Rocky Mountain Baby
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Patricia Johns
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CHAPTER ONE
THIS BABY WAS A MIRACLE.
Taryn Cook had heard women describe their unplanned babies as an oops, a surprise, an accident...and this baby was definitely all of those things. Getting pregnant after her divorce at the age of thirty-nine, after ten years of struggling with infertility, having given up on a child of her own... This baby was a shock. But sometime in the future, when he got old enough to ask about how he came along, she was going to tell him that he was her miracle.
Taryn smoothed a hand over her domed belly and the baby stretched inside of her. She was only seven months pregnant, but even her maternity clothes felt snug. Maternity business casual was not an easy look to pull off, and anything Taryn wore lately made her feel rumpled. But today mattered—this was her first day of a new marketing project for Mountain Springs Resort, and this job was going to help her fund at least a few weeks of maternity leave. She hadn’t had much time to plan. She had health insurance to pay for the delivery, but if she was going to get any time off after her son was born, her personal savings would have to cover it. So this job mattered—as did every other client she’d managed to squeeze in before the baby was due.
But taking this job in Mountain Springs wasn’t only about the income. It was about spending time with her grandmother. Granny had been giving the family a hard time. She wouldn’t accept help from anyone, and some of the family wanted to have her declared unfit to care for herself and put in a home. That felt heavy-handed to Taryn, and when she saw the posting for a marketing campaign in Granny’s town, she bid on it, hoping it would give her some time with Granny. Maybe she could convince her grandmother that she needed more help than she realized. The problem being, Granny knew about Taryn’s divorce, and about her struggles with infertility, but Taryn hadn’t officially told her about her pregnancy. As old-fashioned as Granny was, Taryn wasn’t sure that Granny would see the same joy in the situation that Taryn did, and she was in no mood to face anything less than sincere happiness at the prospect of her son’s arrival.
The one thing that Taryn was particularly grateful for—and the thing that would likely scandalize Granny—was the fact that Taryn didn’t know who the father was. He’d been a comfort on a very hard evening, and they’d both gone their separate ways afterward. She wasn’t proud of that, but it did make things simpler now. The father was not her ex-husband, so she had no more ties to Glen, who was welcome to carry on with his new girlfriend without further complication. And the father wouldn’t be asking for anything—a relationship, or joint custody—because she didn’t know anything more than a first name...unless he’d been lying about his first name, as she had about hers.
Taryn was going to be a single mother, and at this age, after all she’d been through, she was glad of it. However, Granny wasn’t going to be able to appreciate any of that.
Taryn sat in a visitor’s chair in the office for the Mountain Springs Resort owner on the main floor, waiting for Angelina Cunningham to arrive. Angelina’s corner office sported tall windows banking two sides of the room, giving a view of the pebbly beach and the sparkling water of Blue Lake. It was a stunning vista.
“Good morning!”
Taryn turned to see Angelina striding into the office with a bright smile. Taryn recognized her from a video chat they’d had a couple of weeks earlier. She was a tall woman with glossy blond hair tied up into a twist at the back of her head, and she was about Taryn’s age, if not a couple of years older. She wore a linen pantsuit today, the sleeves rolled up to her forearms, and Taryn noticed her impeccable nude manicure.
“Good morning,” Taryn said, and she half rose to shake hands before settling herself again. “It’s nice to meet you in person.”
“Likewise.” Angelina circled around the broad white desk and sat down. “I’m sorry I’m late. There was a situation in housekeeping—one of my supervisors needed a hand with a guest who was upset that she emptied the garbage in his suite... It’s taken care of, but there are times that some authority makes a difference.”
“I can imagine,” Taryn said with a nod. “Who did you side with?”
“With housekeeping, of course,” Angelina replied, and they shared a smile. Angelina leaned forward. “But you aren’t here to talk about difficult customers. I’m just glad to have booked you. I’m excited to see what you can do for an ad campaign. This lodge has boomed since I renovated and took over, but I feel like I’ve gotten as far as I can on my own, and I need some strategy here.”
“That’s where I come in,” Taryn replied. “And you’ve done an amazing job with the place, I have to say. As we discussed over the phone, marketing has a lot to do with spinning a narrative that your guests will both connect with on an emotional level and want to share in. We just need to find the right story to tell.”
“Do you have any ideas coming in?” Angelina asked.
