Stranded: A Mountain Man Romance

by Piper Sullivan

  “Rae, wait!” Caleb called after me but I refused to stop.

  “Rae! Hold up, can we just talk?” he said again and this time I spun around.

  “Talking is just not good enough Caleb, I can’t have these journalists poking around in my life, much less Braden’s. Things are complicated as it is,” I said folding my arms.

  “I know, but unfortunately it comes with the territory, and it’s not something that will just go away. They have a scoop and they will do what they can to find out what’s going on, I can’t change what or who I am,” he said and leaned against the pillar on the wrap around veranda.

  He was right, as much as I hated it; I was the one that walked into his life, not the other way around. Just because he was Braden’s father didn’t give me the right to make any demands. The fact remained, he was a sports star, and I was the unpopular nobody who had his child, his child. Talk about being the insignificant other, it was nothing short of pathetic, not to mention disastrous.

  “I know, I just don’t like it, and if it wasn’t for that Joanne woman, they wouldn’t have had a story in the first place. She feels jilted that you stood her. You should have just gone out with her. I really don’t know why you bothered with me in the first place”

  Caleb pushed away from the pillar and stood with his hands on his hips, “There’s no proof that it was Joanne who told them anything.”

  “See? You even try to defend her, when the truth is staring you right in the face, unbelievable!” I spat out and then spun around and stormed into the house.

  Before I knew it, Caleb had me by the arm, “I merely meant that we can’t go around accusing people by mere assumption, I’ll have a talk to her and find out what’s going on okay?”

  I tugged my arm free, “Well I’m telling you she is behind all of this, and if you think for one moment I’m going to be target practice for a scorned ex, you’re wrong. Braden and I will be leaving first thing in the morning.”

  “No you won’t,” he said blankly, “Our son needs a father, and if you’re too blind to see that, then you’re pretty selfish. You’ve spent every moment of that child’s life cooping him up and protecting him in this bubble of imperfection that he never had a chance to experience what it is to be a four-year-old boy!”

  Blinded by rage I slapped him so hard my hand stung right into my wrist. How dare he blame me for Braden’s lack of childhood experiences?

  “You’re a real jackass,” I said furiously before I hurried up the stairs to my room. I couldn’t allow him to see my tears.

  Chapter 13

  Caleb

  I had more than enough time to think things over after our little fallout the night before, and instead of running after a raging female who could do some serious damage with that left-hand swing of hers, I left her to calm down.

  In my defence I wasn’t trying to protect Joanne. In fact, she was the last thing on my mind, I was just trying to contain a bad situation by playing this whole journalist thing down to me being a sports star. But if I had to be honest with myself, it was more than likely Joanne’s doing and whatever her angle was for pulling such a stunt, I was not planning on letting it slide, but that was the least of my problems. I needed to reassure Rae that she belonged here and that Braden needed me.

  “Has the baby sitter arrived yet?” I asked Samson as I entered the kitchen just after dawn.

  “She’s on her way sir,” he said with a smile on his face.

  “Good, when she gets here, just show her where everything is.”

  “Of course.”

  Although Samson was my butler, he was more like a father to me than my own dad had ever been and I knew that he had always liked Rae, he never made it a secret. I remember how he went out of his way to make sure he always offered Rae a ride when he picked me up from college just so that he could push us towards each other. The day I decided to leave, he was the one who told me I was making a mistake. My dad was caught up with his new girlfriend, while my mom spent days drinking herself into a stupor over his betrayal. Thinking back now, I should have listened to Samson when he told me ‘she’s the kind of girl who deserves more than one second chance’. I never quite understood what he meant by that at the time, but now it was slowly starting to make sense.

  Fine, so she never tried to reach me when she found out she was pregnant, but that’s no reason to keep the noose around her neck. She was scared and alone, I was gone and she deserved a second chance as much as I did.

  “Shall I take Miss Rae’s tea up to her room?” Samson asked, drawing me out of my train of thought.

  “No, I’ll take it up; you tend to Maria when she arrives.”

  On my way to Rae’s room I stopped at Braden’s room, he was talking to himself again and I couldn’t help but smile. He reminded me so much of myself; I had no doubt that he was going to grow up to be just fine. I could only hope that I would get to be part of it all. My heart ached just thinking of losing him.

  I continued to Rae’s room and knocked lightly on the door and waited, when there was no answer I entered expecting to find her sleeping, but instead I heard her in the bathroom. Should I leave the tea and come back later or wait for her to come out of the bathroom? I wondered. The latter option was more than just tempting and images of her wrapped only in a towel flooded my mind. I was about to leave when the door opened and as if I had telepathic powers, she exited with nothing but a towel around her.

  “Oh! I-I, what are you doing here?” she asked and hugged her arms around her.

  I was rendered speechless for a moment as she stood before me. Her skin was flushed and her wet hair clung to her cheeks and shoulders. As much as I wanted to take her there and then I had to control myself.

  “Peace offering,” I said clearing my throat. “I’ve brought you some tea.”

  “Thank you,” she said and shifted her weight awkwardly; “You can just leave it on the dresser.”

