Unlucky [Lucky, Montana 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Beverly Price

  The sweet melody of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D Major” played, and the bridal party floated down the aisle. She noticed that some of the men looked like Cash and Cooper, making her realize that they had to be brothers that Sam had told her about before. A sweet-looking woman with the same brown-colored hair as the men glided forward. She had amazing aura about her. She had to be the younger sister. Piper was overwhelmed with the knowledge of how many people were in one family. That was always something she longed for. A large family, as she had none.

  Sam followed an adorable little girl who sprinkled rose petals as she walked to the front. Sam looked amazing. She wore a soft-pink gown that clung to her body like it was made just for her. Sam’s hair was pulled into a soft side ponytail with curls outlined with pink roses. Riley soon started down the aisle as well. Her white dress was strapless with a cascade of lace, the silhouette showing off her lovely figure, and she looked ethereal. Her hair was piled half-up and held a soft veil that framed her face with a halo of flowers. She was a vision in white. Piper had never seen someone so breathtakingly beautiful before. Riley was radiant with a smile that could be seen for days. Piper turned to see what could put a smile like that on a bride’s face, and she saw Riley looking at her men. They both were smiling, and it looked like there was a single tear running down Cooper’s face. Cash looked like he couldn’t breathe, but the connection between them was overwhelming, and there could be no doubt that they would always be together. Riley finally reached the tree where her men were and grabbed a hand of both men.

  The thing that stood out to her was the fact a woman stood at the front of the trio beaming with pride. She raised her hands, and everything went silent.

  “Thank you all for coming today. As you know, Lucky is not like normal communities or towns. We pride ourselves on the love and family that surrounds us, creating a circle. Without this, a person is not complete. Today I have the honor of completing a circle that will make this family. My sons, Cooper and Cassius Jackson will be taking Riley Connor into their family to complete their circle in which their children will be encased. A family circle works like all marriages, except it has a deeper understanding of love and trust. If one person should stray, then the circle cannot remain.” The woman looked down at the trio before speaking again. “Today, these three will be joined not only by the eyes of the law, but with the heart of each other’s spirits. Each person will say their vow to one another, and the circle will be complete.” She turned toward Cooper next. “You can start your circle now.” And with those words, she took a step back.

  Cooper took Riley’s hand and smiled at her. “Riley, I cannot express the correct words for the way I feel about you. I have found something that can only be described as magical. Your smile lights a fire within my heart, and I would be truly lost without you. I will treasure you for all the days of my life, and after. I love you so much, darlin’, that I am truly blessed without measure to be your husband and the father of our child.” Cooper turned to Cash. “Cash, you are my brother, the other part of me. We have been partners in life, and now in love. I promise that I will do my best to keep you by my side while we care and love our wife and children. With these words, I start our circle.” Piper could feel the tears rolling down her face as the heartfelt words were spoken.

  Cash was next to speak. “Kitten, I was never one with words, but I will do everything in my power to prove and show you how much I love you each and every day. You have brought the dark out of me and allowed me to live and love again. I will cherish you and our children until my last breath, and even thereafter. I love you so much, kitten, that I will do anything to see you smile.” Cash leaned over and planted a small kiss on his soon-to-be wife. Turning, he addressed Cooper. “Coop, man, no words can say how grateful I am that you stopped and helped someone in need. You have shown me that anything is possible as long as you have faith. I promise that I will do everything I need to do to help with our wife and children. I can’t do this with anyone but you and Riley. With these words, I open our circle.”

  Riley was the next to speak. She took a deep breath and faced Cooper first. “Cooper, I feel so cherished and loved when I am with you. You have shown me trust and love in way I never thought was possible. I was lost, and you, my wonderful husband, have found me. I love you and am truly the lucky one to marry you and have your children.” Riley reached up and kissed Cooper on the lips so sweetly that it was evidence of their love. Once she released Cooper, she turned to Cash. “Cash, you saved me. You are the one who is so strong, and your trust in me allowed me to open my heart to you and Cooper. I may have been lost and Cooper found me, but you kept me and proved that I was worth your love. I love you so much, Cash, and I promise you that I will do everything in my power to prove this to you every day. With these words, I close our circle.” And she grabbed Cash in a heart-stopping kiss.

  Piper looked around the area and saw almost everyone had tears in their eyes and wonder on their faces. The power of words was evident in this town as the woman who spoke first came back up and addressed everyone. “The circle of their family is complete. Love is never-ending, and the circle of life will fill their house and heart. May their love stay strong and be shared within their home and family. With these words, I share their circle for others to look upon and bless them for all the days of their lives.” Shouting and whooping went on as each man grabbed Riley in a deep and passionate kiss before walking down the aisle hand in hand.

  Piper sat there in awe, as she had never been to a marriage ceremony like this. The passion and love was almost palatable through the crowd of people. Could love actually be like that? She had often written about love, and seen it many times, but never like this and this strong. It provided Piper with such hope for her future. Maybe one day she, too, could find love and a family she longed for and craved.

