Monroe, Marla - Their Border Lands Gift [Men of the Border Lands 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (11 page)

Bruce knew she wouldn’t wait for either of them to get dressed, so he grabbed his shirt and socks and made sure Kate did the same. Then he followed her downstairs to the living room. Mike was tossing and turning on the couch. His flushed red face registered as being hot with fever.

“Mike. Can you hear me, Mike?” Kate took her brother’s hand and squeezed it.

“Kate? I’m sorry, Kate. I did what I thought was best,” Mike managed to get out in a gravelly voice.

“It’s okay, Mike. Just get well for me. I can’t deal with it if you die on me. Please don’t give up.”

Bruce watched as Kate struggled not to cry over her brother. He would do anything to help the young man, but this was up to God now. They could only do so much. He wanted to hold her and take away her pain, but that was beyond his ability as well.

Kate spent the next several hours bathing Mike in cool water. She talked to him almost the entire time about their past and a future where she was with him.

Bruce joined Marcus in the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee. His brother sipped on his then shook his head as Kate hurried in to change out the water for more cold water. Bruce took the large bowl and emptied it for her then filled it and carried it back to the living room. When he got back, Marcus was shaking his head again.

“What?”

“She’s desperate for him to live, Bruce. If he doesn’t, and I don’t see it happening, she’s going to be devastated.”

“He’s her brother, Marcus. Of course she is.”

“Yeah, but she’s counting on him to keep her with him.” He ran his hand up and down the mug.

“She knows that’s not going to happen. But she’s scared. As long as Mike is around, she thinks she is safe. I hope he lives. I would hate for her to lose her security.”

“We’d never hurt her, Bruce.”

“I know that and you know that, but she doesn’t.”

“I guess you’re right,” Marcus said. I want her to be happy, Bruce. I love her. I’ve loved her almost from the beginning.”

“I know. If she loses Mike, she’s not going to be happy for a long while. We’ll just have to deal with it.” Bruce ran a hand over his face.

“Marcus?” Kate walked in.

“What is it, baby?” He stood up and walked toward her.

“Mike is sweating now. Should I keep bathing him?”

“Let’s go look.” He looked over at Bruce then followed Kate back into the other room.

Bruce sighed. Maybe God was looking out for all of them after all. He stood up and walked into the living room. Marcus was checking Mike while Kate wrung her hands watching.

“He’s better, right?”

“His fever is breaking. That’s good, Kate. Let’s keep him covered until it’s down to one hundred. Then we’ll dry him off and put dry clothes on him.

Nearly an hour later, he was running a low-grade fever and his color was back to a more normal pink tint. Kate cried the entire time they changed his clothes. It took all three of them to dry him off and re-dress him in thermal underwear and socks. Then they re-covered him.

“Thanks, both of you. He’s going to be okay now. I just know it.” Kate hugged them both then went back to tending to her brother.

“It’s going to be a long healing process, Kate. He’s still got quite a ways to go,” Bruce warned her.

“I know, but he’s going to be okay. That’s all that matters.” She held on to her brother’s hand, using it like a lifeline. As if as long as she was touching him, she was safe.

Bruce sighed. At least she wouldn’t be afraid. That was important. Then he wondered what Mike would do once he was back on his feet. Would he stick around or leave Kate with them and move off somewhere? That would hurt Kate worse than if he’d died.

Kate yawned and stretched. She had been on her feet caring for Mike for nearly six hours now and operating on less than five hours of sleep. They all three needed a nap. He knew he would never get her to leave Mike. He looked over at Marcus stretched out on the recliner.

“Kate, baby. You’re tired. You need a nap.”

“I’m not leaving Mike. Not until he wakes up and is coherent.”

“Why don’t you sleep with Marcus over there in the recliner? You’ll be right here with him, and I can wake you if he wakes up.”

“Oh, well. I can stretch out here on the floor. I’ll be fine.” She started to sit down, but Bruce caught her.

“No you don’t. You’re not sleeping on a cold floor. You’ll sleep with Marcus. You can keep each other warm.” He scooped her up and deposited her in Marcus’s lap.

His brother opened an eye and wrapped his arms around her. “Hey, Kate. You feel good. Keep me warm.”

Kate opened her mouth then closed it and sighed. She settled down and got comfortable. Bruce watched as she slowly fell asleep. His brother’s smile told him that Marcus was happy to have her in his arms. He knew how it felt to hold her—peaceful. Bruce hoped that one day, she’d feel that same peace being in their arms.

He settled down to watch after Mike while the other slept. The man seemed to be breathing well and had kept his natural pink coloring ever since the fever had broken. He kept the fire going and waited for the three of them to wake up.

Chapter Nine

“Kate?”

Mike’s voice roused Bruce from his thoughts. He leaned forward from his chair and felt the young man’s forehead. It felt cool to the touch.

“Where’s Kate?” Mike asked.

“She’s asleep over there in the chair with Marcus. How are you feeling?”

