Monroe, Marla - Trusting the Cowboys [Riverbend, Texas Heat 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Marla Monroe

  Once they were all safe on the ground once more, Quade began to come to.

  “Lexie! Aw, fuck. Where’s Lexie?”

  “Easy, big guy. Lexie is fine. She’s right there with Jared.” One of the hands had to hold Quade down as they waited for the other one to bring the truck around the house to the back so they could load him up and get him to the hospital.

  “I’m fine, Quade. I love you. I thought I’d lost you.” She wrapped her arms around his head because that was about the only place she saw to touch him that wasn’t bleeding.

  “Oh, baby girl. I thought I’d lost you, too.” He reached up and touched her cheek. Then he passed out again.

  “That’s probably for the best. He needs to be still,” Jared said. “Come on, baby. Let’s get you in the truck, too.”

  Lexie let Jared help her in the back. She leaned back against the seat next to where Quade lay, and the pain finally hit her. She slipped into unconsciousness.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Quade woke in slow increments, feeling like his body was on fire from a thousand tiny needle pricks. What in the hell had happened to him? He struggled to remember for a few seconds, and then it all came back in a blinding flash.

  “Lexie!”

  “Shh, Quade. You’ll wake her up. I just got her to sleep.”

  “Is she okay? The damn mountain lion attacked us.”

  “I know. She shot that thing and saved both of your lives.”

  “She shot it?” Quade couldn’t quite believe it.

  “She still can’t believe she missed hitting you.”

  “I’ll be damned. Fuck, I feel like a porcupine got ahold of me.”

  “You’ve got damn near a hundred stitches in your body, man. That cat did some damage. Thank God none of it was internal. You’re arms took the brunt of it.” Jared leaned against the railing of the hospital bed.

  “But Lexie is okay.”

  “She got some scratches, too, but only a few and not as deep as yours. She said the cat got her when it knocked you off the horses.”

  “I heard her say she loved me. Did she really say that?”

  “Yeah, she really said it, Quade. She told me she loved me, too.”

  “How long before she wakes up? I want to hear her say it again.”

  Jared chuckled. “It’s only been about twenty minutes. Give her some time, man. She hadn’t been asleep since she woke up on the trip to the hospital.”

  “Did the doctor say how long until I can get out of here?”

  “He’s giving you some IV medications. If you don’t run a fever overnight, you can go home tomorrow afternoon. Lexie, too. She’s in the room next to you. I had to let her come over here, or she would have had us all thrown out.”

  “She can be a little spitfire, can’t she?”

  “She’s our little spitfire, though.” Jared grinned down at him. “I plan on asking her to marry us just as soon as you both are all healed up. I think she’s ready.”

  “Hot damn!”

  “Quade?” Lexie opened her eyes. She was lying on the recliner by the hospital bed.

  “Hey, baby girl. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

  “Jared! Why didn’t you wake me up? He’s awake.” She started trying to climb out of the recliner.

  “Whoa, baby. You’ll pull out your IV if you aren’t careful, and then that nice nurse will make you stay in your room.” Jared untangled her IV line and helped her sit up on the edge of the chair so she could reach Quade’s arm.

  “I don’t know where to touch you, Quade. You’re hurt so badly.”

  “It’s not that bad, Lexie. I’ll heal in no time. I’m so sorry you got hurt. I never should have taken you out there until we’d killed that mountain lion.”

  “It wasn’t your fault, silly. It could have happened any time we went out riding. It could have happened when I was out walking in the yard. I’m just so glad you’re going to be okay. I was so worried.”

  “I love you, baby girl.”

  “I love you, Quade. I love you so much! I don’t know what I would have done if I had lost you.”

  Just then a nurse walked in with medication. She frowned at them.

  “I didn’t realize you were going to let her stay this long when I said she could visit.”

  “She’s stubborn. It was either let her stay over here or listen to her complain and get no sleep.”

  “Jared!”