“A few,” Taryn admitted. “But I don’t want to say anything until I’ve had a chance to look around and experience the lodge. Just because one narrative worked for another client doesn’t mean it will work for you. What I need to find is your business’s heartbeat, so to speak.”
Angelina nodded. “I like that.” There was a tap on the door, and Angelina looked up. “Come in.”
The door opened and a tall man stepped inside. He was broad shouldered, lean and looked to be in his early forties with just a touch of gray at his temples. A pair of glasses set off his slate blue eyes. He wore a pair of gray dress pants and a crisp, white button-up shirt without a tie. His belt looked expensive. He hesitated when he saw her, and his gaze dropped down to her belly.
“This is our general manager, Noah Brooks,” Angelina said. “I asked him to come by and meet you. You’ll be working quite closely with him for the next couple of weeks, and he’s a fount of knowledge for everything from operations to food and beverage.”
“Of course,” Taryn said, and she rose to her feet and shook his hand. “I’m Taryn Cook with Cook Marketing.”
He didn’t answer at first, meeting her gaze questioningly. “Right. Taryn. Just call me Noah.”
Noah released her hand and gave her a nod. That seemed to be a common name these days. She’d met another Noah not too long ago...
“Let me show you your office, then,” Angelina said, also rising. “I hope you’ll be comfortable there. If you want any food or drinks delivered to your office while you’re working, just give Janelle a call down at the switchboard, and she’ll get you anything you need. It’s all complimentary, of course.”
“That’s very kind.” Taryn bent to pick up her leather tote, and scooped up the water bottle, too. She’d been advised to stay hydrated at this point of her pregnancy, and in the interest of allaying her obstetrician’s worries, she was following her instructions to the letter.
Angelina led the way out of her office, and Noah gestured for Taryn to go ahead of him. He gave her another strange look. It was very likely her pregnancy. She garnered all sorts of reactions from people. It was amazing the personal questions complete strangers would ask a woman once she was showing. Whatever his opinions, he could keep them to himself.
Angelina headed up the hallway and paused a few doors down, gesturing Taryn inside. The office was small, but furnished with a desk, a lamp, an extra armchair in one corner and another bank of those beautiful tall windows that gave a view of a walking path, some green shrubbery and the clear lake beyond.
“I hope you’ll be comfortable here,” Angelina said. “If there is anything that might help out, just let me or Noah know and we’ll make sure to get it for you. Noah’s office is right next door.”
“This looks perfect,” Taryn said with a smile. “Thank you so much.”
“Now, you mentioned wanting to see the lodge and what we have to offer,” Angelina said. “I have an appointment in about twenty minutes, so I have to head out. But Noah will give you the grand tour. You’ll be in good hands.”
“Absolutely,” Taryn said with a smile. “Thanks a lot.”
Angelina left the office, leaving Taryn alone with the man. He stood in the doorway while she deposited her bag on top of the desk, then pulled out a tablet that was less cumbersome to carry around so that she could take some notes.
Noah said, “This is the key card for your office door. The only one who has access to changing your key card is me or Angelina, so you won’t have to worry about security.”
Taryn crossed the office and accepted the card from him. No wedding ring. She shouldn’t be noticing these things. Less than a year postdivorce with a baby on the way, she wasn’t looking for romantic connections. She’d already bumbled in that respect seven months ago—an evening at a pub turning into a romantic encounter that left her pregnant. And that evening had started with her noticing a hand very much like Noah’s with no wedding ring, either. As if a man’s confirmed single status was all that mattered. And ironically enough, that man had been named Noah, too... Except he’d been slimmer and had a rather impressive auburn beard streaked with silver.
“Have you been to Mountain Springs before?” Noah asked. “This is quite a popular tourist spot with that iconic mountain lake. You’ve probably seen pictures of it all over the place—”
“My grandmother lives here,” she replied. “So I came up every couple of years growing up. I used to swim in Blue Lake with my cousins.”
“Really?” Noah nodded at that. “Small world.”
Was it? She eyed him for a moment. “Are you from Mountain Springs?”
“Yeah, I grew up here. I spent a few years in Denver and Montana, but I came back five years ago to take the job as general manager here at the resort.”
“You probably know the area better than I do, then,” she said.
“I might,” he agreed.
“But I’m needing to see more of the lodge, not the town,” she added.
