by Nicole Casey
I chuckled.
“But believe me”—again she leaned in and loud-whispered— “I’m sure as hell going to try!”
“So, you’re hitting the Appalachian trail on Wednesday?”
“Yep.” She nodded enthusiastically. “And I can’t wait.”
“Well, you absolutely must stop off in Franklin. I’ll introduce you to some friends of mine.”
24
Ryker
They say good things come to those who wait, but I’d never put much stock in that overly passive adage. I’d always believed that good things come to those who don’t wait and, instead, take action.
My motto was confirmed to me in quite a dramatic fashion.
I decided I had moped long enough. Though I still longed for Holly to be with us again, though I still missed her just as badly, I knew sitting on the couch and feeling hurt would not change anything. I phoned the Blue Ridge Hospital director, and I accepted the residency program she’d offered.
No sooner had I made the call—perhaps, ten minutes after, but not more—than Holly phoned me.
“I’m coming home,” she said.
“But I don’t understand. I thought you were in San Diego already. Where are you calling from?”
“Ryker, I’m going to strangle you,” she said jokingly. “It’s a figure of speech. Home, it’s where we feel we belong; it’s where we feel loved and needed.”
“And.…”
“And I’m coming home, Ryker!”
She had to spell it out for me. Or maybe I had understood the first time, but I was so delighted to hear she’d be returning that I wanted to hear the news over and over again.
“Do you mean you’re coming back to Appalachia?”
“Yes, Ryker.”
“Do you mean you’re coming back to North Carolina?”
“Yes, Ryker.”
“Do you mean you’re coming back to me?”
“Yes, Ryker.”
“Do you mean you’re coming back to us?”
“Yes, Ryker.”
“That’s the best news I’ve heard, ever! I’m so happy.”
“Me, too.”
“Things are going to be a little different, though, Holly. I’m starting back with my residency next week.”
“That’s great. Did you accept the offer in Blue Ridge?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. And I’ll be quite busy, insanely busy, most likely.”
“So, will I. I’m coordinating between ‘Medicine on the Trail’ and Angel Clinic for dental supplies, and I’ll be expanding the outreach with Claire.”
“Wow. That’s perfect. Looks like you’ll be insanely busy, too.”
“Plus the book.”
“The book?”
“Don’t you think our story would make an amazing book?”
I laughed. “I don’t know. People read the craziest things, sometimes. So, yeah, I guess maybe our story could make a good book. You might, though, have to leave out certain details.”
“What? I most certainly will not leave out certain details. The details are the best part.”
“If you say so.”
“I do say so. I know what people want to read. And our story, our whole story, is exactly what the people want. It’s going to be a huge hit. I just know it.”
“What about your privacy?” I said.
“Hmm. Maybe I’ll change the names, you know, to protect the innocent, and in my case, the not so innocent.”
I laughed. “Outreach in the day, writing a book by night. Is there anything else?”
“Well, there is one thing.…”
I had a million things to do to get ready for Holly’s return. The first of which was to get a car to pick her up at the airport.
I was hanging out at Ted’s place, which was quite close to Will’s, and Carson and Shaun were there with us.
“Carson, can I borrow your car this Thursday?”
“You mean our car,” he said. “Of course, you can borrow it.”
“Thanks.”
“What’s going on this Thursday?”
“I need to go to Asheville to the airport to pick up Holly.”
He lit up. “Holly!”
I’d never seen someone give up their car keys so quickly. “Here you go. Take it.”
“Thanks.”
He stared at me expectantly. “What are you standing there for?” he said. “Go.”
I chuckled. “She’s arriving on Thursday.”
“Well, she could arrive early,” he said. “Planes do that sometimes. Go. Get out of here.”
“Can I at least drive you home, seeing as how you don’t have a car now?”
“No. That’s okay. Ted will take me back. But you go. Get out of here.” He pushed me toward the door. “There might be traffic. Best get an early start.”
I didn’t stick around to try to explain to Carson that Thursday was two days away, that there was no need to worry; I would leave early enough to miss any potential traffic. Instead, I drove back to the small apartment I’d rented in Blue Ridge, stopping off at the grocery store. I wanted to make sure the fridge and the cupboards were filled for Holly; I wanted to make sure she wouldn’t lack in anything.
The apartment was clean—by my standards—but I cleaned it again. Instead of relieving stress, as cleaning usually did for me, my anxiety only increased.
Man, this apartment is too small. She’s not going to want to stay here. I bet she has a nice house in San Diego. All houses in San Diego are nice. She’s going to want to go back as soon as she arrives and sees this place.
I was putting a lot of pressure on myself, and I thought of what Will had said to me when he and Owen came to get me at the cabin. We’ve already lost you once. I’m not going to let that happen again.
I called my brothers and told them the good news, and I made sure they were all free Thursday night for a welcome back party at the cottage. I didn’t need to twist any arms.
The plane did not arrive early, as Carson had jokingly suggested it might. It arrived exactly on time. That meant that I stood at the arrival gate for three hours, pacing and checking the information panel every five minutes for an update.
