Mountain Refuge (Mountain Mutineers #1)

Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

Brooke

Six Months Later

L ongest. Fucking winter. Of my life.

This was my tenth winter on my beloved mountain. My tasks were the same as always with the need to survive the harsh temperatures and weather. Nothing had changed—except for me. Time, which had never meant anything to me before, now seemed to drag on at a snail’s pace. Additionally, I’d never felt so cold as I had over the past several months.

After my time with Elijah on the cliff, we’d worked to have more ‘adult only’ time through the fall. I also went down into town to purchase condoms. I felt like a teenager trying to buy their first pack as Jack rang up my purchases—because I couldn’t have just bought condoms. He would have never let me live that down.

Thankfully nothing had come of our unprotected tryst. Elijah had apologized repeatedly for that misstep and would not accept the fact that I was equally just as responsible.

In the middle of August, we got the news that Sebastian Gunther had been arrested—and my jaw about hit the floor. As a former NYPD police officer, I knew exactly who Sebastian Gunther was and it blew my mind that he had been the man Elijah had been running from. Beyond that, I could not understand how a man so corrupt could have fathered two of the most beautiful and amazing kids I’d ever met. Mind, I was a bit biased.

After that revelation, Elijah and I realized our families were nearly from the same area. He’d grown up in New Jersey and I’d grown up in White Plains. We’d both moved into the city as adults, but it hadn’t been until we’d both landed on a mountain in the middle of Nowhere, Montana that we’d met and fallen in love.

With Gunther behind bars awaiting trial, Jack had gotten word to Elijah that Trenton, the kids’ older brother, was working to dismantle the corrupt organization. It wasn’t until I overheard on the radio Jack tell Elijah that the murder charges had been dropped that I realized my elation was premature. What if Elijah decided not to stay on the mountain? He was almost a free man. His requirement to stay was no longer valid…

But Elijah had quenched those fears almost immediately. The next time we’d met for our scheduled rendezvous, he’d skipped over common greetings and small talk to assure me that he had no intention of leaving the mountain.

“I like who I am on this mountain, Brooke. I like who my kids are. Moreover, I like who I am with you . We’re staying, regardless of the charges.”

Following that conversation, I asked if he wanted to return to being ‘Adam’. It would have been confusing for a bit—especially after I’d worked so hard to remember to call and think of him as ‘Elijah’—but he had told me that he wanted no part of Gunther to touch his or his kids’ lives. They were keeping their new identities .

Jack and Corbin agreed with this decision because there were some who might want to take Gunther’s downfall out on Adam Greene and the Gunther children.

As we had approached the end of September, Elijah and I knew our frequent time together was coming to an end. We had already had the conversation that he and the kids would remain at Corbin’s cabin over the long winter months. My cabin, though spacious for just me, did not have the room to comfortably keep two adults, an upcoming toddler, and rambunctious little girl. I didn’t know who dreaded the first snowfall more: Elijah or me. We knew what it signified.

As we watched the kids joyously play in the first snowflakes of the coming winter, Elijah and I sat under the covered front porch of Corbin’s cabin. Neither one of us able to take in the beauty of the first snowfall and clinging to each other for the time we had left.

Unlike our last goodbye, though, it did not signify a lack of visits. Corbin helped Elijah bring the kids down to my cabin or I would go up to Corbin’s when the weather permitted. Elijah and I remained in contact via the HAM radio, though we had to keep our conversations mostly platonic due to the potential eavesdroppers.

It wasn’t the same though. Sometimes weeks would go by before we could see each other because it wasn’t safe to take the snowmobiles up or down the mountain. Getting to Dalton’s or Tommy’s cabin was not as far a distance as Corbin’s or as steep up the mountain. As much as we could have seen each other, it wasn’t worth the risk just to do so.

Plus, winter required more maintenance. I couldn’t leave my cabin for more than a day at a time without risking my stores.

