Of Mountains and Men: A Why Choose Romance

Chapter 17

Lindy is jittery when I get back to work, I wave her off with a smirk as she heads to lunch. What was that about? James brings Charley back to me by himself. There's a twinkle in his eye, and Charley rushes to me jumping into my arms.

"Why hello there? I take it lunch was great?" I spin him in a circle.

"Can I go swim with the girls?" I set him down before he wiggles out of my arms.

My eyes shoot up to James', "How do you feel about this? Are you okay watching all four?"

Being mindful of the kids he winks at me, "Between the three of us we've got him."

I nod, I'm not going to hyperventilate, they are the ones teaching him to swim and he can nearly swim already. "Okay, I suppose that's fine."

"Give me your phone and I'll text myself so we can call if anything goes wrong."

I arch my brow at him, "That was one smooth way to get my number." I hand over my old flip phone.

James laughs, "I haven't seen one of these in..."

I wave my hands, "I know, I just don't have the money for something new and shiny."

He crooks his neck a little texting himself, "Do you have social media? That's something you'll need when starting your company."

My eyes widen, "Uh."

He laughs again, "We'll help you. Alright little man, let's go we have lots of fun to have while mommy's at work."

I blink and wave, "Bye little man have fun!" There's nothing to be worried about, I remind myself spinning back around to the kids. "Who wants to listen to some music?"

"We do!" They cheer, I turn on the kids' cd we have so they can dance to silly music and get some of that energy out.

The afternoon passes quickly with the kids having fun before their parents slowly trickle in to pick them up. I worry about Charley the whole time. James sends me five pictures of Charley. One for every hour he's been gone with him. Before I know it, they drop me off with a sleeping Charley and promise to meet me back at my house with dinner.

I make it all the way home and Charley is still passed out, I can't help the quiet giggles as I carry him up into his room setting him on his bed and tucking a quilt around him. He won't stay asleep once everyone gets here. They really wore him out tonight, I cover my mouth with my hand to stop the giggle.

The house as usual is clean, just because I still vacuum everything and wipe down the counters and tables. I add a colorful tablecloth to the dining table and set it up for eight.

I'm poking my soaps to see if they're ready to take out of the pans when a soft knock sounds on the door. I rush to the door throwing it open, to get tackled by the three little girls.

"Hello there." I laugh, Andrew helps pull them off me while James and Michael carry the bags of take out into the house. "I set up the dining table for us to eat."

"Sounds good." Michael says toeing off his snowy shoes.

I usher the group inside, taking coats and hanging them up. "Where's Charley?" Lexi asks.

"Still asleep. Though, I don't think he would mind if you woke him up." I wink at the three girls, who run giggling up the stairs.

After setting down his bags James comes back to my side wrapping me in a tight hug. I feel like I've lost control of myself, as I twist around to reach up and bring his mouth down to me. He kisses me hungrily. "I need you again." He growls softly into my mouth. There are only seconds before the herd of footsteps rush down the stairs and we break apart. My eyes are still on his, I want the same thing.