Mountain Man's Baby Plan Page 4

  “Yeah, it’s just so sudden.” Eli groans.

  Is he angry because he didn’t expect to find me here without any warning?

  The wooden planks feel hard under my bare feet. I step onto the bearskin rug and touch my clothes. They’re still damp. I’ll have to grab something from Eli’s wardrobe. I hope he still keeps his clothes in the same place.

  “Will you really be okay?” Eli asks, concern in his deep voice.

  Okay. That’s probably not Eddie then. The snowfall looks concerning, but I doubt Eli would care how Eddie would fare driving through it.

  Shame creeps hotly across my face. I’ve been away for seven years. Of course, Eli has better things to do than help me fix my car.

  Unease wraps its tentacles around my heart. Who is Eli talking to? I can’t deny his voice makes me … I don’t know. I guess a part of me remembers how he used to talk like that when he was worried about me … like he cared. It makes me yearn for something that doesn’t exist anymore.

  Damn it. Am I … jealous?

  No, I can’t be.

  We shared a kiss, yes, but it has been seven years. It didn’t mean anything. It was just a meaningless kiss. There’s no way I already feel like I have any kind of claim over him.

  “Okay. I don’t like this, but it sounds like there’s no other way,” Eli sighs.

  Does Eli have a girlfriend, after all? Did he lie to me when he said he didn’t?

  That wouldn’t be a surprise.

  I mean … He said he didn’t want us to have a long-distance relationship when he broke up with me, all those years ago. But, I always suspected there was another reason … like maybe there was someone else.

  “See you soon,” Eli says.

  Realizing he’s about to end the phone call, I dash into the bedroom so he won’t see me in my towel.

  “I love you,” he says before he hangs up the phone with a click.

  Did he seriously just …? That jerk! How dare he kiss me and then tell some other woman he loves her, all in the space of one day?

  I’m glad I didn’t let things get out of control. I’m pretty sure if I didn’t run away into the bathroom, Eli would’ve had no problem escalating things until we ended up in bed.

  I open the wardrobe and grab a shirt at the top of a random pile.

  It’s a floral shirt. A woman’s shirt. The tag on it has faded to the point where it’s impossible for me to tell what used to be printed on it.

  The shirt is too small for Eli’s mom. And, I know his sister has been living in the city for the past few years. Last time I saw her, she told me she hated Ashbourne and would never come back, not even for a short visit.

  So, there is a woman. And, I can see Eli is still using the same, old moves. He probably brings his girlfriend back here all the time. They may have done it in every room, too, just like we did. It’s possible they did it in the bathtub where I just soaked.

  Despite the fresh warmth from the hot water on my skin and the scent of soap on my body, I suddenly feel dirty.

  Is that just what he does? Wait until a girl falls for him and then move on to the next one?

  I rummage through the wardrobe until I find a pair of sweatpants that fits me—a pair of women’s sweatpants.

  Maybe, if I wear clothes that belong to her, Eli will realize I know what he’s up to.

  I walk out of the bedroom with a towel draped over my shoulders, keeping my wet hair from dampening my shirt.

  “Hey, can I use your phone?” I ask Eli, who’s still standing by the window, looking outside.

  “Sure. I was starting to get worried. I thought you’d passed out in the bathroom.” He turns around to face me. As soon as he sees me, his eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Where did you find those clothes?”

  “In the bedroom. In the wardrobe.”

  “I didn’t even realize you’d finished your bath,” Eli says. Strange. He doesn’t say anything about the clothes I’m wearing.

  I’ll bet he doesn’t realize I listened to his call with his girlfriend, either.

  He looks a little surprised. He probably didn’t expect me to catch him doing something shady.

  Luckily for me, I’ve always had a light step. And, I’m so glad I’m getting out of here soon.

  I give Eli a polite smile as I step closer toward the small table on which the phone rests. “My cell phone doesn’t work. There’s no reception.”

