by Marla Monroe
Marcus chuckled. “No, Kate. It will take some practice, but that means you have to actually try to milk the cow next time.”
“I will. Just don’t expect much.”
“Grab the eggs, and let’s get you back to the house so I can help Bruce with the cattle.”
“Can I make a snowman? Marcus?”
“Not without one of us with you. I’m serious about the wolves, baby. You can’t mess around with them.” Marcus opened the door to the kitchen and they bustled inside out of the cold. They pulled off their boots to keep from tracking in the snow.
“Kate! Is that you?” Mike’s voice carried from the living room.
“Is something wrong, Mike?” She sat the eggs on the counter and hurried to the living room.
“No, I just didn’t know who it was. I’m ready to get off this couch. Think I could sit up in the kitchen with you for a while?”
Marcus walked in. “I don’t see why not. You’re doing pretty well. I’ll help you in there.”
Kate smiled at her brother. “Great. You can keep me company while I cook.” She stood aside as Marcus helped Mike walk into the kitchen and settle into one of the kitchen chairs at the table.
“How do you feel now?” Marcus asked.
“Much better, thanks.”
“I’m going to go now, Kate. We’ll be in around noon for an hour or two then go back out after that.” Marcus stepped back into his boots and kissed her on the cheek before hurrying back out the door.
“Let me get a blanket to go around you. You’ll get sick again if you don’t stay warm.” She hurried back to the living room and grabbed his blanket. Then she wrapped it around him and looped it under his socked feet to keep them off the cold floor.
“Thanks, sis.”
“You haven’t called me that since third grade.”
“Do you miss Mom and Dad?”
“Of course I do. Every day.”
“I worry sometimes that I’m not handling things like I should be.”
“You’re doing the best you can, Mike. I know I’ve given you a hard time, but I still love you.”
“They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
Kate felt heat pour up her neck and cheeks. He had heard and no doubt felt helpless to do anything about it. For his sake, she would have to pretend that she was completely happy. Maybe in time she would be, but right now, she needed him to believe she was.
“No, Mike. They didn’t hurt me.”
He sighed and turned his head to look out the window. Kate recognized that he wouldn’t bring it up again. She would have to if she wanted to talk about it, something she never would do with her brother. It wasn’t something you talked about between brothers and sisters.
“I’m thinking chili tonight. What do you think, Mike?” She busied herself at the sink.
“That sounds great. What are you going to fix them for lunch?”
“I was thinking about making a shepherd’s pie. It will fill them up, and there will be plenty for all of us for one meal.”
Mike kept a constant chatter with her as she set about making the pie. She used potatoes, carrots, and deer meat for the insides and mixed up a pie crust for the outside. She was just pulling it out of the oven when the men walked inside bringing a swirl of snow and cold air with them.
“Pull off your boots at the door,” she reminded them.
They dutifully removed their boots as they pulled off their coats, hats, and gloves. Bruce nodded at Mike and walked over to wash up in the sink.
“Use the washroom sink. I just cleaned that one up from the last time you used it.” Bruce frowned but did as she asked. Marcus followed behind him.
“Kate, maybe you shouldn’t fuss at them in their house,” Mike suggested.
“Either I’m their wife or not, Mike. If I am, then the kitchen is my domain and I want it kept clean.”
“I heard that, Katie girl,” Bruce said.
“Good. Don’t forget it.” She smiled and carried the dish over to the table where she had already set the table for their lunch.
“Smells good,” Marcus said.
Bruce walked over and took a seat next to Mike. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better now that I’m sitting up. I was beginning to get sore from lying on the couch so long. I want to walk around some tomorrow.”
“Don’t push it, man. You’re welcome here as long as it takes. You won’t have Kate at home to help you once you go back.”
Kate hugged Mike lightly. “Are you already tired of me?”
Mike leaned his head back against her waist. “No. I just figure you’ll do better once I’m out of your hair.”
“No I won’t. I don’t want you to go, Mike.” She felt something inside of her tearing.
“No one’s going anywhere yet,” Marcus said as they all sat down to eat. “This smells delicious.”
The three men managed to eat every crumb of the meal and still have room for dessert. She pulled out one of the apple pies she had made and divided it up three ways. Once she had served it, Bruce grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her over to him.
“Where’s yours?”
“I didn’t want any, or I would have divided in four pieces.”
“You hardly ate anything at lunch. You need to eat, Kate, to keep up your strength. Winters are hard here.” Bruce looked almost angry to her.
“I know. Marcus told me. Ask Mike. I don’t eat a lot.”
“She’s telling the truth, Bruce. She never has been much of an eater.”
“Sit in my lap, Kate.” Bruce pulled her down until she was sitting there.
