The Mountain Man’s Babies: Books 1-5

by Love, Frankie

  “You won’t like my story.”

  He laughs softly. “You won’t like mine, either.”

  Titus has fallen back to sleep, and I stand and set him in his crib, knowing with this last feeding he is going to sleep for another few hours.

  “I’m gonna need some coffee to explain this.”

  Hawk looks around the baby-filled room. “I think I’m gonna need something stronger than that.”

  Chapter Eight

  Hawk

  I follow Honor into the kitchen, where she’s making coffee in a long bathrobe. It’s fucking unreal that she is here and I am here. I need the whole story, now.

  But more than that... was everything I thought last night... that she and I were destined to meet, that me being here, now, was fate—was it all a fucking joke?

  She’s a mother of three... and more than that... I need a clearer answer on whether she is married. I can’t imagine a woman as sweet as her lying about something so big.

  No. It’s impossible. This woman is a treasure, mother or not—hell, wife or not. I still know she is meant to be mine.

  “Hey, angel,” I say, coming up behind her, kissing her neck.

  She steps away from me, turns to look me in the eye. “Don’t. You can’t. I mean. Harper can’t know that...”

  I lean in close. “That I fucked you last night? That you cried out my name as I filled you up?”

  She bites her lip, holding in a gasp. “Yes, that, exactly.”

  I reach behind her and grab my cup. “Where do they keep the whiskey?” I ask.

  Before I get an answer, though, Jaxon bounds down the steps, eying me coolly. “You looking for whiskey your first day on my crew? No way in hell, asshat.”

  I raise a hand in defense, knowing if I just explained what I just learned this morning, he’d certainly understand. But Honor shakes her head with a fierceness I don’t expect. Hissing she begs, “Don’t. Please.”

  Jaxon doesn’t hear, and when Honor hands him her cup of coffee he just says thanks, and as he lifts it to his lips he says, “So you two met, I take it?”

  I nearly choke on my coffee, but I can’t see Honor’s face because she is already back at the coffee pot pouring some for herself, but her shoulders stiffen, and I hate that. What I really want to do is step behind her and rub her back; she is a mom with a newborn. If anyone needs a break it’s her. I’m ashamed at how lax I’ve been the last few months. I should have worked harder at getting my shop set up. Made more of an effort to get my life in order so I would be ready for her to enter it.

  Now, I feel like I’m a thousand steps behind.

  “We met,” I tell him, keeping it civil. But I’m unable to resist adding one comment. “You never told me Harper’s cousin was so beautiful.”

  Jax reaches for a banana, and peeling it, he explains. “Well, Honor hasn’t exactly been on the playing field.”

  I frown, looking over at her, but her eyes are on the ground. I need to know this angel’s story, but I don’t want to hear it from Jaxon.

  “When do we head out for the day?” I ask.

  “In fifteen minutes. I was actually coming down thinking I would have to come wake your sorry ass up, but here you are, up and at ‘em.”

  Honor twists her lips, about to say something, but holds back.

  “Why are you up so early, Honor?” Jax asks her. “Did Hawk wake up your kids?”

  “No, Hawk didn’t do anything wrong. Titus was crying earlier,” she tells him. “I couldn’t fall back asleep.”

  Jax nods. “I’m glad I caught you, actually. Last night after you went to bed I got some really messed up texts.”

  I see Honor melt at this words. And not in a good way. In a lost way.

  “Luke?” she asks.

  Jax nods. “He’s getting really aggressive. I know you said you don’t want a restraining order but I don’t think he is happy with the story you gave him.”

  “I didn’t lie. I told him I needed time away,” she says, huffing. “And I do.” Her eyes brim with tears, and I want to wrap her in my arms, but Jax is here, and she’s clearly uncomfortable with him knowing about our night.

  Jaxon shrugs. “Look, either you need to talk to him yourself or you need to involve the police.”

