Mountain Man's Secret Baby

She kept the baby a secret.
But when I see my sister's best friend again...

My instincts go on overdrive.
Her curves - delicious and full.
Her beauty - better then I remembered.
Cassie is pregnant with my baby.

Now I have one goal:
Protect them both - or die trying.

Reader note: This is a FULLY standalone novel from my Mountain Men of Liberty Series, and a mountain man's secret baby, sister's best friend, romantic suspense. This is Jack and Cassie's story. Each book can be read on it's own. Transport yourself into the charming and magical town of Liberty, Utah as we follow several rugged mountain men in their quests to find lasting love on the mountains. Enjoy. I know I did!

Shit. Shit. Shit!

My heart felt like it would surely explode out of my chest. Jack Wiley was the one person in the entire world I wasn’t ready to see.

Of course he had to be in the very same store as me, at the same moment in time. Because why not?

As charming as it was living in Liberty, the small town had its downfalls.

I needed just a few things; it should have been a quick in and out. An errand for my mom, while she was home taking care of my father, who’d recently suffered a heart attack.

It also gave me a chance to stretch my legs and get some fresh air, which was more than welcomed these days.

My little trip was going just fine.

Until I saw him.

The sight of Jack’s boyish and masculine physique lit a warmth inside me.

Shoot! How long had it been since I’d been close to a man?

Exactly eight months. The last time I’d seen Jack, actually.

My mouth watered at the sight of him and I couldn’t help but notice that his arms had new tattoos, more than when I saw him last.

I imagined he had even more covering his chest and back.

I pictured the peaks and lows of his naked body.

All muscle. All man.

Get a hold of yourself, woman, I scolded myself.

Jack’s chestnut hair was just long enough to graze his chin, the beginnings of a beard outlining a perfectly chiseled jaw.

His large stature was hard to miss; he towered over pretty much everyone in town and had arms the size of tree trunks.

And who could forget that ass?

The one that could make jean makers weep. A body like his could make anything look good.

He was a sight for sore eyes indeed.

Except I didn’t want to see him. Not yet. Not like this.

Jack turned the corner just as I ducked behind an end cap of cereal stacked eight feet high.

I should be safe here, I thought to myself as I swung around the side. I took a deep breath, but the relief didn’t last long because the cereal boxes started to shake.

“No, no, please,” I whispered, trying to grab one of them. It was like a game of Jenga, however, and when one box got knocked loose, they all tumbled down.

All eight feet of cereal boxes fell to the floor with a crashing sound that drew the attention of everyone in the small grocery store.

Including Jack.

“Cassie?”

Dammmmmit!

“Hi Jack,” I said, waving awkwardly from the other side of the mostly empty display. The cereal boxes hid most of me still, which was a blessing for the moment.

“What are you doing back in town?” He averted his gaze for a second as if he had trouble looking at me. Considering how we’d left things, I wasn’t surprised.

“Uh, I guess you haven’t heard,” I replied. “My dad had a heart attack. He’s fine, he’s recovering at home already, but I came back to help my mom and sister take care of him.” I nibbled my lip. That wasn’t the whole truth but he didn’t deserve to know every detail of my life. Not after everything that went down.