Soul of the Mountain (The Mountain Men of Fox Hollow Book 3) Read online

  She has a bag over her shoulder and I take it from her, then unlock my front door.

  “I’ll make a fire. There are towels in the bathroom, the door on the left. Just give me a second to grab them.”

  “It’s okay,” she says. “I can help.”

  I turn on lights, get the fire crackling, warming up my rustic cabin. She has wrapped the little boy in a towel, and is rooting around a diaper bag, pulling out clean clothes for the baby.

  She’s scared, I can see that on her face, but she’s also in control. In a situation like this, she could be spiraling out. She is holding it together for the boys in her care.

  “I’m Jasper,” I tell her, wanting to put her at ease.

  She looks up at me with dark brown eyes. “I’m Juliette. This is Aaron,” she says, patting the baby’s belly. “And this is Charlie.”

  “Are you hungry? Thirsty?” I ask. “I’m gonna pull out my radio. Make yourselves at home.”

  Juliette shakes her head. “No, we just need 911 to answer. Their parents…”

  She needn’t say more. Charlie is crying against her, and she pulls both boys in close.

  I dig the radio out from a cupboard and try my phone again, with no luck, before trying to radio in a first responder.

  Eventually, I get through. I exhale my deep sense of relief and explain the situation to the operator.

  “The car is out there now, just past Route 54, towards Fox Hollow proper.”

  “And the other passengers, they are with you?”

  “Yes, Juliette—” I look at her, wanting a last name.

  “Morgan,” she says.

  I tell the dispatcher that the children, Aaron and Charlie, are with us too, safely.

  “And the names of the other passengers?”

  I look to Juliette. She speaks clearly, “Grant and Laura Martindale.”

  I focus on the 911 call. I tell them my address, and they say someone will be out to assist us. “The weather might delay us for some time — but as long as you are safe and secure—”

  Juliette cuts in. “The boys seem like they are okay, but they need a docto.”

  The dispatcher says she understands, and that the circumstances are extraordinary due to the weather. “The sheriff will be there as soon as he can get there — there have been several accidents tonight. We are sending emergency vehicles to the scene, okay?”

  “We need an infant car seat, and a toddler one, too,” Juliette says, her voice shaky. “Everything was lost in the crash.”

  The call ends and the cabin seems incredibly quiet — still. Charlie has stopped crying and his eyes are closed, and the baby, Aaron, is sleeping in Juliette’s arms. When did that happen?

  “They’re exhausted,” she says softly, tears falling down her cheeks.

  “You’re exhausted too.”

  She nods, and I sit beside her. “What can I do for you?” I ask as the power in the cabin flickers off and then back on. “Shit,” I mutter under my breath. “Let me find some flashlights.”

  “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t found us,” she whispers as I come back in the room with a few flashlights in case the power goes out again. I also carry some blankets for the kids. Thankfully, the fire is going strong to keep the room both illuminated and warm. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

  She swaddles the baby, then sets him on the rug, on top of a thick blanket. She picks up the toddler and lays him down on the couch opposite us. She kisses both their foreheads, sweeping a hand lovingly over their hair.

  She reaches for my hand, both of us looking at the sleeping boys.

  “It might sound crazy,” she says. “But when I saw you, it was like you were our guardian angel.”

  I lace my fingers with hers, a stranger, a woman in need of rescue. An electric current passes between us as we hold hands before the fire, the light of the day long gone.

  “I’m no angel,” I tell her.

  “More a sinner than a saint?” she asks, looking up at me. Her breath is shallow, her heart bared, eyes full of sorrow.

  I hate the pain she’s in. I cup her cheek. “You’ve been through hell,” I say.

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  I lean in and kiss her forehead, sweeping back her hair the way she swept the boys’.

  She lets out a shaky breath. “Are you tucking me into bed?” she asks.

  “We’re standing upright, Juliette. You’re not in my bed. I don’t know what ideas are running through your mind.”

  She lets out a cry mixed with a laugh, and she gasps, looking up at me. “I’m thinking things that do not match the moment.”

