The Mountain Man’s Babies: Books 1-5

by Love, Frankie

  I expect some sort of pullback on her part. Pullback in the form of fear or frustration or I don’t know what, but she doesn’t do anything except look in my eye and nod ever so softly.

  And say the word yes.

  Yes.

  Yes.

  And I kiss her again and when our lips collide, I don’t care that there are a dozen babies in this room watching our mouth on mouth moment. It doesn’t matter, I want these kids to know what love is.

  They are witnessing the real fucking deal.

  I pull back and Stella presses her hands to my cheeks, tilting my chin to her face. “I love you too Wilder. I love you forever.”

  Everything inside me is on fire. Alive and good and well.

  And Buck whistles behind us and Jax starts hollering and the girls are laughing and clapping and the babies are crying and maybe this is what it means to have it all.

  I have it all.

  Stella and I, we have it all.

  “You need to leave the twins here and get the heck out of Dodge for the night,” Jaxon tells us and I’m not gonna let him ask twice.

  I take my woman’s hand, lace my fingers through hers, and I lead her out the front door.

  I’m gonna take her home.

  * * *

  In my cabin, with the door behind us, I pull Stella in my arms.

  “This is insane. You know that right?”

  “I know,” she laughs.

  I cup her cheek with my hand looking down at her. I’d still be angry, except. But somehow Janice’s fucked up plan brought me together with the woman I love.

  I can’t be mad now.

  “Feels too good to be true, doesn’t it?” I ask her.

  She nods softly. Then looking up at me she says, “It feels too good to be true, but it is true, Wilder. Somehow we are right where we’re supposed to be.”

  “I was wondering what you were gonna think of the mountain. It’s a long-ass way from Seattle, can you do that Stella? Can I even ask you to do something you don’t want to do? I don’t want to be that guy.”

  She shakes her head. “I know, that’s why I was so scared to say anything... Not sure if I was ready to give up the life I had. I love my job.”

  I narrow my eyes on her, trying to understand. “Do you love working for this TV show?”

  Stella shakes her head. “No, not necessarily. I love being an interior designer. And I wanted this job for the security. It paid really well and I knew it would help me get what I wanted to go.”

  “Where do you want to go?” I ask, confused. I thought I knew what she wanted to be. Right here, with me.

  “No, I... First I took the job because it was a paycheck. But then I got pregnant and suddenly the job became something else entirely. It became a way for me to support my child in case you weren’t in the picture.”

  “I am in the picture.”

  “I know. And I’m so glad. I just never want to feel stuck or trapped.”

  I run my hand over my beard. “I’m scared you’re gonna still feel trapped Stella. Being out here, in a life you don’t feel like you chose, a life you feel forced into? No, I don’t want you to wake up in a year and regret what you’ve done.”

  “I won’t regret you. I won’t regret these babies.” She takes my hand and presses it to her belly. Deep within her, our babies stir and I feel their feet press against my hand. Moving. Alive. Real. “It’s hard, though, I always thought I would be doing some sort of work. Now I guess my work will be taking care of my children.”

  I frown, trying to understand this woman I’ve already given my heart to. “Baby, you know it’s not an all or nothing proposition, you know, motherhood?”

  “I’m not so sure, Wilder. My sister? She doesn’t do anything except take care of Nicolette, and Rosie and Harper, their whole world seems tied up in their children. And we’re not talking just one baby, but a lot of children. These babies and Briar and Finn are going to need all of my attention too. All of me. And if I’m being honest, it’s frightening. And overwhelming. And I want to be brave. I want to be the best mother possible. There are too many people involved for me to do any of this half-assed.”

  I lift Stella’s chin, making sure she sees me straight on. “Baby, you want to go work halfway around the country for a TV show a few times a year? Good. I’ll be your champion. Those women you talk about, Rosie? Hell, she’s down at her diner most mornings frying up eggs and flapjacks. Buck helps, sure she also has her mother-in-law to help her. And Harper, that girl may look sweet and innocent, but last year she started writing romance novels, all that steamy shit. Publishing them on Amazon all by herself. She has some kinky shit going up in that head of hers, but we all love her for it. So when she needs time to go work on whatever book she’s writing, Jaxon’s family helps out, pitches in. That’s what family does.”

  Stella isn’t having any of it. “Do you have family here, because I don’t. My parents and I aren’t close at all and my sister... Sometimes I feel like I understand her, but she’s not going to upend her life to come to Idaho to babysit.”

  “So we find someone to help us. We hire a nanny. We make it work. We’re in it together. Stella, you’re not doing this alone anymore. That’s the beauty of having a partner.”

  Tears fall from Stella’s eyes. “You mean you would support me? If I wanted to continue my business and be the mom, I could? I could do it all?”

  “Do it all?” I smile. “Baby, nobody can do it all. But together, we can do an awful lot.”

  “Together.”

  “Together,” I reinforce. And then I kiss her, softly, our lips parting, our babies between us. I kiss her, and she knows she isn’t in this alone.

  Not anymore.

  Epilogue

  Stella

  Five months later…

  I wake up with Wilder’s hard cock nestled in the crack of my ass. “Baby,” I tease. “Somebody woke up happy.”

