Page 11 of Single Mom for the Mountain Men (Mountain Men Why Choose #3)

“ B ut, Lena—”

“No, guys, I’m serious. I don’t want any of you to uproot your lives to move in with me. Not Aiden, not Tanner, not Brody. I won’t allow it.”

“It’s not uprooting any of us, Lena,” I try again, frustration creeping into my voice. “We want to do this. I don’t want you living in fear of a fucking weirdo crashing into your house at any moment, especially not when it could be your nutcase of an ex.”

“Ex?” Tanner echoes, brows rising.

Fuck .

I look at Lena, my eyes searching hers to see if she wants me to divulge the truth. It is her story to share, after all, but the cat is out of the bag now.

“My ex, James, he’s a crazy man. I have a feeling that it’s him I saw today,” she confesses softly while wringing her hands anxiously in her lap.

“The man was abusive. He would physically harm her, and when he tried harming Sophie, Lena escaped. That’s when she came to Whitefish,” I complete the story for Tanner and Brody when it’s obvious that Lena can’t.

Brody’s knuckles go white with how hard they clench into fists, and Tanner’s eyes flash dangerously. The anger I felt that night when she confessed her backstory to me is mirrored in my brothers’ eyes, and quite righteously.

“You still don’t want any of us to stay with you until we catch him?” Tanner questions in a more serious voice.

Lena shakes her head, not pausing to reconsider. “No, please. There must be something else we can do.”

“You’ll learn how to fight, then,” Brody commands brusquely, his jaw locked. “I’ll teach you combat and self-defense, Tanner will teach you how to handle guns, and Aiden will tell you about what resources you’ll have in case the worst happens. This discussion is final, so don’t bother arguing.”

The utter control in his voice makes me and Tanner straighten our shoulders as we nod in agreement. Lena nips at her lower lip, her wide eyes glancing at the three of us in turn.

“I …yeah, I don’t have a problem with that,” she agrees before slumping back into the sofa.

“Your training starts today. Eat what Tanner has made for breakfast, and then, we’ll get started.”

“But Sophie—”

“Don’t worry about her, Lena. We’ve got her, you know that,” Tanner replies.

Lena is weak, to say the least. Out in our yard, Brody teaches her the basics of protecting herself, the angles of attack that she should know, and how to use her vigilance to her advantage.

She’s determined, and it shows in how her brows are pressed down and the little grunts that leave her mouth as she tries to escape Brody’s grip.

Her cheeks and the tip of her nose is red as her curvy body twists this way and that under his brute strength.

“Go harder,” Brody orders, holding back the sharpness of his tone for her sake. “Use your elbow and your upper body. Twist, gather power. Come on.”

Lena tries, and tries, but she is no match for Brody’s insane strength and trained grip. Right when she goes limp, Brody’s grip on her loosens, thinking she’s done.

Right at that moment, she brings up her elbow and tries to strike him in the neck. The quickness with which she does it is admirable, even if he ends up blocking it immediately. Brody eyes her with satisfaction. Lena learns quickly.

There’s sweat beading her hairline, and her chest is heaving as we take a break.

“I’m gonna devise a rough sketch of the woods behind our place and the linking paths. Tanner will take you next,” Brody tells Lena. Compared to her, he has barely broken a sweat as he hands Lena a bottle of water.

She gulps it down, listening intently as he goes over what they learned during the session.

“And remember: never lock your thumb in when you make a fist,” Brody cautions her gruffly, his fingers pulling out her thumb as she makes the same mistake. “This shit can break your thumb if you strike.”

“Right, right,” she says, going as red as a tomato.

“You feel like eating anything?” Tanner asks as he strolls out of the house.

“I’m gonna whip up some salad,” Brody mumbles as he walks back inside.

“In the fridge. I’ve made something for Sophie as well, so make sure she eats her lunch, too,” Tanner replies. “You must be tired, Lena.”

Brody nods to show that he heard before shutting the door behind him.

“No, I’m good. Ate too much during breakfast,” she replies, gulping down more water as she eyes the gun in Tanner’s hand with part interest and part wariness. “Gosh, I feel so weak. I need to get back to working out.”