  People started to gather under the tent where the food was served buffet style, and she laughed when she saw the various items. Her favorite of all was the candy bar. It held various candies from chocolates to hard candies. Seats were assigned, and she wondered, since she was a last-minute invite, if she would be there. Sure enough she found her table and laughed when she saw Milo’s name next to hers. Taking her seat, she admired the table setting. The theme continued with the candles in the mason jars of various sizes, and there were small bags of chocolate kisses at each place setting as party favors. It was cute. The simplicity of the wedding was done perfectly. The right touches did not overwhelm the space.

  She was not in the mood to sit, so she got up and started to walk around to see if she could spot Sam. Her heart started to race when she looked up and saw Milo from a distance. He looked so yummy in his blue dress shirt with one button undone at the top and a loosened tie. His black slacks fit his lower half with such perfection. She could feel herself getting wetter as she watched him laugh with a friend, holding a beer in his hand. He was so beautiful that it made it hard to look away. She had to rub her legs together to try and take some of the ache away from her throbbing pussy. He suddenly turned and stared right at her. She was so spellbound that she was unaware of others around her until someone carrying in a drink tray ran right into her, knocking her down and spilling various drinks everywhere. Piper was officially mortified as she noticed she was covered in drinks and lying sprawled out on the ground.

  * * * *

  Milo was never one for weddings, as happy endings were not big to him anymore. He was a love-and-leave type of guy after Jessie. He liked to play at various clubs with a sub, but never considered anyone full time. He had spoken to Ryan who owned the club Hidden Gem in the city. He would have to find time to go and play to relieve some stress. He was speaking with Wes and Grady when he felt someone’s eyes on him. Turning, he saw her. Piper looked like a movie star. She was always a clunky kid from his memories. She was awkward and shy, but now she was fully grown, and her beauty was hidden beneath a shy girl. She was wearing a plum dress that hugged her bountiful breasts and her slim s
tomach and showed her incredible legs. It was the first time he had seen her in heels. He would love to see what those heels looked like around his head as he pounded his cock into her over and over again. She was not a stick by any stretch of the imagination, but Milo preferred real women who he could grab onto and pound his cock into without worrying about breaking them. Piper had him staring. Her hair was pulled back up with small curls cascading around her face, and her glasses showed off her incredible emerald-green eyes. They sparkled with the light hitting them like two gems. She was a vision at this moment, but then suddenly he saw someone carrying a tray of drinks, and Piper didn’t move, and the person ran right into her, knocking her down and spilling the drinks everywhere. He took off running along with everyone around him.

  “Red, are you okay? Shit, you’re bleeding.” He lifted her arm and noticed a glass had shattered and landed in the inside of her upper arm. Milo reached down and picked her up as the various drinks rolled off of her body. She looked so frail at that moment, like she was lost and embarrassed from the incident.

  “Crap, I’m fine. Just put me down, and I will go clean up.” She struggled to get out his arms. “I am so sorry I knocked him over. I am such a klutz. I need to watch where I am going. Is he okay?” She was several shades of red as she tried to recover from the ordeal.

  “No, I will not put you down until you are cleaned up. Let me help you. Damn it, Red, this is bad. I think you need stitches. Let me take you to the clinic and get this cleaned up.” Milo was already walking out to the cars as others followed. He shouted to Grady to call the doc and tell him that he was on his way into town for stitches. She kept struggling to get out of his arms, but he wasn’t having any of it. She felt right in his arms, though he would never tell her that.

  Piper was tired of being manhandled. Granted, it was Milo, and normally she would not complain, but she was bleeding and embarrassed, as she once again caused an accident. This time it was in the middle of a wedding reception. As she tried to get out of his arms, he opened his truck door and threw her inside. Piper watched him reach into the back and pull out a cloth of some sort and carefully wrap her arm to help soak up all the blood. Her arm was starting to throb just a little, but she’d had worse. At least this time she didn’t break anything. Taking in a deep sigh, she just let him fuss. She was not going to fight, as she had to face facts that it just wasn’t worth it. He was bigger than her, and she did think she needed stiches.

  The drive to the clinic in town was only about ten minutes tops, and soon the truck came to a stop, and Milo opened her door before she could. She could tell he was pissed off about something as anger was evident on his face. Trying to ignore his temper, she tried to climb out, but Milo picked her up and carried her into the clinic. A small woman in scrubs held open the door as they walked into the front waiting room.

  “Doc knows you are coming. We have a suture kit in the back. Follow me, and I’ll get her settled,” the nurse said as she went down the hall into the second door on the left. The room was small, white, and sterile, and it held one bed with a tray with various medical equipment on it. Piper hated anything to do with hospitals and clinics. Milo set her down on the bed and helped the nurse unwrap the makeshift bandage. Soon the doctor came in and looked at the cut. Taking out some gloves from a box, he examined the wound.

  “Okay, dear, want to tell me what happened? You have a pretty bad cut, and it is going to require some stitches.” He started poking and prodding with his fingers, and a frustrated look came on his face. “Well, dear, you sure did a number on this. There is still some glass in this cut, and I am going to give you a local anesthetic along with some pain medication. You won’t be able to drive home. Is that okay?”

