Make You Mine (Honey Mountain, #3)

by Laura Pavlov

“I can’t thank you enough for doing this. And I mean it when I say that when you find what you want to do with your life, I’ll understand that it’s not this. I know this is temporary. Just give me a couple weeks’ notice when you want to bail, all right?” “Of course. But I’m planning to stay for a while if you’ll have me,”

I mean, this man was something straight out of a sexy firefighter calendar. He was tall with broad shoulders, glistening tan skin, and every inch of him was chiseled and hard.

He’d become a good family friend since he’d started working at the firehouse with my dad, and he’d been coming to our Sunday night dinners for the past few years. But lately, every time I was around him, I was a swoony fool. I didn’t know what the hell was going on with me. He was hot. Definitely hot. And I was human.

could be snowing outside, and I’d be warm if I were sitting close to this man.

Secretly crushing on my new boss was not a sin. Was it?

Jace sat back down. His muscles strained against his white tee and my mouth went dry. He had blue eyes that were the lightest blue I’d ever seen. His brown hair always looked like he’d been tugging at it and managed to look sexy as hell with very little effort.

Hawk and Niko were my sisters’ husbands, and they were also good friends with Jace, so that didn’t surprise me one bit that they’d helped

Karla was his ex-wife who’d skipped town with some random guy and left her girls and Jace behind.

Hadley seemed a little shy and limited on her vocabulary, Paisley was more of an old soul. I’m sure their mom leaving them had an impact on them both.

Jace was a serious guy, and after all he’d been through, I didn’t see him smile all that often. But when he did… I liked it. Probably too much.

“Well, it’s not much of a home with it being so small. But I’m glad you’re happy with it. You know you can come over here any time if you want to cook in a larger kitchen.” He slid over a set of keys. “These are to the main house. You’ll stay here with the girls when I’m on duty at the firehouse, which is usually three nights a week. You know the drill, growing up with your dad. And then you’ll have four nights to yourself. I may occasionally ask if you’d be willing to babysit a night here or there so I can go meet the guys...

I knew Jace made money off of his house flipping side business that he did, which my brother-in-law, Niko, was now involved in as well. They were both talented when it came to renovating spaces, and apparently Jace King was doing quite well between flipping homes and being a firefighter, because this house was gorgeous.

“Got it. I think I was super nervous to start kindergarten too. It’s all normal. You’re doing a great job with your girls, Jace.”

His smile was forced, and I saw it all in his gaze. The doubt. The worry. Maybe even some guilt about the fact that he was doing it on his own, trying to compensate for being a single parent.

Jace King in the shower must be a sight. Visions of him washing his golden, naked body under a hot spray of water… there I go again. I’d blame it on the fact that I’d been reading a lot of romance books lately as I geared up to start writing my own book. And I’d possibly had a few sexy dreams about this man in the shower over the past few months.

My sisters and I always went into our parents’ room when we were young and had a nightmare. That’s when you need to be comforted. I don’t mind if they come to bed with me at all. Heck, for the longest time I used to take turns sleeping with all my sisters after my mom died. I welcome the company.”

“I mean, the girls’ company. I hardly have any company in my bed ever. I mean, not that I’ve never…” Please, make it stop. “The girls are welcome to come in if they get scared.”

“I knew what you meant. And you’re welcome to sleep in my room if you want. I’ll make sure the sheets are clean for you. That way, if they come in, you’ll still be able to get some sleep because the bed is plenty big.” “Okay. That sounds like a plan.” “I’m actually glad you brought it up. I, uh, I was hoping you’d understand if I asked that you not have any boyfriends stay over at the house when I’m on duty. Obviously, what you do in your free time in the guesthouse is your business, but I want the girls to feel safe when you’re staying here with them. I’ve never allowed anyone to stay in my bed since Karla left, and I plan to keep it that way.”

“Fuck, I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable. Just needed to say it. You’re young. I’m sure you have a million dudes chasing after you. But I just don’t want to confuse the girls while you’re with them. Obviously, you’re welcome to have your sisters or a friend over any time. Just no strange guys.” He chuckled.

