Husbandry (10 page)

Chad handed the paperwork he’d finished to the nurse, which
was when I noticed her curious stare.

“Wow.” She glanced from one of my men to another. “Identical
triplets?”

I took Chuck’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before
drawing her attention. “Bioengineered. I used Genetic Harmony Inc.” And after
this, the company should give me a referral fee. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, my
husbands and I would like to go home.”

It was hard to say who was the most surprised. Charles cocked
one eyebrow at me, while Chuck tightened his fingers around mine. Of course,
that might have been because he was in pain. The nurse certainly looked shocked
and perhaps a bit jealous. As for Chad? The man who could speak eloquently in
three languages and quote the most beautiful poetry from memory appeared well
and truly speechless.

With a satisfied grin, I helped my poor, bruised husband
walk out.

* * * *

“Does this mean you and Chad have made up?”

Charles asked me the question on the way home. He drove me
in one car, while my other husbands were in the second vehicle, probably
pulling into our driveway as we spoke. I’d wanted to stay with Chuck, but he’d
had a hard time finding a comfortable position. Chad had still been adjusting
the seat for him when he’d told me to go ahead. Charles and I had stopped to
buy a bunch of ice packs.

Since I was on a roll today, I told the truth. “Not yet. I’m
still in the process of making things right. You might be interested to know my
coworker, our neighbor, and the hospital staff now know I’m in a polygamous
marriage. Oh, and my parents have been informed too. They’re coming to visit
this weekend.”

From the passenger seat, I had a clear view of his
expression. It was the first time I’d ever seen Charles look nervous.

“This weekend? Your parents are coming this weekend?”

“They’ll arrive Friday evening. I’ve already been ordered to
make up the spare bedroom for them.”

His jaw ticked. “I can probably clear my schedule and get
home on time Friday. Saturday is a different matter. I’m scheduled to play golf
with one of the company’s big distributors in the morning, and it would look
bad if I backed out. I really wish you’d discussed this with me first.”

“Hey, it wasn’t even discussed with me first. I’m the one
who should be worried here.”

He took his eyes off the road long enough to glance my way.
His expression softened. “Does that mean your parents didn’t take the news
well?”

“Who can tell?” Other than shock, my mother hadn’t given
much of a reaction. “I sent my mom our original wedding photos without any
cropping and called her when I got home from work. After I explained
everything, she announced she and my dad were coming to visit and hung up on
me.”

He reached over to open my hand and lace his fingers with
mine. I hadn’t realized I’d made a fist.

“Stop worrying. Today is Wednesday. That gives her a couple
of days to get used to the idea before she and your father meet us. We’ll work
on them once they get here. Chuck, Chad, and I can be charming when we want to
be, and we’ll be on our best behavior. I’m sure we can win them over.”

I hoped so.

A few minutes later, we arrived at the house. Chuck was
already parked in front of the television in the family room, so I hurried to
get the ice packs chilling in the freezer. In the meantime, Chad must have
given him the bag of frozen peas he was holding to his head.

“Everything under control here?” Charles asked.

Other than watching Chuck in case he fell asleep, I knew
there wasn’t much else we could do for him. “It looks like it. Why?”

“If you don’t need me, I’ll head back to the office.”

Irritation flared. It had been a hell of an
afternoon—heading into early evening now—and we had an injured man on our
hands. I wanted Charles here with us, not back at the office.

My expression must have said as much.

“Fila.” He spoke my name in the same tone you’d use to
reason with a petulant child. “We already talked about this. I took off early
to get to the hospital today, and I promised I’d cut back on my hours next
week. Now I need to get some things rolling if I’m going to be home on time
Friday night.”

I blew out a weary sigh. Though I wasn’t happy about it, I
knew he was working this hard for all our sakes. And there really wasn’t
anything for him to do here right now.

Since I didn’t need another husband mad at me, I walked over
to wrap my arms around him and gave him a kiss good-bye. As usual, he took
control of the caress, but he kept it light, filled with love and comfort as
well as hunger. Then he patted Chuck’s shoulder and shot Chad an acknowledging
nod before he left.

