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

by Crowne, K. C.

  I didn’t feel forced. I would listen to my father, but he wasn’t going to boss me around anymore. I would also speak my mind and tell him how it was going to be. It would be up to him if he had a relationship with Owen or not. While I’d like us to get along, my son and his well-being would always come first.

  * * *

  “Oh my gosh, he’s so perfect,” Mom gushed as soon as we entered the house. “Look at his little feet!”

  Of course she wanted to hold him. Everyone who saw Owen wanted to hold him, and I couldn’t blame them – he was adorable. And I might be biased, but I thought he was easily one of the most beautiful babies I’d ever seen. From the way my mother was gushing all over him, she obviously agreed.

  “Where’s Dad?” I asked Isabelle, speaking quietly.

  “He’s out back grilling some steaks,” she said.

  “What kind of mood is he in?”

  “Quiet. He hasn’t said much all day, not since I told him you were coming by.”

  “I thought you said he wanted to talk?”

  “Well…”

  “Izzy?” I said, elongating her name in warning.

  She and my mom shared a look, and finally, Isabelle blurted, “He does want to talk, but he just—well, he doesn’t know how to talk about it, as ironic as that may be.”

  “Has he actually said anything about apologizing?”

  Isabelle looked over at mom, who said, “He is sorry.”

  “Has he actually said that, or are you putting words in his mouth?”

  “I—” Before she could finish, the back door opened and slammed shut.

  “Steaks are done,” Dad’s voice called out. “Where’s the potato salad?”

  Mom handed Owen to me and rushed to the kitchen, leaving me with Isabelle.

  “I wish you’d been honest with me,” I complained.

  “I was sis. At least I thought I was,” she said with a shrug. “Mom told me to ask you and tell you Dad wanted to talk. It wasn’t until later when I mentioned it to Dad, did she come clean. I think it’s really stressing her out not having you here and part of the family.”

  “I understand, but if Dad isn’t ready, this isn’t going to go well.”

  “Let’s hope it does. For Owen’s sake. He should know his grandparents, right?”

  She motioned for me to follow her into the dining room, where Mom was setting the last of the dinner plates on the table. Growing up, she’d always wanted us to eat dinner as a family every chance we could. As Isabelle and I got into high school and extracurricular activities, it became hard. Dad kept pushing us to sign up for more, to do more, more, more in order to look good for our college applications. It had felt like we were hardly ever together in one spot back then, and looking back, I can’t say that was a bad thing. It allowed us to talk as a family the one time of day when we were together.

  Mom had set up a bouncer seat we’d picked for Owen prior to his birth. It was next to my chair on the floor. I strapped my little guy into the seat and sat down beside him just as the rest of the family took their seats. Isabelle was across from me, and Mom was on the end next to Owen. Dad was on the other end of the table.

  He still hadn’t spoken a word to me, so I decided to ease the tension. “Everything looks really good.”

  My dad took great pride in his grilling and would sometimes get a little testy if we didn’t say anything. His pride was a fragile thing.

  “Your dad got these steaks from a new butcher in Sunville last week, when he was there for a job,” Mom said, her voice light and cheery as if everything was normal.

  “Oh yeah? Well, they look great,” I said.

  My mom passed me her famous potato salad, and I put a dollop on my plate before passing it to my dad. Now that I’d said something nice to hopefully sweeten my dad up a bit, I decided to nip the issue in the bud.

  “So, Mom said you wanted to talk to me.”

  Dad scowled at Mom.

  “You do, don’t you, dear?” she asked, piling green beans onto her plate. She cocked an eyebrow at my dad, and the look they shared between them said a lot.

  “Fine,” he grouched. “If you want to talk here, we’ll talk here.”

  “Better now than sitting through an awkward dinner, isn’t that what you always said?” I put some green beans on my plate and passed the dish. I tried to keep my voice as light as my mom’s, but I wasn’t nearly as good an actress as she was. I was never very good at hiding my emotions because I was more like my dad in that regard, just with a lot less temper.

