Page 11 of Ashton's Mountain Man

“I’ve just got to take this. Are you okay with—” she rambled quickly, looking at Wyatt playing away with his building bricks on the floor, trying to build a bridge that went across Ashton’s good leg. “I…”

“Yeah, he’s fine here,” Ashton responded as he looked at me and furrowed his brow. “Take as long as you need. I’ve got West here if…”

She was long gone out of the room, excusing herself to the caller before shutting herself away. A strange response to see from Maisie, when normally, she was so open with us.

The two of us hadn’t realized how in sync we were with our thoughts and actions until we finally began living together. It was as if it was written in the stars. The way we moved and watched each over, to notice the simplest notion of when something was amiss or wrong in the house. That was what was happening currently, and the strange aura that had been present over the last few weeks. Neither Ashton nor I could pinpoint the cause, and Maisie would instantly raise her back when questioned, which just roused our suspicions over what she was hiding from us.

We continued playing with Wyatt, watching, smiling, and laughing at his movements as he squealed each time the bricksfell down, and then he had to rebuild them back until he started to fidget and get bored. I slowly managed to get myself to the seat next to West on the sofa as Wyatt waited patiently, wanting a cuddle.

“Love you. Dadda. Love you, Dadda West,” he blurted out, just as Maisie rounded the corner, and he noticed her smiling widely at the picture before her eyes. “And you too, Mamma.”

“Now let’s get you down for your nap and then I need to talk to you two. If that’s okay, and you have the time, of course?” Maisie asked us as we looked between one another and knew instantly nothing was planned. “It’s just…”

“Of course,” I blurted out, knowing that Maisie was about to try to justify her reasons, and she had no cause to do so. It was more the fact that Ashton and I were hopeful that the two of us may get some answers. “We’ll be here. I’ll go and make us all something to eat while you just settle the little man,” I uttered, standing up and gently kissing Ashton, then placing a kiss on Wyatt’s and Maisie’s heads before excusing myself from the room. The two of them were quickly on my heel and heading straight for Wyatt’s room as Ashton rested and gained his strength for the moment.

I wonder what had suddenly changed Maisie’s personality and attitude. It was as if a magic spell had been cast over her.

The moment I heard Maisie’s heels clicking against the wooden flooring along the hallway leading to the kitchen, then the sigh of relief as she paused in the doorway, taking a second before walking over toward us, I knew Wyatt had pushed every little thing to avoid that nap today. It had been a discussion of late whether he could be at the stage where he was growing outof these daily naps, and I think after today’s shenanigans, the decision had been already made for us.

“I’m glad he’s finally asleep,” Maisie admitted as Ashton passed her a drink of her latest favorite drink of apple juice and a pastry that had just cooled from the oven. “I’m sure you have noticed I have been a bit all over the place lately.” She raised her eyebrow at the two of us as we both looked at one another, and then just shrugged our shoulders. “It’s okay. I’m not trying to test you or anything. I know what I’ve been like.” She continued as the two of us sighed loudly, making her chuckle. “I have something to admit, and I hope you both understand I was doing this for us all…”

“Maisie…” Ashton uttered, leaning forward and grabbing my hand. “It’s not our health or Wyatt’s, is it? I mean…”

“Oh no.” Maisie gasped out loudly. “It’s nothing to do with anything like that. I overheard the two of you talking about Maxwell and Cole’s offer about the new accountants at the other end of Manhattan and how amazing it would be for you both,” she whispered, dropping her head, unable to meet either of our gazes. “I heard how you were worried about the two of us and how you didn’t want to be apart from us both, and how Wyatt is starting kindergarten in the near future. It was a lot for you to decide.”

“You should have talked to us,” I exclaimed, feeling guilty. No wonder she’d looked so withdrawn, and like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. She literally was. She must have been so concerned over the future and what was about to happen. “We haven’t made any decisions, and if we were about to make any changes, we’d talk to you first.”

“Well…” Maisie paused, peeking at us for a moment before allowing tendrils of her hair to cover her eyes again. “I couldn’t help but think and do some research about what opportunities could exist for us all there. I saw the perfect kindergarten withfantastic reviews, and then a position was advertised at a nearby hair salon. That was them on the phone—they wanted to offer me a chair.”

“What are you saying, Maisie?” Ashton asked in confusion, blinking twice as tears formed in his gaze. “I… West…” he stuttered.

“Baby, I think she’s saying that she wants us all to be happy and have the lifestyle that we’d all be happy with,” I slowly relayed back to him. “I guess that’s the bottom line here. Am I right?”

“Yep,” Maisie excitedly admitted. “I want us all to have the life we desire. Wyatt needs all three of us in his life. Ashton, you have the opportunity of a lifetime here, and West, you can be finally closer to your stepbrother and build that relationship too.”

“It sounds perfect,” I agreed. “To have more time with Zane would be amazing too.”

“I guess we better ask Maxwell or Cole if they know of any realtors in the area?” Ashton replied before picking up his cell and searching in his contact list for their details. “I mean, there's no time like the present, is there?”

The two of us chuckled as I stared deeply at him, realizing in that moment how perfect life was and that I loved him with all my soul.

Epilogue

ASHTON

18 months later

“Fuck, just like that,”I gasped as West fluttered his eyelashes, staring up at me as he sucked my hard dick in his mouth and fondled my balls in his hand. “God, this is so wrong but oh so good.” I growled he quickened his movements. We had to be fast. I fisted my hand in his hair, glad he hadn’t styled it yet in preparation for the ceremony that was starting in—fuck, I glanced at the wall—twenty minutes. I bit down on my lip, closing my eyes as I concentrated on the increased pace that West was now moving at as I felt that familiar tingle up my spine and couldn’t hold back any longer. “Yes,” I groaned as West slowly pulled back, licking along my length as he went. He wasn’t going to waste a single drop of that golden nectar before pushing himself to his feet and pulling my gathered trousers up from around my ankles and helping secure them back in place.

“It’s a good thing neither of us are superstitious,” West joked as a knock on the door of the restroom made us chuckle. “I thinkwe’ve both had enough bad luck in our lifetimes than seeing each other on our wedding day to actually affect us.”

“Come on, guys…” the familiar voice shouted through the door before knocking again. “I’ve held enough people off from disturbing you, but I’m fucking desperate.” Maxwell groaned as the two of us chuckled again. “Maisie is already starting to freak out because Wyatt is begging to wear his Sonic pajamas to the ceremony.”

I kissed West slowly and allowed us two seconds to explore one another’s mouths before pulling back.

“The next time I’ll be doing that, we’ll be officially married,” West confirmed before unlocking the door to Maxwell, hopping between one foot and the other. I’d never been bypassed out of a room so fast in my life.

“I’ll be completely yours,” I confirmed, just as Maisie came charging up to us with Wyatt’s pajamas under her arms and a very cheeky boy skipping ahead. “I take it…”

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