Mountain Refuge (Mountain Mutineers #1)

Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Brooke

T hwack! I brought down the axe hard on the stump on Corbin’s chopping block. After a long winter like we had, and especially because he had extra people in his house, Corbin had gone through a lot of wood over the past four months. He was down to bare bones. In addition, all his tanks and stores had taken extra usage. There was also some damage to his workshop where he constructed his furniture. A tree branch had fallen on the roof. Thankfully it hadn’t punctured through, but the roofing needed to be patched again. Especially before the spring and summer rains.

Corbin was doing a thorough inspection of all his buildings, including the cabin, while I started rebuilding his wood pile. For some reason, he’d been extra encouraging to have me be the one chopping the wood instead of checking for damage.

Regardless, I’d offered to help, so I took the man’s axe and started chopping away. After a few rounds, I felt the pull of familiar muscles that I hadn’t used all winter. Soon after that, I started warming up despite the chill in the air and rolled up my sleeves. I’d worn the turtleneck to look nice for Elijah, not anticipating being put to work. I really should have known better .

“If I make a comment about how sexy you look right now, will that axe come down on me next?”

I smiled at his voice and took one more swing to split the stump completely in two. Corbin and the other mountain men probably could have done it in one but some of the larger stumps took me a couple extra swings.

I put the axe down, handle up against the chopping block. Elijah was standing a couple of yards behind me, which was a smart decision considering the weapon I’d been wielding. He was freshly showered and his clothing oatmeal-free.

I tipped my chin towards his pants. “Thought I warned you about wearing jeans out in these parts?”

He at least looked a little sheepish when he admitted, “I don’t really have a lot of options when it comes to clothing. Not like I’ll fit into anything of Corbin’s. I could probably fit one of me into each of his pant legs.”

I knew he meant it as a joke, but I heard the underlying tone of self-condemnation too. Like he was less because he wasn’t a raging hulk of a man. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Elijah, you know there’s nothing wrong with not being as big or as strong as some of the others. Mountain men are big because they’ve earned it through the hard work it takes to survive up here. It’s okay that you’re not as bulky as them.” I added just to boost his ego a little, “Plus, I like you just as you are.”

“Now when you say it’s okay if I’m not as big, you are referring to their muscles , right?”

I snorted, allowing the joke. “Yes! I mean their muscles. Trust me, you spend enough time up in these parts and you’ll start getting them too.”

Elijah took a step forward. “I plan on remaining here. I still have to find ways to be useful, but I do plan to stay.” He stepped forward again. “I’ll learn the ways of the mountain and I’ll figure out how I can fit in up here. I also plan on figuring out where I am so I can come and go as I please.” He stepped forward again. “If I happen to wander down towards your cabin, would I be welcome?”

I grinned. “Depends on if you bring me any treats.”

“Just treats?” He reached his arm forward and snagged me around my waist. I went willingly. “Or maybe something else too?”

I tipped my chin up towards him. “Maybe a bit of both.”

He grinned before touching his lips to mine.

I wrapped both arms around his neck. We were closer in height when I was in my winter boots, which made the kiss all the more perfect. I felt a rush of rapture run through me. My blood was on fire for this man. I wanted him so badly, but I knew that sex was too fast, too soon. There was so much we still had to learn about each other, beyond our chemistry. But that certainly didn’t stop the pure wanting rushing through me. His tongue prodded and I happily opened for him.

Elijah gripped my waist, pulling me even closer to him. I immediately felt the evidence of his arousal against my groin, and inwardly grinned. Yeah, he had nothing to worry about in that department.

His tongue scraped across the top of my mouth. A shiver ran through me. My core was soaked with arousal. I needed relief or I’d?—

“Um, Daddy?”

Shit. We broke apart. Belle stood behind us, looking sheepish. Elijah twisted us around, so we were facing Belle, but I was in front of him. I thought that movement strange until I felt his erection brush against my butt.

Yeah, probably not something he wanted his daughter to see. Bad enough she’d seen me practically humping her father like a horny bunny. I was happy to act as a shield. Thankfully my thick sweater and sports bra—I only wore sports bras since moving up to the mountain—covered up my erect nipples. Nothing I could do about my shortness of breath though.

“Yes, Angel?” Elijah prompted when Belle didn’t continue.

She was looking at us funny but didn’t comment on the kiss she’d seen. “Have you seen Uncle Corbin?”