  He passed the green beans to Isabelle and then took a steak from the platter in the center of the table. He gave the first one to Izzy, then served Mom and me next. He took his seat and cut into the steak, taking a bite. We followed with bites of our own, and my mother complimented him on the quality of the meat. I thought maybe we’d continue with the silent treatment throughout dinner.

  But once we were a few bites into the meal, Owen let out a small cry. His pacifier had fallen from his mouth. I popped it back into place with a, There you go, little guy.” He’d already eaten, and his diaper was still clean, so he quieted back down as his eyes grew heavy. I returned to my dinner.

  “He’s just so precious,” my mother cooed. “Such a good baby, too.”

  “That’s what Madison said. I thought it would be harder, but he surprisingly sleeps a lot and doesn’t cry a whole lot.”

  “Oh, trust me, it’s coming,” Mom chuckled. “I swear newborns often lull us into a false sense of peacefulness but give it time.”

  Dad finally spoke. “Has Jack helped you any?”

  “Actually, he came by yesterday and visited with us for a while. He fed him this morning and helped a lot.”

  “Is that the first time he’s seen him?” my dad scoffed.

  “Yes,” I admitted. “Things are complicated right now.”

  Not like he had any right to condemn Jack for not visiting. He didn’t come by to see his grandson while he was in the hospital - not that I made it easy. Still, he could have talked to me and worked this out sooner had he wanted to.

  “Of course they are,” Dad cackled, rolling his eyes. “That’s what you get when you pick a low-life as a father.”

  “Dad!” Isabelle exclaimed, annoyance clear.

  “Well, Izzy, it’s true.”

  My fists were balled at my sides now, and I lost my appetite entirely. I suddenly had no desire to eat the meal he’d prepared for me; I just wanted to get the hell out of there. I wanted to take my son and go.

  I rose from the table and began unbuckling Owen from the bouncy chair.

  “Where are you going?” Mom asked.

  “I’m leaving. I’m not sitting here just to be disrespected,” I said. “I no longer have to sit at this table and listen to his abuse.”

  “Cassie, please,” Mom begged. “Charles, do something. Say you’re sorry.”

  “I’m not sorry, though.”

  I shook my head. “Unbelievable.”

  “But I do want to tell you something, Cassie. Something important.”

  I stood up with Owen in my arms, turning my attention to my father, my eyebrows lifted in question.

  “If you need our help with anything, just ask. We’re here for you. We’re family.”

  “I hear a but coming.” I knew my dad too well. His tone wasn’t friendly or kind, so there had to be an ultimatum.

  “Yes, there is. If I’m to help you, and that includes paying for the rest of your law degree, then Jack will not be in the picture. If he can’t provide for his family and makes me pick up the slack for his mistake, then—”

  “Mistake?” I spat. “You’re calling my son a mistake? Screw you!”

  “You know what I mean,” he said glaring.

  “No, I don’t think I do,” I seethed, furious. “If you think so poorly of my son, then you don’t deserve to be in his life. He’s not a fucking mistake.” Tears burned in my eyes. I hurt for Owen already. He didn’t even know what was goi
ng on, but for his own grandfather to talk about him like that? He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve to experience the toxicity I had to endure growing up. “I’m done. I don’t give two shits about your money. Keep it. I’ll take care of myself and my son.”

  “Cassie…” my mom started, rising.

  “No, Mom. I’m done. I don’t need anyone to take care of me,” I snapped. I grabbed the rest of my things and made a beeline for the front door. My dad was right behind me, my mom and Isabelle behind him, trying to talk over him but failing.

  “Cassie, you’re making a mistake,” Dad insisted.

  “No, you’re the one making a mistake, Dad. You’re the one who’s gonna miss out on knowing your grandson because of your own stuck up attitude.”

  “Jack is—”

  I stopped him. “Jack is a better dad than you’ve ever been, that’s for sure.”

