The Sextet Presents… By Male Order [In Days of Olde] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (3 page)

The handwriting leapt out to her immediately. It was, indeed, her uncle’s sprawling lettering. The fear threatening to drown her finally began to ease. As she read his words, she slowly lowered the barrel of the gun.

My dearest Hope,

I am answering your appeals, and God is answering your prayers. Please welcome to your home Alec Buchanan and Thomas Cameron. They are the type of men you have been searching for. I can guarantee there will be no pleas of marriage to plague you. I have sent two men instead of the one you requested because these men are very close friends who refuse to be separated.

I wish you well and hope that Alec and Thomas will be of service to you.

God bless you, my child.

Uncle Robbie

There were many unstated messages buried in his short note, the most important being that her uncle had not only understood her suggestion of the
type
of man to send to her, but he’d found her not one but two such men. While her face had flushed warm simply thinking about sending the message to her uncle, she’d faced her embarrassment and written the words.

Thank God he’d understood.

For the first time in a long time, Hope smiled. She opened the shotgun and laid it over her arm to show she had no ill intent. “My apologies, gentlemen. My suspicious nature and the isolation of my home make me cautious.”

“So ye’re convinced we know Father Kincaid now?” Alec asked.

She nodded. “My uncle sent you both to me. You will understand, of course, my concern. I’d asked my uncle for
a
man, not
two
. I feared you had ventured out here to take advantage of the poor Widow Adams, as the townsfolk so kindly call me.”

Thomas strode closer and held out his hand. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Adams.”

“Please…nothing so formal. Since you’ll both be working for me, you may call me Hope.”

Although it was probably rude, she turned her back to them and walked back to the house. Their shuffling footsteps followed. She set the shotgun inside the door in its normal resting place and then stood on the edge of the porch and stared down at her new workers.

Her first thought was that it was a damned shame they enjoyed the company of other men rather than women. Both were handsome devils, and had she been nothing but a simpleton schoolgirl, she might have chosen either as an opportunity for flirtation. Life’s lessons had taught her that those flirtations could easily lead to disaster.

Alec Buchanan was tall and broad shouldered. His hair wasn’t exactly curly, but it fell in waves of reddish-brown. There was a bit of temper hiding behind his green eyes, and patience was clearly not one of his virtues. Even now, he was fidgeting and turning his cap over and over in his hands.

Thomas Cameron was smaller in height, but his proportions were attractive. Lean. Lightly muscled. Well-shaped thighs. His brown hair was straight and short and the same color as his eyes. He was more timid than Alec, but his intelligence was obvious.

The glances they exchanged spoke of affection, and a stab of longing ripped through her. She didn’t even know these men, but it was clear they shared something she would never know.

Love
.

Surely she was only getting tears in her eyes because she was so very exhausted.

Hope swallowed hard, put aside her silly notions of love, and set her hands on her hips. “I suppose I should show you around my farm.”

* * * *

Alec couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Hope Adams wasn’t at all what he’d expected. Knowing she was a widow and that she’d already survived one disastrous and probably abusive marriage had made him expect a much older woman. By his estimate, Hope could be no more than twenty-five.

He had a hard time paying attention to the things she pointed out because his gaze kept returning to her sweet backside. Her hips swayed gently as she walked, and her long, black braid swished against her small waist. When the sun hit her hair just so it was the color of a raven’s wing—nearly purple. A wonder it was that her eyes were a crystal clear blue when her hair and skin were so dark. Of course her skin could merely have darkened in the sun.

Hope cleared her throat as she leveled a hard stare at him. “Mr. Buchanan—”

“Alec,” he blurted out. “Please.”

“I know your name. I used the more formal to emphasize that I have been trying to get your attention and you chose to ignore me. What were you thinking about when I explained about the loft?”

As though he would tell her that his thoughts were nearly consumed with bedding her… “I’m merely tired from my journey, ma’am.”

“Hope.”

“Hope.”