“True.” He nodded toward the door. “Angelina said that you’d be staying with us in one of our suites...unless you’ve got other arrangements?”
“I’ll be staying here,” she confirmed.
Noah paused again, eyeing her for a moment. She fiddled with her stylus and glanced away. There was something about this Noah Brooks that left her feeling a little off balance. He seemed to be expecting something from her in the way he looked at her.
“Did you want to get settled first, or did you want to start with a tour?” he asked.
“I can find my suite later,” she said.
“Okay,” he replied. “If you pick up your office phone and dial zero, it’ll connect you with Janelle at switchboard. Let her know if you need a hand with your bags, and she’ll arrange for someone to help you.”
“Thanks. So, let’s get to work. That tour would be perfect,” she said.
“Great.” He smiled. “After you.”
As Taryn passed in front of him, she glanced up, and there was something about the look in his eye that made her breath catch. Noah. Tall and broad, with nice hands, no wedding ring. Noah Brooks didn’t have the beard, but there was something about his eyes.
No... There was no way this was the same man! Was there?
NOAH GLANCED DOWN at the petite woman at his side. She came up to just past his shoulder, and she had thick, wavy brown hair that fell just past hers. She was a beautiful woman, close to his own age of forty. That was one of things he’d liked about her when they’d met in Denver before Thanksgiving—he didn’t have to overexplain himself. She’d understood this stage of life, and that had been more than comforting; it had been incredibly attractive. She’d told him her name was Leigh, though, and right now, she had no idea who he was... Did he look that different without the beard?
Today, she was dressed in a clinging black dress and a pink suit jacket that brought out the blush in her cheeks, her belly domed out in front of her. She stood with a tablet in one hand, the other resting on top of her stomach.
It was weird to face her like this, remembering everything they’d shared that night, and she with no idea who he was. He’d held her close. He knew just how perfectly she fit into his arms and what her perfume smelled like...and now she was pregnant.
Noah did some quick math. He’d been in Denver in November when the leaves were bright orange and gold. Nevaeh had called off the wedding three weeks before Thanksgiving, and he’d gone to the city for a few days away from everything. He’d needed the time to himself before going back to Mountain Springs and telling all his friends and family to throw out the save-the-date. Besides, his best friend and the best man, Brody Walker, had gone to comfort Nevaeh, even though she was the one who’d broken up with him.
That night at the pub, he’d been awash in beer and his own heartbreak—definitely not at his best. When Leigh—or Taryn, it turned out—sat on the stool next to him, they’d started talking. She’d been heartbroken, too, but not soppy about it. Just deeply sad, and thoughtful. And she’d had a kind way about her. Add to that, she was stunning, and that wasn’t just the beer talking. One thing had led to another, and they’d spent the night together. She’d left before he woke up.
If she’d stuck around, he would have gotten her number and given her a call. He’d wanted to take her out for dinner, at least, and have a real date. He’d wanted more conversation—and more of their romantic connection. It hadn’t been purely physical. But when he’d woken up, he found a scribbled note saying that she was sorry to dash, but she’d never done this before and just wanted to forget it.
That was seven months ago...and he couldn’t gauge how far along her pregnancy was just by looking at her. She could have met someone after him. She could be in a serious relationship right now, for that matter. She could have gotten pregnant by someone before him... If he remembered properly, she’d just signed her divorce papers, so maybe there had been a very brief reconciliation with her ex?
Or...was this baby his? His heart jumped at the thought.
“Noah?”
He realized that he’d tuned out, and he glanced down at Taryn. “Sorry, what did you say?”
“Can we start outside? I’ve been wanting to get down to the lake,” she said.
“Yeah, for sure,” he said with a nod. “The lake is our biggest draw, as you probably know. It’s both glacier fed and from an underground spring, so there are two sources of the purest water. There are restrictions that don’t allow for fishing or dumping, so it’s stayed pristine. It’s also nearly three hundred feet in the deepest spot at the mouth of that spring, so this is no lake to toy with.”
“I remember that,” she said. “I didn’t know about the spring, though.”
Noah escorted her to the front entrance, and he nodded at a waiter who was just arriving for his shift in the restaurant.
“Hi, Mr. Brooks,” the young man said.
“Hi, Brian,” he said with a smile. “It’s busy today.”
