Rough and Ready [Men for Hire 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (17 page)

“Yeah, that’s about it.” Kane’s smile was one of relief.

They
both
want me.

Her joy had her smiling back at him before it hit her. They were giving her an ultimatum. She had to choose. “But you’ve already shared me. Twice.”

It was crazy. Was she really standing in the middle of Daisy’s dining room talking about how many times they’d taken her? How many times she’d given her body, hell, her heart to them?

“And it was great.” Kane hooked his thumbs in his belt. “But sharing you in sex with Jeff is one thing. Sharing you for a lifetime is another. That’s not happening.”

Once again, they’d thrown her. “For a lifetime?”

“Yeah.” Jeff’s blue eyes brightened. “We both care about you. No, that’s not right. I love you. I don’t know about this guy.”

“Knock it off. You know I love her, too.”

She didn’t know whether to be thrilled or upset. They’d told her that they loved her. Yet, almost in the same breath, they were demanding that she choose between them.

Yet how did they know that she loved them? Their cockiness in assuming that she loved them hit a sore spot. The fact that they were right didn’t matter.

How could she pick one over the other? She loved them both. It was as though they were telling her to decide between living only in the night or seeing only the sun again. What was one without the other?

“You are out of your fucking mind.” She’d spoken, her tone intense, but her voice low.

Again with the damned look.

“What?” Kane frowned, his earlier smile gone.

“I said that you’re out of your fucking mind. Both of you.” She shook her head, refusing to let them dictate her life with every ounce of her body. “I’m not choosing.”

“But you have to.” Jeff’s scowl matched Kane’s.

They’re more alike than they know.

“No, I don’t. Just because you waltz in here and we have great sex doesn’t mean that gives either one of you the right to issue an ultimatum. I—” She froze, aware of what she was about to say. Did she dare tell them that she loved them, too?

“Then what, Alex? If you think we can go on like this for any length of time, then you’ve got it all wrong. There’s nothing else you can do. You have to pick one of us.”

She glared at Jeff. “No. You’ve got it all wrong. I don’t.”

Kane muttered something under his breath. Although she hadn’t understood the words, she got the gist of his meaning.

“Just choose me, Alex. Let Jeff get out of here while he still has a shred of dignity left.”

“Fuck that, Kane. You’re the one she’s going to kick to the curb.”

She almost laughed. Just how cocky could they get? “I’m not choosing either one of you and that’s it.”

“So you expect us to share you forever?”

Forever. Wow. Did Jeff mean it? Yet Kane had said the same thing.

“There’s a third choice that you’re overlooking.” All at once, her fear was gone. She knew what she had to do. As far as she was concerned, it had to be all or nothing.

“What’s that?” The concern in Jeff’s voice was unmistakable.

“I could pass on both of you.” She spun on her heel, eager to make it upstairs to her room. If they caught her, she wasn’t sure she could keep her resolve. The third choice was worse than their ultimatum, but what other option did she have? To lose either one of them would leave a hole inside of her for the one she’d turned down.

She made it as far as the foyer when she ran into the large man. He was huge, standing well over six feet and built like a linebacker.

“Oh!” Alex stumbled back from him and would’ve fallen if Kane hadn’t caught her. She jerked away from him, but kept her attention on the brute of a man. His face said he was used to getting into fights. Three scars ran down one side of his face as though someone had taken a rake to his flesh.

“Who are you?” Kane took to one side of her.

She was just as happy when Jeff came to the other side of her. They were ready to protect her from the man-brute.

“Name’s Lou. I’m looking for Avery Martin. You seen him?”

His voice was as rough as gravel and twice as deep as the ocean. She couldn’t place the accent, but it wasn’t any kind she’d heard in Oklahoma. She shook her head, instinctively wanting to protect her half brother. “He took off yesterday and won’t be coming back.”

She was a lousy liar. Always had been, and judging from Lou’s expression, she was still a lousy liar.

“Lady, come on. Where is he? You his sister?”

“Half sister,” added both Kane and Jeff.

At that moment, the front door opened and Avery stepped inside. He took one look at Lou, then spun on his heel and started running. Lou proved that a man his size could move fast when he wanted to.