“Do pay attention now,” she said. “The loft is plenty big enough for the two of you. There is only one bed, but…”

Thomas folded his arms over his chest and leveled a hard stare at her. “But?”

Alec knew that look well, and he elbowed Thomas in the side.

The blush on Hope’s cheeks was as red as a sunburn. “I…I assumed… After what I asked Uncle Robbie… Aren’t you two…” She nibbled on her bottom lip.

Alec didn’t want Thomas to get his back up as he was wont to do whenever their affection and relationship were questioned. So that the opportunity wasn’t ruined, Alec quickly said, “If the bed is large, one will do, lassie.” He moved to the ladder and climbed to view the loft.

It wasn’t at all what he expected. Instead of hay with a threadbare blanket thrown over, there was a proper bed as well as a bureau and a washstand with a porcelain bowl and pitcher. One big window gave enough sunlight to make the loft cheery rather than dreary. It was much better than Mrs. Finster’s boarding house.

Although the bed was a bit small, he and Thomas could make do. “’Tis fine enough,” he said as he made his way back down the ladder.

“Alec…”

“Thomas, ’tis a nice room.”

“We’d be sleeping in a
barn
, for God’s sake.”

“Aye.” Alec nodded at the horse and her foal in the stall next to the ladder. “I’d dare say the company is more inviting than the boarders at Mrs. Finster’s.”

At least Thomas’s mouth twitched, although he didn’t truly smile.

Hope yawned, something she’d done often on the tour around the farm. “Apologies,” she said, waving her hand in front of her mouth when she yawned again. “I was up all night delivering a foal.”

“Ye’re really living all the way out here by yerself?”

She nodded.

“’Tis dangerous for a woman to be alone. We expected at least one worker already.”

“I was unable to find acceptable help.” Turning on her heel, she marched out of the barn, gesturing for them to follow. “I’ll show you my home, then I need to be making something for supper.”

The sun was setting, making Alec wonder just how often he’d be up before it rose and laying his head on his pillow well after it set. He knew little about farming, but Hope’s exhaustion coupled with the vastness of her land meant he’d be working hard.

He glanced to Thomas. His lover was a teacher. He read books and pondered the peculiarities of the world. His hands were as soft as a lady’s might be. How could he handle the rigors of the work they now faced? The stern expression on his face screamed that Thomas was ready to leave. Alec didn’t want them to lose this chance, feeling some odd need to stay close to Hope.

“Hope?” he called.

She stopped and turned to them. “Yes?”

“Might Thomas and I have a moment of privacy?”

“You will have plenty of privacy when you retire for the evening. There are still chores to be—”

“We might not stay,” Thomas said.

She cocked her head. “I beg your pardon?”

“Please, Hope,” Alec said again. “A moment alone?”

Her mouth opened and then closed before she nodded and strode out of the barn.

Thomas had a stern frown fixed on his face. “We’re not staying, Alec.”

“Why not? Ye should climb the ladder and take a look at our room. ’Tis verra nice.”

“She tried to shoot us.”

“She was protecting herself, nothing more. I’m nae convinced she could even pull that trigger, no matter the threat.” Alec tried to find the right words. “I think she needs us, love.”

“Needs us? Look around. This is a thriving farm.”

“Did you nae see the dark circles under her eyes? The woman is near to falling asleep on her feet. One person cannae possibly handle all the work that needs be done. Did you nae see the slats falling off the fence? The cracks in the windmill blades? The overgrown herb garden?”

“What do we know about farming?” Thomas asked. “I’m a teacher. You build things.”

“We’re both strong, healthy men. Whatever we donnae know, Hope can teach us.” Alec took a deep breath. “We’ve nowhere else to go, Thomas.” He picked up Thomas’s hand. “I worry the work might be difficult for you. If you think it will be too much for you…”

Thomas jerked his hand back. “
I
can handle anything
she
can handle.”

“Is that a note of jealousy?”

“I saw you watching her.”

