Page 23 of A Baby for the Mountain Man

One so big, it made him question everything when I told him I was carrying his child.

And... I can’t blame him for that. Yes, he hurt me, but it wasn’t from a place of cruelty.

It was from a place of hurt and bad experience.

“Sophie, I’m—I’m sorry for how I reacted.”

“I understand.”

“No.” He shakes his head. “The way I behaved is inexcusable. You’ve never given me any reason not to trust you. Not when we met years ago, and especially not over Valentine’s. I’m really sorry.”

“Okay. I forgive you. I also understand if you need to take some time to think about everything and… decide how involved you’d like to be.”

I pause, needing a moment to control my emotions before I say this next bit. “The door will always be open if you decide you’d like to be in.”

“About that. After you left, I got to thinking. And, I—I want to have this baby with you. Not out of a sense of obligation or duty. Though I won’t lie, I do feel one. A responsibility, that is.” He runs a hand over his beard. “I’m saying this badly. But, the point is, I want to do this with you. I want to raise this baby together.”

My bottom lip begins to tremble, but I capture it with my upper lip before I can give myself away. “Why?”

“Because it’s you.” He takes a tentative step toward me. This time, I hold my ground instead of retreating. “And somehow, I’m not entirely sure how, I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life without you.”

A sob escapes me. Before I can put up a fight—before I can decide if I want to—Cliff folds me into his arms.

The tears flow freely down my cheek, soaking his flannel-covered chest. All the while, Cliff presses light kisses to the top of my head while gently stroking his hands around my back.

All of the worries, all of the fear, all of my heartbreaking disappointment from his reaction eases away until it completely disappears.

When I’ve cried all the tears I think I can manage, I ease back in Cliff’s embrace so I can study his face. My breath catches when I see the unshed tears swimming in his dark eyes.

“I love you, Sophie.”

Four simple words, but they mean more to me than any long speech ever could. Especially because I know how hard they are for him to say. It makes them mean even more.

Coming from him, they mean everything.

ELEVEN

SOPHIE

Several weeks later, I once again find myself back in Seattle and on an exam table in the doctor’s office.

Only this time, Dr. Bennet is accompanied by an ultrasound tech. And I’m accompanied by a certain dark-haired brooding man who has half the office’s staff shivering under his glare and the other half quivering.

I’m neither quivering nor shivering on this visit. With my hand firmly clasped in his, and his other arm resting over my shoulders, I’m oddly peaceful.

I expected to be that familiar and unsettling mixture of excitement and nerves going into this appointment. Who wouldn’t be the first time they’re getting to see their baby in an ultrasound?

But as excited and nervous as I’ve been throughout this whole process, today I’m just hopeful and happy. Hopeful that everything is okay with the baby but happy knowing that whatever we see, whatever we find out, I have Cliff at my side.

The tech squirts gel on my exposed belly, and I flinch slightly. Cliff strokes my upper arm and brings my other hand to his lips.

“You okay?” he asks.

I nod, and my belly does a little flip as I stare into his eyes. “I’m better than okay.”

His lips curve into a small half-smile against my fingers. My heart fills with love for him. I know he’s still nervous. I know that he’s still adjusting to this huge change in everything that he had planned for his life.

But he’s here, and he’s trying. That’s what matters.

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