  “There’s none on mine either,” he says.

  “I thought it was just in the bathroom. But, I tried the bedroom and now, here. Nothing.”

  “It’s probably the storm,” he says.

  “What storm?”

  “That storm.” Eli points out the window.

  I walk past the phone table to take my place beside him so I can look outside.

  In just a short time, snow has piled up on the ground. I could still see the grey asphalt when I first got to the cabin, but now it’s completely buried. The wind is still howling, sending fat blobs of white snow swirling down.

  “What … When did this …?” My jaw drops.

  “It’s a sudden snow storm,” Eli says. As if that explains anything.

  “But, it was …”

  “Completely clear this morning. Yeah. I know,” Eli completes my sentence.

  “I need to call Eddie.”

  “I doubt he can do anything,” Eli says.

  “So, what are you saying?” I turn toward him, my voice growing louder. “You’re saying I’m stuck here with you?”

  “Whoa,” Eli says, holding his hands up defensively. “It’s not me saying that. You can try calling and see what he says. All I’m saying is, I’m told everyone in Ashbourne is staying indoors.”

  “Everyone? How do you even know it’s everyone?” I ask, getting more frantic.

  “That’s what I heard,” Eli says, shrugging. “Granted, I didn’t personally call every single person in town to check if it’s true.”

  “I need to call Eddie.” My heart hammers so hard my hands start to shake as I grab the phone receiver. “I can’t be stuck here.”

  “Would it really be so bad, being stuck here with me?” Eli asks, a playful smile on his lips even as something dark dulls his eyes.

  Ignoring Eli, I dial Eddie’s number, checking my cell phone to make sure I have the correct digits. I press the phone so hard against my ear it hurts a little.

  I can’t be stuck here. That’s the worst thing that can happen, I think to myself. It didn’t take long for me to succumb to Eli’s charms. What if I need to stay overnight here? Or worse, longer?

  I almost squeal out with excitement when a voice answers the phone—a real, male voice and not the robotic, recorded voice I heard when I called earlier. “Hello?”

  “Eddie’s Garage?” I ask, my heart pounding in my chest as I listen closely for the answer.

  “Yeah,” he says.

  “Am I speaking to Eddie?” I ask again.

  “Yeah.”

  “Did you get … I called earlier. I, uh, needed … I still need someone to fix my car. It just suddenly broke down, and it wouldn’t move, and I-I called you but got your message, and I left a voicemail. Did you get it?” I stumble all over my words in my excitement.

  “I get lots of messages all the time, lady. Which one are you?” he asks. Not exactly promising, but at least we’re talking.

  “I …” I take a deep breath to calm myself down. Maybe he’ll understand me better if I speak more slowly. “Earlier this morning, my car broke down while I was driving from Dewhurst, on my way back to Ashbourne. I’m about ten miles away from town. Could you come help me fix my car?” I hold my breath.

  “I suggest you call the emergency police line or something. It’s bad out there. You should come home right away.”

  “Oh, no, I’m, uh, I’m in a cabin. I’m okay. I just need help with my car.”

  “No can do,” he says. “You’re stuck, lady. It’s a good thing you’re indoors. Try calling me again after the
storm has passed.”

  I open my mouth to protest. But, before I can get another word out, the line dies with a click, and all I hear is the disconnect tone.

  Eli

  The snow storm is bad news, of course.

  Of course.

  I can’t help but worry about Nicole, who won’t be able to come home tonight.

  But, I can’t deny there may be some kind of … silver lining.

  As I watch the snow fall, emotions wage war in my chest.

  What do I do, here?

  What’s the right thing to do?

  When I told Sophia to leave town seven years ago, things were different. Then, I knew exactly what I had to do. It was clear as day.

  So, even though it was the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do, I did it.

  I haven’t looked back. And, I haven’t regretted it.

  That’s not entirely true. I regret it to some extent. But, if I could go back and do it all over again, I would’ve done the exact same thing.