  The nurse chuckled and handed her some medication. Then she helped Quade with his. She fussed over his bandages, making sure they were all still intact before winking at him and leaving.

  “She was flirting with you, Quade.” Lexie grinned. “She just doesn’t know it, but you’re mine.”

  “I know I’m yours, baby girl. Don’t you worry.”

  “The doctor said it would be seven days before they would take the stitches out of us. We have to be still and not pull on them. What are we going to do for seven days, Quade?”

  “Hmm, I think I could use some down time with my baby girl in my arms. I’m sure we can watch TV together while we run poor Jared crazy getting us something to eat and drink.”

  “Don’t bother planning over there. You’re not driving me crazy. I’m going to be right there on the other side of you, Lexie. We’ll all take some time off. I’ll hire someone to come cook for us while we’re stuck in bed.”

  Lexie grinned then frowned. “But cooking is my job, Jared.”

  “Not until you’re well, baby. Then you can go back to cooking. Don’t worry. No one is taking your place.”

  She nodded, but Quade realized that she wasn’t so sure. He winced. They needed to figure out a way to reassure her that she had a permanent place in their lives sooner rather than later. Maybe Jared needed to propose as soon as they got home. He didn’t want her worrying. He would talk to him about it when Lexie was asleep again.

  Quade reached out with his hand and tried to rub Lexie’s hand, but his was so wrapped up, he couldn’t really feel what he was doing. Aggravated, he closed his eyes and worried. If she thought they didn’t need her anymore, she might try to leave. He was afraid they wouldn’t even realize it until it was too late.

  “Quade? You asleep?” Jared asked quietly after awhile.

  “No.”

  “Lexie is asleep again. I’m going to go put her in her bed, so she’ll rest better. I’ll be back to check on you in a few minutes.”

  “Be sure and come back. We need to talk about something.”

  Jared looked at him with a frown and nodded. “I’ll be right back.”

  He watched as Jared picked Lexie up and maneuvered her IV pole through the door and out into the hall. He quietly closed the door behind them.

  Quade waited for nearly fifteen minutes before Jared returned.

  “Sorry, but she woke up, and I had to convince her to stay and go back to sleep. She’s resting, but I don’t want to leave her alone too long.”

  “No, she’s likely to get up and walk over here on her own if you aren’t careful.”

  “What did you need to talk with me about?”

  “I think that little quip about hiring someone to cook for us scared Lexie. We need to be sure she knows she’s permanent. I think you need to ask her to marry us as soon as we get home. I’m scared she’s going to get nervous and leave, Jared.”

  “Hell, I didn’t think about that. I just want her to rest and not do anything while she’s healing up. You both need to be still and quiet until those stitches come out. We sure don’t want them infected or pulled out.”

  “You need to have everything ready so she can’t say no. The ring is in the vault, right?”

  “Yes, and I was thinking we would plan the civil marriage for winter, but maybe we need to do that as soon as we can get a marriage license.” Jared stuck his hands on his hips. “Will you feel like standing up with me in a couple of weeks?”

  “The sooner the better. I’ll prop myself up if I have to. I don’t want her to get cold feet and leave
.”

  “Don’t worry, Quade. I’m going to make sure she stays with us forever.”

  * * * *

  Two days later, Lexie woke up next to Jared in their bed. She reached for Quade and didn’t find him. Worried, she slipped out of bed and grabbed her robe. She stepped into her house shoes and eased downstairs to find Quade sitting in one of the recliners, dozing. Unsure what to do, Lexie decided to fix some coffee. She would take him some and find out why he wasn’t in bed with them.

  Once the coffee was made, she carefully carried two cups into the living room. She set one of them down on the end table and sat on the arm of the recliner with the other.

  “Quade?”

  “Hmm?” He opened his eyes and smiled at her. “Hey, baby girl. What are you doing up?”

