Junior For The Mountain Man

by Crowne, K. C.

  Junior For The Mountain Man

  K.C. Crowne

  Copyright © 2019 by K.C. Crowne

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Description

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Epilogue

  Also By K.C. Crowne

  Baby For The Mountain Man (Preview)

  About the Author

  Description

  The marines prepared me for everything...

  Except for the most important job on the planet.

  A f*cked up world made me into the man I am today.

  Then Piper walked back into my life.

  She woke up the beast I had locked away.

  I need to have her.

  Own her.

  Taste her.

  But, men with a death wish want to harm her and Caleb.

  I'll protect them both...

  And finally show my little sister's best friend...

  What she's meant to me all these years.

  Chapter 1

  Grant

  Screams echoed through the smoke-filled air. Babies cried, children were frantically running away, trying to find their parents. I’d broken many rules by being there, but I couldn’t let innocents die.

  His name meant perceptiveness or ingenuity, and Firash was both of those things. At only four years old, his eyes were always wide, he was always picking up on everything around him. He was one of the few children who wasn’t afraid of me when we strolled into their village. He walked right up to me, no fear in his eyes. Firash seemed to fear nothing, even in his war-torn country where there was always someone or something to be scared of.

  I ushered other kids to safety, helped mothers carrying infants to find shelter from the explosion, but there was no sign of Firash and his family.

  I ran to their home, and what I found would haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life.

  My alarm went off, waking me from the brutal nightmare. If it was just a nightmare instead of a memory I had to relive night after night, that would have been a relief. I awoke with a start, struggling for air and covered in sweat.

  It wasn’t even that warm in my house. It was late fall, the temperatures in Liberty, Utah, were dropping by the day and a snowstorm was on the horizon. But I was drenched in sweat from a fucking dream.

  It was the same old story night after night. At least this time, I didn’t have to relive the true nightmare that followed - the moment I found their bodies.

  I’d kicked my blanket off at some point, and I always slept buck naked. I hated sleeping in clothing; it felt too constricting. Since I lived alone, I had that privilege. It also kept the sweating from the night terrors to a minimum.

  I sat up in bed, then climbed to my feet - rather, my foot. I’d gotten pretty damn good at getting around with only one leg. I didn’t have to often, but no point putting on the prosthetic just to walk to the shower then take it back off again. Grumbling, I hopped to the shower and turned on the cold water. I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall as the water washed over me, waking me up and reminding me that I was no longer in Afghanistan. I was home.

  Even if Liberty didn’t feel like home to me anymore, it was the only home I had. Nothing in Liberty had changed since my time in the Marines, but I had.

  I’d seen things that no one in our idyllic town could even imagine. I’d witnessed horrors Hollywood wouldn’t or couldn’t show you. How could I return to ‘normal’ after that?

  Nothing had felt right after that day. Not even my family home, the very house I grew up in, felt right. I’d inherited the house after our parents decided to downsize to an RV to see the country, but sometimes I wished I’d let Leah have it. Being there, remembering my stupid, perfect youth before the service stripped away my naivety was its own unique form of torture. It reminded me of better, happier days - of a time when I had hope for the future.

  Now I merely just went through the motions and kept myself busy to keep the nightmares at bay for as long as I could.

  I quickly washed off the sweat in the shower and was out within a few minutes. I stared into the mirror, debating whether to shave the stubble on my face. I decided not to.

  I returned to my bedroom and checked my phone. My sister had sent me a message, reminding me what needed to be done at Piper’s daycare today. Piper was her best friend, and we’d known her since both girls were in kindergarten. She’d fallen on some hard times, lost her daycare, and we’d helped her get set up in a new place. Her business was back up and running, but there were still some tweaks and improvements to be made. Nothing serious, but things that would make my sister and Piper happy.

  I popped on my prosthetic leg, another reminder of that God-awful day. Most people in Liberty didn’t even realize I’d lost part of my leg because I did my best to hide it. Family and only our closest friends knew the real reason I came back from the war earlier than expected.

  I threw on some jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed my jacket, and headed out to my truck. Piper would probably already be at the daycare, and Leah might be at the hotel. They were two of the hardest working women I’d ever known. Piper was there every morning before people went to work and stayed late into the evening after folks got off and could pick up their kids. She even offered extended hours for people who worked late. She worked more than most people I knew, and that was damn impressive.

  As I drove into town, I tried to clear my head of the nightmare. I thought about anything but what I’d found at Firash’s home that day.

  I thought about the plans Piper had for the daycare.

  A little boy in a walker who attended the daycare had trouble getting in and out of the building because of a few stairs. She was interested in putting a ramp in and making the daycare more accessible for children with disabilities.