February was still just as harsh, but we were experiencing an odd lull in additional snow. The snow that had fallen created a nice fluff on the ground and surrounding foliage. I was trying to figure out if I could get away for the day. If the weather turned suddenly, which was completely within the realm of possibilities, I could be stuck up at Corbin’s for more than the overnight. That would place the responsibility of keeping my stores safe on Dalton—and I didn’t want to ask that of him when he had his own property to look after.

The roar of a motor broke through my thoughts. Without putting on boots, I ran out to my porch in my wool socks. I knew the echo of that engine. It had been seared into my brain to announce Elijah’s arrival.

I hadn’t seen him or the kids since Christmas, when Dalton and I had journeyed up the mountain to celebrate with the kids. That was over five weeks ago.

I watched with bated breath as Elijah parked the snowmobile. As he hopped off the vehicle, a part of me took note that Elijah had come alone, while the other part took in his features. By the time he reached my porch, he’d stripped off his hat, goggles, face mask, and gloves. Elijah’s beard was now full and past his chin, his face had filled out like the rest of him, and I swore he had more muscle, but that might have just been the bulky jacket.

In one swift motion, Elijah dropped his winter equipment, picked me up, and carried me into my warm cabin. Our mouths collided in a heated frenzy. My legs lifted up to link around his hips.

He kicked the door closed with a loud bang . It broke neither of our focus.

I’d never been so turned on in my life. I was thirty-six years old and divorced, yet I could not recall ever having desired a man more than I did in this moment. Elijah was a drug and aphrodisiac all rolled into one hell of a man .

I don’t recall being spun around, but suddenly the door was at my back.

His lips traveled to the underside of my jaw. “Worst winter ever.”

I gasped for breath, turning my head to give him better access to my throat. “You nearly died last winter.”

Elijah picked up his head and stared directly into my eyes. “I stand by my statement.”

I thought my heart would swell out of my ribcage at his proclamation. Tears then sprang to my eyes at the realization that this winter wasn’t even over yet.

His hand, rough with new calluses, cupped my left cheek. “Corbin and I already started working on a plan and Jack has ordered the necessary lumber. The kids will take your room and you and I can turn your loft into our bedroom. It’s not a great fix, since eventually the kids will need separate rooms, but it’ll at least get us a few years to figure out our next step.”

My eyes went over his head to the railing of my loft. I loved my loft. It was probably my favorite room in my house with the wide window. I’d fallen asleep on the small couch I had up there countless times, watching the snowfall, the sun glistening off the horizon, listening to the rain…

I absolutely loved the idea of turning my loft into our bedroom. I imagined a large bed taking up most of the room and lots of lazy mornings curled up in the warmth of a loving partner’s arms…

A tear escaped for an entirely different reason. “You would do that? You would move in?”

He kissed me gently. “In a heartbeat. I am eternally grateful for Corbin and Gertie opening their home up to us, but it’s not where I want to be.”

“And the kids?” We’d talked last summer about what role I would take in the kids’ lives. Neither of them had a mother- figure. Gertie had taken on the role of grandma, but that wasn’t the same as having a mother.

“Not a pressing question,” Elijah told me. “You’ll be their friend and an authority figure. If you choose to be their mom one day, that’s a discussion we can have then. There’s no pressure. Belle loves you and even taught Lucas to say your name over the winter.”

I smiled at that. “Yeah?”

He nodded. “I’ll admit the idea of being a family with you is intoxicating, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to become their mother.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to my cheek before dragging his lips across my skin to my ear. His teeth nipped the lobe, sending a shiver down my spine. “What do you say, love? Can we move in?”

I let out the most pitiful moan as my eyes nearly rolled back into my skull. All I could manage was a groaned, “Mm-hm.”

His chuckle was deep and masculine. “Good. I’ll call the moving company in the morning.”

I knew that was a joke. We were the moving company. It took a long minute for my brain to pick up on his timeline though. “Morning?” I asked.

Elijah nipped and licked his way down to my turtleneck, which I was suddenly cursing my decision to wear. “You just agreed to let me move in, Brooke. I have no intention of sleeping anywhere but your bed from now on.”

Then he gripped me under my butt and carried me off to said bedroom.