  I opened the front door and stepped outside, letting the door slam on the way out. I hurried to my car, expecting my dad to follow me out, continuing to try and control me.

  He didn’t.

  I buckled Owen into his seat and heard the front door open. When I turned around, I saw Isabelle behind me in tears.

  “I’m so sorry, Cassie. I wish things could be different. He’s such an asshole.”

  I hugged my sister and let the tears fall. “You will always have a place in Owen’s life,” I promised. “He’s so lucky to have an aunt as awesome as you.”

  “And you know I’ll always be there for you. No matter what.”

  “I know, sis. I know.”

  We said our goodbyes, and I got into my car. Tears continued falling, but I wiped them away, steeling myself for the drive back to Madison’s. I had to be careful, to be alert on my drive. I couldn’t let my emotions cloud my judgment with my precious baby boy in the backseat.

  “Everything will be okay, Owen, I promise.”

  I had no job. No money. No place to live. And I had a son to care for.

  I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but one thing was for certain: I would figure it out.

  Jack

  “When do you think you can come around again?” Cassie asked softly on the other end of the line.

  I’d been picking up burner phones, cheap pay-by-the-month ones from Wal-Mart you could buy cards for, and leave no identifying info behind. I already used them for work a lot, so now I made sure to have a way Cassie could reach me whenever she needed to

  We talked most nights, but I hadn’t been able to visit again since the first day Owen was home. After Teddy and I had been followed, I just didn’t feel safe.

  “I don’t know. Soon, I hope.”

  “Me too,” she said, and I could hear the pain in her voice.

  It had only been a week since I saw her, but each day that passed was another day I lost with my son. I was missing out on so much. I knew he likely wasn’t going to be walking or talking or anything soon, but even the little things mattered to me. The growth spurts. Helping to feed him, to change him. I hated that Cassie was essentially raising him alone.

  My other phone buzzed, and I noticed it was Hank.

  “Hey, I have to go. Call you back in a few minutes, alright?”

  “Sure.”

  We got off the phone, and I answered Hank’s call as fast as I could. He didn’t like to be kept waiting.

  “Good job on the last pickup,” he announced without preamble.

  “Yeah, well, I still don’t appreciate the babysitters,” I told him. “I had it handled.”

  “No one’s watching you, Jack.”

  “Sure,” I muttered. “What do you need?”

  “I have another job for you. A big one this time.”

  “Oh yeah?” I rested against the couch. “What are the details?”

  “Just another pickup, this time for a cool million dollars. All cash. Think you can handle that amount of money? It has to be counted, obviously.”

  “I can handle it.”

  “Good,” he grunted. “Oh, and one more thing. I’ll need you to bring it directly to me. No middleman this time.”

  The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Hank Gillespie didn’t meet with lackeys. I wasn’t even supposed to know who he was. There were only two possible scenarios here. Either he was giving me a promotion within the organization to be one of his trusted few, or he was planning to kill me.

  I didn’t like my chances, considering I’d done nothing to really prove my loyalty to him. My dad, sure. But me? Nah.

  “You still there, Jack?”

  “I’m here,” I said. “What’s the occasion? Why are you inviting me to meet with you directly?”

  “Because I need a good man like you by my side.”

  Bullshit, I thought to myself, but I didn’t dare say that out loud. I had to go along with this, pretend I trusted him so he’d trust me. This could be the moment I’d been waiting for.

  The moment Cassie and I had been waiting for.

  “Alright, give me the details, and I’ll do it.”

  “That’s why I like you, Jackie-boy, but not so fast,” he said with a menacing chuckle. “I’m still finishing up a few more details. I’ll send everything over to you next week. I just needed to make sure you had the balls for it and wanted to prove yourself. The mission itself is pretty dangerous.”

  That raised an eyebrow, but I didn’t say anything. I’d learned not to ask questions. It was better just to go along with whatever Hank asked of me. He’d tell me what I needed to know in time.