  Pull yourself together man, I reprimanded myself and walked to the door, “Dress comfortably and meet me downstairs,” I said and without waiting for her answer I left the room.

  A short while later Rae came down the stairs dressed in skin tight jeans and knee high boots with a black vest that accentuated her curves. Naturally all my blood ran south and I had no choice but to force thoughts of pink bunnies and fluffy coyotes to ease the tension that rose up inside of me. If she had the slightest idea how she tempted me, she would have run away when she had the chance.

  A pale young girl accompanied by Samson stepped out of the kitchen and shifted her glasses up her nose.

  “Rae, this is Maria, she’s going to be babysitting Braden today,” I said and stepped aside.

  “Hello Miss Callaway, I’m so pleased to meet you and I can assure you that Braden is in great hands,” Maria said reassuringly.

  Rae’s jaw dropped as she looked at Maria, then at me, and back at Maria, “I’m sorry Maria, I think there was a slight misunderstanding, we won’t need your services.”

  “Of course we do.” I placed my hand on Rae’s shoulder and forced a smile.

  “No we don’t,” she bit out and shrugged away from me.

  “Just work with me here, okay?” I turned and looked at Maria, “Can you give us a moment?

  “Of course, I’ll go tend to Braden.”

  “Why the hell would you make these decisions without consulting me?” Rae said the moment Maria was out of sight.

  “I’ve arranged a baby sitter so that I can take you out for a bit, you need it,” I took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes.

  “She’s a complete stranger and I don’t need to go out, I just need to be with Braden.”

  “She has good references, the agency reassured me she can be trusted and Samson is also here to keep an eye on everything.”

  Rae turned out of my grasp and walked to the doorway then spun around and whispered under her breath, “How do you know she’s not an undercover journalist?”

  I threw my head back and
laughed shaking my head, “You watch far too many CSI episodes, she’s not a journalist, she is only sixteen and trying to save for college. I promise you she will not jeopardize her income. My managers’ wife runs an Au Pair company and she owed me a favour, Maria is one of the best on her payroll and she can be trusted.”

  She scrunched her nose up and then bit her thumb, “I just don’t think it’s wise to leave him with a complete stranger, you know how he gets.”

  I looked over her shoulder at Maria sitting with Braden on the floor. Braden was a little tentative and had distanced himself from Maria, but he was also not shying away from her completely. In fact, he had shoved some of his Legos over to her.

  “Rae, he’s a little boy with a great imagination, he’ll be safe and sound here with Maria and Samson and I think the more he is exposed to other people the better it is for him.”

  “What, so now you’re a specialist in the field of what he needs, while you weren’t around half of his life?” she bit out and the moment she did her hand flew to her mouth and I knew she did not mean to say what she said.

  I clenched my jaw and pinched the bridge of my nose. Now was not the time to throw stones and instead of reacting to her allegations, I reached for the helmet on the table and held it out to her along with a leather jacket that conveniently popped up out of no-where. I could only guess it was one of the cheer leaders’ jackets that got abandoned after one of the many parties I’ve hosted at my house, but Rae didn’t have to know that.

  “I’m not taking no for an answer,” I simply stated and then walked out the door.

  Part of me expected the helmet to fly out the door and hit me against the back of my head, but it never did. Instead Rae stepped out of the house dressed in the leather jacket with the helmet in her hand.

  “Caleb, I’m sorry,” she said as she shuffled closer, “that was uncalled for, it’s just that I have never left Braden on his own with a complete stranger, and I get nervous.”

  I got that she was trying to protect him, but I also knew she was going about it the wrong way, “I know you are worried, I just think it’s time you give him a chance to spread his wings,” I reached up to trace a single finger along the angular line of her jaw, “When it comes to raising kids, I’m the last one to give advice, but I know myself and I promise you if I had a mother that cooped me up like a porcelain doll, I would also pretend I had another family.”

  That made her laugh, “I’m not that bad.”

  “Wanna bet?” I grinned and tugged her earlobe playfully and the way her eyes fluttered closed as she inclined her head into my touch nearly made me change my mind and take her back inside and to my bed instead, she was simply irresistible.

  Chapter 14

  Raedene

  The moment we hit the open road and Caleb opened the throttle I felt the adrenalin rush through me and the tension from moments earlier eased away. He was right, I have been cooping Braden up far too much, but in my defence all mothers tend to do that with the first born, or so I read. I forced my insecurities about the baby sitter and leaving Braden with a stranger aside, and decided to just enjoy the moment.

  Being on the back of a bike with my chest pressed against Caleb’s back brought back memories. When we were younger he always used to give me a ride on his bike whenever he rode it, we were wild and free back then. The golden couple that everyone always thought would end up together.

  The day was perfect, the wind was cool but not cold, and the leather jacket he gave me was enough to shield me from the cool breeze as it whipped past us. We rode for what seemed like a few minutes when Caleb took a left into Denver itself. I couldn’t help but contain my own excitement not knowing what he had planned. It felt like Deja vu, the scents and smells that filled my senses reminded me of so many things, things I had forgotten over the years, and now being here with him, the memories all started flooding back.