“Tired, but okay. She’s okay? They didn’t hurt her?”

“She’s fine, Mike. Other than being worried sick about you.” Bruce stood up and stretched. “I’ll wake her up so you can talk to her. It will go a long way to settling her nerves.”

“Let her sleep. We need to talk.” Mike coughed.

“Here, let me get you some water.” Bruce hurried to the kitchen and got a fresh glass of water. He carried it back to Mike and helped the man sit up enough to drink from the glass.

“What did you want to talk about, Mike?” Bruce was scared he was going to want to take Kate back.

“I had papers written up on Kate so I could find her a couple of good men to take care of her. I know you’re still grieving over your late wife, but I want you to take Kate. I think you’ll make her happy and take good care of her.”

“You told us all of this when we were about to take the bullet out. I have the papers in my wallet.” Bruce watched Mike’s face. A look of relief washed over it.

“So you’ll take her?” Mike asked.

“I guess we’ve already done that since I have the papers and she was there when you told us.” Bruce looked over to where she still lay sleeping in Marcus’s arms. “She’s not happy about it at all, Mike. You need to settle her some.”

“I expect I’ll need to do that. I guess there were extenuating circumstances the other day.”

“I guess there were.” Bruce drew in a deep breath and asked the question that was worrying him. “What are your plans now that you’ve found Kate a home?”

“I was planning on sticking around at the house where we are living now, but if you think that will just make it harder on her settling down, I can move on.” Mike didn’t look like he liked that idea much.

“I think that if you dump her on us and then leave, she’ll never forgive any of us.”

“She may never forgive me anyway,” Mike said with a pained smile.

“You’re right. I probably never will.” Kate crawled out of Marcus’s lap.

Marcus grunted when she elbowed him in the gut. He righted the recliner to help her get out.

“How are you feeling?” she asked her brother.

“I feel pretty good for someone who got shot.” He grinned then sobered up at her frown. “Seriously, I’m fine, Kate. What about you? Did they hurt you?”

“No. Just some bruises, is all.” She knelt beside him. “I was so scared I had lost you, Mike.”

“Well, you didn’t. I’m right here. I’ll be back up in no time.”

“Why did you do it, Mike?” she asked in a soft voice.

“Because you need someone who can keep you safe and make you happy. I couldn’t keep you safe. That’s pretty damn obvious now, I would think.”

“You signed me over to them without even consulting me.”

“I was going to talk to you about it as soon as we got everything taken care of in the garden. You were relaxed around them, more so than anyone else. I thought you would be happier with Bruce and Marcus then anyone else.”

“But you got papers made on me and
gave
me to them. Like a gift or something.” She shook her head. “I’m not something to just give away, Mike. Besides being a human being, I’m your sister.”

“It’s done, Kate. You belong to them now. I’m sorry, but it’s the only way to keep you safe. Please be happy. Give them a chance to show you that they can make you that way.” Mike was pleading with her.

Bruce felt for the other man. He was doing what he thought was best for his sister. Kate, however, saw it as a betrayal of sorts. Maybe he could see it both ways. He stood up and went to Kate.

“Let’s see about making something he can eat. He needs to eat to get strong.” Kate readily went with him to the kitchen.

“I’ll fix him some broth from the deer meat Marcus brought in. But it doesn’t change the fact that he’s basically just giving me away.”

“Wouldn’t your father be giving you away if you were getting married?” Bruce asked.

“That’s different. I would have chosen my husband myself, and it would only have been one husband, not two.” She talked while she cut up meat for the broth.

“Which of us would you have picked if you had to pick one of us?” he asked.

“I–I don’t know.” She faltered in her movements then shrugged. “It really doesn’t matter, though, since I am stuck with both of you, and I don’t have a say in it.”

“I want you to be content here, Kate. Marcus and I will do everything we can to make you happy, but you have to decide that you want to be before it will happen.”

Kate didn’t look back at him as she set about making the broth. “I need some time, Bruce. This isn’t what I wanted out of life. It wasn’t what I had hoped for.”

“I would guess we have all the time in the world, Kate. Just don’t take too long.” Bruce left her in the kitchen and returned to the living room where Marcus and Mike were talking.

* * * *

Kate felt the tears slide down her face as she stirred the broth for Mike. She was forever grateful that Mike was going to be okay, but she was furious with him at the same time for what he had done. She cut up more of the deer steak and made gravy to go over it then sat it in the oven to simmer until she had finished feeding Mike.

When she walked in the room thirty minutes later, it was to find that Mike had fallen asleep. She gently woke him up and helped him eat the broth then left him to rest while she fixed their meal.

Her mind circled around and around as she cooked. She was attracted to both men, and of the available ones she had met, they would have been her first choice, but it was the principle of the matter. He had made the decision for her. They said they would never hurt her, but she really didn’t know them well enough to believe them. Neither did Mike, for that matter. Sure, he’d spent more time with them than she had, but it had been all of about six or maybe seven months.