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

by Crowne, K. C.

  “Stay with me? As in the room with me?”

  We were on the fourth floor; I wasn’t sure anyone could get to us through the windows – only the front door.

  “At least outside your bedroom door, so if we hear anything, we can come running,” Samuel said.

  I nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

  “I think we should all get some rest,” Elijah said. “I’ll take first watch. Samuel can pull up a chair near Cassie’s bedroom and sleep there. I’ll run down and unpack the truck while Samuel and Teddy keep an eye on things here.”

  From the looks on everyone’s face, I wasn’t sure if any of us would be sleeping anytime soon, but we all nodded anyway.

  Jack

  We’d been on the road for several hours when Graham’s phone rang. Mason picked it out of Graham’s coat jacket and answered it.

  “Yes?” he said. Mason turned to me and said, “It’s Elijah.”

  Mason put the call on speakerphone, and Elijah’s voice came from the other end of the line. “We’re at the condo. Everyone’s safe and resting now,” he said. “Where are you?”

  “We ran into some trouble,” Mason said. “Nothing we couldn’t handle. We got out of the cabin and are on the road now.”

  I quickly added, “Hank knows about Cassie and Owen. They’re not safe.”

  “We’re keeping an eye on them,” Elijah promised. “But, this could mean a change in plans.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Well, if they already know about Cassie and Owen, maybe it would be better if we were together. Power in numbers. Besides, no one knows about this place, and I don’t think we were followed. If you’re not being followed, I think it would be a safe place to gather and work out what we’re going to do next.”

  I glanced at Mason through the rear-view mirror. Graham piped up. “I agree. I think that’s for the best.” His voice sounded pained. He hadn’t said much; I thought he might have fallen asleep.

  “Is that Graham? Is he okay?”

  “Just a flesh wound,” Graham said.

  Elijah let out a low whistle. “Sounds like you did run into some trouble.”

  “Nothing we couldn’t handle,” he repeated.

  I wasn’t so sure about that. There had been too many of them and not enough of us. We got lucky, at best.

  “Sounds like Graham needs to get somewhere and get fixed up,” Elijah observed. “So meet here. We’ll figure out what to do next. I’ll text you the address.”

  Elijah got off the phone, and Mason entered the address into the GPS. The directions started immediately. “Make a U-turn and head North on Mountain View Road,” the robotic voice read to us. Distance – 95 miles.

  I let out a sigh and looked at Graham, who adjusted in his seat. He winced but didn’t let out an audible sound. “Think you can hold on for a couple more hours?”

  “Listen, I was once shot three times in my right arm, abdomen and left thigh,” he listed. “And I still managed to crawl ten miles through a ditch.”

  Mason snickered from the back but tried to cover it up with a fake cough when Graham glared at him. “Ten miles? You might be exaggerating there a bit.”

  “Maybe the distance is a bit off, sure, but I was shot three times. I have the scars to prove it. Wanna see?” Graham started to pull his shirt up.

  “No, thanks, I believe you,” I said with a laugh.

  “This is nothing,” Graham said, getting situated next to me. “Keep your eyes on the road, and don’t worry about me.”

  * * *

  I pulled up my jacket, covering my head and face as I exited the truck. We parked away from the condo complex, leaving the truck in a bar’s parking lot. We would walk the rest of the way.

  “Need some help?” Mason asked his brother as we got out of the truck.

  “Nah, man, I’m good,” Graham said. He tried to hide the grimace on his face. His shoulder hurt more than he was letting on. “Don’t want to scare anyone, so let’s not act like I’m injured, alright? If I can handle war, I can surely handle a quick walk to a fancy condo in tourist paradise.”

  Graham’s mood had taken a slight turn since the incident at the house. No longer the cheerful, talkative one of the bunch, he seemed to want to be left alone. I wondered briefly how bad it really was.

  As if he read my mind, Mason said, “It’s not too bad. We just need to clean it up, and I can stitch it when we get to the condo. The bullet just grazed him.”