  “Are you not going to ask why it’s so dangerous?”

  “Does it matter? We both know I’ll do it. I have a lot to prove if I wanna take after my father.”

  “And hopefully you turn out better than dear old dad,” he said with a laugh.

  The line went dead. I took a deep breath and ran my hand through my hair. I’d promised to call Cassie back, but I knew she would have questions. I also had promised her I’d ask her for her input when the time came to get evidence against Hank.

  I dialed her number, and she picked up right away. “So, what was that about?”

  “What was what about?”

  “Why did you have to get off the phone so fast?”

  “Work stuff,” I hedged.

  “Like real work or, well, you know.”

  “The second.”

  “Oh.”

  Cassie had mostly stopped asking me for details on the Hank stuff. She knew I wouldn’t break. I couldn’t. She couldn’t know anything. No one could. Their lives could be in danger if they did.

  But I actually did need to talk about it. “So, I have some questions, Cassie. About gathering evidence.”

  “Oh yeah?” She seemed to perk right up.

  “Yeah…so let’s say I’m meeting with someone and want to record the conversation. Would that be admissible in court?”

  “Utah is actually a one-party consent state,” she said.

  “And what does that mean, smartypants?”

  She chuckled quietly. “It means that only one member of the party needs to be aware of the recording. The other person doesn’t have to be told they’re being recorded. I’ll have to look into it further since this isn’t my area of expertise, but I can do some research and get back to you.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Thank you.”

  “Just one thing, Jack…please be careful. It sounds like whoever you’re dealing with isn’t the type of person who’d want to be recorded. If they catch you, I can imagine it wouldn’t be pretty.”

  “I’ll be careful. I can handle that side of things,” I assured her. “I just don’t know the law very well. Never been that great about following it, you know?” I had meant it as a joke to lighten the mood, but Cassie wasn’t laughing. I quickly changed the subject. “How’s Owen?”

  “He’s doing well. Everyone keeps telling me what a good baby he is,” she told me, pride in her voice. “He seems to be, but it’s not like I have anything to compare it to.”

 
; “Of course he’s a good baby!” I said. “He has a good mama taking care of him.”

  “I just wish he had his father too,” she said sadly.

  “Soon, babe. I promise.”

  “I sure hope you’re right,” she replied. “In the meantime, I have to figure out what I’m going to do.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you know I had that fight with my dad and everything. He withdrew all financial support, including for my education and for my place in Philly. As of right now, I have nowhere to go, no job, no money. Nothing.”

  My heart dropped. Cassie had never talked to me about the particulars of her financial situation. I never really thought about who was paying for her schooling and everything. She was younger than me, something I often forgot since she was mature and had her shit together.

  “How much do you need?”

  “Oh no, Jack. I don’t want any money,” she insisted. “Madison and Teddy are helping me, giving me a place to stay for as long as I need it. I still have some money in my accounts to care for Owen and myself for a little bit.”

  “How long can you live off that?”

  “Maybe a few more weeks.”

  I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. “Let me take care of you, Cassie.”

  “How? Won’t there be a trail? And you don’t really—” She stopped before finishing that sentence, but I knew what she meant.

  I didn’t really have any money myself. But every dime I did have would go to her and the baby, even if it meant I would have to go hungry.

  “I’ll take care of it, Cassie. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that, Jack.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Just that…” She sighed. “How are you gonna take care of it? Are you gonna do a job, something illegal to make money? Will it put you in danger or get you arrested?”

  “Cassie, please trust me.”

  “I need you to take care of yourself Jack. Owen needs you.” After a second’s pause, she added, “I need you.”

  A lump formed in my throat. I wanted to continue promising her I would be there for her, but then I thought about the call with Hank. Something was fishy. I had no idea what was going to happen with him, and I couldn’t promise that I’d make it out alive. But hopefully, no matter what happened, it would mean Cassie and Owen were safe.