Mountain Cure (Stone Brothers Duet, #2)

by Jadin, Bethany

  I glance behind me at Addie, letting her know I mean every word of it—whatever she wants, we’ll help her do it. Her face is lit up with surprise as she stares back at me.

  Jason’s voice pulls my attention front and center. “Wow. Whoring it out seems to be doing well for you, Addie.”

  Oh, motherfucker.

  The Elliotts are going to love seeing this on their security cameras, because I’m about to deck this asshole right here in front of all their pretentious guests, holidays or not.

  Wes steps forward, his voice a low growl. “Talk about her like that again, and you won’t be walking out of here.”

  Addie pushes between Wes and I, laying a calming hand on each of us. “Wait, guys. Jason and I have some unfinished business to work out.”

  My brothers have the same startled look I do — what the hell could she possibly still have to talk about with this motherfucker?

  She strides toward Jason, and he straightens up, his chest puffed out with conceit, practically bobbing his head like a fighting cock, as though he’s won this round.

  But his bravado is short lived.

  Without saying a word, Addie takes the last step to close the distance between them, her arm wound back like when she threw those killer snowballs. She swings through her step, and her fist lands squarely in Jason’s face.

  His nose erupts with a spray of blood, splattering against his pristine white shirt, and he reels backward, arms flailing about.

  Holy fuck. I did not see that coming.

  Behind me, Remi guffaws with surprise, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Wes staring at the scene in shocked admiration.

  The guy hunches over, holding his nose as blood drips between his fingers and lands on the polished marble tiles.

  His eyes are wide with shock for a moment before he narrows them at Addie. “You fucking bitch.”

  She stares him down with a steady gaze, her jaw clenched and her hands still curled into fists. “Don’t ever lay a hand on me again.”

  “Wait — what?” I bellow, looking at her in alarm. “He fucking hit you?”

  Addie turns to me and shakes her head. “No, but he had a death grip on my arm.” She pushes the sleeve of her sweatshirt up and examines the vicious red marks on her skin. Some of them are already turning a purplish color, the kind that comes with deep bruising.

  “I’m gonna beat the fuck out of him,” Wes snarls, charging forward.

  Jason scrambles backward as quickly as he can. “Hit me, and I’ll sue the shit out of you.”

  Addie jumps in front of Wes’s path and braces her hands against his wide shoulders.

  “Don’t,” she says, her voice grave. “He’ll do it.”

  He looks at her for a long moment, his chest rising and falling hard with pent up energy. Remi steps up beside me just as Wes looks back at us. We exchange glances, a silent conversation passing between the three of us.

  This isn’t a late night confrontation with one of the Elliotts.

  This is fucking personal on a whole other level.

  We kept Wes from hitting Brad in the parking lot, but there’s no saving grace for this asshole — not after putting his hands on Addie.

  We lived through that shit growing up, and there’s not an inch of tolerance left in us. We’ll be damned if anyone ever touches Addie like that.

  Remi tips his head at Addie’s ex. “You’re gonna want to call Benjamin Elliott.”

  The guy blinks at us as he holds his nose, his voice muffled by his hand. “Who?”

  “He’d love nothing more than to sue the fuck out of us,” Remi explains, “so he’ll be happy as hell to take your case. Ben Elliott. Remember that name.”

  Jason’s eyes dart between us in confusion. “What?”

  Wes smooths a hand over the back of Addie’s head and kisses her on the forehead before easing around her and continuing on his way to Jason.

  She looks at Remi and I with alarm.

  “It’s okay,” I tell her, stepping forward to stand beside her while Remi flanks her other side. “I don’t give a fuck what he threatens. This asshole isn’t getting away with this shit.”

  Wes stops just two feet from the asshole, who’s damn near cowering.

  “Which hand?” he asks Jason.

  “What?” He eyes our brother warily, fear and confusion in his expression.

  Our youngest brother stares at him without an ounce of mercy. “Which fucking hand did you grab her with? Or was it both? Please tell me it was both.”