I pointed, since I had more of an idea of where he was than Elijah would. “He’s down by his workshop, sweetie. There was damage to his roof over the winter.”

“Thanks,” Belle mumbled.

She was a few feet away from us when Elijah yelled, “If he is on the roof, do not climb up there. Do you hear me, young lady?”

Huh. Apparently Elijah’s Dad voice was a complete and total turn on. Who knew.

I must have stepped back further into him because he tightened his grip on my hips to stop me.

Belle rolled her eyes at her father. I’d never seen her do that before. Maybe it was a new skill kids learned when they turned eight. “I know, Daddy. You tell me every time .”

“Well, if you would stop climbing and jumping off things every time , I wouldn’t have to.”

“Fine.” Belle turned and ran towards Corbin’s work shed.

We watched her until we saw Corbin climb down off the roof to meet her. Then Elijah rested his forehead on my shoulder. He let out a low groan. I put my hand up to run it through his shaggy hair. I liked his unruly hair, liked his full beard even better. I was suddenly regretting the turtleneck that blocked his access to my throat.

“Belle’s never seen me with a woman before.”

I found that interesting. She was eight and he’d indicated he’d been there when she had been born. Had he not dated in eight years? Or just not brought his women around her?

“What do you want to tell her? ”

“Well, we need to tell her something because we’ve kissed twice, and she’s interrupted both of them!”

I laughed. I hadn’t caught on to that. “Yeah, probably.”

He pressed himself closer to my back. Lifting his head, he took a nip at my ear. “And I need to tell her something if we start sleeping over at your cabin again.”

A shiver ran through me as his teeth scraped against my lobe. “Her daddy is just having an adult slumber party in the bedroom?” I suggested.

He snorted. “You clearly haven’t been around kids much. She’ll hear ‘party’ and invite herself.”

I cringed. “Who said you were invited to the sleepover party?”

He hummed against my skin behind my ear. “If this is a party for one, I demand videos or pictures.”

My cheeks reddened. “Too bad for you, I don’t have a camera.”

I felt his lips twitch into a smile. “Guess I’ll just need to be there in person then.”

I turned in his arms to face him. His eyes were so dark with arousal, I could barely make out his pupils. I needed to put the brakes on this before I lost myself in him again. “We need to have certain conversations before any sleepovers take place, child-friendly or otherwise.”

Elijah leaned forward and dropped a kiss onto my nose before stepping back. I could see he was still aroused, but at least there were no children present where he still needed a shield. “I know you said you needed time. When you came today, you looked so beautiful that you took my breath away. I had hoped you were here to see me. I’d meant to keep my hands to myself until you indicated otherwise, but watching you swing that axe was like watching a porno. I couldn’t resist touching you. ”

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one finding new turn-ons. “Your touch was welcome. I did come here to see you.” I took his hand and led him over to the porch chairs. Corbin and Belle were still by the work shed and hopefully Gertie was too busy watching Lucas to overhear us. I kept his hand in mine on my lap.

“I thought a lot about what you told me. Any doubt you may have seen last night was due to my initial reaction to hearing something so horrible had happened, or almost happened, to Belle. I didn’t want to believe she could have been victimized so by her birth father. I came across some malicious and disgusting people while on the force, and it always made me doubt the goodness of humanity every time. The fact that something so heinous almost happened to Belle is beyond terrible.” I didn’t realize I wasn’t looking at him until I saw his hand twitch between mine on my lap. “The law says you did wrong when you took the children from their father—and I use that term very loosely. I’ve never hated a man I’ve never met before so much in my life. There’s a special place in Hell for those who prey on the weak, regardless of age or gender.

“But life is not as black and white as the laws that govern us. I wasn’t there so I can’t pass judgment on whether you were right or wrong, but I saw the fear in your eyes last night when you told me about Belle. I know any action you took was with the intent of keeping those children safe.” I looked up at him, only to realize he wasn’t looking at me. He was staring out into the wilderness that surrounded us. “Elijah, you were so strong to do what you did. I hope you know that and acknowledge it. Your strength may not lie in muscle.” I touched his chest. “It lies in your heart.”

Elijah finally looked at me. I could see the echo of the pain he’d suffered in his eyes. Along with something else I couldn’t identify. “You believe me?”

I squeezed his hand between mine. “I do. What you did was wrong in the eyes of the law but not in mine. There’s no doubt of the love you have for those kids and, more importantly, the love they have for you . We would be having a far different conversation if I didn’t see the love and respect Belle has for you.”

