’ll do whatever I can to be worthy of our baby, Cassie. You can trust me on that.”

  I hopped out of the truck and walked around to her door. She slipped into my arms, and I held her for a moment, staring into her deep, brown eyes. Her lips were pink and soft, and I remembered how they’d tasted faintly of vanilla when we’d kissed. What I wouldn’t give to have another taste of her sweetness.

  I stepped away and stared at the ground. “Like I said, I think it’s better if we don’t see too much of each other for a while.”

  I hurried to the driver’s side of my truck and climbed inside. Cassie was still on the street when I started the engine and drove off down the road. I glanced back in the mirror at her, fighting the urge to turn around and make her mine.