Loving the Mountain Man, page 5
part #7 of Montana Mountain Men Series
Laughing, she nods. “I know it’s weird, but I love them all. Bay and I had a strange start. The day we met, Penn had found me sleeping rough in Alice’s old RV. Instead of calling the cops, he made me coffee, and that’s when Bay arrived. He insisted on driving me to work, then he brought me home.”
“And you’ve been together ever since?”
“No.” Missy smirks. “Bay thought I was too young for him, so he drove me to the bus station and let me leave. It’s a long story, but basically, Cody turned up, and the two of us moved across the country to Vermont. We lived together for three months before Bay turned up.”
“So, you were with Cody, then Bay?” I ask, my stomach sinking at the thought of my sister and Cody together.
“Oh, God, no,” she gasps. “But Cody is my best friend. I was in a bad place when he and I met. Bay and I had an instant connection, but when I left, Cody refused to allow me to be alone with no money and no friends or family. He saved me. Cody Barnett is one of the best people I’ve ever met, and I have no idea where I’d be without him.”
“And you and he never…” I trail off, my heart pounding in my chest as I wait for her to fill in the blanks. I don’t know why I care. I have a boyfriend, but the thought of Cody touching my sister that way is so awful I can barely breathe.
“Lord, no. Eww. Cody is my brother.”
“Oh.” I nod, painfully relieved. “How does Bay feel about you and his brother being so close?”
“Honestly, he struggled with it at the start. He felt really threatened by how close Cody and I were. But it’s different now. The Barnetts, well, they have this legacy.”
“Legacy?” I ask, raising my brow questioningly as we meander past a pasture with two huge black horses in it.
“Yeah. Apparently, their dad saw their mom and fell instantly in love with her, a total love-at-first-sight thing. He told the guys that he knew then and there that she was his and that he was going to marry her, no doubt or question in his mind. According to Bay, his parents were crazy in love right up until the moment they passed away, and the guys, well, they all stayed bachelors because they figured unless they could have a love like their parents did, it wasn’t worth settling down.”
“Was that just an excuse to be manwhores?”
“Probably.” She smiles. “But then Beau spotted Bonnie all alone, closing up the coffee shop in town one night. He kind of stalked her a little, turning up at the shop every time she opened early or closed late at night. It took him a while, but eventually, he realized he wasn’t just watching over her. He couldn’t leave her alone because she was his, and he wanted to marry her; she was his one.”
“Wow,” I say, feeling that pang of something in my chest. That’s been happening a lot since I met the Barnetts.
“Yeah, according to Beau, he wasted a year following her around because he didn’t understand what his heart was telling him, but once he figured it out, he was instantly all in. Cora is Bonnie’s best friend; they went on a night out, and Beau and the guys went, too, to keep an eye on Bonnie. When Huck saw Cora, he said he knew in an instant that she was his. Granger stopped to help Alice when her RV broke down on the side of the road and knew the moment he saw her. Lulu wasn’t paying attention and literally walked straight into Penn on the sidewalk. He followed her to work and then home. Teddy and Juni apparently had a bit more work to get to happily ever after, like me and Bay, but all the guys said they knew right from the get-go that once they met their person, they were all in.”
“That sounds like the plot of a book.” I giggle, but there’s a warmth in my chest, too, because wouldn’t it be amazing to meet someone and fall instantly, irrevocably in love with them, the way she just described six times over?
“Right! But it’s true. All the guys are total cavemen.”
“The alpha male, big-dick energy is so thick in that house.” I gasp, then cover my mouth, embarrassed that I just blurted that out.
She laughs. “They’re all total Neanderthals, but when they love, they love so big and so hard it’s impossible not to succumb to it. Being loved by a Barnett is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.”
“So, Bay’s good to you?” I ask cautiously.
Missy’s eyes mist over, and a wistful sigh falls from her smiling lips. “So good. He’s my person. He looks after me and spoils me rotten, but more than that, he gets me. He’s both my strength and my weakness; he’s my everything.”
