Mountain Cure (Stone Brothers Duet, #2)

by Jadin, Bethany

  I shake my head. “I couldn’t ask them to do that. They put so much work into their furniture. They need to focus on, you know, just providing for themselves. They have a lot to do to that cabin. They shouldn’t be giving away pieces to me when they could sell them and use that money to fix up their place.”

  Natalie stops walking and looks at me with a furled brow. “Honey, you do know the Stone boys are loaded, right?”

  I squint at her, thinking of that drafty cabin, those boots of Colt’s with the leather so worn they’re nearly falling apart, and how proud they are of that new truck of theirs. They must have saved a long time to get it. I’m pretty sure she means country-loaded, as in lots of property and equipment.

  “I know they have a ton of woodworking gear and own a lot of land.”

  She shakes her head. “No, I mean they have a mountain of money stashed... well... God knows where,” she says with a laugh. “In stocks and bonds? Buried under a tree? Stuffed in their mattresses? Who knows, but they’re flush.”

  My mouth falls open. “What?”

  Natalie gives me a nod and begins us walking toward the next store. “In another lifetime — before I moved away from the city — I used to be a CPA. I helped the guys file all the paperwork when they started their business, and every now and then they need help with tax forms. I’ve seen their income. And I know how generous they’ve been with their friends. They’re quick to help out anyone who needs it, and I swear they’ve ordered more food from Tank than even the three of them could eat in a lifetime. Let’s just say they aren’t going to be hurting if they give you a few of their pieces.”

  I twist the plastic handle of the bag in my hand, trying to reconcile this information with what I know about the guys. I have no reason to doubt Natalie, but they’ve never once given off the vibe like they’re sitting on a pile of money.

  Although, I guess it makes sense that they’re doing alright for themselves. They’ve hinted at how much their pieces sell for. And when they took me shopping for new winter clothes, they had wallets full of cash and refused to let me pay for any of it, despite my protests.

  It makes me smile, thinking anew about their business. There’s something so lovely about the idea that they work as hard as they do because they’re passionate about it. It really is a labor of love for them.

  And I adore that they choose to live simply, wealth or not. They’re just so completely who they are, and money obviously hasn’t changed that.

  Jason loved to flaunt every dollar he made — from his huge loft to the expensive watches and imported Italian suits he wore. When we ate out, it was always at some trendy restaurant with big prices and tiny portions. The kind of place socialites and celebrities go to be seen and admired. And Jason was right there with them, wanting everyone to see just how successful he is.

  Me? I’m happy in my faded t-shirts and worn-in jeans. And I’d take a hearty, homemade meal whipped up in the kitchen with Colt any day.

  Jason’s obsession with money was a minor annoyance that I overlooked before, but now, compared to the guys, he just looks disgustingly shallow.

  I never thought I’d think so, but I’m beginning to believe him cheating on me is perhaps one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.

  If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have seen Jason for who he truly is, and I might have just kept coasting along in that relationship, wasting my time with him for who knows how long.

  I wouldn’t have come out here by myself, which has given me time to think about what I really want and what’s truly important to me.

  And most importantly, I wouldn’t have met Colt, Wes, and Remi — the three most amazing men in the world.

  “Really,” I tell Natalie after a long moment of walking quietly together. “The guys have been wonderful, but I can’t ask them for gifts. It seems like a big deal, you know? The kind of thing you’d only do for close friends or family.”

  She looks at me with that furled brow one more time. “Girl, they would jump at the opportunity to do something for you. All you’d have to do is kind of hint at it, and I bet they’d build you a freaking house if you wanted.”

  My heart leaps right into my throat at her words. I stare at her in surprise for a moment before looking away, my fingers trembling a little as I grip my bags tighter.

  I breathe in deep, trying to still the fluttering in my chest. The air has to be just under freezing, puffs of condensation swirling around my face with every exhale.

  “I want to stop in here for a sec,” Natalie says, leading me to a store called Tots and Toddlers.

  “Sure,” I say, following her inside.

  There’s nothing in here for me — my sisters would be appalled if I bought something cute and whimsical for their kids instead of designer labels — but I’m enjoying hanging out with Natalie and her little one, and I can’t help but smile at all the adorable baby clothes and handmade wooden toys. It fills me with a warm, cozy nostalgia.

  Natalie laughs and points at a display of onesies that say Daddy’s Best Gift. She begins hunting through the neatly folded stacks for the right size as I absentmindedly browse through a rack of children’s shirts.

  Her words circle through my mind. They’d build me a house if I asked? She had to be exaggerating to make a point... right? I try to laugh it off, but a thrill still runs down my spine at the idea that the guys might really be that into me. If anyone would know, it would be Natalie. She seems to have an uncanny knack for reading people — and she’s known the brothers a long time.

  “Have you seen the guys today?” she asks, moving over to look through a rack beside me.

  I shake my head. “No. They’re leaving sometime today for their trip. I thought about calling them to see if they wanted to grab lunch before they left, but I don’t want to distract them from their plans.”

  “And what are your plans? For Christmas, I mean.” She looks at me curiously from the corner of her eye. “Are you heading home or going to see family?”