  “I don’t — I don’t know what you mean,” Jason stammers.

  Addie’s eyes flick to me. “Are you sure about this?” she asks quietly.

  “One hundred fucking percent.” I nod, my expression as serious as it’s ever been. “Believe me, he’s lucky all three of us aren’t pounding his face into the floor right now.”

  She draws in a deep breath and lifts her chin, holding her head high, her gaze even. “His left hand,” she calls out.

  “Go ahead and sue us. We don’t give a fuck,” Wes tells him. A split-second later, he grabs Jason’s left hand and snaps his wrist with a fast, hard twist.

  Addie winces as the sound of crunching bones reverberates through the air and Jason yells in anguish, dropping to his knees.

  “Next time you want to lay a hand on a woman, you think about that fucking pain right there,” Wes growls.

  Jason slumps to the floor on his ass, holding his broken wrist, crying and panting in pain.

  Wes is looking like he really wants to break his other wrist, too, but he slowly makes his way over to us, his eyes never leaving the guy’s face.

  “You fuckers,” Jason says between labored breaths, rage in his eyes. “When I’m done with you, you’ll be lucky to afford a fucking pot to piss in.”

  “Do it,” I tell him with a big shrug. “You might even win in court. Won’t make you less of an asshole, though. And the truth is, you’ve already lost the best thing you ever had.”

  Addie quietly slips her fingers between mine, and I smile at her as I squeeze her hand, feeling whole again for the first time all day.

  “Hi, sweetheart,” I tell her softly as she looks at me, her gaze intense and emotional, full of unspoken things, just like mine.

  Remi wraps an arm around Addie’s back and pulls her snug against his side. He nuzzles her cheek. “Damn, I’ve missed you, woman. What do you say we get out of here?”

  “I’d like that — very much,” she says with a sigh of relief.

  Wes smiles. “Good, because there’s a cabin that needs decorating for Christmas.”

  15

  WE EXIT THE RESORT property — good riddance — with Addie and all her stuff tucked safely in the truck with us.

  After dealing with Jason, we escorted her upstairs to the suite so she could grab the rest of her things. He was gone when the elevator carried us back down to the lobby, but the drops of blood were still there, staining the Elliotts’ fancy marble floor.

  I’m ready to get up to the cabin and get her settled in. We can spend the next few days sorting out the details of our situation, but for now, I just want to get her home.

  Maybe it won’t be our home for long — who knows, that’s one of the things we still need to figure out — but it’s where the four of us belong, for now.

  We reach the town limits of Meadowbrook, but instead of taking a right to head for the cabin, Colt turns left.

  I give him a curious side-eye, wondering where he’s headed, but he’s staring out the windshield, a determined set in his jaw.

  Behind me, Addie and my brother are whispering to one another. I can’t make out what they’re saying, but the tones are excited and sweet.

  Not wanting to be intrusive, I turn just enough to see them out of the corner of my eye. Addie is curled against Remi in the back of the cab, the two of them in their own little world.

  I still can’t believe she decked Jason like that. I mean, I can, because I’ve known she’s a little spitfire si
nce day one, and I love that about her, but I’m still in awe of seeing her in action.

  Note to self — do not ever get on Addie’s bad side.

  As sly as possible, I watch her and my brother for a while, snuggled up together, whispering and smiling at one another.

  I haven’t seen Remi look this damn happy since... well, ever.

  And Addie’s damn near glowing with joy.

  It’s nice. Really fucking nice.

  Things feel the way it should be, finally.

  And now we’re going to have Christmas, for the first time since we were teenagers. I never thought I’d look forward to the day again, but the thought of having a Christmas tree brighten our cabin and watching Addie unwrap presents has me pretty excited.

  Turning my attention back to the road, I watch as we pass through intersections and side streets tick by, one after another, while Colt keeps the truck aimed straight ahead.

  “Where are you headed?” I ask.

