No Strings Attached [Climax, Montana 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Reece Butler

  Both boys looked resentful, but the girls looked eager. He didn’t blame them, especially the older boy. He would think he was the upcoming man of the family, and then a stranger appears as the oldest son. Jet would not try to take his place. He was so much older he’d be more like an uncle than a brother.

  “There’s a phone number and e-mail address on the back,” said Lila. “They don’t live that far! It’s what, only about a thousand miles?”

  Jet turned it over. North Dakota. He shook his head. Some of his foster homes hadn’t been that far from his parents. He’d never known. Neither had they.

  “Will you invite them to our wedding?” asked Lila quietly. “You’d want to meet them first. Maybe invite your parents to visit, so you’re not overwhelmed.”

  “It looks like there’s a note in there,” said Houston. “You going to read it?”

  He handed the photo to Lila, who eagerly looked closer. One thin piece of paper. He unfolded it. It was signed Teeny and Adam, but the handwriting looked too strong to be from a woman. He saw the first line, Dear son, and his throat closed up. He shook his head.

  “I can’t,” he croaked, handing it to Lila.

  Her eyes skimmed it, then filled with tears. She handed it to Houston, shaking her head without saying a word.

  “Dear son,” said Houston. He stopped to clear his throat. “I wish I’d known about you right from the beginning.” He paused, taking a breath. “It took me some time to accept your mother keeping the secret of you from me for eighteen years. I can understand why, for we were so young when we created you. Never think you were a mistake. If we’d already finished high school, we would have found a way to marry and keep you.”

  “They wanted you,” said Lila, choking the words out. She cupped her belly. “I can’t imagine giving up my baby. But I’m twenty-five, with a supporting family. She was only sixteen, and alone. She did what she could for you, out of love. Just like Madison’s doing.”

  “We hope you had a good family,” continued Houston. “We will try to understand if you’d rather not upset them. We’d be overjoyed to welcome you into ours.” Houston looked up. His eyes were red. “Well, that’s not a problem. We’re your only other family, and we’re behind you, all the way.”

  “They sound like wonderful people,” said Lila. She rested her head on his chest. He automatically leaned over and kissed her head.

  “Mister White said you’ve just left the army, that you’re a good man, and may be settling in Montana. That’s close enough for visits. We’d drive a lot more than a thousand miles to see you. We will accept your decision, whatever it is. But we pray, with all our hearts, that you will give us a chance.”

  Houston sniffed, wiping his eyes with his free hand.

  “Wish I’d had a family like that,” he said. “If you don’t want them, I’ll take ’em.”

  “I want them,” said Jet. “As long as they accept that both of you are part of my life.”

  “They sound like they want you pretty bad,” said Lila. “They’ll take you just the way you are.”

  “Let’s hope your parents are as understanding,” said Jet to Lila.

  “The MacDougal accepted you, didn’t he?” Lila frowned. “Did he do some sort of macho test on you?”

  Jet ran his hand over his throat. Matching stings proved it hadn’t been a dream. Lila pushed his hand out of the way.

  “Oh, my…! Did he take that bloody great sword to you?” Jet nodded. “And I missed it?” She threw back the covers and scrambled off the bed. “I am going to give that man a piece of my mind!”

  “Lila,” said Jet calmly.

  “What?” She whirled around, furious. Her hair kept going, covering her for a moment before falling straight.

  “No.”

  “What do you mean, no?”

  She jammed her fists on her hips like a blonde, naked version of an Amazon warrior princess. He stared back, then raised one eyebrow a fraction of an inch. She narrowed her eyes.

  “You’re not pulling that ‘obey’ thing on me, are you?”

  He slowly nodded. She gritted her teeth, perhaps to hold back words she knew would have her face down over his lap in two seconds flat.

  Rascal’s bark, and the sound of a truck, broke the tension.

  “Looks like we’ve got company, folks,” said Houston. “I’ll get the door while you work this out.”

  Chapter 45

  Lila, wearing a dress, boots, and underwear—she’d won that battle— paced back and forth in front of the community center. Keith, Donny, and Aggie Adams, along with their sons and daughter-in-law, had already arrived. Jet should be here any time with her parents. She had no ring to show them. It was at the jewelers, and would be ready before the wedding.

  Houston had spent a few days reconnecting with his father, and had returned with Sonia’s ashes. They were safely on the mantle, for now. His dad was going through with the divorce. Houston had faced his mother and informed her she would have no part in his life, or that of his family. He came home a lot more settled. He’d also stopped at a few lingerie and adult toy stores, though he refused to tell her what he’d bought.