“Oh, yeah? I can’t complain about that,” Brian replied with a grin. Like all the servers, he made good money off the tips.
“All right, well, you have a good shift,” Noah said.
Noah opened the heavy front door and held it for Taryn. She passed through, and he caught a whiff of that floral perfume as it mingled with the fresh outside air. It was a warm June day, but there was still a cool undertone to the mountain-scented breeze. He led the way to the sidewalk along the front of the lodge. His mind was spinning. Noah was in the running for a job in Seattle, and he was hoping to start fresh there...if he could. Was his life about to get complicated again?
“Do you know all your employees by name?” Taryn asked, glancing up at him.
“Yes,” he said. “We don’t have that big of a staff, and most of our workers are locals, so you get to know who’s working here pretty quickly.”
“That’s nice,” she said.
“Yeah, we have a really low turnover rate here. When someone gets a job at the resort, they tend to hold on to it,” he replied. “I’m proud of that, actually. Angelina and I have been working hard to improve morale and keep the workers we have. It’s better to have happy, experienced staff and pay them a little better than it is to have a high turnover rate and be constantly retraining people at lower pay.”
“That’s smart,” she said. “I noticed that Angelina sided with a housekeeping employee in a dispute earlier today.”
“She would,” Noah replied. Angelina was like that. She wouldn’t do just anything for a paying guest. She had limits, and standards.
“What do you think this lodge has to offer that no one else has?” she asked.
Noah sucked in a breath, then shrugged. “Angelina.”
“She’s the one with the vision?” Taryn asked.
“She’s also the one who won’t bend her ideals,” Noah said. “And that makes this place a cut above the rest. I’m proud to work for her.”
They came to the side the building and he paused, letting her get the full impact of the lake scene before them. Blue Lake was nestled at the base of three jagged, snowcapped peaks. Clouds wisped around the tops of the mountains, and sun sparkled off the turquoise water. An eagle swooped down over the water and left a trail of froth with its talons, soaring back up with a fish in its grip.
“Did you see that?” she breathed.
“Yeah, it’s untarnished up here,” he agreed.
He watched her for a moment. Leigh. It was tough to adjust to calling her Taryn, even if it was her real name. This woman had been something to him—even though it was brief. He’d thought of her often since that night.
“Noah?” a voice called behind him, and Noah turned to see Brody Walker heading down the paved path toward him. Brody, former best man, former best friend. Noah’s blood pressure spiked. Brody was a big reason why he wanted a fresh start in a new city. Too much personal history in a town could be a liability.
Brody caught up to him and gave him a tight nod. “Can we talk?”
Now? With an audience?
“I’m obviously working,” Noah said curtly. “It’s not a good time.”
“It’s never a good time. I’m tired of chasing you down. This won’t take long.” Brody jutted his chin toward a relatively private space a few yards off.
Noah’s gaze flicked toward Taryn, who was watching them with undisguised curiosity. He lowered his voice. “Fine. You have five minutes.” Noah turned to Taryn. “Feel free to head down to the water and enjoy the view. I won’t be long.”
Taryn glanced between them once, then wordlessly headed toward the water, and Noah rubbed a hand over his face.
“What’s so important?” Noah demanded.
“How many times do I have to apologize to you?” Brody asked.
“An apology doesn’t fix this!” Noah shot back. “That was betrayal. Nevaeh and I broke up, and you didn’t stick with me. You were the best man, Brody! And you took off to comfort Nevaeh.” He made air quotes around the word comfort. “We aren’t friends anymore. I don’t like you. How clear can I make this?”
“You and Nevaeh weren’t right for each other,” Brody said. “And don’t make it sound crude. Nevaeh cried the night away. There was no comforting like that.” Brody did the same air quotes.
“Yet the minute she breaks up with me, you run to her side?” Noah snapped.
“I always told you straight that I loved her,” Brody said. “I told you from the start that if you ever let her go, I was making my move. I didn’t hide that.”
“And you did make your move. Congratulations. You got the girl—what the hell do you want with me?”
Brody’s face paled and he dropped his gaze. “Look, I know I moved fast, but I wasn’t giving up my chance with her. Nevaeh wants kids and you don’t. You could have gotten her back if you wanted to give her what she needed—”
“Like you were,” Noah said.
