Page 7 of Single Mom’s Mountain Men (Mountain Men Reverse Harem #1)

Patty

I close the door on the men, releasing a breath before resting with my back against the wooden surface.

Damn.

God really took his time when he was making those brothers. How can the two look so differently appealing yet so universally attractive simultaneously?

Charlie and Wes were both tall, and well-built with chiseled jawlines, but that’s where the similarities ended.

Wes appeared softer, with humor and mischief twinkling in his brown eyes.

His hair is red unlike Charlie’s brown curls, and on the longer side, locks secured at the top of his head with a rubber band.

I’ve always thought manbuns looked stupid on most people, but I can't deny that Wes' hairstyle has a certain appeal.

At the very least, I felt like tugging on the band so I could see all that hair cascading down.

And then maybe grip it as I drag his head to mine so I can suck on his lips…

Come on Patty, you're doing it again.

I need to settle down. It’s bad enough that I was in the bathtub masturbating about Charlie when they knocked. I barely had enough time to get out and throw on some clothes before going to answer the door. And now I'm practically salivating over his brother.

And there’s a third one? I can only imagine how devastating that will be for my libido.

Either way, my imagination is as far as I’ll let it go with those brothers, especially Wes.

That one in particular smelled like trouble.

He's clearly a natural flirt and while he seems like a nice guy, I’ve learned to stay away from men with that much charisma.

My ex-boyfriend, for example, was a charmer when I met him.

He had a magnetic personality that just drew me in and made me feel like I was the most important person to him.

He got me flowers, swept me off my feet, and promised me the world.

He did all the right things to have me fall into his clutches.

I only figured out his true nature after it was too late.

I shudder a little as I head to my sleeping daughters.

The AC keeps the room cool enough but not so cool that we need a blanket.

I get into bed beside them, thinking back to everything that brought me to this moment.

Despite my fatigue, some leftover adrenaline is fueling the worry in my mind, telling me that I’m still not far enough away.

It’s telling me to get back in the car and keep driving until I reach the end of the earth, until I’m absolutely sure he can never get to me again.

I remember one of the last times he hit me. When he put his hand around my neck and brought me close enough to whisper into my ears.

If you ever leave me my little Patty Cake, I’ll hunt you, find you, and kill you.

As my heart clamors, I close my eyes, performing the breathing exercises like my therapist taught me. My body trembles but I can’t afford to give into panic now. Not until my daughters are safe. Then maybe I can deal with my emotions.

My girls are all the family I have left. They are the ones who gave me the strength to leave.

For a long time, I was too terrified to defy Keegan, scared that he would follow through on his threats.

Plus, I excused my staying with him because up until that point, he hadn't been abusive to the girls, and all his bitterness was saved for me.

I thought I could handle it. I thought that if I absorbed all his badness, then he would never turn it on my daughters. I thought that they would be safe.

Until the day that Katie picked up one his prized pieces of Chinese porcelain and dropped it onto the stone hearth, smashing it to smithereens, and I saw the rage flare up in his eyes.

“You stupid little bitch,” he snarled and raised his hand. The sight of my daughter flinching before him made me snap. I grabbed a kitchen knife, threw myself in front of her, and brandished it at him.

“Don’t you touch her," I snarled. “Don’t ever fucking touch her in your life.”

He jerked back, caught off guard. The shock in his face told me everything I needed to know. He never thought I had it in me. I’d always appeared meek and biddable, but then he’d never tried to touch my children before.

Maybe if it was just me I could have born the beatings, the insults, the never-ending cycle of shady men coming in and out of our home.

But I refused to let my daughters grow up like that.

Because I knew that eventually, I would not be able to keep them safe anymore.

So I waited and plotted. He left one night and I took all the evidence I could find and went to the FBI. They told me they would get me in witness protection by the end of the week.

But that went wrong too. When I learned Keegan had a mole inside the FBI I knew I had to leave before he found out what I did.

But running away was only the first part. The next part is finding a secret place where I can settle down and raise my kids in safety, until Keegan is caught, his gang rounded up and the whole lot of them sentenced to a long spell in prison.

That's going to be difficult. With very little cash and no ID, my options are limited.

Even if I get a fake ID, I don't want my image to be part of a system where his FBI friends could easily find me with a search.

I would have to work menial jobs in the meantime, where I can get paid cash under the table. And I need to get one soon.

I release a breath now. It’s almost evening.

I’ll leave this place in the morning when it’s safe, and I’ll keep going as far as I can go. Maybe I'll hit Washington or Oregon. Or even slip into Canada. I'm sure there'll be plenty of work opportunities there.

And even though Charlie mentioned I could stay here for free, I don’t take free things from people, especially not men.

My eyes are finally sliding shut, weariness dragging me into sleep.

I'm right on the cusp of it when I hear loud footsteps on the floorboard outside my door.

I immediately spring out of bed, panic pumping through me.

With a cloudy mind, I search around me for a weapon, something I can use to defend my daughters and me from the heavy-footed monster outside.

It takes me a second to hear the voices and realize that it’s Charlie and Wes talking between themselves.

I sigh. I’m too tired to be good company right now and was hoping I could have some time to nap, but it looks like they need something else from me.

A loud rap sounds at the door, more aggressive sounding than either of the brothers had been previously.

“I’m coming,” I say and shuffle to the door, pulling it open.

I immediately step back.

It’s not just Wes and Charlie standing there.