  “I fixed you some coffee.” She helped him sip some of it. Then she sat it down next to hers. “Why are you out of bed, Quade? Did I hurt you in the middle of the night?”

  “No, you didn’t hurt me. I was restless and couldn’t sleep. Thought I would come down here so I wouldn’t wake you and Jared up.”

  “Why are you restless? Is something bothering you? Are you hurting too much to rest?”

  “I’m fine, Lexie. I’m just not used to being in bed so much.”

  “I missed you up there. I want to crawl up into your lap, but I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.”

  “Come on up, baby girl. You won’t hurt me. I’ll keep my arms out of the way.”

  Lexie took a sip of her coffee then crawled up from the edge of the recliner until she was sitting back in Quade’s lap. She sighed. It felt so good to be in his arms again. Even if it meant she couldn’t feel them around her yet.

  “There you two are. I wondered where you had gotten off to.” Jared descended the stairs into the living room. “I smell coffee.”

  “There are two cups over here if you want one of them.” Lexie pointed at them on the end table.

  “Sounds good. I’ll fix us something to eat in a few minutes. What’s your preference, Lexie, baby?”

  “Before you answer that, Lexie, you need to know that he can’t cook worth anything.”

  “I can do omelets.” Jared frowned.

  “Omelets sound good to me.” Lexie laughed.

  “Jared? Maybe now would be a good time.”

  “Now? Are you sure?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What are you two talking about?”

  “Just a minute, Lexie. I’ll be right back.”

  Lexie watched him hurry around to the office. He was gone for several minutes before he came jogging back into the room. She looked at Quade and frowned. He had a huge grin on his face. What is up with them?

  Jared got on his knees next to the recliner and took her hand.

  “Lexie we love you with all our hearts and all our souls. We want to spend the rest of our lives with you. Will you do us the honor of being our wife?” He opened his hand, and lying in it was a beautiful diamond solitaire that had to be three carats.

  Lexie’s eyes swelled with tears. She looked from one man to the other and burst out crying.

  “Oh, baby girl. What’s wrong? Don’t cry.”

  “I can’t help it. I don’t know what to say. I love you both so much, but are you sure? I’m nothing special. You might get tired of me, then what?”

  “Lexie, look at me.” Jared cupped her cheeks in his hands. “We both love you. We’re not going to change our minds. You are perfect for us. We think we’re perfect for you, too.” He smiled.

  “Please say yes, baby girl. I don’t think I can stand it if you say no.”

  Lexie smiled and nodded her head. She leaned in and kissed first Jared then Quade. She loved them with all her heart and soul. Surely they could make it work. Others in the area lived in ménage relationships. If it worked for them, it would work for her, Quade, and Jared as well.

  “I can’t believe this. I’m actually going to get married.” She stopped and frowned. “Which of you do I really marry? How does this work?”

  “You’ll marry me,” Jared said. “I’m the oldest, and some of the land is in my name, so it will go to you should something happen to me. Then we’ll all say vows in a private ceremony with some close friends later.”

  “I can’t wait to marry you both. When do we get married?”

  Jared chuckled. “I thought next week. We need to get the stitches out and get the marriage license as well. Then we’ll come back here for the private ceremony. What do you think?”

  “Sounds good to me. I’ll need to get a dress, though. I don’t have one.”

  “We’ll get you one. Don’t worry about it. Right now the only thing you need to worry about is getting well. You and Quade both. I’ll take care of all the details.”

  “I can’t wait to see you two all dressed up with your cowboy hats on and dress clothes. You’ll both look so handsome.”

  “I don’t know about that, baby girl. My arms are going to look pretty bad.”

  “They’ll be fine. You’re lucky to be alive.”

  “Enough procrastinating. Let’s see if this fits. I want to see you wearing our ring, baby,” Jared said.

  Lexie held out her hand and let Jared slip it on her left hand. It fit like it was made for her. She looked at it and started crying all over again.

  “She’s crying again, Jared. Do something.” Quade frowned.

