“I do think you’d be allowed to answer this,” I began. “When this is turned over to my lawyer, will she go to jail?”
“Yes,” said Arch. “Most likely.”
Gray pushed forward and pulled me into a hug. “Relax, gorgeous. It’s become a night to celebrate. Before we go upstairs and dance our pants off, perhaps you have something you want to e-mail so it’s saved on more than one server? In case something happened to your phone.”
“Oh!” I gasped. “Great idea.” I grabbed my phone from Todd and e-mailed the video to Todd, Rick, and myself. That way if something did happen, it would be saved on three different servers.
“Let’s go celebrate!” I chirped.
Chapter Fourteen
Champagne and laughter filled my evening. I passed out the rest of my envelopes and pictured my father’s smile every time I tucked one into someone’s hand. I was called up to the small stage to give a speech—luckily, before drinking too much champagne.
“Good evening, all. I had no idea I’d be asked to give a speech tonight. Forgive me for doing this off the cuff.” I took a sip of my drink and clutched the podium nervously. “I’ve known many of you since I was a small child, running around these offices.” There were a few faces in the crowd I’d known since birth. I pointed to a few of them. “Several of you were with my family before we even bought this building. Remember the tiny office across town?” Heads nodded along with me, and a number of people laughed.
“My family built this company, but they didn’t do it alone. Each one of you had a hand—some of you a large hand—in our success. I don’t know how to thank you for it, but I’ll find a way. I’m incredibly proud of what this company has become and of the people we work with.” I raised my glass to the room. “May your holidays be wonderful. I hope Santa is good to you all this year.” I sipped my champagne, and the room sipped theirs before breaking into applause.
I stepped down from the podium to many handshakes, hugs, and condolences. It was heartening to hear many people whispering encouragement—they wanted me to win the lawsuit. Barely stopping myself from shouting my news, I smiled and thanked them.
The party began winding down at ten. I’d been circling the room with one or another of my friends all evening. I gestured to all of them to join me, and we began working our way out of the room. Raquel had the same idea. We met up with her outside the doorway. I held out my hand. “After you.” I smiled my sincerest, sweetest smile. “I hope you have a wonderful evening, Raquel.” She narrowed her eyes at me in suspicion, but never said a word. I hoped she enjoyed herself. It would be her last fun night for many years to come.
She stopped and turned to me. Her face was nearly green, and she looked like she’d swallowed a lemon. “Ellie,” she said softly.
I glared at her, disgusted. “What?” I fought to keep the smile off my face.
Her eyes darted around us and lingered on my friends. “Can I ask you something privately?” she whispered.
“No.” No quarter for that bitch.
“It’s Mitch. He told me what happened at your apartment, and I… he needs help.” I’d never seen her look so vulnerable.
“Of course he needs help, Raquel. He’s sick.” I couldn’t find sympathy.
“He won’t get any help in jail. You have to know that.” Her expression pleaded, desperate. I nodded my head. “If I forcibly check him into a psychiatric facility he can’t voluntarily check himself out of, would you drop the charges?” She grabbed my arm. “Please.”
I studied her, broken down and desperate, and considered what I had on my phone. She’d be in jail soon enough. There was no help available for her. But Mitch, he seemed to be out of his mind. “If my lawyers are satisfied he can’t check himself out and he’s in a good place, I’ll drop the charges.”
Her shoulders slumped in relief. “Thank you, Ellie. I don’t want my son to spend years in jail over something you did to him when you were teenagers.”
My sympathy evaporated and my heart turned to ice. I plastered a sunny smile on my face. “Goodnight, Raquel.” I wouldn’t ever have to hear her voice again. Soon.
The ride home was quiet until we neared the building. “Ellie,” Arch said. “Are you tired? Could we come over? We’d like to talk to you.” Todd chuckled softly and winked at me.
“I’m wired. I’d love your company.” What could they possibly want to talk about? Maybe they’d decided for me. One of them wanted to go further, and the other two didn’t. Maybe none of them did.
“Great,” replied Gray as we pulled into the garage. Wes tipped the driver and sent him on his way. Their cars were parked next to Arch’s. “We may crash on your couches tonight.”
It was fine with me if they stayed close. I’d begun to crave their companionship, and the last talk with Raquel about Mitch had me unnerved again.
I slipped off my heels when we reached the carpeted interior of the building. The elevator ride to Todd’s floor was quick. He hugged me and whispered in my ear. “Get ‘em, tiger.”
My face flushed bright red as he and Rick headed to their apartment and we continued upstairs. I unlocked my apartment with a nervous stomach, beginning to imagine less savory conversations.
Once inside, I offered drinks. “I don’t think we should drink anymore,” said Wes. “We’ve pretty clear heads right now and some serious stuff to talk about.”
