Her Mountain Family Read online

  Minutes later, she parked outside of Computer World Electronics and drew in a deep breath before getting out of the car and walking across the lot toward the door. As soon as she walked inside, a tinkling bell rang over the door. The most gorgeous man she’d ever seen walked from the back of the building with a little ball of fur nestled under his furry chin.

  He was over six feet tall with brown hair that was cut short and a brown beard that was cut close to his face. He had bright hazel eyes that sparkled as he walked toward her. He was built like a biker or swimmer with strong, wide shoulders and a narrow waist. She wanted to see his backside to see if his ass was just as impressive as the rest of him, but she would have to wait on that. Right then, she was concentrating on not drooling over the magnificent piece of eye candy.

  “Hi, you must be Margo,” he said, and the deep thrum of his voice plucked at things low in her belly, making her pussy damp with just those few words.

  “I am. That must be the kitten you’re looking to find a home for. It’s adorable,” she said.

  “Yeah, found it out in the bushes out back. Tiny little thing, but it’s eating good and seems to know what a litter box is for,” he said. He reached out one hand. “I’m Webb Lincoln.”

  Margo smiled and shook his hand. “I’m Margo Barrows,” she said.

  “Great to meet you, Margo. You said you work from home, right?” he asked.

  “Right. I type dictations for a group of doctors. I’ll have plenty of time to spend with the kitten, so it won’t feel all alone. Have you named it?” she asked.

  “No. Don’t even know if it’s a girl or boy. Kind of small to figure that out isn’t it?”

  “Here, let me look,” Margo said.

  He handed over the tiny ball of fur that mewed as she turned it in her hand and lifted its tale.

  “It’s a she. She’s so sweet.” Margo brought the kitten up to kiss it and rub it against her cheek. “I’m already in love with her.”

  “I just need some information, and she’s all yours,” Webb said.

  “Oh? Like what?” Margo asked, a little worried.

  “Just a minute, let me get the form I wrote up. I want to be sure she goes to a good home,” he said.

  He disappeared in the back of the building once more and then returned with a piece of paper and a pen.

  “Fill this out for me so I can check on the kitten in a few weeks. Just to be sure she’s doing okay. I’d keep her, but she’s too young to be left on her own all the time, and I’m scared something would happen to her up here with all the boxes and equipment that could fall on her.”

  Margo took the paper and pen and read over the questions. They were basic, wanting to know her address, phone number, and what vet she planned to use. All of it looked innocent enough. What would it matter if he had her address? He was a business owner and wouldn’t risk his reputation by harming her. She quickly filled it out and handed it back to him.

  “Here’s the blanket she’s been sleeping on. She might need it for a few days until she gets used to her new home. Know what you’re going to call her yet?” He asked.

  “Not yet. I want to spend some time with her first. See what her personality is like and all. I can’t wait to get home with her. I’ve got everything she needs already. Thanks so much for letting me take her,” Margo said.

  “I’m just happy she’s going to a good home. Have you lived in Cozy long?” he asked.

  “About two years is all. I moved here from St. Louis, Missouri. I drove through the town on my way to a friend’s place and fell in love with it. Everyone is so nice, and it’s a beautiful little community.”

  “It is. I’ve been here three years myself. Love the laid-back atmosphere. It’s perfect for a family. They have good schools and parks where they have town picnics and sometimes movies in the park. Can’t get much more down-home than that,” he said.

  “So, you have a family? I’m surprised you wouldn’t want to keep the kitten if you have kids,” she said.

  “Oh, I’m not married. I hope to find someone to settle down with and start a family one day but haven’t found her yet.” Webb smiled and reached out to give the little kitten a scratch under her chin. “Are you married?”

  “Oh, no. Just me and now the kitten. It will be nice to have her there to keep me company while I work,” Margo said.

  “I’m surprised someone as pretty as you aren’t already married with a dozen or so kids by now,” he said with a soft chuckle.

