Love Under Two Outcasts [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Cara Covington

  “Then, I need the three of you to come with me, please.”

  Charlotta recalled the tour of the house she’d had the first time she’d had dinner here. She was a bit confused as to why Kate wanted them to come with her to her bedroom. She could see her men were, too.

  Once inside the pristine and very comfortable looking room, Kate made her way to the middle one of three jewelry boxes that stood on a side table. She laid her hand on it and then turned to face them, and addressed the men.

  “You know that when your grandfather Emerson and your great-uncle Christopher left Lusty—Emerson because he didn’t approve of our lifestyle and Christopher because he had become determined to make his own way without depending on the family fortune—your great-grandparents were left alone, without any of their children close by. Howard and Lincoln had stayed over in Europe after the war, and of course, poor Edward lost his life to the cause of liberty.”

  “That must have been hard for them,” Charlotta said. Then she tilted her head. “But they had you to help fill the void, didn’t they?”

  Kate blushed. “Aunt Rosie and Uncles James and Jacob had been so very kind to me when I first arrived here, a newly promoted major in the Army nurse corps—and a very green young girl who’d been more or less set up by two flyboys named Benedict.”

  Charlotta saw a look in the woman’s eye that made her believe that thoughts of those two flyboys were never far from her mind—or her heart.

  “Anyway, of course, we all spent time with them, and when Gerald and Patrick and I had Caleb and Jonathan, why, those boys of mine simply had an extra set of grandparents. Especially in the beginning, when my husbands were still in the service and not at home to lend a hand.

  “Rosie passed, very suddenly, and we were all devastated. After we’d laid her to rest, James and Jacob gave me something of hers. They said she would have wanted me to have it, and to pass it on, when I knew the moment, and the people, were right.”

  Kate turned and opened the jewelry box, and withdrew a blue velvet bag. “Jesse, as you’re the oldest, and family tradition dictates that as the oldest you’ll be the head of this new family, I will give this to you. It was your great-grandmother Rosie’s engagement ring.”

  Jesse took the delicate bag, and Charlotta was not at all surprised to see his hands trembled. His big fingers easily manipulated the tiny drawstring. Then he turned the bag over and caught the ring in his hand.

  Soft gold glistened in the light, the setting for a beautiful white opal, shot with blue, green, and yellow. Surrounding the opal, twelve diamonds sparkled, tiny fires that burned eternally.

  It was the most exquisite ring Charlotta had ever seen.

  “It’s perfect.” Barry said that, and when Charlotta looked at him, she realized he’d seen that in her expression.

  “It is perfect, Grandma Kate,” Jesse said. He took up the ring and then tilted his head as he met Charlotta’s gaze. “Yes?”

  Charlotta felt tears sting the back of her eyes. Unable to form the word, she nodded, and held out her left hand.

  And gasped when both men slid the ring into place on her third finger, and it was a perfect fit.

  “Oh! It must have been meant to be.” Charlotta had never said such a fantastical thing, but standing here in this house, steeped in history, she knew the words for truth.

  “Just look. That ring is sparkling so bright, and looks perfect on your hand. That is so wonderful to see.” Then she met Charlotta’s gaze. “Welcome to the family, sweet girl.”

  “Thank you.” It seemed so natural a thing to do, to step close to the woman and slip her arms around her. “Thank you, Grandma Kate, for making Jesse and Barry feel loved and wanted. And me, too.”

  Kate laid a withered hand on her cheek. “Love is its own reward, Charlotta. That’s a lesson I learned a long time ago.”

  Charlotta grinned through her tears. It would do her well to spend time with this wise woman. Kate Benedict likely knew how to heal a wounded heart better than a whole room full of psychologists.

  “Please,” Charlotta said, “call me Shar.”

  * * * *

  Barry dimmed the lights and attended to the sound system while Jesse took a moment to light the candles they had scattered around the room.

  It had been a long and exciting day, and Jesse was looking forward to some quiet romantic time, he and his twin with their woman.

