Page 15 of Single Mom's Mountain Men
“Uh...”
“You seem unsure about a lot of your answers Patty Cole.”
“Maybe because you’re not giving me time to think, asshole.” The words slip out of my lips before I can stop them.
The man blinks, taken aback but I’m far too irate right now to care. The lack of sleep followed by the verbal drilling rendered me unusually short-tempered. “Look, first of all, back up. You’re making me feel claustrophobic standing so close.”
His eyes widen, but he takes two steps back, to my surprise.
"Sorry," he says. "Didn't mean to scare you."
"You didn't scare me," I say, finding that it's true. He confused and irritated me, but oddly enough I'm not scared of these three brothers. "And while I don't appreciate the rapid-fire questioning, I understand your concerns. But all I can tell you is that I'm not a bad person and I'm not going to rob you blind or whatever it is you might be thinking. I'm just a woman on a trip with my daughters. We're going to see the sights and then we're going home. Nothing more to it than that. We needed a place to stay for the night and Jamie at the gas station recommended your lodge. I talked to Charlie andhe agreed to let me stay here. But if that’s going to be a problem for you, then I could just as easily find somewhere else to stay.” I hope not though because the only other options appear to be a hotel that’s out of my budget, or a motel that pretty much guarantees robbery with violence.
The man rubs his chin. “You got a problem with me asking questions?”
“Honestly yes. The fact that I’m staying here doesn’t entitle you to know everything about me. And like I said, if you have a problem with it, then I can leave."
There’s a silent stare-off, but I refuse to look away first. I’ve dealt with bullies for the past five years and I allowed them to push me around. But I’m not doing that anymore. I’ve left that life behind.
This Patty isn’t taking shit from anyone.
The man finally cracks a smile, and it completely transforms his face from harsh drill sergeant into someone with an almost boyish charm. Wow.
"Fine," he says. "I trust my brothers have already sorted out the living arrangements."
"Yeah, Mitch," Charlie says brushing past his older brother with a warning look. "She's staying for free."
"Actually," I say and they turn back to me. "I'm not sure I'm completely comfortable with that idea. I mean , I appreciate the gesture and all, but I would rather pay something."
"You don't have to," Wes says. "We're not hurting for money and it won't make a difference to us if you're here or not, because the lodge won't be in use anyway. So it's not like you're putting us out. And if you’ll pardon me for being blunt, but we can tell money is short for you right now."
“Oh?” What makes you say that?” Wes gestures with a roll of his head towards the driveway.
“No one with any choice in the matter would be driving abeat-up Ford Taurus from the early nineties, let alonethatparticular example that you just about made it here in.” Charlie nods in agreement, and I sigh. They do have a point.
"Still." I say. “I’d rather pay my way.”
"What you could do," Wes continues, "is maybe cook for us once in a while."
"Wes," Charlie admonishes.
"What? I'm tired of your soggy-ass mac and cheese and Mitch's steaks taste like rocks. Can we just have a couple nights of edible food please?" He shrugs at me. "But you don't have to if you don’t want to."
"No, that's fine," I giggle as Wes' face lights up. "I'm a pretty good cook. I could cook every day that I'm here, no problem."
"Are you sure?" Charlie says. "Like Wes says, you don't have to."
"But I do want to. It's the least I can do if you guys are really going to let me stay here for free."
The brothers look at each other and they seem to hold a silent discussion among themselves.
"I guess it's settled then," Mitch says. "Patty, you're welcome to stay as long as you like."
"Thank you," I'm surprised by his generosity and it's a relief, like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. At least, now I have a place to stay. All I need to do next is find a job that's willing to pay me without any ID or bookkeeping.
After the brothers leave, with Wes winking at me on the way out, I finally head back to bed. Thankfully that conversation didn’t wake up my girls, which is probably a testament to the strain that the last twenty-four hours has placed on them.
Hopefully, things will get better from now on.That's the last thought I have before sleep overtakes me.
