Five Mountain Daddies Read online

  “Hey, yeah, that’s great. How’s Leadwood treatin’ you again?”

  I shrug. “Fine. Just here eating dinner with my parents.”

  “Cool, cool.” He nods, trying to look smooth. “How about you come out with me and my friends sometime? I hear you like to party.”

  That last sentence makes my blood run cold. “You what?”

  “You like to party,” he says. “We can take you out. Show you a good time.”

  “Uh, no thanks. I don’t know what you heard.”

  I try to step around him, but he blocks my way. “Oh, come on,” he says. “I hear you’ve been up to that fancy club, what’s it called? Bedsheets or some shit?” He laughs, a rude and ugly thing.

  “Excuse me, I need to get back to dinner.”

  “Oh, come on, London,” he says, grabbing my arm, and it’s all I can do to keep myself from screaming.

  “Let me go,” I say, pushing back against him.

  He stumbles back against the wall and I realize that he’s drunk. I’m suddenly well and truly afraid, even though there’s a room full of people just a few feet away.

  “You bitch,” he hisses. “I’m just trying to be nice. I heard you’ve been slutting it up with those fucking weird twin guys. You think nobody would find out?” He glares at me, and I can practically taste his hatred and disgust.

  “Go fuck yourself,” I say, and push past him again.

  “Slut,” he says as I hurry back to the table.

  I sit down, shaken and upset, but I try to hide it. My parents keep talking amiably, but they must sense that something’s wrong, because they don’t linger like they normally would.

  After I pay the bill and we head out, I catch a glimpse of those two assholes, Arnold and Slater. They’re staring at me, laughing at something, and it makes me sick. I suddenly feel like everyone’s staring, and they all know.

  Everyone knows I let the twins get me off, I fucked Ryan, I got off with Ryan ad Henry at the same time, I kissed James, I kiss all of them. Everyone knows what I’ve been doing and everyone thinks I’m a slut.

  I’m practically having a panic attack, but I do it quietly in the back seat of the car. We get home and I go right up into my room. I don’t even try to pretend like nothing’s bothering me. I’ll apologize later, blame it on the alcohol or something. My mom will feel justified in giving me looks for drinking, but that’s fine, I’d rather that than have them think I’m a whore.

  I don’t want to cry, but I do. I don’t know why I let this fucking town get to me. That was upsetting though, a big drunk guy talking down to me like that, blocking my way, not letting me escape from him. I wanted to hit him and scream but I couldn’t. I could barely push him away.

  I hate him. Really, I hate what he represents. All this small-town bullshit, with their prejudices and judgments and their small-minded attitudes. I can’t take any of it, but I have to. I’m stuck here, at least until the end of the summer.

  But after that, I’m gone. The thought is bittersweet. I want to get the hell out of here, especially right now, but I still don’t want to give up whatever I have with the guys.

  I grab my phone and text James. I don’t know why, but I just do it. “How can you stand this town?” I send to him.

  He responds almost right away. “It’s home. What happened?”

  “Just some local assholes I went to school with being dicks.”

  “Block out the noise. They’re just little people. We’re giants.”

  I grin at that message and slide my phone under my pillow. He’s right. Those guys are stuck in this town, but I got out. I have choices, freedom, the ability to see past the small-town bullshit. They can’t do any of that.

  I lean back and stare up at the ceiling, and picture all the ways those assholes at the bar are little people, and I’m a giant.

  14

  James

  The more I think about that text from London, the angrier I get.

  I don’t know what exactly was said to her or what happened, but I can imagine. I grew up in this place, so I know how people can be, and I know they talk about us.

  We’re five handsome, rich men that are slowly starting to own this town, even if people don’t quite realize it. Even if that weren’t the case, people would have something to say about us being unmarried, or about us partying, or about any number of things we’ve been doing. There are rumors about the way we use women and share them, and some of those rumors are actually true, but most of it is garbage.

  And then there are rumors about us personally, which are even worse. The people here don’t have a whole lot going on, and so when something happens that’s even remotely worth talking about, it spreads like wildfire. They’re little people living little lives, and as much as I want to help make this town a better place, they piss me off sometimes.

  London doesn’t deserve their scorn. She’s exactly the kind of person they’d attempt to intimidate, since she’s different from everyone else. But she’s also so nice, and she doesn’t deserve it in the slightest. She’s only coming under the microscope because of us.

  I spend all the next day thinking about it, trying to come up with some solution to her problem. I’m not the kind of guy to hear about a problem and not try to fix it. Sometimes that’s a good trait, and sometimes it’s not, but I can’t help myself. I don’t take bullshit and I don’t suffer complaining or problems that can easily be solved. I want to help the people I love, and I don’t care if sometimes that can come off as pushy or controlling. That’s just the kind of man that I am.

  It takes me all day before I finally come up with something I think will work. I have to run it by the guys first, but they’re all in support, which makes this a lot easier. All I have to do is convince London.