  Jesse blew out the match and turned, and saw Charlotta. Sitting up in the middle of their bed, her left hand extended, she was staring in awe at her ring.

  “I think you like that more than a little,” Jesse said.

  “I think I must have seen something like it when I was a little girl,” Charlotta said. “Because the moment I laid eyes on it, I felt as if I was looking at an old dream.”

  “That’s how I felt the first time I laid eyes on you,” Jesse said.

  “Neither of us had planned to move to Lusty and share a wife.” Barry approached the bed, and untied his bathrobe.

  They’d showered and then soaked for a while in the hot tub, letting the memory of their first Christmas together settle in their hearts and minds.

  They all had to work the next day, and it was nearly one in the morning. They wanted some quiet loving, and sleep.

  He took up where his brother left off. “As soon as we came into Waco, that first day, we both began to feel anxious—excited and nervous at the same time. We’d chalked it up to needing to get back into the routine of working with kids and, yes, wondering what Dr. Carmichael was going to be like.”

  “Now we know those feelings for what they really were.” Barry nodded and tossed his robe on the foot of the bed on the right side.

  Jesse did the same on the left side and grinned at the sight of their woman looking back and forth between them. Then she blinked and chuckled.

  “Sorry. The two of you are very distracting.” This time when she looked at them, it was to make eye contact. “So what do you now know about those feelings?”

  “It was destiny telling our souls to get ready for the best moment of our lives.” Jesse slid into the bed. Charlotta laid down on her back, an easy way to keep them both in focus.

  “You guys say the sweetest things.” She placed a hand on each of their chests. Her fingers stroked and teased, but in a soft and gentle way.

  “You inspire us. Baby? If the commute isn’t bad, why don’t you move in here with us permanently? We don’t have to wait to get married, do we?”

  “In my heart we are, already.”

  “Yeah.” Barry sighed. He leaned over and kissed her, and then he used a finger to draw her attention to him.

  “Do you recall the way Grandma Kate said that Jesse would be the head of our family?”

  “Yes, but in my heart—”

  “Hush, princess. I’m good with that. I’ve always looked to my big brother to lead the way. That’s my nature. There’ll be a legal marriage, and it will be between the two of you. I’m good with that, too, because in my heart, you’re already and forever my wife. Then after the marriage ceremony, there’ll be a Commitment Ceremony, involving the three of us—the way they’ve done it here for years.”

  Charlotta sighed. “I know it has to be that way. I’m good with it, too. And I know from talking to Camilla that it was something she hated, but got used to. I don’t figure it’s going to be hard when we’re out in public together, the three of us, in the wider world. I’m not one for public displays of affection.” She frowned. “Well, I might be, under unusual circumstances. But otherwise, I prefer to keep private matters private.”

  “At least here, in Lusty, we’re free to behave like any normal, polyamorous family.”

  Barry’s deadpan delivery made Charlotta laugh out loud. Then she yawned. “Come and snuggle me in, gentlemen. I need that more than I need our loving right at this moment.”

  Jesse thought she probably did, too. It had been a long day—a long few days come to that. In the course of less than a week,
they’d all been through the wringer, emotionally speaking.

  So he and his brother gave their woman what she asked for. Her heartfelt sigh as she nestled in between them made him smile. They’d spent several nights together, and he knew she never awoke, but always managed to turn in the night so that she was an equal opportunity snuggler.

  As she rubbed her face against his chest and wiggled her sexy bottom against Barry, Jesse knew this was the pattern of his future.

  He looked over at his brother and knew Barry felt the same way he did. In that moment, he didn’t feel like an outcast, not in the least.

  He felt like the luckiest man in the world.

  Chapter 21

  “How long is Helen supposed to be away for?”

  Charlotta looked up and grinned at Jan Ferris, standing by her open office door and looking disgruntled. One of the other psychologists on the team, Jan worked with adults—women, mostly—and had been with the center for a couple of years.