  Heat spread up her face at his words. She cleared her throat. “Well, I haven’t found anyone I feel like I could spend the rest of my life with yet.”

  “That’s a shame. Maybe you’d consider letting me take you to lunch one day. You can fill me in on how the little munchkin is doing, and we could get to know each other,” Webb said.

  Margo nearly gasped at his words. Was he really asking her out? She’d just met him, but he was super good-looking and seemed nice. Did she dare take a chance like that?

  “Just lunch at the diner. What could it hurt?” he asked with a broad smile.

  “Um, I don’t guess it would. Sure. When did you want to go?” she asked.

  “How about Saturday? That would give you some time with the kitten, so you can tell me what you decided to name her and how she’s adjusting to your place,” he said.

  “Oh, um, sure. What time?” she asked, wondering how she’d gone from adopting a little kitten to being invited to lunch by a complete stranger.

  “Will it throw you off if we go at one?” he asked. “I don’t close the store until noon on Saturdays.”

  “Sure. That sounds great.”

  “Perfect. I’ll pick you up at one.” He held out his hand once more, and Margo shook it. He walked her all the way to her car and closed the door for her once she’d buckled up and had the kitten settled, nestled in her blanket on the passenger seat.

  She waved good-bye to Webb and drove out of the parking lot, wondering what she’d just agreed to.

  * * * *

  “Yeah, I want to go, but I need a fucking shower if I’m going to do that. That means leaving the guys alone and unsupervised for several hours while I’m gone. I just don’t know that I can trust them to get the job done without me riding them,” Sam said.

  “She’s worth it, man. Sweet as a piece of hard candy and pretty. She’s got hair that looks softer than mink and the color of chocolate. You’re going to love her as soon as you meet her,” Webb said.

  Sam really wanted to go. They hadn’t been out on a date in months since they hadn’t found anyone they both were interested in. Maybe this would be the one woman they could both agree on. He would make it work.

  “Okay. I’ll plan to meet you at the store at eleven forty-five. We can pick her up together. How do you think she’ll take it that both of us are going to take her out to eat?” Sam asked.

  “Don’t know, but it’s the only way to see how she’ll react,” Webb said.

  “What if she refuses to go with both of us?”

  “I honestly think she’ll agree. I don’t think she’ll flat out say no. She might be a little worried about it at first, but we’re going to a public place, so she shouldn’t be afraid to go with us.” Webb dug his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “She’s really pretty, Sam. I hope you like her as much as I do.”

  “I do, too. She sounds like a gem from what you’ve said about her.”

  Sam wasn’t holding out any hope though. They’d struck out on the few women they’d been out with. A few had seemed promising but had completely wigged out at the idea of dating two men at one time. How would this Margo handle it? He hoped at the very least that she wouldn’t cause a scene and storm out of the diner.

  Saturday morning, he left his crew at work and hurried home to shower and change clothes so he’d be presentable. By the time he arrived at the store, he was jumpy. Why was he so worked up over this one date when he’d been on dozens over the last few years?

  “Hey, man.
You about ready?” he called out when he entered the store at eleven forty-five.

  “Yeah, just locking up back here. Be up there in a minute,” Webb yelled back.

  Sam waited by the door until Webb walked through to where he stood.

  “Ready. I’ve got her address. We’ll pick her up at her apartment,” Webb said.

  “I sure hope she doesn’t balk once she sees that I’m with you. Maybe it would have been better for me to wait for the two of you at the diner instead of coming with you like this,” Sam said.

  “Maybe, but I’d rather be upfront with her from the start,” Webb said, arming the alarm and then locking the door behind them.

  Once inside the truck, Sam lapsed into silence, thinking about how much he hoped Margo turned out to be the woman for them. He was tired of waiting. Seeing their friends with their new wives and families was getting old. He and Webb had been waiting for years now. It was time.

  Webb pulled up outside a brown brick building and stopped. He looked up at it and frowned. It wasn’t exactly in the worst part of town, but it wasn’t in the best area either.