  She shakes her head, adamantly. “Not the police. It wouldn’t be fair to the other wives. The children.”

  My eyes narrow at this. Other wives?

  “He is still your husband,” Jax says. “And the father of your children.”

  “He’s not my husband, not by law. You know how awful he is—better than most.” She shakes her head, tears were gone now, now she is just plain old angry. “I don’t want to involve the police. If that is what you want to do, I’m going to go back home... it’s too risky for the other people I love.”

  Jaxon sets down his coffee. “Look, I’m not trying to upset you. Harper will be wringing my neck when she finds out I upset you. But look, Honor, you need a plan.”

  “Why?” she asks. “Are you kicking me out?”

  Jaxon rolls his eyes. “Don’t be dramatic. I’m not kicking anyone anywhere but—”

  “But what?”

  “But a plan will help everyone. Even Luke.”

  I take in this information, not saying a word, knowing it’s not my place.

  Honor fills a thermos with coffee, handing it to the man who just upset her. “Take this,” she says. “And I'll think about what you’ve said. I’ll make some calls to the YWCA, I heard I might be able to get help with housing.”

  Jaxon nods. “Thanks, Honor, but you can stay here as long as you need. You are family, and we can make a plan together.” Then, clapping me on the back, he says, “Time for us to get to the job site. You ready to start the first day of the rest of your life? Or some shit like that?”

  I try not to look at Honor because I know my eyes will betray my feelings for her.

  Instead, I will myself to reply nonchalantly. “Sure, some shit like that.”

  Honor wasn’t kidding when she said her life was complicated.

  And considering I’ve fallen for her, mine just got a hell of a lot more complicated, too.

  Chapter Nine

  Honor

  The day goes well...ish. My mind is clouded with the conversation I had with Jaxon about Luke this morning, and the only silver lining I can find is knowing that at the end of the day Hawk is going to walk through that door.

  I know it’s insanity... thinking about this man this way... but I can’t help it. Deep down I know that what we shared wasn’t a fleeting moment of passion. He saw my sons this morning and instead of backing away, he greeted me in the kitchen by wrapping his arms around me and calling me Angel.

  “Your head’s in the clouds, Honor,” Harper says, eying me suspiciously. We’re folding clothes while the babies are napping and her three-year-olds are playing with Duplos on the carpet in front of us. “What’s on your mind?”

  I shake my head, not wanting to lie, but most certainly not wanting to discuss Hawk.

  “Is it about Luke?” she asks. When I don’t reply and instead start sorting socks, she sighs. “I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through. And I know Jaxon talked to you this morning about him... I hope it didn’t stress you out.”

  I shrug, not knowing what to say. Of course, it stresses me out. “I don’t want the police to get involved.”

  “We know, but Honor, Luke is irrational. He could show up here and who knows what else? We love you but...”

  “But you must protect your family, too.” I look over at her triplets, they are so precious to Harper and Jaxon... but my boys are precious to me. And my sister-wives... well, their children are precious to them. Involving the police is going to tear their lives apart. I start crying, not even expecting tears to fall. “It’s still just so raw. I’m starting over and am so scared I’m going to mess things up for my boys. I want them to have a better life than I had, but I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do that.”


  “I know sweetie, you’re going to need a lot of time to heal, to focus on yourself and your boys. And please, Jaxon is an idiot sometimes—a lot of times—he probably worded things in a way that made you feel like being here has an expiration date. It doesn’t.” She adds a folded towel to the massive pile. “But maybe talking to Luke isn’t the worst idea, maybe he’ll lighten up on Jaxon if you do.”

  “What would you say to him? If you were me?” I ask her, knowing she has a history with him too. Before she married Jaxon, Luke and she were planning on getting married. A real wedding—not a sham marriage like I ended up with.

  Harper smirks and tosses her words out easily. “I’d tell him that he should let me go or I’d give him hell. In the form of a police investigation.”

