Loved by the LumberJacks_A MFMMMM Reverse Harem Romance

by Sierra Sparks

  “Well, it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy,” smiled Ash. “Goodbye Tanner!”

  “Hey, shhh.” I whispered. “Sleeping babies, remember?”

  “Sorry, babe,” said Ash in a much lower voice.

  Ash kissed me on the head and then Marianne and Aaron.

  “I think she fell asleep while feeding,” I whispered.

  “Aww, that’s cute,” said Ash.

  “Here, let me take her,” offered Teak.

  Teak placed her in the basinet next to her brother. They looked like they would finally sleep. Then Alder burst in the door.

  “Hey guys! I just heard! Tanner isn’t getting paroled!”

  Both babies woke up and started crying. Everyone looked at Alder, annoyed.

  “What? I bring good news and everyone looks at me like I’m dirt?” said Alder.

  “I just brought that news in,” explained Ash. “You woke up the kids.”

  “Oh,” he said realizing. “Sorry, my bad. But the parole thing is good, right?”

  “Yep, he’s fucked,” said Ash.

  I picked Marianne back up and bounced her a little. Oak picked up Aaron and did the same. They started to quiet down.

  “Sometimes I can’t believe we made these little miracles,” I said. “Babies just smell so great.”

  “Yeah,” said Oak. “I think Aaron is going to be a baseball player.”

  “Why? Just because you like baseball?” asked Elm.

  “Just a feeling,” said Oak.

  “I think Aaron is probably going to be a woodworker like Ash,” he surmised. “Now Marianne, she’s going to be a doctor, I think. She’s very smart. You can just tell in the eyes. The way she looks at things.”

  “Really? That’s a thing?” asked Teak.

  “Well, yeah,” said Elm unconvincingly. “That and I just have a gut feeling.”

  “What do you think of all this speculation, Mother Lila?” asked Alder.

  “Oh, it’s too early,” I laughed. “Let the kids grow up. They haven’t even learned how to sleep the proper time. And God, I hope they learn that part soon.”

  “It’s not so bad,” said Elm.

  “That’s easy for you to say, Elm,” I countered. “Do you even sleep at this point with all the Red Bull you drink?”

  “I actually monitor my caffeine intake quite carefully,” he boasted. “The key is when to stop drinking Red Bull and start drinking water. It’s a delicate balance. After the water flushes it out of my system I go to bed. Simple. It’s like a gun the engine sometimes and then stop. Plus, I eat pretty good.”

  “Pretty good?” I said warily. “Aren’t you the guy that ate nothing but Captain Crunch this week?”

  “I just had a hankering for kid’s cereal,” he explained. “It’ll be great when the kids are old enough to eat it.”

  “I’m not letting them eat Captain Crunch.” I objected. “It’s full of cereal.”

  “But it’s for kids,” said Elm, almost not understanding. “It’s fun. What?”

  “Mom didn’t let you eat that much sugary cereal,” said Ash. “Besides, that was back in the day before they knew about how bad that stuff was.”

  “Oh, don’t believe everything you read,” dismissed Elm. “I turned out okay. You eat nothing but bacon and butter and look at you.”

  “I’m eating some salads now,” insisted Ash. “Lila showed me the way.”

  “Thank you,” I nodded in approval.

  “Please,” dismissed Elm. “Eating at Spanky’s salad bar once in a blue moon isn’t monitoring your nutritional intake. When’s the last time you had a salad here?”

  “I had a fruit salad,” insisted Ash.

  “A sliced up apple with raisins is hardly a fruit salad, bro,” insisted Elm. “You’re the oldest. You’re the first one of us that’s going to be eating– Well, whatever old people eat.”

  “Prunes?” suggested Oak.

  “Oatmeal,” guessed Teak.

  “Or mush,” laughed Alder. “You could just start eating mush right now, Ash.”

  “You’re right behind me, Elm,” said Ash. “And I think that Red Bull is aging you extra fast, so…”

  “Not true,” he insisted. “Keeps me young and vibrant. Not like that whiskey.”