  This time I don’t show up at her work. I wait until she gets off before I call her and tell her to meet me at a little restaurant outside of town called Gracie’s. The owner owes me a little favor, since I gave his brother a job at the shop when nobody else would. The guy’s an ex-convict, but he’s a decent enough man and a hard worker, so it was an easy decision. But now the brother lets me eat at his place in a little private room whenever I want, which is pretty nice.

  I beat London there. Richard, the owner, meets me out front with a bunch of fanfare and hugs. I haven’t been to Gracie’s in a while, but it’s good to see that his hospitality hasn’t waned. He leads me into the back room, gets me a whisky, and leaves me alone. He’s a good guy.

  London shows up about ten minutes later. I smile at her as she walks in wearing this little red and blue floral sundress. She clearly got dressed after work, and I can’t blame her.

  I kiss her cheek. “Glad you found it,” I say.

  “They treated me like I was a celebrity, coming in here,” she answers, laughing.

  I grin as we sit down. “The owner thinks he owes me some sort of favor.” I shrug, shaking my head.

  “Of course he does. I’m sure you saved his mother’s life or something like that.”

  “Something like that.” I sip my drink and watch her.

  The waitress comes in and London asks for a water and a glass of wine. When the waitress heads off, I let London look over the menu before I start in on the reason we’re here.

  After a few minutes of silence, London finally looks at me. “I wanted to say thanks for last night.”

  “Don’t mention it,” I say. “I know how this town can be.”

  She bites her lip, looking away. “I always knew too,” she says, “but it was never directed at me.”

  I sigh. “Even harder that way. People can surprise you.”

  “Yeah. They can.”

  I hate that she’s hurting like this. I didn’t really realize how bad it was until I’m actually seeing her. I know she hates this town, it’s pretty obvious, but it’s still her home. It still hurts when that home rejects you for being what you are.

  “Did I ever tell you why I left Leadwood?” I ask her.

&nb
sp; She shakes her head. “You never mentioned it.”

  “It’s not a pretty story.” I finish my drink in one shot. “I don’t like to tell it often.”

  “You don’t have to,” she says softly.

  I wave that away. “I was a young guy, home from school, just like you are now. And I got involved with a girl.”

  I take a breath, remembering this painful part of my past. I can still remember the girl, the way she smiled at me, the way she kissed me, the way she fucked. And I can still remember everything after, when I realized what kind of person she really is.

  “Her name was Haley,” I say softly. “And we really liked each other at first. Unfortunately, she had a boyfriend that I didn’t know about.”

  London groans. “I can see where this is going.”

  I smile a little bit “Probably not. I’ll make a long story short though. She accused me of raping her when her boyfriend found out about us, and although nothing ever came of it, my reputation was destroyed. Everyone assumed I was a rapist, so I decided to leave town and never come back.”

  London takes a sharp breath and lets it out. “That’s horrible,” she says.

  “I know. She was cornered and felt desperate and she said something that she thought would get her out of trouble, without realizing how bad it would be for me. Obviously, she didn’t try and press charges or something, but her boyfriend tried to fight me and… well, it was a mess.” I stare down at the table, trying not to remember her boyfriend coming at me, my fist in his face, the way he bled on my knuckles.

  “I forgave her a long time ago,” I say finally. “She made a stupid mistake. People make mistakes when they’re afraid and not sure what else to do. But this town, everyone just assumed I was a villain, despite the fact that so many people here knew me and knew I wasn’t that kind of guy. The rumor mill went crazy, started dredging up all of my past mistakes, and from there I was finished.”

  “I’m sorry,” she says. “That’s horrible.”

  “I know what this place can do. I lived it.”

  “So why are you back?”

  I shrug a little. “I guess I don’t hate it,” I say. “People are what they are, and they’re like that all over. I guess I just think I can try and make it better for everyone, and where better than my own hometown?”

  She nods a little bit at that. “I guess I always assumed it would be better someplace else.”

  “It will and it won’t. Big cities come with new problems and sometimes those problems are harder to solve.”

  “What do we do?” she asks me, sipping her wine. I can see the pain in her expression, and I know that deep down she doesn’t really hate this place, not exactly. She has a complicated relationship with Leadwood, but everyone does. Home’s never as simple as people pretend it is.

  “Well, that’s why I asked you here,” I say, a smile on my lips.

  “Uh oh,” she groans. “I should have guessed this wasn’t just a simple dinner.”

  “Nothing’s ever simple with me,” I say with a wink.

  “What is it then?” she asks.

  Before I can go into details, the waitress comes. I ask for another whisky and I order the shrimp and grits. London asks for a salad and another wine before crossing her arms and giving me a look.

  When the waitress leaves, I grin. “This is a job interview,” I say.

  London raises an eyebrow. “What?”

  “A job interview,” I repeat. “Although I’m not really interviewing you.”

  “Okay, now I’m confused.”

  “You have the job already,” I say, laughing. “You’re the one interviewing me.”

  She grins a little bit. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the job?”

  “Well, we’re stuck in the last century, pretty much. So we want you to run our social media account. You know, since you’re young and hip and all that shit.”

  She laughs. “Wow. You really are old.”

  “Yeah, I really am. You’ll have your own little office, lots and lots of freedom, and not a single judgmental look. You’ll also have five bosses that really like you, and we’ll pay you pretty well too.”