  I was thinking of and discarding idea that would allow us to do that as I pulled into the parking lot. As expected, Piper’s car was already there, as was Leah’s. It wasn’t even seven in the morning. I’d have to start getting up earlier.

  Originally, what was now Little Cubs had been the hotel fitness center. It had its own private entrance with a hand-carved sign over the door I’d made for Piper’s grand re-opening. I stepped inside the building, and decided I needed to get there a lot earlier from now on. Not just to show up Piper and my sister, but because the place was already swarming with kids.

  I’d never really spent much time around kids and didn’t know what to do around them. They made me nervous, and they also brought back memories of the one kid I’d grown attached to. For that reason, I usually avoided them.

  The first room after entering the daycare was where the toddlers and children played. Tabitha, Piper’s sister, had a group of them at a table with crayons and paper. She waved when I came in.

  “Stop running,” Tabitha called out as three little boys chased after each other, nearly running into me. I stepped aside, and they cont
inued, slowing their pace as they giggled, oblivious to the fact that they’d almost knocked me over.

  My heart raced as I saw a little dark-haired boy in the corner by himself. He had big eyes and was watching the room warily. He was perceptive, just like another little boy I once knew. He was younger than Firash, but there was something in his eyes that reminded me of him.

  “Grant! What brings you by this early?” Piper’s cheerful voice pulled me from my thoughts.

  I turned my attention toward her. She was dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a Little Cub’s t-shirt. I knew Piper well; she would often get down on the floor and play with the kids, so dressing up for work would be silly. Besides, she didn’t have to dress up to look good.

  She used to keep her hair cut pixie-short because she’d been a bit of a tomboy, but she’d grown it out. It fell to her shoulders now, sleek and almost jet black. Her eyes were more grey than brown, but sometimes they looked almost black as well.

  She had the brightest smile of anyone I’d ever met.

  She was petite, only 5’3” or so, and fairly small all around. Yet, in those tight ass jeans of hers, her natural curves were visible to a discerning eye. Even in such casual clothes, she had an amazing body, a feminine body with curves and roundness in all the right places.

  “Grant?” she chuckled. “You okay?”

  She was closer now, smiling even wider than before, but with her head tilted at an angle like she was trying to figure out what was wrong with me.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, shaking my head. “Leah told me your garbage disposal wasn’t working. Thought I’d take a look.”

  “Sure, go right ahead,” Piper said, motioning for me to follow her into the kitchen area. I got a nice view of her ass this way even though I tried not to look. It felt wrong to check her out, not just because we were surrounded by children, but because she was my sister’s best friend. Piper glanced over her shoulder. “I’m sorry you came all this way for a garbage disposal. We would have been fine without it, you know. I appreciate your help, obviously. I just don’t want to trouble you.”

  “It’s not a problem.” I shrugged. “I like to stay busy.”

  I looked down at the ground and walked into the kitchen. Piper didn’t need to lead the way. I’d been working at the daycare since we decided to turn it into the daycare, and I knew the layout like the back of my hand.

  Still, Piper waited as if she wanted to tell me something. I waited for a second, giving her a chance to speak, but she stood there with a smile on her pretty face. She was an odd girl sometimes, a little more talkative than I often cared for. She was sweet as hell, though, so it was damn near impossible to get annoyed at her for it.

  “Do you need any help?” she asked.

  “No, I think I can handle this on my own,” I muttered.

  “You sure? I could—”

  “I’m missing a leg, Piper, not an arm,” I grumbled.

  “Okay then.”

  Dammit. Now I felt like an asshole.

  I was underneath the kitchen sink, so I couldn’t see her face, but I heard the hurt in her voice. Before I could think of anything to say, Piper said, “Caleb? What’s wrong, buddy?”

  I listened as her footsteps walked away from the sink, and I was relieved. For a second, at least. I heard some muffled crying, and my instincts kicked in. I tried to see who was crying and why but ended up hitting my face on the cabinet instead.

  “Goddammit,” I growled, holding my hand to my nose.

  “Grant? You okay?” Piper called out to me.

  The crying had stopped. I was now staring up at the sink from underneath the cabinet, feeling like an absolute buffoon. “I’m fine.”

  “You sure? You hit your head pretty hard. Let me take a look.”

  “I said, I’m fine. Take care of the kid,” I said roughly.

  “Caleb’s fine, aren’t you, buddy?”

  I heard a muffled, “Yes.”

  “Some of the other kids are just mean to him sometimes. We’re trying to work on that.”