  “I don’t think there are rules for this sort of situation, Juliette. I think you’re in all-new territory.”

  “If their parents are dead…” She shakes her head. “And you saw that fire… I don’t know what will happen to them.”

  “You love them?” I ask, and she nods, tears spilling down her cheeks, and it’s like I’ve known this girl my whole damn life. I pull her in close for a deep embrace, making a promise to never let her go. There’s a tenderness to her that rattles me in a way that I need.

  The lights flicker out again, and we stand still for a long moment, and then she lifts her face, her mouth finding mine. She kisses me as if there is nothing else we could possibly do.

  And in this moment, I realize there isn’t. This kiss is inevitable.

  Juliette

  If I tried to explain this to anyone, they wouldn’t understand. I was just in a traumatic accident, came out unscathed by some miracle, and I kiss the first man I see.

  But it isn’t just some stranger I am on my tiptoes kissing. It is him. The man of my dreams — which seems insane to say given the circumstances, but he is. My heart — my soul — is his. And yes, I know nothing about him beyond the cabin where he lives and his name, but as his calloused hands cup my cheeks and the kiss intensifies, my body lights up in a way that says, Yes. Don’t hold back. In the darkest depths comes the brightest light. He is my light. A guardian angel and my rescuer.

  I gasp as our mouths open and his tongue circles mine, as his strong hand presses against my back, giving me permission to lean in, to sink against him. It’s what I need. The weight of his body against mine, promising that we will make it through this in one piece.

  My hands run over his firm chest, and I kiss him more deeply, wanting to disappear from the pain of the night. Is it wrong to want to run and hide? Maybe it is — but isn’t it okay to lean into the one thing making me feel grounded? His body is strong like the trunks of the trees in the Fox Hollow Mountains — unwavering. Solid. This is what I need right now.

  My hands move down, along the buttons of his cream and red flannel shirt, and he startles me when his hands wrap around my wrists. “Hey, hey, you don’t need to—”

  I cut him off. “I want to. Let me feel your skin… let me feel alive.”

  “You’ve been through hell tonight, Juliette.”

  “I know… but I’m scared if I just sit down on the couch and wait for the police to arrive, I’ll collapse. I’ll break down and I can’t. I can’t fall apart right now.”

  He caresses my cheek and I close my eyes. “How long have you been their nanny?” he asks.

  “Three years. Since Charlie was born. They are my whole world.”

  “And their parents? Were you close to them?” The lights in the cabin are out, but I see his eyes through the flickering flames of the fire. Dark grey, like a stormy sky.

  “They were my employers,” I tell him. “I shouldn’t speak ill of them… but they never put their children first. And I hoped this weekend in the woods, at the lake, would give them a chance to try to show up for their kids… but now they are gone and…”

  “Shh, shhh,” he whispers, pulling me close to him, his arms wrapping tightly around me and holding me in. “It’s okay. You’re okay now.”

  His words comfort me. Who is this man? A thick beard and a w
arm face, pulling close, not away.

  I turn my head so my cheek is against his chest and I look at the sleeping boys. “They are the most precious things in the world,” I say as he takes my hand and leads me to the couch. I sit down, nestling against him. “And now… I don’t know what will happen to them. But I can’t imagine life without them.”

  “Right now, you just need to get through this next part,” he says. “How about I make you a cup of coffee while we wait for the sheriff to arrive? It might be a long night.”

  I nod, checking on the boys before I walk to the kitchen, watching as Jasper fills the pot with water. He pulls out two mugs. “Cream or sugar?”

  I smile softly, and he looks at me with a hunger I’ve never seen in a man before. “Both.”

  My body aches at the thought of our kiss, the shared moments of intimacy over the last hour, and God, I wish I wasn’t leaving so soon. I feel like we have a lifetime of memories to make and we’re short on time.

  He grabs the cream from the fridge and the sugar bowl from the cabinet. “You have any family?” he asks. I lift my eyebrows. “What? Is that weird of me to ask?”