Once he was gone, I plopped down next to Chuck on the sofa.
He was so bruised I was afraid to touch him, so I finally settled for resting
my hand on his thigh. His profile was partially obscured by the bag of peas.

“Well, honey,” I told him, “the next time you get tackled by
a linebacker, you’d better wear a helmet.”

Chuck grumbled something and sank deeper into the cushions.

“Speaking of helmets.” Chad pointed at the television
screen. “Isn’t that the joke of a home team you were talking about?”

As usual, my handyman husband had on the local sports. While
a baseball game took center stage on the main screen, the pop-up windows on the
side showed highlights from various other events, including the last football
game. They were interviewing a couple of the players.

Chuck shifted the bag of peas from his head to his elbow.
“What would you call those no-talent hacks? Late bloomers?”

“Their scores have improved since last season.” Chad offered
this observation, which I was sure he must have picked up by accident from the
news or else from listening to Chuck rant. I knew he didn’t share my injured
husband’s love of sports.

“That’s what happens when you hit rock bottom,” Chuck
retorted. “There’s nowhere to go but up.”

A giggle escaped me. It was reassuring that he felt well
enough to grouse, and his disgruntled tone was almost comical. The man thought
a trip to the emergency room was no big deal, but the poor performance of a
bunch of athletes was worth a huge lament. If we shared another hundred years
together, I still wouldn’t understand how his mind worked. Or the male mind in
general.

I patted his leg and kept him talking to distract him from
the pain. “So what position would you have played? If you’d had a chance to
join the high school football team, that is?”

“Quarterback. I’ve got the smarts for it.”

“I would have been the towel boy.” Chad gave us a rueful
smile. “I’m not much of a jock.”

“No, you’re studious, and you’re very much a people person.”
Aware that there were still unresolved issues between us, I spoke softly. “You
would have joined the yearbook committee and been part of all the honor
societies. Charles, of course, would have been president of the student
council.”

Chuck snorted. “You’ve got that right.” He winced and angled
his head to look at me. “You went to high school, honey. What were you involved
in?”

I blinked, surprised to realize he didn’t know the answer.
We’d been married for months now and had enjoyed getting to know each other
under Genetic Harmony’s warranty period before that, but I’d never talked much
about my school days with my husbands. Our conversations had covered my
childhood, jobs, hobbies, and dreams, but there were still topics we’d left
untouched. It was kind of nice to know we still had new territory to explore.

“Wait right here.” I got up and hurried down the hall to the
back closet.

With the house incomplete, I’d left the things I didn’t
often need still packed in boxes. That way they were easier to move around
while Chuck tackled the renovations. It took me a minute to find what I wanted.

I returned with my high school yearbook in hand. “Here we
go.” I opened it up and held it where they could see. “For your information, I
tried a lot of different things in high school. My freshman year, I was on the
volleyball team. I was pretty good too, if I say so myself.” I flipped to
another page. “Sophomore year, I was in a couple different honor societies, and
I took Latin as my foreign language class. That’s what helps me understand some
of your French and Italian, Chad.”

His expression was unreadable, so I went on.

“My schoolwork was important to me, and my parents had high
standards. In retrospect, I wish I’d spent a little less time studying and a
bit more going out with friends and having fun. I understand Charles’s work
ethic better than he thinks.”

Chuck took the yearbook from me and studied the pictures
before he passed it to Chad. He shot me a mischievous grin. “Do you still have
those tiny volleyball shorts?”

If he hadn’t been injured, I would have smacked his arm. Of
all the things to comment on.

Chad remained silent, so I took the opportunity to get up
and start dinner. When I checked on them some twenty minutes later, Chuck was
fast asleep, and Chad was watching an indie film. I removed the half-thawed bag
of peas from my hubby’s limp hand and checked the time.

“I’m watching,” Chad whispered. “He’s only been out for ten
minutes. I’ll wake him in another fifty.”