“Can I ask you a question?” I nodded for him to continue. “You came to your conclusion without verifying my story with Jack or Corbin. Don’t get me wrong, you don’t know what your faith in me means to me, but I have to wonder why you didn’t speak with them.”

“Oh, I still plan on speaking to them.” Elijah’s eyebrows drew down in confusion. I squeezed his hand. “But not for the reason you think. I don’t need to verify your story with them because I do believe you. I believe that those children were in mortal danger, and you rescued them. Don’t forget, I was there that first night. I saw your fear for their lives, saw Belle’s concern for yours. You drove yourself beyond exhaustion trying to protect your kids to the point where your body literally collapsed and required thirty plus hours of sleep to recuperate. Your first question to me when you woke up wasn’t for water or to ask where you were. Your first demand was to know where your kids were.

“And as horrible as it is to admit, I saw Belle’s fear those first couple of days too. That wasn’t some made up fantasy that made a seven-year-old guard her brother so fiercely. She jumped at every sound, refused to sleep herself because she wasn’t sure she could trust me to keep her brother safe. That type of fear isn’t something a child gets from a story someone told her to be afraid. I didn’t realize the signs at first. Maybe it was because I haven’t been around people in a long time or maybe it was because I didn’t want to believe it. Regardless, as soon as you told me what happened last night, it all clicked, and I understood her behavior for the first time.”

I reached forward and put my hand over his beard-covered cheek. “ Your behavior made sense for the first time. I don’t know if you even realize how jumpy you were that first day. Your attention was solely on those kids. It’s a wonder you even noticed me in the room.”

He turned his face and kissed my palm. “I noticed you far too much. I had to force myself to concentrate on my kids.”

I felt my cheeks heat. “So, to answer your original question, I do plan on speaking with Jack and Corbin. Not to verify your story but find out how I can help protect you and those kids.”

Of all the reactions I’d been expecting from my statement, anger was not one of them. He stood up, breaking contact with me. His shoulders were hunched, and I could see his fists clench and unclench.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

Elijah leaned forward on the rail. “You shouldn’t be the one protecting me. What kind of man would I be if I let you stand between me and any danger I brought to your doorstep? It should be me protecting you.”

I understood, I think. Men, good men like Elijah, were raised to protect women and children. He already had a job that others would see as feminine. I saw nothing wrong with raising and homeschooling children, even if the title was ‘nanny’. I wasn’t sure he did either. In fact, I think he was proud of the job, and it showed in Belle. She was smart and inquisitive, not a spoiled rich brat.

I was surrounded by alpha men on this mountain. The typical muscled men one would see shirtless on the cover of a romance novel. They might be damaged or in need of solace, like me, but they were, at heart, good men. I’d only met Walter once and I’d never met Huck, but I knew Tommy, Dalton, and Corbin well. Or as well as any of us knew each other. They didn’t know my secrets and I didn’t know theirs. What I did know was these men had good, though troubled, souls.

Elijah didn’t see himself clearly. He may believe he had done the right thing when he’d taken the kids away, but it was evident a big amount of guilt weighed on him too. Likely not for the kidnapping itself, maybe for not taking the kids away sooner. I also believed that Elijah had been traumatized by what had happened that horrible day, and maybe even from experiences before that. After all, he’d said that Belle’s older brother and he had been plotting to escape before they’d learned of Lucas’s arrival. Something had to have happened to make life so miserable that Elijah had been contemplating kidnapping one child, even with her older brother’s permission, let alone waiting to take the second one once born too.

Maybe Elijah wasn’t physically as strong as some men. Maybe he looked at my lifestyle and thought me capable of such strength too. What he didn’t understand is I didn’t come to this mountain that strong. I’d had to earn that strength and skills over the near decade that I’d been living here. If he’d seen me my first couple of years here, he certainly wouldn’t be calling me strong or viewing me as competent.

I walked up to him and put my arms around his waist. He’d filled out from the gaunt man I’d met all those months ago. I put my cheek on his shoulder, pushing myself flush against him.

“I get why you would think that, given societal norms of how the man protects the woman. But up here on this mountain, gender doesn’t matter and cultural decrees don’t matter. So how about you don’t worry so much about needing to protect me because I’m a woman. How about we start this relationship off on equal footing and we work together to protect each other?”

He put his hands on mine around my waist. “Doesn’t sound like too horrible a plan.”

I smiled and squeezed his middle. “Most of mine don’t.”