  Wilder kisses my neck, sweeping my hair aside, then his warm hands cup my bare breasts.

  “You’re killing me, baby,” he groans. Nudging himself deeper behind me. Unable to resist, I move my hand to my pussy and press my fingers inside. I’m already wet and wanting, having had frantic dreams about Wilder all night long.

  “Take me before the babies wake up,” I murmur, and he laughs quietly. “Actually, take me before I go into labor. I’m telling you what, it’s gonna be any day.”

  Wilder doesn’t need any more prompting. Leaning on top of me is no longer an option because pregnancy is no joke. I’m huge, though Wilder insists that I’m as gorgeous as ever.

  “Baby, you’re so wet, so warm,” he tells me kissing my ear. I close my eyes as his massive cock presses inside of me, my pussy on fire, hot and alive. I smile in pleasure as he rocks his body against my backside. Cupping my tender breasts as he thrusts into me.

  “You feel so good,” I tell him. Pregnant sex is the best sex. I tell you what. And I have been so horny for Wilder, which works out well considering we’re still technically newlyweds.

  We had a quiet ceremony this summer, at Buck’s new property, it was a beautiful event.

  The most surprising part being that after all the drama of the film crew showing up and filming our intimate, exchange on set -- when I revealed that we were having twins, Wilder and I both seemed to wake up less intense over the entire thing. Now that we had one another, we were perfectly fine with letting the whole world know.

  So the next day, Wilder went back to finish the cabin with Buck and Jax and let Janice know that she could have access to any of the footage she had used the day before.

  And moreover, he told her that I was a permanent part of the cast.

  Our wedding was a TV special, which is absurd, but also pretty damn perfect. Because nothing about Wilder and my story is conventional.

  But all of it was meant to be.

  “Baby, don’t stop,” I beg him, crying out as my body orgasms with him buried deep inside me.

  “Oh yeah,”
he groans. “Oh yeah, I’m gonna come so hard in you baby.”

  I bite my lip as his hot come fills me. I close my eyes trying to catch my breath, so completely sedated.

  Wilder pulls his cock from me, his fingers running along my slit as if petting me to make sure everything is okay.

  Then with a pop, our life changes.

  “I think my water broke,” I gasp. We laugh, shocked and stunned.

  But oh so ready.

  “Okay, Stella,” he says, pulling me to him. “Let’s go have our babies.

  THE END

  About the Book

  When my cousin Jax bails me out after a bar fight, I head to his middle-of-nowhere cabin.

  I don't mind––I was made to be a mountain man.

  I’m not the only person staying at Jax’s place.

  His wife’s cousin, Honor, is here too.

  Suddenly this mountain is looking a hell of a lot better.

  When Honor tells me her life is complicated it’s the understatement of the century.

  Besides having a tender heart and the face of an angel, she’s a sister-wife, on the run from her ex, desperate to give her children a better life.

  I’ve spent the last few years fucking around while Honor’s been raising her babies.

  It’s time for me to get my shit together.

  No one thinks Honor should get involved with another man, especially a man like me.

  But they don’t understand—Honor is my woman now.

  And I’m not leaving this mountain until I have her.

  Dear Reader,

  This one is filthy-sweet like the rest …. and you’re gonna fall hard for Hawk! Get ready for the newest, sexiest, mountain man in town— you deserve it, sugar!

  xo, frankie

  Prologue

  Honor

  I keep one hand on the wheel as I wipe my eyes unsuccessfully, my minivan barreling down the highway as I leave the only life I’ve ever known behind. Tears streak my cheeks, my heart races, and even though there are three crying babies in the backseat of the beat-up van, I’ve never felt so alone in my life.

  Which isn’t saying much, considering I’m a sister-wife.

  People are always around. Always watching.

  Always judging.

  But no one sees me as I escape.

  My flip phone—the one I bought at Wal-Mart last week—buzzes. As it rings, milk seeps from my engorged breasts. Having a twelve-week-old baby will do that to a woman, especially when her infant is screaming from his car seat.

  I can’t pull over to answer the phone or nurse Titus because I have to keep driving. I must keep driving and never come back. With the windows down, the summer sun warms me up to the idea of a new forever. A forever I never considered for myself.

  Freedom.

  An hour later the babies are asleep and I pull over to fill the tank at a gas station. My stomach growls, but I don’t know if it’s from nerves or the fact I haven’t eaten in hours. I grab forty dollars from my wallet, debating taking another five for caffeine, but I don’t have that much to spare. Not now. The $112 I scrimped to save is for this escape, not to spend on frivolities. I packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and carrot sticks. I can have one of those while I drive.

  I hand the cash to the cashier, my eyes on the van.

  “You okay, sweetie?” she asks, pointing at the milk stains on my blouse. But I don’t have time to be embarrassed. You can’t afford to be when your children’s lives are at stake.

  “I’m fine,” I say, eying the Snickers bars on the counter.

  “Are you traveling alone?” she asks. I look up at her then, her gray hair clipped back, revealing pale blue eyes. I lower mine, not wanting to be noticed. Just wanting to get far away.