  Piper looked at the doctor and then at Milo before she spoke next. “Just do the local. I’m used to pain, and I can walk home. I have had worse than this. This is nothing for me. Milo, you can head back to the wedding. Thank you for taking me here, but I am good. I promise.” Piper smiled. Piper waited for his reaction. He just looked at her and nodded his head and went out the room. Piper felt like her world was closing in on her. She only lived a mile up the road, but she thought after the way Milo had acted when she first got hurt that he would have tried to push a little more to take her home. She was right to send him away, though. She wasn’t good for anyone. Anytime she got close to someone, something always happened. Bad luck always lingered on her back. It could be something as simple as them tripping and breaking an arm, yeah that one was a foster brother, to even moving house to house in foster care. The biggest one would be one of the men she was seeing turned out to be gay. That one stung, probably why she could never keep a guy around.

  The doctor agreed with some reservations and ended up pulling out four shards of glass from her arms, and he gave her seven stitches. Not bad. She’d had worse. The one time where she fell down the stairs as a child and went through the glass door left her with a total of one hundred and twenty-three stitches in various areas. She was ten at the time, so this was nothing. She thanked the doctor and headed home to wash and remove the stickiness and stink of alcohol and soda from her clothes and body.

  * * * *

  Milo was reluctant to leave. He brooded on the way to the doctor, as he should have had someone else take her. Being in close proximity to her sent his cock into a raging hard-on, and she was hurt. He saw it happen and could not stop it. She looked so small and frail when he finally set her down on the examining table. His emotions were running wild. He didn’t want to leave her, but her damn green eyes looked up at him, and he would do anything she asked. It pissed him off. When he was with Jessie she had just thrown him away as if she meant nothing to him. It made him feel inadequate in some way, but he needed to get over that, and quick.

  He was a man who took charge and took what he wanted. He needed to get as far away from her as possible. He agreed to her wishes and walked out the clinic and called Sam. She had already heard about the incident and was on her way. She would take Piper home, and he would only see her in passing. He even played with the idea to fuck her out of his system, but she was not that type of girl. He knew Piper had been through a lot in her life, and he didn’t want to disappoint her any more than he had to. The night was early enough, and he was not going to start work until next week. Determined now, he would drive to Wes and Grady’s and then head to the club. He would take his frustrations out on a sub and be just fine.

  Chapter Four

  Piper walked out of the doctor’s a little unsteady on her feet, but she would have to just grin and bear it until she took the pain medication and went to sleep. Stepping outside, she saw Sam pulling up. Damn Milo for calling her. Piper had no issues with walking. She had done it enough in her lifetime that even driving a mile was spoiling her. She walked up to Sam, who in turn hugged her and helped her into the car.

  “Are you okay, Piper? I mean, that looks pretty bad. I’m just glad Milo was there to take you to the doctor’s. Were you really just going to put a Band-Aid on it?” Sam seemed out of sorts for her. Normally Sam was carefree and lighthearted, but to Piper right now she seemed pissed. But her bringing up Milo had twisted the knife that already lay in her heart. She knew Milo had not sexual interest in her, but the fact he just turned from her sent her into a downward spiral of rejection all again. She would overcome this, just like she always did. Piper was a survivor, but she was used to not being wanted. Hell, even her mother had not wanted her. Piper was a result of a teen pregnancy, and she was grateful that her mother had a least kept her until she was born, but the pain still stayed inside her.

  “Yeah, I’m fine, Sam. Milo was right about the doctor. I ended up having glass still in my arm. Not too many stitches though, so I’m lucky in that manner. Is Riley okay? I’m sorry I messed up her wedding and that you had to leave. If you want, just take me home, and you can head back. I don’t want you to miss anything important. After all, you are the maid of honor.” Piper didn’t want to keep Sam, and to be hon
est Piper just wanted to wash and climb into bed and sleep the rest of this day away. She also wanted to add some things to her book, and all these things did not need to happen with Sam present.

  Piper was aware that Sam was reluctant to go back, but knew that she was stubborn and would win in the end. After getting home, Piper thanked Sam and headed straight into the bathroom to clean up. She took one look in the mirror and froze in horror at her reflection. She looked slightly pale, and for her being so pale to begin with, that was bad. Her eyes were slightly sunken in, and her dress was covered in various drinks and blood. She looked like she could appear in some sort of horror movie as victim number two. She hunted down some cling wrap and wrapped her arm carefully and climbed into bathtub, as it would allow her to get clean without having to get her arm as wet. Once the tub was filled, she climbed into the water and felt the ache of her body start to ease. She allowed herself to soak for only a short time before she got out and moved into the living room where her laptop and her medication were. She would kill for a glass of wine right now, but alcohol and medication did not mix. Taking out one pain pill, she swallowed it with a glass of milk and went to work. She was inspired by the setting of the Jacksons’ wedding. Soon the medication was taking affect, and she headed to bed after saving her work. Once she crawled into bed, she allowed the darkness to take her away.