  We finally pulled up outside a steakhouse called Mickey’s. Caleb got off the bike and then helped me to take the helmet off.

  “I see your hair didn’t suffer any damage,” he said smiling.

  I laughed and shook my hair, “Cocooned like that, I highly doubt a typhoon would touch my hair.”

  He chuckled, and handed me my helmet “Hang on to yours, you hungry?”

  I took a deep breath and as the smell of food assaulted my senses, my stomach rumbled, “Does that answer your question?”

  “Sure does.”

  He laced his fingers with mine and led me to the entrance, other than the waiters and the odd patron the place was empty. I glanced around at the interior; it was a homely place that indicated the owner insisted on a personal touch. On the far wall, next to the bar was a bunch of framed photographs, all sports related and among them, rugby photos. I spotted one in particular. It was Caleb flying through the air with arms stretched out and a ball in his hands.

  “Is that you scoring a tri?” I asked curiously.

  “Yes ma’am, that’s our golden boy,” it was an elderly man who spoke next to me, “Caleb here is a real sports hero; he makes us proud every time he gets on the field.”

  “Morgan buddy,” Caleb said and let go of my hand, then clasped hands with Morgan and bumped shoulders, “You shouldn’t be exaggerating like that, it’s a team sport.”

  “Oh that’s no exaggeration, that tri won us the game, and so did many others,” Morgan said.

  I felt like the odd one out between the two men as they chatted about ruby, it was as if I didn’t exist. I slid away awkwardly to look at the other pictures that lined the walls leaving the two of them to catch up. I couldn’t believe how I never noticed that Caleb was famous, he was really a celebrity in these parts and probably the country and there I was, completely oblivious to what was going on in the world of sports. I used to be a fan when I was in college but only because I was trying to impress him, but after that I hardly watched sports, much less read the sports section in the newspapers. I blamed Damien too, if he knew all along that Caleb was Braden’s father he should have kept me in the loop, surely he knew all along where Caleb found himself and how popular he had become.

  “Miss Callaway?” A young man spoke next to me.

  “Yes?” I turned to look at him.

  “My name is Justin, I’m from the Daily News, and I was wondering if you would mind answering a few questions?”

  “Listen here…” I started but before I could finish my sentence, Morgan had the man by the scruff dragging him to the door.

  “They just won’t let it go,” Caleb said as he came to stand next to me, “I’m sorry Rae.”

  “It’s okay, I suppose it comes with the territory,” I looked towards the door where Morgan still stood with his arms crossed over his chest, “Looks like you have your personal body guard at least.”

  “Ah, this is the only place I can eat in peace without reporters harassing me.” He slid his hand under my elbow and led me to one of the tables in the far corner away from the window.

  “It’s a nice place, very cosy.”

  “It is, Morgan prides himself in making sure this place stays a family establishment where everyone can have a decent meal away from home.”

  “A family restaurant, so why do you come here?” the words slipped out before I could stop them, but Caleb just smiled.

  “Great food, it beats the best steakhouses in town.”

  “Fair enough.”

  I slipped into the seat opposite Caleb and glanced at the menu, printed on the place mat.

  “It’s still early, so if you want something light I won’t hold it against you, but I’m starving,” he said grinning.

  “It’s just after ten in the morning, so I’ll stick to a breakfast,” I said pointing to the Country Breakfast. “Eggs, bacon and toast with a side of fries, that’s all I will be able to eat.”

  Caleb opted for a rump steak and by the time the waitress took our order Morgan had already sent some coffee over.

  I kept looking towards the door, nervous
that another reporter might try and sneak in, but Caleb didn’t seem too deterred.

  “So, when last have you been out and about to have some fun?”

  “Plenty,” I lied.

  “Come on Rae, you’re lying to me.”

  “No I’m not,” I smiled and tore of the tip of the sugar sachet and poured the sugar into my coffee, “I’m not a recluse, I just don’t- I don’t spend my nights partying anymore.”

  “I wasn’t talking about partying; I was talking about dating or just hanging out with friends. Surely you have dated since Braden was born?”

  Caleb was fishing for information, trying to stir the water and see what secrets lay below the surface.

  “I tried once, it was a complete failure. He turned out to be gay.”

  “He was gay?” Caleb said laughing, “You must have been one hell of a date to send him running in the other direction.”

  I reached over the table and slapped his shoulder, “That was not my doing. He was a closet case, didn’t want anyone to know and I was his alibi.”

  “So what happened?”

  “Well,” I giggled, “We went ice skating one night, and he had disappeared at some point in the evening so I went looking for him. Let’s just say, I found him in a very compromising position with another guy and that was the end of it.”

  Caleb roared with laughter and sat back crossing his arms over his chest, “I would have loved to be a fly on the wall.”

  “How about you?” I asked tentatively, “How many women have you dated?”

  He shifted in his chair and looked everywhere accept at me.

  “Come on, I told you about my experience, now it’s your turn.”

  “I won’t say I’ve dated anyone steadily for some time, being on the team, I’m always busy at practice or playing the game.”