  I finished cleaning the garbage disposal, which was clogged. Nothing serious. I cleaned it out while Piper and the little boy played a game in the background. I couldn’t make out what they were doing, but Piper was singing, and every now and then, the little boy would join in.

  Once I finished, I pulled myself out from under the sink and wiped the sweat from my brow. I found Piper sitting on the kitchen floor with the little boy with the big eyes. The one that reminded me of Firash.

  My heart hurt too much to stick around.

  “Uh, if you don’t have anything else for me, I think I’m going to head out.”

  Piper stood up and dusted off her pants; the little boy followed her. The two of them looked a lot alike. He could almost be her child, except I knew Piper didn’t have any kids of her own.

  “Thanks, Grant,” she said with a friendly smile.

  My eyes fell on the little boy again. “Is this Andy’s son?”

  “Yeah, how can you tell?” she giggled.

  “He looks just like you, figured he had to be family.”

  Piper didn’t really have much family. Just her and her sister and her cousin, Andy, who was hardly ever around. I knew the guy in high school, but he always thought he was too good for the rest of us. Still did, working as a bigshot lawyer and all.

  “Yeah, he’s family,” she said, ruffling the little guy’s hair. “Aren’t you, rascal?”

  Andy and his wife Lori had had a baby about three years ago, but I’d never met the boy. And I only knew that because Leah told me how obvious it was Lori and Andy didn’t want to be parents. Lori died of an opiate overdose a few months later, leaving Andy a single father of a boy he barely wanted.

  The little boy didn’t respond to Piper’s question, just stared at me with his big eyes. I turned my attention back to Piper.

  “I should get going. Leah has some work that needs to be done.”

  The little boy reached up and tugged on my pant leg.

  “Yes?” I wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to him.

  “I help?” he asked.

  “Oh, no,” Piper said, cutting in before I could say anything. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea, Caleb.”

  “Why?” Caleb asked.

  “Because Grant has to do grownup stuff, and we’re getting ready to play a game with Miss Tabby. Won’t that be fun?”

  Caleb continued looking up at me, and the more he stared at me with those puppy dog eyes, the more my heart ached for the last little boy who’d clung to my side.

  Caleb shrugged his little shoulders and looked like someone had knocked the wind out of his sails. He really didn’t want to go back in there and play with those other kids. If he was being bullied, I didn’t blame him. But it wasn’t my problem. Piper was the expert; she could handle it. There was nothing I could do about it.

  “I’m sorry, little man,” I said, running a hand over the stubble on my face. “I think you’ll have a lot more fun playing games with Piper and Tabby than with me.”

  Caleb didn’t look so sure. I hated seeing the little guy so sad and downtrodden, but Piper took his little hands.

  “Come on, Caleb. I’ll let you pick the game. How does that sound?”

  She shot me a sweet smile, mouthing “Thank you” over her shoulder. I watched the two of them leave the kitchen, mainly looking at Piper. Damn, she had a nice body. I tried to avoid being alone with her as much as possible, afraid that I might say or do something to jeopardize her friendship with my sister, but if she were anyone else… well, let’s face it. I hadn’t been too interested in dating anyone since I got back. Not even someone as sexy as Piper could change that.

  Sure, I missed sex. But I was too broken to get into a relationship. I knew Piper wanted a husband and kids one day, and she deserved that. But I couldn’t give that to anyone.

  I was better off alone.

  Chapter 2

  Piper

  My mind was
racing almost as fast as my heart was pounding. I had to play it cool, especially around the kids, but damn… Every time Grant came in to work on something, I might as well be a pile of goo. He looked so good in those jeans too.

  I was warm, and my cheeks were flushed. My sister gave me a strange look when she saw me.

  “What’s going on with you?”

  “Nothing. Just got a little overheated, that’s all,” I lied.

  Grant came out of the kitchen after us. Tabitha took one look at him, then raised her eyebrow at me. “Uh-huh. Now I see why.”

  She knew better than to go into more detail around the kids, which was a blessing. Tabitha had always teased me about my crush on Grant, but we were adults now and had moved on with our lives. I could appreciate the fact that he looked hot as hell without pining over him like a love-drunk teenager.

  I waved at Grant as he exited the daycare, both relieved and saddened by his departure. Relieved because I was at work and there was no time for the thoughts in my head, but saddened, because damn, he did some crazy things to my insides.

  Tabitha giggled, giving me a wry grin. I decided to change the subject.

  “I promised Caleb he could pick the next game we played as a group,” I announced. Caleb was still by my side, staring at the other children gathered in the center of the room. I could tell he wanted to join them, but he struggled to do so. He had trouble keeping up with them, especially when they ran around. It wasn’t too obvious, but he had a bit of a limp and some issues walking.