Page 40 of Mountain Man Daddy

“Arms out.” She did as he requested and he slid the shirt on her arm.

“What about my bra?”

“You’re a mountain girl now. They definitely don’t wear bras.” She chuckled and let him finish dressing her, loving the idea of being his mountain girl.

“They apparently don’t wear panties either,” she grumbled as he spun her delicates around on his finger.

“I’m hungry, let’s go have some eggs.”

“Eggs and stew? Is that all you eat?”

“You’re not complaining about my cooking, are you?” He rubbed his hands together. She eyed them, covered her butt with both hands, and shook her head.

“Not at all. You make the absolute best venison stew I’ve ever had, and your eggs taste fit for a king.” She moaned in pleasure, releasing her butt to rub her belly. He harrumphed. “I thought so.”

* * *

They made love again three more times through the afternoon, evening, and morning, but then as she lay against his chest, the warmth of that lovemaking still glowing on her skin, he said they had to deal with what they’d been avoiding.

“Tell me everything, Avery.”

Her heart pounded, and she felt lightheaded. What would Mike think of her? Would he think she was stupid and naïve? And worse still, would he see her through the eyes of her grandparents and Alex and realize she wasn’t worth all the trouble?

Her eyes welled, and he twisted her hair around his hand and tipped her head back, so she had to look at him.

“Don’t be afraid. You’re my little girl, and nothing you tell me is ever going to change how I feel about you.” A tear slid out, and he wiped it away before brushing his lips lightly across hers.

“Your secrets are nowoursecrets. Your problems are nowourproblems. And we’ll face it alltogether.” He released her hair and smoothed it to comfort her. “Now talk, little lady.”

She drew in a shaky breath. This was it. She could risk losing him and tell him everything, or she could refuse, and her secrets would drive them apart.

“I was four and a half when they died.” Another tear slid down her face. “I don’t even remember them. What I do remember is the day my mother’s parents came for me.” She drew in a breath.

“They barely even looked at me when the social worker handed me over. They didn’t speak to me at all, and I didn’t dare say a word—not through the plane ride, and not on the drive to their house, but as I lay in the bed that was once my mother’s, I finally spoke.”

“Aw, honey.” He kissed her head.

“I asked if my mama and daddy were in heaven.” She sniffed, and the tears flowed. She swiped at them and looked down so he couldn’t see her face. “They said there was no place in heaven for those people that fornicated before marriage, got pregnant and ran away, but it wouldn’t matter anyway because God didn’t have a place for babies born out of wedlock either.”

Avery heard Mike’s breathing still. And she counted five full seconds before he drew a breath and spoke. “Those people didn’t deserve one child, let alone two. Baby, you are the sweetest little girl anyone could ever ask for, and I hope they’re rotting in hell.” More tears fell, and this time he wiped them away and kissed the fresh ones that fell.

“My parents had money. They left it in a trust for me. The first installment on my eighteenth birthday was five hundred thousand dollars, enough for me to go away to college and be free of my grandparents. The second was the two million on my twenty-fifth birthday, and the final payment is to be released to me when I turn thirty in a few months. It’s five and a half million dollars.”

He said nothing, just rubbed her back and let her continue.

“Daddy, I was so desperate for love that I let some asshole con artist trick me into thinking he thought I was special.” She choked on a sob. “He took me for every dime I had and managed to build enough debt and enemies that all my future money is gone too. Or at least out of reach. I thought things were okay for a long time, but since I’ve been with you, I’ve seen they were never okay. No one has loved me like you.” She shoved her face into his chest and wept against his warm skin. He pulled her chin until she faced him again. His eyes pinned hers with an intensity she couldn’t look away from. “He didn’t trick you into thinking you were special—youarespecial; he tricked himself out of seeing it. You deserve love, and little one, I plan on showing you just how much every chance I get.”

Avery trembled. “I see now that it wasn’t love. I’ve never loved anyone like you, Daddy.”

“Baby, I knowexactlywhat you mean.” She wrapped her arm around his belly and squeezed him before she continued. “I went a little wild with the first payment of the trust. I never had anything. My grandparents wouldn’t let me get a job because I had to work for them on the farm, so when I got the money, I spent it fast.” He took her right hand and linked their fingers, smoothing his thumb against her skin as she continued.

“By the time I was twenty-five, I was married to Alex. I planned on being smarter with my money, but I was naïve. I let him control it. He spent it all. He used me and by the time I found out, all our accounts were empty and in overdraft. Our credit cards were maxed out and overdue. I kicked him out, but it was too late. He even managed to remortgage the house.” She grit her teeth.

“I was so stupid,” she ground out. He gave her ass a little swat. “Nobody’s allowed to call my little girl stupid, not even you.”

“And now the bad guys, who I assume he borrowed money from, are after me. They plan to hurt me, Daddy.” She swallowed hard and gathered a breath. “I heard them tell Alex they plan to have some fun with me—the non-consent sexual kind, take my money, and I think they’ll kill me just like they killed Alex.” She gathered another breath and let the final rush of words fall out as she trembled in his arms. “I don’t want that to fall on you. I don’t want you hurt because I was stupid. I love you. I love you so much! I’m ready to die, but I’m not going to take you with me.” She was hyperventilating by the end of her long spiel, and he had to shush and rock her until she calmed down.

She gave him a pathetic, watery smile and he hugged her tighter. “Baby, trusting someone you love isn’t stupid. Loving them after they screw you over, is. You didn’t do that. You saw what he did, and you kicked his ass out. And baby, if that fucker were alive, I’d pound him to a pulp, not only for hurting my little girl but for being too dumb to see how amazing you are. And any trouble that comes for you, I’m more than ready to handle. Hell, I’m eager for it. No one fought for you, Avery, and you deserve to be fought for. I won’t fail you, and I’ll bulldoze, tear limb-from-limb, and annihilate anyone who dares touch what’s mine—you are mine!”

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