  “Whiskey preserves us, bro,” insisted Alder. “Doctors will tell, it’s the best thing for you.”

  “Exactly,” kidded Ash. “Used to be medicine back in the day.”

  “You guys,” I said rolling my eyes. “All I know is, it’s a good thing you get plenty of exercise running around the mountain harvesting trees and fighting bears or whatever it is you do.”

  “You should come out and watch us take down a tree,” said Teak. “I can’t believe you haven’t done that yet.”

  “You know, I want to, but every time you guys do it, we’re so busy in the office,” I noticed. “Is that on purpose or what?”

  “I’ve noticed that trend too.” said Elm a little too loud.

  I gestured to the babies and for him to calm down.

  “Sorry,” he whispered. “It seems that whenever we start to run out of wood, we have to take down a tree. That corresponds to a spike in orders and demands on previous orders. I’m not sure what’s causing the trend, but there you go.”

  “Well, it’s fine, one of these days, I’ll rush out there,” I promised. “Maybe one of you stay behind and watch the kids. I’m just glad I have the shotgun now in case of a bear or Tanner-like encounter.”

  “You think you would’ve shot Tanner if you had the shotgun the first time?” asked Oak.

  “No, I probably would’ve come outside with it,” I guessed. “I don’t think he would’ve been so pushy with me pointing that at him. The guy’s a jerk, but I don’t think he’s suicidal.”

  “Definitely hates himself though,” said Ash. “According to the parole board, all he does is fight with other prisoners. They sent him to therapy, but I don’t think it’s working. The guy’s a powder keg.”

  “Did he fight that much in high school?” I asked.

  “I don’t think so,” said Ash. “But they say the habits you develop at 18 you keep for the rest of your life. So I guess he developed them in that last year and just became a messed up human being.”

  “Ooo, I just remembered,” I said changing the subject. “Did you start on the kids’ bed frames yet?”

  “With all the stuff I have to make, you’re worried about that?” asked Ash. “Look at them. They’re babies still.”

  “They’re growing fast, babe,” I insisted. “We have to be ready and you take so long to finish these things. You didn’t even start?”

  “No, I want to make Aaron a racecar bed,” explained Ash. “What kind of bed do you think Marianne wants?”

  “I guess just carve girly stuff in it. Hearts and unicorns,” I suggested. “Other cute animals. Bunnies, sheep and squirrels.”

  “Oh, Lord,” said Ash. “That’s a lot of animals.”

  “Speaking of animals,” said Teak. “What about pets? We should get a dog.”

  “The babies are totally too young for a dog,” I said. “They barely know where they are and you want a dog?”

  “Teak always wanted a dog when we were kids,” explained Alder. “It’s hard to have a dog up here. You gotta watch it with all the animals up here.”

  “We can get a wolf hound or a husky,” suggested Teak. “You know, something really big that can take care of itself if a bear comes.”

  “Are you crazy?” I said. “I’m not having a wolfhound around babies. That’s nuts. If anything we should get a small, indoor dog. Like a toy poodle or something.”

  “That’s barely a dog,” insisted Teak. “You can’t play fetch with a little dog like that. What am I supposed to throw at him? A twig?”

  “You have two babies,” I pointed out. “Aren’t they enough to take care of? Plus one on the way.”

  “Wait? You’re pregnant again?” asked Teak.

  The other brothers nodded
and said something in the affirmative.

  “How did I not know that?” said Teak.

  “I thought we told you,” I said. “You must’ve had your head in the clouds.”

  “All right, that’s awesome,” he acknowledged. “This time, we should pick another tree name. Like Birch or Maple or Spruce.”

  “I’m not sure I like those,” I said wrinkling my nose. “Is there a tree name that sounds a bit more like a regular name? Like Ash?”

  “Aspen,” suggested Oak.

  “Ooo, Aspen,” I said. “I like that one. Let’s think about it, but I like Aspen.”

  “Speaking of making babies,” said Ash. “If the babies are asleep, what say we go into the other room and celebrate?”

  “I’m game.” I said.

