Page 28 of Her Mountain Christmas
I’ve always liked my house, but it never felt like a home the way it does with her here.
A thunderous knock rattles my front door in its frame, and I frown, setting the fire poker down. The knock sounds again just a few seconds later, a relentless pounding that makes mystomach twist. Who the fuck would be knocking on my door like that on Christmas Eve?
Ella’s singing cuts off, her voice replaced by the creak of floorboards as she steps into the living room.
“Jack?”
I don’t answer. Instead, I stride to the front door, my body blocking her from view as I pull it open.
Cold air rushes in, matching the frost in the eyes of the three people on my porch. There’s a man in a tailored overcoat, his salt-and-pepper hair slicked back, his jaw set like granite. Beside him is a woman with Ella’s blond hair, but her face is all sharp angles, her lips painted scarlet red. Between them stands a younger guy in a suit, holding a briefcase like it’s a shield.
The man’s gaze flicks past me, narrowing. “Jack Carter?”
“Yes?” I know who they are, what they want, and it’s not happening.
The woman’s lips curl in a small sneer. “We’re here for our daughter.”
I don’t move, and I can feel Ella behind me. “She’s not going anywhere.”
The lawyer clears his throat. “Mr. Carter, I’m Trevor Whitmore, legal counsel for the Montgomery family. This is William and Regina Montgomery. We’d like to speak with Ella.”
Ella’s fingers graze my back, and I can hear her shallow breathing. I reach back without looking, my hand finding hers, squeezing.
William Montgomery’s voice is smooth, practiced. “You’re in over your head, whatever game she’s roped you into here. Step aside.”
I don’t. Instead, I lean forward just enough to make him take half a step back. “You’ve got five seconds to explain why you’re on my property before I call the RCMP.” I’m good friends withthe local police chief. One call is all it would take to send these clowns packing.
The cold nips at my skin as I step onto the porch, but it’s nothing compared to the ice in my veins. I stand tall, dark satisfaction running through me at the way they all cower back slightly. My pulse hammers in my throat, but I keep my voice perfectly controlled.
“She’s not going anywhere with you.”
Regina Montgomery’s gaze flicks over my shoulder, her lips curling. “This is absurd. Look at this place.” She waves a manicured hand at my house, her nose wrinkling like she’s smelled something rotten. “Our daughter does not belong in some backwoods shack with a man old enough to be her father.”
“Enough.” My voice is loud, sharp. “She’s safe. She’s happy. And she’s staying.”
William exhales through his nose, adjusting his gloves like this is all beneath him. “Mr. Carter, you’re clearly not thinking rationally. Ella is ours. She belongs with her family, not shacking up with some stranger like a used up whore.”
“Watch your goddamn mouth.” My tone is low, dangerous. My fingers twitch at my sides. One wrong word, and I won’t be responsible for what happens next.
Trevor clears his throat, stepping forward and clearly trying to play peacemaker. “Mr. Carter, we understand you may have… concerns. But Ella is an adult, and this…” He gestures vaguely at the house. “Well, it just isn’t a sustainable situation. Her engagement to Bradford Guilfoyle has already been announced. Reputations are at stake.”
A laugh claws up my throat, bitter and dark. “You mean your reputations. Not hers.”
Regina’s eyes flash. It’s astonishing how much she and Ella look alike, and yet they’re so, so different. “You have no idea what you’re involving yourself in.”
“I know exactly what I’m involving myself in. And I know exactly what she’s running from. She told me everything.”
Ella steps onto the porch then, and her small hand slides into mine, our fingers weaving together effortlessly. When I glance down, I see a woman with her chin high, her shoulders squared like she’s ready to face whatever lies ahead. My chest tightens. There she is. Not the trembling girl from the storm, but the woman who ran, who chose herself. And fuck if that doesn’t make me prouder than I’ve ever been.
Regina’s eyes lock onto our joined hands like a laser. Her lips peel back. “Ella Montgomery, what do you think you’re doing?”
Ella doesn’t flinch, nor does she take the bait. “Hello, Mother. How did you find me?”
William’s voice is barely more than a sneer. “We traced your credit card to this little backwater burg. Get your things. We’re leaving. Now.”
Silence presses down on us as snowflakes fall lightly from the sky. Ella stares unflinchingly at her parents. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Regina’s laugh is a brittle thing. “Oh, darling, you’re being ridiculous. This is a tantrum,” she says, gesturing at me, the house, our joined hands. “A childish, embarrassing tantrum. Bradford is waiting. Do you have any idea what you’ve cost this family? How you’ve humiliated us?”
