Page 37 of Single Mom’s Mountain Men (Mountain Men Reverse Harem #1)

Charlie

T he knock on the shed door later that evening interrupts my musings and breaks my concentration. I lay down my hand plane, assuming that it’s Patty coming to tell me that dinner is ready.

But instead, Mitch opens the door and walks in. "We need to talk."

I raise an eyebrow, trying to gauge the nature of the conversation from his expression. The problem is that that’s pretty difficult to do with Mitch. He always has that same permanent scowl on his face and there’s usually no way for me to tell when he's happy or sad.

Except when he was staring down at Patty as he fucked her. Then there was a change.

I wonder if my brother had any idea how he looked, gazing at her with such devotion as though she held the key to the moon. I wonder if he knew that some people could misinterpret such a look as love.

Mitch probably loves her too even though he’ll probably deny it for as long as possible.

Nevertheless, I know he’ll eventually give in again, just like he gave in that first time.

It’s only a matter of time. As to what he came to talk to me about it probably has to do with Patty and what happened.

Maybe he’s coming to apologize out of some misguided notion that I may be feeling betrayed.

Or maybe he’s come to assure me that it won’t happen again.

In which case I can simply let him know that I don’t mind sharing Patty with him too.

But only with my brothers. If any other man so much as breathes near her, I'll see red, but it's different with Mitch and Wes. Maybe because I care about them and can see how much they love her. We’ve always had a bond that surpasses even my understanding sometimes. In any case, I’m not scared of losing her to them so I’m comfortable with them being a part of the relationship.

More eyes to protect her. More hands to pleasure her.

It makes sense once you think about it like that.

Besides , I smile to myself. There is something undoubtedly arousing about watching someone else bring her pleasure.

When it's just the two of us, I’m distracted by holding back my orgasm, but seeing Patty without that distraction will always be a heavenly sight to me and I’ll crave it for as long as I live.

"Charlie?"

I tune back in to find that Mitch is standing directly in front of me now, and I’ve probably been staring off into the air and smiling to myself like a maniac.

"What is it you wanted to talk about ?" I ask.

He runs his hand over his scalp and that’s about the only sign he gives that he’s uncomfortable with this conversation.

"I don’t know how to broach this, so I’m just going to come out and say it. Do you like working here?"

I blink, stunned by the sudden question. That was not where I was expecting him to go with this. "What?"

"Working here. Do you enjoy it? "

I shrug. "It’s work."

"Yes but is it work you want to be doing?"

"Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?" He never asked Wes or me whether we wanted to run the mill with him. He simply said in that bar, while we were all still grieving mom’s death, "We need to get the mill back up and running. Dad would have a fit if he knew what it’s turned into. He died for this place and we can’t let it be in vain. "

And then Wes and I nodded and pretty much fell into line.

So what's different now?

Luckily, Mitch answers before I can even voice the question.

"It’s just something that Patty said," he notes, "Something that made me think that maybe I’m the one forcing things. Pushing against the tide."

Ah, I see. It warms my heart that Patty is worried about us but I don’t want my brother feeling guilty either.

"You're not pushing against the tide," I say. "And you were right. And it’s thanks to you that we were able to get this place to the level it’s at now. I don't necessarily mind working here."

"But…" He waits for me to continue.

"But…" I sigh and finally decide it's time for me to be honest. "There is a part of me that feels like I would rather own a garage."

He nods. "I figured. I mean I've always known you had a passion for fixing cars. I should have known it was more than a hobby."

I don’t know what else to say so I remain quiet.

"Here’s what we can do," he says. "I’ll hire people to take over yours and Wes’ jobs. Then the two of you are free to pursue whatever you want to do."

I shake my head. "No. "

"Charlie–"

"That's going to cost money and we’re barely raking in profit as it is."

"I don’t want the two of you to be stuck here because of me."

"Well too damn bad. It’s not just about you. It's also about mom and dad's legacy."

He shakes his head. "Their legacy isn't stuff. Their legacy is us . They would want us to do whatever makes us happy."

