by Kim Fox
“There’s two of them,” I say with a mischievous grin. “Get them to do it for two months.”
“I knew I liked you,” Abigail says with a nod and a smile. “Which one do you want to date first?”
“First?” I glance over at them, trying to decide. I’m excited to get to know Ronin better, but I’m also excited to see what Tito has in store for our date.
“I don’t know,” I finally say, waving my hand at her. “Let them decide and then let me know. Tito has my card.”
“You’re not going to regret this,” Abigail says as I open my car door.
“I think I already have.”
The boys start to walk back over as I start the car, but I’m too shy to see them both at the same time. I’d much rather get to know them individually so I throw the car into reverse and back away.
“Bye, Zoe,” they both call out at the same time.
I stop the car and look at them through the open window. “Ronin. Nipples. Abigail. I’ll be seeing you around.”
The three of them grin as I put the car in drive and leave the ranch, wondering if I’ve made a big mistake.
“I thought you were going to deliver a cow,” Sophie says, looking confused. “How did you get two dates?”
“I’m still trying to figure that out,” I say with a sigh as I plop down in my chair.
“Well, figure it out and then please tell me how you did it,” she says, staring at me in awe. “I haven’t had a date in a month.”
“Try two years,” I say with a frustrated groan.
“Has it been that long?”
“It’s felt even longer.”
The past two years have been a whirlwind of work. First, my father got sick and I had to help him while he was going through chemo as well as make sure his business stayed afloat. This office was a mess of papers, old prescriptions, and unfilled income taxes. My father was a brilliant veterinarian but could have used some improvement with his organizational abilities.
After he died, I took over for good and hired Sophie as my administrative assistant and secretary. For the past year and a half, we’ve been trying to make sense of this mess. It’s like he had all of his files stacked on a desk and then a tornado passed through the room. That’s how I inherited the office.
On top of that, I’ve had to keep up with all of his patients—most of them not too happy that a fresh-out-of-university doctor was now treating their farm animals. Slowly, I’ve been winning them over one by one when they see the work I do.
I love animals and I’m damn good at fixing them. They can say what they want about my lack of experience or my lack of penis, but they can’t deny that I’m good at what I do.
“But how did you get two dates if you only went to one ranch?” Sophie asks, looking at me funny. “Did you stop somewhere else?”
Oh crap. I can feel my cheeks heating up again.
“No,” I say, suddenly interested in the paper on my desk. It’s a prescription for 100 grams of Bovine Coronavirus-Escherichia Coli Antibody. From 1982. Why would my father keep this?
I crumple it up and toss it into the recycling bin as Sophie narrows her eyes on me, staring at me in confusion.
“These guys are on the same ranch?” she asks.
“Yup,” I nod, pretending like this is no big deal.
“Look at you,” she says with a wide grin. “Double dipping on the same ranch. Aren’t you worried that they’re going to fight over you?”
My chest gets tight as I look at her. I didn’t even think about that. Tito and Ronin are brothers. Not only that, but twin brothers. What is going to happen to their relationship when I pick one over the other?
“Are they friends?” she asks.
“Not really friends,” I say, wishing I had taken the long way home.
“Well, that makes it a bit better,” she says. “At least they won’t break up a friendship when you eventually dump one of them.”
“Yeah,” I say, feeling the color start to drain from my face.
“Are you okay?” she says, looking concerned. “You look like you just stepped off a ship that went through a sea storm.”
Because that’s how I feel. How can I break up two brothers?
“They’re not friends,” I say, sounding out each word slowly. “They’re brothers.”
“Brothers?!?” she says with a surprised laugh. “Wow, Zoe. I didn’t think you had it in you! I’m impressed!”
“Stop it,” I say, feeling awful. “They’re twin brothers on top of it.”
Sophie’s head drops forward and it lands with a thud on her desk. Her shoulders are shaking as she laughs. “Twin brothers?” she says when she leans back up with a Post-It note stuck to her forehead. “You’re going on a date with twin brothers?”