When her plane finally landed, I ran to the bathroom to check myself in the mirror and make sure there wasn’t anything stuck in my teeth or that my hair wasn’t a mess, which it was from my constantly pulling on it.
When she came walking out of the gate, I played it cool—for about five seconds—then I ran to her and took her in my arms. I hugged her, lifted her, and spun her around.
“My goodness, Ryker, it feels like it’s been ages.”
“It has. It’s been the Dark Ages.” I set her down, kissed her on the cheek then pulled her away so I could get a good long look at her.
“It’s only been two weeks,” she said, “but boy, were those two weeks long!” She cupped my chin and kissed me. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and she continued to kiss me. She ran her hands up and down my back, and she rocked and swayed with the motion of her mouth against mine.
I pulled away and took a breath. “Holly, it’s good to see you.” I kissed her on the forehead.
“It’s good to see you, Ryker.”
I kissed her on the cheek.
She held my hands in hers and squeezed. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“Your bags?”
She motioned to the carry-on at her feet. “There it is. Ready to go.”
“That’s all you brought?” I was disappointed, though I tried not to let it show. We hadn’t talked about how long she was going to stay; we hadn’t discussed our plans, but I’d hoped that she was coming back for good, that this wasn’t a short visit. In fact, I hadn’t considered it a visit at all but a return.
“That’s all I need,” she said. She picked up the bag, locked her other arm in mine, and started for the exit. “I’m a simple girl with simple needs.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, that’s so.” She leaned in a
nd whispered into my ear, “My needs are simple, but they’re strong. Let’s hurry up and get back home.”
I was beaming as I drove, a big silly grin slapped on my face as I stared straight ahead, pretending to be watching the road while Holly filled me in on her time in San Diego. I listened as best I could, but half my mind was still in the clouds, replaying the words she’d said to me at the airport—let’s get back home.
I knew it was a figure of speech. But the thought that she considered being with me her “home,” or as she put it, “her place where she felt loved,” that thought had me spinning; it had me feeling like I’d just gone to the dentist’s and was given a good dose of laughing gas.
She was talking about Mrs. Freedman, and then she cut herself off mid-sentence. “Are you listening to me?”
With a giddy smile still stretched across my face, I nodded, then shook my head. “You called this place your home.”
For the time being, our “home” would consist of a small one-bedroom apartment in Blue Ridge. I suggested we look for a bigger one together, but we should look in Blue Ridge. I needed to be close to the hospital; the hours I’d be working were insane.
“You know, I think the location is perfect,” she said. “It’s not far from Angel Clinic. It’s close to your brothers but far enough away that I won’t be tempted to spend every night with them, and I just might get that book written.”
“Just might?” I said, and I shook my head. “You will write that book.”
“I will?” She tilted her head to the side and raised her eyebrows. “Oh, yeah? Is that an order?”
I pinned her against the wall and pressed my bulging erection against her hip. I looked at her from her silky black hair tied back in a tight ponytail, into her gold-tinted, amber eyes, past her heaving breasts, down to her exposed navel and inviting hips. “Yes, that’s an order, and I’ve got a few more orders to give.”
I grabbed her pants and unbuttoned them. She slapped at my hands, and I pinned them to her sides. With my knee, I pushed her legs apart and pressed my erection against her crotch. I ground slowly, looking into her eyes that burned with desire. Her lips parted, and she wet them with the tip of her tongue.
God, she’s fucking gorgeous!
I let go of her hands and grabbed her head, my thumbs under her jaw and my fingers gripping her nape. I kissed her greedily and ground against her, mimicking the turns of my tongue in her mouth.
“I order you,” I said through gritted teeth, “to pull down your pants.”
Without taking her eyes off mine, she complied. I unzipped my pants and took out my throbbing cock. I seized her by the hips, and, with a yank, I spun her around to face the wall.
She gasped.
I pulled her panties completely off and slid my hand around to cup her pussy. She was wet and ready. I was hard and impatient.
I slid my fingers between her soft, juicy labia and, with my other hand, I guided the tip of my cock into her. “Two weeks,” I said, grinding my teeth. “I’ve had to wait for two weeks. Do you have any idea how crazy that’s made me?”
I slid my hands up her side, feeling and groping at every inch of her, till I reached around and seized her by the shoulder, my arm now pressed tightly against her chest. My other hand gripped her leg right where her thigh met her crotch. And I thrust, my cock filling her, my pelvis smacking into her firm ass while I pulled her back to meet me yet still squeezing her tight with my arm around her chest. “God, you feel so good.” I kissed her on the temple.
She turned her head to the side. I put my hand on her cheek, cupped her face, and kissed her beside her eye. I kissed her cheek. I kissed her jaw. I pumped, and I bucked, and I thrust. I stroked her wet pussy. And I kissed her, and I fucked her greedily against the wall.
“Oh, God, Holly. I’ve needed you so badly. So badly.”
The life of a doctor in residency is a tiring, stressful life filled with long shifts and short rests, and long shifts and shorter rests.
