Welcome Home, Tessa [Allure, Wyoming] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Madison Maxwell

  “I’m sure if your mom was here she would say the same thing, and my cousin also has two husbands. She’s been married for over thirty years. All of her kids have decided to live the same lifestyle as their parents. I’ve never in my life seen a woman so well loved and taken care of. So see, it’s more common than you think.”

  Tessa thought about what Kathy has just told her. “Actually no, my mom didn’t give me the same advice. She told me I wasn’t woman enough to handle three men as incredible as the Collins boys and that I wasn’t model perfect enough for them. I didn’t realize her opinion of them was higher than her opinion of me. But listening to you talk about your cousin gives me hope. All I want to do is be loved and love in return, you know? And if it’s with one, two, or three incredible men, then that just makes me three times as lucky.”

  “Oh, sweetie,” Kathy held her in her arms, “I’m sure Diane is just looking out for your best interest. It’s tough seeing your daughter become involved with a man, let alone three. Give her time. I’m sure everything will work itself out.”

  “I hope you’re right, Kathy, but I won’t hold my breath. Thanks again for listening and sharing with me. I may have some questions for you later, if you don’t mind. At least my dad is supportive. I sure do miss him right now.”

  “Then go and call him. We’ve got a few minutes before we open so go on. I’ll always be here for you, Tessa, if you need to talk.”

  Before Tessa called her dad, she looked outside and saw that Mitch was still out there as well as Lucas. She walked outside and touched Mitch’s arm. “Mitch, what’s going on?”

  “Someone keyed the hell out of my truck, darlin’. I didn’t notice it this morning since we both got in on my side. The entire passenger side was keyed, several times over.”

  Tessa walked around the truck to take a look as Lucas took pictures. “Do you think the same person that left me the note did this, Lucas?”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised. I don’t think this is a coincidence. Mitch said there wasn’t anything on his truck when he helped you in before you all went into Casper. Then he stayed at your place. I’m gonna go over there when I’m done here and take a look around. I don’t want you to go anywhere by yourself. Whoever is doing this will eventually slip up and get caught, but until then, you need to be safe. Let Mitch and his brothers help with this, Tessa. At least they can keep you safe.”

  “Thanks, Lucas, I’m sorry to be such a bother. I’m sure you have more important things to do.”

  “Nothing is more important than keeping people in our town safe, Tessa. Don’t you worry, we will figure out who is behind this, but until then, remember what I said.”

  “I will. Thanks, Lucas.” As Tessa walked back over to Mitch, he was just ending his call. “I’m so sorry, Mitch.”

  “Darlin’, you have nothing to be sorry for. I just let Rance know what happened. He is checking their trucks but I think this was a warning to me that I shouldn’t be at your house. Don’t worry, we will figure out who is behind this and soon. You better head back inside. I’ll call you later, and don’t go anywhere unless someone is with you, promise me, Tessa.”

  “I promise, Mitch, I won’t.” He kissed her before she walked back inside.

  Tessa filled Kathy in on what had happened before she walked to the back and called her dad’s room. “Good morning, babe. How is my beautiful daughter this morning?”

  “How did you know it was me?”

  “Let’s just call it father’s intuition, plus, I’ve already spoken with Brad. I don’t know what your mother’s problem is, Tessa, but I’m going to have a talk with her after my physical therapy.”

  “Why am I never good enough for her, Daddy? I love her, and I try, but it’s just never enough. Wait a second, how did Brad know what happened yesterday? I haven’t talked to him.”

  “Mitch called him this morning looking for some answers. Don’t get upset with him. He’s just worried about you. Your mother loves you, Tessa, and I don’t know why she is so hard on you. Maybe it’s because you remind her so much of herself and she doesn’t want you to make any mistakes like she thinks she did.” The only time Tessa hadn’t been with him this morning was when she dried her hair and he was cooking breakfast. He must have talked to Brad then.

  “That’s just silly, Daddy. From everything she has ever said, her life has always been perfect.”

