Page 78 of Orphan Girl's Mountain Men

"Get a grip on yourself, Reed, you assh—" I suddenly remember Grace is present. "You asshat."

"I'm sorry, Dean." He splutters. "It's just your face…" He carries on laughing.

"I think you're in love with Hailey too, Uncle Reed." Grace pipes up once more, and that causes his laughter to die away instantly.

"Because I saw you kissing her, a few days ago. It was early in the morning and you were leaving her room and you kissed her for ages. Then you came back, but you didn't see me—I was hiding in the trees. And Tammy Lee at pre-school says that if a boy kisses you, he has to marry you. Are you going to marry Hailey, Uncle Dean? Or is Uncle Reed going to marry her?"

Now it's the turn of Lennon to smirk at the pair of us. "I doubt she'd give either of you dumb-asses the time of day, let alone agree to marry you. You're both way below her standard."

"Oh, unlike you huh?" I shoot back, in a weak attempt to win back the upper hand.

"Well, I wish one of you would marry her," says Grace. "Then I'd have a proper family—I mean a family with a mommy as well as three daddies."

Silence reigns for a moment as we all digest that thought, broken (thankfully) by Lennon.

"Right, Grace. Time for pre-school."

A family with a mommy as well as three daddies.Thinking back to the relatively small amount of time that Hailey spent with us in the big house, I can't help thinking how nice it was having her around. How much homier it had felt. If I'm completely honest with myself—well, Grace ain't the only one who would benefit from having a woman around the place.

Before departing the kitchen to go our separate ways, Reed, Lennon and I had agreed to meet back there at six this evening. We want to head across to see Hailey without having to worry about Grace, so Lennon has spoken to one of the workers—Marsha—who has agreed to come babysit Grace for an hour or two, so that Lennon can join us. Grace likes Marsha, and she's a pretty reliable type of person, so Lennon doesn't mind.

It's exactly six now, and the three of us are here, so it's time for our visit.

"Good to go?"

"Yep." Reed smiles and winks like we're playing some kind of game, and Lennon gives his usual grunt to mean 'yes'.

Lennon gives Grace a kiss goodbye, and I give a nod to Marsha as we leave.

"Keep your eye on her," I say. "You know what she's like."

Marsha smiles reassuringly at me. "Sure, Mr. Carter, I'll take good care of her."

I lead the way out the door and into the yard, and the three of us make our way down to the stile in the fence that separates the two properties, climb the stile, and work our way around the lake and up to True Heart Lodge. As we get there, the door opens, and Hailey stands there, framed by the sunlight in a way that kind of outlines her body inside her lightweight summer dress.Jesus—I can see every line of her through that dress.Despite the seriousness of our visit, and my full intention to keep this trip away from anything to do with relationships and focusing one hundred percent on Sinclair and the Sheriff, I still feel my cock stirring in my boxers below.

"Get a grip!"

"Huh? What's that, boss?"

Jesus Christ—did I say that out loud?

"Oh… er… nothing. Nothing at all, I was telling myself to get ready."

"Ok, boss." Nothing more is said, but out the corner of my eye I see Lennon and Reed exchange quizzical glances. I cannot afford to slip up like that again.

"Hello boys." Hailey smiles sweetly at us as we climb the veranda steps. "I saw you heading this way out the window whilst I was fixing supper. To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"

Reed and Lennon look at me, so I say, "We got something to tell you. Something serious. Something we think you need to know about. Can we come in?"

She opens the door wide and gestures us in, leading the way herself into her cosy kitchen. The three of us all grab a seat around the kitchen table, as she busies herself with the coffee pot on the stove. When she's got the coffee under control, she joins us, and I make a start.

"We wouldn't be telling you this if it wasn't important, Hailey. But we're all agreed you need to know."

"Okay. So tell me."

I take a sip of the fresh, strong coffee she's brewed, and begin my story.

"A coupla days ago the three of us got a visit from the police—leastways the Sheriff, though my opinion is he ain't hardly qualified to shovel shit, let alone wear an officer's badge." Lennon grunts his agreement at this, and Reed is nodding, so I carry on.

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