Monroe, Marla - Their Border Lands Gift [Men of the Border Lands 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (17 page)

“As soon as the snows clear, we’ll go to one of the cities and see about getting you some pretty clothes to wear.”

“What’s wrong with what I’ve got?” She knew they were mostly work clothes, but why dress up out in the middle of nowhere?

“Nothing, baby,” Marcus assured her. “We just want to see you in something frilly sometimes.”

“Nothing wrong with wearing a dress now and then,” Bruce said.

“Okay.” She knew she wasn’t small like their Irene had been, but dressing her up wasn’t going to change anything. She just wasn’t Irene. “I better go check dinner.”

Bruce nodded and helped her down. She hurried to the kitchen before her tears would be seen by Marcus. She didn’t want them to know that they had hurt her feelings. She was sure they hadn’t meant to. She didn’t need to let anything they said upset her. It wasn’t like she loved them or anything, right?

Kate checked the meatloaf then drained the potatoes so she could mash them. She poured some of the milk from the cow into the boiler and began to mash them with the potato masher. By the time she had her feelings under control again, the potatoes were free of lumps and ready to eat.

She pulled the meatloaf from the oven and called the men into eat. They consumed their meal with as much relish as they always did, but Marcus kept looking at her funny. She smiled at him and continued to pick at her food. She ate a good bit, she thought, but when she stood up to clear her plate, Bruce stopped her.

“Eat some more, Kate. All you did was pick at your food.”

“I’m not hungry, Bruce.”

“Kate, eat. You have to keep up your strength. It’s cold now, but it’s going to get colder in the next few days. Eat.”

She sat back down and forced more of the meatloaf and potatoes down. Marcus smiled at her in encouragement.

When she got up the second time, Bruce didn’t say anything. He got up as well and raked his plate out along with hers. He and Marcus disappeared into the living room once again, and she cleaned up the kitchen. She was exhausted with everything that had gone on that day. If she was going to meet some other women, she needed to be at her best tomorrow.

Kate walked into the living room where the conversation between the two men stopped at her entrance.

“I’m going to go on to bed. I’m tired.”

“Do you need help in the bathroom, Kate?” Marcus asked.

“No, thanks. I’m just going to take a quick shower and climb into bed.”

“We’ll be up in a few minutes, Kate,” Bruce told her.

“’Night.” She climbed the stairs and hurried into the bathroom to finish her shower before they arrived.

She really didn’t feel like sex tonight. They would want it, though. Well, if she didn’t feel like it, they would have to do without.

Thirty minutes later, she had just climbed into bed when they walked in the door. They quickly removed their clothes and disappeared in the bathroom for twenty minutes. Then they returned, drying off as they slipped into bed without their thermals.

“Um, Marcus?”

“Yeah, baby.” He nuzzled her neck while his hard cock pressed against her side.

“I don’t feel real well tonight.”

“Do you feel sick?” Bruce asked next to her ear.

“Not sick really, just not well.”

“Kate. If you don’t want to have sex, you can just tell us,” Bruce said. “We’re grown men.”

“I really don’t feel well. I think it’s just all the buildup of Mike leaving.”

“You felt safe with Mike here, and now with him gone, you don’t anymore. Is that it?” Bruce sat up on one elbow and looked down at her.

She turned her eyes to Marcus then back to Bruce. How had he known? Was she that obvious?

“I know you won’t hurt me. I’m just not real comfortable around you yet, I guess. Please don’t be mad.”

“We’re not mad, baby. Always be honest with us about how you feel.” Marcus kissed her softly on the lips.

“Bruce?” She was scared about how he felt. He was the one who she was the most uncomfortable around.

“Marcus is right. Always be honest about your feelings with us. If we aren’t honest with each other, we’ll grow to resent one another.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him about Irene then, but she realized he hadn’t been dishonest with her. He hadn’t told her he loved her, or even that he cared about her, as Marcus had done. It hurt, but she understood.

“What’s the sad face for, baby?” Marcus squeezed her thigh.

“Nothing. I guess I’m thinking about Mike being all alone tonight.”

“He’ll be fine,” Marcus assured her.

“Get some sleep, Kate. Tomorrow will be a long day for you.” Bruce patted her arm and turned over to go to sleep.

* * * *

When Kate got out of bed the next morning it was to the knowledge that the men had left her to sleep in. She looked out the window and found a white blanket of snow on the ground below her. She hurried into her clothes and ran down the stairs. She knew the men were already gone by the missing coats and boots at the back door. She warmed up coffee and fixed some eggs to eat. She wanted to go outside, but knew she couldn’t Instead, she watched out the window for the men to return. They said they were going over to the other men’s house around two so they would need to come back soon to get ready. She warmed up some chili and let it simmer while she waited.

Around noon, they crunched through the snow onto the back porch. She waited until they had stomped off the snow then removed their coats before asking about how it was out there.

“Snow’s deep, but not too bad. We can walk around in it fairly well. It will be hard enough to give the wolves some trouble, though.” Bruce quickly crossed to the washroom to clean up.