“Is that bad?” I ask as I nervously bite my fingernail.
“No,” she says with her eyes bulging. “That’s amazing! Are they hot?”
“Gorgeous.”
I can’t get the image of Tito’s hard abs out of my mind or the way that Ronin smiles so sweetly.
“I’m officially jealous of you,” Sophie says. “Like really really jealous.”
“Well, maybe I’ll introduce you to the one I dump,” I say, feeling my insides sink. I have no idea which one that will be. Absolutely no clue.
But I guess I’ll find out soon enough.
“Please do,” Sophie says with an enthusiastic nod. “I’ll take any leftovers you have.”
This girl makes me laugh. I can always count on her for that.
“What are you going to wear?”
“I didn’t even think about that,” I answer as panic starts to rise inside me. All I’ve been doing is working for the past two years. Every piece of clothing in my closet has animal blood, puke, or dirt stains on it, except for a Princess Leia Halloween costume.
Sophie grins. “Should we blow off the rest of the afternoon and go shopping?”
We have so much work to do, but I do need some clothes. Like desperately need some clothes, and although I’m sure they’d be thrilled to see me in my Princess Leia slave bikini, I’m not about to show up at a restaurant wearing that. I’ll save that for after ;)
“All right,” I say, grabbing my keys. “Let’s go get some clothes that don’t have dog puke all over them.”
Sophie grins as she slams down her laptop. “Let’s go slut you up,” she says as she jumps to her feet with an excited smile on her face, “so you can kiss that cold streak goodbye.”
That would be nice. I’m just worried Tito and Ronin might kiss their relationship goodbye because of it.
Four
Tito
“Why should you get to go first?” I feel an angry heat flushing through my body as I stare at my twin. It’s like staring at my own reflection, if I wanted to punch my reflection in the nose.
“I saw her first,” Ronin says.
“No, you didn’t. We both saw her at the same time. I was standing right beside you.”
“Dibs!” he shouts. “I called dibs first.”
I can feel my nostrils flaring as he shrugs and walks away.
“Guys,” I say to the crew who are all hanging around the campfire. We just finished dinner and are getting our drink on. “What do you guys think?”
“I think this is a bad idea,” Lachlan says.
“Agreed,” Kneecap says, chiming in.
“How can this be a bad idea?” Ronin asks. “She’s absolutely perfect. She’s going to be the one. I can feel it.”
“Twin shifters are supposed to be in a triad,” Lachlan says as he stabs a marshmallow with a stick. “You’re supposed to be doing this together. Not apart.”
“Well, she didn’t want to date us together.” My voice is tight with frustration.
“Yeah,” Ronin says with a huff of breath. “What else were we supposed to do?”
My jaw is clenched because of my brother, but I totally agree with him. We had to go out with Zoe any way we could. If it has to be se
parate, then that’s how it’s going to be.
“You could have convinced her to go out with both of you,” Lachlan says as he hovers his marshmallow over the fire. “You’re both good looking. Sort of. It couldn’t have been that hard.”
“Hey!” Abigail says in a fierce voice. “I tried everything! That chick would not date two dudes.”
“Don’t listen to them, Abigail,” I say, smiling at her. “You did an amazing job!”
She smiles back. “No problem. Just don’t forget that I like my clothes washed according to colors and folded neatly.”
I groan as I look at her.
“And if you could sweep out our cabin by lunch tomorrow,” she says, “that would be great.”
Now I know how she negotiated a date out of Abigail. The same way she negotiated for Ronin and I to do all of her chores for two months. It was the only way she would tell us what Zoe had said.
“And I like my underwear washed by hand and ironed after,” Caleb adds with a grin.
“Nice try.” I shoot him a warning look. “The deal was with her only.”
“But you’re already going to be there doing hers,” Caleb complains. “Just throw mine in the wash too.”
I glare at him with a serious expression. “The day I wash your dirty underwear is the day I shove my head in the washing machine and drown myself.”