  “See? So stop babying me,” Graham growled. He took the lead, walking a few steps ahead of us.

  “Is he always this stubborn?” I murmured.

  Mason chuckled and ran a hand over his beard. “Yeah, but to be fair, we all can be. Thanks to our dad and grandad, most likely.”

  “Your mom’s dad, right?”

  “Mmm hmm,” Mason answered. “He helped raise us since Dad was always working. Grandad was retired; a war injury put him out of work, and he stayed busy by raising us right. He always said our mama was too soft on us. He was probably right.” He chuckled.

  I thought about Owen. If something happened to me, I pictured Cassie’s dad being a lot like their grandpa, and I wasn’t sure yet whether that was a good thing or not. “How was it growing up without your dad around?”

  Mason shrugged. “Pretty normal, I guess. We didn’t know much else. Sure, we missed him, and it would’ve been nice to have had him around more. He missed a lot of little league games and graduations, but he always made sure to send a card.”

  “I can’t imagine.”

  “Imagine what? Not having a dad or—”

  “No, leaving my kid like that,” I confessed. “I didn’t know it was possible to care this much for someone until I had Owen. The idea of missing out on his life scares me more than dying.”

  “I hear ya. I mean, I don’t have kids. They don’t really work well for this kind of life.”

  “Will you two jackasses stop chatting and hurry up?” Graham grouched. He was at the back entrance to the condo complex, holding the door open. He smirked at us, to let us know he was joking - mostly.

  “He hurts more than he lets on, doesn’t he?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

  “Yeah, but more his pride than anything else. Give him some time; he’ll get over it. We’re just in the grit of it now,” he told me. “Graham is great with planning and talking to people until shit hits the fan. Then we all kinda shut down. Including Graham.”

  We entered the complex and walked to the elevator. The elevator ride was silent. I was the first one out the door when we reached the fourth floor. The condo was the first one right off the elevator, and I knocked quietly.

  “It’s us,” I said. “Your…brothers.”

  It felt weird saying those words. I’d never had brothers before. But it was safer than calling out our names. The door opened, and we rushed inside.

  “Where’s Cassie?” I asked the moment I was in.

  Elijah pointed to the hallway. “First door on your right,” he said. “Samuel’s camping out right outside it.”

  I was at the door before he finished the sentence. Samuel was in a chair, leaning back but awake. It was nice seeing them taking this seriously. I knocked on the door, not sure if there would be an answer.

  “Yes?” Cassie’s sweet voice called out.

  “It’s me, Jack.”

  The door swung open in an instant. Before I knew what was happening to me, Cassie had dragged me inside the room, shutting the door behind us. Her lips pressed against mine, and I felt like I’d come home from a long time away.

  It hadn’t even been a day, but that had been far too long.

  “Jack, oh Jack,” she whimpered, falling into my arms.

  I held her close, kissing the top of her head and savoring the feel of her against me, inhaling her scent and hoping I would never forget this. Praying I wouldn’t have to.

  “How’s Owen?” I asked.

  “He’s good,” she said. “Exhausted from all the traveling,
I’m sure.”

  “I bet you all are,” I said quietly. She turned her head to stare up at me, her brown eyes pulling me in. I felt like I could get lost in those eyes forever. “I’m sorry I put you through all this.”

  “It’s gonna be okay. Right, Jack? It has to be?”

  I wanted to tell her yes, it would be fine. But I wasn’t sure if that was true. I had no idea what to expect now. Everything had gone to shit.

  “We’re gonna figure this out.”

  She nodded. “I trust you. I trust all of you.”

  “Good because I trust my brothers too.”

  She raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. If it sounded weird for me to say it, it had to sound weird to hear it too. Eventually, I would get used to it.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket. I didn’t want to concern Cassie, so I said, “I have to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

  “It’s right through there,” she said, pointing to the master bathroom connected to the room. I cringed. Too close, I feared, but it would have to do.

