Page 46 of Single Mom for the Mountain Men
I sigh and ponder how to put my confession into words. “You might have already guessed based on our discussion earlier, but I want to be as honest as possible. I…want all of you,” I finally blurt out. “I’ve been with all of you. I hope that isn’t disgusting to you.” I turn in his arms to look up at his handsome face.
He looks a little surprised, but then, a rueful smile flits across his face. “I thought it was just Aiden. I didn’t know about Brody, not for sure, anyway. It’s not like the old man, honestly. He’s not good at being close to people.”
I bite my lip again and nod. “I shouldn’t have done it, but you are all just so amazing, and I just can’t help myself. Do you think…do you think you might all be okay with…sharing me…or something like that?”
Tanner is silent for a beat, but after a moment of contemplation, he grins at me. “I’m only speaking for me, of course, when I say that I will take you however you will let me have you.”
I smile in relief, feeling a little better at hearing he’s okay with the idea. “I guess I should talk to the other two as well,” I say with some trepidation.
He shakes his head. “Let me tell them,” he says, then presses a kiss to the end of my nose. “We need to talk about how this will work, anyhow.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, relieved not to have to try and confess my small sins yet again. “Thank you for everything.”
“No worries,” he tells me fondly before stepping away from me. “Come on. We need to get you guys packed and back home before the snow gets impossible to walk through.”
Chapter twenty-two
CHAPTER 22: Brody
Istare at the men who are tied up on the floor of the garage. They’re resting against the snowmobile that we don’t ever use unless there’s a dire emergency. I ponder if taking them to the authorities counts as a dire emergency or not as I wait for Tanner and Aiden to return.
“Damn fools,” I grumble at them. “Why won’t you just tell me what you want?”
They both look at one another, but they don’t say anything. I sigh and kick their boots, making them cringe.
“I know how to hurt people, and I don’t get tired easily,” I threaten them. “I’m sure you won’t stay silent when you’re too worried about keeping all of your fingers and toes.”
“Don’t go too hard on them yet,” Tanner’s voice says from behind me as he joins me in the garage. “Sorry, just been getting Sophie and Lena settled.”
I nod to show that I heard him without taking my eyes off our hostages. We both stare down at the two men tied up on the floor for a long moment. I enjoy watching them squirm.
“Oh, my God!”
I swivel behind me to see that Lena is standing in the doorway, her wide eyes fixed on the men on the ground in front of us.
“Lena,” one of them says, looking smug at her presence.
“What are you two doing here?” she demands with her hands on her hips.
“James sent us, and since this one,” the guy who already spoke jerks his head at Tanner, “owes us money, he figured we could pick you and the cash up at the same time.”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake,” I mutter, looking between Lena and the men. “Do you know these idiots?”
She sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers. “Yes,” she says with irritation. “They’re friends of James. What I don’t understand is how they think that Tanner owes them money.”
“Tanner owes lots of people money,” the other man says, the one who hasn’t spoken yet. “But since he owes money to so many people, James thought it would be a good idea to buy the debts off the other gangs, then call in the note on his own. It’s what he does best, you know.”
Lena’s face pales as she seems to remember things that she would rather not think about. She looks at Tanner anxiously. “They’re right,” she says in a small voice. “I didn’t know that he was a debt collector of this kind until after we were already married. I kept trying to get him out of the business, have him get a different job but…” her voice trails off.
I sigh.Well, I don’t need these fools for information any longer.With resignation, I pick up the rifle near the door and pace over to the men. I hit them both over the head until they slump against one another, unconscious.
Lena gasps. “Are they…?”
I shake my head. “Not dead. Just out for now. I don’t want to have to think about them bothering us. We all need to talk about what we’re doing next.”
I gesture for everyone to go into the kitchen, and I lock the door to the garage behind us. Aiden immediately starts cooking. I know that it’s how he makes himself feel better when things aren’t going well, so I don’t tell him that I just ate breakfast and I’m not hungry.
“So, Tanner,” I say once everyone is in the kitchen and staring at me. Even Sophie is looking up at me expectantly, clutching her teddy bear in her arms. “We need to talk about how you’re going to handle this debt that you owe.”
