by Marla Monroe
Their New Year’s Resolution
Erica wasn’t exactly looking for love, but a new friend wouldn’t be bad either. But what if there were two, and they wanted to share? She didn’t think the small community would approve. She depended on them for her business and that kept her three children clothed and fed. Erica was in a bind.
Brent and Kent just moved to town buying one of the ranches in the area. They wanted a big family Thanksgiving with all of their brothers, sisters, and familes there to celebrate. They needed help. One look at Erica when she arrived to help them get ready, and their hearts were committed. But what about hers?
In order to become a family, they had to overcome Erica’s fear of losing her business and the guy’s worry she would resent them if she did. A little Christmas magic and some revised goals just might do the trick.
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre
Length: 58,598 words
THEIR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION
Marla Monroe
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
THEIR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION
Copyright © 2015 by Marla Monroe
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63258-757-2
First E-book Publication: January 2015
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2015 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
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PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
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DEDICATION
I want to begin this new year out by thanking all of you who read my books. Thank you for the support and for reaching out to say hi. Writing can be very lonely at times yet we have so little time to connect to those of you who make it possible for us to do it. I’m taking that time here and now to tell you that I appreciate each of you. Let’s create an amazing 2015 together!
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
About the Author
THEIR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION
MARLA MONROE
Copyright © 2015
Chapter One
“I have to say that I never expected it to work, Erica. I mean, you started this business from scratch while you worked two part-time jobs. It wasn’t something I ever would have thought would go over in a town like Pleasant Grove, Texas. My hat’s off to you.” Sarah McQuarter smiled as she squeezed Erica’s hand.
Erica pushed open the door to her new office and grinned. It had taken five years of scrimping, slaving, and working around the clock in some cases, but she was finally getting the dedicated space for her business that she’d always wanted.
“I know you had your doubts, Sarah, but you stood by me and supported me when no one else did. I can never thank you enough for that.” She stepped inside and walked over to where she’d had the men she’d hired to move her desk. They’d transferred all of her files, supplies, and paraphernalia from the fourth bedroom into her spacious new office.
“I know Ricky and Aaron will be happy to have their own rooms now,” Sarah said with a chuckle.
“You don’t know the half of it!” she returned with an answering smile. “They’ve been crossing off the days on their calendars all month. I even think Ricky has been sketching the bedroom so he can arrange his things to his satisfaction.”
“Look at all the room you have now!” Sarah twirled around in the middle of the office and laughed. “I bet you have it filled up by the end of next month.”
“I’m not taking that bet because I know you’re probably right. My shelves will be installed tomorrow along with the storage cabinets I ordered,” she told her friend.
“Are you sure you’re not going to miss your carport now that it’s turned into your office?”
Erica laughed. “Oh, I’m sure I will when it rains, but the covered car porch I had installed will be fine. I needed the room now that the kids are growing up. Ricky is at that age where he needs his own space and Aaron isn’t far behind him.”
“Are you going to have a sign put up in your front yard?” Sarah asked.
“No. This is our home. If I’d wanted to open to the public I would have gotten an office in town. I like how I do business now and don’t want the added hassle of what having a store front in town would mean.” Erica enjoyed being at home and didn’t want to lose the ability to continue to work around the house when she had time.
When her husband of barely nine years decided he’d had enough of marriage and rais
ing children, Erica had found herself alone with a mortgage and three kids in need of food, clothes, and school supplies. She had to hand it to him. Chuck had lasted longer than her grandparents had expected when they’d married. She’d been all of sixteen and he’d been seventeen but they’d been expecting Ricky in seven short months, which in their day meant they got married.
At first he’d been resentful about it, but after Ricky had been born, Chuck had settled down and seemed to enjoy being a father. When Sissy had come along barely a year later, Erica could see the restlessness in Chuck’s eyes again. She was sure that once Sissy had gotten a little older he would be out the door, but nature had thrown them a curve ball when she found out she was pregnant with Aaron. She knew her husband wanted to blame her for the surprise pregnancy, but at his insistence, Erica had her tubes tied when Sissy was born. There was a nasty little clause in the consent form that said there was a 1% chance she could still get pregnant. Lucky her.
She grinned. She was lucky. Aaron was a constant source of joy for her. She could never resent or wish she’d never had him. All of her children were the light in her eyes.
“So, are we going out to celebrate?” Sarah asked.
“You bet. Mrs. Carmichael is going to come over Friday night so we can stay out a little later than usual. I trust Ricky with Sissy and Aaron, but once they go to bed, I feel better with her being there.”
“You’ve got great kids, Erica. I don’t know how you did it with so much on you. Hell, I only work one job and am struggling to keep my daughter on the right track. She’s about to put gray hair on my head,” Sarah said.
“Amy is a sweet child. She’s just super busy and your lazy butt doesn’t want to have to chase her all over the place. Get Roger to help you,” Erica teased.
“Oh he does. He’s a good man. Speaking of which, I need to head home. He cooked tonight, and if I’m late he’ll throw it out and make me eat a sandwich.”
Erica laughed. “I’ll see you Friday night. I’m sure after my client meeting I’ll be ready for a few good drinks.”
She waved her best friend out then looked around at the big, nearly empty space once more. When Chuck had finally called it quits, she’d had to scrounge up a second job to make ends meet. It just so happened that it turned into a home-based hobby that she’d slowly built into a thriving business that now supported her and the children without her working another job.
Erica’s Helping Hand started out with running errands and buying groceries for an elderly woman who had become homebound and unable to get out much. It slowly grew until she was doing everything from decorating for birthday parties for busy parents to buying Christmas gifts for harried businessmen who didn’t have time or any idea of what to buy their wives, girlfriends, and family. Every phone call had brought a new angle to her business so that now she had three part-time ladies working for her with two part-time high school kids as well.
