The Triple Threat (Love In Dayton Valley Book 1)

by Nikki Ashton

  It must have been the size of his penis. It had to have hypnotized me. Maybe it was some sort of magic wand and when he’d got it out of his pants, Hunter had waved it around and whispered a spell. It had to be that because I’d known him for twenty-four years and apart from realizing he was hot – because I wasn’t blind – I’d never once thought about him as anything other than Carter’s best friend. It was only when Bronte accused me of ogling him at my parents’ summer cookout that I’d considered I might have a mild interest in him. The last few weeks though things had ramped up considerably. Mainly my sex hormones.

  “I don’t think he liked seeing Delphine’s nephew’s hands on you.” Jefferson chuckled.

  Startling I looked up at him. “W-what?”

  “Hunter. He didn’t like it when Dylan grabbed you in that clinch.”

  I thought back to when Dylan had bent me backwards and leaned in as though he was going to kiss me. Not at all fitting behavior for Santa and Mrs. Claus, but Annie had said it was a great shot for December.

  “I think that was when he kinda stormed out,” Jefferson added. “Boy must have it bad.”

  I almost choked on fresh air at his words and began a coughing fit. Jefferson slapped between my shoulders, grinning at me the whole time.

  “Don’t tell me you didn’t know?” he asked.

  “No,” I croaked out.

  He shrugged. “Well it ain’t like Hunter knows either, so how are you supposed to.”

  My stomach rolled and a wave of nausea passed over me. Just as I was about to throw up my beer, the door to Stars & Stripes burst open, and in walked the man himself.

  “What’s wrong?” Hunter asked. “You look kinda green.”

  “I think she’s had a shock.” Jefferson turned toward the bar. “You want a beer, son?”

  “Yeah please,” Hunter answered, but his eyes were on me. “What’s happened? What’s shocked you?”

  My eyes flicked toward Jefferson. “He knows,” I hissed.

  “Knows what?”

  “About me and you.”

  Hunter’s head swiveled to look at his dad and then straight back to me. “How? Penny?”

  “I don’t know, he didn’t say. All I know is he knows. Could be because you stormed out of the photoshoot, or so I heard.”

  Hunter’s lip curled. “Yeah well, fucking Thor had his hands all over you. I didn’t like it.”

  “Evidently. Not that it’s up to you who puts their hands on me.”

  He took a step back and thrust his hands to his hips. “You do remember what happened in this very bar a few nights ago?”

  My skin got heated as I did indeed recall what had happened to me and with what.

  “So, I kinda think I do have a say in who puts their hands on you.”

  I slapped a hand against his chest. “Who says? Putting that inside me once.” I pointed in the general direction of his dick. “Does not make me yours.”

  Hunter caught hold of my hand and pulled me closer to him. He smelled delicious and his hair was damp at the ends.

  “Did you go all the way home and shower?” I asked, a little mesmerized by him.

  “No, I went to Carter’s place. Do you know he has throw pillows on his bed?”

  “You’re kidding right?”

  “No and they match his blinds.”

  “Oh my God,” I gasped. “What is wrong with him.”

  “His towels smelled clean too.” Hunter’s brows furrowed. “You think he’s got a girl?”

  I thought about it for a second and then remembered we were arguing. “I don’t know, but you ignored what I said. Stabbing me with that huge appendage of yours doesn’t make me yours.”

  Hunter’s eyes went dark and predatory and I couldn’t help but feel excited and lustful. Thankfully, Jefferson returned with a bottle of beer and handed it to Hunter.

  “Here you go. I’m just gonna have a quick chat with Dusty about my truck.”

  He nodded over to my Mr. September, Dusty Chalmers, and walked away, leaving Hunter and I alone.

  After a few seconds of staring at each other, I began to feel a throb in my panties and decided it was best if I left.

  “Where are you going?” Hunter asked.

  “Going to rescue Carter before Bronte smashes that bottle of wine over his head.”