“That you do,” I tease her, and she pokes out her tongue at me.

“No, but seriously, you need to build your stamina and strengthen your core. Your legs are pretty strong, as is usually the case with women,” I comment, fighting the perverted thoughts of her prowess in bed, especially when she rides me.

“Come here,” Tanner tells her. As she comes to stand in front of him, he hands her the gun, keeping his palms curved around hers. “Explore how it feels when you hold it until you feel like it’s an extension of you.”

She grabs the gun with wide eyes, like a child touching a new and fascinating toy.

“With a gun as small and weightless as this one, it shouldn’t be difficult for you to use. The first rule is, never point the gun at something you don’t intend to shoot. Where is the muzzle pointed at right now?”

“Toward that tree,” she replies while pointing at the old oak tree in our yard.

“Right. Second rule is, never touch the trigger unless you’re ready to shoot.”

Tanner gives her a quick overview of the rules.

Then, he teaches her the correct stance and how to aim at the intended target.

There are a few plastic bottles he has set up right at the edge of our garden, far enough away that she won’t hit one of us by accident but not far enough away that she’ll have trouble hitting them.

He puts on his ear protection and then offers earplugs to Lena.

One of his hands is on her shoulder as the other straightens her arm.

He teaches her how to load the gun, doing it himself as he explains the particulars.

He stands behind her as he tells her to straighten her shoulders and take in a deep breath, helping her focus.

His face is directly behind her neck, his hands on her waist to hold her still as she fires off her first shot.

Her body jerks with the kick of the gun, eyes blinking profusely as she misses the shot by a wide margin.

The more shots she fires, the more frustrated she gets.

She whips off her sweater, gooseflesh on her arms as her tank top reveals her flushed skin.

Tanner teaches her more patiently than Brody did, calmly explaining things to her.

Maybe because she doesn’t manage to land a single shot, her frustration messes with her focus even more.

“Calm breaths, Lena, deep ones. Come on. I know you can do this. It’s just like hunting, isn’t it?”

“I’m ass at hunting,” she deadpans, her mouth curled into a pout.

“You’re learning,” he corrects her. “Now, focus. Keep your arm steady.”

The last shots she fires are off the mark, but not as bad as they were.

“You did good, Lena. Now, let’s get to arrows. I have a feeling that once you get good at that, guns will be a piece of cake for you.”

“Aiden!”

Brody’s yell distracts me and pulls my attention away from her lesson.

“The fuck is it?” I yell back.

“Sophie ain’t listening, man!”

I roll my eyes and get up, leaving the two alone in the garden. Sophie is sitting at the dining table, her arms folded across her chest. Brody stands beside her, two seconds away from giving up.

“Why the fuck didn’t Tanner tell me that she doesn’t like celery?” he exclaims.

“Stop swearing around the kid,” I hiss. “She’s a kid, why the hell would she like vegetables?”

“I liked vegetables!” he argues, and Sophie eyes him with thinly veiled disgust.

I stop my lips from twitching into a smile and tell him, “Just give her what Tanner made last night. She’d like those sandwiches.”

“Sandwiches?” She sits up straight, nose twitching in interest.

“I told you if you ate some celery, I’d give you something fun,” Brody insists, his voice holding the note of a whine that she’s not listening to him.

It’s something I’ve never seen before; a grown-ass, burly man eyeing a little girl with childish exasperation.

“You didn’t say it would be sandwiches,” Sophie says simply as I take out the sandwiches from the fridge and toss them into the microwave.

“Touché,” he says, knowing when to admit defeat. Sophie smiles victoriously, scarfing down the sandwich as soon as I set it down in front of her. I hand another to Brody, then set the last one down in front of an empty chair.

“How’s the training going?” Brody asks once I sit down to eat myself.

“It’s going. She’s doing worse with him than she did with you, but not by that big of a margin.”

Brody hums, lost in thought.

“She’s got a quick temper,” I add. “Never saw that in her until now.”

“Tanner’s been teaching her how to hunt here and there. She shouldn’t be that bad at shooting. Plus, he’s a better teacher than I am.”

