Chapter 5

"Use the vegetables I brought ta make a good soup." Ethan ordered Felix.

"Ok! There's also the broth from the soup I made for lunch. Good soup comin' right away!" Grinning widely, Felix happily made his way to the kitchen, followed by his brothers. Normally, it would only be one of them who helped the teen with the fire; so, having the three brothers meant they wanted to have a talk where the woman they picked up couldn't hear them.

"Whatcha wanna do with that woman, Ethan?" Joseph was the first to speak. Whenever they wanted to take a decision about something important, they would gather like they had done and ask the eldest, since he always had the last word. Ethan remained silent for a moment as he stoke the fire and put a few pieces of firewood while Felix peeled the vegetables and Lucas stood by the door.

"I think we should give 'er a name first. She doesn't remember anythin', and we don't know if she'll remember things in the future." Felix proposed while peeling.

"Why, ya look really happy callin' her 'pretty Sis'." Joseph instantly teased his little brother.

"That's 'cause she really is pretty." Felix sulked as his face turned red.

"Felix is right. Since we helped her after Lucas found 'er up in the mountains, we could also give 'er a name. We can't go around callin' her 'hey' or 'you'." Ethan spoke up, agreeing with the youngest. "We'll discuss that together with 'er. Then, with what we can do 'bout her… well, we first need to know if she's stayin' or not..."

"She said she is! She's nowhere to go. She told me she could stay with us if we let 'er. There's also the thing about repayin' us for the doctor and stuff." Felix quickly interjected, reminded of the conversation he had had with her when doing the dishes.

The other three brothers were surprised by her decision. It was kind of logical as she truly had nothing, not even a name. Her world suddenly became their house and they themselves. However, the surprise came from the fact that she, a woman, was willing to stay in a house with four men. Of course they wouldn't be such beasts to try something nefarious on her, yet that didn't erase the fact they were four healthy men. With two even knowing the matters between a man and a woman.

Nothing can happen until it does! As silly as that may sound.

"Ah, then… maybe Lucas can decide what ta do with her? D'ya have any plans? You were the one who brought 'er here." Ethan effortlessly threw that hot potato to the taciturn brother. And, knowing Lucas needed time to think, the other three patiently waited for his answer. Felix cut the vegetables, Ethan kept an eye on the fire, and Joseph shredded the vegetable peelings to use as fertilizer. Lucas stood there, pondering.

Honestly, at first, he had no intentions of saving the woman he found by chance when he went hunting for the day. She had been laying beside some bushes, with the side of her head profusely bleeding. Wild animals like wolfs had, thankfully, not found her body, remaining relatively safe. She was just haggard and wounded.

Her lavish dress conspicuously had revealed her status as someone important, or with money. So, no, he hadn't wanted to get his hands into whatever muddy water she was in. He really had thought of leaving her there and pretend he hadn't seen anything.

What had changed his mind? … ok, don't blame him, but after taking a good look at her, he found she was beautiful. Leaving such a beauty to her fate bugged him. And, perhaps, there had been that hidden ulterior motive to finally have a woman in the house.

Well, at that moment, the priority had been to save her life. That's why he left the hunting aside, and carried her back to the house where Joseph and Felix stood stunned for a couple of seconds before sending a barrage of questions to him about her.

A glare had silenced the noisy guys, and he laid her on the porch. Joseph had been the first to notice the wound on her head. Without being told, he ran towards the town to find their eldest brother and a doctor. Doctor who had basically robbed them, half-assed the treatment, and only left a little bit of medicine.

Thinking about such a scam, Lucas had regretted carrying the woman to his house as he helped Ethan change the woman out of her cumbersome dress. Doing so, his regret dissipated like smoke after witnessing such an alluring body for the first time in his life.

From then on, the thought of making her stay and making her his Wife didn't leave his mind.

Though, he still had his conservative doubts if it was actually a good idea. To begin with, there was the fact that the four brothers were still single because of their poverty-stricken situation. No woman wanted to share difficulties with them; the women that had been interested in Ethan had instantly run away after seeing first-hand the way they lived.

Who could assure him that this woman wasn't going to be the same?

The reassurance, surprisingly, came from the woman herself who claimed she was willing to stay with them. Lucas felt immensely relieved hearing she didn't mind their living conditions and accepted staying. Finding this kind of woman was as hard as wanting to reach the stars; more so because she was the only woman he actually had the audacity to see in all her splendor. Thrice.

The first instance was when he helped his brother change her, the second one had been when she stood at the river in all her naked glory, and the third one was when the two were coming back from the river. Her inappropriately short shirt, no underwear, and a well-timed breeze gave him a perfect view of her wide booty and something more.

Thank Heavens he has never been a lascivious man! If not…

Ethan and Joseph had already been with many women, and they didn't have the qualms to search for others whenever the need arose, and their finances allowed it. Yet, he was different. Call him naive, innocent, or whatever, but once he had seen the body of the woman who wanted to stay with them, he thought there wouldn't be another woman he would be interested in.

Though, his big brother hadn't married yet. Was it fine for him to be the first?

Anyway, first, he had to voice out his opinion.

"Wife." There, clear as water.

"Eh? Lucas… you wanna make 'er your Wife?!" Joseph was the first to react to his words. Lucas nodded, and Joseph instantly and visibly deflated.

The eldest brother noticed that. "You had also thought of makin' her yer Wife, Joseph?"

"Is there a problem?" Having being caught, the third brother turned belligerent. "It's been a while since I last fucked..." He trailed off at being glared at by his second brother, as if telling him that this woman wasn't like those loose women that used to constantly look for him. Joseph wilted under the glare and nodded. He had no other choice but to agree with Lucas opinion.

If she became the Wife of one of them, she would be respected as such.

"What a problem." Ethan sighed, seeing the exchange between Lucas and Joseph. He actually had already analyzed the situation since the moment Felix had mentioned she wanted to stay. He had thought up the pros and cons, beginning with their economic situation. Could they afford having one more mouth to feed?

Then, there was also the situation that just came up.

He didn't care if his younger brothers married first as long as they were happy with their chosen spouses. There was no law that dictated an order for marriage between brothers. However, seeing how women tended to bolt out of his life he presented them to his brothers and their conditions, left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He even started thinking that everybody in his family would die single and alone.

As the eldest brother who had vowed to take care of his younger siblings, he wanted to make sure that at least one of his brothers lived a happily married life. And the chance had presented itself! Now, the problem was on deciding who would marry her.

Honestly, he had also harbored a hope of making her his Wife; such a good woman, when would they be able to find another one like her again?

But, with three wanting her as a Wife… what to do?

"For all?" Lucas spoke his own solution to their dilemma. The kitchen fell silent for a moment.

"Damn, fo' real?!" Joseph cried out, incredulous. Though he was more excited than anything.

"It ain't possible, right?" Felix wondered, not knowing much about the goings of life, or if a group of men could have the same Wife. He turned to look at his eldest brother for the answer.

"It can be done." Ethan slowly began. After all, he had heard in town about a pair of brothers who lived in another village. They had become the talk of the town for a few days because they had bought a woman to be their Wife.

They did so because they were too ugly and poor to find a decent Wife. It seemed the Civil Affairs Bureau had no objections to the matter. Though, it was difficult to be against it considering many men and women could have several lovers if they could afford them. The four brothers were not ugly, but they were poor. So, he guessed they could share a Wife.

"But, we've to convince her to be the Wife of four men."

And, that was the heart of the matter.