Page 5 of Mountain Man Tempted (Hard Timber Mountain Men #2)

HOLT

I entered the clearing where we held Friday night trail suppers. My brothers Thatcher and Dane were already there, along with everyone else except Harlan.

“There he is.” Thatcher walked up and handed me a beer. “Rumor has it you’ve been seen in town with someone. A cute young thing with long pink hair. Is there anything you want to tell us?”

For a guy who used to only speak in one-word sentences, he’d become a lot more outgoing since he and Joely got together. Shrugging, I added the bags of chips I’d brought to the folding table. “She’s helping me with Lane.”

“You’re shagging the nanny?” Dane asked with a smirk.

“Not yet,” Ridge said. “He’s way too uptight to be getting laid, but from what I’ve seen, it sure seems like he wants to.”

“Shut the fuck up.” I popped the top off the bottle of beer and sank onto a tree stump. “Nothing’s happening. She’s watching Lane, and I’m getting to work without having to worry about him full-time.”

“Is she watching him tonight?” Dane waggled his brows. “Waiting up for you to get home? Does she think she’ll be the one to finally thaw the iceberg?”

“I’m not doing this tonight.” I shook my head. They were just giving me shit, but I wasn’t in the mood. Especially since their comments hit way too close to the truth.

I did have the hots for my son’s nanny, and I had no idea what the fuck to do about it.

As much as I wanted to wrap my hands around her sweet, thick hips and memorize every inch of her skin, all I could do was ignore the feelings she stirred up inside.

Calla had to be at least ten years younger than me with a pure heart and a smile that could make a man believe in second chances.

But it didn’t matter how blue my balls got, she deserved better than an old single dad who’d been described as being “cryogenically preserved.”

“What do we know about the fucking list?” Ridge asked as he looked at each of us. “Anybody got anything yet?”

“Nellie knows, but she’s not talking,” Thatcher said.

“She says we should spend more time thinking about what got us on the list than who wrote it,” I added. “And unless there’s one or two women that all of us have dated, the list has to be a group effort.”

“Hell, I haven’t dated anyone in years,” Thatcher said. “And the last woman you were with was your ex, right?”

I couldn’t remember yesterday, much less every detail of the past four years, but I was pretty sure going out on a date would have registered somewhere in my brain. “Yeah. So unless someone’s harboring a grudge from high school…”

“That would be a hell of a long time to wait to try to get even.” Dane tapped his beer bottle on top of mine, causing it to bubble up… the same stupid trick he’d been pulling since Thatcher and I gave him his first drink.

I held the bottle to my lips and took a huge gulp before it overflowed. As I swallowed, a dark shadow moved out of the trees.

“Shit, Harlan. I almost choked on my beer. You can’t go around scaring the crap out of everyone.” I wasn’t pissed, just surprised as I held out my hand to grab hold of his.

He gave me a quick half-handshake, half-hug as he stepped into the clearing and grunted a greeting.

Harlan ran the Hard Timber Outfitters and had grown up in the mountains.

For a guy who could have carried the entire defensive line in high school on his back, I had no idea how he could move through the woods without making a fucking sound.

“We’d almost given up on you.” Ridge reached out and took the cooler Harlan carried. “Looks like you’ve been busy, bro. What did you bring to share tonight?”

“Steak.” Harlan shrugged off his backpack and grabbed a beer. He popped the top and downed the entire bottle before saying another word. When he was done, he turned to me and Thatcher. “Since when is your sister back in town?”

“Jessa?” I asked.

“You got more than one sister?” His lip curled up. “That piece of shit truck she’s driving popped a tire in front of the store. You need to get her something more reliable.”

Harlan spent a lot of time at our place growing up.

His dad made ours look like a saint. So he’d always been protective of Jessa, just like Thatcher, Dane, and me.

She’d also always gotten under his skin.

The two of them fought like a grizzly bear and a wolverine.

If we were ever bored with nothing to do, we’d bait one of them into starting a fight with the other and watch the verbal jabs fly.

“She couldn’t find a job after college and had to move back for a while,” I said.

I’d tried to convince her to watch Lane over the summer, but she was convinced she’d only be around for a couple of weeks before she left again.

“Did you help her change the tire, or is she still sitting outside the store?”

He glared at me like I was speaking a foreign language he couldn’t understand. “You think she’d let me help her?”

I bit back a grin. So that was the problem. Harlan might be a hard ass who looked like he could scare the bark off a pine tree, but he was also the first one to step in if someone needed a helping hand. It had to be killing him inside that Jessa wouldn’t let him help.

“I’ll stop by and take a look at it tomorrow,” Thatcher said. “The fire’s ready. Who wants to be in charge of grilling tonight?”

Dane volunteered but Harlan grabbed the tongs before my little brother could get his hands on them. I sat back down on the tree stump and let all the tension of the past couple of weeks drain away.

It was good to be back at Friday night Trail Supper.

I’d missed a few over the past couple of months since I didn’t have anyone to watch Lane, but I needed this.

Needed something I could look forward to that would break up the monotony.

Lane was everything to me, but it was good to have a break every once in a while.

Even if it meant sharing space with someone as tempting as Calla.

The night wore on and we grumbled about work, the damn Ex-List, and why we hadn’t realized how easy life was back in high school. I was the first to leave. Calla had been at the house since seven in the morning, and I didn’t want to take total advantage of her.

When I pulled into the drive, it was after eleven.

At least Lane and I didn’t have plans in the morning.

He’d asked to visit the fire tower for a picnic, but otherwise there was nowhere we had to be.

As I walked up to the front porch, I wondered how long he might let me sleep in.