  “Uuuuh...” I stall for time, trying to figure out what to say that won’t have me baring my soul to my new friend in the middle of a children’s store, but then I figure, fuck it. I’m sure she’s half-guessed at the story, anyway.

  “Well... I was going to spend it with Jason. He’s the one who booked this vacation and paid for the room — but that was before I found out he’s a lying, cheating dirtbag. So, that plan got booted straight into the category of Hell No.”

  “Oh, crap.” Natalie’s eyes are wide as she grasps the situation more fully.

  “I decided to come on the trip anyway, by myself, but I didn’t really think too much about where or how I’d spend Christmas. So... I don’t know. There’s some part of me that feels like maybe I should be spending it with my family, but... eh.” I shrug with disinterest.

  “Mmm. I get the impression that’s not an appealing option, either?” Natalie asks.

  “Not so much,” I say with a sigh.

  We make our way toward the back of the store, away from the cluster of people browsing the sale racks, and I decide to give her the condensed version of my strained relationship with my family.

  “My mom and I don’t really see eye-to-eye on what’s best for me. Actually, we disagree pretty strongly on just about everything,” I tell her. “Success and wealth, those are her things. She adores my ex, Jason — primarily because his bank account appeals to her sense of priorities. The man could do no wrong in her eyes. She’ll probably find some way to blame me for him cheating, so I have that to look forward to.”

  Natalie wrinkles her nose. “Ugh. That’s just... I have no words. What about the rest of your family?”

  “Well, even though I love my sisters, they’re a lot like my mom in that way. We’re not very close,” I confess. “I guess I’m kinda the odd sheep of the family. I’m also the last single adult among us, and every time we all get together — especially around the holidays — it turns into this awkward pity party for poor, unmarri
ed, childless me.”

  “Oh, God, do I know what that’s like,” Natalie says with an exasperated huff. “My family was like that before I met Tank... and then once we did get married, we had to field the most intrusive questions for the first couple years. It seemed like every conversation boiled down to them asking when he was going to knock me up.”

  A burst of laughter escapes me, and I glance around to make sure no one’s eavesdropping on our conversation.

  “My family is baby-crazy,” she continues, shaking her head. “I think my mom’s only reason for existing is grandkids. It drove them nuts, that we didn’t want to have kids right away.”

  “Yikes,” I huff. “It kills me when family members think they have a say in decisions like that. The pressure is so intense.”

  “Right?” Natalie nods, her eyes wide. “I love my family, truly. And I know they mean well. But what’s wrong with us just enjoying being a couple for a while? You’d think we were preventing the cure to cancer or something, the way they acted.”

  I click my tongue. “Well, thank heavens I don’t have to deal with that, not yet anyway. I’m sure it’ll happen one day. But right now, the boyfriend situation is plenty enough. I’m really not looking forward to telling my mom and sisters I’m single for the holidays because I caught my ex in bed with another woman. And then having them turn it around on me. Like, who needs that drama?”

  “So, you’ll be staying here, then?” She tips her head at me as she gently bounces her baby girl, who’s still snug as a bug wrapped in her sling across Natalie’s chest. “You said you have your room at the resort through the weekend, right?”

  “I do, yeah. But...” I trail off, not wanting to sound like I’m already pining for the guys when it hasn’t even been a day since I last saw them.

  There’s that knowing smile of hers again. She finishes my sentence. “But... the guys won’t be here for Christmas.”

  I laugh, feeling equal parts relieved that she gets it and a little worried that she thinks I’m nuts. I feel like she’d tell me straight, so I just ask, “Am I crazy? I don’t even know what the hell’s happened to me.”

  Natalie raises an eyebrow and gives me the sweetest look. “Yes, you do.”

  Well, I asked, didn’t I? I love how she always cuts right through all the clutter and says it like it is, blunt as can be but in the kindest way.

  And God, she’s right.

  I do know. I knew it before I even let the words slip out of my mouth when the guys dropped me off at my room the other day. They haven’t mentioned a word about that. Maybe they didn’t take it at face-value and just shrugged it off. Or maybe they’re happy pretending they didn’t hear it.

  I draw in a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts as Natalie looks at me patiently. I never intended to develop feelings for the brothers... but here I am, a smitten kitten.

  “You know, I’m just here on vacation. I’m just a tourist that accidentally crashed into their lives.”

  “Oh, honey.” Natalie lays a hand on my arm. “You’re not a tourist. One of these tourists couldn’t grab a Stone boy’s attention, let alone all three of them.”

  I freeze, my heart pounding wildly in my chest. “I didn’t say—”

  “—and they didn’t, either,” she quickly assures me. “But it’s written all over their faces, every time they look at you. Hell, they might not even know it yet, but that doesn’t make it not true.” That smile of hers is still there.

  I’m at a loss for words as I follow Natalie to the front of the store so she can buy the items she’s picked out.

  She turns to me when we reach the register. “The guys don’t really do Christmas. They kind of avoid it, actually,” she says with a sad frown.

  Just like the other day when I brought it up with the guys, I sense a story there. But I’m not sure it’s my place to know—at least, not from Natalie. My curiosity is burning up, and the question is right there on the tip of my tongue, but I press my lips together and stay quiet. If the guys want me to know, they’ll tell me when they’re ready.

