Page 118 of Shared By the Mountain Men

Ash came up and hugged me from behind. He had to bend down to put his cheek next to mine, and his arms slowly tightened until it felt like my ribs were cracking.

“Okay!” I said.

“Sorry,” he replied. “Been waiting a while to do that.”

“Okay, so which of you is the reason my sister is moving here?” Brian demanded as he returned from petting the cats. “Which of you is her boyfriend or whatever?”

The four of us looked at each other.

It must have been obvious, because Brian’s eyes widened. “Fuck me. It’s all of them, isn’t it?”

“Your brother’s smart,” Jack said.

“He does go to Cal Tech,” I replied.

Brian gave me a goofy grin, then said, “You slut.”

Ash growled and strode across the space toward Brian. My brother took a few steps back, holding his palms out defensively.

“It’s okay!” I said, grabbing Ash’s arm. “He’s my brother. He’s called me much worse.”

“I have!” Brian said. “Much worse!”

Ash glared at him, then nodded. “Yeah. All right.”

Brian let out a deep sigh. “Seriously, I’ve said somehorriblethings to my sister. One time I said she’s a walking yeast infection. And the number of times I’ve used the C-word…”

“Not helping your case,” I said.

“She’s right,” Ash growled. “You’re not.”

Brian smiled nervously. “Message received.” He looked at me. “So you… you’re seriously seeing all three of these guys?”

“Yeah. I am.” It felt strange to say it out loud. I hadn’t told anyone. My parents were oblivious. They thought I was seeingoneof the guys—Dad thought it was Jack, while Mom hoped it was Noah—but they didn’t actually know the truth.

Brian gave me an appraising look. “Hell yeah, Melissa. I wish I had three girlfriends.”

“That,” Ash said, stabbing a finger into Brian’s chest, “was the right answer.”

“Let’s unload your stuff,” Noah suggested. “Then we can all go celebrate with pizza and beer.”

“I talked to Theresa, and the Indigo Cabin is all yours for as long as you want it,” Jack said.

“I don’t want it for free,” I quickly replied. “I’m not a freeloader anymore. I want to pay full price once I get a job.”

Jack crossed his arms over his broad chest. “We can discuss a discounted rate. A long-term rate.”

“How long-term?” Brian asked while grabbing a box from the back of the car. “Didn’t you say you want to try living in a bunch of different places?”

“We’ll see,” I replied. Thatwaswhat I had told Mom and Dad, but now that I was here? It didn’t feel like my first stop in a series of new towns.

It felt likethe one.

“We’ll work it out with Theresa,” Jack said before hefting a box and carrying it inside.

It didn’t take long to move all my stuff inside. Ash wiped his hands on his jeans and said, “I’m starving.”

Jack smirked. “I know a place.”

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