Lou had Avery by the collar by the time she, Jeff, and Kane made it out to the front yard. “Let him go!” But as she’d expected, Lou didn’t pay any attention to her.

Kane and Jeff split apart, each going on either side of Lou. Kane growled out his words, making it clear that he meant business. “Turn him loose.”

“Sorry, folks, I can’t do that. Avery here owes my boss a lot of money. My job’s to bring one of two things back. Either I take the money back or I take him back.”

“Come on, Lou, do me a solid. I can give you the money if you’ll just give me until Saturday like Enrique said.”

Alex tried not to act surprised at Avery’s promise. He couldn’t have earned enough from the little time he’d spent working on the ranch. Had he done something illegal to get it?

Lou shook his head and pursed his lips. “Kid, you’re no better liar than your sis.”

“But I—I don’t have it all. Not right now anyway. I have a couple of thousand. Take that back to Enrique. I’ll get the rest to him as soon as I can.”

“What do you think Mr. V is? A bank? He don’t do no loans. Naw, man, two thousand ain’t going to cut it.”

“But he gave me until Saturday,” moaned Avery.

“What can I say? Mr. V changed his mind.” He shook Avery as though he were a small, disobedient child. “Looks like you’re coming back with me.”

Alex grabbed Kane’s arm. “Please. Don’t let him take him.” To her amazement, he peeled off her fingers and left her standing there as he walked over to his truck. Was he leaving? How could he say he loved her and not help Avery?

“Here.”

She pivoted toward Jeff who held out an envelope for Lou. “What’s that?”

Jeff gave her an uneasy smile. “It’s ten thousand dollars.”

Her mouth parted as she gaped at him. “Ten thousand dollars? You’re walking around with ten thousand dollars in your hip pocket?”

“Strictly speaking, it’s a cashier’s check made out to Cash. But yeah, it’s ten thousand dollars.”

Lou studied the envelope, his black eyes flicking from Jeff to her. At last, he took it without releasing Avery. Thumbing it open with his free hand, he took one hard look at what was inside then tossed Avery aside. Avery fell forward, landing on his knees.

Lou shoved the envelope into the pocket of his silk shirt. “Looks like you’ve got a good friend, kid.” A knowing expression came over him. “Or maybe I should say your sis’s got a good friend. Either way, you’re off the hook. Try not to get snagged on it again.”

Alex couldn’t believe it was over so fast. She helped Avery to his feet. They stayed where they were until Lou had slid behind the wheel of his car and turned it around to head down the driveway.

“Where’d he go?”

Jeff hooked his thumbs in his jean pockets. “Not that it’s any concern of yours, Kane, but Lou got his money and left.”

Avery placed his hand on Jeff’s shoulder. “I swear to you. If it takes me a lifetime, I’ll pay you back every red cent.”

“Damn straight you will,” muttered Jeff.

She was still trying to comprehend what had happened. “You paid his debt. But why?”

Jeff’s blue eyes locked onto her. “Because he’s your family. And if he’s your family—”

“He’s my family,” interrupted Kane. He held up a large manila envelope. “I had the same idea.”

“Oh, my word. Are you saying there’s ten thousand dollars in that?”

“Sure is.” Kane opened the flap wide enough for everyone to get a look. Cash, stuffed as hard as it could be, was in the envelope in hundred-dollar denominations.

“Too bad that I beat you to it.” Jeff’s grin was wider than she’d ever seen it.

“Wow. I can’t believe you guys would do that for me.” Avery shook his head, obviously as stunned as she was.

“Like Jeff, I did it for Alex. But I won’t do it again. You got that? As far as I’m concerned, next time they can have your ass.”

“Sure, man.” Avery nodded so hard she thought his head would fall off. “In fact, once I get back to the ranch, I’ll hand over the money I’ve gotten so far.”

He caught her worried look. “No, Alex, I didn’t do anything wrong to get it. That’s my pay plus I sold a couple of things. You can stop worrying about me getting into trouble. I’ve learned my lesson. Finally.”

“Make sure that you have.” Kane’s dark eyes flashed. “Or you’ll have to answer to me.”

“And me,” added Jeff.

“I swear it, guys. And thanks.” Avery pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, then turned on his heel and headed back up the steps and into the house.

She called after him, not wanting him to think badly of her. “I’m glad, Avery.”

