Her Mountain Family Read online

  

  Menage Mountain 6

  Her Mountain Family

  All Margo ever wanted was a family of her own, but can she risk her dream on two men instead of one? Web and Sam think they are the answer to her dream and are out to prove it. Can love include three people without jealousy rearing its ugly head, and can she love more than one man at a time?

  After having failed at dating one man in the last few years she wonders if dating two will be just as disastrous. Men seem hell-bent on only one thing, sex. Was that all love was about these days? She doesn’t get that feeling from Sam and Web.

  Margo agrees to give it a try despite her doubts that it will work out. The men are adamant that it will if she will only give it and them a chance. Imagine her surprise when they prove that love conquers all.

  Genres: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre

  Length: 29,561

  HER MOUNTAIN FAMILY

  Menage Mountain 6

  Marla Monroe

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  Her Mountain Family

  Copyright © 2019 by Marla Monroe

  ISBN: 978-1-64243-687-7

  First Publication: March 2019

  Cover design by Les Byerley

  All art and logo copyright © 2019 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

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  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Marla Monroe has been writing professionally for over thirteen years. Her first book with Siren was published in January of 2011, and she now has over 90 books and novellas available with them. She loves to write and spends every spare minute either at the keyboard or reading. She writes everything from sizzling-hot cowboys, emotionally charged BDSM, and dangerously addictive shifters, to science fiction ménages with the occasional badass biker thrown in for good measure.

  Marla lives in the southern US and works full-time at a busy hospital. When not writing, she loves to travel, spend time with her feline muses, and read. Although she misses her cross-stitch and putting together puzzles, she is much happier writing fantasy worlds where she can make everyone’s dreams come true. She’s always eager to try something new and thoroughly enjoys the research she does for her books. She loves to hear from readers about what they are looking for in their reading adventures.

  You can reach Marla at [email protected], or

  Visit her website at www.marlamonroe.com

  Her blog: www.themarlamonroe.blogspot.com

  Twitter: @MarlaMonroe1

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/marla.monroe.7

  Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+marlamonroe7/posts

  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4562866.Marla_Monroe

  Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/marlamonroe/

  BookStrand: http://bit.ly/MzcA6I

  Amazon page: http://amzn.to/1euRooO

  For all titles by Marla-Monroe, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/marla-monroe

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  HER MOUNTAIN FAMILY

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  HER MOUNTAIN FAMILY

  Menage Mountain 6

  MARLA MONROE

  Copyright © 2019

  Chapter One

  Slap.

  Margo’s hand burned from the contact with Howard’s cheek. How dare he?

  “Don’t ever call me a whore again. What gives you that right?” she demanded.

  “You’ve been with every other man in town, but you won’t give me the time of day. That’s what gives me the right,” Howard yelled.

  They were standing outside her apartment building and gathering an audience. Margo shook in anger and embarrassment. She’d never have gone out with Howard if he hadn’t acted like he truly liked her. Now she knew the real reason he’d wanted to go out with her. Someone had spread the rumor that she was easy, and he’d thought to cash in on that. Well, screw him and the entire damn town. She wasn’t a whore or easy or anything they thought she was.

  “If you believe that, then you’ve been had. I haven’t slept with a single man here in Cozy. I only agreed to go out with you because you acted like you really liked me. I guess I know better now. Get the hell away from me,” Margo said, turning to walk inside her building.

  “Before I’m finished with you, you won’t be able to walk with your head held up in this town. Everyone will know what a slut you are,” Howard shouted.

  “From what you’ve said, it’s already been spread around that I’m a slut, so nothing you say can change that. Screw you, Howard.”

  She didn’t bother turning back around. What was the use? He’d do what he wanted no matter what she said now. How had her life come to this? All she’d ever wanted to do was have a good job, find a good man, and build a family to love. Her own family had been so dysfunctional that she’d left as soon as she’d finished high school. Her stepfather had been an alcoholic, and her mom hadn’t cared as long as he’d paid the bills. She’d taken his verbal abuse and spent his money as if that made up for his cruel words. Margo hadn’t wanted to follow in her mom’s footsteps and left.

  And eight years later, she wasn’t any closer to her dream. What was it about men that they thought that just because they paid for a meal or two that they deserved to have sex with her? She’d made that mistake already and wasn’t about to repeat the experience. All it did was lead to heartache. Once they got what they really wanted out of a woman, they split, carrying her heart with them. No, Margo wasn’t going that route.

  “Slut.”

