I could never say something like that to my sister because she wouldn’t understand falling in love in the blink of an eye.

  But Rosie and Harper seem to understand exactly what I’ve gone through.

  “So what happens next?” I ask just as the door opens and in walk our three men.

  Harper takes my hand squeezing it tight. “Now you go get what you want.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  We tell Janice off just like she deserved.

  “Okay,” she sputters. “I get that you’re calling it quits for the day. But you will be back tomorrow. On set, correct?”

  I shake my head, rolling my eyes, so done with her. Only wanting one thing at the moment: to get to Stella.

  Rosie and Harper took her under their collective wing and guided her to the cabin, so at least I know she’s safe. At least I know she isn’t going anywhere.

  I grab her suitcase out of the towncar; toss it in the back of my truck. Buck and Jaxon get in their own trucks and in minutes we leave the construction site headed for home.

  The idea of another set of twins doesn’t scare me. I’m not mad. That’s not what has my heart racing and my blood pumping.

  What has me torn up right now is thinking about her for the past month, knowing all this and worrying about the babies, and not having anyone to confide in, rely on. Not having me to hold her hand and carry her heart.

  It kills me that she’s been doing it all alone.

  Because I’ve been doing it alone with twins ever since they came to me. Ever since my brother died. And it’s been a long fucking road. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, let alone the woman I love.

  Pulling up at Jaxon’s house, I turn off my truck and slam the door. I head to the door with Buck and Jaxon right behind me.

  We walk inside and I see the girls crouched in front of Briar and Finn and my heart surges.

  Drops.

  Leaps.

  Soars.

  Fuck it, I don’t know what my heart is doing.

  And I’m not waiting.

  For permission or for anything. I walk to Stella and I get down on one mother fucking knee.

  “Oh, baby, baby.” I wrap my arms around her waist, and her arms reach around my neck. And I kiss her belly. The belly that holds my babies, my future. My forever.

  And Briar and Finn are right beside us, and I wrap them in my arms too, kissing the tops of their heads, and then kissing Stella on the lips.

  This family is unconventional, made from broken pieces, but together we are whole and we are enough.

  “I love you, Stella. I love you now and I know it’s crazy and I know it’s fast. But it’s real.”

  I expect some sort of pullback on her part. Pullback in the form of fear or frustration or I don’t know what, but she doesn’t do anything except look in my eyes and nod ever so softly.

  And say the word yes.

  Yes.

  Yes.

  And I kiss her again and when our lips collide, I don’t care that there are a dozen babies in this room watching our mouth on mouth moment. It doesn’t matter, I want these kids to know what love is.

  They are witnessing the real fucking deal.

  I pull back and Stella presses her hands to my cheeks, tilting my chin to her face. “I love you too Wilder. I love you forever.”

  Everything inside me is on fire. Alive and good and well.

  And Buck whistles behind us and Jax starts hollering and the girls are laughing and clapping and the babies are crying and maybe this is what it means to have it all.

  I have it all.

  Stella and I, we have it all.

  “You need to leave the twins here and get the heck out of Dodge for the night,” Jaxon tells us and I’m not gonna let him tell me twice.

  I take my woman’s hand, lace my fingers through hers, and I lead her out the front door.

  I’m gonna take her home.

  In my cabin, with the door behind us, I pull Stella in my arms.

  “This is insane. You know that right?”

  “I know,” she laughs.

  I cup her cheek with my hand looking down at her. I’d still be angry, except somehow Janice’s fucked up plan brought me together with the woman I love.

  I can’t be mad now.

  “Feels too good to be true, doesn’t it?” I ask her.

  She nods softly. Then looking up at me she says, “It feels too good to be true, but it is true, Wilder. Somehow we are right where we’re supposed to be.”

  “I was wondering what you were gonna think of the mountain. It’s a long-ass way from Seattle, can you do that Stella? Can I even ask you to do something like that? I don’t want to be that guy.”

  She shakes her head. “I know, that’s why I was so scared to say anything... Not sure if I was ready to give up the life I had. I love my job.”

  I narrow my eyes on her, trying to understand. “Do you love working for this TV show?”

  Stella shakes her head. “No, not necessarily. I love being an interior designer. And I wanted this job for the security. It pays really well and I knew it would help me get where I wanted to go.”

  “Where do you want to go?” I ask, confused. I thought I knew where she wanted to be. Right here, with me.

  “No, I... First I took the job because it was a paycheck. But then I got pregnant and suddenly the job became something else entirely. It became a way for me to support my child in case you weren’t in the picture.”

  “I am in the picture.”

  “I know. And I’m so glad. I just never want to feel stuck or trapped.”

  I run my hand over my beard. “I’m scared you’re gonna still feel trapped Stella. Being out here, in a life you don’t feel like you chose, a life you feel forced into? No, I don’t want you to wake up in a year and regret what you’ve done.”

  “I won’t regret you. I won’t regret these babies.” She takes my hand and presses it to her belly. Deep within her, our babies stir and I feel their feet press against my hand. Moving. Alive. Real. “It’s hard, though, I always thought I would be doing some sort of work. Now I guess my work will be taking care of my children.”