  As I stepped inside the bathroom, I noticed a large window looking out to a patio. I briefly considered climbing through it and outside, giving me more distance. The patio was connected to the bedroom, however, and I feared Cassie would see me. The curtains had been closed, but still. Not worth the risk.

  I hadn’t answered in time, but whoever it was, they were persistent enough to call back. I answered with a good idea who it was before saying anything.

  Hank started talking right off the bat. “Jack, I’m gonna make a deal with you. I realize you’re fighting this to keep your family safe, am I right?”

  I didn’t answer him. The truth was obvious.

  “Well, we both know I only want you. If you hand yourself over, I won’t touch your family. They’ll go free.”

  “How can I trust you?” I kept my voice low. Low enough that I prayed Cassie couldn’t hear me. I turned on the sink just in case, hoping the running water would drown out my voice.

  “You can’t, really. You’re just gonna have to weigh your options here. I will find you, one way or another,” he assured me. “It’s just a matter of time. I have people everywhere. I am more powerful than you could ever imagine.”

  I clenched my jaw tightly, my teeth crushing together.

  “I’ll give you time to set up protections for them, but I swear, I only want you. I know you’re not stupid enough to tell them anything - you take on all the risk. Knowing who I am was dangerous, so there’s no way you would tell your loved ones. You were willing to sacrifice yourself before. I’m willing to accept that sacrifice now.”

  I didn’t speak.

  “I’ll text you a time and place. Be there if you wanna save your family,” Hank said. “And come alone. If you’re not alone, the deal is off.”

  The line went dead. I sat down on the toilet seat for a moment, thinking over his words. It might be the only way. I trusted Teddy and my brothers to keep Cassie and Owen safe. It wasn’t just me protecting them.

  Cassie knocked on the door. “Is everything okay in there, Jack?”

  “Yeah, sorry, just cleaning up,” I said. I turned off the sink and stood up. Before leaving, I took a long look in the mirror.

  I knew what I had to do.

  I came out of the bathroom to find Cassie nursing Owen. She was sitting on the bed, feeding our son. I cherished that sight for a moment, taking in the sweet smile on Cassie’s face when she looked down on our son. She turned that sweet smile on me, and said, “What are you doing all the way over here? Join us.”

  I closed the distance between us, sitting down on the bed beside Cassie. I wrapped an arm around her shoulder. I couldn’t be near her without touching her.

  I have to take care of them.

  “Cassie, I have some money tucked away at home, in my sock drawer,” I began. “It’s not much, but it’s yours. To take care of you and Owen for a bit, in case.”

  “In case what, Jack?” she asked, her face growing serious.

  “You know.”

  “I thought we were safe here,” she stammered. “I mean, I know it’s not a long-term solution, but you have your brothers and Teddy, and everything will be okay.”

  I wanted to believe her, I really did. But she didn’t know Hank the way I did. She didn’t know what we were up against. None of them really did.

  I leaned closer and kissed her forehead, letting my lips linger against her soft flesh for longer than necessary before pulling away.

  “Just in case, Cassie. I’m just telling you in case something happens. I wanna make sure that you and Owen are taken care of. I want you to stay with my brothers too if anything happens to me. I trust them to look after you when— “

  “You mean if,” she interrupted pointedly. “If something were to happen. Not when.”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  Owen fussed in her arms, “He’s done eating,” she said quietly. “Time for a change. Someone’s stinky.”

  “Here, let me do it,” I said, reaching for him.

  “You might be the first father in history to be so eager to change a poop-filled diaper,” she said, laughing.

  “I have a lot to make up for right now,” I said. And a lot I’m likely to miss too, I thought to myself.

  She handed my son to me, and he stared at me with his big eyes. He was so tiny, so fragile, and he depended on me to protect him.

  And I knew that my decision had been made.

  Cassie

  “He’s so small, yet he’s so much bigger than the day you brought him home,” Jack murmured quietly, cradling our sleeping son in his arms.

