Page 50 of Single Mom's Mountain Men
The men don’t respond to him. Wes is still glaring at Charlie and Charlie is pretending not to notice.
“What was that even about?” I ask. “Why were you trying to kill each other?”
Neither of them chooses to answer me. They both avoid my gaze, but then I see something sticking out of Charlie’s pocket, something black and lacy.
Oh no.
My anger drains out of me turning into a churning horror.
Wes’s eyes also drop to the panties and his face flushes.
“Were you guys fighting because of me?” I ask quietly.
“No,” Charlie says too quickly to be believable. Wes shakes his head too, but he doesn’t meet my eyes as he pivots to the hallway.
“I’m going to bed,” he says. “Mitch is right. It’s going to be a long fucking day tomorrow.”
The brothers’ moods haven’t improved by the next morning. Charlie and Wes skip breakfast and when I take them their early lunches, their smiles of thanks are welcoming but strained. At dinner, Wes doesn’t pull his usual jokes and even Charlie is quieter than normal. Mitch ignores both of them, talking to me and my daughter instead, and listening to their stories about their day.
It doesn’t get better as the week progresses it’s affecting my girls too. Usually, on the weekend, when the daycare is closed, the girls alternate spending time with all three men as they work (unless of course, what the men are doing is too dangerous for my little ones to tag along). They like to follow the brothers around, whether it’s marking trees with Wes, or peppering Mitch with questions as he sorts the wood or watching Uncle Charlie load logs. And when they’re not doing that, they’re helping me cook.
But this weekend, the two girls spend most of their time with Mitch and me, which only tells me they can sense the strain from the other two men. I only really see the men during meals but from what I’ve noticed, Wes and Charlie are still not talking to each other and the tension in theatmosphere only grows and grows to a point where I can’t take it anymore. I need to do something to fix this, especially since it’s my fault that it's broken in the first place.
I never should have hooked up with either of them, and I regret that I did. I should have known better than to come between the brothers, especially since they’ve been so kind to me this whole time.
And now, I may have ruined everything. I may even have to leave because I don’t feel right staying here, being the cause of their problems.
I just hate that my careless actions brought all this about.
At the end of the week, I head to the woods to find Mitch climbing out of his logging crane. He’s shirtless once more and I give myself a second to admire his sculpted muscles before I call out. “Mitch.”
He glances at me, taking off his earpiece. “What’s wrong?”
“Um…” I twist my fingers together as I wonder how to start. “I think I might be the reason why Charlie and Wes are fighting.”
“Really?” he frowns. “How so?”
I take a deep breath, my gaze falling from his. “I…kinda hooked up with Wes weeks ago. And then I hooked up with Charlie on the day of their fight. I think maybe Wes found out and he was mad and…I’m so sorry Mitch. It wasn't supposed to happen and it was a mistake. I told them it was, and I’m so ashamed of my actions–”
“Is that it?” Mitch interrupts. When I look up, he's grinning.
“Yeah," I answer unsure, because his reaction confuses me. "I’m sorry. I swear I wasn’t trying to cause any harm.”
“Nah, don’t worry.” He waves his hand like it doesn’t matter. “It’s not your fault. Those two go about it every fewmonths and with how stressed out we all are, they were due for a fight. It’s normal amongst boys.”
“You sure?”
He nods. “And even if they’re fighting over you, that’s not your fault either. You didn’t promise commitment to any of them – at least I assume you didn’t – and they’re grown ass men who should be able to deal with their emotions like adults. You don’t need to be ashamed of anything.” His gaze turns gentle. “Don’t worry. I’ll talk to them. Set them straight.”
I nod, feeling a sense of relief that I’d got that off my chest. Now that everything's out in the open, maybe it will get settled.
I just need to control my hormones better and never sleep with any of the guys again.
CHAPTER 18
Charlie
Isling the pile of wood over my shoulder and then drop it onto the crane with a loudthunk. Across the vast forest, a similar even louderthunkof a felled tree branch reverberates through the air.