  “That’s not entirely true, Tessa, and it’s not for me to tell you. I hope one day she can sit down and talk with you, really talk with you, but until then know that I love you more than anything and I will always be here for you.”

  “Thanks, Daddy, I love you, too. How are you today?”

  “I feel real good. I’m hoping to be coming back home soon. I understand Henry is putting new locks on the doors today. For the life of me, I can’t figure out how someone would have gotten inside the house or have a key. I’m sorry, Tessa, I must have left one somewhere or something.”

  “I don’t think this has to do with you leaving a key around, Daddy. Someone is trying to scare me away from the Collins boys and I have no idea who it could be.”

  “You let your brother and those boys keep a close eye on you, Tessa Rose. I don’t want you going anywhere by yourself until this whole issue is resolved. Did you stay at Brad’s last night?”

  “No, I stayed at the house, but Mitch stayed with me and someone keyed his truck and did a lot of damage.”

  “Oh, honey, that’s horrible. Must have been the same person that left you that note trying to warn him to back off. I know I’m old fashioned, Tessa, but isn’t it kind of soon to be letting him spend the night with you?”

  “It was either go to Brad’s late at night and disrupt his family or go to the Collins’ ranch and stay. I didn’t want to do either so Mitch offered to stay with me. Nothing happened, Daddy, and believe it or not, I can’t believe I’m telling you this, I’m still a virgin. That’s something that is very special to me.”

  “You are special, sweetheart, and you know you can always tell me anything. I won’t judge you. I’m glad those boys are looking out for you and being respectful and I know Brad wouldn’t trust them with you if they weren’t. Well, looks like the nurse is here so I better hang up. I love you, Tessa Rose. Call me if you need to chat.”

  “I will, Daddy, I love you, too.”

  Tessa kept busy restocking the order that had come in right after she got off the phone with her dad, plus it was busier than usual for a Tuesday. Seemed as though business just kept getting better, even better than last week. Both Sam and Mitch had called before lunch, Sam reminding her he would be there at close to pick her up. Rance, on the other hand, showed up with lunch again.

  “Y’all are gonna spoil me,” Tessa told Rance as she greeted him with a kiss.

  “That’s the plan, baby girl. I can’t stay though. I just wanted to make sure you took time to eat a good lunch.”

  “Thanks, I really appreciate it, but it wasn’t necessary. Where are you off to?”

  “I had to run into town to grab some supplies. I’ve got a few more mares that are going to deliver before nightfall, plus I missed you.”

  Tessa couldn’t help herself. She threw her arms around Rance and kissed him hard. “I missed you, too.”

  “You feel so damn good. Wish I could stay, baby, but I gotta get going. Have fun tonight with Sam.”

  “Drive safe, I’ll talk to you later.” She gave Rance one more quick kiss and thanked him for lunch. She knew that Rance was the one that she would have to take things slower with but him showing up and saying he missed her was a great start. He still had a wall up and one way or another if this was going to work she would need to figure out a way to knock it down.

  Tessa spent the afternoon thinking about Sam. She couldn’t believe how nervous she was to be alone with him. Sam was coming to pick her up. Sam would be staying with her. Sam, the man she had been in love with nearly her whole life. What would it be like to be alone with him? This woul
d be like a first date, a date that Tessa had always wished for and dreamed about. Even though she had spent some time with him, not to mention the fact that he had seen her naked and licked her pussy, it had been with both his brothers present. She hadn’t been alone with him yet and she couldn’t help worrying about it. She wanted, needed him to feel the same way about her that she felt about him. What if he didn’t? Mitch told her that he had always liked her in high school and he seemed to care for her now, but how much? Things were going well with Mitch and Rance, but what if it didn’t work with Sam? She had always dreamed that Sam would be her everything, but after spending time with his brothers, she was feeling just as much for them. Overthinking the situation was not helping. She needed to talk to Lanni.

  “Hey, girl, was wondering when you were going to call. I take it you’ve been busy with those three hunky cowboys?”

  Tessa told her everything that had been going on over the past couple of days and about her anxiety over Sam picking her up from work and staying with her tonight.

