“Where?”
“You’ll see.”
A few minutes later, we walk through the dense trees into an open area with a large gaping hole in the side of a mountain.
“This is it.” She lets go of my hand and runs toward the cave.
“Finley.” My heart races with fear. God only knows what’s inside there. “Stop.”
I only make it a few feet inside the damp, dark hole, when my foot catches on something, making me tumble forward. I hear the pop in my ankle before I feel the shooting pain that slices up my leg.
“Oww,” I cry out.
“Kate?” Finley is beside me. “Are you hurt?”
Yes. But more than that, I’m terrified.
“We have to get out of here.” I try to stand, but when I do tears burn my eyes from the pain. I bite my tongue on the curse that wants to rip from my throat.
“It’s safe here, look...” She disappears into the shadows again.
“Finley, stay here.”
She returns a few seconds later with a water bottle and a granola bar. “It’s one of my daddy’s caves.”
I take the water bottle she hands me, and frown. “What do you mean, one of his caves?”
She sits down beside me and tears open the granola bar wrapper. “For when he’s hunting with my uncles.”
The child has a wicked imagination, but I’m starting to wonder if there isn’t some truth to it. Why else would there be supplies hidden in a random cave on the mountain?
Still, even if it is the truth, it doesn’t mean it’s safe here. Because whatever Weston and his brothers hunt up here, roam these mountains.
“I need you to help me up, okay?”
In the darkness, I see her nod, but as I try to stand again, I know there’s no way I’m getting down that mountain in this condition. More panic squeezes my throat, and when I swallow it’s like shards of glass scratching their way down, because I’d been so caught up in my conversation with Piper, that I forgot to bring my damn cell phone.
Still, with Finley’s help, I’m able to hobble to the mouth of the cave. As soon as the sunlight touches my cheeks, I feel slightly better, that is until I look down at my ankle.
“Oh God,” I groan. It’s already twice the normal size and a deep blue bruise circles it.
Finley looks at me with worried eyes when she sees my ankle. “I’m sorry.”
I want to tell her that it isn’t her fault, but the truth is she shouldn’t have run off.
“Come here.” I motion her to sit beside me, and after a slight hesitation, she does. “You can’t run off like that. When you do, you can get hurt, or others can.”
Tears gather, and her chin quivers. “I just wanted to show you the cave.”
“I know sweetheart, but there are dangers up here, things I can’t protect you from.” And now I have no idea how I’m going to get her back to town safely.
It’s not like I can send a six-year-old off in the woods alone. And it’ll be hours before anyone notices we’re missing. I don’t want to panic, not yet. But when I hear a noise like something very large, very scary running through the trees toward us, I can’t help the fear that paralyzes me.
That fear turns to terror as an enormous bear bounds through the opening, stopping when he sees us.
Oh. My. God.
This cannot be happening. Can’t be the way my life ends. I can see the headlines now; Stupid Woman and Undisciplined Child get Mauled in Random Bear Attack in the Wilds of Alaska.
I have no clue what to do.
Play dead. Or is that only for some bears? It’s not like I’m a bear expert. I’m not even sure what kind this one is. Maybe a Grizzly, considering the size. But aren’t they the most vicious?
My mind races, and it takes less than a minute for my body to turn from flight to fight, but only because Finley jumps up from where she was sitting beside me and races toward the bear.
I try to snatch her arm, but she’s too quick.
“Daddy,” she cries out, happily, and I know that her wild imagination will be the death of us.
The bear looks at the child, then back at me. Good, I need its attention, maybe then Finley can run away.
Ignoring the pain that shoots up my leg when I stand, I pick up a rock, and throw it at the bear.
“Get out of here.”
The rock bounces off the bear’s side, and it doesn’t even flinch.
“Finley, stop,” I shout, tears now streaming down my face. She’s only a few feet away from the beast.
The only thing that stops her is when the bear opens its massive jaw and lets out a growl that shakes something deep inside of me.
I hobble toward Finley, picking up another large rock, and tossing it at the bear. “Leave her alone.”
The bear holds my gaze for a long second, and I swear I hear the words, beautiful, brave, woman.
It makes me pause, but only for a second. I pick up another rock and shout, “Shoo. Go.”
I wait for it to charge me, but instead, it turns and runs back into the bush, disappearing in the maze of trees.
I collapse on the ground, my ankle finally giving out on me.
Finley still stands in the same spot, eyes wide, face pale. “He’s...he’s mad at me.”
I can’t deal with her fantasies right now. “Come here.”
She walks toward me.
“You can’t ever do that again,” I say, my voice hard, no give to it. “Do you understand what could have happened?”
“But—”
“No, Finley. I’m serious. That bear could have killed you.”
She frowns up at me but holds her tongue.
“We have to get out of here before it comes back.”
“He’ll come back soon. We just have to wait.”
I pull her toward me, wrapping my arms around her and kissing the top of her head. “You’re killing me, kiddo.”
It’s only a few minutes later when I hear more rustling, but this time it’s echoed by two male voices.
“They’re over here,” one, that sounds a lot like Weston says.
“What the fuck are they doing up in the woods?” the other asks.