  “I’m not surprised at all that they’re skipping out of town for a supply run right about now,” she continues. “But, even if they won’t be here, Tank and I will be — and we love making a big fuss over Christmas. We’ll have a present for you under our tree, so you better come over.”

  “What?” For the second time today, my mouth falls open in surprise. “You guys don’t need to do that — really.”

  “Shush.” She waves a hand at me before digging in her pocket for her credit card and turning to the cashier.

  Happy tears well up inside me, and I find myself staring blurry-eyed at a shelf of wooden zoo animals as she pays for the baby clothes. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so wonderfully accepted and included by someone who was a perfect stranger to me just a week ago. The guys really do have the best friends.

  Natalie thanks the cashier and scoops up her bag from the counter. I quickly wipe my eyes as we head to the door.

  “Also, Tank goes a little crazy with cooking up a big farm-to-table meal,” she tells me over her shoulder. “He made three different kinds of ham last year.”

  I blink at her, my mouth already watering. “Good Lord. I didn’t even know there was more than one way to make ham.”

  “Don’t get me started,” Natalie says with a laugh as we step back out onto the sidewalk together. “He turns my kitchen into a hot mess every year. But it’s always delicious — and I don’t have room for that many leftovers, so you have to come eat dinner with us. All our friends are welcome. We expect you to be there.”

  12

  WELL FUCK. EVEN LEAVING town can’t get her out of my mind.

  I wad the fast food wrapper into a ball and throw it back into the bag. The cheap, greasy food used to be a little treat when we were away from home, but now all I want is to be sitting around that table in our cabin, eating a meal that she helped cook.

  There I go again. Daydreaming of her wearing next to nothing under that chef’s apron Colt keeps in the kitchen.

  And picturing her completely naked, that sexy ass laying across my bed. Where it belongs.

  Colt smacks me across the back of the head. “Hey, wake the fuck up over there. I’ve asked twice — left or right here? I can never remember which way.”

  I blink to life in the front seat of the truck and slug him hard on the shoulder. “Calm the fuck down.”

  We dragged around all morning, not wanting to leave the cabin because that meant leaving Meadowbrook, which meant leaving Addie behind. But finally, we got on the road by late morning.

  Now we’re stopped at the bottom of an exit ramp, just off the interstate. We’re right outside the first city on our route, and the easy part of our drive is over, at least for today.

  From here on, it’ll be miles of stoplights, tight turns onto narrow streets, and weaving in and out of thick traffic. Then we have to get up tomorrow, head a few more hours up the interstate to the next place, and do it all again. By the time we’re done with all our stops, we’ll have a whole day’s drive back to Meadowbrook.

  I consult my phone. “Left here.”

  A horn sounds behind us, and Colt’s jaw clenches, his face flushing with irritation as his blood begins to rise. Well, not beginning, he’s been pretty pissy the entire drive so far. And here I thought I was the insufferable grouch. He’s giving me a run for my money today.

  “Jesus Christ. I fucking hate city drivers. No goddamn patience.” He turns left and cranes his neck, trying to see the screen in my hand. “How far.”

  I look at my phone again. “Two-point-four miles to Jefferson Boulevard, then turn right.”

  “Not how far until the next turn, dumbass. How long until we get there?”

  I grit my teeth and resist slugging him again. We’ve somehow managed to arrive just in time for rush hour. “It’s way the hell on the other side of the city, so who knows, with this traffic.”

  “For fucks sake,” Wes gru
mbles from the backseat, and we all get back to staring out the windshield like we’ve been doing for most of the drive.

  My mood is just as dark as my brothers’ but rather than feeling grumpy I just feel... empty.

  Sure, we get to go back and see Addie after this trip.

  But then what?

  I shift in my seat impatiently as we make our way through the stop-start-stop rhythm of city traffic. It feels like it’s been an eternity of us just inching along.

  “Where the fuck is this boulevard? Are you sure you’re reading the damn directions right?” Colt is being a real peach today, even for him.

  I consult my phone. “Still another mile. Maybe we should just have all this shit delivered from now on. I don’t care how much it costs — I’ll pay someone to drive up here for us if I need to. At least then I wouldn’t have to be stuck in a truck with your snarly ass.”

  We pull up to a red light, and Colt takes the opportunity to stare me down. “What? I suppose you’re just all sunshine and roses about this situation? Nothing’s raining on your parade today?”

  “Look — we did alright before, we’ll be alright after.” I say the words as though speaking them aloud will somehow magically convince me they’re true.

  But the sharp twist in my gut knows it’s a big fat, ugly lie. That fist in my stomach grabbed hold of me yesterday when I kissed Addie goodbye and hasn’t let go since.

  And the mood we’re all in?

  It’s doing nothing to convince me we’ll be just fine when she’s gone. She hasn’t even left yet and we’re already damn near ready to strangle one another.

  A guffaw comes from Wes in the backseat. “You really think so? That everything’ll just go back to the way it was, all happy like? Listen, I like you assholes and all, but I don’t know about being stuck on that mountain with just the two of you the rest of my life.”