  She watches me for a minute, shaking her head. The waitress brings our drinks in and London sips hers, finally sighing. “I don’t know,” she says. “Maggie did me a favor. I’d hate to drop out in the middle of the season on her.”

  “I understand,” I say. “And I won’t be insulted if you stay with your friend. I mean, that’s admirable. But I just wanted to offer you something different, in case you needed it.”

  Our food comes a few minutes later and we both eat. I let the conversation change gears, and I ask London about what she plans on doing after the summer. That gets her talking excitedly about her museum internship, but I can feel a deep sense of unease starting to grow inside of me.

  I don’t know what it is. We all knew she was leaving at the end of the summer. We knew that going into it. But maybe I had hoped something would change before then. I know that’s selfish and stupid. She has this amazing opportunity in the city, and she’d be crazy not to go, but part of me needs someone like her to stay around here. Leadwood needs her, needs someone young and energetic with good taste and strong ideas. I think she could be that person, and I want to be the man that helps her achieve her dreams.

  She just doesn’t see this place like I do. She doesn’t see all the hardworking folks, the people that want a better life but don’t know how to do it. I want to give it to them, to bring some culture back to Leadwood and Maine in general. I know she doesn’t share that dream, but part of me hoped she might start to see a glimmer of that idea just from being around me.

  We finish eating, and I lean back in my chair. London smiles at me. “What?” she asks.

  “Come to work for me,” I say softly.

  Her smile gets bigger. “You’re persistent.”

  “I know I am.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “You’re only trying to hire me because you like me.”

  “That’s absolutely true,” I say to her. “I want to fuck you in my office as often as I want. This is entirely selfish.”

  That makes her blush. “You’re an awful boss.”

  “I’m a fantastic boss. I’ll pay you more than double what you’re making now and I’ll make you come so hard you can barely stand. I’m trying to find a downside to that.”

  “Maybe I don’t want to sleep with my boss?”

  “You definitely want to fuck this boss.” I grin and sip my whisky, savoring that sweet burn.

  “Fine,” she says. “I’ll bring it up to Maggie, but if she’s unhappy about it, I’m staying at the ATV place.”

  “Okay,” I say. “I can’t ask for more.”

  “Good.” She smiles again, blushing a little, but clearly happy. “Do you always get what you want.”

  I stand, walking around the table, and tip her chin up to me. “Yes, I do.”

  I kiss her softly and she kisses me back. I know it’s totally selfish to hire her like this, but the guys all want her around, and I can’t help myself. I should keep my distance, not get too attached, since she’s leaving at the end of the summer.

  But I’m diving in anyway. It’s stupid, absurd even, but it’s happening. I can feel how attached I’m getting, even more than I thought possible. The other guys all feel it too, even if they’re not saying it out loud. They want her as badly as I do. They want to keep her.

  If anyone can make that happen, it’s going to be me, I just have to figure out how.

  15

  London

  I’m surprised that Maggie seems excited when I tell her about the job, although I shouldn’t be. They don’t really need me there, not really. She just gave me the job as a favor.

  “So, sleeping with the boss, huh?” she asks, laughing. “Go ahead, try and deny it.”

  I can’t deny it, which she loves. It makes me feel better though, that she’s clearly fine with me leaving. She says she
’ll take care of everything on their end, and not to worry about anything else. We hug and I promise we’ll keep in touch no matter what, and she promises the same. I actually believe her when she says it, and for the first time in a while, I think I found someone in this town that isn’t a total jerk.

  I head home after work. Maggie keeps me a little late, wanting to talk and hang out, which feels good. I finally get back to the house after eleven.

  My parents are already in bed. I can tell since the outside light is on and the living room light is off. That’s their universal signal for “be quiet, we’re sleeping,” which I appreciate. I want to be a good roommate to my parents, and so I sneak up to the house.

  I don’t get far before I hear a car door shut. I look across the street and I spot two people walking toward me. It takes a second before I realize that it’s Ryan and Henry.

  I walk toward them, heart beating fast. “What are you two doing here?” I say.

  “Nice to see you too,” Ryan answers, grinning.

  “We come bearing gifts.” Henry holds up a bottle of champagne.

  “What’s that for?”

  “You’re coming to work with us guys,” Ryan says. “We wanted to celebrate.”

  I watch them a second before shaking my head. “Okay, come inside. Just be quiet, okay?”

  “Sure,” Ryan says.

  “Sneaking into a girl’s house, just like the old days,” Henry whispers, laughing.

  Ryan laughs too. “It’s actually kind of hot.”

  “Definitely,” Henry agrees. “Think we can make her moan loud enough to wake up the whole house?”

  “Enough,” I hiss at them as we go in the side door. “Come on.”

  They follow me through the kitchen and down the basement steps. Fortunately, my parents have a finished basement, although it barely gets used anymore. I shut the door behind us as we head downstairs.

  Ryan pops the bottle open while I pull out some old glasses from behind the little bar my dad built in the corner years ago. We pour the champagne over the ping pong table, and toast standing near pictures of me from middle school.