Chapter 10
Ten
Jack
It’s the afternoon of Christmas Eve, and Ella and I are cozy at home.
She’s baking shortbread in the kitchen, humming along to the Christmas music playing, and I’m building a fire in the fireplace.
This morning, she came with me to help out at a soup kitchen in Canmore, and now we’re settling in for the day.
It’s snowing again, but the flakes are small and light this time.
Everywhere I look, I see little signs of Ella around my house, and it makes my heart expand in my chest. Her coat on the hook by the door, her small boots lined up beside my much larger ones.
Her toothbrush beside mine in the bathroom.
The smell of her on my sheets. The sound of her off-key singing from the kitchen.
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 my stomach 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 with the 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?”
Ella’s grip tightens in mine. “I don’t care. You’ve never given a shit about me or what I want, so why should I do the same for you?”
I don’t take my eyes off her parents, but I see the way her throat works, the way her free hand curls into a fist at her side. She’s not backing down, and I couldn’t be prouder.
William’s jaw clenches. “This ends now. You will come home, you will apologize, and you will marry Bradford as planned. Or so help me, Ella, you’ll be cut off without a cent. That credit card you rely on won’t work anymore.”
Ella exhales, slow and controlled. “I don’t need your money. I don’t need anything from you.”
The words land like a grenade. Regina’s face goes slack. William’s nostrils flare. I feel the shift in the air as they realize she’s not the same girl who left Edmonton. That she’s not theirs anymore.
My girl just drew a line in the snow.
And I’m right the fuck here to make sure they don’t cross it.
Regina starts to talk, but Ella cuts her off. “You’ve never loved me. Not the way a parent should love a child.”
Regina flinches slightly, but Ella doesn’t stop.
“You’ve never listened to me or cared what I wanted. You tried to sell me off like chattel.” Her fingers tighten in mine again, and I give her a reassuring squeeze. She’s not alone. I’m right here. “You care more about optics and reputation than love.”
Regina scoffs, her red lips curling. “Stop being dramatic. This man is using you. You think he won’t dump your naive ass the second the money dries up?”
Ella doesn’t hesitate. “He didn’t even know who my family was when we met. He didn’t know about the money. He fell for me. Me. Not what I could give him.”
My chest burns with pride, possession, and love. So much love.
William’s voice is even colder than the wind swirling the flakes around us. “You’ll have nothing. No trust fund. No inheritance. No safety net.”
Ella lifts her chin, meeting their eyes. “I’m already richer than you’ll ever be in the ways that matter.”
The words seem to hang in the air, heavy with meaning. Regina’s face twists, her mask slipping completely. “You ungrateful little bi—”
I step forward, cutting her off. “That’s enough.”
But William clearly has more balls than brains, because he cranes his neck to look around me, sneering at Ella.
“Mark my words. You’ll come crawling back in six months when you get tired of slumming it.
You’ll be used up, probably knocked up, and broke.
And we won’t give a shit. It’s now or never, Ella. ”
She shakes her head and then meets his eyes. “Then I guess it’s never.”
The second William’s hand shoots toward Ella, something primal snaps inside me.
I move faster than I ever have in my life.
I plant my hands on his chest and shove, hard, watching as he goes flying into the snowbank below. The impact sends a spray of powder into the air. Then I’m down the steps, crouching over him before he can even push himself up. My voice is a lethal, barely contained growl.
“Try to touch her again, and I will end you.” His face twists, red with fury, but I don’t give a damn. I lean in closer, speaking through clenched teeth. “Get off my property. Now.”
Regina stands there, frozen like an ice sculpture. The lawyer stumbles back a step, his briefcase clutched to his chest.
“Mr. Montgomery,” he stammers, “I—I think we should go.”
William’s nostrils flare, snow clinging to his coat as he glares up at me. For a second, I think he’s going to come at me. I almost hope he does.
“Fine. Get up, William. We’re leaving,” says Regina.
She whirls away, snow kicking up behind her as she marches toward the sleek black car parked in front of my house. The lawyer scurries after her, and I watch with satisfaction as William struggles to haul himself out of the snowbank.
I stomp back up the porch, take Ella’s hand and pull her inside. I slam the door shut behind us and lock it, sealing us away. I turn, expecting tears, expecting her to be distraught, but she’s not.
She’s standing tall, cheeks flushed pink from the cold, her blue eyes bright, not with fear, but with victory. In this moment, she’s glowing. Radiant.
And mine.
“Sweetheart.” I lay my hands on her shoulders, thumbs brushing over the soft wool of her sweater. “Are you okay?”
She exhales, slow and steady, like she’s been holding her breath for years. Then she nods. “I feel… free.”
My chest cracks wide open, unable to contain the multitude of emotions I’m feeling.
I reach down and pick Ella up, needing her close, needing to feel her body against mine, and she lets out a surprised giggle as she winds her arms and legs around me.
God, she’s so small in my arms. I could carry her forever.
I think I will.
I bury my face in her neck, inhaling deeply.
She smells warm and sweet, like the shortbread she was baking earlier.
My hands tighten around her, my pulse roaring in my ears.
She chose me. She chose us. Stood up to them without flinching.
And that fire in her eyes when she told them never… it made me hard.
Protecting her felt good. So fucking good.
She pulls back just enough to meet my gaze, a soft smile curving her pretty lips. She looks wonderstruck. I know, because it’s how I feel right now. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart.” I crush her closer, my mouth finding hers before she can say another word. She melts into me, her body pliant and soft, and I swear I can taste the future in our kiss.
Sweet, bright, ours.