Chapter 5
BECCA
I woke up on Christmas morning to the sound of Rod's steady breathing. His arm was wrapped protectively around my waist like it belonged there. The cabin was quiet except for Killer's occasional snores from his bed near the woodstove.
Outside the window, a fresh blanket of snow sparkled in the early-dawn light.
It hit me as I was lying in Rod's bed on Christmas morning that I was in love. Not just with him, but with all of this. This life.
Just a few days ago, I'd been lost and preparing to be dinner to a grizzly. But after an accidental fall into the creek, my grumpy mountain man rescued me.
Now I was naked in his bed and my body was still pleasantly sore from last night's activities.
Rod had been so gentle with me when he took my virginity a few nights ago, so patient and caring. But last night, he showed me what it meant to be thoroughly claimed by a man who knew exactly what he wanted.
I turned carefully in his arms to study his face in sleep. Without the scowl he often wore during the day, Rod looked younger when he rested. Almost peaceful. His strong jaw relaxed, and his dark lashes fanned against his cheeks.
I traced the outline of his lips with my gaze, remembering how they felt against my skin or quirked up at the corner when he was amused but trying not to show it.
"You're staring." Even with his eyes closed, he could feel me watching him.
I smiled and snuggled closer. "Merry Christmas."
Rod's eyes opened and immediately focused on me. "Merry Christmas, baby girl."
The pet name sent a shiver through me. I loved when he called me that. It made me feel protected and cherished.
He pulled me closer and kissed my forehead. "Cold?"
"No. Just happy." I tucked my head under his chin. "Really happy."
His large hand smoothed down my back. "Good. That's how it should be."
We lay there for several minutes, just breathing together, his hand tracing lazy patterns on my skin.
"What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" Rod ran a fingertip along my jaw, always knowing when my mind was spinning.
I hesitated before answering. "I'm thinking that I don't want this to end."
His hand paused on my back. "This?"
"This." I gestured vaguely at the cabin around us. "Being here. With you. Away from the traffic and noise and people who want things from me all the time."
Rod hummed thoughtfully. "City life not all it's cracked up to be?"
"I hate it." It wasn’t easy to admit, but the truth spilled out before I could filter it. "I thought I wanted that crazy lifestyle and worked so hard to get there. But I'm always rushing, always stressed. I never sleep. My apartment is tiny and costs more than this entire mountain probably did."
"Doubt that." Rod chuckled.
"You know what I mean." I poked his chest playfully. "I'm just...happier here than I've been in years. Maybe ever."
Rod's arms tightened around me. "What if you don't go back?"
I laughed, thinking he was joking. "Right. I'll just become your mountain girl overnight."
"Why not?" His voice held no trace of humor, and I knew he was serious.
I propped myself up on one elbow to look at his face. "Rod, I can't just...move. I have an apartment and responsibilities."
"You said you work at home, so that should be fine. Apartments can be sublet. Responsibilities can be rearranged." He reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "I'm not saying right this second. I'm saying...what if?"
My heart pounded in my chest. "You'd want that? Me...here? All the time?"
"Been thinking about it since the day you arrived." His thumb traced my lower lip. "You fit here, Becca. With me."
I opened my mouth to respond, but a cold nose suddenly pushed between us, followed by a large furry head.
"Killer!" I laughed as he tried to join our cuddling. "Merry Christmas to you too, buddy."
Rod groaned but scratched the dog's ears affectionately. "Great timing as usual, mutt."
Killer wagged his tail happily, completely oblivious to the monumental conversation he'd just interrupted.
I noticed the dog's expectant look. "I think someone needs to go out."
"I'll take him." Rod kissed my forehead and rolled out of bed, gloriously naked and completely unselfconscious about it. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and grabbed a hoodie. "You stay warm. I'll start coffee on my way back."
"Thank you, Daddy." I burrowed back under the thick blankets and watched as he and Killer headed out. The dog was prancing excitedly at the prospect of fresh snow.
When they returned, Rod's cheeks were flushed from the cold and his hair was dusted with snowflakes. He looked so ruggedly handsome it made my chest ache. This man had saved me, taken care of me, and now he was suggesting I could stay.
Forever.
The thought both terrified and thrilled me.
The smell of coffee soon filled the cabin, and I finally dragged myself out of bed. I stole one of Rod's flannel shirts and a pair of his thick socks, both comically oversized on me, and padded into the kitchen area.
Rod turned from the stove where he was scrambling eggs, and his eyes darkened at the sight of me in his clothes. "That's a good look on you."
I twirled, the shirt flaring around my thighs. "You think?"
He abandoned the eggs to cross to me in two long strides. His hands gripped my waist, and he lifted me onto the counter. "I think you wearing my clothes does things to me, baby girl."
"Good things?" I wrapped my legs around his waist.
"Very good things." He kissed me until the smell of burning eggs made him curse and rush back to the stove.
I laughed and hopped down to pour us both coffee. We moved around each other in the small area with surprising ease. I actually felt like I fit here, which I’d almost never felt before. After we ate, Rod took my hand and led me to the small Christmas tree in the corner of the living room.