“Don’t do that,” Abigail says, looking horrified.
I smile at her. “Leave it to the lifeguard to save me from drowning.”
“No, I don’t care about that,” she says. “I don’t want your ghost to haunt my clothes.”
Everyone laughs as I shake my head. “You’re fitting in a little too well, Abigail.”
She raises her beer and winks at me.
“So, it’s settled,” Ronin says as he sits down in one of the empty chairs. “I’ll go first.”
“It’s not settled,” I say, feeling a rush of panic. “We didn’t settle anything.”
I can’t go after Ronin. He’ll set up a perfect date with every detail flawlessly thought through and organized. The meal will be exquisite, the atmosphere impeccable. By the time he finishes his romantic evening, Zoe will be completely in love with him and won’t even want to go out with me.
She’ll like him more and my date—if I even get one—will just seem like a disappointment. I don’t have the soft, gentleness that Ronin has. We’ll probably be bickering the entire time like we did last time and she’ll see that Ronin is the safer choice and choose him.
“What do you guys think?” Ronin asks.
I look around the campfire at all of the disinterested faces. Lachlan frowns as his marshmallow goes up in flames, Kneecap adjusts his loincloth as he spreads his legs—aww gross, I just saw a ball, and Nora is already chatting with Jessie about something else.
“We should get our alpha to settle this,” I say, looking around. “Where is Maximus?”
The mood gets tense as everyone glances at Maximus’ cabin. The lights are off and the place looks deserted, although we all know that he’s inside.
He hasn’t been doing too well lately, ever since Mastiff and his Hell’s Howlers came strolling by. The alpha of the crew, Mastiff, told him that the old number two of the crew, Bledsoe is looking for his old girlfriend Kennedy.
I don’t know Bledsoe or Kennedy—Ronin and I came into the crew long after both of them were gone—but I feel for Maximus. He’s been looking so torn up over it.
He doesn’t look the same. He looks scruffy and disheveled like he hasn’t eaten or slept in days. He barely leaves his cabin and when he does, he just stumbles around the ranch mumbling to himself. It’s not good.
“Maximus is in no condition to choose,” Lachlan says as he reaches into the marshmallow bag and pulls another one out. “I’m in charge whenever he’s away. I’ll decide.”
“Fine,” I say after a deep breath. “You should decide, Lachlan. You are the smartest, strongest and best looking one of us after all.”
Lachlan lowers his head and looks at me with a grin. “Are you finished?”
“And you smell so good,” I add. “Like a sandy beach after a summer rain.”
He laughs. “As replacement alpha, I hereby conclude that we’re going to go with the rule of dibs.”
“Yes!” Ronin says, pumping his fist.
My stomach drops.
“Ronin said dibs first,” Lachlan says as he heartlessly stabs another marshmallow. “He’s the first one who gets to ask the hot doctor out.”
“You don’t smell good,” I say, glaring at him. “I take it back. You smell like the inside of Kneecap’s loincloth after a hot day in July.”
Ronin is walking over with his hand open. “Hand it over.”
I let out a deep sigh as I reach into my pocket and pull out Zoe’s business card. I give it a kiss and then place it in his palm.
“Thank you,” he says, immediately stuffing it into his pocket. “Don’t worry, I’ll treat her right.”
That’s what I’m afraid of.
I slump down into a chair and Kneecap opens the cooler and throws me a beer. “Cheer up,” he says. “If it’s meant to be, it will all work out.”
I catch the beer with a sigh. I know that if it’s meant to be she’ll like us both equally. I just want her to like me a little more equally.
Unless… their date doesn’t go so perfectly.
It’s a thought I shouldn’t be having, but I can’t help myself. Maybe a little sabotage will turn Mr. Perfect into Mr. Adequate.
I’m sitting there grinning like a madman with my mind racing when the door to Maximus’ cabin opens.
“Why don’t you come and join us?” Lachlan calls out. “We miss you, Max.”