  “No, it’s not weird.” I swallow, wondering what it is about Jasper that has me so at ease. “I feel like I’ve known you all my life even though we just met.” I pour us coffee and he takes his, obviously preferring it black. I fancy mine up and he watches, smiling as I add several spoons of sugar. “What?” I smile. “I have a sweet tooth.” I take a sip and then lean against the counter. “But your question… I actually grew up in Doe River. But my parents both passed away, so I don’t have reason to go back.”

  “Really? That is a lot of loss for a young woman to face. And now this, with your employers in the accident… it feels like too many burdens to bear. Where do you live now?”

  “In Scott’s Hill. I live with the Martindales.”

  “That’s pretty close to Merryton, right?”

  “Yeah, it’s a gorgeous area, but not exactly my style.”

  “Considering you grew up in Doe River, I’m not surprised.”

  I sip my coffee, looking down at myself. I’m in high-rise jeans and the knees are all muddy from climbing up the ravine. My light blue oversized sweater is streaked with mud too. My long hair is wavy from the rain, and my Converse are covered in dirt. I’m a mess. And I have no idea when this storm will let up. “When Laura got a bee in her bonnet about taking the kids out to the woods, I was secretly thrilled. There is nothing like the forest in the fall.”

  “I feel the same way. Like if I ever left this place… I’d be a different man.”

  I run a hand through my hair. “We wouldn’t want that.”

  He grunts. “No? You want me to stay just as I am?”

  I close my eyes. Exhaling slowly. “I want you exactly as you are, Jasper. If you hadn’t come when you did, I might still be out there, stranded with the boys. You saved our lives.”

  “I feel like you’ve saved my life too—” he begins, but before he can say any more, there’s a knock on the door.

  The sheriff is here.

  Jasper

  I don’t want them to go, but of course, they must. They need to see a doctor, even though they all appear completely unscathed. As Sheriff McHenry gets a statement from Juliette, Aaron begins to fuss. I scoop him up in my arms, without thinking, and begin to rock him. God, he is sweet, and so damn tiny in my large hands.

  “I think he’s hungry,” Juliette says, pointing to the diaper bag. I grab a bottle and a can of formula, and she takes them from me, heading to the kitchen to prepare the bottle. Charlie is wide awake now and fussing at Juliette’s feet.

  “Hungry,” he whimpers, tugging at her sweater. She sighs, glancing at the sheriff.

  “I really need a full account,” McHenry says. I’ve known him a long time — we went to high school together, were on the same damn football team. But right now, I need him to back off.

  “It’s been a heck of a night,” Juliette says, picking Charlie up and setting him on her hip. She hands me the now made bottle, and I figure out what to do with it. She clearly has her hands full and coaching me through bottle-feeding a baby isn’t necessary. I’m a grown ass man and can do this.

  She finds the bread bin and a jar of peanut butter, and begins fixing Charlie a sandwich as McHenry presses for details of what happened right before the accident.

  She is being patient. Really fucking patient considering, but this is too much for her. “Listen, the boys are right here. This isn’t the time. Can we do this at the hospital?”

  I rock Aaron as she uses the bathroom. “You just met?” McHenry asks.

  I nod. “In the right place at the right time. They would have been caught in the storm for hours.”

  “Thank God you were there,” he says. “Hell, Jasper, can you imagine? I have a little one at home and if something like this happened to me or Jeannie, hell, I have no idea what would happen to him.”

  I clench my jaw, considering his words. When Juliette reenters the room, I tell her when we get to town, she needs to call the Martindales’ lawyer.

  She nods, agreeing, and McHenry and I load up his car with the kids, buckling them into car seats.

  “I wish you could come with me,” Juliette says, looking up at me. McHenry clears his throat, and turns from us. The sheriff has to transport the family, and I understand all that, legal protocol and what have you. But that in no way means this is the last I’ll be seeing of her.