  But now, Sophia’s back, and she’s more beautiful than ever. She has tamed her long, fiery hair, but I can still see the same wildness in her eyes.

  She appears elegant and sophisticated—I’m sure she fits in perfectly in the city—but there’s something fierce within her, something savage just begging to be subdued.

  When I saw her at the cupcake store, I recognized it. When I kissed her, I felt it.

  She was melting under my touch. She was yielding, eager, submissive.

  I wanted to push her down, yank the blanket off her body, and devour her whole.

  But, I didn’t want to scare her away. I took it slow—not slow enough, apparently, because she ran away regardless.

  Obviously, there are still traces of the wound I inflicted on her.

  She doesn’t trust me.

  The realization hits me like a slap in the face, like a stab in the fucking heart.

  She has good reason not to trust me, of course, after the way I ended things. But, what else could I do?

  I’ve gone through the scenario again and again over the years, and I keep coming to the same conclusion: I’d do the same, exact thing if I could do it all over again.

  It would be an understatement to say that I’ve missed Sophia. I’m fucking obsessed with her.

  Despite my best efforts, she pops up in my mind, uninvited, every damn day since she went away. Even though I can somewhat forget about her by burying myself in work, at night she comes back to haunt me—if not in my thoughts, then in my dreams.

  She dominates my heart so completely nobody else has been able to even come close to replacing her. Sometimes, I feel like I’m dead inside.

  I mean, I’m not completely heartless, of course. I love my mom, and I love Nicole—she’s the reason I’ve stayed here in Ashbourne while Sophia was away—but that’s different, obviously.

  It’s not that I haven’t tried. But, no matter how many women I meet, I can’t stop thinking about Sophia. I keep comparing them to Sophia, and they always fall short.

  It’s not their fault. I’ve been looking for Sophia in all those other women. And, no matter how good they are, they can never be better than Sophia at being Sophia.

  I thought it was all just in my head. Maybe there was nothing special about Sophia. Maybe it was just because I met her when I was younger. It’s natural for younger people to feel things more intensely, right?

  But, as soon as I saw her again … The emotions came back so strongly they almost knocked me off my feet.

  And that kiss … That fucking kiss … After that kiss, there’s no possible way for me to even consider seeing any other girl.

  My fate is sealed.

  The only question is … How do I get her to give herself to me? How do I convince her it’s a good idea to trust me again?

  I’ve been trying to come up with a solution—something other than just banging on the bathroom door until she lets me in.

  I didn’t think I had enough time—that is until I find out just how bad the snow storm is.

  Maybe someone up there loves me.

  “Hey, can I use your phone?” Sophia says, jarring me back to reality.

  She’s wearing Nicole’s clothes. That means she still knows her way around this cabin. She remembers.

  But, it doesn’t seem like she remembers things as fondly as I do.

  When I tell her about the snow storm, her gorgeous eyes widen in shock. Obviously, she doesn’t see the silver lining the way I do.

  She rushes to the window and stands so close to me I can reach out and wrap my arm around her shoulders. It’s so tempting.

  It would be so easy to yank her against me and pull her into another kiss. Maybe the second time will remind her of how good we used to be together, how good we can still be together …

  “You’re saying I’m stuck here with you?” she asks, seemingly unaware her words pierce straight through my chest.

  As she panics and starts to call Eddie, I ask her, “Would it really be so bad, being stuck here with me?”

  If Sophia hears me, she doesn’t show it.

  She almost jumps with excitement when Eddie picks up the phone as I replay her words over and over again in my head. She doesn’t want to be “stuck” here with me.

  It makes sense, of course. With her high-powered job in the city and a whole life I know nothing about, she probably doesn’t have much time. Most likely, she’s only here to visit her parents.

  And now, she’ll have to waste some of that time with me instead. Judging by the way her face falls when she puts the phone down, it seems like she won’t be able to escape me.