“Yeah, like I was,” Brody replied. “I want the same things—and you don’t. She wants a family, Noah. She wants kids! Is that so unforgivable? And I want kids, too. We love each other, and we make each other happy.”
Noah stared at the smaller man. “And?”
Had Brody come to gloat?
“And I want to marry her,” Brody said, and his voice caught. He cleared his throat. “I’m going to ask her to marry me, and before I do, I want to do my best to make sure that you and I are...okay. If that’s possible.”
Noah’s blood felt like it had slowed to molasses in his veins, and he stared at the man incredulously.
“You’re going to propose,” Noah repeated.
“I already bought a ring,” Brody said.
“And you want my bloody blessing?” The moment seemed to finally catch up, and Noah felt his blood heat to a boil. “You take advantage of everything I lost, and you want me to wish you well?”
“You and I were buddies—”
They’d had each other’s back since they were kids. They’d hung out, defended each other, covered for each other a time or two. As grown men, they’d gone fishing together, talked about the deep stuff late into the night, and Brody was the one Noah had confided in before he’d proposed to Nevaeh a year ago.
Did Brody want some sort of absolution so that he could marry his best friend’s ex-fiancée without a twinge of guilt? He wasn’t going to give it.
“Go ahead and propose, but you aren’t getting my blessing to make this any less awkward than it already is,” Noah said.
“Okay,” Brody said curtly. “Don’t say I didn’t try and make things right with you.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Noah said icily.
Damn it—Noah needed this job in Seattle. He couldn’t stay in Mountain Springs and watch those two get married. He’d been through enough.
Brody turned and walked resolutely away. As Noah relaxed his fingers, his hands trembled. He’d wanted to give Brody the right hook he deserved. Not that he’d ever actually do it. He was civilized, after all.
Taryn stood on the lakeshore, and she bent down and picked something up from the pebbly beach. She was beautiful—rounded with the pregnancy, and he liked it, he realized. Gone were the days when long, lithe, young bodies were what he wanted. These days he seemed to be drawn to something different—a softer figure, a gentler face. He admired the way Taryn’s eyes sparkled when she smiled.
Nevaeh had been ten years younger than him—young, bright, nary a gray hair in sight. And she’d wanted children...
Taryn turned as his leather shoes crunched over the smooth rocks underfoot. She held a pebble in her palm.
“Forgive me, but that sounded a bit intense,” she said.
He met her gaze, and for a moment he was tempted to brush the question aside and get their professional banter back. Except that she wasn’t just the marketing expert, was she? He didn’t have the energy to guess about something this important. He needed to know.
“Seven months ago, my fiancée, Nevaeh, called off our wedding,” he said. “That guy who was so intent on talking to me is Brody, and he was supposed to be my best man. He just informed me that he’s asking Nevaeh to marry him.”
Taryn’s eyes widened, and the color seeped from her cheeks. “Um—” She licked her lips and dropped her gaze to the black oval rock she held. “I met someone a few months back who had a similar situation—he and his fiancée broke up because she wanted children and he didn’t. His best man moved right in on her...” She raised her dark gaze to meet his again, and he could read the question in her eyes. He’d told her about that at the pub—they’d talked for hours.
“Leigh,” he said.
She swallowed, silent.
“I shaved,” he added quietly. “And, um, the glasses are new.”
Taryn swayed slightly. He put out a hand to steady her, and she took a step back, closing her hand into a fist around the pebble.
“That was you?” she breathed.
“Yeah. I shaved the beard off when I got home. A new-start kind of thing. But that was me. I recognized you right away.”
She nodded, and she pressed her lips together. She seemed to be thinking, but she didn’t say anything.
“Taryn, I’m going to ask you something,” he said quietly. “And this might be really offensive...” He paused, and she didn’t look up. “I have to know... Is the baby...mine?”
Taryn sucked in a slow breath, and some color came back to her face in a flush. “I was so stupidly, naively relieved that there was no father to make any claims on this child...”
What did that mean? He waited, silent, his breath bated.
“You didn’t want to be a father, I thought,” she said at last. “At least, that’s what you said.”
“I didn’t,” he said. “I don’t. I just might not have a choice—”
Taryn was silent for a few beats before she shrugged faintly. “Yes, you’re the father. But you still have a choice about being a dad.”
His heart thudded hard twice, and then it felt like it stopped in his chest.
