Page 18 of A Baby for the Mountain Man

I’m about to ask her what matters when it hits me. Maybe something happened to Sophie.

“Is she okay? Is she hurt?” I stumble over my words, barely able to get them out. “Is she—”

“Before you get all worked up, she’s fine.”

“Oh, thank God.” I drop to the couch in relief, resting my forearms on my knees. Head between them, I take deep breaths to calm my pounding heart.

“She’s actually on her way to Alaska.”

I straighten up. “She is?”

“Yep. I just dropped her off at the airport.” She pauses for a moment. “I was hoping you might go meet her flight.”

“Yeah, of course. Just send me the details.”

Still reeling from the rollercoaster of concern at my sister’s finding us out to fear for Sophie’s safety, I still haven’t fully processed the surprise that the woman who has been occupying my every waking thought—and most of the ones when I’m asleep too—will be on my turf in a few hours.

“Why is she coming to Alaska?”

“You can ask her about that when you pick her up in a few hours.” Winter pauses for a moment. “Could you do me another favor?”

“Sure.”

“When you see her, will you please… just really listen to what she has to say and think before you respond?”

I frown. “That’s a strange request.”

“But will you do it?”

“Yeah, of course.” I rub my hand over my beard. “I can do that.”

“Good. Because I think that once you hear what she has to say, you’ll realize it’s the best thing that could have ever happened to you.”

NINE

CLIFF

By the time I get to the airport, I think I’ve figured out why Sophie decided to Alaska and what she’s going to say.

She’s in love with me, and she thinks we should be together.

Okay, maybe love is too strong of a word. But she has to at least like me a lot. A woman doesn’t just get on a plane and fly to Alaska unless she has deep, serious feelings for you. Right?

A couple of weeks ago, the possibility of anyone having feelings for me would’ve sent me running. Now, knowing the person is Sophie… Maybe it’s not such a bad thing after all.

Not that we should jump into anything.

She lives in Seattle. I’m pretty set on my life here. Still, maybe, if we take our time and get to know each other a little better, we can have some kind of relationship.

But, first things first. I need to hear her out—like I promised Winter. And then, I need to do the grown-up thing and fill her in on some details of my past.

Fair is fair.

I pull up to the curb at the airport as Sophie steps outside. She’s wrapped in an oversized parker and wearing an adorable stocking cap with a pom-pom on the top along with some heavy boots. Winter must have given her a few tips on wardrobe before she boarded the plane.

Good, I want her to be comfortable while she’s here. Hell, maybe she’ll fall in love with this place the same way I did. It would make any hopes of a future relationship a lot easier if she did.

Putting the car in park, I jump out and call her name.

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