“Serious?” My nervous stomach started rolling. They’d decided it wasn’t worth fooling with me anymore and were going to go their separate ways. What else could it be?
“Yeah. Lots to talk about.” Arch sat on the couch. “Come sit.” Full of apprehension, I joined him. “We want to tell you about our families.” Gray sat beside me, and Wes sat on the coffee table, facing me.
Their families—not at all what I expected. “Okay.” I could handle that. “Why’s it a serious conversation? I know a little bit. They live in Atlanta on a farm they run together. The farm has become a popular, lucrative place.”
“There’s more to it than that,” said Wes. “It’s a little hard to explain.” Wes stared wide-eyed at Gray.
“We don’t have traditional parents.” Gray’s voice hesitated. He was scared to tell me something.
I didn’t understand what the big deal was. “Okay. They’re not married, or they’re gay or something? I’m pretty open minded.”
“Not exactly.” Arch looked at the others before turning to me, like he drew strength from his friends. “Ellie, our parents are polyamorous.”
“Poly…? Like, sister wives?”
“Nothing as dramatic as what you see on TV or read online, but yes. They’re in a relationship with more than two people.” Gray held his breath after his explanation.
“Okay. Like a triad?”
“My parents are a triad, yes,” said Arch patiently. “I have two dads and a mom.”
“But, who’s your biological dad?” The concept was foreign to me. I’d heard of it before, of course, but I’d never met someone in such an unconventional relationship.
“Now that I’m an adult I know whose sperm made me, but I didn’t until I was eighteen. Until I got curious, it never mattered. I was showered in love, which was all that mattered.”
“Okay.” It was a lot to swallow, but it made sense. “Gray. You said you have nine brothers and sisters?”
“Yes, Hermosa. I have three moms and one dad.” He closed his eyes. He was scared of my reaction.
“That’s definitely a new one for me. Did you know who your birth mother was?”
“Yes, but I called them all some version of Mom. They were all my parents, and like Wes and Arch, there was no shortage of love in our home.”
“My family is the hardest to swallow, Ellie,” said Wes.
“Lay it on me.” I took the news pretty stoically. It was definitely a whole new ballgame.
“I have four dads and two moms.” His blue eyes were wide and pleading. His face clearly begged me to accept him and not judge him.
“We’ve told few people about our families,” Arch said.
Wes took a deep breath. “I was in a pretty serious relationship about three years ago. We lived together, and I asked her to marry me. A month before the wedding, I broke down and told her about our parents. It started a rift and eventually broke us up.”
“Why in the world would your parents’ relationships have anything to do with your relationship with her?” It made no sense. They were in a monogamous relationship, unrelated to his parents. “That would be like blaming someone if their parents got divorced.”
“It was pretty messed up.” Arch ran his fingers through his short hair. It ended up going in thirteen different directions. He was cute when stressed.
Gray twirled his hair around his fingers. All three of them messed with their hair when upset. “With the exception of Penny, we’d told a few girlfriends along the way, and it ended badly. None of them handled it well. Penny knew all along.”
“We learned early to hide it from friends. Eventually, we stopped trying to make close friends outside of the three of us. Our partners at the firm don’t even know about our family dynamics.” Wes ran his fingers through his hair as well, making it frizz a little.
“I know you lived in the south, but it seems like people wouldn’t hold your parents’ decisions against you.” I hoped we’d progressed beyond that level of judgment.
“It wasn’t the south.” Wes’s voice was dejected. “Back then, if we took a vacation and anyone figured out what sort of relationship our parents were in, they gave dirty looks, said rude things under their breath, and sometimes got a little physical. It happened wherever we went.”
My heart hurt for them. They were children and had to learn how cruel the world could be. “I’m sorry you experienced the worst in people so early in life.”
“Yeah, well… With all that in mind, how do you feel about dating us?” Arch’s voice was so soft I could barely hear him.
“It doesn’t change anything. If and who I date, it won’t matter what sort of relationship your parents are in.” I contemplated the three men who turned my life upside down. They helped me find confidence in myself and believe I could run a multi-million dollar company. I felt beautiful, inside and out, every time I was around them.
They couldn’t have appeared more different, yet they were brothers, in every sense of the word except biological. I studied Arch with his mussed hair, hazel eyes, and overprotective nature. He was miserable behind his pronounced five o’clock shadow. He watched me stare at him. His eyes implored me, but I didn’t know the question. I wouldn’t reject them, not as a whole, but at some point, I’d be forced to choose.
I moved my gaze to Gray. Romantic, sensual Gray. He held a strand of his long hair in front of his face, studying the ends. He caught me staring at him and met my gaze with a challenge. His light brown eyes, like cognac, were scared, even as his whiskered chin lifted in defiance.
Wes was the last to get my scrutiny. He stared at the floor, his shaggy hair mostly blocking his face as it hung down around him. His shoulders slumped. I was pretty sure he already admitted defeat. He figured I’d reject them based on their parents’ decisions.