  He just gives me a look I can’t quite read but stays silent. I nudge him in the side and turn up my hands, thinking maybe it’s a surprise for Addie that he doesn’t want to say aloud—although, I don’t know what the hell would be out this way that she’d be the least bit interested in.

  Colt just stays silent, and I give up asking.

  Finally, he slows the truck and makes a turn onto Hemlock Road. An uneasy feeling slithers through me, setting every nerve on alert.

  There’s no cute shops or restaurants out this way.

  No cinemas or bars or grocery stores.

  In fact, there’s nothing out here in this desolate, forgotten patch of county land on the outskirts of Meadowbrook, except one thing.

  A place I’ve tried damn hard to forget.

  I haven’t been out this way in a long time. In fact, I haven’t been past Stanton and Hickory since Ann graduated high school, and for good fucking reason.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” I hiss. My brother is literally taking me down a road I don’t want to go.

  His response is quiet but determined. “We have to.”

  An adolescent fear rises up in my gut. It’s a feeling I thought I’d left behind long ago. Those memories, and everything that comes with them.

  “No, we don’t. We don’t have to bring her there. We can just tell her about it — up at the cabin,” I insist, keeping my voice low.

  He shakes his head, his knuckles white as he grips the steering wheel, making a turn onto a narrow lane. “We have to do this, Wes. Addie deserves to know. She needs to see. We have to tell her.”

  The truck tires rumble over the cracks in the pavement, drawing us ever closer to the last place on earth I want to be.

  My lips and fingertips go numb as my heart races and a wave of nausea hits as the anxiety and adrenaline surge through me. I grip the arm rest tight, but it does nothing to help me feel anchored. It’s like I’m speeding toward a train wreck and I can’t stop it.

  “You think a little regression therapy is going to help?” I growl, the bitterness spilling out of me as the tension in my body increases.

  There’s frustration in his expression. “Listen to yourself. You don’t even want to set foot on the property.”

  “Oh yeah? And you just come out here for picnics all the time, do ya?” I shoot back.

  “It’s just a goddamn piece of land, Wes. That’s it.”

  “If that’s true, then why do you look like you’re about to throw up right now? You’re white as a fucking ghost,” I snap.

  He’s silent for a moment as he slows the truck down, his eyes searching for familiar markers, looking for the last turn.

  “Well, I guess that’s my point, isn’t it? We’ve been avoiding our past for too long,” he says. “It’s time to look it in the eye. Today, we do it together. With Addie.”

  “What’s going on up there?” Addie asks. “You guys aren’t having second thoughts already, are you?”

  Colt glances at me, and I twist around in the seat so I can face her.

  “No, babe. Not at all. We just...” I take a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves, because fuck, I guess we’re really doing this. “There’s some things... we need to show you some stuff. You need to know what you’re getting into with us.”

  Remi finally tears his attention away from Addie long enough to look around, and his eyes go wide when he sees where we’re at.

  “Aw, fucking hell,” he curses as Colt pulls the truck into a weed infested dirt driveway.

  Fucking hell is right.

  I stare at the place through the windshield. It’s still the same in many ways, but it also looks a lot different, seeing it through fresh eyes.

  It wasn’t much more than a little ramshackle cottage back then, but now it’s barely recognizable as a house at all.

  It seems so much smaller than I remember.

  Patchwork pieces of rotting plywood cover the exterior walls in sections where the siding has gone missing, the roof is collapsing in, and I can see the dried tendrils of tall weeds pressed against the window panes from the inside.

  The place has stood empty for years.

  Frank was technically the last person to call it home, since the mortgage was in his name, but even he doesn’t live here anymore — hasn’t since way before all of us finally packed up and left this sorry place.

  The guys and I had been covering the bills for a long time at that point, working any odd job we could find while Ann finished high school, and once we were gone, so was the money. The bank put Frank out on his ass shortly afterward.

  Addie must be able to sense the tension in the air, because there’s a reverent caution in her voice as she asks, “Where are we?”

