Delivering His Gifts: A Mountain Man's Baby Christmas Romance(40)

He groaned. “I don’t even think the doctors are awake to release them yet. What time is it?”

“It’s just after six,” I said with a laugh. “We can pick them up in a few hours, honey.”

“A few hours? I can’t wait that long,” she whined, though grinning through the whine.

“What if I told you I have another surprise for you?”

“I’m listening.”

“We’re doing something nice for Calvin this morning, so we’re going over to his house. You’ll get to see Oscar again.”

“Yes!” Skyler shouted, throwing her fists into the air. “Best day ever. And it’s Christmas too!”

“We need to get ready, so could you—”

“I’ll get dressed!”

I laughed as I climbed out of the bed. I still needed to shower and fix us breakfast. We weren’t going over to Calvin’s for a few more hours. I looked at Mason and asked, “Are you ready for this?”

“I just got the message from Steve that said his plane landed.”

“Calvin is going to be so surprised, isn’t he?”

“He has no idea,” Mason said, sitting up and stretching. “Though they’ve been talking for a couple weeks, ever since I tracked him down. They’ve really reconnected.”

“You did such a sweet thing by tracking him down.” I walked over to his side of the bed and kissed him, holding his face in my hands.

“It just all worked out. Steve and his wife divorced twenty years ago, and he was also alone, not wanting to admit to anyone he wasn’t into women. Now neither of them have to be alone anymore.”

“I love you,” I said, feeling a rush of warmth.

“And I love you too,” he said, kissing the palm of my hand.

“You have the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met,” I said.

“Stop, you’re making me uncomfortable. You know I don’t handle compliments well.”

“I know, but it’s true,” I said, staring into his grey eyes. “I doubted that any man could truly be this good and kind, but you’ve proven me wrong, Mason.”

He stood up and wrapped his arms around me, kissing me on the lips. My body ached for him, but we were still in the six weeks postpartum where sex was off the table. Besides, we also had a busy day ahead of us, and a lot to do.

“Alright, I’m going to pick up Steve from the airport while you get ready,” Mason said softly. He checked his phone briefly, staring down at it with a weird look on his face.

“What?” I asked.

“A text from Teddy. He said that the man who started the fire, the one who stabbed me, made a plea deal for a lighter sentence. He spilled everything about how your ex and King were involved. Greg is going down for even more serious charges.”

My heart skipped a beat. “Can I see that?”

Mason handed me the phone, and the message went into greater detail. Greg had also asked Jim to make sure I was in the house before the fire was set. He was trying to kill me, which is why he had kidnapped Skyler - so she wouldn’t be home when it happened. I felt uneasy and like I might throw up.

“He tried to kill me,” I said softly.

Mason wrapped his arms around me again. “Yeah, but he didn’t. And he can never hurt you again.”

The message said Greg was facing a sentence of at least fifty years. Attempted murder, kidnapping, arson… the list of crimes was a mile long. If convicted, and it was likely he would be with a key witness testifying against him, he wouldn’t get out of prison for a very long time. If ever, considering he was in his forties.

I hugged Mason close, relaxing into him. I truly felt safe when I was in his arms.

“We can start the adoption process soon,” Mason said. “We’ll look into getting a judge to rescind his rights.”

Even if things didn’t work out legally, I knew Mason would always love Skyler like a daughter. There was no denying that.

“Thank you, Mason. For everything.”

We separated and I took a quick shower. Skyler was knocking at my door the entire time. I hurried and dressed, and we both ate one a few bites of the eggs I made for breakfast. She was too excited to eat. Today was a big day for her, in many ways.

The last few weeks had been exhausting, but things were starting to return to normal. We were still staying in the rental, which we could stay in as long as we wanted. Mason was preparing to build a house on some land his brothers’ bought - a house bigger than the one we were staying in. And I got a lot of say in what the house would have. There’d be plenty of bedrooms for all of us, a lot of space for our menagerie of critters, and everything we could possibly need for a family.