The idea of the three of them walking out of my apartment and never coming back made my chest ache. Tears sprang to my eyes. “Stop looking sad,” I demanded.
Wes’s face came up, surprise written all over it. “What do you mean?”
“Our problem isn’t me accepting your family. I accept them. They aren’t you. Our problem is you all have feelings for me, don’t you?” Three nods. “I have feelings for all three of you. What’re we supposed to do? I don’t think I can choose one of you! And if I did, what would it do to the other two of you?” My heart was torn. I couldn’t come up with one thing to elevate one above another and make the decision easier.
“We hoped you’d come to this on your own, but we want you to be in a relationship with us.” Arch turned those pleading eyes on me.
I stared at them blankly. “I know. That’s what we’ve been talking about.” My mind went a little fuzzy. I tried to understand what they meant, but I couldn’t process it.
Gray took my hand and turned it palm up. He traced the lines as he spoke. “Hermosa, we want to date you. Us.” He pointed to himself, then Arch and Wes. “All of us. Dating you.”
Blinking repeatedly, my brain finally connected. Lightning exploded through my eyes, relief flooded my belly. Warmth spread across my heart, and my chest stopped hurting. The stress I carried since I realized I had feelings for all three of them evaporated. I finally understood what people meant when they said a weight lifted off their shoulders.
I realized I hadn’t spoken for several long seconds. Their expressions turned to bitter disappointment while I contemplated how amazing it could be to date all three of them. “No! No sadness! This is fantastic!” I threw my arms out, light as a feather. My company would be mine, and my guys would, too!
“Fantastic?” Hope blossomed on Arch’s face. Wes gripped the edge of the coffee table. Gray tugged on a chunk of his hair. “You’re happy about it?”
“Yes! Oh, sure, there will be issues. Jealousy, timing, families—I mean, where do we go for holidays? Do your families holiday together? Who sleeps where? Ugh, jealousy. But, for now, it doesn’t matter.” Even though they’d grown up in unconventional families, they’d never been in a relationship like their parents before. There were bound to be speed bumps in the road.
“Logistics like those kind of work themselves out.” Wes grinned his breathtaking smile at me, pearly teeth flashing.
“We did learn a thing or two from our parents’ mistakes, too,” said Arch.
“And I’m sure they’ll be able to give us advice,” added Gray.
“I don’t want to discuss big stuff yet. No kids talk, or marriage talk, or anything like that. We’re getting to know each other.” The heavy stuff could wait. We were still young. We had time to get to know one another.
“Are we going to do this? You’re going to be our girlfriend?” Gray practically vibrated with excitement.
“I am. I’d be honored to be your girlfriend.” I tried to take in all of them at once. With huge smiles pasted on their faces, they all lunged at me. Soon I had three muscular men piled on me. “Uncle! Uncle! I give!” They hugged, kissed my cheeks, and tickled me into submission. “You win!”
One by one they climbed off the couch, kissing my cheeks as they passed. I wanted to jump up and down, excited about the prospect of our future together. I got to keep all three of the men I’d grown to care for. It could be difficult, but if it continued being as rewarding as the past month had been, it would be worth every second spent together.
About the Author
L.A. Boruff lives in East Tennessee with her husband, three children, and an ever growing number of cats. She loves reading, watching TV, and procrastinating by browsing Facebook. L.A.’s passions include vampires, food, and listening to heavy metal music. She once won a Harry Potter trivia contest based on the books, and lost one based on the movies. She has two bands on her bucket list that she still hasn’t seen: AC/DC and Alice Cooper. Feel free to send tickets.
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PRESERVATION
Preservation
In the Time of Ruin Book 1
LA Kirk
The world is dying and Bailey’s mom is more concerned about maintaining their social standing than about the people starving in their town. Then a night out with her best friends, Kace, Ryker, and Devon, shows Bailey there's still a chance at happiness if she's brave enough to take the risk.
PRESERVATION
COVEY PUBLISHING, LLC
Published by Co
vey Publishing, LLC
PO Box 550219, Gastonia, NC 28055-0219
Copyright © 2017 by LA Kirk
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the writer, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover Design Copyright © 2017 Covey
Book Design by Covey, www.coveypublishing.com
Copy Editing by Covey Publishing, LLC
Printed in the United States of America.
First Printing, 2017
Also by LA Kirk
Divinity Saga: Meg's Story
Heart of Five: Reverse Harem Serial: Part One
The Trust of Five: Reverse Harem Serial: Part Two
The Protection of Five: Reverse Harem Serial: Part Three
Harper’s Destiny
Feathers That Bind
In the Time of Ruin
Preservation
Table of Contents
Shopping
Preparation
Falling For Them Volume 2: Reverse Harem Collection Page 52