  When her mother had called to say the weather was unseasonably cold and wet so they were cutting their trip short, Lila had told her everything. Mom had promised to brief her fathers and get them calmed down before they landed in Missoula. Lila had no idea what might have happened while Jet drove them home from the airport.

  “You’ll wear out your boots with all that tromping,” said Houston. He pulled her to his warm, broad chest and held her tight. “They love you and will accept your decisions.”

  “But what if they’re disappointed in me?”

  His face was still a patchwork, but the scars had faded a lot thanks to Lance’s ointment. He’d never be a pretty boy again. She was glad, as she wanted men. He winked at her.

  “How can they be disappointed when you’ve found yourself two strong, handsome, intelligent men to not only work the ranch with you, but to provide the next generation? They’ll have a grandson and granddaughter next year. What more can they want?”

  She rolled her eyes at his smirk, though she smiled as well.

  “Thank you, Lila,” he said, far too seriously for Houston.

  “For what?”

  “For giving us a life. Jet and I would have made something of ourselves. No worries about that. But we would not have become part of a family, or a community, like this.” He nuzzled her hair. “I love you, and I’m learning to put up with all your interfering relatives,” he added, rolling his eyes like a teenager. She smiled and he kissed her nose. “Seriously, it was kind of them to pass the word why we were made out to be the bad guys. Even if you were the one to take Tank down.”

  “It’s going to take Mr. Tanner a while to trust you again,” she said.

  Houston winked. “I think Louise Jefferson will get him to change his mind.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I heard he watches her, and that she blushes when she sees him.” He dropped his voice. “I have a hunch they’re sparkin’.”

  She exhaled, smiling. “Aww, how sweet. They deserve to be happy.”

  “Now that we’re getting married, it’s their turn to be gossiped about.”

  “Surely we can start some hot gossip.” She pursed her lips for a kiss.

  He growled and dove in, grabbing her bottom in both hands to press her against him. He was hard, and her body responded. She rubbed herself against him, the baby hormones making her so horny she wanted Jet and Houston day and night.

  The flash of headlights, followed by a loud horn, made her jerk.

  “It’s my parents!”

  “Oh, no you don’t,” said Houston, refusing to let her escape. “They’re going to be seeing us doing this a lot in the next few years. They might as well get used to it.”

  A truck door opened on a male roar. A female voice soared over it.

  “Eric Frost, don’t you dare say a word!
You did the same thing to me, only it was daylight.”

  “Welcome home!” said Lila brightly. She shoved Houston’s chest. He didn’t budge for a moment, making the point plain, then released her. She looked around. “Where’s Jet?”

  The back door of the truck opened. Jet stepped out, quickly slamming it shut.

  “Seems I don’t know the right way to drive a truck,” he said, sending her fathers a look of disgust. “I do know how to kiss my fiancée, though. Get over here, woman!”

  She laughed and ran to him.

  * * * *

  “How bad was the grilling from Lila’s parents?” asked Houston.

  When Lila started gabbing away with Jane Adams about pregnancy stuff, they’d shuddered and escaped outside.

  “I bet Tom White gave them interrogation lessons.” Jet shook his head. “It was brutal, though Doctor Nikki kept them in line. Eric would growl like a grizzly bear, and she’d tell him to go stuff himself. Matt would laugh at the two of them, then Eric would start threatening him.” Jet shook his head. “I was happy to be stuffed in the back seat with the luggage, where they couldn’t elbow me. From the grunts I heard, Lila’s mom has sharp elbows.”

  Houston shook his head at the antics the senior citizens got into. He’d watched them swing dancing, and they were wild.

  Jet lifted his hat, forked his fingers through his hair, and set his hat back on. “Compared to that, my parents were easy.”

  “You called them from the hotel last night?”

  “Yeah. It was weird. My father sounds just like me. Or the other way around, I guess.” Jet looked up at the stars. “I didn’t tell them how bad things were growing up. It’s not something you can say when they’re crying just because you bothered to pick up the phone and speak to them.”

  Jet’s voice broke on the last few words. Houston sat quietly, giving Jet time to recover. Himself, as well.

  “I asked them to the wedding. Dad said it didn’t matter when it was, they’d be there.” Jet shuffled his feet for a bit. “They may not have been there for me, but they didn’t know who’d adopt me. And,” he added with a sigh, “if they’d kept me, neither of them could have gone to college. They wouldn’t have good jobs and another four children.”