  I frown, trying to understand this woman I’ve given my heart to. “Baby, you know motherhood is not an all or nothing proposition?”

  “I’m not so sure, Wilder. My sister? She doesn’t do anything except take care of Nicolette, and Rosie and Harper, their whole world seems tied up in their children. And we’re not talking just one baby, but a lot of children. These babies, and Briar and Finn, are going to need all of my attention. All of me. And if I’m being honest, it’s frightening. And overwhelming. And I want to be brave. I want to be the best mother possible. There are too many people involved for me to do any of this half-assed.”

  I lift Stella’s chin, making sure she sees me straight on. “Baby, you want to go work halfway around the country for a TV show a few times a year? Good. I’ll be your champion. Those women you talk about? Rosie, hell, she’s down at her diner most mornings frying up eggs and flapjacks. And Harper, that girl may look sweet and innocent, but last year she started writing romance novels, all that steamy shit. Publishing them on Amazon all by herself. So when they need time to go work everyone helps out, pitches in. That’s what family does.”

  Stella isn’t having any of it. “Do you have family here, because I don’t? My parents and I aren’t close at all and my sister... Sometimes I feel like I understand her, but she’s not going to upend her life to come to Idaho to babysit.”

  “So we find someone to help us. We hire a nanny. We make it work. We’re in it together. Stella, you’re not doing this alone anymore. That’s the beauty of having a partner.”

  Tears fall from Stella’s eyes. “You mean you would support me? If I wanted to continue my business and be the mom, I could? I could do it all?”

  “Do it all?” I smile. “Baby, nobody can do it all. But together, we can do an awful lot.”

  “Together.”

  “Together,” I reinforce. And then I kiss her, softly, our lips parting, our babies between us. I kiss her, and she knows she isn’t in this alone.

  Not anymore.

  Epilogue

  5 months later ...

  I wake up with Wilder’s hard cock nestled in the crack of my ass. “Somebody woke up happy,” I tease.

  Wilder kisses my neck, sweeping my hair aside, then his warm hands cup my bare breasts.

  “You’re killing me, baby,” he groans. Nudging himself deeper behind me. Unable to resist, I move my hand to my pussy and press my fingers inside. I’m already wet and wanting, having had frantic dreams about Wilder all night long.

  “Take me before the babies wake up,” I murmur, and he laughs quietly. “Actually, take me before I go into labor. I’m telling you what, it’s gonna be any day.”

  Wilder doesn’t need any more prompting. Leaning on top of me is no longer an option because pregnancy is no joke. I’m huge, though Wilder insists that I’m as gorgeous as ever.

  “Baby, you’re so wet, so warm,” he tells me kissing my ear. I close my eyes as his massive cock presses inside of me, my pussy on fire, hot and alive. I smile in pleasure as he rocks his body against my backside. Cupping my tender breasts as he thrusts into me.

  “You feel so good,” I tell him. Pregnant sex is the best sex, I tell you what. And I’ve been so horny for Wilder, which works out well considering we’re still technically newlyweds.

  Our wedding was a TV special, which is absurd, but also pretty damn perfect. Because nothing about our story is conventional.

  But all of it was meant to be.

  After all the drama with the crew filming our intimate exchange on set–when I revealed that we were having twins, Wilder and I both seemed to wake up the next day less intense over the entire thing. Now that we had one another, we were perfectly fine with letting the whole world know.

  So the next day, Wilder went back to finish the cabin with Buck and Jax and let Janice know that she could have access to any of the footage she had used the day before.

  And moreover, he told her that I was a permanent part of the cast.

  “Baby, don’t stop,” I beg him, crying out as my body orgasms with him buried deep inside me.

  “Oh yeah,” he groans. “I’m gonna come so hard in you.”

  Loving him so deep inside me, I press my ass against him, needing more of my husband. Having all of him.

  I bite my lip as his hot come fills me. I close my eyes trying to catch my breath, so completely sedated.

  Wilder pulls his cock from me, his fingers running along my slit as if petting me to make sure everything is okay.

  Then with a pop, our life changes.

  “I think my water broke,” I gasp. We laugh, shocked and stunned.

  But oh so ready for this life we have chosen.

  ❤️❤️❤️

  The Mountain Man’s Babies:

  TIMBER

  BUCKED

  WILDER

  HONORED

  CHERISHED

  BUILT

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  Chapter 1

  Honor

  I keep one hand on the wheel as I wipe my eyes unsuccessfully, my minivan barreling down the highway as I leave the only life I’ve ever known behind. Tears streak my cheeks, my heart races, and even though there are three crying babies in the backseat of the beat-up van, I’ve never felt so alone in my life.

  Which isn’t saying much, considering I’m a sister-wife.

  People are always around. Always watching.

  Always judging.

  But no one sees me as I escape.

  My flip phone—the one I bought at Wal-Mart last week—buzzes. As it rings, milk seeps from my engorged breasts. Having a twelve-week-old baby will do that to a woman, especially when her infant is screaming from his car seat.

  I can’t pull over to answer the phone or nurse Titus because I have to keep driving. I must keep driving and never come back. With the windows down, the summer sun warms me up to the idea of a new forever. A forever I never considered for myself.