It wasn't fancy, but it was perfect.
"I have something for you." He kissed my cheek and then retrieved a package from under the tree.
I blinked in surprise. "How did you get me a present? When?"
"I have my ways." He handed me the gift that was wrapped in what looked like a paper bag. It was so sweet that I almost cried.
After carefully unwrapping it, I gasped. It was my Stanley cup, the one I'd lost in the creek the day he rescued me. It was dented and scratched, but unmistakably mine.
"You went back for it?" I looked up at him, stunned.
He shrugged as if it was nothing. "Figured it might be important to you."
“Thank you!” I launched myself at him and nearly knocked him over. "You incredible man. You hiked back to that creek in the snow to find my stupid cup?"
"Not stupid if it matters to you." He simply held me tight, rocking us from left to right.
I kissed him fiercely, and then I remembered my own gift. "Wait, I have something for you too!"
I scrambled to retrieve the package I'd hidden behind the woodpile. "It's not fancy." I handed it to him.
Rod unwrapped it carefully. Inside was a mason jar I'd found in his pantry. On the side, I'd glued a heart cut out from one of his old magazines. Inside the jar were dozens of small paper strips.
"What's this?" He turned the jar curiously and looked at the papers through the jar.
"It's my heart," I said, suddenly feeling shy. "I know it's cheesy. But each piece of paper has something I love about you written on it."
Rod's hands stilled on the jar. "Something you...?"
"Love about you," I repeated softly. "Your kindness.
Your strength. The way you're so gentle with Killer even though you pretend to be annoyed by him.
How you make me feel safe. How tall you are.
How you make me laugh when I least expect it.
How you touch me like I'm precious. Your intense eyes. Your generosity. Your patience."
Rod carefully set the jar down and pulled out one of the slips. "The way you call me baby girl." He read the paper aloud, his voice husky.
He pulled out another. “When you put your hands over mine."
And another. "How you listen when I talk. Really listen."
I bit my lip nervously. "There's fifty of them. So you remember me when I’m gone."
"Becca." His voice broke on my name. He gathered me into his arms and held me so tight I could barely breathe. "I don't need reminders. I'd never forget a single thing about you."
I felt wetness on my cheeks and realized I was crying. "I know it sounds crazy, but Rod, I... I think I love you."
He pulled back just enough to look into my eyes. "It's not crazy. I loved you from the moment I carried you out of that creek."
And then he was kissing me. His hands tangled in my hair and mine clutched his shoulders. He lifted me easily and carried me to the bed. This time was different from all the others. Each touch, each kiss felt like a promise.
"My beautiful girl," he murmured against my skin as he undressed me slowly. "My sweet baby girl."
"Please, Daddy." It felt right to call him that. He took such good care of me, made me feel so protected.
His eyes darkened at the word. "You want Daddy to take care of you?"
I nodded, suddenly shy despite everything we'd already done together.
"Use your words, baby girl."
"Yes, I want you, Daddy."
Rod groaned and claimed my mouth in a bruising kiss. He took his time with me, worshipping every inch of my body until I was trembling and begging. When he finally pushed inside me, I felt complete and utter happiness. "You're mine," he growled against my neck. "Say it."
"I'm yours." I gasped as he moved within me. "All yours, Daddy."
He held my gaze as we moved together, something profound passing between us. This wasn't just sex. It was a claiming, a promise, a future unfolding between us.
When I shattered around him, crying out his name, he followed immediately and held me close. For a long time, we lay tangled together with my head on his chest.
"I meant what I said." He dragged his finger around my breasts and circled my nipples. "About you staying. Forever."
"I know." I traced patterns on his chest. "I want to. I really do."
"But?"
"But it's scary. Walking away from everything I thought I wanted."
Rod tilted my chin up. "What do you want now, Becca? Not what you thought you wanted a week ago. What do you want right now?"
I didn't even have to think about it. "You. This. Us."
"Then that's what we'll make happen." He said it with such certainty, as if rearranging our entire lives was as simple as deciding to do it.
But then I began to believe it could be that simple. “You’re already my home.”
Home. The word resonated through me. This cabin, this mountain, this man. They had become home from the minute I got here.
"I love you, Rod Muller." I tested the words again, and they still felt exactly right.
"I love you too, Becca White." He rolled me beneath him and smiled down at me with a real, full smile that transformed his usually stern face. "Best Christmas gift I ever got."
Six months later, I sat on the porch of our cabin and watched the sunset paint the mountains gold. Killer lay at my feet, and Rod's arm was around my shoulders.
It hadn't always been easy. There were a few arguments and adjustments we both had to make, but every morning I woke up in Rod's arms, I knew I'd made the right choice.
"Penny for your thoughts." Rod squeezed my shoulder.
I leaned into him and smiled. "Just thinking how glad I am that I fell into that creek."
He laughed, and the sound rumbled through his chest. "Best accident that ever happened to me."
"To us," I corrected and turned to kiss him.
Sometimes life's wrong turns lead you exactly where you're meant to be.
I had found my home, my Daddy, and my love in the most unexpected place. And I had never been happier.
Thank you so much for reading Daddy on the Mountain.