For a kid who didn’t get enough sleep, it didn’t seem right that he was usually up before the sun.

I turned the doorknob and tried to enter as quietly as possible.

If Calla had fallen asleep on the couch, I didn’t want to wake her right away.

But as soon as I cracked the door open, I heard Lane’s cries from the bedroom.

He’d had another bad dream. I never should have left him.

Never should have stayed out as long as I did.

My pulse ratcheted up as I raced down the hall to his room.

All of a sudden, his cries stopped. I peeked through the crack in the doorway. Calla held him in her lap while she gently rocked back and forth in the chair by his bed. Her palm made small circles over his back.

“That’s it, Lane. Now tell me three things you can see.”

He sniffled. “My bed. King Chomper. You.”

“Good job,” she whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear. “How about two things you can hear?”

“You talking to me.” He paused, like he was listening for something else. “The chair.”

“You’re doing great. Can you tell me one thing you can smell?”

He inhaled and for a fraction of a second. I was jealous of my six-year-old for being so close to Calla and getting to smell her sweet skin.

“Cookies.”

She let out a gentle laugh. “I’m not sure if that’s me or you. Next time we make cookies together, we might need to clean up better.”

The fight had left him. I could tell by the way his body relaxed against hers and the evenness of his breaths.

No telling how long he’d been out of it, but she’d brought him back.

I sagged against the wall, wondering why my boy had to suffer.

I’d do anything for him… slay dragons, travel to the ends of the earth to save him or gladly give up my own life so he could live one free from the shadows that haunted him. But it wasn’t that easy.

I pushed the door open and the sliver of light from the hall widened enough to catch Calla in the rocking chair with Lane clinging to her like a life jacket.

“Hey, bud. Did you have a bad dream?”

He turned to look at me, his eyes still full of sleep. “Yeah.”

“Want me to put you back to bed?” I held open my arms, ready to take over.

“Can both of you tuck me in?”

Calla met my gaze over the top of his head. Her brows arched, signaling this was my question to answer.

“Yeah. If that’s okay with Calla,” I said.

She nodded, and I reached out to pick up my son.

Memories surfaced of me and my ex putting him to bed together when he was a baby.

We’d set him in the crib, then stare down at him, wondering how something so amazing and beautiful had come out of such a doomed relationship.

She’d leave to go watch one of her shows, but I’d stand next to his crib and watch him sleep for hours.

Calla pulled the covers back while I laid Lane down on the bed. She was so close her hip brushed against mine. Want coiled deep in my belly, and I stuffed it down.

“Goodnight, Laneosaurus.” I bent over and kissed his forehead. “I’ll be right across the hall if you need me.”

Calla handed him King Chomper. “This guy said he’d help you keep the bad dreams away. Have a good weekend, and I’ll see you on Monday.”

She brushed his hair away from his face and squeezed his arm. Then she left the room, giving me a few moments of privacy with my kid.

Lane looked up at me, sleep already tugging his eyelids low. “Goodnight, Dad. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” I waited until his breath evened out and I was sure he was asleep before I left. When I entered the family room, Calla was sitting on the couch, her feet tucked up underneath her.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

“Yeah. He’s asleep. Thanks for…” For what? Taking better care of my kid than I could? I shouldn’t have left him. Usually, his night terrors woke him up in the middle of the night, not just a few hours after he’d fallen asleep.

“It’s why you hired me, right?” She got up and moved toward me. “I’ve got some ideas about things we can work on during the day that might make things easier at night. I’ll send them to you via email so you can look them over ahead of time if that works for you?”

“Ideas like what?” I’d seen enough to know she knew her stuff, but I was still curious.

“Like drawing his dreams or writing them down and giving them a better ending.” Her hand moved up to her mouth to cover a yawn. “Sorry, I need to get going. I can’t keep my eyes open.”

I didn’t like the idea of her making the forty-minute drive out to her grandparents’ place this late at night, especially since she was so tired. As she turned toward the door, I reached out and held her arm. “Why don’t you stay?”

She looked back at me with wide eyes.

Immediately, I let my hand fall away. “I’ve got a spare bedroom, and I don’t want anything to happen to you on your way home. It’s late.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Her lips curved up in a reassuring smile.

Raindrops splattered on the roof. The clouds that had been hovering around all day had finally decided to open up. Lightning flashed outside the window, followed by a loud crack of thunder.

Calla tensed.

“I’d feel a lot better if you weren’t driving the mountain roads in a thunderstorm.” I shrugged. “What do you say?”

She bit down on her lip as lightning lit up the sky again. “If you’re sure it’s not a problem…”

“No problem at all.” I led her to the spare bedroom that I’d been using as a storage room. “Sheets are clean. I’ll get you something you can wear to bed.”

I left her standing there while I ran back to my room to grab a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. I’d liked seeing her in my clothes when I sent her home in them the other day. Knowing she’d be sleeping in my tee would probably keep me up all night, but it would be worth it.

“Here you go. Do you want to use the bathroom first? There’s a pack of spare toothbrushes under the sink. Help yourself.”

“Thanks, Holt. I’ll get up early and be gone before Lane notices. I don’t want him to get confused about me staying over.” She took the clothes I handed her and walked into the hall.

I followed, wishing she was heading toward my bed instead of the bathroom. Seeing her holding my kid in her arms tonight, offering comfort and making everything better made me wish she could do the same for me. And now I’d invited her to stay the night.

There was no way I’d be able to fall asleep. Not with her just a dozen feet away, her skin brushing up against my clothes, her head resting on one of my pillows.

I’d never admit it to the guys, but they were right. In the space of just a few days, my ice-cold heart had started to thaw. And there wasn’t a fucking thing I could do about it.