Page 13 of Mountain Reawakening

“Well, look at you Tanner. I see you landed on your feet.” A petite woman with a stylish dark bob dressed in trendy chocolate athleisure wear purses her lips as she surveys us. She’s holding hands with a dark-haired little girl in a pink dress who seems to be about Maisie’s age.

“Aundrea, what are you doing here?” he all but growls.

“We’re staying at the Bar S Resort. What are you doing here?” she counters.

“I live here.”

“Huh, well that tracks. We better be going. Nice to see you’ve replaced us.” She smirks and waves her fingertips before flouncing down the sidewalk.

We continue to the park, but the joy has been sucked out of the outing. Acid swirls in my belly and my heart races at the implication that woman left hanging in the air. I had given up on Tanner having any red flags, but I was right, a guy like him would be too good to be true.

The tension doesn’t leave Tanner, and he’s no longer engaging Maisie. Fortunately, she doesn’t notice the strain now hanging around us. She chatters as we walk along, filling the silence between Tanner and me.

When we get to the park, she races toward the play structure and the other children. Instead of following her, Tanner turns to me.

“Who is she? Is it true? Are we just a replacement?” I cross my arms over my waist, trying to hold myself together.

His brows furrow and he shakes his head. “Please, it’s not how she made it sound. That was my ex-fiancée. I was enlisted when we met. I was so happy when I found out she was pregnant. We got engaged, and I didn’t re-up when the time came. When Angie was born, it was, up to that point, the best day of my life. The next day was the worst when Aundrea told me I wasn’t her father. Apparently, she couldn’t handle my deployments and had cheated on me. She left me to marry Angie’s father. I was devastated by her betrayal and losing what I thought was my child.

“Yes, when I first learned Maisie was the same age as Angie it was a punch to the gut, but in no way are either of you a replacement. I certainly wasn’t on a quest to find a stand-in family. I had given up on the idea of even having one. Meeting and getting to know the two of you reawakened me. It made me realize I’ve only been going through the motions each day, not actually living. I love you both for the people you are and not because you serve as a stand-in for someone else.”

My heart aches for him and what he went through. I can’t imagine thinking you have a child only to have her ripped away from you so cruelly. I rub my lips together as I consider his explanation.

“I’m so sorry she did that to you. It must’ve been horrible. It’s just that this is a lot to take in. Maybe if you’d told me about them before, but now it feels like you were hiding it. If you were hiding it, then maybe deep down there’s some truth to what Aundrea said.”

He shakes his head. “Not even a little bit. I just hadn’t gotten around to telling you about it. It’s not something I ever talk about, and I wasn’t looking forward to it. I’m sorry now I haven’t. But I’m actually thankful for how things turned out with Aundrea, because what I felt for her doesn’t even come close to what I feel for you. Had I married her, I would’ve missed out on having you and Maisie. You two complete my world. Please don’t let her ruin what we have.”

My gaze goes to Maisie playing with a boy and a girl about her age. She’s been flourishing even more with Tanner in our lives, and there’s no doubt she’s in love with him. I don’t want to think about what not having him in our lives would do to her.

His reasoning makes sense, and he’s done absolutely nothing to make me doubt him since we’ve been together. It’s just my own history that’s making it hard to trust. Tanner’s already proven over and over what a good man he is. I shouldn’t hold his past against him. He certainly doesn’t hold mine against me.

I’m already in love with him. My heart’s going to take a beating no matter when this ends between us, whether it’s now or something happens down the road. I owe it to all of us to not let either of our pasts stand in the way of what could be an amazing future.

I look away from Maisie and meet Tanner’s gaze. “I’m going to trust you, because you’ve done nothing to make me think I shouldn’t.”

His eyes fall closed briefly as his body slumps, the tension draining out of him. When they open he reaches for me and mumbles, “Thank fuck.”

His hands cup my cheeks. “I promise I’ll make sure you never regret it. Thank you for choosing to trust me. Not only about my past, but with your and Maisie’s hearts. They’re safe with me and I promise they always wil be.”

He presses his lips to mine with a kiss filled with promise. I get lost in the moment as I do every time his kisses me. I lean into his heat and my heart settles as my pulse races. Peace washes over me at being in his arms.

The automatic calming of my nervous system tells me everything I need to know. I’ve found my safe space in this man.

Epilogue

Tanner

Chaos reigns in our backyard for Maisie’s fifth birthday. Of course she is a social butterfly and insisted on inviting everyone she knows. And because she’s so lovable and no one can say no to her, they’re all here. I swear half of the town of Coyote Creek is gathered. My whole team, plus the forest rangers we work with and their families, and friends she’s made in preschool and their families.

Kids are screaming and yelling in the bounce house we rented, while others are waiting in line for the pony rides. I may have gone a little overboard with the ponies and a bounce house, but damn it, my girl deserves the world, and I fully intend to give it to her.

Both of them.

My eyes sweep the area in search of Ella amongst the guests as I man the grill in the endless mission to keep this party in burgers and dogs. I finally spot her chatting with Sky Morris, Blair Hogarth, and Izzy Dickenson. They’re all wives of some of the forest rangers the search and rescue team works closely with. I’m happy she’s found friends here and has settled into our charming little town.

I’m even happier to be living in the farmhouse she inherited from her father with her and Maisie. It’s nice to have the space and privacy I’ve always wanted. Even better that I found a family to share it with.

I would go through all the pain I endured before again because it was completely worth it to lead me to them. I’m finally living the life I thought I’d have all those years ago, but it’s so much better than I ever imagined. And it’s all due to the woman and little girl who are my whole world now.

“Looks good on you.” Alana grins as she comes to stand next to me.

I shrug a shoulder, glancing down at the kiss the chef apron I’m wearing. “Maisie gave it to me, so of course I had to wear it.”

Her head falls back as she laughs. “Not the apron! The family. Seeing you happy. It’s great to see. You finally lost that chip on your shoulder.”

“Well I can’t disagree with you there.” I wink, but my lips turn down when our phones simultaneously go off. “Shit.”

Cash Perry, who’s also on our SAR team, joins us as they do. “What’s the details?” he asks Alana, who reads the call.

“Looks like just a pack out. Thirty-three-year-old female, possible broken ankle. Not a full search, thankfully.” She looks up. “We got this, boss, you stay and man the party, wouldn’t want to disappoint the birthday girl. We’ll have Miss Meyer packed out and delivered to the ambulance before the party’s over.”

Cash’s brows furrow as he frowns. “Wait, did you say Meyer?”

Alana nods, holding her phone up, screen out. “Yep, says the patient is an Ashlynn Meyer. Why? Know her?”

Cash squeezes the back of his neck, and blows out a lungful of air. “I used to.”