  “Life is what it is.”

  “They’ll be there for our children, and that means a lot.”

  Houston cleared his throat. “When I was back in Texas my dad gave me something he’s been keeping for me.”

  Jet tilted his head in question.

  “You know that belt buckle those ranchers gave me?”

  “The one your mother tossed?”

  Houston nodded. “Turns out, Dad got it back. He didn’t want her to know, and then I disappeared.”

  “You wearing it?”

  “Nope. Not until the wedding.”

  “That’ll make Lila happy.”

  “That’s what it’s all about. Happy wife, happy life.”

  Jet stood up. “Horny wife is more like it. I haven’t touched her in two days.”

  “We slept, is all,” said Houston. “She was too nervous about them coming home to do much else.”

  They shared matching grins.

  “I think my fiancée is tired,” said Jet. “Carrying our twins is a tough job.”

  “Yeah. And if we leave now, we’ll be asleep by the time the oldsters get home.”

  “They won’t be leaving for hours.”

  “Exactly.”

  “You get Lila’s truck,” said Jet. “I’ll get our woman.”

  “What if she doesn’t want to leave?”

  Jet’s grin was the widest Houston had seen yet. “Just watch me.”

  Houston pulled the truck near the entrance a few minutes later. He could hear screams, ones he recognized.

  “Put me down!”

  “Hush, woman!” Jet spanked the struggling woman hanging over his shoulder. She shrieked even louder.

  “Mom! Daddy! Papa!”

  A laughing crowd followed behind Jet. None of them did anything to slow him down. The comments and catcalls made Houston grin. He liked this crazy, wild, hard-working community.

  Jet set Lila down by the truck. She gave him a glare, turned around, and started stomping toward the entrance.

  “Lila.”

  One word, said softly but with depth, stopped her cold. She didn’t turn, though.

  “In the truck.”

  She curled her fingers into fists. Her shoulder rose, and then fell. She whirled around. Her eyes blazed, those full lips pouted, but she obeyed, stomping even more determinedly toward them. Jet held the door open. She put a foot on the running board and ducked to climb in. The flat of his hand on her ass made a loud crack in the silent night. So did her squeal. Jet pushed in beside her and shut the door.

  Jet hauled Lila onto his lap. She might have been complaining a moment ago, but she returned his kiss just as wildly. After appropriate comments, the rubberneckers went back inside to continue the party. They knew there’d be another, bigger one in a few weeks.

  Jet set Lila back on her seat and did up her belt, then his own. Lila sighed happily. She put a hand on each of their thighs and squeezed.

  “You bring that stuff?” asked Jet. “Close your eyes, Lila.”

  “Glove box,” replied Houston.

  “Oh, oh,” said Lila. “I don’t know if I like this.”

  “Remember we said ‘no strings attached’?” asked Houston.

  “Yee-e-s,” she replied, drawing the word out hesitantly.

  She had her eyes closed, so Jet pulled out the bag Houston had stashed. She winced at the noise, but kept her eyes shut.

  “Now that we’re getting married and all, we want you to know we really meant what we said.” Houston patted her leg, just hard enough to make her wince. “Strings aren’t good enough for our woman, so we got you a present.”

  Jet tossed a cuff to Houston. They each put one on her wrist. She trembled, though her nipples stood out. He and Houston shared a grin.

  “We’ll put no strings on you, Lila,” said Jet. “You’re a strong, fascinating woman, one we’ll love forever. So…” he nodded to Houston to finish the sentence.

  “So, we’re using something you can’t break.”

  At Jet’s nod they each snapped one of her cuffs to her gift. Lila shook her wrists, making the chain rattle. Her laugh filled the truck, and their hearts. Houston put the truck in gear, and they headed home.

  THE END

  WWW.REECEBUTLER.NET

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Reece Butler didn’t realize she was a born storyteller until late in life. Now that she’s discovered a passion for writing erotic cowboy romance with a happily ever after, she hasn’t looked back.

  As a storyteller Reece takes in everything she’s experienced or read about and stores it in her brain to feed her imagination. It then flows out in the words and actions of her characters.

  Continually learning more about the craft of writing romance, as well as a healthy dose of research and time to think, leads to the creation of characters that come alive for her.

  She hopes they come alive for you as well.

  For all titles by Reece Butler, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/reece-butler

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com