Weston grunts as he pushes through the trees, dark eyes piercing me with a look of accusation the moment he sees me. His brother Gunnar follows close behind him.
“Daddy,” Finley calls out, racing toward him like she did the bear. “I knew it was you.”
He picks her up and says something I can’t hear in her ear. Whatever it is, it makes her face crumple in the closest thing to guilt I’ve seen from her.
“Take Finley home with you,” Weston says to Gunnar, placing the child down. “I’ll deal with Kate.”
Gunner raises a brow and looks over at me. “Are you sure? I can—”
“No.” Weston has his back to me now. “I’ve got this.”
And the look he gives me tells me he certainly does.
Chapter 5
Weston
It’s hard to focus when her scent is so overpowering. Vanilla bean wafts around us as we trudge through the forest, over fallen cedar branches and through a path of wildflowers.
“I just need your hand, I can walk,” she insists.
I snort, her petite body in my arms. “Like hell you can. Your ankle is sprained.”
“I can’t believe she ran off like that. I really thought I was getting through to her.” Kate exhales, her head against my chest. Damn, it feels so right with her in my arms.
“I think her intentions were good,” I say as we come to the clearing that opens up to my cabin, just one of the places I have in these mountains. “She wanted to show you one of our special spots in the woods, where she and I go for picnics. It’s kinda sweet, actually.”
I carry her past Fin’s fort on the back patio and push open the sliding door, entering my house.
“You call that sweet?” she asks as I set her down on the couch. “A bear practically mauled us, Weston.”
Clenching my jaw, I move the basket of c
lean laundry and reach for a throw pillow, placing it under her head. I wish I could explain everything without freaking her out. Truth is, I’m so fucking grateful we had already shared a kiss, because we are connected, bound in ways she doesn’t understand.
Ways that saved her life.
What if another bear - a goddamn Grizzly - had been stalking those woods today? I run a hand over my thick beard, hating the thought.
“I’m just glad Gunnar and I were out and found you.”
I so badly want to ask if my thoughts penetrated her mind - because hers sure cut through to me. That is how I knew to come find her and Finley - she was pleading for help. And I came to rescue her.
“I’m glad you were too.” She shakes her head and I see a dark line of worry in her eyes. “I was so scared something was going to happen to your little girl…” Tears prick her eyes and my heart aches to comfort her.
“Hey, nothing happened. I found you, and look, you’re both safe now.” Sitting down on the couch beside her, I tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.
“I’m the worst babysitter of all time.”
I smirk. “Like hell you are. The last few days, since Finley’s been with you, she comes home talking nonstop about how amazing you are.”
Kate smiles softly. “My friends say the same thing about me. They were teasing me last night because I was googling recipes for homemade slime to make with Finley instead of working on my book.”
“You’re incredible, you know that?”
She swallows hard as if accepting those words is the hardest thing in the world.
“What is it?” I ask.
“I just feel like you’re being too easy on me. Finley and I...we could have died today.” Her tears fall freely now, and I realize how terrifying seeing me in my bear form was for her. “And Fin...she must be in shell shock. The whole time, she was thinking it was a game, minutes earlier she’d been telling me how you and her uncles were bears, and how you hunted by this cave - she had a whole story. Never realizing the danger we were in.”
“It’s okay,” I try to assure her, wishing I could come out with the truth. But I know she’s already had enough of a shock today. Finding out I’m really a bear might just throw her over the edge.
“It’s not okay.” There’s so much guilt in her words.
“Finley has grown up in Alaska, so her sense of danger is probably a little off.” I brush a tear from Kate’s cheek, hating how torn up she is. “Let me get a bandage to wrap your ankle, okay?”
As I head to the bathroom for an ankle wrap, I try to clear my thoughts. Finley is fine, she’s not traumatized. Besides, maybe knowing she’s in big trouble when I pick her up from Uncle Gunnar’s tomorrow will shake some sense into her. She knows better than running off to our family caves.
But Kate? She’s really shaken up. I hate that my daughter’s foolishness is the reason for it.
When I come back in the room, I’m amazed for the hundredth time by Kate’s beauty. Her red hair is loose around her shoulders, wild and free, and her eyes are clear as the color of the sky on a summer day, the freckles around her cheeks and nose are so damn adorable, and I feel like the luckiest man to have this woman here, in my cabin - needing my help. She is way too good for a man like me.
“What is it?” she asks as I step toward her, slipping off her tennis shoe and sock.
“Nothing.” I shake my head. How do I tell her that she’s effortless and that is what makes her so damn attractive?
“Finley must be the talker in the family,” she says with a tight wince as I access her foot.
“She’s a chatterbox for sure. Takes after her mother in that regard.”
I regret the comment the moment I make it. Why am I talking about Heidi at a time like this?
“She passed away, right?” Kate asks softly.
I nod stiffly, this is not where I wanted the conversation to go, but here we are. “In childbirth.”
“I’m so sorry,” she says, reaching for my hand as I sit on the couch and place her foot in my lap. “The happiest day of your life became the most tragic. How do you get over something like that?”