  “Tessa, just relax and enjoy. I bet Sam is just as nervous as you. You just told me that they all want to spend time with you individually and to get to know you and you need to get to know them, more than just sex, right?”

  “Yeah, sorry, just freaking out. I knew talking to you would make me feel better.”

  “It’s OK to freak out. I don’t think I would have what it takes to deal with three men at the same time, especially men like the Collins brothers. You do know that every eligible woman in this town is going to hate you and wish they were you, don’t you?”

  “I’m more worried about how my involvement with them could potentially hurt my dad’s business. He is the last person I would ever want to hurt.”

  “Tessa, you are getting yourself all worked up for nothing. How about I come over and stay with you tomorrow night, and you can take a break from your men. Plus we haven’t spent much time together. We can talk all this out over pizza and ice cream.”

  “I would love that. I’ll get the pizza, and you get the ice cream. Say around six?”

  “Perfect, I will be there at six. Try to have some fun tonight and just be yourself. Talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Thanks for listening, Lanni. Bye.”

  Tessa closed her cell phone and thought about what Lanni said. She was getting all worked up and she didn’t have any reason to yet. She was still incredibly nervous about tonight, but she was also looking forward to it, more than ever.

  * * * *

  After dropping lunch off to Tessa, Rance drove back to the ranch thinking about that little woman who had worked her way into his heart. Never had a woman made him want to be a better man. He wanted to give her everything she had ever dreamed of, but he wasn’t sure he was capable of that. He had made some serious mistakes when he was younger and they still haunted him. A picture of Rhonda formed before his eyes. He didn’t know it was going to be her first time. She had the reputation of being easy. He never would have touched her. Even at a young age he knew that he had dark desires. He wanted to do things that a typical teenage boy wouldn’t even dream of doing, let alone to a young girl, but he thought that Rhonda would be OK with everything and she seemed to be at first.

  Shaking off the memories, he pulled up to the house and found Sam and Mitch in the kitchen having lunch.

  “How was Tessa when you took her lunch?” Mitch asked.

  “She was fine. I reminded her that Sam was picking her up tonight. It seemed though that she was holding something back or was preoccupied. She said it had been busy so maybe it’s nothing at all.”

  “I don’t think it’s nothing. Yesterday Diane said some pretty hurtful things to her in front of me. I don’t get that whole relationship at all. I called Brad this morning while she was drying her hair. I’m gonna head over to his place once everything here is done and talk to him. Maybe he can give me some insight about Tessa and her mom. I hate seeing our girl upset and I don’t want anything or anyone standing in the way of all our happiness.”

  “That sounds like a good idea. I hope Brad can tell you something. I’m looking forward to my night with Tessa tonight but I gotta tell you both, I’m nervous as hell.”

  “That’s because the woman you’ve always wanted is within reach. Just be yourself and enjoy her company. You know how easy it is to be with Tessa and I can’t even begin to tell you what it felt like to hold her all night long. Just relax, man, it’s gonna be fine,” Mitch told him as he slapped his back.

  “I hope so. She means everything to me. I don’t want to screw this up.”

  “Then don’t.” Rance was always blunt and a straight shooter.

  “I won’t. Then tomorrow night is your turn. What do you have planned? I’m thinking about taking her out for Chinese food tonight.”

  “Yeah, about tomorrow night, I’m not ready for one-on-one time yet. Driving her here and then back home was one thing. I don’t think I can be alone with her all night. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do that.”

  “She wants to have time with all three of us alone, Rance. Yes, she wants us all to be together, too, but she wants separate relationships with us and we need that. Look, don’t get me wrong, I want to share her with both of you, that’s always been our plan, but Tessa could easily make me change my mind and I wouldn’t mind at all keepin’ her to myself. That’s why I’m looking forward to having her all to myself again just like both of you should. Rance, you gotta talk about what happened or you might never be able to move on. I don’t want to lose her, brother. You gotta get beyond whatever happened. If you can’t talk to us then talk to Tessa, or find someone else to talk to. Hell, maybe you need to see a counselor or something. This isn’t healthy for you to keep everything inside. Just think about what I said. I love you. We’re so close to having everything we ever dreamed of. I don’t want anything to fuck that up.”