  She kept walking. She refused to give him any more power over her. As soon as she was behind her apartment door, Margo marched over to the fridge and pulled out her drug of choice, a Diet Coke. Maybe she wished it was laced with a little whiskey, but that was another thing she refused to do, drink out of anger, sadness, or anything else.

  Margo stomped into her bedroom and pulled off her clothes, tossing them in the general direction of the clothes hamper before continuing into the bathroom. She turned on the water for a nice hot bath and tossed in some of her favorite bath salts. The scent of lavender and vanilla wafted upward from the tub as she sighed and stepped into the nearly scalding water. She let out a long-satisfied breath as she sat down and relaxed against the back of the tub.

  The hot water soon washed away the tension from the evening, leaving her limp and much calmer than before. Margo refused to allow Howard’s tirade to drag her down. She had a solid job and was good at it. She didn’t need a man to complete her. Yeah, she got lonely and wanted a family in the worst way, but she could be happy on her own. She’d get a cat. That would help with the loneliness. Really, it would.

  Margo let out a long breath and sank a little lower in the tub until just her chin and face were above the water. The water muted all sound except her breathing as she thought over the last few dates she’d had. All of them had ended in a similar fashion. They demanded sex, and she’d refused. She didn’t put out on the first or even the third date. She felt like sex should mean something more than payment for a meal.

  Am I asking too much? Do all men expect sex after only a few dates? Do you have to have sex before marriage now?

  Frustration boiled in her stomach as she finally sat up and finished bathing, so she could dry off and climb into bed. Howard wasn’t worth any of the tears burning her eyes. She refused to allow them to fall.

  “I’m worth more than a couple of meals. I don’t care if I’m asking too much. I’m not giving up on my dream.”

  She settled beneath the covers and prayed she’d dream about her future husband.

  * * * *

  Webb walked toward his truck parked just outside his store on his way home when he stopped to listen. He could have sworn he heard something. It was a warm spring evening, and the trees were just beginning to bud out. He loved spring and the rebirth of the world around him.

  Mew.

  There it was again. He looked around and finally found the source of the soft mewl. A tiny kitten cowered beneath a bush at the edge of the curb. He crouched down and called out to the frightened thing.

  “Here, kitty. I won’t hurt you.”

  The tiny kitten took a few steps toward him and then hunkered down again. Webb scooted forward a little and held out his hand until the tiny thing finally crawled toward him so that he could pluck it off the ground. It whined, but Webb rubbed it between the ears and it so
on quieted.

  “What are you doing out here all alone?” he asked, walking over to the bush to see if he could see any others hiding among the nearly naked branches.

  When he didn’t see any others cowering there, he carried the tiny ball of fur to his truck and climbed in, settling it on his shoulder where it hunkered down between his ear and shoulder, hugging his neck for dear life. It burrowed closer to rub its face against Webb’s short beard.

  Webb couldn’t help but grin at the runt as it looked back at him in the rearview mirror. What in the hell was he going to do with a kitten? He and Sam worked all day every day. The little mewling runt would need more attention than they could give it. They’d have to find a home for it. As much as he had already fallen for the munchkin, it wasn’t fair to think about keeping it to spend its days all alone in their big house. No, he’d have to put an advertisement in the local paper to find it a home.

  When he walked in the house twenty minutes later, it was to find Sam hanging up his jacket as if he’d just arrived only seconds earlier.

  “What in the hell is that thing on your shoulder?” he asked with a huge grin.

  “Found it cowering in the bushes outside the store,” Webb said.

  “Looks like a ball of fur with two beady eyes.”

  “Cute little thing. It likes my beard.”

  “You can’t call that peach fuzz a beard, man.”

  “Fuck you.”

  Webb chuckled and plucked the kitten from his shoulder to carry it into the kitchen, so he could fix it a bowl of milk.

  “What are you going to do with it?” Sam asked, following him into the other room.

  “Find a home for it. Can’t keep it here. We’re not home enough to take care of a baby like this,” Webb said as he poured some milk into a saucer.

  “What are you going to do with it in the meantime?” Sam asked.

  “Take it to the store with me. I can fix up a big box and keep it in that until someone wants to adopt it.”

  “Why don’t you keep it for the store?”

  “It’s too small for the store. If it were a grown cat, I’d consider it, but I don’t want it to get hurt,” Webb said.

  “True. Hadn’t thought of that.” Sam reached down and scratched the ball of fur between the ears. “Cute little thing.”

  “Yeah. Shouldn’t be hard to find it a good home. I’ll put an ad in the paper.” Webster walked off only to have it race across the floor and dig its claws into his jeans to ride his leg as he walked.

  Sam burst out laughing. “Looks like it’s claimed you already, man.”