  Because Jan had screwed her face into a comical look, Charlotta had to keep rein of her mirth. She couldn’t, however, help the humor that laced her tone. “You were sitting right beside me at the meeting on the nineteenth, Jan. Helen announced that her husband Bill had surprised her with a ten day cruise as a Christmas gift. She’ll be back with us January twelfth.”

  “Rats. I’d hoped I’d heard wrong and that she actually meant the second. I think we’ll all be full of new-found appreciation for our admin when she returns.”

  Charlotta set aside the report she was working on. “Is Tiffany not working out, then?”

  The woman sighed, looked off to the side, and then met her gaze again. She shrugged. “I guess I’m just used to Helen’s super-efficiency. She often has things ready for me before I even ask—not to mention the fact that Tiffany still hasn’t got the phone extensions down.”

  Charlotta bit back the comment that this was only Tiffany’s second day on the job, because in fact, it was only Charlotta’s second day at work with Tiffany sitting at Helen’s desk. Instead, she commiserated with her co-worker. “She’s sent me a couple of calls that weren’t mine, as well. I just transferred them to the right people. Maybe I’ll check before I head out to my next session and reassure myself she has a copy of the staff directory.”

  “Oh, that’s a good approach.” She chuckled. “Maybe I just have to chill and remind myself that Helen deserves the wonderful vacation her hubby is giving her, and it’s only another eight days.”

  Charlotta smiled. “That’s probably the best approach of all.”

  Jan came all the way into her office and tilted her head this way and that, giving her the once-over. Of course she knew what the woman was doing. She hadn’t made any announcement here at work, mostly because while it was Monday, the day the staff had their weekly meetings, those meetings wouldn’t resume again until the New Year. But a couple of people had caught sight of her engagement ring. There was nothing at all wrong with the gossip grapevine at the center.

  Charlotta sighed in an exaggerated fashion, rolled her eyes, and then held out her left hand, fingers splayed.

  “Oh, my God! It’s…it’s amazing. Oh, Charlotta, it really is a stunningly beautiful ring.” She narrowed her eyes as she met her gaze. “It’s one of those hot cowboys I’ve seen you with lately, right? One of those two who came from Montana and are volunteers in the equine therapy program.”

  No, it’s both of them. Charlotta told her inner imp to hush as she nodded. “Jesse Benedict. Yes, he and his twin brother Barry both work with me in the program.”

  “Well, congratulations. I hope he’s good enough for you.”

  “Yes, I believe he’s more than good enough for me,” she said. “I think he’s perfect.” They’re perfect. She really didn’t like having to pretend she was in love with only Jesse, but she understood the need to be circumspect—and to keep private things private.

  “All right, I’ll let you get back to work, now that I have satisfied all of my curiosities this morning.”

  Charlotta shook her head, because Jan didn’t amble out of her office. She took off as if she was being timed. Charlotta never met a person who moved as deliberately and as swiftly as Jan Ferris.

  Helen is going to scream when she sees my ring. And right after that, the woman would likely give her merry hell for getting engaged while she, Helen, was away. Charlotta chuckled, and put her attention back on her reports, with a half an eye on the time.

  She had two appointments left in the day—one in just a few minutes, and the other at one-fifteen. I’ll have to check to see if Mrs. Conway has called and maybe Tiffany lost the call. The stable owner had mentioned on the phone Friday that she’d try to drop in today for a quick hello. Charlotta made that mental note even as she put her mind on her next clients and the season in general. The holidays were stressful for a lot of people, but especially so for anyone suffering from depression or other mental health disorders.

  Charlotta didn’t have to work hard to bring to mind Grandma Kate, as she’d been on Christmas night. She knew that many in the family—and she’d have to agree with them—thought that Anna Jessop looked like Mrs. Santa Claus.

  But if Anna represented the visual image of Christmas, Kate Wesley Benedict certainly embodied the spirit of the day.

  Sammy Shaw was waiting in the reception area with her foster mother, Kay Arthur. The Arthurs lived in a new subdivision in Waco. George Arthur was a professor of ethics at the university. Kay was a book editor, working from home. They had two grown children and a daughter in her senior year of high school.