  “She lives here?” he asked.

  “Yeah. The address should have warned me, but I was too excited to pick up on where this was located,” Webb said.

  “Let’s go get her.” Sam opened his door and stepped out.

  Webb strode around to the front of the truck, and the two of them walked inside the building to the second floor where Webb knocked on her apartment door. They could hear footsteps through the door, and then the door opened to a smiling young woman of about twenty-five years old. Webb had been right. She was beautiful. Her warm brown hair reminded him of the finest of chocolates, and her green eyes twinkled until she noticed there were two of them standing outside her apartment door.

  “Um, Webb?” she said.

  “Hi, Margo. This is my friend, Sam. I asked him to come with us. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Well, no. I guess not.”

  Sam could tell she was a little confused. Maybe even a bit disappointed. That worried him. If she wasn’t attracted to him as well as Webb, then it was all for nothing. He held out his hand.

  “Sam Milton. Webb and I live together. I understand you adopted the runt of a kitten he found,” Sam said.

  “I did. She’s doing great. I don’t know how I got along without her.” Margo’s eyes brightened, and her smile stretched wide once again.

  “Ready to go?” Webb asked.

  “Let me get my purse.” She stepped back inside the apartment but quickly returned.

  Once she’d locked the door, she let them escort her downstairs and out to Webb’s truck. Sam helped her up and then followed her so that she was between them on the bench seat. He reminded her to buckle up and then did the same himself.

  The trip over to the diner didn’t take long at all. Sam was helping her back out of the truck in less than five minutes. He followed her and Webb into the restaurant and sat at the table on one side of Margo while Webb took the other side.

  Once the waitress had taken their orders, Webb prompted the conversation by asking Margo about the kitten.

  “What did you name her?”

  “Bella. She’s so sweet. She sleeps next to my head on my pillow at night. She has her own bed and will use it during the day, but at night she prefers my pillow. I don’t know what I did before I got her,” she gushed.

  “She’s a cute little thing. Is she still as fluffy as when you first got her?” Sam asked.

  “Yeah. I figure she’s going to be a medium-haired cat once she grows up. It’s only been a few days, but her coloring is changing. I don’t think she’s going to be black at all. I think she’s going to be a tortie color.”

  “Tortie? What’s that?” Webb asked, his brows furrowing.

  “Multicolored,” she said.

  “How can you tell?” he asked.

  “I can see some orange areas nearer the skin in places,” Margo said.

  “So, Webb said you type dictation for doctor’s offices. Do you like doing that?” Sam asked.

  “Love it. I can work from home and set my own hours,” she said.

  “That does sound like a dream job,” Sam said.

  “Yeah, I can even work in my pj’s if I want to,” she said. “What about you? I know what Webb does. What about you?”

  “I have a landscaping business. Mostly I cut yards and mulch all day,” he said.

  “Don’t sell yourself short, man. You do a lot more than that,” Webb said.

  “It takes a lot of work to keep yards looking nice all year long. Especially businesses. They don’t want to touch their landscaping, so you have to make sure they look nice. Webb is right. That takes a lot of work,” Margo said.

  “It keeps me busy as hell during the spring and summer months. Not quite as much in the fall, but winter I’m pretty dead. Can’t do much in the winter other than snow blowing. I let my guys handle that for the most part.” Sam shrugged. “We’ve just gotten into the snow blowing side of the business in the last year. A lot of older adults need it. They can’t get out and shovel it themselves.”

  “That’s really great. I know that if I lived in a house, I’d have to have someone shovel for me. I don’t have the energy to shovel a path to the mailbox, much less get my car out of the mess,” she said.

  Sam smiled. He really did like her. Maybe they had found that one woman they both could agree to. She was smart, funny, and sweet. Add to that her beautiful looks, and what wasn’t to like about her? He hoped his friend had an idea on how to get her to date both of them at one time because he was hooked.

