Page 30 of Single Mom’s Mountain Men (Mountain Men Reverse Harem #1)

Charlie

A fter leaving Wes in the kitchen to comfort a distraught Patty, I head out to look for my brother.

I find him in the forest, working tirelessly as usual.

I approach with caution.

He’s splitting logs with an axe, very inefficiently seeing as we have a hydraulic log splitter that can do the job far better than any human could possibly manage, but I get that he needs to do something to work off the excess energy.

Unfortunately for him, he’s not going to be able to work it off that way.

I should know because I’ve tried before.

During his and Wes' argument, I think I had seen deeper into what is truly plaguing Mitch. I don't doubt that he watched more than just the tail end of that scene. Heck, he was probably standing there for most of it, and I can't blame him.

I would not have been able to tear my eyes away from Patty either. When she is in the throes of an orgasm she is magnificent, and when she gets close to orgasm, she moves like pure sex and beauty combined.

It's why I loved keeping her on the edge for so long, so I could enjoy that image for as long as possible. I didn't even need to come myself. Just knowing I was pleasuring her was giving me immense satisfaction.

Going back to Mitch, I also saw how hard his cock was when he confronted us. His face was flushed, and his pupils dilated, but none of that was with anger. Or at least not all of it was.

His rant was only a front, to cover up what he truly felt. Hunger and jealousy.

He swings the axe high in the air and slams it into a fresh log, splitting it in two with one single downward stroke.

He adjusts the position of the log and does it again, then again, and again.

I watch him for a few seconds until he finally steps back wiping the sweat from his brow, the log now split entirely into multiple pieces that are ready to be picked up, stacked, and seasoned for six months or so before heading to their ultimate destination of the kitchen stove.

I recall the words of wisdom our father was fond of telling us: “Timber warms you twice – once when you split it and once again when you burn it.”

“You gonna stand there all afternoon or you going to man up and talk to me?”

“Depends,” I say. “How mad are you still?"

"Why didn't you come up and ask me?"

"Well, you probably wouldn't hear me over the noise, and I thought it was probably unwise to sneak up on an angry man with an axe."

“That’s the smartest thing you’ve said all day,” he says. “Which is surprising given the dumb-ass decision you made back there. "

I don’t say anything, and he finally turns around to stare at me. His chest is red from the harsh sun and his energetic work.

“What the fuck were you thinking Charlie?” he says. “I expect that kind of bullshit from Wes but not from you. You shouldn’t have let him talk you into it.”

I smirk. Why does everyone think this was Wes’ idea? “I talked Wes into it, not the other way round.”

Mitch’s eyebrows furrow. “You did?”

Yeah.” I tell him. “It was something you said that gave me the idea."

“Something I said?”

I nod. “You told us to work it out however we saw fit, and this is the only solution that makes sense."

"To share her like she's some kind of toy?"

The anger that shot through me the first time he said it returns with a vengeance. “You call her a toy one more time and I’m going to ignore that axe in your hand and deck you.”

Surprise flashes in Mitch's expression a second before he exhales and extends a placatory hand.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he says. “But the two of you are tossing her between you like she's something to be played with.”

“No, no, not played with. Adored. Worshiped. Loved on. Maybe it looks fucked up in your mind but that’s not what it is.

Wes and I are working as a unit here. We're not in a dick-sizing contest. Sure we want to have fun and show Patty as much pleasure as possible. I have a feeling she hasn’t explored her sexuality much and I want to help her to do so.

Wes wants the same thing. Thee’s nothing wrong with that.

But it goes much deeper than that, Charlie.

Wes and me… well we really love Patty. We’re not just getting our rocks off he re.

We really mean it. We want to love her, and cherish her, and keep her warm and safe. ”

Mitch sighs and shakes his head like he can’t believe what he’s hearing. "So that's all this is? Helping her?"

"No. Obviously, we're helping ourselves too."

Mitch snorts. "Right."

“And if you want to join us…I wouldn’t mind. As long as Patty wants it, of course.” I’m pretty sure she’s attracted to Mitch too, but I can’t make that decision for her. Ultimately, it’s Patty’s choice who she sleeps with. Mitch’s eyes widen. “Are you insane?’