  We both looked over to where Bronte was in a heated conversation with Carter and his and Hunter’s old school friend Timothy Reagan, my Mr. February.

  “Carter can handle himself,” Hunter said softly as he caught hold of my hand. “We need to talk.”

  He let out a breath and rubbed two fingers against his temple, causing his bottle of beer to rest against his cheek. His eyes looked cautious and gone was the cocky cowboy who’d given me one hell of a show earlier.

  I knew I could so easily get lost in the chocolate pools of his eyes. I could allow myself to believe any words he’d whisper to me, but I knew if I was smart I wouldn’t.

  “Nothing to talk about, Hunter,” I replied, pulling my hand from his. “What happened was great, but it won’t happen again.”

  “Why the fuck not? It was amazing, you know it was.”

  “Yeah it was but look at them Hunter.” I turned and pointed to Carter and Bronte arguing as Jefferson talked to Dusty but had half an eye on them.

  “What about them?” Hunter asked taking a step closer to me.

  “They’re our family, they’re our friends. We’re one big group of people who are interlinked in each other’s lives. Carter and Bronte hate each other, but it’s kind of funny because we know really they don’t mean it. That’s just the way they are.”

  “And yet you want to get them together?”

  “Like I said,” I replied with a shrug. “They’re different.”

  “I’m really not with you, Ellie.” He sighed.

  “If we got together, when it ended I would hate you, and that’s not fair on our family and friends. If they split it would just go back to normal. It would be so much harder if it was us. Me hating you would be awful for everyone.”

  He leaned back surprise written all over his face.

  “How do you know you’d hate me? What if you were the one that ended it?”

  I let out an empty laugh and scratched my forehead. “Because I know you, Hunter. You don’t do relationships. You do one night, or maybe a whole week, but not a proper relationship and I’ve realized, that’s what I want. I want to be loved and cherished and you couldn’t do that.”

  I paused hoping against hope that he might challenge me, but he didn’t. It hit me hard, just like the realization that Hunter was the person I wanted to be loved and cherished by; nothing less would do.

  “Nope, I didn’t think so.” I smiled and looked over my shoulder at Jefferson. “He’s so sad, Hunter, so very sad and if he lost his friends, he’d be even sadder.”

  “Why? What the fuck—”

  “You’d break my heart and then my dad would kill you and Carter would hate you and that would hurt Jefferson so much. That’s why we won’t ever be anything except for one amazing fifteen minutes.”

  Swallowing hard, I turned and walked away unable to stop wondering if I’d just done the most stupid thing ever.

  Hunter

  It had been two weeks and I’d seen neither hide nor hair of Ellie. In those fourteen days I’d whacked off more than I’d ever done before, and I’d acted like a sulky, hormonal teen the whole time. To top my perfect three hundred and thirty-six hours, we were all spending Thanksgiving at her house.

  In their wisdom Melinda and Henry had thought it would be a great idea for everyone to go to them for the holiday. We hadn’t all got together for Thanksgiving since before Mom died, so I wasn’t sure what had prompted them to suggest it. What I did know was that I was a mixture of pissed and excited at the prospect.

  “Why now after all these years?” I asked Pop as he pulled up on the Maples’ driveway.

  “I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Melinda just sa
id something about it being time.”

  “Well I for one am excited,” Auntie L piped up from the back seat. “It’ll be lovely spending it with a lot of people.”

  “You bored with our company?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at her with a grin.

  “No sweetheart,” she replied, ruffling my hair. “But I think you and Jefferson need some more laughter in your lives.”

  “You give us plenty of laughs,” Pop said. “And we love you both for it.”

  “We love you too, honey,” Auntie J added. “Now let me at that peach wine I know Henry makes.”

  Before I had a chance to get out and help them both down from the truck, both my aunts were at the door and banging on it.

  “Someone is excited.”

  “Yeah,” Pop replied sounding a little reflective. “You don’t think we neglect them, do you?”

  He watched his sisters as they were greeted by Melinda on the front stoop and let out a sigh.

  “I’d hate to think we were no fun for them to live with.”