  “Have you eaten at that little Italian place over at Easton yet?” Webb asked.

  Margo shook her head. “No. I haven’t.”

  “We’d like to take you there next weekend. Would Saturday night be good for you?”

  “Saturday night? Um, sure. What time?” she asked, clearly confused from the look on her face.

  “We’d pick you up at say six,” Webb said.

  “Both of you?”

  Chapter Three

  Margo struggled to get her head around the fact that Webb was asking her out again and including Sam in the mix. Hell, they’d both arrived to take her out to the diner. What was up with that? Why were they both taking her out? Were they bisexual and looking for someone to fill in occasionally? That was so not her. She needed to be sure they understood that right away.

  “Um, guys. I’m not sure how to say this, but are you guys, um, with each other? Like lovers?” she asked in a soft voice.

  “No,” Sam and Webb said at the same time.

  “Then why are you both asking me out?”

  “We both like you and are looking for someone to share our lives with. We both like you and want to see if that could be you,” Webb said.

  “Both of you? Like at one time?” she asked again.

  “Right. We’re looking for a threesome-type relationship. It’s the reason we moved to Cozy. There are already several ménage relationships on the mountain where we live. It’s a way of life for us,” Sam explained.

  “I’m not sure about this. I’ve never dated more than one man at a time before. I don’t see how it can work,” she said.

  “It’s just like dating one man, only there are two men to take care of you and see to your every need. You’re the main focus in the relationship,” Webb said.

  “I don’t see how it can work without one of you getting jealous. Men are just territorial by nature,” she said.

  “It works. There are five other families on the mountain like this. Three of them have children and are very happy. As soon as they plan another BBQ, we’ll introduce you to them. You’ll love meeting the women. They’ll show you just how happy there are with their marriages,” Sam said.

  “But you can’t marry more than one man at a time.”

  “You’d legally marry one man and then exchange vows with both of them in a private ceremony with all our friends. But we’re
getting ahead of ourselves. First, we need to get to know each other and see where this leads. For all we know, we aren’t compatible. We’d like to get the chance to see though,” Webb said.

  “I don’t know. I really need to think about this. I don’t have a great track record with men in general. Two men might be pushing it a little,” Margo said.

  Margo had to admit to herself that the idea of having two men to look after her and make her happy sounded good in theory, but the reality was that it meant two egos to deal with, as well. Her experience with men said that they were egotistical and tended to get their feelings hurt at the least little thing. She’d been prepared to deal with one man, but two men? She wasn’t sure she could handle two.

  “Just think about it. Let us take you to dinner next Saturday evening and see where this can go. Give us a chance. That’s all we’re asking,” Webb said.

  “I hope I don’t regret this, but okay. I’ll see what happens,” she finally said.

  “Wonderful.” Webb flagged down the waitress and ordered apple pie.

  She shook her head at dessert. She was full and had a lot on her mind. She didn’t think eating something sweet was a good idea. Sam got the pecan pie though, and before it was said and done, she’d had a bite of each.

  When they took her home fifteen minutes later, she was sad to see them go, but also a little ready. She needed to process what they’d laid on her.

  A ménage.

  They wanted a ménage relationship for life. Not just to fool around with, but as a permeant thing. And they said that there were others like that already living on the mountain. Why hadn’t she heard about them before now?

  Probably because I work from home and am rarely out in public.

  Bella ran to greet her as soon as she’d shut the door behind the two men. Before she could bend and pick her up, the ball of fur had raced up her pant leg and climbed to her shoulder where she nuzzled under her hair to settle her cold, wet nose behind her ear.

  “Ugh, Bella. Your nose is wet.”

  The kitten only purred louder. Margo laughed and walked into the kitchen to grab a Diet Coke. She’d read for a bit and let what the guys had laid on her sink in before she thought it over some more. Right now, it was all too new, and her first instinct was to say hell no. Fortunately, or unfortunately, she didn’t have their phone number to call them and cancel.