  That’s great news to me. Practically the best news I’ve heard in the past seven years since she’s been gone.

  But again, it doesn’t seem like she sees it the same way.

  I give her a look as sympathetic as I can muster. “Let me guess. He can’t make it?”

  Sophia says nothing. She shakes her head, her eyes staring vacantly through the window, not meeting my gaze.

  She bites her bottom lip—something she does when she’s nervous but has never failed to make me want to do things to her … things that she won’t appreciate, judging by the way a little kiss sent her running into the bathroom to hide for a whole hour.

  But, right now is probably not a good time to mess with her like that. She looks genuinely frightened.

  “Look, Sophia, it’s going to be okay. You know that, right?” I ask.

  She glances at me but quickly flicks her gaze away again as if she can’t stand to even look at me. She nods in this painfully unconvincing way.

  She won’t even believe me when I tell her something that’s obviously true—she won’t die, or starve, and I’d die before I let anything hurt her. How can I gain her trust again?

  “I promise you, it’ll be alright,” I say gently, resisting the urge to pull her into my arms—that’s just going to scare her even more. “In no time at all, we’ll be able to go back into town, and you’ll realize there was no reason to worry at all.”

  “Yeah. I know.” Despite her words, Sophia stares longingly out the window. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s actually trying to figure out whether she could make it to Ashbourne on foot.

  “The fireplace will keep the entire cabin warm even if we lose power. And, I have enough food for both of us in the fridge. If we need more, I have supplies in the basement, too. Canned food. Won’t taste very good, but we won’t starve.” I reach out to touch her shoulder, hoping to comfort her.

  But instead, she jerks, startled, and I immediately pull my hand back.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” I say.

  Sophia bites her bottom lip. She hesitates. “Do you think … Do you think you could drive me into town right now?” She pauses, looking at me from underneath her long, thick lashes. “It’s just that … You offered … earlier. And, I’m wondering if it’s still possible to do that now.”

  I shake my head. “Sorry.”


  The way she hangs her head makes me want to try, even if it means we’ll wait out the snow storm inside a cramped truck instead of a roomy, warm cabin stocked with everything we could need.

  But, I have no idea if we’ll be able to make it or how long this storm will last.

  I don’t know if it’s such a good thing anymore. I’ll have an opportunity to get Sophia back, but I don’t want her to be in distress.

  Maybe I can at least distract her from the problem at hand.

  “It’s not getting any better outside,” I tell her.

  Sophia takes her attention away from the storm outside and stares at me.

  Why am I telling her the obvious? She can see it for herself. Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best way to start.

  “Why don’t I give you a tour of the place?” I ask her. “I’ve made some changes since … since you left.”

  I give her a smile, relieved that I stopped myself from saying, “since the last time you were here.”

  We pretty much used this cabin as our sex pad, so that would’ve been the wrong thing to say. It would’ve carried too much history.

  Just having her here without being able to touch her is torture enough. I don’t want to make her so uncomfortable she locks herself in the bathroom again just to stay the fuck away from me.

  It’s tough, though.

  Every time I look at the couch, I remember the time I bent her over and took her from behind. Her tits rocked back and forth with every thrust, her hair was a tangled mess in my hand, and her fingers gripped the back of the couch so hard I thought the fabric was about to rip.

  “Okay,” Sophia says softly. Her beautiful, green eyes are dulled by apprehension, but there’s curiosity there, too. And, if I’m not mistaken, nostalgia.

  After the mess I created, am I allowed to hope that she remembers our time together here with fondness?

  It doesn’t matter. We can make new memories now.

  “Awesome.” I extend my hand to gesture at the space in front of us. “You’ve seen the main floor. As you can see, the fireplace mantel is bigger now, and the vanity in the bathroom now has two sinks instead of one. That will probably come in handy during our stay here.”

  Sophia says nothing, only nodding as I tell her about the new dresser in the bedroom and the new backsplash in the kitchen.