Turning, I reach out and grab her hand, squeezing tightly. “I’m so happy for you, Missy. I know we don’t know each other, but even when you were just a name on a piece of paper, all I wanted was for you to be happy and loved.”
Missy’s eyes go glassy, and she lifts the hand I’m not holding and wafts it in front of her face. “I’m sorry. These baby hormones make me cry at everything. But I’m really glad you’re here, Betty.”
“Me too.”
I’m not sure who reaches for who, but a moment later, we’re hugging, and it feels so incredibly right. After a long moment, I pull back and smile, exhaling a shaky breath. “Okay, so you’re married to a hot caveman and live with six other hot cavemen and their wives, and you’re having a baby. Tell me everything else about you.”
“You’ve heard enough about me for right now. I want to know about you. Tell me about your boyfriend.”
I could swear she cringed a little at the word boyfriend, but now she’s smiling a split second later, so I must have imagined it. “Err, well, there’s not much to tell.”
“How did you meet?”
“We were at a party at his frat house.”
“He was in a frat? Oh my gosh, is it like it looks in the movies?”
I shrug. “Yeah, kind of. Lots of asshole guys dressed in sheet togas charging an entry fee for a Solo cup and warm beer you have to pump yourself.”
“Eww, gross.” Her nose wrinkles. “I take it Thad looked good in a sheet?”
“God, no. Thad would never be caught dead in a makeshift toga. He was dressed in chinos and a button-down, and when he saw me at the door, he made the pledge taking the door fee and letting me in for free. Then he told me I was hot and showed me where the good beer was kept.” A small laugh falls from my lips as I think about how unromantic our meeting was. It wasn’t love at first sight; it was horny college kids at first beer.
“So, he wooed you with free beer?” Missy asks.
“I guess. After that night, we started dating and then just didn’t stop. I got offered my job, and he had the chance to work for his aunt. It was the natural progression to move in together. We’re both pretty laid back, and we work.”
“Is he okay with you staying here for the week?”
Waving my hand in front of me, I nod. “Yeah, he’s fine. My only other plans for this week were working on my portfolio and maybe clearing out my closet, so it’s not like I’m missing anything back home. Do you work?”
“I work for Cody, but he’ll let me have the time off while you’re here. Bay wants me to stop working and go to college, but I don’t know. It’s too late to apply for this year, and once the baby comes, our lives will be completely different.”
“What college are you thinking of attending?”
“I have no idea. When I graduated high school, college wasn’t even a faraway option for me, so I’ve never given it any real thought. But one of my birthday gifts from Bay was college brochures. In his words, he wants to give me everything I could ever wish for, including a college degree.”
“Wow.” I gasp. “He said that?”
Missy’s cheeks turn pink as she nods. “Half the reason it took us so long to get together is because he was worried that he’d be ruining my life by tying me to him because of our age difference.”
“So, what happened to change his mind?”
“I couldn’t live without her,” a rough male voice says from behind us.
Missy’s eyes snap up to her husband, and I watch as she visibly melts. Her muscles seem to sag, and she leans into him as he steps around me to claim all her attention.
“Sorry to interrupt, but Cora’s being impatient. She wants to play dress-up with you for your birthday,” Bay says, curling his palm around the side of her neck in a sexily possessive way.
Sighing wistfully, I watch them interact, and jealousy bubbles to life inside of me. I don’t remember the last time—if ever—that Thad touched me like that. Sometimes, if we’re playing a naughty game, he’ll wrap his fingers around my throat, but it’s always part of the role. He’s never looked at me the way Bay is looking at Missy, like the world starts and ends with her.
I love Thad, I really do, but is he my person? That’s how Missy described Bay, as her person. She didn’t exactly say what she meant by that, but I can guess. She meant that he was there for her, that he supported her and had her back.
Does Thad do that for me?
Yes, he does… Doesn’t he? He moved to Rapid City so we could be together—of course, his aunt was there, and he had a job waiting for him, but still, he supports me—well, at least he doesn’t stand in my wayalthough he makes it pretty obvious sometimes that he doesn’t think much of my job. He’s there for me—most of the time. Although he didn’t come with me today, and he didn’t even seem excited that I found Missy when I texted him earlier.