I’d come home exhausted, my head still buzzing with the thousands of things I needed to track during the course of a day at the hospital. I would shower, hoping that would give me another boost of energy—which it usually did, although the boost would only last a matter of minutes. Then I would collapse either onto the living room sofa or directly onto the bed.
Sometimes when I got home, Holly would still be working on her book, and she’d continue till the early hours of the morning. Sometimes, she’d be tired of writing, and she’d come to sit with me or to lie with me, and she’d read me the passages she’d written earlier that day.
It was fun hearing about the events I had lived through, the events I’d been an active participant of, but hearing about them from someone else’s perspective. I especially enjoyed the part where she hadn’t wanted me to tell her my name because she’d wanted to continue entertaining her fantasy that I was Ryker. That made me smile.
The passages from her book, the passages of our life together would make up the landscapes of my dreams. I would fall asleep and find myself again on the trail with Holly at my side. The snow would come down, and we would settle snugly in our tent. And we would make love while the wind whipped around us, unable to touch us, unable to interfere or interrupt our communion.
Those first few months of my residency were the hardest, but Holly gave me strength. I’d spend all my energy at the hospital and would arrive home with little to none left for Holly. But, at least, I could feel good and proud that I was providing for her. She lacked for nothing. As for her physical urges that I was either absent or too worn out to satisfy, I could rest assured that I had nine brothers who cared for her, eager, willing, and able to provide her with what she needed.
Epilogue
Holly
When the Chandlers say they share everything, they mean they share everything. That had included babysitting, feeding, burping, washing, diaper duty, singing lullabies; you name it, they did it. I understood that raising a baby was not easy. It could be stressful and tiring. But the mothers who say they’ve had to give up their social lives or their career in order to raise their child, I suspect they weren’t raising their baby with ten devoted and caring fathers at hand. Believe me that makes things a whole lot easier.
Baby Denise was a beautiful little girl. She had her mother’s amber eyes. But she also looked very much like her father—whether he be Ted or Will, Miles or Lawson, Owen or Brock, Gannon or Carson, Shaun or Ryker. Asked who the father was, each of the Chandlers would claim that he was the father. And they’d all be right. Fatherhood, as well, can be shared.
Denise was still too young to take her out with me into the mountains, into the isolated communities where Claire and I would bring much needed medical and dental care. But I would show the children pictures of her, and they’d all agree that she was a beautiful baby.
The book was a huge hit. Of course, it was. That was a surprise to nobody.
I wanted to send a signed copy to Wendy. After all, if she hadn’t published her story about us, I wouldn’t have had the nerve to go public. Unfortunately, I was not able to get her address. I contacted the magazine she used to write for, but the editor told me that she’d had to fire Wendy shortly after the story was published: something about Wendy’s provoking “Mirror, Mirror” to deny them or anyone affiliated with them an interview.
I did send Felicity Freedman a signed copy, though. She’d responded with, “I can’t wait to read the sequel.”
To which, I said, “Then you’d better get started writing it!”
Quick to the punch, Felicity responded with, “Writing it! I don’t have time to write it; I’m too busy living it!’
It’s a shame Wendy had put her five minutes of fame ahead of a potential lifelong friendship. I could have set her up with Felicity Freedman. She would have provided a near-endless supply of salacious stories for her. Then again, if Wendy hadn’t done what she did, you wouldn’t be reading this story now, would you? And not reading this story would
have been the real shame. I think we can all agree with that.
Next spring, we—the Chandler brothers and I—are all flying to Maine. From there, we’ll become SoBos—hikers taking the trail southbound. Most hikers are NoBos or northbound hikers, but we don’t usually do things the way most people do.
They say that starting the trail up north is the hard way, that the southern part of the trail is easier, and that it’s best to get your hiker legs doing the easy part first, then work your way up to the harder parts up north. But to us, it makes more sense that the trail should get easier the closer we get to home.
Once we’ve tackled the trail, who knows? We’re a difficult band to predict. Ryker and I have talked about going to Japan, where I was born. If he can go on the trail and find his birth family, why can’t I go out and look for mine?
“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you,” Ryker told me.
“And now that we’re together, Ryker, I feel we can do anything,” I said. “Why not Japan?”
“I’m ready when you are?”
Me? I was close to being ready. Close, but not quite.
First, we had to do the trail.
It all started with the trail.
Then, as I took the trail home, I’d keep following it, following it to the home I never knew.
“I bet there are good hiking trails in Japan,” said Ryker.
“I bet there are, Ryker. I bet there are.”
THE END
Author’s Note
Dear reader, thank you so much for taking the chance to read Ten Mountain Men’s Baby - Book 9 in my best selling Reverse Harem Romance series: Love by Numbers.
I hope you enjoyed Holly and Ryker’s adventure together!
I wanted to ask you…would you be interested in knowing what happens next when Holly goes to Japan to look for her birth parents? Let me know by emailing me or write it in your review! If there are lots of interests I would definitely consider writing about it.