  “I’m sorry. I can’t help it. I’m so happy. I never dreamed I would ever find anyone to love me like the two of you do, and I found two of you!”

  “I’m going to fix us some breakfast. You two need to eat to heal. Then I’m going to run to town and start the ball rolling on getting things ready for our wedding. You’ll have to go with me next time, Lexie, to get the license.” Jared stood up and ruffled Lexie’s hair.

  “Do you need my help?” She really didn’t want to move, but if Jared needed help in the kitchen, she would help.

  “Nope. I can handle a few omelets, baby. Just keep Quade happy, and I’ll bring them to you in a little while.

  Lexie hoped she could keep both of them happy. She looked at the ring and let it sink in that she had a home now and two someones who loved her. Life couldn’t get any better than this.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Are you sure you feel up to going today, baby?” Jared asked.

  “I’m fine. The stitches are out, and I need to get a dress for the wedding. I don’t want to look bad for my own wedding.”

  “You could never look bad, Lexie. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

  Lexie rolled her eyes but squeezed his hand as they walked down the sidewalk of Riverbend. She looked in the different stores and realized she hadn’t really ever shopped in the town before. They had a lot of small boutiques she would like to explore one day.

  Finally they reached the store that Mattie had told them about. It carried fancy dresses. She stepped inside the shop and immediately decided the place was too expensive for her. She started to turn around, but Jared stopped her.

  “Whoa. Where are you going?”

  “I can’t afford these dresses, Jared. I need to find a different store.”

  “Honey, you can afford anything you want. Quade and I can afford to buy you everything you want. Just point to it and it’s yours.”

  “I can’t take your money, Jared. This is my wedding dress. I have to buy it,” she whispered under her breath.

  “Nonsense. You find what you like, and we’ll take it out of your salary from last week. How’s that?”

  Lexie thought about it and nodded. “That will work.”

  “Now get in there and find a pretty dress for me.” Jared gave her a gentle push into the main part of the store.

  Lexie felt self-conscious surrounded by so many pretty dresses. A saleslady walked up and asked if she could help her.

  “I’m looking for a simple dress for my wedding. Nothing fancy, really. I was thinking about something in a pale mint or maybe blue.”

/>   “I’ve got several nice things I think you will like.” The saleslady drew her deeper into the store and showed her several very pretty dresses.

  She tried on several and finally picked a soft mint-green dress that looked great on her rounded figure. She also got shoes to match and a pair of lacy underwear. She couldn’t wait for the guys to see her in nothing but her garters and lacy bra and panties. She let the saleslady wrap everything up and charge it to Jared. She felt bad about doing that, but she had no money to her name outside of her wages for the last week.

  Once again, Lexie worried that she wasn’t bringing anything to the marriage outside of her ability to cook. She had nothing to show for her life. She pushed it aside, determined not to let her low self-esteem ruin her upcoming nuptials.

  When she walked out of the shop with her purchases, she expected to see Jared sitting in the truck or standing outside of it. Instead, she was alone. She shrugged and hung the dress in the backseat of the truck while she waited for Jared to return. He probably saw something or someone and got distracted.

  “You think you’ve got them wrapped around your finger, don’t you, bitch? They’ll get tired of you like I did soon enough.” Lowery walked up and pointed at her.

  “Leave me alone, Lowery. You’re not supposed to be anywhere around me.” Lexie looked around frantically for Jared or someone else to help her.

  “You owe me for taking care of your lazy ass all that time. I worked to put a roof over your worthless head. You didn’t have nothing till I took you in. Do they know how you sponged off of me when you didn’t have anything? That’s what you’re doing now with them. You’re just using them to get what you want. All of you women are the same.”

  “That’s not true, Lowery. I worked hard while we were together. I didn’t sponge off of you.”

  “Not after I put my foot down about you getting a job. I bet they don’t know how lazy you are, do they? Maybe I should tell them about what they’re getting themselves into.”