“How could I not? The Widow Adams is a verra beautiful woman.” Alec reached out to caress Thomas’s cheek. “But I
love
you. This is the best choice we have, Thomas.”

Drawing his lips into a thin line, Thomas thought it over a good long while. Then he nodded. “We’ll just have to make do.”

“The lassie has handled this alone for a long while. How hard can it be?”

This damnable farm was not at all what Thomas had expected. He dropped the bale of hay and arched his back to try to work out the spasms that plagued him.

Work, work, work
.

And not the intellectual kind he found challenging. No, this nonsense was raising calluses on his hands and causing every muscle to scream in pain by the time he fell into bed with Alec far too late every night. They were both so exhausted, they didn’t even make love as often as they used to, which served to add sexual frustration to Thomas’s fatigue.

He had to admit that, despite what the work was doing to tire his body, he felt better out here than he had in any city. He no longer coughed from the smoke and stench. When he slept now, it was deep and restful. He loved listening to the chirp of the crickets as he lay in bed, and the crow of the rooster woke him each dawn.

Thomas glanced out the barn doors to see Alec lifting Hope up into her wagon. She said something to Alec that made him chuckle. It wasn’t as if she needed his help. She’d managed to make wagon trips fine before they came. Alec’s hands lingered on her waist, and the warm smile he gave her felt like a punch to the gut.

Hope Adams
.

She irritated Thomas like a prickly rash. There were two things he simply couldn’t abide—Alec’s attraction to her and his own tangled feelings.

Alec wasn’t at all subtle in the attention he gave her, although there was little subtle about Alec Buchanan. He touched her whenever he could, although she’d tried at first to discourage him. Now, she accepted his attention. What hurt most was that the attention Alec gave her was the same affection that had stolen Thomas’s heart.

Alec was trying to earn
her
heart.

Despite the jealousy, Thomas had to admit that Alec wasn’t ignoring him for Hope. No, the man seemed to have the superhuman ability to woo two people at the same time. Alec had told him when they first became a couple that he craved either a man or a woman as a lover, but could he be trying to have
both?
It was difficult enough for two men to admit their affection. Society had already branded them sinners. What would people think of a man like Alec who had no restrictions at all on whom he loved?

I envy his freedom of mind.

The second problem was even more perplexing. Thomas found himself drawn to Hope. Not only was she a very beautiful woman, she was kind. Witty. Intelligent. And she worked every bit as hard as she expected him and Alec to work. Everything about her flew in the face of what Thomas thought about women. There was nothing prissy or cold about Hope Adams.

Damn it all if she didn’t make his cock hard when he noticed her breasts or her slim hips, a surprising response considering Thomas had always believed he was attracted only to men.

He’d always believed his father had ruined forever any sexual excitement Thomas might have felt towards women. Preaching that his son was far too feminine because he liked to read and write stories, David Cameron had taken a drastic step on Thomas’s fifteenth birthday. He’d dragged him to a local brothel and paid for the services of one of the women. The whole episode had been embarrassing and full of false starts and humiliating failures, all with a woman who was twice his size and smelled as vile as a privy. While he’d lost his virginity that night, he’d forever sworn off women.

Until Hope Adams sparked something deep inside him.

He had a hard time tearing his gaze away from her as she moved. Her figure was lithe and graceful, even when she was doing difficult physical labor. Whenever she brushed her hair away from her face, the action was so utterly feminine Thomas’s body responded of its own accord. He fantasized about what she might look like beneath the plain skirts and shirts she wore. Would her skin be sinfully soft? Would her pussy be sweet and warm and temptingly wet?

With a frustrated sigh, Thomas ran his hand across his burgeoning erection, hoping he could stay awake long enough to make love with Alec tonight. Not only was he desperate for the sexual release, he needed to know Alec’s feelings for him hadn’t changed.

How peculiar to be jealous of a woman he also craved.

Alec strode into the barn. He took one look at Thomas and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Wrong?” Thomas hefted another bale of hay on the growing pile. “Who said anything was wrong?”