Maximus walks over through the darkness and I’m relieved to see that he’s freshly showered and dressed in jeans and a button-up shirt. He even got the buttons lined up this time.
Then, I see what’s in his hand. A duffel bag.
“Going somewhere, boss?” Kneecap asks with a nervous edge to his voice when he sees the bag too.
Maximus stands in front of us and sighs. “I have to go.”
Lachlan jumps to his feet. “I’ll go with you.”
“No,” my alpha says, motioning for him to sit back down. Lachlan reluctantly does. “I want to do this myself.”
“Do what?” Caleb asks, looking unsure.
“I’m going to look for Bledsoe,” Maximus says. “I should have finished him a long time ago when I had the chance.”
We all take a deep breath and stare at him in silence. He looks so big and imposing standing in front of the fire with the orange glow and dark shadows dancing on his face.
I’ve always thought that Maximus was a good alpha. Fair. Honorable. Strong. I’ve always liked him and thought that it was an honor to be a part of his crew.
The Grisly Grizzlies has been my home for the past four years and I love these guys like family. I’d die for them like I know they’d die for me.
So, it kills me to see Maximus in so much pain. I’ve heard the stories from Lachlan about the old crew and how Bledsoe turned against him and hurt the girl that he loved. He blames himself for letting it all happen. I can’t imagine living with that kind of guilt. I know I would hate myself if something bad happened to Zoe and I thought it was my fault.
“Take us with you, boss,” Kneecap says. “What about Rigs and Colton? And any other assholes he might have recruited?” His huge jaw clenches as he squeezes his hands into fists. “I would love to get my hands on those two clowns again.”
I don’t know who Rigs and Colton are, but I already feel sick to my stomach for them. I wouldn’t want those big hands on me.
Maximus shakes his head. “This is something I have to do on my own.”
“Why?” Lachlan asks. “We’re a crew. We should fight together.”
“Yeah,” Caleb says. Ronin and I are nodding along. Date or not, this is something we should be doing together.
As much
as it would break my heart to cancel the date with Zoe, I would do it for Maximus.
“It was my responsibility that the crew fell apart,” Maximus says with a longing gaze. “It’s my responsibility to fix it. To clean up the mess that I created.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Lachlan says, sounding outraged. “Bledsoe was always a fucking piece of—”
“It’s okay, Lachlan,” Maximus says, shutting him up with a raised hand. “One day you might be the alpha of your own crew and then you’ll understand. This is on me. It was on me that it happened, and now it’s on me to make things right.”
He takes a deep breath as he looks around the fire at all of the sad faces. “I’m so proud of you all,” he says with a bittersweet smile. “I don’t know when I’m going to be back.”
“You’ll call us if you need some backup?” Kneecap asks.
Maximus nods. “I’ll keep the famous Kneecap on speed dial.”
“Make sure you put his number in your phone as Gary Halbert,” I say with a grin. I can never pass up an opportunity to remind everyone what Kneecap’s real name is.
Maximus chuckles and turns to me. “And I’ll call you if I need a sarcastic mouth.”
“I’ll be there in a second.” The laughter is gone. I mean it. If he needs me, I’ll be there.
“Okay,” he says, taking a deep breath as he throws his bag strap over his shoulder. “Lachlan is in charge. I’m leaving now.”
“How do you know where to go?” Ronin asks.
“I don’t,” he says. “But Mastiff said that Bledsoe was last seen in a bar in Colwood. I’ll drive down there and ask around. Maybe I’ll get lucky and someone will know something.”
We all give him a hug and wish him good luck. After a few more minutes of pleading for him to take us too and him saying no, he’s in the old pickup truck and rolling out of the ranch.
My stomach is in knots as I watch him go, worried that I’ll never see him again.
“Hi Zoe, it’s me. Ronin.”
My body freezes when I hear the words through the open window. I’m outside and can hear Ronin in the cabin, talking into the phone. A sharp pain shoots through my jaw and I realize it’s from clenching my teeth so hard.