“I plan on writing when I’m not working.” “Yeah? I think that’s great, Ash. What are you writing?” I’m leaning toward writing about a sexy firefighter and his nanny. Just kidding. Not really. “Um, it’s a romance.”

“Hey, sweetie pie. I’m excited that we’re going to be spending lots of time together.” I settled her on my lap, and she nuzzled her head beneath my neck. She smelled like sunshine and baby powder. Her light brown wild waves danced all around her face, and her hair didn’t look like it had been brushed yet today. I knew Jace was doing the best that he could and the fact that he even attempted to do their hair was impressive to me.

“Of course. I think we’ll be just fine.” “Well, it’s summer break, so they’re going to be with you all day. You may be changing your tune here soon. A young girl like you probably wants to be hanging out at the lake with her friends, not hanging out with two little kids.”

He’d pointed out my age twice now. I wasn’t that young. I was twenty-two years old, turning twenty-three in a couple weeks. My mama always said I was an old soul. I never cared much for partying down by the lake or going out and getting crazy. Maybe it was because I’d lost my mother at a young age that I’d just become a homebody. I liked the comfort of being with my family. Always had.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I prefer staying home over going to Beer Mountain any day.” I shrugged. It was the truth. And I was look...

“Daddy, can Ashlan come over for pizza tonight?” Paisley asked as she stepped beside me and leaned her cheek against my side. Be still my heart. I’d always known I wanted to be a mother someday, and I couldn’t wait for that to happen. I just hadn’t found anyone I liked enough to date longer than six months.

“Don’t let them be working you all the time, Ash. My girls may look sweet, but I swear they’re little sharks.” “Well, seeing as tomorrow is our first day together, I think it would be fun to hang out a little tonight and they can show me some of their nighttime routine.”

Thoughts of Ashlan Thomas in my bed looking like a motherfucking vision had been difficult to ignore. The girl was too pretty for her own good. Innocent. Sweet. Smart.

They didn’t come any better than her. I knew I was lucky she’d been willing to take this gig that she was way overqualified for, but I sure as hell wasn’t arguing. My girls were struggling, and I’d do whatever I could to help them. The smiles on their faces when I’d told them that Ashlan was going to nanny for them. Hell, it’s what I lived for.

My ex-wife had bailed. It didn’t hurt me in the slightest because we hadn’t been happy since the day we got married. ...

Sure, I’d tried hard to make it work. She’d given me the two best gifts of my life. But the woman was a train wreck. Always had been. We’d had a one-night stand and she’d shown up at my door nine months later, extremely pregnant with Paisley. I’d moved her in, and we’d given it a shot. We’d almost called it quits more times than I could count. She’d gone missing for two days a couple years back and then came home and begged for my forgiveness. Paisley was young, and I just didn’t know if I could do it all on my own back then, so I’d taken her back long enough for h...

This time around, I’d taken action. I wanted full custody of my girls, and she hadn’t fought it. I’d sooner throw myself into a blazing fire than let her take them with her. They were worth all the suffering that I’d gone through with their mother. I’d filed for divorce, and she’d agreed to give...

“Yep. I need to go see if your daughter is still in one piece after three days with the little munchkins.” “Cap, you think Ash can handle being with two little kids?” Rusty asked. “If so, maybe I should wife her up.” “Rusty, if you don’t stop hitting on my daughters, I swear to God, I will make you run drills out in the heat until your balls shrivel up into little raisins.”

“What? I’m sorry to tell you, Cap, but your girls are hot.” Niko chucked a biscuit across the table, and it hit Rusty square in the face. “Shut the fuck up about my wife and her sisters.” Laughter filled the room, and Rusty picked up the biscuit and took a bite. “So touchy.”

“I’m sure she did fine,” Cap said as he tipped his chin at me. “She loves kids and books. And I know she’s happy that she didn’t have to come back and live under her old man’s roof. She’s always been determined to show me how grown up she is.”

I agreed with him. Ashlan was not your typical twenty-two-year-old, out living her best life. I’d never heard of her getting into any trouble, an...