“No. And neither are you for wanting to be with her too." Even though Mitch will never admit it, I know I've hit the nail on the head when his eyes narrow. "Any guy with a pulse would want Patty, so I don’t blame you. If Patty wants to, we can make this threesome a foursome."

His mouth opens, emitting sputtered denials but I don't buy it. I see right through him and he probably knows.

So he tries to fight this from another angle. He bristles, assuming what Wes calls, his strict older brother's face.

“Are any of you thinking that maybe this isn’t fair to Patty," he says. “She’s technically our employee so there’s a power difference.

What if this goes bad and she’s too scared to say no to you because she thinks she'll be fired? If it goes wrong, you'll mess things up for her and her daughters, and fuck man, I don’t think she has anywhere else to go for help.”’

It's a good angle to try, playing on our guilt. Unfortunately for him, I’ve already considered that.

“We already let her know extensively that anything that happened between us wouldn’t affect her employment here.

We had a long conversation about it last night, and she knows she can stay here as long as she likes.

She also knows that she doesn't have to do a thing to earn our protection. Heck even if she stopped working this very day we wouldn’t kick her out.

She’s not just an employee. She's become an integral part of this family, and you know it.”

He can't even deny that he enjoys having her around. Mitch has never even brought up Patty's length of stay, and usually, when guests stay too long, Mitch starts to ask those types of questions.

But now, it's like he's completely settled into the idea of Patty staying with us long-term.

And so am I. In fact, the idea of her and the kids not being around is a deeply unsettling one for me.

And Mitch is right too, when he says it’s not her housekeeping services that he would miss the most. Sure, it’s been wonderful to have the place looking cleaner and tidier again, and to be able to rely upon getting a nutritious and tasty, home-cooked meal each night has been truly great.

But like Wes and me, Mitch is realizing that having the three of them here has meant much more than that.

It’s been like a breath of fresh air that has breathed life back into the old house.

It's like before Patty came the three of us had just been existing here, but now we’re truly alive again, living a meaningful life where important things happen that we actually care about.

Living a life where time is spent doing things that matter with people that we love.

Unlike before, we enjoy our conversations now, and spend much more time together in the kitchen, relaxing over meals and enjoying the social time together, rather than simply gulping down whatever one of us had cooked as quickly as possible and then each of us heading for the door.

Taking the girls to daycare has been the highlight of my days. I enjoy Katie’s quiet grace, Maddie’s exuberance, and Patty's gentle warmth that feels like it envelopes anyone and everyone around her.

And I know Mitch enjoys the presence of Patty and the girls just as much as me and Wes, and he's probably scared that he’s going to lose that presence. But we won't. I won't let us ruin this.

While I'm complacent about most things, there are very few things I can't do if I put my mind to it, and nothing has been as deeply and profoundly important to me as Patty.

I don’t know about Wes, but I know that I have deep feelings for Patty.

Feelings approaching that penultimate word that my brothers avoid like the plague.

It's only a matter of time until I'm completely in love with Patty. I'm feeling things for her that I haven't felt for any woman and there's nothing I can do about it. It might be sudden but it’s how I work. It’s how I’ve always worked. I’ve never been able to do the casual sex thing.

I should have known from the second that Patty captured my attention that I would fall in love with her, and now she's firmly grabbed hold of my heart. She and her little girls.

It’s not something I can let go of, not even for my brother. I step forwards into Mitch’s personal space – something that’s rare for me to do – and I place both my hands on his shoulder and look him square in the eyes. I want him to know how serious I am.

“We're not going to stop being with Patty just because it makes you uncomfortable,” I tell him. “So, you’d better get used to that. And if you ever want to start being honest to yourself, talk to Patty and tell her how you feel. The ball’s in your court now.”

I turn away and leave my brother with his axe and his woodpile, and I head back to work.

Later, as the sun begins to go down, I get the itching for another motorcycle ride. As I open the door to the shed I find Wes there, checking the oil on his own bike.

