Page 69 of Single Mom's Mountain Men
“What the fuck were you thinking Charlie?” he says. “I expect that kind of bullshit from Wes but not from you. You shouldn’t have let him talk you into it.”
I smirk. Why does everyone think this was Wes’ idea? “I talked Wes into it, not the other way round.”
Mitch’s eyebrows furrow. “You did?”
Yeah.” I tell him. “It was something you said that gave me the idea."
“Something I said?”
I nod. “You told us to work it out however we saw fit, and this is the only solution that makes sense."
"To share her like she's some kind of toy?"
The anger that shot through me the first time he said it returns with a vengeance. “You call her a toy one more time and I’m going to ignore that axe in your hand and deck you.”
Surprise flashes in Mitch's expression a second before he exhales and extends a placatory hand.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he says. “But the two of you are tossing her between you like she's something to be played with.”
“No, no, not played with. Adored. Worshiped. Loved on. Maybe it looks fucked up in your mind but that’s not what it is. Wes and I are working as a unit here. We're not in a dick-sizing contest. Sure we want to have fun and show Patty as much pleasure as possible. I have a feeling she hasn’t explored her sexuality much and I want to help her to do so. Wes wants the same thing. Thee’s nothing wrong with that. But it goes much deeper than that, Charlie. Wes and me… well we really love Patty. We’re not just getting our rocks off here. We really mean it. We want to love her, and cherish her, and keep her warm and safe.”
Mitch sighs and shakes his head like he can’t believe what he’s hearing. "So that's all this is? Helping her?"
"No. Obviously, we're helping ourselves too."
Mitch snorts. "Right."
“And if you want to join us…I wouldn’t mind. As long as Patty wants it, of course.” I’m pretty sure she’s attracted to Mitch too, but I can’t make that decision for her. Ultimately, it’s Patty’s choice who she sleeps with. Mitch’s eyes widen. “Are you insane?’
“No. And neither are you for wanting to be with her too." Even though Mitch will never admit it, I know I've hit the nail on the head when his eyes narrow. "Any guy with a pulse would want Patty, so I don’t blame you. If Patty wants to, we can make this threesome a foursome."
His mouth opens, emitting sputtered denials but I don't buy it. I see right through him and he probably knows.
So he tries to fight this from another angle. He bristles, assuming what Wes calls, his strict older brother's face.
“Are any of you thinking that maybe this isn’t fair to Patty," he says. “She’s technically our employee so there’s a power difference. What if this goes bad and she’s too scared to say no to you because she thinks she'll be fired? If it goes wrong, you'll mess things up for her and her daughters, and fuck man, I don’t think she has anywhere else to go for help.”’
It's a good angle to try, playing on our guilt. Unfortunately for him, I’ve already considered that. “We already let her know extensively that anything that happened between us wouldn’t affect her employment here. We had a long conversation about it last night, and she knows she can stay here as long as she likes. She also knows that she doesn't have to do athing to earn our protection. Heck even if she stopped working this very day we wouldn’t kick her out. She’s not just an employee. She's become an integral part of this family, and you know it.”
He can't even deny that he enjoys having her around. Mitch has never even brought up Patty's length of stay, and usually, when guests stay too long, Mitch starts to ask those types of questions.
But now, it's like he's completely settled into the idea of Patty staying with us long-term.
And so am I. In fact, the idea of her and the kidsnotbeing around is a deeply unsettling one for me. And Mitch is right too, when he says it’s not her housekeeping services that he would miss the most. Sure, it’s been wonderful to have the place looking cleaner and tidier again, and to be able to rely upon getting a nutritious and tasty, home-cooked meal each night has been truly great.
But like Wes and me, Mitch is realizing that having the three of them here has meant much more than that. It’s been like a breath of fresh air that has breathed life back into the old house. It's like before Patty came the three of us had just beenexistinghere, but now we’re trulyaliveagain, living a meaningful life where important things happen that we actually care about. Living a life where time is spent doing things that matter with people that we love.
Unlike before, we enjoy our conversations now, and spend much more time together in the kitchen, relaxing over meals and enjoying the social time together, rather than simply gulping down whatever one of us had cooked as quickly as possible and then each of us heading for the door.
Taking the girls to daycare has been the highlight of my days. I enjoy Katie’s quiet grace, Maddie’s exuberance, andPatty's gentle warmth that feels like it envelopes anyone and everyone around her.
And I know Mitch enjoys the presence of Patty and the girls just as much as me and Wes, and he's probably scared that he’s going to lose that presence. But we won't. I won't let us ruin this.
While I'm complacent about most things, there are very few things I can't do if I put my mind to it, and nothing has been as deeply and profoundly important to me as Patty.
I don’t know about Wes, but I know that I have deep feelings for Patty. Feelings approaching that penultimate word that my brothers avoid like the plague. It's only a matter of time until I'm completely in love with Patty. I'm feeling things for her that I haven't felt for any woman and there's nothing I can do about it. It might be sudden but it’s how I work. It’s how I’ve always worked. I’ve never been able to do the casual sex thing. I should have known from the second that Patty captured my attention that I would fall in love with her, and now she's firmly grabbed hold of my heart. She and her little girls.
It’s not something I can let go of, not even for my brother. I step forwards into Mitch’s personal space – something that’s rare for me to do – and I place both my hands on his shoulder and look him square in the eyes. I want him to know how serious I am.