Marcus was close behind him. “Probably going to get more snow tonight, though, so today will be the best time to go after them.”

“How many are going hunting?” she asked.

“I think there will be ten of us. Two of the men will stay behind with the women. You’ll be staying in their cellar for safety.”

“The cellar? Why would we need to stay in the cellar?” Surely they were going overboard.

“Last time the wolves attacked one of the houses and got in by jumping through one of the windows. We’re not taking any more chances,” he said.

Kate shivered. “They actually attacked a house? What is going on with them? They’re supposed to be afraid of men.”

“They’ve had this area of the nation to themselves for nearly six years, and now we’re taking it back one little piece at a time. They’re getting smart and banding together to hunt us even as we hunt them.” Bruce pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. “Just promise me you’ll mind whoever they leave behind and stay in the cellar with the other women.”

“Okay, I promise.” She didn’t want to be around wolves that were that smart anyway.

“Let’s eat. I’m starved,” Marcus said.

Once they were finished eating and the dishes had been washed, dried, and put away, Kate dressed in her warmest clothes and bundled up to ride to someone’s house she didn’t know.

“We’re going to Garrett, Brice, and Ronnie’s house. It’s about thirty minutes from here. Ronnie is pregnant, as is another woman, Heather. Her men are Brandon and Bolton. I don’t know the other men and women who will be there,” Marcus told her.

As soon as they pulled into the drive, the door opened to the house and a giant of a man walked out. He waited until they had gotten out of the truck before he stepped off the porch into the snow.

“I’m Garrett. You must be Marcus and Bruce.” He smiled down at Kate. She hid behind the men. “You have to be Kate. It’s great to meet you all. Come on in and meet the rest of the group.”

They followed the big man inside the house. Instantly she felt a kinship with the women. They were all with two men. Maybe Mike had been right. Maybe the only way to keep a woman safe in this new world they were in was to share her between more than one man. Though the living area was huge, the room was crammed full of people. She wrapped her arms around Marcus’s waist and buried her face in his back.

“Come on, Kate. Let’s settle you into the kitchen with the rest of the women.” Bruce followed the women as they filed into the kitchen. He gently pushed Kate along behind them. “We’ll just be in the other room, baby. Don’t worry. I won’t leave without saying good-bye and seeing you into the cellar.”

Kate nodded and spared a quick glance at where Marcus was talking to one of the other men. He smiled in her direction when his eyes met hers. Then the other women were drawing her into their conversation.

“I’m Heather, and this is Jessie,” one of the women said. She was quite pregnant with a rounded belly that stuck out. Jessie smiled at her.

“I’m Ronnie. It’s great to meet you. The more of us women the better. All that testosterone is overwhelming at times,” she said.

“I’m Leigh.” Another woman held out her hand, and Kate shook it.

Kate noticed she, Heather, and Ronnie all had scars or fresh wounds on their hands. She figured they went further up their arms as well.

Ronnie noticed she was staring at their arms. “We were attacked a few weeks back, and they got to us.”

“Bruce was telling me about it. I’m sorry. Everyone’s okay, right?”

“Yes, we’re all okay.” She pointed out Heather. “Heather was attacked in their backyard last year when she went to tend to the chickens. She was nearly killed.”

“I’m glad you’re okay. That had to have been horrible.”

“I’m lucky that I don’t remember much of it,” the other woman said.

“Okay, ladies. Let’s get you in the cellar.” Jonathan, one of Leigh’s husbands, herded them toward the open pantry door and down into the cellar.

“I’m Jonathan, and this is Wyatt. We’ll be down here with you until the others get back.”

“Wyatt’s mine,” Jessie said with a smile.

They all gathered on blankets in a circle. The men covered them with more blankets. Kate looked toward the door. Bruce and Marcus had promised to say good-bye before they left. She waited, and sure enough, all the men piled down the stairs to tell their women good-bye. Bruce and Marcus walked over and knelt beside her.

“We’ll be back in a few hours, baby. Stay warm and safe for us,” Marcus told her. He kissed her. Then Bruce squeezed her shoulder and they filed back up the stairs.

Jonathan locked the door and placed a brace across it. She shuddered at the thought that they needed so much security. It didn’t seem real that a bunch of wolves could attack a house and get inside. But she was sitting among a group of woman where over half of them had been harmed by wolves.

The woman talked among themselves about cooking and their gardens. Kate listened mostly. She was new to all of this and had not even been out there a full year. When Ronnie realized she was a newlywed, as they all called it, she began to tell her all the things she needed to be prepared for. The list was daunting.

Then they heard the howls.

Chapter Fourteen

As soon as the men were all back in the house, they knocked on the cellar door to let the others know they could come out. Bruce and Marcus waited impatiently to see Kate emerge from the depths of the cellar unharmed.

Bruce and Marcus knew none of the wolves had gotten in the house, but a sense of urgency had them grabbing Kate and pulling her back into their arms just the same.