Page 3 of Single Mom for the Mountain Men
The men appear before me in a few quick strides, their bodies appearing even more huge and menacing the closer they get. My feet scuttle backward on their own, and the trio stops as they see my hesitant movement.
“Whip out the lantern, won’t you, slowpoke?” the sharp-tongued one says. He’s a tad thinner than the other two, but he’s clearly the most impatient.
“Lantern? This isn’t the eighteen hundreds, dumbass. I gave Brody the flashlight I had on me.”
“Shit, yeah, wait.”
A button clicks, and a ray of light appears a few steps from my feet.
The light illuminates the three men’s faces. The man holding the light, Brody, stands well above six feet, with dark hair thatfalls charmingly over his eyes. He is the broadest and tallest out of the three, with the most intimidating stature. The one on his right stands with eyes full of mirth, a buzzed haircut, and facial stubble. His arms are crossed, but even so, his stance is loose and carefree.
The third member of the trio stands with his head turned away from me, his blond hair sitting messily atop his head. His body language is slightly wary, maybe even indifferent, as his expression portrays boredom. He is the wiry one of the group with lean muscles lurking beneath his ratty sweatshirt.
“I’m sorry, I forgot to introduce myself and these other two assholes. I’m Brody, and this is Tanner.” He points to the man with the buzzcut. “And this is Aiden,” he finishes by nodding toward the blond man. “I guess you’re new here?”
Blinking, I nod slowly. “Yeah, uh, I’m Lena Sanders. I just moved to Whitefish today. The city was getting a bit too hectic for me, so…”
“Lovely to make your acquaintance, Lena,” Tanner says smoothly, extending his hand toward me. As I give him mine, he flips it around and presses his lips to the back of it.
Flustered, I pull it back, just as Brody smacks the back of Tanner’s head. The sound is loud, and the thwack tells me that Brody didn’t hold back at all.
For a minute, I fear that Tanner will retaliate and it’ll turn into a bloody brawl in my front yard. After all, Jack did warn me that these are mountain men.
But Tanner only winks at me and rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
“So, power outage?” Aiden asks.
I nod like a bobblehead, stepping back and gesturing toward the cabin. “Yeah, the lights randomly cut out. I don’t know anything about the power supply, so–”
“Don’t worry, Lena, we got you,” Tanner reassures me with a lopsided grin on his face as Brody steps toward my home. Aiden and Tanner follow closely behind, their movements purposeful and strangely synchronized. I lead them inside, my pulse quickening, despite their calm demeanor. The wary, distrustful part of me says that I’m making a big mistake, but the more logical part knows that they’re my best shot at restoring the power now, instead of waiting to see when—or if—Jack ever gets back to me.Hopefully letting them in won’t come back to bite me in the ass.
Chapter two
CHAPTER 2: Brody
Green, sparkling eyes that hide secrets within their depths, soft, rose-colored lips, and pink cheeks.
God really took his time with Lena Sanders. Her beauty hit me like a blow to the head the first time my eyes landed on her. She stood under the moonlight with eyes wide like a deer’s, fear emanating from her every pore.
It didn’t help that my dumbass brothers only scared her more. Her body loosened up the more that Tanner made his awful fucking jokes, but she still seems nervous, especially now that we’re in her cabin.
“What did you turn on when the lights went out?” I ask her, interrupting Tanner from making another corny pass at her. I open the fuse box located in the cabin’s mudroom and peer inside with my flashlight.
“Uh, I didn’t turn on anything. The lights went out randomly when I was in the kitchen.”
“Must have originated in the kitchen, then. You mind if I check in there?”
Lena blinks a few times, then nods. “Sure, I don’t mind.” Gesturing for us to follow her, she leads us out of the mudroom and into a spacious, but slightly dated, living room.
Immediately, little feet pitter-patter in our direction.
A small girl, no older than seven, ambushes Lena. She tugs on Lena’s shirt and signals for her to scoop her up. Her cheeks are fat and ruddy. I think her hair is long and brown as it spills over her shoulders, but it’s a bit too dark in here to know for sure.
“Momma? Who are these guys? What are they doing here? You said–”
Momma?
Lena makes a reprimanding sound, shushing her daughter. With how young Lena looks, I thought the girl was her younger sister.She’s a mother? Where is the girl’s father, then? Surely, they can’t be here all by themselves? It’s not safe.
