Page 6 of Single Mom’s Mountain Men (Mountain Men Reverse Harem #1)

Wes

I whistle as I round the corner, slowing to a momentary stop when I hear the unmistakable, tinkling sound of a drop-forged steel spanner hitting the concrete floor.

An unfamiliar, beat-up old Ford sedan that looks like it ought to have been crushed and recycled at least five years ago sits in our driveway.

Slid underneath it is a body wearing a particularly ugly pair of boots that I would recognize anywhere.

I grin as I approach the car, slamming my hand hard on the bumper and enjoying the startled movement below, followed by the sound of his swearing.

Charlie pulls himself out from beneath the vehicle and glares at me. His expression clearly says what his mouth doesn’t. Then he says it anyway.

“What the fuck?”

“I should be asking you that,” I say. “What the fuck is this car doing in our driveway? Don’t we have enough run-down junk in this yard that you had to go bring more?

” We have at least ten broken-down cars on our property thanks to my late father's pathological need to fix every vehicle he’s ever come across.

I had hoped that that particular proclivity had skipped his children, but here Charlie is, underneath a brand-new wreck, eager it would seem to carry on the tradition. Not if I can help it.

“It's not junk,” he says. “It belongs to someone.”

“Who?”

“Why the fuck should I tell you?”

“Ooh, so it’s a secret. You know how I like secrets.

” I peek into the car, noting that there are blankets in the back and it’s also a trash bag full of snack wrappers.

There’s water and Twizzlers on the backseat too.

“My powers of deduction are telling me that this is your nonexistent lost girlfriend and her kids coming to visit. Either that or a bunch of pre-diabetic co-eds. Am I right?”

He doesn’t dignify that with an answer, simply sliding back under the car to continue his tinkering.

I lean against the door. “What’s wrong with it?”

Now that does elicit an answer.

“Rear passenger tire’s very low. It’ll be flat in a few miles if it doesn’t get some air, and that almost certainly means it’s punctured and needs changing.

The silencer back box has come away from the chassis, but that’s an easy fix.

That plus some electrical stuff that’s been messed up, so her AC doesn’t run. ”

“Ah.” So it is a she. I’d figured as much, judging from the bright pink thermos in the driver’s cupholder. That and she’s managed to get Charlie crawling underneath the chassis of her car, fixing it up for her, of course. "And is she paying you for this?”

“No, but I’d be willing to pay you to leave me alone.”

“What? No, no, no. Tormenting you is the only fun I have around here.” That and Cockrey’s bar, but that's an hour's drive and it'll probably be empty at this time. Plus, I should probably steer clear of Cockrey's for a while, after I pissed off the owner by flirting with his missus.

In my defense she had come onto me .

Still...

“Speaking of which, I thought you went into town to get something for us to chow on for dinner. The fridge is practically empty. Did you get anything?"

Charlie says nothing.

I knock on the bumper again. “Hello? I’m talking to you.”

Nothing again and I sigh. He’s reverted to his factory setting of ‘Silent Charlie’. And once Charlie goes mute it takes an act of God to get him to talk.

I let out a long-suffering sigh, wondering who I offended in my last life to end up with two brothers like the ones I have.

First, there’s Mitch who wouldn't know the word 'fun' if it bit him in the ass.

He's as cold blooded as they come, all duty and responsibility.

Plus, he takes the whole 'oldest' brother thing a bit too seriously and thinks he can boss his two younger brothers around and turn them into workaholics like him.

And then there’s Charlie, who’s less of a workaholic but instead comes with the annoying disposition of simply being silent most of the time and too big to bully all of the time.

It’s irritating and I wish I could go back to the drawing table to pick new brothers, maybe the type that would form a motorcycle gang with me and ride around having fun, causing casual menace amongst the males whilst taking the pick of their women.

Instead of these two lame-o’s I am actually stuck with.

“Boring,” I mutter and shift from the car, heading towards the guest house.

I don’t make it three steps before Charlie’s hand is grasping my elbow, pulling me back .

“What the fuck?” I swear as he tightens his hand around my bicep

“Where are you going?”

“What the fuck is it to you?” I rip my hand out of his hold. “Don’t grab me like that again you know I hate being snuck up on." Courtesy of the Marine Corps, I have an all-fight instinct and grabbing me from behind is a sure way to end up with an elbow in the throat.

But the bastard doesn’t even look sorry that he might have triggered me. Charlie simply shakes his head and says, “Don’t go into the guesthouse.”

“Why? What’s in the guesthouse?” And then an eye-widening realization strikes me. “Don’t tell me you actually do have a long-lost girlfriend visiting with her kids?’

“No, you idiot. But someone is staying at the guesthouse and she’s exhausted. She doesn’t need you bothering her."

Now I’m curious. We’ve had guests in the lodge before, but they’re usually old military buddies stopping by to say hello, or backpackers on a trip who need a cheap place to stay for the night.

Occasionally a travelling mechanic or sales rep for an agricultural supplier might stop by.

In those situations, my brother usually ignores them for the most part and stays in his room or heads up into the forest to work.

He’s never once bothered with what Mitch and I do with the guests as long as we leave him out of it.

So for him to be this worked up about me potentially bothering a guest, and a female guest for that matter...

Oh, now I’ve definitely got to meet her .

“Well, brother I can’t just have a random stranger staying in my house and not meet them at least once.” I tell him in a singsong tongue shrugging. “It would be rude."

