Page 34 of Single Mom's Mountain Men
Part of it, a huge part, is because I want to see Patty again.
I know I’ve told myself to avoid her, if for no other reason than to wait until I have learned to get over the hot, melting feeling she triggers in me. But avoiding her isn't helping. I still think about her when I'm working. Whenever we cross paths and she shoots me that tentative smile, I want to kiss her lips until they sigh. Whenever she looks at me, I want to draw her into my arms and even just that hint of vulnerability in her eyes makes me want to get down on one knee and swear to protect her for eternity.
Which is a ridiculous thought to have about someone you only just met mere days ago.
If I didn’t know better I would think that I was going certifiably insane. I’ve certainly felt insane, because Patty is starting to consume my thoughts. I nearly took the tip of my finger off with a pulp hook because I was thinking about how pretty she looked this morning with her yellow hairband that matches her yellow flannel shirt and her golden blonde hair..
And it’s not like she’s even trying to drive me to distraction. I was fantasizing about her in a flannel shirt and jean shorts that go down to her knees FFS! By no stretch of the imagination could the outfit be called seductive, but Patty herself draws me in like nobody else ever has.
And Ineedto get over it.
But as I head back to the kitchen for dinner, my heart quickens again.
“Quit that,” I mutter to myself.
“Quit what?” I glance to my left and see Wes approaching from the other side. His hair is wet like he dunked his head in a stream before coming here. "You talking to ghosts now,brother? Do we have to call that psychiatrist that mom took you to?”
I ignore him. When he gets close, he slings his arm over my shoulder.
“Now I don’t know if it’s just me, but I've noticed you’re always early for dinner nowadays. And you sit and eat with us instead of skulking off to your room with your meal like you always used to do. Any particular reason for that, brother?”
I shove Wes’s arm off me, but that doesn’t stop the smirk from spreading across his face. “Can’t say I blame you though. The grub has been amazing lately. And the view is even better."
“Don’t get used to it.” I’m not sure how long Patty's staying but it can’t be that long. Eventually, she’ll want to continue on her journey to Colorado or wherever else she’s headed, and all that will be left is the ghost of her presence. I’m trying to steel myself for that eventuality, so that statement was as much for my own benefit as for Wes'. “She won’t be here long.”
“Oh, but brother, she might be here longer than you think.”
I pause and glance at him sharply. “What do you mean?”
Wes smirks at me like he does whenever he knows something I don’t. I sigh, wondering how long he’s going to stretch it and hold this secret over my head, but he decides to just tell me. “She and Mitch were talking earlier, and she was asking him if he knew of anyone hiring around town. It sounded like she wants to stay for a bit and raise some money before she heads back home.”
“Why would she need to raise money when she’s on vacation?’
Wes raises an eyebrow. “Really? Don’t tell me youbelieved that 'vacation' story. I swear to God you can be naive sometimes."
I frown and he continues, “She’s obviously short on cash and I don’t know exactly why she’s here, but it's definitely not a vacation. No one looks that stressed out on a vacation, even with two kids in tow. Maybe she was in some trouble wherever she was, or maybe her landlord kicked her out and she lost her job. Who knows? Either way, she asked Mitch and he told her that there weren’t a ton of places hiring in town. But he did offer her a role as our new housekeeper.”
“He did?” That surprised me. Mitch has so far been pretty anal about not hiring any extra staff to keep running costs low.
“Yeah. They have to discuss the pay and all that, but if she takes the job, I imagine she'll be here for a while."
“Oh.”
I'm not sure how to feel about that, don’t know whether to rejoice or groan at the agony. It’s going to be heaven and hell continuously being around her yet being unable to act on these feelings.
Who says you can’t act on it?Temptation lurks in the back of my conscience, but I push the feeling away. I don't even wanna go there mentally right now. It might lead me down a dark road.
As we walk into the kitchen, we find Patty at the stove with her two girls already seated at the table. Katie is reading a large picture book, while Maddie is fiddling around with one of her toys.
“Hello!” They chorus when we enter. Patty spins around grinning at us.
“Hello my princesses. How are y’all doing?”
“Hi Uncle Wes!” Maddie grins. “You going to take us on another tour today?”
Wes took Patty and the girls on a tour of the land the other day, leading them in and out of the woods too. He showed them the sheds where we worked and even let the girls take a turn gearing up, trying some of the safer tools and asking questions about it.
I saw them pass by me while I was felling a branch, and couldn’t help but feel a little jealous at the way the kids giggled and hung off his arms, while Patty smiled at him. Even though I knew Mitch would chew our younger brother out for ‘wasting time’, it was worth it to see the looks of happiness on girls’ faces.