  “Pop, they fucking love living with us. You really think Uncle Miller would let them knit him a damn awful sweater every Christmas, or that Aunt Debra would let them use her kitchen to concoct soup that tastes like horse shit, and then eat it with a smile on her face.”

  Pop grinned. “No, I guess not.”

  “So, stop worrying about it. They’re happy.”

  He nodded and gave my shoulder a squeeze, then we followed my aunts into the house.

  Once inside, I had to be honest, it felt pretty good to be there; it was warm, happy and homely. The house was already decked with Christmas decorations, although no tree as I knew the Maples all went together on the twenty-third to buy it and then decorate it as a family – even Carter got involved. A gorgeous smell of turkey cooking permeated into the hallway and all I could hear was laughter and chit-chat. It felt exactly how Thanksgiving should be.

  “Hey, Hunter,” Melinda said as she came over to me with arms open wide. “I’m glad you came honey. Ellie said you might have to stay on the ranch with the herd.”

  Oh, she did, did she? Wished more like.

  “No, we got the Williams brothers to come in. We usually do when we want some time off. Their fruit farm being seasonal and all, it gives them some extra cash.”

  “Yeah,” Pop added, landing a huge hand on my shoulder. “They’re struggling to compete with that huge big farm that’s started over in Middleton Ridge. I’m even thinking of employing them full time in the new year.”

  “You are?” Melinda asked, genuinely interested.

  “Yeah, well I ain’t getting any younger, and we think we might increase the herd come January.”

  “That’s a great idea, honey,” Melinda said softly and pulled Pop in for a hug. “I’m so glad you came.”

  When she pulled away, there were tears in her eyes and her visible emotion hit me in the gut. This sudden invite and Melinda getting tearful had me worried.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  Melinda gave me a tight smile and nodded. “Yeah, sure. Just… I don’t know, this year I’m kinda missing your mom a little more than usual, you know?”

  She looked up at Pop, whose Adam’s apple bobbed as he ran a hand over his hair.

  “I’m just gonna catch up with the guys,” Pop said, clearing his throat.

  Melinda watched him go and then turned back to me.

  “Is he okay, honey? Only Ellie said she thought he seemed sad, more so than usual.”

  Ellie. My heart thudded in my chest as I realized why the sudden big get together. She was worried about my pop. Evidently making sure he was happy was more important than keeping Bronte away from him. The idea that she’d got her mom to do this for us made me feel as though my lungs were about to give out and that maybe my heart was too big.

  “I think he is,” I replied honestly as I took a breath. “But he never really talks about stuff much. He talks about Mom a lot, and how much he misses her, but that’s about it as far as emotions go.”

  Melinda’s eyes twinkled with unshed tears and I felt a lump rise in my throat, as it always did when I spoke about my mom.

  “I hear him crying sometimes.” I sighed and looked over to Pop who was shooting shit with Jim, Henry and Carter. “Not for a little while though.”

  Melinda dragged me into a hug. “We’re always here for you, honey. I know I’m not family, but I loved her like a sister.”

  “Yeah I know.” I squeezed her back and as I did saw Ellie standing in the doorway, watching us. “I think I’ll go get myself a drink now.”

  “You do that.” She patted my back and let me go. “Right, I need to check the potatoes.”

  I watched her go and was just about to join the guys, when I felt a hand on my arm. Turning around I was a little surprised to see Ellie, particularly as I’d ghosted her for the last two weeks. Yeah, I’d been the bitchy little princess who’d ignored her text messages and sent her calls to voicemail, not that she ever left one.

  “Ellie.”

  “Hey, Hunter. I’m glad you came. I thought you might stay home.” She looked down at her feet which were covered in fluffy red socks.

  “Why because you were a little bitchy last time we spoke,” I replied in a low voice, even though deep down I knew she wasn’t.

  Her eyes went wide and her sweet pink lips parted. Images of them parting as she orgasmed around my dick hit me between the eyes; that didn’t help with my promise to stay mad at her.