  Sammy was their second foster child. There hadn’t been any family for Sammy to go to after the accident that had claimed her parents and brother, so she’d been put into the system. From all she’d read and discovered on her own, the Arthurs were exceptionally kind people and a good, solid family for Sammy. She’d met with the girl’s caseworker a couple of times, and they both agreed that Sammy was making progress.

  The center had different kinds of interview rooms, set up to appear as lounging areas. Each one had a refreshment area, and comfortable seating. Some had two-way mirrors, for those times when client-counselor interaction had to be observed.

  The room she used with Sammy most times wasn’t one of those. Although she was a child, at eleven, Sammy Shaw was old enough not to need that extra attention.

  “Would you like some hot chocolate?”

  “Yes, please.” Sammy stood beside Charlotta and took her cup when it was ready. Charlotta made a second cup for herself. “How was Christmas?”

  “Easier than last year.” She sat and set her cup on the small table beside her. “Last year, I had only been at Kay and George’s for a month—I remember being really upset, because it was going to be my first Christmas alone.” The girl inhaled and Charlotte heard the quiver.

  “When we were decorating the tree, Kay got me talking about some of the traditions that we’d had. It was hard at first, but then it got easier. She said then that some of the things they do were similar, but not the same. She suggested I write down my memories of Christmas, so that someday when I’m a mom, I can teach those traditions to my kids.”

  “That was a good idea,” Charlotta said.

  “At first I was kind of bitchy because I thought, ‘I’m never going to forget.’ But I have forgotten some little things already. So I took her advice.”

  “Sometimes, when bad things happen to us, our subconscious mind helps us by fogging up our memories.”

  “Yeah. Anyway, when I woke up Christmas morning, I knew I’d dreamt about them. I don’t, often. In the beginning, if I dreamed about them, I’d cry when I woke up, because I thought at first that the accident was a horrible dream, only it was the truth.”

  “How did you feel this time?”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk about. I felt different. I guess I’ve been kind of keeping a wall around myself with the Arthurs. But…I felt like Mom and Dad were trying to tell me that it was ok to
love them—to let them in.”

  “If you could talk to your Mom right now, what do you think she would say to you about the Arthurs?”

  Sammy gave her a smile that was sweet, because it was impish—the kind of smile any cheeky kid might give.

  “I think she’d tell me to be grateful they cared about me, and to cut them some slack.”

  Charlotta loved nothing better than that moment when she knew a client had turned a corner. Sammy Shaw had turned one in the last few days. Of course, she would likely never stop missing her birth family. But she would continue to heal, and she would learn that she could make a new family.

  If only every client’s story could have a happy ending.

  Her last appointment of the day was with Laura Mills. Her son, Danny, had been a client of her predecessor’s. Charlotta had only seen him once, but before she could even make a connection with the troubled teen, he’d attempted suicide.

  The attempt had left him brain damaged, and he was being moved to a rehab hospital. The doctors and therapists would work with the teen, assess the extent of the damage he’d suffered, and make what progress they could. Then a decision would be made, to either release him to go home, or to have him placed in a long-term care facility.

  “How are you doing, Mrs. Mills?”

  “I don’t know.” The woman had aged in the half-year Charlotta had known her. “Some days are better than others. I’ve struggled with the guilt. If I’d been the mother Danny needed, he might not be where he is right now.”

  Charlotta didn’t often pontificate. As a therapist, it was usually best to guide her clients in their own thinking process, giving a bit of help when required, so that they could discover the truth for themselves.

  She believed Mrs. Miller needed more from her. Yes, Danny had been a troubled and troubling boy. But he’d made a series of bad choices that led him to that last bad choice.

  Arguments could and likely would be made from here to eternity, back and forth, as to which was more important in the formation of human personality—innate nature or environmental influences. But the bottom line was that no one was perfect, and everyone deserved a break.