Charlie shakes his head, as firm as I’ve ever seen him. “No. ”

“No?”

“No.”

This only raises my curiosity still further. I’m itching to meet her now, and Charlie can probably tell because he sighs in resignation. "Fine. You say hi and then you leave her alone. Got it?"

"Scout's honor," I say, and he rolls his eyes.

As we walk to the door, he turns over his shoulder to look at me.

“You going to slack off all day?” Charlie asks finally and I glance down at him.

“What do you mean slack off? I’ve done my quota for the day.

” We own a family logging business, and our older brother Mitch sets us ridiculous quotas for the work we need to complete each day.

Stubbornly, I wake up early enough so that I can finish early and spend the rest of the day doing whatever I want.

I often see Mitch glaring at me as I walk away from the shed.

He probably thinks I should be working overtime like him, but that’s just not how I roll.

Unlike him, this is just a job to me and it's never been my dream to run our family's logging business.

That's his and Charlie's thing. I'm just helping him out since we can’t afford to hire too many people on our staff right now. Hence we have a couple of guesthouses, since they were what used to be workers’ accommodation, back in my papa’s day when he had big plans for the place.

But producing planks out of trees is not my life and soul and I refuse to make it so.

We climb the steps to the verandah and knock on the door.

I think I hear a splashing sound. She's taking a bath?

“Coming," someone calls out .

“What’s her name?” I whisper to Charlie as we hear harried footsteps.

“I didn’t ask.”

I give him an incredulous look. “You invited someone to stay with us and you didn’t even ask their name?”

Charlie shrugs. “I didn’t think it was important.

“Didn’t think it was… I swear to God Charlie, sometimes I don’t even think you’re a human being, much less my brother.”

“Not everyone is as nosy as you.”

And then the door pulls open and we’re both struck silent.

Or at the very least know I’m struck silent. She’s a goddess!

Her disheveled, wet, blonde tresses, her sultry eyes and their open, unsure expression. The full, kissable lips. The scent of coconut, the dampness of her skin, and the fact that I can see the full shape of her body outlined in the hastily donned sundress that’s sticking to her every curve.

God. No wonder he didn’t want me to see her. She's gorgeous.

He must have known I would turn into a horn dog instantly.

“Hey,” I say, forcing my mouth to move, albeit sluggishly. I try to keep my eyes on hers instead of going lower like they want to do. “I’m sorry to disturb your rest, but my brother said you would be staying with us and I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Wes, Charlie’s little brother."

“Wait, you’re the little brother?” Her eyes open in surprise. “The way Charlie spoke, I thought you were a lot younger.”

I glare at Charlie out of the corner of my eye.

“Of course, he gave you that impression. My brother likes to pretend like I’m a kid in front of beautiful women.

” I hold out my hand. “But to officially introduce myself, I’m Wes Norris.

Charlie’s very grown, very adult, and much more normal younger brother. "

She cracks a smile and extends her hand too. "I’m Patty.”

Beautiful name. Warm and unassuming, just like her. “Patty what?”

Her breath hitches a little and there’s a pause before she says, “Patty Cole.” There’s also a skitter in her expression that makes me think that the last part was a lie.

The "Cole" didn’t come out with the same natural conviction as "Patty". But I let it go. She probably doesn’t want to tell her full name to two strangers. What if we turn out to be weirdos?

"Patty Cole." I taste the name on my tongue. "Like that singer."

She cocks her head. "There's a singer called Patty Cole?"

“Yeah, I think. Or at least I know her name was Patty something. She was popular in the eighties. You would know her, right Charlie, since you're so ancient?"

Charlie glares at me and Patty giggles. Man, I love the sound of it.

"Anyway, Patty, it's real nice to... err... see you. I'm gonna let you rest right now, but I should warn you we have an older brother who will probably want to meet you too."

She nods. "That's fine. Um, about the cost of our stay..."

"Don't worry about it," Charlie speaks up for the first time. "We'll work something out. Or you can stay for free if you want."

“Oh no, I couldn’t do that.” She shakes her head as I turn and give Charlie a look.

“We’ll discuss later. You rest up for now.”

She hesitates, but then nods and closes the door.

I’m still facing Charlie, a smile splitting my lips. I put my lips together and blow out a long whistle. "So that's why you were hiding her."

His glare increases. "Leave her alone. She doesn't need your trouble."

"Oh brother, but you know the ladies love my trouble. Because I make it so damn fun for them." I bound down the stairs and hear Charlie call out behind me.

"Where are you going?"

"To tell Mitch we have a guest," I respond. "You know how much of a control freak our brother is. He'll have a fit if he stumbles across her on his own."

Charlie sighs, likely seeing the truth in what I'm saying. "I'll come with you."

We find Mitch in one of the sheds, rough planing some lumber ready to be turned into two-by-fours for the construction trade. He doesn't remove his eye protection as we arrive, but he yells over his tools, “What?”

Charlie and I share a look, and then I venture. “Charlie has a guest.”

“So?”

“A lady guest.”

That gets Mitch to stop what he’s doing and Charlie shoots me a dirty look.

“Her name is Patty. Charlie told her she could stay for free before he even knew her name.”

“Wes.”

Mitch grunts and stands, interrupting Charlie’s exasperated groan. Without another word to Charlie or me, he takes off his eye gear and strides evenly out of the shed.

“Where are you going?” I call after him.

“Where do you think?” he says. “To meet our guest.”