Page 16 of Protected By the Mountain Man

My belly clenches. “I have no idea.”

“Well, you should find out. Before you do anything, I mean.”

I frown. “Do anything?”

“You know,” he says, smile tilting. “Before you make any declarations of love.”

My mind balks at his use of the wordlove— and my belly warms to it.

“Shit,” I mutter, more to myself than to the good doctor. “I’ve got it bad, don’t I, Doc?”

He places a kind hand on my forearm and squeezes. “For this woman? Looks like. And you know you can call me Carter, right?”

“Sure, Doc,” I say, throat full of emotion — for Mariah, yes, but also from being seen so fully by this man.

Grateful tears blur my vision. Shaking my head, I swipe them away. “How’s that roast?”

Doc Pearce steps to the oven and peers through the window. It’s looking just about done. Should we treat our women to some tasty dinner?”

I pop a single eyebrow at him. “Our women? I don’t think I can call Mariah mine.”

“Just being hopeful on your behalf,” he says with a smile. His eyes grow a little sad. “I hope I’m not wrong.”

“Me too,” I mutter, giving voice to a wish that I didn’t quite know I had, not until this moment. “Me too.”

Mariah

The glow of the evening doesn’t wear off until I’m back at Ace’s place. Billy’s asleep and I’m in the apartment’s single bathroom brushing my teeth when the wave of emotion hits.

No, not a wave.

A storm.

A tsunami.

A torrent of feeling that picks me up and tosses me until I don’t know up from down.

One minute I’m staring down my reflection in the mirror as I brush my teeth. The next my forehead is crinkling and my vision is blurring with tears that wash down my cheeks fast and hot.

Tonight is what early motherhood should have been like: a safe man by my side while Billy and I visited with new friends.

Instead, my life has been a nightmare: a constant power struggle with the man who violated my trust, impregnated me against my will, and has made my life and Billy’s life a living hell ever since.

My son deserves better.

Hell,Ideserve better, even with all my bad choices.

Nobody should be subjected to a terror like Ryan.

I’ve always known that, always believed it. But it wasn’t until I got back to Heartwood and into Ace’s care that I fully realized how much I have lost by being tied to Ryan.

I’m devastated at how much I’ve missed out on. How much Billy has and will continue to miss out on. All because of one man.

The door to the bathroom opens with a bang. I supress a scream, sort of, but still spray toothpaste in my surprise.

Ace stands in the open doorway and at first, there’s a fire in his eyes that turns my insides molten.

But that fire fades quickly.

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