Page 8 of Mountain Man Protector

“Right. Well, we need to watch her, make sure she doesn’t reject any of the kittens. I already prepped the box with lots of clean towels. After they feed the first time, I’ll switch out the soiled ones. Then bring her some food. I also read that you can put a heating pad under them if they seem cold, but they should huddle with each other or she’ll keep them close.”

“Wow, look at you, Mr. Caregiver. I’m impressed.” Addy curled up next to me and for the next half hour we watched mama cat nurse.

“Do you know who papa cat is?”

“I have my suspicions. Beatrix just showed up one day. Obviously, someone dumped her. Unfortunately, we see a lot of that and normally we take the cats or the dogs to the shelter, but there was something about her. She did get out a few nights before I was able to get her into the vet, and by that time, it was too late. She was preggers.”

Her body stiffened, but I brushed it off. Maybe she wasn’t used to being around cats?

“And you kept her, anyway.” Addy’s eyes had gone soft, as if I was some kind of cat saving hero. Maybe I was. But I wouldn’t be able to keep the kittens and had to find new homes for them.

“Well, yeah. You’ll see. Beatrix’ has this indefinable energy that just pulls you in. Like you.”

Addy squirmed and rung her hands, her discomfort at my comparison obvious. “Oh. Um, when do you think we can we hold them?” Her quick change of subject threw me, but I wasn’t going to let it keep me from getting closer to her.

“Not for a bit. They need to eat and sleep and we need to make sure she accepts them. But back to your question about their parentage. We have a friend who lives north of here and he has a black cat who fits the bill. You accused me of frowning too much that first night we met. Just wait till you meet him. He fits the mountain man grump persona to a T. But he’ll also give you the shirt off his back. We’re hoping to bring him in for group sessions once we get up and running.”

Addy kept her attention on the kittens as they began nursing. One worry down. Now I just needed to make sure they stayed warm and Beatrix didn’t show any signs of distress or pain until I took her and her brood into their first veterinarian checkup. I made a mental note to call later in the morning to set it up.

We sat in silence for quite a while and watched the new family. Soon, both our stomachs were growling, reminding me how we’d chosen each other over our dinner. “Looks like Beatrix has things under control. And I need to feed you.” I pulled Addy up, flush against me. My dick swelled from the mere brush of her curves and I would have carried her back to bed were it not for another loud rumble from my empty stomach.

We reheated the food and sat at the kitchen table with only the light over the sink on. Romance at its best at four thirty in the morning. “So, how come you don’t do relationships?” I blurted out the question before my brain had fully kicked in, and from the look on her face, I’d caught her off guard. “I’m sorry. That was rude. Let’s blame it on sleep deprivation. You don’t have to answer that.”

But I really wanted to know.Dammit, the last thing I wanted was to scare her off now that I had her back in my bed.“I’ll clear the table. You go back to bed. We can get a few more hours of sleep before we have to start the day.” I scraped the plates into the disposal, my back to Addy. I expected to hear her footsteps padding down the hallway, but she remained at the table.

“No. Don’t apologize. I made it a big deal that first night, so it’s a fair question. I don’t make the guys I date swear to just one night. In fact, you were the first. I haven’t, well, been with anyone since…since my last serious relationship.”

“Oh.” What do I say to that? But more importantly, how did I feel knowing she’d chosen me? Damn happy, that’s how. “That’s hard to believe that you wouldn’t have a dozen men or more wanting to date you.”

Her loud snort made me turn around. I leaned against the edge of the sink, crossed my arms and looked at her. Really looked at her face. She looked sad, then resolved.

“That’s nice of you to say, I think. But I get it. I’m in my prime dating era, right? But, the last guy’s jealousy was too much. And I just didn’t want to deal with anything like it ever again. Then my brother died, and I began practicing with a focus on trauma therapy and it was just easier to not date.”

Or it was easier to hide from being hurt again. That I could understand after watching my mother, then my sister, deal with toxic relationships. Might even be part of the reason I stayed single.

“Well, you won’t have to worry about me. I learned a long time ago that jealousy is a wasted emotion. If you love someone, and are committed to making a relationship work, you have to be secure in yourself.” Time to change the subject back to one we could both agree on. I pushed off the counter and walked over to Addy and held out my hand. “Let’s go back to bed.”

Her head tipped back to look at me, her long blonde hair fell around her shoulders and all I could think of was burying my hands in her silky waves while I pounded my aching cock into her. I tried to convince myself that this would be enough for me, for now.

“You almost sound like a family therapist. How’d you become so wise?” Her sassy smile was my breaking point as I hauled her up out of the chair and pulled her hard into me.

“Just living life. Watching others make mistakes. Learning from them. But right now, I’m thinking we have better things to do with the rest of our time before the real world intrudes once again, don’t you?”

SEVEN

ADDISON

It had beentwo days since I spent the night with Ridge and watched over Beatrix and her tiny, adorable brood. It had been eye-opening and messy, but Ridge had taken it in stride even though he said he’d never had a cat before. She’d chosen him, wandering into his life a few months ago as he finished building his cabin.

After getting the new family settled and fed, we’d collapsed back into his bed and overslept. Although the wake-up portion had been spectacular, the freakout that followed had been embarrassing. I knew he had no idea I’d thrown up the dinner we’d finally had after the kittens were born. The irony of the situation had been—overwhelming.

I managed to clean up and brush my teeth using a finger and his toothpaste without him discovering, hopefully, what really occurred in the bathroom.

And I did something I’d never done before. I wrote him a note. Told him I’d call him later and snuck out. But I never did. For two days. Then he finally called me. Then texted me. And I continued to avoid him as I tried to make sense of the possibility that I was pregnant.

I’m not sure how I functioned at work as I alternated between throwing up and freaking out until I knew the only way to get through this was to stop freaking out every time I puked and call Zoe and Mika.

Checking my phone to confirm they’d both be home from work, I texted an SOS to meet at my place.

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