There’s a third man, glaring down at me, and the look on his face has me taking a couple more steps back.

The man seems to see that as an invitation and climbs into the room, his eyes flickering over my girls sleeping on the bed.

I instinctively move to block his view of them, drawing his gaze back to me.

“Name?” he barks at me, his voice in the rigid tone of a hardened soldier.

He certainly looks like a military man, with his buzzed short hair and his severe features.

Rugged lines etched on his forehead, bushy eyebrows slanted down harshly over his hooded gaze.

I’m guessing he’s the older brother, although he doesn’t look anything like the other two.

Or maybe he does but in a subtler way. He has Wes' brown eyes but with none of the softness.

Instead of warm chocolate, his eyes remind me of wood – hard, unyielding wood.

While slightly shorter than Charlie who is the tallest of the brothers, his presence seems larger and far more imposing that he fills up the whole room.

“Name," he barks again and I blink.

“Um, Patty. Patty Cole.”

“And where are you headed, Patty Cole?"

“Um… my daughters and I are taking a road trip. We want to see the mountains."

"Where are you from?"

"Illinois."

"City?"

"Um...” I try to remember what I told Jamie. “Indiana ?”

“You sure about that? ’

"Yes? ” I glance at the brother behind him and while Charlie is glaring at his brother, Wes is snickering.

“How long are you going to be on this trip of yours?"

“I don’t think that’s any of your bus…”

"I make it my business to know about everything and everyone that stays in my family home.”

His tone has my spine straightening.

I bite back my annoyance. “I don't know how long yet.”

“You got any family or friends in Montana?"

“Uh...”

“You seem unsure about a lot of your answers Patty Cole.”

“Maybe because you’re not giving me time to think, asshole.” The words slip out of my lips before I can stop them.

The man blinks, taken aback but I’m far too irate right now to care. The lack of sleep followed by the verbal drilling rendered me unusually short-tempered. “Look, first of all, back up. You’re making me feel claustrophobic standing so close.”

His eyes widen, but he takes two steps back, to my surprise.

"Sorry," he says. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me," I say, finding that it's true.

He confused and irritated me, but oddly enough I'm not scared of these three brothers.

"And while I don't appreciate the rapid-fire questioning, I understand your concerns.

But all I can tell you is that I'm not a bad person and I'm not going to rob you blind or whatever it is you might be thinking.

I'm just a woman on a trip with my daughters. We're going to see the sights and then we're going home. Nothing more to it than that. We needed a place to stay for the night and Jamie at the gas station recommended your lodge. I talked to Charlie and he agreed to let me stay here. But if that’s going to be a problem for you, then I could just as easily find somewhere else to stay.” I hope not though because the only other options appear to be a hotel that’s out of my budget, or a motel that pretty much guarantees robbery with violence.

The man rubs his chin. “You got a problem with me asking questions?”

“Honestly yes. The fact that I’m staying here doesn’t entitle you to know everything about me. And like I said, if you have a problem with it, then I can leave."

There’s a silent stare-off, but I refuse to look away first. I’ve dealt with bullies for the past five years and I allowed them to push me around. But I’m not doing that anymore. I’ve left that life behind.

This Patty isn’t taking shit from anyone.

The man finally cracks a smile, and it completely transforms his face from harsh drill sergeant into someone with an almost boyish charm. Wow.

"Fine," he says. "I trust my brothers have already sorted out the living arrangements."

"Yeah, Mitch," Charlie says brushing past his older brother with a warning look. "She's staying for free."

"Actually," I say and they turn back to me. "I'm not sure I'm completely comfortable with that idea. I mean , I appreciate the gesture and all, but I would rather pay something."

"You don't have to," Wes says. "We're not hurting for money and it won't make a difference to us if you're here or not, because the lodge won't be in use anyway. So it's not like you're putting us out. And if you’ll pardon me for being blunt, but we can tell money is short for you right now."

“Oh?” What makes you say that?” Wes gestures with a roll of his head towards the driveway.

“No one with any choice in the matter would be driving a beat-up Ford Taurus from the early nineties, let alone that particular example that you just about made it here in.” Charlie nods in agreement, and I sigh. They do have a point.

"Still." I say. “I’d rather pay my way.”

"What you could do," Wes continues, "is maybe cook for us once in a while."

"Wes," Charlie admonishes.

"What? I'm tired of your soggy-ass mac and cheese and Mitch's steaks taste like rocks. Can we just have a couple nights of edible food please?" He shrugs at me. "But you don't have to if you don’t want to."

"No, that's fine," I giggle as Wes' face lights up. "I'm a pretty good cook. I could cook every day that I'm here, no problem."

"Are you sure?" Charlie says. "Like Wes says, you don't have to."

"But I do want to. It's the least I can do if you guys are really going to let me stay here for free."

The brothers look at each other and they seem to hold a silent discussion among themselves.

"I guess it's settled then," Mitch says. "Patty, you're welcome to stay as long as you like."

"Thank you," I'm surprised by his generosity and it's a relief, like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. At least, now I have a place to stay. All I need to do next is find a job that's willing to pay me without any ID or bookkeeping.

After the brothers leave, with Wes winking at me on the way out, I finally head back to bed. Thankfully that conversation didn’t wake up my girls, which is probably a testament to the strain that the last twenty-four hours has placed on them.

Hopefully, things will get better from now on. That's the last thought I have before sleep overtakes me.