I go still, surprised by her willingness to go there. Most people try to apologize and move on, not wanting to go deeper. Not when it’s about something so damn hard. It makes me respect Kate in a whole new way.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it. But I’ve moved through it.” I focus on wrapping Kate’s foot as I open up, not quite believing I even want to go here with her. But when I’m with Kate, I feel like I can be honest. “Fin’s mom and I, we weren’t together when she got pregnant. It sounds bad, but I wasn’t exactly looking for commitment. I slept with a lot of women and—”
“Broke a lot of hearts?”
I shake my head, embarrassed of my past. “I broke a lot of beds if that’s what you mean. I was a player, Kate. And a total ass.”
“So what happened?”
“It was a one-time thing with Heidi,” I tell her. “One night changed both our lives forever. Sometimes I think about what life would be like if I hadn’t met her. She might still be alive...but then Fin, she wouldn’t be here.”
Kate sighs. “That’s a complicated reality to wrestle with.”
“You know anything about that?” I ask, having the sense that she does.
“It’s not quite the same, but I was engaged before.” She bites her bottom lip.
I finish wrapping her foot and wait as she searches for the right words. I pictured Kate as this absolutely innocent woman. The idea that she has been engaged before shifts the way I see her.
“What happened?”
“He died in a car accident.”
“Oh god, I had no idea, Kate.”
“It’s not something I really bring up. I mean, it’s not exactly a happy story.”
“Still,” I say. “It’s your story.”
“We’d gotten in a fight and he left in a huff. If I’d been softer with him...he wouldn’t have left. He would still be alive.” She closes her eyes, her hand finding mine. I thread my fingers with hers, sensing she needs me to tether her to this moment. “I can’t believe I’m telling you all this. I’ve never even told my girlfriends that.”
“Hey, Kate, couples argue. People fight. His death is not your fault.”
“I know that in my head...but in my heart? It’s more complicated.”
“Do you still love him?” I have to ask, I need to know where my mate stands.
She runs her finger over her lips. “With Matt and I...it was never about...I mean, it was...Matt was a really good man. He cared about me and I cared about him and I love that he loved me.” She sighs. “That probably sounds strange. It’s just—”
“You were never in love with him.”
“Right.”
Our eyes meet then, the moment is still, and I feel a heat rise from her. The same way I feel a need stir within me. She may have not been in love before, but this energy passing between us - it’s real.
She takes a deep breath, the rise of her breasts sending a wave of desire over me.
“I feel like I’ve overshared,” she says. “We were talking about you.”
“No,” I say. “We’re talking about life.” My brows furrow. “Can I ask you something?”
“At this point, with you, I think I’m an open book.”
“You were – are - so young. Why would you agree to marry a man you didn’t love?”
“My family loved him, and I hoped that would be enough. Matt was going to take over my father’s law practice. He was my first everything and...it was safe, and I didn’t know how to take chances.”
“Do you now?” I ask.
Her lips tug up. “I moved to Alaska, didn’t I? I quit my job to be here, decided to be a writer and threw all caution to the wind when Addie invited me on this adventure. So yes, I can take chances now.”
“You’re really brave, Kate,” I say, running my hand over her leg, seeing her depth, and kn
owing there must be so much more to her than this. Wanting to know all of it. All of her.
“So brave in fact, I can stare down grizzly bears in the forest,” she says exhaling, a smile finding its way across her pink lips.
“Kodiak,” I correct. “It was a Kodiak bear.”
She frowns at me. “How do you know?”
Shit. “Because this is Kodiak land. Grizzlies don’t come down here very often. I just...assumed.”
“I see, well then, I stared that Kodiak down. But you know what’s strange?” she asks.
“What’s that?”
“When the bear and I locked eyes...” She chews on her bottom lip, and I can see the hesitation before she shares, “It was like it spoke to me.”
I laugh tightly. She did hear me. “Oh, yeah? What did the bear say?”
“Said I was a beautiful, brave, woman.” She rolls her eyes. “Okay, I sound crazy now.”
“No,” I tell her. “It sounds like that bear knew what he was talking about.”
She swallows, and when she speaks her voice is small. “You think I’m beautiful?”
I lean down, cupping her cheek with my hand. “Kate, you’re the most beautiful woman in this valley.”
Then I kiss her, knowing I won’t stop there. Because it’s the truth, she is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and lucky me, she’s also my mate. And it’s time I claim her as my own.
Chapter 6
Kate
His kiss makes me dizzy with want. His lips part, his tongue finds mine and I open myself up to him. Well, that’s all I’ve been doing this afternoon, but now it’s in a primal way. A desperate way. I feel the heat rise inside me, my core bright with desire.
Weston’s hands run over my body, my breasts are peaked with want as he gently caresses me. His gentle touch surprises me. He’s such a rugged man that I expected his calloused hands to be rough, his passion greedy, but Weston is tender.
He kisses me softly, not in a pleading way. It’s as if he is going to peel back each of my layers and open me up one petal at a time. His hands move under my shirt, my skin cool and his touch warm and I squirm under him, my pussy awake with excitement.
Untamed Daddy (Mountain Men of Bear Valley Book 3) Page 3