"You heading out for a ride?” he asks.

I nod.

"I’m going up the mountain," he says. “I guess I’ll see you there."

I nod again as he zooms off. Then, I get on my own bike and follow, maintaining a steady distance between us.

Wes doesn't speed but he does goon around and loves to take dangerous turns, and I frown at him.

He needs to stop pulling bullshit like that.

Not only is it risky, but it's also the reason people think we’re rough bikers and not upstanding members of society.

And while I couldn't care less what people think about me, I don't want Patty to get caught up in these rumors by association.

People don’t say a lot of nice things about bikers’ women, and Patty would be mortified if she thought that the local people think she is one of them.

So as we finally slow to a stop at a layby that commands a breathtaking view over the Big Snowy Mountains, plus in the distance the little Belt Mountains rising up in the west. I kick out my bike’s stand, and dismount to give my legs a stretch and to enjoy the view for a moment or to.

Wes is doing much the same. His helmet is already off and is placed on a nearby picnic table next to his gloves and he stands there, hands on hips, admiring the view.

I lift up the visor of my own helmet to say, “You ever thought about painting your bike back to a normal color and not riding so dangerously? "

He shrugs. "But then what would be the fun in that?"

"The fun would be living. And people not thinking you're a maniac."

"Whatever people think about me is their business."

Even Patty? I want to ask, but I don't .

He’s not even paying attention to me anymore anyway.

He’s staring out at the sunset, a beautiful mixture of orange and red, turning the Big Snowy mountain range into a dark and mysterious silhouette, but lighting the sky around it as if a fire was raging in the heavens.

No wonder so many ancient peoples worshiped the sun , I think.

"I want to bring Patty here," Wes says.

"Me too," I admit.

"I wanted to ask her today, thinking maybe a ride would help with her sadness. But I don't know if she'll go for it, given how freaked out she was about us being bikers."

“You may have a better chance if you do something about that bike of yours. Like, get rid of the skull and crossbones, and just generally start acting your age."

"Fuck you. My bike is a badass beauty."

"Yeah, and it will probably scare the bejesus out of Patty."

Although, now that I’ve vocalized it, I'm not sure.

Patty surprised me today when Wes had his hands around her neck, her pussy flexed around my finger trying to suck me in deeper.

It was an illuminating reaction. While she loved my gentle teasing, she also clearly loved a little dominance and roughness as well.

"Her ex used to beat her."

The words come out of nowhere, and I don't process them for a second. "Who?"

"Patty."

"Mm." I'm still thinking about Patty's pussy, when the full effect of the words hit me. "Wait, what?"

Wes turns to me and grimaces at the expression I’m making. And I’m sure it must be something deadly because rage is pumping through me, hot and heady, growing like a flame.

"I found out by accident. She made me promise not to tell anyone, but I can't hold it in anymore. I want to find that cocksucker and make sure he doesn't come close to her again."

Fuck. Fire rages through me. My mind is a haze of red as the memories flash through. Memories of Patty flinching, the fear in her eyes when I snuck up on her. Her hatred of violence.

Now it all makes sense.

Even her skittishness on the day we met was likely because of her asshole ex. She thought I would hurt her like he did.

And God only knows how long she’s had to endure that, and live in fear. My fingers dig into my palm, fist clenching so tight I know my fingernails will leave marks on my callused palms. She looked exhausted the day she got here. I wonder how long she spent running.

All because of that sorry, fucking bastard.

Holy shit, I can’t remember ever being this mad in my life. The thought of someone hurting gentle Patty like that is literally driving me insane.

I want to hit something. Hit someone. I want to bury my fist in this bastard’s face so many times that he no longer looks human.

"What's his name?" And where can we find him and end him?

"Keegan Ward," she says. "Although that last name is probably a fake."

Fuck. It would be harder to find the bastard without a surname. Harder but not impossible.

"Why the fuck didn't she tell us? Is that who she's running from?"

He nods. "We have to protect her. "

"We will." Determination sets in as my heart cries out for vengeance. "No one will ever touch her again."