  Owen looked so tiny in his massive arms, pressed against his chest. He was safe against his daddy, and he seemed to know it too.

  “He seems to get bigger by the day. Before we know it, he’s gonna be walking and talking and starting kindergarten.” I chuckled. A pained look crossed Jack’s face, causing me to stop. “What’s wrong?” I asked, scooting closer to him. I took his face in my hands and turned it toward me.

  “I don’t wanna miss any of that,” Jack said. “Not a moment of it.”

  “And you don’t have to,” I said, brushing my lips against his. “You’ll be there every step of the way, Jack. I bet you anything that his first word will be daddy instead of mommy because you’re gonna be such a big part of his life, I can tell.”

  Jack swallowed and turned away from me, focusing again on our son. He ran one of his giant fingers across Owen’s forehead, gently playing with the soft tufts of hair on his head. Owen moved in his arms. He was still asleep, but Jack almost jumped up. “I don’t wanna wake him. He’s been up and down so much the last few days, and he needs his rest.”

  Jack walked over to the crib he’d helped set up beside the bed, laying him down in it. I followed him and wrapped my arms around his waist as best I could since they weren’t long enough. I just wanted to hold him, to be near him, and never let him go again.

  Jack turned around to face me, and my hands fell. Before I knew what was happening, he practically lifted me off the ground and kissed me, nearly stealing my breath away.

  “I think I need a shower,” he said, his lips still against mine.

  “Mmm, mind if I join you?” I asked.

  “I was counting on it,” he said with a chuckle. “Figured you could get to the hard to reach spots on my back.”

  I tapped him playfully on the chest. “Oh, is that the only reason?”

  “Nah, just one of many,” he teased. “Seeing you naked is near the top of the list.”

  “Only near the top, eh? So what’s the number one reason?”

  Jack’s lips spread into a devious, delicious smile. He didn’t have to tell me what he wanted. I already knew. My panties were soaked from being near him. I was perpetually horny when he was around. My teenage fantasies had come true, and I found him just as sexy now as I did back then.

  Even sexier now that he was mine.

  We stripped as qui
ckly as possible and raced for the shower. We got to the bathroom door at the same time, and Jack tapped my ass playfully.

  “Lady’s first,” he said.

  “I think you just wanna check out my naked ass,” I teased.

  “Are you a mind reader? Because that’s exactly my motive right now.”

  I sauntered into the bathroom, giving my ass a nice, little wiggle just to tease him. His cock had been hard since the moment he dropped his pants, but when I turned around, I swear it had grown in length and girth. Jack moved toward me, his body against mine. I was pressed against the sink and him, his hardness brushing against my belly. His lips met mine as his hands grabbed at my ass, lifting me off the ground.

  “I thought we were taking a shower?” I teased him.

  “We’ll get there,” he murmured. “But there’s no rush.”

  His mouth moved from my lips down to my neck. He nibbled gently, causing me to gasp in pleasure. I shuddered in his arms. I needed him, every inch of him, more than anything in that moment. My body felt like it might explode with desire.

  “Please, Jack,” I groaned as he continued dotting kisses and nibbles along my neck and chest.

  “Please what?” he growled against my flesh.

  “I need you…”

  “You need me to do what?” He pulled away and looked at me, a playful glint in his eyes.

  “You know…”

  “No, Cassie.” His smile was so seductive. “I want you to tell me exactly what you want me to do with you.” His voice was low and deep, and it brought about a fluttering in my belly.

  I whimpered. “I need you inside me,” I said, feeling breathless, and we hadn't even gotten started.

  “Your wish is my command, babe,” he said.

  Jack sat me down on the bathroom sink as he kicked the bathroom door shut. And I knew at that moment that we weren’t going to make it to the shower.

  I wrapped my legs around his body as his cock rubbed against me. He kept slipping and sliding, teasing my pussy with just the tip. His mouth explored my neck, my chest, my face. I couldn’t keep track of where his body began, and mine ended.