“I think the frustration she felt about not being able to land a hit with you is adding up on top of her training with Tanner,” I theorize.

“She’ll pull through.” He waves me off, picking up his and Sophie’s plates once they’re both done. “Look at the map with me before you head back out. There are areas I think you should see.”

I nod, pushing aside my plate as Brody places the large sheet of paper in front of me. He’s marked down points where the mystery man could set up camp or the escape routes he could use to leave quickly.

As we are working through it, with Brody leading me through the plan he has in his head, Lena storms in. She refills her bottle of water, and there are sweat stains visible on the back of her tank.

“You ready for me, Lena?” I call out.

She turns to me and gives me a small smile. “Sure. Let’s get it over with.”

As we start training back out in the yard, I get the feeling that something is off. I try to put it out of my mind for now as I tie Lena’s hands together tightly with a rope and toss away the pocket knife that I keep on me at all times.

“Try to get your hands free,” I command her quietly. “Do it before I finish tying your legs together.”

“You’ve tied them too tight,” she complains as I advance closer to her, like a predator stalking its prey.

“That’s the point. If James is out there, he could get his hands on you, and his first instinct will be to tie you up. You have to know how to escape as quickly as possible.”

She licks her lips, and fire burns in her eyes. “I will never let myself be caught.”

I smirk. “That’s the spirit. But right now, you have been caught. Let me see you escape.”

She starts kicking at me instead of trying to untie her hands. It’s not difficult for me to subdue her, and I have a loop around one of her legs in no time. She grunts, using the full force of her free leg to get away from me.

“That isn’t what I told you to do, Lena,” I remind her while gripping her other leg tightly as I loop the rope around it as well. She squirms on the ground, her hair tangled over her face as she breathes harshly.

“Stop, I can’t,” she heaves, twisting her upper body around so she can look at me. “I don’t want to do this.”

“Try, Lena. Unless you feel this desperation, your mind won’t push itself to get you out of this situation when it’s the real deal.”

“I’m done, Aiden, please!” she yells, her body going limp. My hands twitch around her ankle, and I quickly untie her hands and her feet with one pull of the rope.

“Are you sure you don’t want to—” I try again as she’s getting up, only to have her yell at me once more.

“I said I’m done !”

She storms away without another word. I stand there, dumbfounded for a moment, before I remember her psychotic ex possibly being out there, watching and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Stalking after her, I find her sitting under an oak tree, her hands pressed against her eyes as she sniffs.

“Lena,” I breathe as I approach her. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

“I’m just—tired and scared,” she says, her voice thick with her tears. “I feel useless and like a burden—I can’t get anything right, and this is all so much to remember. I can’t protect Sophie, not when I can’t even protect myself.”

I sit beside her and curve my arms around her frame, hugging her tightly. “It’s all right, Lena. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. I get this is all so much for you, and it’s all happening too soon. But you’re the bravest woman I know. The strongest, too. You’ll get it soon, I promise you.”

She pulls her hands away from her face, those gorgeous green eyes wet and sad. I wipe away her tears with my thumbs, and she nuzzles her face into my palm, closing her eyes again. Pressing my forehead against hers, I breathe in sync with her, trying to calm her down.

Her breaths return to normal after a while, and her eyes open to look at me. They aren’t flooded with tears anymore.

My thumb brushes against her cheek, and I feel us falling victim to the same chemistry that always sparks between us. Our lips are about to brush, and that’s when she pulls away.

I eye her with confusion as she pulls my hands off her face and holds them between her palms.

“Aiden, you’re so kind to me. I like what we have.

It’s soft and relaxing. But I feel like I should just focus on me and Sophie for now.

With everything that happened to me in the past, and now with James potentially showing up, I don’t want this to turn into something more.

My previous relationship has left scars that I need to deal with first.”

I wrap my arms around her in a tight embrace and murmur in her ear, “I’ll do anything you want me to, Lena, you just have to say the word. I don’t want anything you don’t want, so you don’t worry about that.”

She relaxes in my hold. When she’s feeling better, I walk her and Sophie back to their cabin, keeping my eyes peeled for any unwanted visitors as I do.