She loved the freedom she had to take or reject something based on if it was something she was interested in or had the time to handle. It also made her proud that she was able to help the three women who needed the money but also had children to tend to. They had it organized so that the three of them coordinated their schedules so that someone could watch all of the children while the other two worked. When she had something really big where she needed all three of them at the same time, one of the high school kids looked after the children for them.
Erica loved what she did and looked forward to each day no matter how difficult it looked to be. All of the hours and heartache had been well worth it to be standing in her dream office with more than enough work to pay their bills and provide a few little extras for the kids.
Though she hadn’t dated in years, she’d had plenty of offers. She hadn’t been ready to jump back into the dating scene anytime soon. Now with things settling down some, Erica thought she might consider dinner and a movie sometime if the opportunity presented itself again.
It’s not like I don’t have plenty of battery boyfriends thanks to my understanding girlfriends.
Still, sometimes, late at night when the kids were asleep and she sat on the couch in front of the fire, Erica couldn’t help but wish she had someone to share those times. It would be nice to have someone to laugh with about how Aaron had put another frog in Sissy’s underwear drawer or how something was digging up the flowerbed again.
Equally nice would be a warm body to snuggle up against on cold nights or after bad dreams. And yeah, sex with a real man wouldn’t be all that hard to resist either.
Erica grinned at the thought of adding an unsuspecting man to her household with all the hoopla and crazy schedules that she juggled every day. Even if she did find someone willing to jump into the fray, she probably wouldn’t be able to spend much time with him except at night when they were both too exhausted to do anything other than sleep.
She shook her head and picked up the folder she’d put together for her meeting with a new client who’d only recently moved to Pleasant Grove, having bought a large ranch on the edge of town near where she lived. She wasn’t sure what he needed help with, but she was more than happy to have something different to work on for a change. She hadn’t actually talked with him yet, having received an e-mail from her webpage asking for a meeting. She’d responded the same way and printed out the directions.
From the sound of it, she would need to allow a good twenty minutes to drive there from home. Usually she would have some idea of what to expect based on who was asking for help, but with her client being new to the area, she knew nothing about the man. That meant a thorough interview to be sure she knew his tastes and expectations.
She locked the front door to the office then walked over to the door connecting it to the laundry room that opened into the kitchen. The kids would be home soon. She wanted to have a snack waiting for them. They’d do their homework then play out back in the fenced-in yard while she started on dinner. Their routine on days that she wasn’t actually working with a client felt so natural and comforting to her. Why would she ever wish for something that might screw that up?
Chapter Two
Erica pulled up outside the gate to what seemed to be a ranch but had iron gates with a call box to ask for entrance. The sign over the gate read Double Stone Ranch with a brand of S2S centered beneath the name.
I guess they have a ranch. Must be a husband and wife. Maybe they want to have a party for their kids to introduce them to the area.
She pulled up to the call box and pressed the button. Several seconds went by before a deep husky voice answered her.
“Erica Carol to see Mr. Stone,” she said, trying to be formal.
“Drive up to the door, please,” the amazing voice said.
If that’s the butler, I’m already half in lust.
The gate swung open in slow arc, giving her room to drive through. She saw it close behind her as she drove down the long, slightly windy road for a good half mile with mature trees lining the drive and fenced pastures on either side. When she reached the house, she gasped at its warm country charm. It was two stories with a big front porch complete with a swing on one end and four rocking chairs. There were flowers in beds along the front of the porch but she could easily see large ferns and baskets of flowers hanging from the porch.
“Wow. I’d love to have a house like this someday.” Erica sighed and climbed out of the car, grabbing her planner before shutting the door with her hip.
As she started for the steps, a bark stopped her in her tracks. It came from a large multicolored dog with shaggy hair. When he drew nearer, she noticed the wagging tail and perked-up ears. Maybe he wouldn’t eat her after all. She slowly shifted her planner and held out one hand to let the creature sniff. To her surprise, it bypassed her hand and rubbed his head against her legs.
“Goodness. You’re a friendly dog. What’s your name?” she asked as she bent over and rubbed his head.
“Cracker Jack.” The same deep voice from the call bo
x startled her. She nearly jumped out of her skin.
“Hi. I’m Erica,” she said to the handsome man standing on the porch.
He wore well-worn jeans with a hole just above one knee. His western shirt of deep blue looked amazing with his dark blue eyes and dark slightly shagging hair. She couldn’t help but notice that his broad shoulders challenged the cut of the shirt, or that they tapered down to a narrow waist. Erica almost asked him to turn around so she could get a view of his ass to see if it was as luscious as the rest of him.
“I’m Brent Stone. Come on in before the dog licks you to death.” Erica got her wish as Brent turned toward the door. Yep, it was official. She was hip-deep in lust.
At least I’ll have something new to fuel my fantasies when B.O.B. tries to take care of me.
Then she winced. This was some woman’s husband more than likely. She couldn’t do that. It was just wrong to use another woman’s man like that. She sighed and followed the off-limits wet dream. Once she’d climbed the four steps, he waited for her with the screen door open.
When she reached the doorway, he opened the wooden door and waited for her to precede him inside. It meant she had to almost squeeze past him and his amazing scent almost overwhelmed her good intentions. The mixture of hay, leather, and whatever natural fragrance that made him unique did it for her feminine hormones. She was going to have to make sure his wife was always around so she remembered he was off limits, something she’d never had to worry about in the past.
“This is the formal living room. We have a den in the basement that’s much more comfortable,” he said. “Through here is the office. We’ll talk in here.”