He's a great guy, but what we have isn’t like what the Barnetts seem to have with their wives, what Missy and Bay have. Am I missing out, or is Missy overselling this love-at-first-sight stuff?
“Betty?” Missy calls, pulling me from my internal diatribe.
Blinking, I force my lips into a smile and push thoughts of Thad and what I could be missing out on to the back of my mind. “Sorry, I lost myself for a moment there; what did you say?”
“I was just saying that it could be fun to head down into town to Cora’s store.”
“Oh, yeah, sure. What kind of store does she have?”
“It’s the most gorgeous clothing boutique. Cora sources all the clothes, and she has a real eye for an outfit. She’ll have already picked something out for you, I can guarantee it, and it’ll be perfect.”
Smiling, I nod, but I’m not really paying attention. My mind is spinning with thoughts as we walk slowly back down the path that links the ranch to the Barnetts’ home. Bay holds Missy’s hand the entire time, his eyes constantly looking to her, making sure she’s okay. A small part of me feels like his attention is verging on overbearing, but the rest of me just thinks it’s hot. My sister is the center of her husband’s world, and she knows it. I see it in the way she looks at him and when she rolls her eyes at his hovering hands and lovingly concerned glances.
I’ve honestly never seen any two people behave the way they are right now, and they’re literally doing nothing but walking side by side. It’s like there’s this magnetic force holding them together, and I can practically feel the static energy in the air. Their love is visceral, and I’m envious because I’ve never felt the love they have, and I doubt I ever will.
The moment we set foot in the house, Cora, a gorgeous and very pregnant redhead, descends on us in a flurry of action. She shoos Bay away like an errant child and drags both me and Missy through the shared living space and into her apartment. Unlike Missy and Bay’s place, it’s finished and incredibly homey. The walls are white, which should feel cold, but the rugs in various bold primary colors covering the hardwood floors fill the space with warmth. The couch is a bright yellow that is insane but somehow effortlessly blends in with the other pieces of furniture, varying from a gorgeous wooden coffee table to industrial black-and-red metal lockers that are stacked on top of each other.
One wall is full of printed canvas photos. There are images of Cora, her husband, Huck, and their beautiful redheaded son, Maverick. Then there are pictures of the rest of the family, the girls pregnant, the guys chasing after their wives, and the babies all together. It’s a beautiful homage to this huge unconventional family, and for some reason, as I take it in, my eyes fill with tears.
“Cool, isn’t it?” Cora says, nudging my shoulder.
“Beautiful.” I nod.
“Cody took most of them. Others are candids we took on our cellphones. I’ve added to it as our family has gotten bigger and bigger, and pretty soon, I think I’m going to need to start on another wall.” She laughs. “It’s our life in pictures. I love it, but Huck’s threatened to take them all down if I don’t stop crying every time I look at them.”
“Don’t let him,” I rasp, my throat thick with confusing emotions. I don’t know these people. I only met my sister today, so I shouldn’t be affected by photos of her new family, but I am. Their life is beautiful. It’s not Instagram perfect, but the imperfections clearly displayed in dirty faces and messy hair are what make it so wonderful.
“Oh, I won’t. It’s his fault that I’m emotional because he keeps getting me pregnant. Plus, whenever I cry, he brings me pie, and I love pie.”
“Pie’s good.” I nod, chuckling.
“Pie, when I’m pregnant, is everything. This one is a girl, but it hasn’t stopped me from craving pie, just like I did when I was ready to pop with Mav.”
I nod again, not really sure what else to say.
“You seem cool, but I’m hella protective of my family, even more so when I have all the crazy baby hormones, so I’m going to say this once. The only member of Missy’s blood family I’ve heard about was a grade A asshole. Don’t be like him. Don’t use her. Don’t make her cry. Be a decent human being, and we’ll be all good. If not, well, I won’t think twice about going all mountain crazy on you, and out here, they’d never find your body.”