It’s about time.

But that part she kept to herself.

The men, her men, had come with the money. Which meant they’d had it before they’d given her the ultimatum. “Wait a minute. Did you guys do it because you figured it would make me choose you? Was that your plan all along?”

Kane and Jeff each grabbed one of her arms, and as though their touch could calm any storm, the anger starting to well inside her was gone. Instead, a horrible feeling of loss came in its place.

“I didn’t do it for that reason. And I’m willing to bet that Kane didn’t, either. No matter what your decision might have been, I would’ve still paid off his debt.”

Kane nodded, but remained quiet, once again letting Jeff take the lead. “We did it for you. Not for us.”

She swallowed and tried to regain her composure. Maybe she shouldn’t be so quick to judge them. And maybe she should try and make a decision to choose one of them. Loving one was better than losing two. Yet her gut clenched at the very idea of it.

“Fine. Maybe you’re right. Maybe the three of us won’t work. I’ll think about your question. But I’m going to need some time.”

“That’s all we can ask.” Kane waited for Jeff to agree with a nod.

Each took a moment to give her a quick kiss, then tipped their hats to her. She was still pressing her fingertips to her lips, wanting to keep the memory of their touches alive until she saw them again, as they hopped into their trucks and sped away.

How the hell can I ever choose?

* * * *

“Not hearing from her sucks.” Kane hated admitting any weakness to Jeff, but he couldn’t hold back any longer. The only person who would understand would be his competitor for Alex’s love, Jeff.

They were digging post holes for the new fence that would split one parcel of acreage from another. Tyler and Watts Siwa, two of the men who worked with Gabriel’s crew, had found their own woman to love and had received acreage from Gabriel. Like many of the others who were part of the Cowboys for Hire teams, they’d chosen a part of the ranch to build a house. Construction on their new home would start soon.

“I get it. Every time I see her in town, I want to run over and take her into my arms. Instead, I stand there, making small talk until my dick threatens to get cut in half by my zipper.” Jeff slammed the post-hole digger into the ground, then paused to run the back of his forearm over his brow and wipe the sweat away.

Kane had done the same thing. He’d tried to stay away, but whenever he’d run into Alex, he couldn’t resist speaking to her, if only to pass the time of day. A little of her was better than none of her.

Their horses grazed a few feet away, reins hanging to the ground. They were trained well and wouldn’t go far from the men. Jeff got another post into place, then started on the next one.

“Who do you think she’ll choose?”

Jeff’s question surprised Kane. It was the first time he’d ever eluded to the fact that Alex might choose him instead of Jeff. Any other time he would’ve had his answer primed and ready, but this time he gave him the truth.

“I don’t know. Could go either way.”

Jeff stopped for a moment. “You haven’t done anything to try and win her over, have you?”

They’d agreed after they’d given Alex the ultimatum that they’d stay away from her. And that they wouldn’t try anything like gifts or love letters to try and convince her to choose one of them over the other.

“Nope. You?”

“Not a thing.”

“Then I guess we wait and see.” Kane pushed his hat back on his head. He’d spoken in a casual manner, but he was anything but relaxed. Every fiber of his being needed to know. Was he the one? Or would he have to leave his job and his home? There was no way he could stay on if she wanted Jeff.

“But it’s been six days. Don’t you think she’s had enough time?”

He heard his own impatience reflected in Jeff’s tone. “You’d think so, but when it comes to a woman who knows?” He turned and gave Jeff a challenge. “You could ask her if you want.”

Jeff cleared his throat and went back to digging. “You mean I could push her. And if I push her too hard, you’re hoping she’ll choose you instead.”

“Hey, I’m just suggesting, is all. Take it or leave it.”

Jeff laughed. “I’ll leave it. For now.”

“I don’t want to lose her.” Kane hadn’t known those words were coming, but now that they were out, he was almost relieved.

“I don’t, either.”

Kane met Jeff’s gaze dead-on. “But we can’t share her.”

For one wild moment, he hoped Jeff would say that they could.

“Naw.” Jeff’s brow furrowed. “Still, I’d do anything to have her.”

“Same here.” Again, Kane waited for Jeff to say those simple, but all-too-important words.

“Anything? Even share her?”