When I got home, it was unusually quiet. The house smelled like cookies and peaches, and as I glanced around the kitchen, it was spotless. This wasn’t a bad way to come home. I couldn’t remember the last time I came home to a clean house that smelled good.

I took the steps two at a time. When I got to the top, I found the three of them sitting together in the playroom.

Ashlan was sitting on the floor wearing a cute little sundress, her legs crossed beneath her with Hadley on her lap as she held a book in front of her while she read to the girls. Paisley was sitting beside her with her head resting on Ashlan’s shoulder. I just took a minute to watch them. My girls looked so content and relaxed. It was rare to see them sitting still like this. Their eyes were sleepy as they listened to Ashlan read. Hell, I felt like I could take a nap to the soothing sound of her voice. She closed the book and looked up to see me standing there.

moved toward her, and lavender flooded my senses. Damn, Ashlan smelled good.

My baby girl burrowed her face into my neck, and I breathed in all that goodness. These two little angels were the reason that I’d keep working hard. They deserved better than the hand they’d been dealt, and I’d do whatever I fucking could to make things better for them.

“Yeah. So, it went all right? The house looks amazing, and the girls are clean and happy. Hell, how’d you pull this off?”

Because Ash is meant to be a mom 1000%

“Daddy,” Paisley snapped at me as she came down the stairs. “Billy Graber says that hell is a bad word. And you aren’t allowed to say cuss words around kids. Isn’t that right, Ashlan?” Ashlan winced. “Well, it is right. I think people forget sometimes.” “Maybe he should have to go to timeout and think about his choices like we do at school?” Paisley asked, her hands on her hips as she raised a brow at me.

I rarely went out, I had to have sex outside of my home, I’d allowed Paisley to paint my fingernails pink and been harassed by the guys at the firehouse, I’d gone to the store and bought the girls new panties last week—something I thought I’d never do, and I was cutting the crust off of sandwiches because it was their favorite even though I knew the crust was the best part.

“Don’t say it, Daddy. You’re going to timeout every time you say a swear because we don’t want Hadley to learn those words once she starts talking.” “Fine,” I hissed. “But you’re not much older than her, so why the hell do you know these words?” She held up two fingers. “That’s going to cost you two card changes. In my classroom, we get one warning and then you pull your green card. If you do something again, you get another card change. I’m sorry to tell you, you’re on yellow already, Daddy, so you need to stand right over there and think about it. You’re lucky you don’t have recess, because you’d be missing it.”

Ashlan’s head fell back in laughter after Paisley left to make some sort of fucking color code system to call me out on my shit. “Oh, you think this is funny?” I raised a brow at her. “Sorry about that. But this is not a bad idea.” “Well, guess what?” I teased. “What?” “Timeout is not such a bad thing. Hell, I could use a few minutes to myself once in a while.”

Ashlan’s tongue swiped out to wet her bottom lip and she tried hard not to laugh. “Not a lot of wiggle room once you’re on red, buddy.” “Sure,” I said, leaning against the counter and crossing my feet at the ankles as I took her in. She tucked her light brown hair behind her ear and smiled. So damn pretty. She wore a yellow dress with little straps over her tan shoulders. My mouth watered at the sight of her, and I silently cursed myself for wanting to reach out and touch her.

“Hadley talked a little bit today,” she said as she moved to the sink and filled the Brita before putting it back in the refrigerator.

Hadley had only babbled and cried and grunted as her form of communication thus far. She was almost three and a half years old, and I knew she should be talking more than she was. The pediatrician thought it had a lot to do with the fact that Karla had run off without saying goodbye and their lives had been turned upside down the past few months. But it’s not like things were good when their mama was around. She was selfish and drunk more often than she wasn’t. So unfortunately, I think it had affected my baby girl more than I wanted to admit.

“She said, ‘Wuv you,’ when she woke up beside me this morning.” Ashlan shook her head and smiled like it was the cutest thing she’d ever heard. “And when I got her dressed and said that you were coming home today, she said, ‘Daddy.’” “No shit. Really?” I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face.

Fuck, she was cute the way she beamed up at me, like it meant something to her that I was impressed. She was Cap’s daughter, and she was a decade younger than me. Pull your shit together, asshole.