Cora is smiling so sweetly as she threatens me that I don’t know how to react.
“I don’t have any intention of hurting my sister. I just want to get to know her.”
“Perfect.” She shrugs. “Welcome to the family.” Then she throws her arms around me and hugs me like nothing’s happened.
Releasing me, she picks up a glass off the table and hands it to me. “That’s a Jolly Rancher–tini. Tell me how it tastes.”
“Excuse me?” I ask, staring at her blankly.
“Preggo. I can’t drink, so I need to live vicariously through you. Now drink.”
Looking from her to the vivid pink drink in front of me, I lift the martini glass to my lips and take a tentative sip. Sweet watermelon flavor hits my lips. “Oh, wow,” I gasp, taking a second sip, then a third.
“Is it good?”
“So good,” I moan.
“God, I can’t wait to give birth just so I can have a drink again.”
I laugh, and she scowls, then her lips tip up at the corners, and she smiles. “Come on. I brought home the most beautiful dress for Mis. She’s going to drive Bay wild all night in it.”
Reaching for my arm—the one not holding my cocktail—she pulls me across the lounge and into a kitchen, where the other ladies are all cooing over my sister, who is now wearing a beautiful, fitted green dress. It clings to her curves, even managing to showcase her barely there baby bump that’s just starting to pop from her belly.
Her eyes catch mine, and she takes a step toward me, holding her hands out to the side. “What do you think?”
“You look beautiful,” I tell her sincerely.
“Bay’s going to be trying to drag you off all night,” a woman with brown hair tells her, winking playfully.
The ladies all chat for a few moments, and I watch the intimate comradery between them. They all look to be in their twenties, all beautiful. The brunette has a small baby belly, and another is rubbing her stomach absentmindedly.
Without realizing I’m doing it, I touch my stomach and a pang of something that feels a lot like loss hits me. I never really thought about kids that much. Thad had his vasectomy, and I just accepted that kids weren’t in the cards for me—not that I planned on having any until I was well into my thirties anyway.
But standing here, surrounded by pregnant women, I consider that maybe in the future, I could see myself standing, rubbing at my stomach and feeling a baby move inside of me.
Missy sidles up beside me and bumps me with her shoulder, smiling proudly at her family. “They’re great, aren’t they?”
I nod. “Cora threatened to kill me if I hurt you.”
Missy’s cheeks heat as she throws her head back and laughs. “She did?”
“She did,” I confirm. “Your family is great.”
“They’re your family now, too. The great thing about the Barnetts is that they always have more love to give. You’re my sister, so you’re their sister, too. By the end of the week, you’ll never want to leave.”
Smiling indulgently, I let her pull me back into the fray of excited strangers. Once Missy has been fussed over and primped, we move as a group back into the main house, where the men are all sitting in the living room, taking care of the kids.
I swear my ovaries weep in joy at the sight of seven hot-as-fuck men all holding children in their massive arms. My eyes don’t know where to look next as my gaze flits from man to man to man, ultimately settling on Cody, who is cradling a baby in his arms, a bottle held to its mouth. Jesus, it’s like porn, live porn aimed at women all over the world, because is there anything as sexy as a man looking at a baby like it’s the most precious thing in the world?
“Hot, right?” someone asks from beside me.
Tearing my eyes from the guys, I look at the woman I don’t recognize as one of the wives. The older woman I’ve not seen before looks back at me, a twinkle in her eye as she carries a beautiful brunette toddler on her hip. “Hi, I’m Chloe, Lulu’s godmother.”
Holding out my hand, I smile at her. “Hi, I’m Betty, I’m…” I pause, unsure of what to say. “Well, I guess I’m Missy’s sister, but we just met today.”
Chloe nods. “Bay told me. I’m so happy to meet you and that you and Missy found each other.”
“Thanks. I’m still processing, if I’m honest. I was hoping I’d find her, but now that it’s happened, well, it’s a lot for both of us.”
“I can’t imagine. Are you on her mom’s or her dad’s side?”