  We gently put the babies down for a sleep and went into the sofa room. It was time to make this happy ending even happier.

  Thank you for reading. Can’t get enough of Lila and the guys? Sign up to Sierra Sparks’ List and Suggested Reads and receive a newsletter exclusive very steamy bonus extended epilogue. You’ll also receive a free book, as shown below.

  If you enjoyed this story, please leave a review. If you would like to join my ARC team and receive future free advance reading copies for your review, please send a screenshot or link of your review to me at authorsierrasparks@gmail.com.

  Following are more steamy romance books from Sizzling Hot Reads, for your continued reading enjoyment.

  Click here to view other books in my catalog!

  Two Billionaires for Christmas: An MFM Menage Romance

  Copyright 2017 by Sierra Sparks and Juliana Conners; All Rights Reserved.

  Published by Juliana Conners’ Sizzling Hot Reads

  Chapter 1 – Mandy

  What the hell was that noise?

  Not the birds. But the banging that sounded like it was coming from the garage?

  I think it was about 7:30 a.m. when I awoke to the sweet sound of the birds outside, and the awful clanging noise of whatever was going on inside our house. Technically it was my boyfriend Jared’s house—or, more technically, it was his rich grandma Sue Ellen’s house she let him live in rent-free—but I had been living with him for over a year.

  There was a lovely pair of song birds that had nested near our bedroom window at the beginning of spring. They didn’t seem to just mindlessly chirp. There was a real song in their voices. It was a song that normally made me happy. But today, there was a knot in the pit of my stomach, just as there had been for the past few weeks, preventing any kind of happiness, even though it was my first day of my new job, and it was supposed to be a good day, a brand new start for me.

  Looking over to the wall, I followed the design of birds I had painstakingly painted as part of the room’s decoration—my own attempt to make the house feel more like “mine” instead of just “Jared’s.” Had the song birds inspired my painting, or had the design summoned the birds? I couldn’t remember. There had been a time when decorating the house and making it my own had been a joy for me, but that time had long past. These days, I was beginning to ask myself how much longer I could live in its suffocating entrapment.

  Taking a breath of the morning air that was billowing in the open window, and trying to shield my ears from the clanging, banging sound, I rolled over and reached out for Jared, but he was gone. Again.

  Now the whole vibe of the morning turned even more to worry. Jared has been so out of it recently and always gone. He never told me what it was all about it. He always said it was work related, but I knew it wasn’t. I knew it was something bad. Maybe I didn’t want to see it. But that didn’t stop me from feeling it in my gut.

  On this particular morning, I couldn’t just go running to him again, or waste time trying to figure out what was up with him. I had to get ready for my first day on the job. It had taken me weeks to get this position at Dunthrup Industries. With so many of my other friends struggling and out of work, it seemed like a miracle that I could land something so potentially lucrative. A decent salary, benefits after 90 days, vacation and potential bonuses— If only Jared were more supportive.

  It was clear to me now that Jared had something to do with the banging sound. He was probably working on his old, beat up car in the garage, even at this ungodly early hour. Or maybe that was just what I told myself so I didn’t have to face an uglier truth.

  In the shower, I pumped myself up mentally. “You can do this, you can do this, you can do this,” I told myself, to the same rhythm as the water running over my body.

  I was in pretty decent shape, but I had really wanted to drop a little weight before starting this job. I liked my curves, but five pounds would go a long way toward keeping my belly from muffin-topping. Being 5’ 6” and always having struggled with my weight in the past, I knew if I just worked at it, I could tighten up. But Jared had me so stressed out and I had eaten so much ice cream in front of the TV.

  I got out of the shower and looked at myself in the mirror. I squinted at myself, deciding I still looked pretty damn sexy, extra weight or not.

  “You can do this,” I said. “You have what it takes. You can do this.”

  By this point, I was no longer sure I was talking about my first day of work. I had a gnawing feeling I was talking about dealing with the glaring problem that was my relationship.