With the insurance money, I was able to begin re-building the shelter, so my business was likely to be up and running again soon. We weren’t going to bother with the house, it was too far gone to salvage and we were building a better one anyway. The rental was big enough for all of us for now, with Elli and MJ sharing the room connected to Skyler’s. Or they might just end up in the master bedroom since it was large enough for two cribs in addition to the king-sized bed. We had both options set up, so a total of four cribs. All because I couldn’t make up my mind, and Mason would buy us the moon if I wanted it.

“Alright, Mason’s back. You know what that means!”

“We’re going to Calvin’s!” Skyler said, hopping out of her seat.

“Yes, get your coat on, silly bug.”

She grabbed her coat from the living room and threw it on in a flash.

“Best day ever,” she said, speaking to herself.



Ooo000ooo



“Oh hello there, Skyler,” Calvin said when he opened the door. “And Danielle and Mason too.”

He beamed at us. He seemed to enjoy our visits, said it was nice to have a child around. Said it made him feel like a grandpa, which we had told him we would love him to be an adopted grandfather to our children if he wished. He liked that a lot.

“Not just us,” Mason said, stepping aside so he could see the man he’d been hiding.

“Is that—” Calvin’s eyes filled with tears, though he tried fervently to wipe them away. “Steve?”

“Hi Calvin,” Steve said, flashing him a Hollywood smile.

I’d always thought Calvin was classically handsome, even for a man in his seventies. And Steve was no different. His hair was a dark grey and still very thick for a man his age. He had a beard that was the same dark grey as his hair. His eyes were friendly and kind, and I could see why Calvin had fallen for him. I imagined he had to have been quite a looker as a young soldier in the war.

The two men embraced, hugging for several seconds. I had to wipe the tears away from the emotions. Seeing the way they looked at each, I was so grateful Mason could bring them back together again.

“It’s been so long,” Calvin said. “But I knew it was you.”

“Well, I sent you a picture last week.”

“Yeah, from your sixtieth birthday. That hardly counts,” Calvin teased, unable to take his eyes off Steve.

“I thought you couldn’t afford to come out here until summer?” Calvin asked.

“Well, I had a little help.” Steve shot Mason sheepish look.

Calvin shook his head. “Should have known. He sure likes to part with his money, but in this case, I’m very thankful for that.”

“Can I see Oscar?” Skyler whispered to me.

“Yeah, I think we should give these two a moment alone. What do you think, Mason?”

Mason nodded, and the two men seemed oblivious to us slipping into the house.

As soon as Oscar saw Skyler, his tail began wagging. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He licked the side of her face gently.

I knew from talking with Calvin that Oscar was doing very well. Calvin too. It had been a match made in heaven, and the dog helped Calvin in more ways than I could have imagined. He said not only was it physically easier to get out of bed in the morning, with Oscar there for support, but mentally as well. He hadn’t been happier in years.

Of course, putting him in touch with his old love likely helped too. He told Mason that they messaged each other daily, ever since Mason and Eli helped set him up with a laptop and showed him how to use it. Steve’s granddaughter had helped him, as she was his caregiver. He had come out to his family recently and found that his children were not only accepting, but they said they’d always kind of known.

What this meant for him and Calvin, I didn’t know. Maybe they’d be able to continue where they left off many years before, or maybe they’d just be friends. But it seemed to help Calvin’s mood to be able to talk to Steve again, and Steve had been equally as grateful - telling us in the car that he’d never stopped thinking about Calvin, but assumed he would never forgive him.

Based on the hug they had shared, I had a feeling Calvin forgave him.

“You look happy,” Mason said, sitting beside me on the couch.

“I am,” I said. “Like Skyler keeps saying, today is the best day ever.”

“Because we’re bringing our babies home?”

“Yes, but also -- everything. Things are just better now. I can feel it. You’ve done good here, Mason. You really have.”

He took my hand in his, and my eyes fell on the diamond ring on my finger. As soon as things calmed down, I had a wedding to plan. Even more things to be excited for.