  I raise a brow. “You know involving the police puts our entire family at risk? Your parents and mine. Not to mention all our siblings.” I exhale. “Harper, this isn’t something to take lightly.”

  “I know,” she says. “But our parents aren’t doing something we condone. They are perpetuating brainwashing. I mean look at my brother. No one even knows where he is. My parents forced him out of the family because he didn’t play by their rules. Which is no surprise, they kicked me out a long time ago.”

  I remember how horrible it was when Harper gave birth to the triplets and her family wrote her off, I remember going to church and being told by her father, the preacher, that I must vow to never speak to his daughter again.

  And that was before the church got really nuts and let Luke take over.

  But Harper has had more time away from the insanity, and her life has leveled out into something romantic. She squashed her family of origin’s horrific theology and created a life for her children that she could be proud of.

  I’ve always looked up to her—which is why I came here in the first place; turned to Harper specifically for help.

  The last thing I want to do is cause her and Jaxon problems.

  “I’ll call Luke,” I tell her. “Believe me, I want to push it all behind me as much as anyone.”

  “I don’t blame you. You’ve been through hell.”

  “I just want to be happy, you know? Have a partner who respects me, but also cherishes me.”

  Harper pats my hand. “I know, Honor.” She smiles, adding, “Maybe in a few years, after all this is over and you’ve had a chance to figure out what you want, you can find someone.”

  “A few years? That seems like a really long time.” I twist my lips, knowing I didn’t even wait a few weeks.

  Harper cringes. “Can you imagine getting involved with someone now? What a mess that would be? You need time to get through this without involving a man.”

  Now it’s my turn to smirk. “Says the woman who slept with a stranger the week her wedding got canceled.”

  Harper blushes. “It’s different.”

  “Oh yeah?” I ask, not giving in to her line of reasoning. “How so?”

  “I didn’t have kids, for starters. Or a husband.”

  “Luke was never my husband. He used me; that’s it.”

  “Okay, I get that, but Jaxon and I fell in love really hard, really fast.”

  “Maybe that could happen to me too,” I say softly.

  Harper looks at me, sadness written across her face. “I know, sweetie, that would be really wonderful.”

  “But?”

  “But I don’t want you to get your hopes up only to watch them fade away.”

  “Isn’t hoping for a fairy tale better than assuming you won’t get that happily ever after?”

  Harper smiles. “I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”

  “I think every woman is, Harper. But I think a lot of us don’t have the luxury of allowing ourselves to daydream. We’re so busy surviving, we miss the chance to imagine more for ourselves.”

  “But now that you’ve left Luke you can see yourself having more?”

  I blink back tears, nodding, thinking of the way Hawk held me last night, cradled in his arms. How he kissed me tenderly, with promise and intention. “Yes, Harper,” I tell her. “I see myself having a lot more.”

  The front door opens then, and Jaxon and Hawk walk in.

  I smile broadly, having no intention of waiting a few years for my dream to come true.

  Still, I must be cautious. Luke didn’t seem like a terrible man until I was living with him... I must make sure Hawk sees me the same way I see him. As something permanent.

  Chapter Ten

  Hawk

  The job site is a hell of a lot better than I expected. Wilder and Buck, Jaxon’s friends and co-owners of this business, are on a different project today. I work alongside a few other carpenters, Will and Grady, and they are the kind of no bullshit, salt of the earth guys I’m used to working with.

  I’ve spent the last few years under the hood of a car, so I don’t know much about swinging a hammer, but still, in some ways being out here in the summer sun, nailing together two by four,is like having a wrench in hand. Both have a singular purpose: to put something in order.

  That’s why I like to work with my hands. Tools aren’t complicated like people, and I can mind my own business, yet still end a workday feeling like I’ve accomplished something.

  But as I walk back into Jaxon and Harper’s house I know my life is more complicated than it’s ever been.

