Page 7 of Mountain Man Daddy

Her eyes widened a second in alarm before the thought nuzzled in her like a purring cat. “You’d punish a poor injured girl?” she asked, furrowing her brow as his lifted.

“You’d disobey the man trying to get you healthy again?”

“Fine!” she said forcibly, her irritation more from her inability to process the feelings he was inducing.

“That’s ‘Yes, Daddy,’” he said seriously. Her eyes rounded. He wasn’t joking. Her heart flipped at the need surging deep in her middle and the taboo of it.

Chapter Three

When he left her alone a few days later, she rose from her bed. She finally had some of her strength back and was going to use it for her first trip to the bathroom without Nurse Annie, and as a trial run for her escape plans. She cursed under her breath when Yukon walked in the bedroom just as she shut the washroom door.

She sat and wondered how she was going to get out of this now. Her rescuer was getting less and less patient with her, as was the old nurse. Voices in the bedroom silenced her thoughts.

“Annie, she’s got some sort of retrograde amnesia.”

“You watched too many soaps with those RCMP boys in Ottawa, Yukon.” Annie laughed at his growl, before continuing. “It’s been over a week, and besides not remembering the actual accident, and maybe some of the events leading up to it, is one thing; not knowing your name is a whole ‘nother can of worms. That girl’s not telling us anything because she doesn’t want to. You’ll see.”

When Avery was finished she leaned against the counter, not wanting to face either of them.

“There’s a loose board on the chicken coop, and I’m worried about that cat. Can you take a look today? The girl’s fine on her own now. In fact, you don’t need to sleep here anymore.” Annie’s voice had taken on a growl that resembled Yukon’s, and if the situation weren’t so dire, Avery might have laughed. It was good to hear him getting scolded for once. “Why don’t you go on back to your mountain and leave us alone? I haven’t had a man here overnight since my husband died four years ago and I can’t say as I like it. You snore!”

“No, I don’t. You just don’t like me keeping an eye on you.”

Annie huffed. “I’m going to get my daughter to drop her off at the hospital if she keeps claiming amnesia. Nothing I can do about it, whether it’s truth or a lie. I was a nurse and not a psych one either. Even if Allan were alive, his prescription would be to ship her off for a psych eval.”

“I’m no doctor, but I’d prescribe something different myself.” Yukon’s voice was low and severe, making Avery shiver, but Annie laughed again.

“Don’t think I didn’t hear your threat, Yukon. I know exactly what you’d prescribe. Hell, I’ve felt like spanking her a few times myself.” Now it was Yukon’s turn to laugh, deep from his belly. Avery clenched her jaw. It wasn’t funny. His threat made her feel squirmy and vulnerable and way too aware of her womanhood.

“Let’s go check on that coop.”

Avery listened carefully, waiting for them to leave. When the door slapped shut, she knew her chance had come. Getting away while Yukon was distracted was her best bet, and it was especially urgent now with Annie planning on shipping her off. The hospital would probably involve the cops, and that was exactly what she wanted to avoid.

Her clothes had been washed and hung in the closet, so she gingerly put them on, leaving the gown she’d been wearing on the bed. Her boots were under the chair Yukon had been occupying for the last week. She grabbed them quickly but it took longer to don them while she was weak. Nabbing Yukon’s jacket and toque sitting on the chair, she made her way through the house.

Annie had chatted a lot over the week, so Avery had discovered Yukon had a cabin up the mountain three miles away. She’d also learned Annie’s husband had been a doctor, and they’d run the practice out of the farm for forty-seven years before he’d died. She had one daughter and she was almost as much of a recluse as Yukon. If Avery left now before anyone else got involved, she was confident no one would know she’d been there and Yukon and Annie would be safe.

Avery’s strength waned quickly, so her best pace was slow and steady. She’d get back to the Jeep, grab her purse, and somehow get the hell out of New Brunswick before someone came sniffing around the broken guard rail looking for the wreck. She’d worry about thesomehowlater.

* * *

Mike came back inside and threw himself into the chair. He should have been at home. He kept telling himself as soon as she was out of danger he’d leave her, but every day he stayed, only going home to shower and check on the cabin and Rocky. Annie had even been feeding him. He supposed him being there was good for Annie, too. The old girl was slowing down, and there was a lot to do on the farm that she just didn’t have the strength for anymore.

He looked at the bathroom door and grunted. In the bathroom, again? He glanced at the water glass on the nightstand and frowned. Still full. His instincts prodded him. Had she collapsed? But then he noticed his hat and coat were gone.

Shit!

He leaned forward to look under the chair.Damn it!How long had he and Annie been outside? Half an hour? No, it’d been longer than that, because he’d found several more things that needed repair, not to mention he’d mucked the stalls while Annie fed the animals. He’d been gone well over an hour, maybe closer to two.

The girl would have a head start, but she’d be slow. Hell, she could barely walk to the bathroom without getting winded.

“Annie, she’s gone. I’m going after her,” he said abruptly, and was out the door before Annie could answer. He patted his pockets as he got to the driveway and cursed. The damn keys to the ATV were in his coat pocket, but thankfully it was still there. He glanced left and right and shoved a hand through his hair before his eyes settled on the tire tracks. She’d follow them if she wanted to get back to the Jeep.

He knew from the condition of the vehicle she’d been speeding. She’d mumbled a lot about a moose and cried, “Alex, I don’t want to die” the first few nights. He also knew she was not Tim Lester, the name on the ownership and insurance slip. Who was Tim, and how did the girl know him? Mike’s instincts had his mind back in cop mode working the facts.

He’d taken her stuff out of the car in hopes of finding out who she was, but the only thing he’d found was a change of clothes, a gun, and a wad of cash. No ID, not even a license. That had his alarm bells ringing, but based on his years of experience in law enforcement, he didn’t peg her as a criminal either.

Maybe he should have just handed her shit over to the New Brunswick PD and been done with her, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Something about her made him hold off on that decision. He knew the kind of fear she faced. He could see it in her eyes. He’d lived through the same kind of fear, too. His only saviors had been Annie, the cabin, and Rocky.

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