Delivering His Gifts (Mountain Men of Liberty #10)- K.C. Crowne Page 0,61

foyer.

“Eli said it’s partially furnished,” Mason said, flipping on a switch to what appeared to be a living room. There was a fireplace and a leather couch, but the room was otherwise empty, making it feel even larger than it was. Skyler rushed into the room and started spinning circles. Normally I’d tell her to be careful, she could knock something over, but there was so much space, it wasn’t even a concern.

Which was good. I was glad to see her so happy. I had to explain to her that we were staying somewhere else as a little vacation. I couldn’t tell her the real reason we didn’t go home. She was too young to deal with all of that.

But this house made for a believable vacation.

“He said the master bedroom and two of the other bedrooms were furnished with beds. The owner sometimes rents it out as an Air BnB but said we could use it as long as necessary. He’s doing some work on the exterior and in the garden, so it’s empty for now. No one should bother you, though, as all the work is being done outside.”

I walked over to the large picture windows and gasped. “There’s even a swimming pool here.”

“Oh yeah, he said you can use it, if you’d like. The yard is also completely fenced in. Twelve-foot-high stone fence, to be exact. There’s also security cameras everywhere, all installed by us,” Mason continued.

Skyler was by my side, staring at the yard and the pool with a grin so large, it made me smile. Even with everything going on, I could smile knowing my daughter was safe and happy.

“Oscar is going to love this place,” Skyler said excitedly.

And my stomach dropped. I knelt beside her, stroking her hair. “Honey, Oscar is living with Calvin now.”

“But I thought we had longer.” Her little eyes filled with tears.

“We can always go visit him,” I said softly. “Calvin actually wants us to visit.”

“Can we, please, Mommy?”

“Of course, honey. And we will still have Griz and Zeus.”

I glanced over at Mason, unsure of the plan regarding the animals. I had originally planned to take them with us when we left, but we hadn’t gone back to the house.

Mason cleared his throat. “As soon as Graham and Sam get off their gig, we’ll run over and pick the animals up.”

“Yay!” Skyler said. “I missed them.”

I mouthed, “Thank you,” to Mason, and felt like he’d just read my mind and saved the day. I knew he was still feeling guilty about losing control with Greg. I was upset at him at first as well, but it was hard to stay mad at a man who was doing so much to take care of us.

I stood up and walked to the couch. “Skyler, honey, come over here and let’s chat.”

“I’ll give you some space,” Mason said, stepping back into the foyer.

Skyler joined me on the couch, her eager, excited smile calming my nerves more than she would ever know. She had no idea that I had been so scared only an hour or so before, fearful that I had lost my daughter for good. But she was with me, and she was safe.

“So you said there were men inside with Daddy? Can you tell me about them?”

Skyler sighed dramatically and rolled her little eyes. “They were soooo boring, Mommy.”

I chuckled at the tiny little attitude. “But did you know them? Were they friends of Daddy’s?”

Skyler seemed to ponder this question before saying. “I don’t think so. I’ve never seen them before. Except for one.”

“One of the men? You knew him?”

“Mmmhmm. He was at our house the other night. Remember? When I woke up and came out of my room.”

A chill ran down my spine. Jim King. It had to be.

I knew Jim and Greg knew each other, but even Greg said they weren’t close friends. So who were they? Why were they hanging out at his house after Greg ran off with Skyler? None of it made any sense to me.

I heard a sound and turned to find Mason and his brothers standing in the foyer. Mason had cleared his throat to let us know they were there.

“Eli and I are ready to head over and grab the pets. Sam and Graham are here in case you need them,” Mason said.

God, now I had security detail? When did my life get so out of hand?

“Thank you,” I said softly.

It went without saying that Mason and Eli were also going to remove