Page 20 of Wild Runaway
“You don’t need to do that, Joseph.”
Trish efficiently puts the changing mat away all with one hand cradling her daughter. She doesn’t get it yet. She doesn’t get that I’ll do anything for her and the baby.
I slide my arm around her waist and pull them both toward me.
Rose looks up at me in surprise. Her little hand reaches out and grabs my beard. When she tugs on it, her eyes open wide in shock at the way it feels. Then she giggles and yanks on it again.
“You got some strength in you.” I chuckle at the little girl. “You’ll make a good hunter one day.”
I’ve learned a few things about babies over the last few days, and it doesn’t take me long to mix the formula and get the bottle heating. While the milk’s warming, I put the coffee on.
It won't be light for another hour or so, but I love getting up in the predawn and getting out into the forest. Having a baby around the house suits me better than I ever thought it would. I’m used to early mornings.
When I go back to the bedroom, Trish is sitting up in bed singing nursery rhymes to Rose. I put the coffee down on the bedside table and hand her the bottle. Rose reaches for it greedily.
Before heading out, I stop at the bedroom door and spend a long moment watching them, Rose sucking hungrily while Trish sings softly to her daughter. My heart warms, and my chest expands. They’re everything I never knew I needed in my life. And I hope to hell I can make them mine.
Frost crunches under my boots as I head into the forest. The well-worn paths crisscross in the undergrowth and today I take the east track, planning to circle around to check each of my traps.
When I came to Wild Heart Mountain, I bought this piece of land covered in forest. I know it intimately and I’ve come to love it, the wildlife, the trees, the weather patterns.
I’m already thinking about how I’ll share it with Trish and Rose. The family walks I’ll take them on. I’ll teach Trish how to hunt and how to trap, how to live off the land.
My thoughts are flooded with the future as I come to the first trap.
There’s a bunny in it, a big one that’ll give us meat for the winter. I usually sell the pelts in town, but I’ll make something for Rose out of this one, a blanket and some mittens to keep her warm for the winter that’s coming.
Rabbit hide will make a good underlay for the crib, which I’ll have to build. There are a couple of pines near the cabin where the wood will be perfect.
The cabin will need extending, but that can wait till the spring. I don’t mind having Rose sleep with us for a few months.
We’ll need a room for Rose and maybe more rooms for mine and Trish’s kids.
The thought has me smiling. A few days ago, I would have run at the sight of a baby. But since meeting Trish, there’s nothing I want more than to see my home filled with children. Our children. And I already count Rose among my own. I feel as responsible for her as I do for her mother.
With more mouths to feed and a bigger family, I’ll have to hunt more. I’ll extend the veggie garden, and we’ll get a couple of chickens for fresh eggs. It’ll be an adjustment, but my heart warms at the thought of Trish, belly round with a baby inside her, tending to the veggie patch.
It’s a few hours later, and I’m on my way back with four bunnies strung over one shoulder and my hunting rifle over the other. There was no sign of deer today, but there’s always tomorrow.
I’m whistling as I walk, thinking about insulating the cabin. With winter coming and a baby to take care of, I’ll need to make some improvements.
I’m smiling to myself thinking about this new future as I come out of the thicket of trees near my cabin. I stop in my tracks.
There’s a flicker of white through the trees, a car that I don’t recognize. I drop to my knees and shrug the rabbits onto the ground.
My heart’s racing, but my military training kicks in. Silently, I ease the rifle off my shoulder and move forward across the forest.
The car is a beat up Honda and not one that I recognize. I’ll bet you anything that’s her asshole ex.
I whip my phone out and make a quick call to Prez, thankful that I installed a satellite dish on the cabin.
I explain the situation to the Prez and tell him I’m going in. The MC will be here as soon as they can, but I don’t know what’s happening inside the cabin and I need to get to Trish and Rose.
Dumping everything but the hunting rifle, I creep closer to the cabin.
From what Trish has told me about Ian, he’s the kind of guy who would bully a woman but shit his pants if he came up against anyone his own size. Well, he’s going to get the scare of his life. I want him to see who Trish has in her corner now, that there’s an entire MC protecting her.
But I have to be cautious. He’s a man with a wounded ego. His girlfriend and baby left him. That must hurt, and there’s no telling what he might do.