“That should be good timing for dinner.” I held up the cold
bag of veggies. “Guess what we’re having.”

He smiled, but the expression looked halfhearted. Although
Chad no longer appeared furious with me, there was a lot of healing left to do before
we were back to normal. I had more than one bruised husband on my hands, and I
had no doubt which one was hurting worse. Chad had a sore heart thanks to my
stupidity. Half of me was impatient to patch things up, while the other half
was surprised his anger had dissipated so quickly.

“The ice packs should be ready by then. Let me know if he
wants them.” I waited for his nod and slipped back to the kitchen.

A quick call to Charles’s office confirmed he wouldn’t be
home for dinner. When I asked for an ETA, he said he didn’t have one. An
admonishment for him to order in something healthy for supper was the best I
could do.

* * * *

The next time I saw Charles, he was slipping into the master
suite just as we were climbing into bed. He loosened his tie and nodded toward
Chuck, who was already sprawled on his stomach.

“How’s the patient?”

I returned a tired smile. “He’s cranky about being woken up
every hour, but otherwise he’s fine.”

“You’d be cranky too if you had to answer the same stupid
questions over and over when you’re trying to sleep.” Chuck’s grumpy voice was
muffled by the pillow.

He was usually a back sleeper, but his darkening bruises
made that position too uncomfortable. The tender spot behind his temple also
meant he could only lie with his head turned in one direction. I didn’t blame
him for being annoyed, but being on call every hour wasn’t any fun either. Chad
and I had taken turns.

Charles removed his belt and slipped out of his shoes.
“Well, I promise to come up with more interesting questions. I’ll take over for
a while, if you want.”

“Are you sure? You just got home. You have to be exhausted.”

“I’m more awake than you three.” He faced us from where he
now stood in the closet doorway.

He swept his gaze over me as he removed his pants and shirt,
followed by his briefs. Unlike Chuck, Charles never bothered with underwear in
bed, even on those few nights when sleep was the only objective. Chad, on the
other hand, wore black pajama bottoms, which drew attention to his trim waist.
Chuck must have changed the sheets this morning because the satin had been
replaced with regular cotton. I was glad to escape the reminder of how badly my
night with Chad had ended.

The rift between us was still there—narrowing, thank
goodness, but present all the same. I could tell because Chad climbed into bed
on the other side of Chuck when he could have come around to snuggle with me.
Charles slipped under the covers between me and Chuck, which left me on the
outside of the three.

“Only three more hours of wake-up calls,” Chad informed the
new man on duty. “After that he should be out of danger.”

“No problem.” Charles propped himself up with one of the
pillows.

When I slid in beside him, Charles tucked me under his arm.
My eyes were already drooping shut before I’d fully settled.

Over the next few hours, I drifted in and out of sleep, half
waking to the sound of Charles’s voice as he roused Chuck and asked him
questions. I think he threw in some sports trivia, though I might have dreamed
that part. Sometime in the wee hours, we passed out of the danger zone, so I
wasn’t woken again.

The blare of the alarm was the next thing I heard. I opened
my eyes to see Charles stretched out on his side next to me. He had one arm
flung across my waist, and even in sleep his hold was possessive. His hand was
a hairbreadth from the top curve of my butt. Green eyes met mine as the alarm
brought him awake too.

Since I was at the edge of the bed, I didn’t have to climb
over him to get up this time. I looked at Chuck, who barely twitched before he
fell right back to sleep. There was enough light for me to see the dark patches
marring the skin of his exposed back. Bruises always looked worse as they
healed, so I suspected they’d be putrid green and purple by the end of the day.

My first stop was the shower, where I was once again joined
by Charles. I had a moment of déjà vu, but he didn’t get amorous this time.

“You look tired,” I remarked.

His morning beard growth disrupted the clean lines of his
goatee, adding to his groggy image. He rinsed his hair and stood beneath the
warm spray massaging his neck.

“I’m a little stiff from sitting up in bed half the night,”
he admitted.