Page 1 of Honeymoon Phase
Prologue
Fact or Fiction?
Marriage of convenience is a thing.
Dear Ms. Addison Monroe or more affectionately known as “Roe,”
It has come to my attention, as your closest rugged, bearded male confidant, that you are in need of a husband to take over your father’s lumber supply company. While I in no way support the antiquated mindset of your ancestors who created the trust stipulation that forces you to marry, I realize that we cannot always pick our family and desperate times call for desperate measures.
I too am in a desperate situation. All my brothers are now wife’d up and everyone in my family is giving me “the look” like I’m next.
I don’t want to be next.
I will do anything not to be next.
I want to live on my mountain with my pet rooster and be free until I’m old and gray.
It seems you want a similar situation; therefore, I think we should wed.
Please reply with your answer at your earliest convenience.
Your friend,
Luke Fletcher
Chapter 1
Fact or Fiction?
My brothers and I all fell for the same girl.
Luke
10 Years Earlier
“No woman is better than this,” my brother Calder says, standing at the lookout point of Fletcher Mountain. He’s flanked by pine trees as his eyes move from me to my brother Wyatt on my right.
He looks up behind us at our three cabins nestled perfectly in their prospective locations all at various levels of construction. It’s a beautiful sight seeing our homes beside each other atop a Colorado mountain. A fucking dream some might say.
Wyatt bought this peak outside of Boulder just a year ago. At the time, the only existing structure was a dilapidated red barn with an outhouse. Our dad thought he was crazy for moving up here and living in the mice-infested apartment above the barn. But Wyatt made it work. He always craved a life outside of town. He doesn’t people real well.
But he was onto something, because we all realized quickly that there’s something magical about his mountain. It’s like an instant anxiety reducer when you’re here. Which meant that when Wyatt offered me and Calder a plot of land to build our own places next to him, we jumped at the chance.
Now the three of us brothers reside in a full-blown compound-living situation that many people think we’re crazy for. But itworks for us. We carpool the thirty minutes into Boulder every day and work construction for our father. We get drinks together after work and even make the occasional meals together. Monthly poker nights, weekly barhopping excursions. We’re each other’s best friends, which sometimes feels bigger than family. We fight, yes, but we work through it. And for the most part, we get along. Some might say we’re the closest brothers they’d ever seen.
Hard to believe we were beating the ever-loving shit out of each other less than twelve hours ago.
All because of a girl.
My swollen eye stings as I shake out my fist, wishing I could erase the memories of everything that went down last night. Wyatt’s lip is still covered in dried blood from my cracked knuckle and his busted lip. Calder’s cheekbone is red and swollen and I know there’s a wicked bruise developing on his back from Wyatt ramming him into the bar. We’ve been in some brawls together before, but we were usually teaming up against other guys... not each other.
Judy, the owner of The Mercantile where we were at last night, threw us all out and called our dad. It was like we were a group of rowdy teenagers, not three grown men in our twenties. But I was instantly thrust back into my childhood when my dad pulled up and dragged all three of us up the mountain to give us a lecture that made us feel an inch fucking tall. And we’re all well over six foot.
It wasn’t one of our proudest moments.
And I’d love to place blame on the woman who came between us... but deep down, I know we are the ones responsible for this.
The three of us made a bet over a girl and that bet blew up in our faces, ending with a husband we never knew about and a nail-biting paternity test involving all of us.