"Mitch…"

"We would have more than enough money if I sold that piece of land you mentioned."

My eyes widen as he continues, "I already have someone looking into buyers. Whatever we get we, split it three ways. I’ll use my third to hire more staff, Wes can use his for whatever he wants to do and you can use it to open up your garage."

"Mitch I…" I'm stunned. Floored. "I don’t know what to say."

Mitch offers a wry smile. "Don't go thanking me or anything. It’s your land too. I’m just not gonna be monopolizing it anymore.

" He tucks his hands into his pockets. "And if you want to thank someone, you can thank Patty.

She's the one who got my head out of my ass enough to see that I was hurting the two of you. I don’t think I would have noticed otherwise. "

Yeah me either.

I can picture their conversation now, Patty gently talking to him and pointing out all the errors in his logic. "She really is something else isn’t she?"

Mitch smiles wistfully. "Yeah, she is."

I stare at my brother for some time, and then finally brave the words, "You’re in love with her aren't you? "

His head snaps to me but he doesn’t react in shock to what I’m saying. Meaning he probably already knew it even before I said it.

"So am I," I tell him and then he smirks.

"Yeah, I think everyone could tell. You didn’t even attempt to hide it."

I shrug. I’ve always been the kind that wears my heart on my sleeve and even though that has gotten said heart broken a few times, I don’t see the point of stopping now.

"What are you two talking about?" Wes appears at the threshold with his body slicked with sweat, and eyes glinting in suspicion at being left out of our conversation.

"We're talking about how much we love Patty," I say casually and both brothers turn to me in surprise.

"Jeez, Charlie," Wes curses. "I swear you're such a mute most times, but when it comes to the 'L' word, it rolls off your tongue so easily."

"Patty is only the second girl I've said it to. And I truly haven't felt this deeply for any of the others either."

"Well hell," Wes says. "I love her too."

"I know," I tell him.

"So what are we going to do now? Have you thought about this?" he asks. "How difficult this is going to be?"

"I haven’t thought about much else," I tell him.

"And?"

"And what?"

"Damn it, Charlie. Setups like ours aren't normal, especially not in Gaston Montana."

I shrug. "It’s not like I care much about what people in town think about us anyway."

"But Patty might."

That gives me pause, but then Mitch immediately jumps into the silence .

"We’ll convince her we’re worth it," he says, determination set on his expression. "Because we're not letting her go."

And that's how we hatched a plan to finally solidify our relationship with Patty and confess our feelings to her.

The execution of said plan takes up a few days and cuts into work hours. But I don’t mind. We keep it at until we have it down perfectly. And then one night, after the girls have been put to bed, Wes lures Patty back to my room.

I catch the surprise in her eyes when she walks in with him and sees me and Charlie there.

"What's going on?" she asks, as Wes shuts the door behind her.

We point to the wooden plaque that we've been working on for nearly a week.

We have it arranged on the table, her name carved into a gleaming polished block comprising red pear wood set alongside curly maple, both of the timbers coming from trees that our father had felled from our own land and carefully stored awaiting some special occasion.

The red of the red pear contrasts wonderfully with the white of the curly maple.

Below her name, additional words are carved, "We love you. Will you be ours forever?"

Patty reads the words, and then reaches out to touch the smooth surface.

"You made this?" she whispers, her hand covering her mouth.

"Yeah," I answer. "Used our best wood. Also made some trinkets for you and the girls.

" Her eyes meet mine and I continue. "None of us are good with words but we wanted to make something to show you how we feel.

And how much we love you." I swallow, feeling anxiety rise the more she remains silent.

"I mean it’s probably stupid. We probably should have done something better, like take you out to a romantic dinner, or I dunno… "

"No." Her hand slides away from her mouth and she shakes her head, as tears flow down her cheeks. "This is perfect. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen."

Relief rushes through me.

"And?" Wes asks, and I hear the nerves and excitement in his tone too. "Do you wanna answer the question?"

She turns around with tears in her eyes and then nods.

"Yes. I love you too!"