  “I’ll follow right behind you,” I tell her, cupping her cheek. “Stay strong for the boys,” I add. “And I will stay strong for you.”

  The drive to Merryton is nerve-racking, mostly because I’m anxious as fuck that McHenry won’t keep his hands on the wheel and his eyes on the road. Does he have any idea of the precious cargo he is carrying?

  When we finally make it to the hospital, I let out a long sigh of relief. Hell, I needed to see they were here in one piece. I take the diaper bag for Juliette and help, placing Aaron in her arms. Charlie takes her free hand and I meet her gaze. “You sure you want me here?”

  Her eyes widen. “Don’t you dare leave me. You’re my guardian angel, I can’t do this without you.”

  I lean in and kiss her softly. Yes, we just met, but she feels like a part of me and I need her to know that as long as she wants me here, I won’t leave.

  In the lobby, though, a nurse whisks the three of them away and I sit down in a chair, feeling like I just lost three quarters of myself.

  A man in a suit comes in shortly after, and I listen as he asks to see Juliette Morgan. “It’s important,” he tells the nurse on duty. “I’m the lawyer.”

  Running a hand over my jaw, I wonder what will happen to the three of them. If a social worker comes for the boys, Juliette’s heart will break more than it already has.

  The lawyer isn’t with her long, and within thirty minutes, I see him leave the hospital.

  It takes another hour, but eventually, Juliette emerges with the boys. When she sees me, her shoulders fall. Not in a disappointed way, but in a thank god you’re here sort of way.

  I wrap a hand around her and a nurse follows us with a set of car seats. “Can you drive us home?” Juliette asks. “Because I can’t bear the thought of getting a taxi right now.”

  “Shhh,” I tell her. “It’s okay. We’re gonna be okay.”

  The nurse and I put the car seats in the back row of my truck, and soon enough, the four of us are all bucked in — even though I have no idea what we are doing. Juliette hasn’t spoken a word.

  “Where should I drive?”

  She swallows, bewildered. “Oh, right.” She tells me the address and I punch it into the GPS, heading west toward Scott’s Hill.

  “When I saw the lawyer coming to see you, I was scared you might lose the boys,” I tell her as I drive away from the hospital.

  She reaches her hand out to me, and I grasp hers, knowing she is hanging on by a thread right now.

  “They were
gone, Grant and Laura, dead on arrival,” she says, her breath shaky. “And when the lawyer came, he proved I have guardianship according to the will.”

  “Thank God,” I say, squeezing her hand tight.

  “I still don’t know what else the will says. I have to wait for the reading to find out what happens to the boys. But…” She’s crying again, and I hate this. Hate the pain. And so I let her cry, knowing there is nothing that I can do to change things right now.

  When we get to the house, I clench my jaw. Hell, this place is the nicest mansion I’ve ever visited. Once we get inside, me carrying a sleeping Charlie, and her carrying a sleeping Aaron, she tells me to follow her. We walk up a grand staircase to the second-floor nursery. “The boys sleep in here, together,” she says. She tells me to take off Charlie’s shoes and help him into bed while she puts a clean diaper on the baby and sets him in the crib.

  She sings a lullaby, the nightlight casting a soft glow across the room, and I am amazed at her strength. She is heartbroken, but still refusing to fall apart when there is a job that still needs to be done. Right now, that job is putting these two boys to bed, making their world — which has just come undone — less fractured. I’m not the guardian angel here — she is.

  The boys are sleeping deeply, and she switches on a baby monitor before slipping out of the door with me. She keeps it open a crack and, when she turns to me, she falls into my arms.

  “Come on, angel,” I tell her. “Let me put you to bed now.”

  “Will you sing me a lullaby?” Her cheek pressed to my chest.

  “I’ll sing you every love song I know.”

  “There a lot of them?”

  I smile sadly. “No. That disappoint you?”

  She shakes her head as she points to her bedroom door, right next to the nursery. “You could never disappoint me, Jasper.”

  And as crazy as it seems, I don’t fight her words. Instead, I take her to bed.

  Juliette