Delivering His Gifts (Mountain Men of Liberty #10)- K.C. Crowne Page 0,51

Frank asked.

“And you won’t bring up her daughter or her ex ever again, do you hear me?”

Jim nodded. That would have to be good enough. I stepped backward onto the porch.

“No, it’s fine, Frank. Mason was just leaving.”

As the door shut, I had to tell myself it was a win. I had at least protected Danielle from his threats, but we’d have to find a way to get her out from underneath him as soon as possible.

I would make sure she was free and clear of that asshole.

Danielle

“Look who’s happy to see you!” I exclaimed as I opened the door for Mason and Calvin. Oscar was wiggling from head to toe beside me. He stayed in his place, obeying my commands, but it was clear the dog was happy to see the two men. He’d really taken a liking to Calvin.

We’d been working together for a few weeks, and I knew that the day was coming where I’d have to hand Oscar over to his new owner. They’d already been spending a lot of time together alone, but there were still things I wanted to train Oscar on - mostly things that were extra, not things the old man needed exactly, but they could come in handy. Things like helping him get things off the floor or alerting the neighbors or bystanders of a problem. We were also training him to pick up on Calvin’s blood sugar, since the man had diabetes.

We still had a little work to do.

Calvin walked in and was already petting Oscar. I’d released him and he was sitting at the man’s feet, staring up at him with such big, sweet eyes. I couldn’t help but smile, and I had to admit, the tears started welling in my eyes. Stupid pregnancy hormones.

Mason followed Calvin but didn’t meet my gaze at first. We’d had a few words recently. Mostly that I wasn’t going to allow him to pay off my place, and he kept insisting he was going to help me. I thought I’d made it clear to him that I wasn’t going to accept a handout. He was the father of my child, but what he wanted to do was far and above any obligations he had to the child. Besides, I’d heard from the insurance company and had good news.

But even with everything going well, there was a nagging feeling inside me. Something wasn’t right. The last few weeks with Greg, his calls were growing more and more erratic, and he believed nothing I told him. I had my suspicions, ever since the night he called about Mason comforting me, that Greg was watching me.

“Calvin, are you okay with Oscar?”

I knew the answer to the question, but I was being polite. Calvin and Oscar were best buds already. They enjoyed their time together.

“Of course,” the old man said.

“Thank you. Mason, can I speak to you for a moment?”

“Sure,” he said, his hands tucked in his pockets. “Lead the way.”

He followed me through the house, and I felt like there was nowhere we could slip away and talk without being heard. Call me paranoid, but I no longer trusted my own home. So, I decided to step outside instead.

We walked a good distance from the house, tucked away amongst the trees. I wrapped my arms around myself as if I were cold even though it was still late summer.

Mason gave me a strange look, cocking his head to the side questioningly, but he didn’t ask why we walked this far from the house. Perhaps he, too, had his suspicions.

“Could you do me a favor?” I asked, nibbling on my thumb nail.

“Anything,” he said without hesitation.

“I’m probably just paranoid, but I think Greg might have cameras around my house,” I said, speaking softly just in case a camera could pick up on it. “He just seems to know all kinds of things - like how you were here after Jim came by. And he’s increasingly accusing me of sleeping around and being a whore, and I just— maybe that’s him being an asshole, but I fear he knows about the baby. Skyler insists she hasn’t mentioned it to him, but something tells me he knows.” The words just came out, and once I started talking, I couldn’t stop. The tears also began flowing. I felt like my entire world was out of control.

Mason reached out to me, placing a hand on my arm. I knew the offer was there to get closer, to have those strong arms