  “I was not. I was only being honest,” she hissed, giving a cautionary glance over to where her Mom was talking to Darcy just a few paces away.

  “Yeah, well there’s being honest and there’s being a bitch, and I think you were the latter.”

  And yep, snarky Ellie was back in the room. Hands went to her hips and nostrils flared as she leaned into my space.

  “You tell me that isn’t what would happen,” she snapped. “That you wouldn’t hurt me.”

  “Well, I guess we’ll never know now, will we?” Like a dick, I patted her on the head and walked away and I could practically hear the steam coming from her ears with each step I took.

  To play Cards Against Humanity was not what I considered the best activity. Not in my opinion, as someone who was fucking mad with the sassy little miss who was sitting next to me. At least it gave me an opportunity to be a dick to her; and I had, whenever possible.

  “During sex,” Ellie read from the card. “I like to think of blank.”

  I had the perfect fucking card for her, and I was so damn glad I’d held onto it for most of the game. I’d been waiting for the ideal moment and this was it.

  Ellie read out the first card. “A bag of magic beans.”

  No one really reacted, except for Austen, Bronte’s youngest brother who sighed and looked at Ellie like magic beans were the worst kind of thing he could have put in front of her.

  She then picked up another card. “Dory, the lesbian fish.”

  Everyone laughed and Bronte bounced up and down in her chair giving it away that it was her card.

  “Good one, sis,” Shaw, the eldest of Bronte’s brothers said before he took a long swig of his beer.

  Ellie picked up the next card and rolled her eyes. “My future husband.”

  “Sorry lame I know,” Shaw replied with a grimace.

  “Okay, next one.” Ellie grinned and picked up the next card. “Oh nice.”

  Her eyes immediately went to me and then back to the card.

  “Hurry the fuck up and tell us,” Carter said irritably. “The game starts in an hour.”

  “Alright, impatient some.” She cleared her throat. “A big sloppy blow job from a mean and tired cowboy.”

  Everyone laughed, well everyone except Austen who at fourteen probably shouldn’t have been playing, but all the fucking ‘grown-ups’ were out on the patio getting drunk on pear wine and JD, so what did they expect but for us to lead the kid astray.

  “Oh my God,” Bronte sa
id around a laugh. “That’s hilarious.”

  “It’s not that funny,” Ellie replied, glancing at me as she picked up the final card. “Okay, so during sex I like to think of a web of lies.”

  “What the hell is that?” I said, totally bemused. “It’s supposed to be funny.”

  “It is,” Carter replied a little sulkily. “Anyway, it’s all I had left.”

  “I don’t understand the question.” Austen sighed and scratched his head.

  “You’re not supposed to squirt.” Shaw rubbed his head. “And don’t tell Mom and Dad I let you play. I vote that Bronte’s lesbian fish wins that one.”

  “Yeah me too.” Ellie gave me a sarcastic smile, like I gave a shit I hadn’t won the round.

  “Okay,” Carter said as he dragged all the cards toward him. “What shall we do now? I vote drink beer and have some guy talk about the game.”

  He stared at Bronte who flipped him off.

  “No. It’s Thanksgiving, we should stay together,” Austen said giving moon eyes at Ellie. “Hunter, Ellie, think of something to do.”

  Ellie and I shrugged, but a wicked gleam came over Bronte’s face.

  “Let’s get the folks back in and play Sardines.”

  Ellie’s mouth dropped open. She knew and so did I why Bronte wanted to play Sardines, and with all the parents.

  “I don’t think so,” Ellie said as she pushed up from the table. “We have American Trivia, let’s play that.”

  “No,” Austen replied his eyes shining excitedly. “I think Sardines is better. Shaw, you prefer Sardines, don’t you?”

  Shaw smiled at his brother and shook his head. “I’ve got a call to make, squirt. I’m gonna do that before the game.”

  Austen groaned. “He has a girl.”

  “Yeah?” I slapped Shaw’s back. “Something serious, buddy?”