  “I hear what you’re saying, brother, but I’m not fuckin’ ready to be alone with her all night. Until that time, you and Sam will have to just take turns. I don’t want to talk about this anymore, I’ve got a bunch of shit to do.” Rance slammed the back door as he left the kitchen. The sound of a Harley starting up was no surprise to Mitch. Rance always took off either on a horse or his bike anytime something was bothering him.

  “Do you think you pushed him too hard?” Sam asked.

  “Hell, I don’t know. One thing I’m for sure of is, if he doesn’t get his act together we could lose her. Just have a good time tonight and enjoy being with Tess. After I leave Brad’s I’m gonna drop off my truck at The Shop so they can fix the paint. When I called to see if they had time to fix it, Jake told me to bring it in and either he or Andy would run me back out to the ranch. I’ll catch up with you later. Take good care of our girl.” Mitch walked out of the kitchen and headed to the barn. Sam didn’t know what to think. Even after all this time Rance still couldn’t get past what happened to him nor would he talk to his brothers about it. He knew this was bugging the hell out of Mitch because Rance had always been able to tell him everything but this. Sam finished cleaning up from lunch and went to finish his chores. He had a date in a few hours and he couldn’t wait.

  * * * *

  Sam showed up right on time, greeting Tessa with two dozen red and white carnations and a kiss that curled her toes. “Sam, they’re beautiful, thank you. Carnations are my favorite.”

  “I know,” he said with the sweetest smile. “I confess, I called Lanni and asked her what your favorite flower was. Are you hungry? How about we pick up dinner then head to your house?”

  “Sounds perfect, how about Chinese?”

  “That’s what I was gonna suggest. Great minds think alike.” Sam gave her another one of his dazzling smiles that warmed her from head to toe.

  She locked up and Sam placed his hand at the small of her back as he walked her to the passenger door of his truck and helped her in. By the time he had walked around to the other side, Tessa had moved to the middle of the sea
t and was buckling her seat belt. Sam gave her a curious look.

  “Is this OK? I can move back over, I wasn’t even thinking. I always ride in the middle with Mitch and Rance.”

  As she started to undo the seat belt, Sam put his hand on her thigh. “Don’t you dare move, Tessa, I like you right where you are.” His lips were so warm and welcoming as he softly kissed her before he pulled out of the parking lot.

  When they pulled into The Emperor’s Palace restaurant, the parking lot was surprisingly full. Sam glanced at his watch then looked at Tessa. “Happy Hour isn’t over until seven. We might have a bit of a wait. I guess I should have called ahead.”

  “I don’t mind waiting as long as I’m with you,” she told Sam, thinking how sappy she must sound.

  “I couldn’t agree more. Come on, sugar, let’s go in and order.”

  Sam helped her out of the truck and laced his fingers with hers as they walked to the front doors. As soon as they walked in, they placed their order with the hostess and went to sit in the waiting area. They hadn’t taken a seat yet when Sam was enveloped by a big-busted blonde. “Sammy, baby, I’ve missed you,” she told him as she proceeded to wrap her arms around his neck. Sam let Tessa’s hand go as he tried to pull the blonde’s hands off of him.

  As soon as Sam had her arms back to her sides, he said, “Mary Beth, do you remember Tessa Walker?”

  Tessa looked at the woman and finally recognized her. Mary Beth was a cheerleader in high school, dated the most popular guys, and had a reputation of taking on more than one football player at a time. Tessa also remembered that Mary Beth’s tits were not that large in high school.

  “Tessa Walker, really? You sure look different, not a fat and geeky little troll anymore, I see.” Then she turned to Sam, trying to wrap her arms around his neck as he continued to fend her off. “Sammy, you haven’t called me for a while, lover. I’ve missed you.”

  Tessa looked at the blonde. Not one to hold her tongue like when she was younger, she pushed herself right in between Sam and the fake boobs. “Well you haven’t changed a bit, except for the boob job. You’re still a rude bitch just like you were in high school.”