  “We have some things to tell you. I figured it might be best to do that here, where we grew up,” Colt explains, his tone somber.

  He gets out of the truck and looks back at me expectantly. I’m frozen in my seat, but Remi lets out a heavy sigh and reaches for the door handle.

  “Come on,” he tells Addie, motioning for her to follow him.

  Remi holds the door open for her as she climbs out of the truck, and I finally make my legs work enough to get out, too, and make my way around to the other side of the truck.

  She’s looking around the dilapidated lot, a sense of muted wonder coming over her features. “How long? How long did you live here?”

  “Our whole lives, until Ann graduated high school,” Colt tells her. “It took her longer than planned, because she was held back due to missing so much time. She turned eighteen the winter of her senior year and could’ve dropped out right then, but we convinced her to stay. Well, she stayed long enough to finish school, at least.”

  “Frank threw a fit when she left town,” Remi says, “but there was nothing he could do about it, thank fuck.”

  “What about you guys?” Addie asks. “What did you do after she left?”

  “We went to the mountains, and we’ve been there ever since,” Colt tells her. “Granddad passed away a few months before Ann graduated, and he left us the cabin and the land. So we went up there as soon as she was gone.”

  Addie nods and takes a deep breath. “Okay. So, you want to show me around? And... maybe tell me about the situation with your dad?”

  The guys and I exchange wary looks.

  “If you want to hear it. But it won’t be a pretty story,” I warn her, trying to keep the tremble out of my voice.

  She laces her fingers in mine and gives me a small smile. “I kinda figured. But... I do want to know. Whatever you guys want to share with me, I’m ready.”

  “I don’t know if you are,” Remi says, staring at the brown clumps of weeds near his boots, avoiding her gaze, his voice tight. “But... might as well get it over with.”

  “Alright,” Colt says, drawing in a deep breath. “Let’s take a walk.”

  Together, we make our way up the overgrown drive, Remi and Colt ahead of us, their heavy boots stomping down the thickest tangles of dead weeds, clearing a p
ath for Addie.

  As we draw closer to the old house, it becomes even more obvious how run-down it is now. Not that it was ever in great condition to begin with.

  This area’s the least desirable piece of land in the whole county — was back then and still is today — and the house had already been abandoned and foreclosed on by the bank a few times before Frank bought it.

  He told Mom it was just a starter home when they got married and moved here. But after a few years of getting fired from one place after another, it was clear no bank would ever loan them enough to buy anything nicer.

  They couldn’t have afforded it, anyway, not on what Frank had left over after drinking away most of what little he did manage to bring home.

  Remi points to a window covered with plastic instead of glass. The once-clear tarp is now yellowed, and tattered pieces of it are blowing in the breeze, leaving gaping holes.

  “That was our room,” he tells Addie.

  “All you boys?” she asks.

  “Ann, too,” Colt says.

  She glances at us in surprise. “What? Four kids in one room?”

  I shrug. “That part wasn’t too bad, actually. It was kinda nice, in a way. Ann and I were born so close together, we were in the same grade all through school, until she had to repeat her freshman year. I mean, there wasn’t much privacy, but we kinda didn’t mind it, you know?”

  Colt walks up to the side of the house, staring at the old building. He reaches out a hand and absentmindedly picks at the cracked, peeling paint.

  I know he’s not thinking about the paint, or the rotting siding, or the tattered tarp. His mind is racing back in time, reliving events we’ve all tried our damnedest not to think about.

  “At least with her in our room, she could sleep easy at night,” he says, watching big white chips of paint fall to the ground as he talks. “He’d have to get through us first, if he wanted to lay a hand on her.”

  I feel Addie tense beside me, and her voice is soft as she asks, “What do you mean?”

  A quiet moment passes, her question lingering in the air.

  Remi and I glance at each other. As the oldest, Colt had it the worst of all of us. It’s not only his place to start this story, but we know he needs to do it. He just needs a little time.