  All day, thoughts of Honor and her sons crowd my mind. I sure as hell didn’t want to raise any suspicion by asking Jaxon any details, but his words about her husband are fucking ringing in my ear.

  Still, I tried my damnedest to focus on the job today. We’re renovating a cabin on a piece of land Jaxon got for a steal. He plans on selling this home as soon as it’s finished for a sweet profit.

  And for most of the day, I could push aside my memory of last night, Honor lying under me in the bed of my truck, under the starlit sky. It was fucking hard, but I managed, knowing I wanted to do a good job for my cousin who fucking bailed me out of jail a week ago.

  But now we’re home, walking into the living room where Harper and Honor are standing, and all I want to do is wrap my arms around Honor, ask her about her day, slip off her shoes and rub her feet and treat her like the princess she is.

  I don’t know why I’m so insanely attracted to this woman—I know she has more baggage than I’ve ever dreamed of carrying, and as I look at her now, her curvy hips and swollen breasts, her round ass and long hair— I know I’m turned on by her physically.

  But physical attraction has never been enough for me—no woman has made me want to pack it in and claim her as my own… but Honor is more than beautiful.

  She is the woman who was made for me.

  And when Honor smiles at the son in her arms, beaming at his big belly laugh, and she tickles him, making his laughter even louder, it’s impossible not to be drawn toward her energy, her force field—her essence. Honor looks over at me, our eyes lock.

  She knows this as deeply as I do.

  This is not about one night of passion.

  This is about more than sex. About lust. About wanting my cock buried in her perfect pussy.

  This is about something real.

  But I can’t draw attention to how I feel. Not right now. Not with Harper and Jaxon watching. No way in hell they would understand.

  “Hey, baby,” Jaxon says, walking over to Harper. As he wraps her in his arms, his triplets come running over, shouting for Daddy. He pulls them in for a bear hug, then lets them wrestle him to the ground.

  Honor’s eyes meet mine, and I refuse to look away. I want to see her, feel her emotions, understand everything there is to know about her.

  “What?” she says, softly, as if embarrassed by my intent gaze.

  I raise my brows and shake my head in a smirk. “Your babies asleep?”

  She nods yes, stepping around the piles of folded laundry and coming closer to me, giving Jaxon and his family more privacy. They seem caught up in one another, though and don’t eve
n notice us as we walk toward the kitchen.

  I grab a glass of water and Honor watches me as I do, and I have the sensation that she is memorizing my movements. I understand. I’m doing the exact same thing to her.

  Before we can start a conversation, though, babies start crying from all over the house. Harper has a two-year-old and a one-year-old, and Honor has three... that’s a lot of crying babies in case anyone was wondering.

  “That’s my cue,” she says, tapping her fingers on the granite counter top.

  “Do you need help?” I ask.

  She looks at me doubtfully. Eventually, she shakes her head. “It’s not that I don’t want your help—but you need to get yourself cleaned up.” I look down at myself and know she’s right. After working outside all day my clothes are sweaty and covered in sawdust and dirt. “Besides,” she adds, “my boys are pretty particular about which hands hold them right now. It’s been a long week.”

  “Sounds like it’s been a long year.”

  She nods. “A long everything.”

  I nod, not taking the fact that she needs to get her babies on her own personally. But damn, one day in and I’m utterly under Honor’s spell. I want to be more for her. Everything for her.

  But I also want to respect her space. She’s the mother, she knows what her children need. And right now, they need her.

  —

  The evening disappears in a flash. With Jaxon’s five and Honor’s three, that’s eight kids living here right now. The fact anyone has time to have sex is a fucking miracle.

  Jaxon hands me a beer after the last of his kids are in bed. He looks exhausted, but there is still a smile on his face. I know how hard he worked on the job site all day, and that’s nothing compared to how hard Harper must have worked back here at the house. The fact that they still laugh and kiss is a goddamned miracle as far as I’m concerned. These kids are a hell of a lot of work.