  Freedom.

  An hour later the babies are asleep and I pull over to fill the tank at a gas station. My stomach growls, but I don’t know if it’s from nerves or the fact I haven’t eaten in hours. I grab forty dollars from my wallet, debating taking another five for caffeine, but I don’t have that much to spare. Not now. The $112 I scrimped to save is for this escape, not to spend on frivolities. I packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and carrot sticks. I can have one of those while I drive.

  I hand the cash to the cashier, my eyes on the van.

  “You okay, sweetie?” she asks, pointing at the milk stains on my blouse. But I don’t have time to be embarrassed. You can’t afford to be when your children’s lives are at stake.

  “I’m fine,” I say, eying the Snickers bars on the counter.

  “Are you traveling alone?” she asks. I look up at her then, her gray hair clipped back, revealing pale blue eyes. I lower mine, not wanting to be noticed. Just wanting to get far away.

  “Yeah, it’s just my kids and me,” I say softly, knowing I have no man to protect me, take care of me—here or anywhere. Knowing I’ve never had a real man in my life. The father of my children is nothing but a cheat.

  She clucks her tongue, picking up the Snickers and handing it over. “Listen, mama, the chocolate’s on me, and grab yourself a coffee on your way out, okay?”

  My eyes fill with tears again. I need this more than she knows. I blink away the memory of leaving my sister-wives, without telling them I was going for good.

  But I needed more... and not just for me. For my children.

  For my sons.

  “Thank you,” I manage, wiping my eyes with the cuff of my hand-sewn blouse. “I don’t know why I’m crying.”

  “It’s the hormones. I remember. It’s been a long time, but you never forget.” She smiles warmly, then wags her finger at me, telling me to get a coffee to-go. I do as she insists.

  “Thank you,” I tell her, with 16-ounce cup of steaming coffee in one hand, pushing open the door with the other.

  “And remember to take care of yourself, honey,” she says as I leave.

  Pumping gas, I look at myself through the van window, seeing my sleeping babies all in a row, and I think that the cashier has no idea what my life has been like.

  Taking care of myself has never been an option. I haven’t slept a full night in years, but even through the haze of restless nights with a newborn cradled against my chest, I know that being a twenty-two-year-old with three children under three is not the reason I’m always tired.

  I screw the gas cap on and slide open the van door, unbuckling Titus, and as I reach over him his one-year-old brother Thomas stirs. I kiss his forehead, willing him to stay asleep. His two-year-old brother, Timothy, opens his eyes. They meet mine.

  “Shush, now, sleepy head,” I whisper, brushing a tendril of his blond hair away from his sweaty forehead. His head falls back, giving in to the sleep his tiny body craves as if he knows how badly I need him to stay quiet.

  With Titus in my arm, I sit in the driver’s seat, pushing the seat back so I can nurse him. He latches onto my nipple, my swollen breast releasing milk, and my entire body seems to relax for the first time in weeks.

  My babies are safe. I am sound. We can do this. We are doing this.

  I reach for the phone, seeing the missed call was from Harper. I press call back and listen to it ring, only once, before she’s on the line.

  “Honor? Are you okay? Is the plan still in place?”

  My eyes scan the empty parking lot, knowing that Luke won’t even notice I’m missing until tonight, when he looks around the supper table, at his other two wives, and realizes I’m not there. That three of his sons aren’t either.

  It’s my sister-wives, Kind and True that I have to worry about. They think I’ve left to do the grocery shopping... but eventually, they will realize I haven’t returned.

  “Yes,” I tell her, the only person I could think of calling when I got the courage to leave. After all, she was engaged to Luke four years ago, before he started a cult and everything changed. “I’m about ninety minutes away. It’s still okay, isn’t it... you haven’t changed your mind?” I sniffle, my emotions bubbling up again.

  “Of course, I haven’t changed my mind. You’re my cousin. Just focus on getting here.” Then, softening her tone, she adds, “That’s all you need to worry about now.”

  “Okay,” I tell her. “I’ll get back on the road. See you soon.”

  “I should have come and gotten you,” Harper says.

  “No. I needed to do this on my own. I needed to do this for my sons.”

  “You’re being really brave,” she adds her words a comfort I need more than she knows.

  Not wanting to cry, I tell her good-bye. Not feeling very brave. I just feel desperate. Desperate for my life to be more than it is now.

  I buckle Titus back in his seat, turn on the van, and put it in drive.

  Taking a bite of my chocolate bar, I look back at the gas station, thinking of the attendant. How sweet she was with me.

  She was right about needing to take care of myself.

  And I know that getting away from Luke is the first step in the right direction.

  It’s the best way I take care of my children. Of me, too.

  I needed to get them away from their father, away from his cult.

  I needed to run away in order to start over.

  Chapter 2

  Hawk

  I’ve made a lot of shitty decisions leading up to tonight, but damn, even as it was happening I knew it was an all-time low.

  It wasn’t the first time I’d been locked in the slammer. And not the first time I took the fall for my friends.

  After hours of sitting on a hard bench in a holding cell, Officer Bailey tells me bail was posted.

 

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