Delivering His Gifts: A Mountain Man's Baby Christmas Romance(24)

“We’ll see about that,” Jim muttered.

I took a step closer to him; the man backed up.

“Fine, I will not stop by her home.”

Footsteps walked toward the door. “Should I call the police, Mr. King?” 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 wrapped around me if I wanted to, but I kept my distance. After all, I had no idea who was watching.

“I’ll have a look around, and I’ll try not to make it obvious. I’ll act like I’m doing some repairs, perhaps?”

I nodded. “That sounds good. Thank you, Mason. I appreciate it so much.”

“You know, he has no right to talk to you the way he does,” Mason said.

“I know, and I’m keeping record of all of it because I plan on getting a lawyer and fighting for full custody. But I need to get my head above water first. He’s got a lot more money than I do.”

“Maybe, but I have money too,” he said.

I cringed. “No, you can’t help me with that.”

“Why not?”

“Mason, do we really have to keep having this argument? I will take a reasonable amount for child support for our child, but that is it. I am not going to take any more money from you. I don’t want to pay off one man who owns me only to be in debt to another - no offense.”

“I’m not like him, Danielle. You won’t owe me shit.”

I held a hand up to stop him. I couldn’t handle another argument right now. So I changed the subject. “In a few weeks, I’ll have my first ultrasound,” I said. “I wanted to invite you, if you’d like to come.”

“Of course I do. Just tell me when and where,” he said. “You know I want to be there for you and our child.”

“I know, and I appreciate it. I’ll text you the date once we get back inside,” I said. “Speaking of which, I really should head back.”

“Go on,” he said, stuffing his hands back in his pockets.

He didn’t look at me, and I was grateful for that. I had a hard time looking away from his gaze when he did. Almost like I wanted to trust him. Hell, I did trust him, what was I saying?

Still, I couldn’t let my guard down.

I walked to the house, not looking back at Mason. He said he would take a look around, make it look natural. I’d let him do his thing.

“Where’d Mason run off to?” Calvin asked with a grin.

“He’s doing some repairs on the property,” I said, trying to make the lie as believable as possible in case there was a listening device somewhere in my home.

I shut the front door and stared out at the window. Mason was already near the house, walking around the perimeter, away from the front door. His tight ass in those jeans was a hell of a sight to behold, and I’ll admit, I stared a bit longer than I should have.

“You two make a cute couple,” Calvin said.

I swiveled, surprised, my cheeks flushed bright red. “We’re not a couple,” I stated.

My eyes darted around the room. I’d already looked for cameras and hadn’t found any, but it still felt like someone was watching us, or at the very least, listening in. I had no idea what to look for, but Mason owned a security company - surely he knew all the tricks in the books.

“Well if you’re not a couple now, you should be soon enough. Mason is a good man, you know,” Calvin said from the couch.

Oscar was sitting next to him, completely on the couch with him, his head resting in Calvin’s lap. Calvin said he didn’t mind his dogs getting up on the furniture - and he liked sharing his bed with them - so I didn’t bother to train that out of Oscar. It was adorable seeing the two of them cozy together, the old man’s hand lazily petting Oscar’s grey fur.

I moved toward the chair and sat down. “I know Mason is a good man. I haven’t felt this safe with anyone in a very long time,” I admitted. Realizing how serious it sounded, I added a little humor, “Besides my dogs, that is.”

“Well, I can see why you feel safe with them. You raise them well,” he said, rubbing Oscar’s ears. “You’re a good mother too, and I know you’ll do what’s best for this baby.”

My eyes fell to the ground, and my heart raced. I’d already talked about the baby here, in this space, but for some reason, the idea of doing it now filled me with dread. If the room were bugged, Greg knew already. And if it wasn’t, well, Calvin’s words wouldn’t affect anything.

Greg would know one way or another soon, though, that much was certain. My belly was growing fast, and it was hard to hide the roundness these days. I couldn’t recall getting this big with Skyler. I actually hadn’t put on much weight at all with her. Since I was already a curvy woman anyway, I didn’t start really showing until the second trimester. By my doctor’s estimation, I was almost three months pregnant. My first trimester, and I was already ballooning.

I muttered a simple, “Thank you,” to Calvin and focused on my work with Oscar instead. I’d been working with him for twenty minutes or so, when there was a knock on the front door. My heart skipped a beat.

“It’s me,” Mason called from the other side.

“Come in,” I said, not wanting to get up off the floor. “It’s unlocked.”