Delivering His Gifts (Mountain Men of Liberty #10)- K.C. Crowne Page 0,60
fucking both these guys or just one of them? Because I wouldn’t—”
Before he could finish, my fist collided with his face. I lunged and swung before I even realized what I was doing. Eli grabbed me and held me back. Greg’s head snapped back, and he stumbled. When he righted himself, there was blood streaming from his nose.
“Do not talk to her like that.”
“What? Did I strike a nerve?” Greg growled, a nasally noise due to his bleeding nose. “I urge you to call the cops now, Dani. So I can tell them how your baby daddy is violent and dangerous. That will look great in court.”
I knew I had fucked up. I had done the wrong thing, acted out of impulse to protect Danielle, and I had screwed up.
“No, don’t do that,” Danielle said, tears welling in her eyes. “I just want my daughter.”
“Mommy!” a tiny voice called from behind Greg. She rushed out of the house, not even looking at her father, and she ran right into her mother’s arms.
Relief washed over me as Danielle began backing up with Skyler in tow.
“Mommy, Mommy,” Skyler said, her voice sounding distraught. “I want to go home.”
“We’re going home, baby girl.”
“He said my cousins would be here,” she said, her eyes looking up at her mom. “But there’s no one but boring old men. And all they’re doing is talking.”
Danielle looked at Greg, scowling. He took a few steps forward, but Eli stepped in front of Danielle and Skyler. I was at their side. Greg looked at the two of us, and I was concerned he might call on the men from inside. I had no idea who might be in there or how strong they were. There could be weapons, for all I knew. It could get ugly, but so far, it seemed he wouldn’t act out in front of his daughter.
And he didn’t.
Greg stayed on the porch, and while there was rage in his eyes, he didn’t dare move forward.
“Daddy, I want to go home with Mommy.”
I stood back, no longer wanting to make the situation any worse than it already was, but I waited for his answer. I prayed he would make this easy on all of us.
After what felt like an eternity, he said, “Sure, honey. Just run in and grab your things.”
Both Danielle and I took hold of Skyler’s arm at the same time.
“No,” Danielle said. “Whatever she has here can stay here. She doesn’t need to grab anything.”
“Fine,” Greg said. “I’ll be in touch, so we can talk about how this will change things moving forward.”
Danielle covered Skyler’s ears and muttered. “You’re the one who kidnapped our daughter, not me. So you can go straight to hell.”
She took Skyler’s little hand in hers and we walked back to my truck. Skyler was in good spirits.
We piled into my truck, and I drove toward my place.
“Where are we going?” Danielle asked me.
“We’re going to my house,” I said, my voice low and calm. “We’re going to stick to the plan we talked about earlier. Eli has a place, says it’s ready tonight. I just need to get all the details from him.”
I expected Danielle to argue with me, to say she wanted to go home. But she didn’t. She looked at her daughter, relief in her eyes.
“Thank you for helping us, Mason,” she said softly.
I couldn’t find the words to explain that not helping was simply not an option. Danielle and I were connected now, and I cared about her and Skyler. They were part of my family now, and I would do anything to protect them.
In fact, watching Danielle’s fierce mama bear come out only made me feel stronger about her, and I feared I was falling for her - something she didn’t want.
Not that I could control it. Everything about her just… well, she was just perfect.
Even though I hadn’t planned it, I really couldn’t have picked a better woman to carry my child.
Danielle
“This place is nice,” I said as we stepped into the rental Mason’s brother had secured for us. “Really nice.”
Skyler ran in ahead of me, intentionally sliding on the slick, shiny hardwood flooring of the entrance. She giggled and smiled at me. “This place is huge!”
Our house wasn’t small by any means. It was large enough for the two of us and several large dogs to live comfortably. But this house was big enough for a family of six who bred Great Danes for a living.