Page 91 of Wilderness Daddy

Her frown morphs into a grin, one that’s contagious, because it tells me she’s okay. Or at least she will be. “You mean it?”

“I do.” I pause midstride to turn and take her face in my hands again. “If I’ve learned anything on this trip, it’s that we make a great team and I don’t want to do anything important to me without you.” I kiss her before she can speak and when I pull back her eyes are closed and her smile radiant. It hits me in the gut hard. God, I love this girl.

“Where’s home?” she asks, blinking up at me.

“My place, baby girl.” I tuck her back under my arm and start walking again. “Our place. You’re moving to the cabin. You’re mine.”

“Is that so?” she asks coyly. “You own me now?”

“Uh huh,” I smirk. “But only if you let me.”

“I’m all yours.”

“Good girl.”

“How long before we’re roughing it again?”

My brows fly up at her words. “You sound eager. I figure you’d had enough rough for a while.”

“Mm, but Daddy, I love it rough with you.”

I’m hard the instant the innuendo is out of her mouth. “If you weren’t so banged up, baby...” I whisper the words on a sexually charged breath.

“You’re even more banged up than me,” she says and reaches up to touch my face. I chuckle, looking down at myself, suddenly aware of the aches and pains resulting from my tussle with Gillie.

“We’ll both be sore for a while.”

When the pines thin and the cabin comes into view, there’s a flurry of action and before I can register everything fully we are ushered into a chopper. I only have enough time to point the rescuers in the direction of Gillie and Red before we’re whisked off.

With the noise from the spinning blades slashing at the mountain air, Akari and I are silent, my hand rests on her knee and her arm wraps around mine. We both stare at the mountain as we’re flown away. I spot a cougar near the cabin and nudge Akari to point it out. The majestic animal seems to be watching us leave, but perhaps I’ve got a mild concussion from too many blows to the head.

On the ground, we’re ushered to an awaiting ambulance where they check us over. Grant and my parents are with a group of reporters, but rush to us as soon as they’re waved ahead by the police. Grant grabs me and pulls me into a brotherly embrace. My father and mother hug and fuss over Akari.

“Thank God!” Grant slaps my back and I wince a little where I’ve been bruised by Gillie. “When you didn’t show up at Wilson’s I called the game warden, Parker Jackson, and search and rescue. Parker found a teenager up there. Kid named Billy. They found him wandering around lost and hurt. Billy told them a story about his mother’s boyfriend and his brother and how they’d taken that woman, Lucy and you two. Parker and the RCMP have been swarming the mountain since.”

“The RCMP? Over some crazy hunters?” I rub my beard. Seems a bit excessive. Dismissing my thoughts, I ask, “Lucy’s safe, yeah?”

Grant nods and my shoulders relax a little. “They brought her down about a half an hour ago. She’s already been taken to the hospital. That big guy wouldn’t leave her side. He went with her. Parker and the cops followed, but they still want to talk to you two.”

“The wild man’s sweet on the blonde.” I wink at Kari, who’s being given oxygen and watching me like I might disappear. “I’m sweet on someone myself.”

I glance back noticing all the cameras. “What’s with all the cameras? Can’t be that big of a deal?”

Grant looks at me incredulously. “You two are huge news, bro.” He uses his hands to gesture a news headline. “Wilderness Man Rescue.” He’s got a shit-eating grin on his face. “Just wait till you see the offer the network has sent over for rights to show your footage and more. You’ve taken the world by storm and now with these crazy ass hunters taking you two, the media is going to go nuts. Which only means the offer they made before this shit came out is negotiable.” Grant’s lips cock up on one side and he rubs his hands together.

I shake my head and walk away from my brother, my eyes focused on only Akari, as he yells, “I’m your manager, bro, I’m taking care of it all.” And a thought has me turning back suddenly. I quickly ask him if he can arrange something for me. When a smile breaks out on his face and he nods, I leave him to figure it out.

Kari’s still being looked over by a rescue worker but now her father is at her side, lecturing her. I cock my brow, my hackles rising—the closer I get, the more I hear. I know she loves her family, and they were worried but for fuck’s sake she’s been through a hell of an ordeal and being lectured is the last thing she needs. She’s on bloody oxygen, for fuck’s sake.

“...a childish decision like this risking your life and...” I only catch a snippet but don’t hesitate to cut Mr. Takahashi off. He’s lost weight and looks pale, but worried or not, he needs to back off.

“Hey, how’s she look?” I ask the medic who’s just finished checking her blood pressure and wraps her in foil blanket much the same as the one that made up our shelter.

“Blood pressure is a bit high, but that’s completely expected with everything you’ve been through. Oxygen was a bit low but we’re taking care of that. I’d like to take her in anyway, but my guess is with some proper rest and a good meal she’ll be good as new.” He looks sideways at Mr. Takahashi. “Medic’s orders. Rest and recuperation. No stress.”

I speak up before Mr. Takahashi can. “Let’s get her going then.” The medic helps her into the ambulance and I hop in with her when her father tries to climb in, the medic gives him a stern look.

“We need to take Mr. Steed in as well. No room for family. You can meet us there.”

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