  “Yeah, it’s just my kids and me,” I say softly, knowing I have no man to protect me, take care of me—here or anywhere. Knowing I’ve never had a real man in my life. The father of my children is nothing but a cheat.

  She clucks her tongue, picking up the Snickers and handing it over. “Listen, mama, the chocolate’s on me, and grab yourself a coffee on your way out, okay?”

  My eyes fill with tears again. I need this more than she knows. I blink away the memory of leaving my sister-wives, without telling them I was going for good.

  But I needed more... and not just for me. For my children.

  For my sons.

  “Thank you,” I manage, wiping my eyes with the cuff of my hand-sewn blouse. “I don’t know why I’m crying.”

  “It’s the hormones. I remember. It’s been a long time, but you never forget.” She smiles warmly, then wags her finger at me, telling me to get a coffee to-go. I do as she insists.

  “Thank you,” I tell her, with 16-ounce cup of steaming coffee in one hand, pushing open the door with the other.

  “And remember to take care of yourself, honey,” she says as I leave.

  Pumping gas, I look at myself through the van window, seeing my sleeping babies all in a row, and I think that the cashier has no idea what my life has been like.

  Taking care of myself has never been an option. I haven’t slept a full night in years, but even through the haze of restless nights with a newborn cradled against my chest, I know that being a twenty-two-year-old with three children under three is not the reason I’m always tired.

  I screw the gas cap on and slide open the van door, unbuckling Titus, and as I reach over him his one-year-old brother Thomas stirs. I kiss his forehead, willing him to stay asleep. His two-year-old brother, Timothy, opens his eyes. They meet mine.

  “Shush, now, sleepy head,” I whisper, brushing a tendril of his blond hair away from his sweaty forehead. His head falls back, giving in to the sleep his tiny body craves as if he knows how badly I need him to stay quiet.

  With Titus in my arm, I sit in the driver’s seat, pushing the seat back so I can nurse him. He latches onto my nipple, my swollen breast releasing milk, and my entire body seems to relax for the first time in weeks.

  My babies are safe. I am sound. We can do this. We are doing this.

  I reach for the phone, seeing the missed call was from Harper. I press call back and listen to it ring, only once, before she’s on the line.

  “Honor? Are you okay? Is the plan still in place?”

  My eyes scan the empty parking lot, knowing that Luke won’t even notice I’m missing until tonight, when he looks around the supper table, at his other two wives, and realizes I’m not there. That three of his sons aren’t either.

  It’s my sister-wives, Kind and True that I have to worry about. They think I’ve left to do the grocery shopping... but eventually, they will realize I haven’t returned.

  “Yes,” I tell her, the only person I could think of calling when I got the courage to leave. After all, she was engaged to Luke four years ago, before he started a cult and everything changed. “I’m about ninety minutes away. It’s still okay, isn’t it... you haven’t changed your mind?” I sniffle, my emotions bubbling up again.

  “Of course, I haven’t changed my mind. You’re my cousin. Just focus on getting here.” Then, softening her tone, she adds, “That’s all you need to worry about now.”

  “Okay,” I tell her. “I’ll get back on the road. See you soon.”

  “I should have come and gotten you,” Harper says.

  “No. I needed to do this on my own. I needed to do this for my sons.”

  “You’re being really brave,” she adds her words a comfort I need more than she knows.

  Not wanting to cry, I tell her good-bye. Not feeling very brave. I just feel desperate. Desperate for my life to be more than it is now.

  I buckle Titus back in his seat, turn on the van, and put it in drive.

  Taking a bite of my chocolate bar, I look back at the gas station, thinking of the attendant. How sweet she was with me.

  She was right about needing to take care of myself.

  And I know that getting away from Luke is the first step in the right direct
ion.

  It’s the best way I take care of my children. Of me, too.

  I needed to get them away from their father, away from his cult.

  I needed to run away in order to start over.

  Chapter One

  Hawk

  I’ve made a lot of shitty decisions leading up to tonight, but damn, even as it was happening I knew it was an all-time low.

  It wasn’t the first time I’d been locked in the slammer. And not the first time I took the fall for my friends.

  After hours of sitting on a hard bench in a holding cell, Officer Bailey tells me bail was posted.

  My eyes narrow. I have friends, sure, but they’re about as likely to get a bond to bust me out as winning the goddamned lottery.

  “Lucky man,” Officer Bailey says as I follow him to a desk where I sign out and get my shit. Not that there’s much for me. This town is feeling much too small these days. Can’t get a fucking drink without someone wanting to start something.

  I run my hand through my hair, listening as the officer explains I have to show up for my hearing next week.

  “You say it wasn’t your fault, Hawk, but you’re still gonna need to stand before a judge,” he tells me. Under his breath, he adds, so only I can hear, “And you need to find some new friends, son.”

  He can call me that because he and my ma used to date, years ago, when I was a teenager. My ma’s been dead five years now, but I know Officer Bailey has a soft spot for me because of the past. Because of the memories… certainly not because of the woman my ma was when she died. A drunk who got behind the wheel.

  “Finding new friends is easier said than done,” I tell Bailey, shaking my head.