  Webb chuckled. “Guess I have a shadow for the next few days.”

  “How’s the store doing?” Sam asked.

  “Busy as usual. Doing maintenance on computers keeps me busy, and that’s without setting them up for people who don’t know what to do once they buy one.” Webb opened the fridge again and pulled out the fixings for sandwiches. “How’s business now that spring has gotten here?”

  Sam had a lawn service that was busiest in the spring and summer months. The other man sighed.

  “Gearing up to be a monster of a season. Already looking for another employee to help. I’ve got five more lawn contracts and need to get on them, so they want to keep using me. Looks like working all weekend for a few months.” Sam shrugged. “Pays the bills.”

  “Hate seeing you work so hard. I’ll pitch in after work and on weekends. With the store only open till noon on Saturdays, that leaves me several hours to help you guys,” he said.

  “You already work hard enough, man. No need for you to use your time off to help when you need to be relaxing. I’m pretty much dead all winter, so I get plenty of time during those months,” Sam said.

  “Don’t mind. Not like I have much else to do. If we had a woman, I’d be taking care of her, but we haven’t found our woman yet.”

  Sam sighed. “I’m beginning to wonder if we ever will. It’s been two years since we moved here and still haven’t met even one woman we both like. Cozy isn’t that big. Maybe we need to start looking in some of the surrounding towns now.”

  “Been thinking about that, as well. Most of the others have found their forever kind of love. I want that,” Webb said.

  “If they can find their women, we should be able to, as well. I’m going to be pretty tied up for the next few months, so you’re going to have to do the looking for both of us. Then, if you find someone you’re interested in, we can take her out to dinner for me to meet her,” Sam said.

  “I think you’re probably right. With your business being a seasonal one, we’re limited on when we can both date. Add to it that the winter months when you’re not as busy there’s at least a foot of snow on the ground, and we’re pretty much screwed.” Webb walked into the living room and sat in his favorite chair where the kitten climbed up his pant leg to settle on his shoulder once more. He couldn’t help but grin. The little thing was growing on him. He really hated to give it away, but he didn’t want it to get hurt at the store, and the house was too big to leave it all alone every day.

  “Hey, who knows, maybe a good-looking single woman will want to adopt the kitten. That would be like killing two squirrels with one shot,” Sam said.

  “It’s a thought.”

  Webb scratched the kitten under its chin and sighed as it purred like a broken motorboat. Maybe Sam’s idea would work out for them, and he’d meet a good woman who would be perfect for them. He smiled at that thought and relaxed to watch the news with his new buddy curled up under his beard.

  Chapter Two

  Margo clapped her hands in excitement. She’d found a kitten to be given away in the paper and couldn’t wait to go see it. She still had another hour of work to do before she could call it a day and go check out the kitten. The man she’d talked to had been very nice but had asked a lot of questions about how she would take care of it and if she could afford to keep up with its health. She could appreciate his diligence.

  She tried to put it out of her mind, so she could concentrate on the dictation she was supposed to be typing. Margo worked from home typing dictation and sending it out to the various doctor’s offices she contracted with to provide the service. She loved working from home. She could set her own hours, working late into the evening or taking a day off whenever she wanted to as long as she got the work done in a timely manner.

  Today, she’d finish a bit early, so she could go and see the kitten. Already her stomach was jumping around as if there were a thousand grasshoppers having a party. She hadn’t been this excited since she’d gotten out of school and gotten her first real job working at a hospital. Now she worked for herself and contracted out to doctor’s offices all over the nation.

  Having the kitten would go a long way to combating the empty loneliness she felt with living alone and working from home. She’d just about given up on dating after the last fiasco. It wasn’t worth the heartache that eventually came with each try. She’d have her cat and make herself happy. It wasn’t like she couldn’t take care of her own sexual needs with one of her trusty vibrators.

  Finally, it was time for her to leave. She shut down her computer and pulled on a light jacket and grabbed her purse. She wondered what the kitten would look like. She didn’t really care, but hoped it was a cute little thing. The wonderful male voice on the phone had described it as a black-and-gray ball of fur that couldn’t be more than six or so weeks old.

  Margo had gone shopping for what the cat would need the day before and had everything from a new litter box to a cat bed as well as a tiny cat tree. She’d gotten several toys and grooming supplies, as well. If she’d forgotten something, she would go back to the store once she had the kitten home with her.

  Tiny sparks of electricity tingled up and down her arms as she drove toward the address the man had given her. She wondered what he’d look like, as well. He’d sounded delicious over the phone with a deep baritone voice and how he’d described the poor kitten.