  Our bathroom was an outdated pink and green. It was a horrific color combination conjured up by Sue Ellen’s 60’s or 70’s nostalgia. When I moved in with Jared, we undertook so much work to make it feel less like his grandmother’s and more like our own. We had to tear up carpeting, repaint walls and take down the ugly Safari wallpaper in the basement.

  Back then, the house was a project for both Jared and me together. That’s what had made it special. But over time, our enthusiasm for house renovation projects had faded, along with the zeal of our relationship, and we had never made it so far as to update this bathroom.

  I dried off, put on makeup and got dressed. I was starting to perk up. I felt I looked a little like Rebel Wilson, but with auburn hair and a prettier face. I sometimes wished I was her. She never seemed self-conscious at all. But with her as my spirit animal, I prepped my coffee mug.

  “Yeah, you can do this,” I said, starting to convince myself. “A new job is going to change everything.”

  Then, as I heard Jared clanging around in the garage again, it dawned on me that I really had to face this. I needed to confront him before my big day. Who knows? Maybe he’d have it together and see me off. Maybe he’d be the old Jared; full of life, hope and ambition.

  The moment I walked in the garage, I instantly regretted my decision. Jared looked like a cornered rat. He was on the floor of the garage, scrubbing away at the cement, and the acrid smell of chemicals was in the air.

  “Jared,” I said, trying to be in control. “What the hell is this?”

  “Nothing, go back to bed.”

  Jared had a gaunt Jesus body and face that I had initially been very attracted to, because it hadn’t been that skinny. But he had somehow gotten very thin. The muscle tone was gone from his face, as if he was wasting away. His hair, once his best feature, was stringy and greasy. He was wearing his old denim jacket from middle school. The thing was full of holes, but he kept insisting I mend it for him.

  “Jared, I can’t go back to bed. I’m starting my new job today,” I said, incredulous.

  “So, what? You think you’re better than me?”

  “I’m starting the job for us! Working for us!”

  “What do you think I’m doing?”

  “I don’t know what you’re doing! What are you doing?!”

  “Don’t worry about it. Just go back to bed.”

  “I’m going to work! Are you even listening?!”

  The smell of the chemicals was overwhelming. On a workbench, he had poured some translucent substance in one of my baking sheets. It had turned to crystal and was already cracking. That’s when I remembered something I saw on
television. Breaking Bad.

  “Oh, my God! Is that meth? Are you making meth?”

  “It’s nothing you have to worry about,” he assured. “This is how I make money. Just like you’re doing. It’s nothing bad.”

  “I’ve seen Breaking Bad. I know what that is!”

  “Relax, baby.”

  Relax, baby, my ass, was all I could manage to think. Leave it to someone who was up all night making meth to tell me to relax.

  Apparently, before I could leave for my first day of work, it was time to have a showdown with my boyfriend. I sure hoped Rebel was ready to be my spirit animal now more than ever.

  Chapter 2 – Mandy

  “Are you insane?” I demanded of Jared. “Do you have any idea how illegal that is?”

  “I’m cleaning it up,” he insisted. “You see, it’s the smell that gets people. You have to clean up after you cook.”

  “Jared, you’re not thinking straight!” I insisted. “If you’re caught, the cops will take the house! They’ll take everything. Your poor grandma will lose everything she’s helped you out with in life.”

  “No, the cops won’t find out,” he assured, unconvincingly. “And if they do, Grandma won’t get caught up in anything. I would just—I would just tell them it was me.”

  “We have to throw this stuff away,” I said, determined. “You have to get help. For your own sake, and for the good of our relationship. I can’t stay with you anymore, if you’re…doing meth. And making meth.”

  I couldn’t even believe we were having this conversation. It seemed I was in a bad dream. Or an episode of Breaking Bad. I had barely even tried pot. This could not be my life.

  Except it was. I had to face it. And change it. Because apparently Jared wasn’t planning to. Suddenly, all the lonely nights made a lot more sense. I hadn’t wanted to admit it, but Jared must have been deep into drugs for far too long. It had finally just spiraled beyond his control, and gotten so bad I had to notice it, even if I hadn’t really been ready to face it.