He forked up a piece of the pie and held it in front of her mouth.
“Just one bite for me, Kate. That’s all.”
“Why?”
“I want to feed you, baby. Eat one bite just for me.”
Kate looked into his eyes and saw something there that had her opening her mouth for him. He fed her the small piece of pie then took a bite himself. She sat there until he had finished his. Then she stood up and took everyone’s plates. What had happened just then? She couldn’t fathom what was going through Bruce’s head.
While she washed dishes, the men gathered in the living room again. She had no idea what they were talking about, but she had things on her mind as well. Most of her things were still at the other house, and Mike was planning to go back there to live. How would she feel once she was alone with the two men she now belonged to?
She was fairly sure they wouldn’t hurt her. They seemed like nice men all in all, but Kate still wasn’t sure about being theirs to do with as they wished. Just because they were good men and wouldn’t hurt her didn’t mean they wouldn’t want things from her she couldn’t give. Like instant obedience. She had never been one to blindly obey. And then there was love.
Kate couldn’t see them falling in love with her. Well, Marcus maybe, but not Bruce. He seemed to only tolerate her at times. Then, she guessed she couldn’t blame him. He had been saddled with her when he was obviously still in love with his dead wife. She felt for him. She missed her parents something awful, especially her mom. What was two years when Bruce and Marcus had loved her? It had been six for her.
She finished up the dishes and walked over to the kitchen door to look out the window. She could still see the tracks from where the men had come inside earlier. The snow seemed to be slowing down like Bruce had predicted. He had said another couple of weeks before the real stuff began to fall.
“What are you thinking about, Katie girl?” Marcus pressed his body against the back of hers.
“About the snow. When this clears up we need to go back to my house, I mean Mike’s house, and get my clothes before the real snow starts.”
“Good idea. We’ll do that.” He kissed the side of her neck. “We’re about to go back out now. Do you need anything before we go?”
“No, thanks. I’m going to do some cleaning.”
“I’ve got a better idea.” Bruce walked in.
<
br /> Kate turned around in Marcus’s arms.
“Why don’t you move all of our clothes out of our old rooms into the master bedroom? Be sure and leave yourself plenty of space for your things.”
“Oh, um, okay. I can do that.”
“Okay, baby. We better get back out there. We’ll be in before dark.” Marcus kissed her then walked off to put on his boots, coat, hat, and gloves.
Bruce finished buttoning up his coat and settled his hat on his head. He bent down and kissed her on the cheek before opening the door and walking outside. Marcus followed close behind.
She cleaned up the smattering of snow on the floor and set about starting dinner. The chili would simmer all afternoon and be ready that night when they came back. She could work on the bedrooms while it cooked.
“Mike?” She walked into the living room to find him fast asleep. She sighed. So much for company while I cook.
Kate made the chili with beef from one of what she assumed was their cows. Once she had it simmering on the back burner, she left it to get to work on the men’s clothes. She tiptoed up the stairs to keep from waking Mike.
The first room she entered happened to be Marcus’s. She could tell by the haphazard way he kept his clothes. He wasn’t a slouch or a slob by any means, but he didn’t bother keeping his clothes neat in the drawers. She carried them into the master bedroom and put them up. Once she had all of his clothes put away, she gathered up his bathroom items and set them up in the master bathroom as well. It looked like he and Bruce were using the same bathroom anyway. She stripped Marcus’s bed and piled the sheets in the hall to wash later.
Next, she walked into Bruce’s room. It was immaculate for a man’s room. The clothes were all put up and in neat stacks in the drawers. His bed was even neatly made. Kate transferred his clothes to the other room. She emptied his closet and lined them on the opposite side of the one in the master bedroom from his brother’s clothes. When she got on a stool to check the shelves above in his old one, she found a small stack of women’s clothes. She held one up and found it was made for a much thinner woman. It had to be their first wife’s clothes. She folded it up and replaced it where she found it.
Finding that hidden stack proved to her that Bruce wasn’t over Irene. She had heard them use her name several times when they had been at the house. Irene was obviously much smaller than she was. She would never be a tiny thing with her big bones and wide hips. She sighed. Yet another reason she wasn’t the woman for them. Mike had really screwed this up. But she would make the best of it.
If nothing else, Mike having nearly died because of her made her realize that it wasn’t fair to him to continue to hold onto him. It was keeping him from finding his own wife and having a life outside of her. If Marcus and Bruce could deal with her being there, then she could, too.
Chapter Twelve
Bruce stared at the stool in the closet of his old bedroom. She’d found Irene’s clothes. What had she done with them? He reached up and found they were still there. Everything else in the room had been cleared out, but she had left Irene’s clothes on the shelf like she had found them. He hung his head and cursed whatever had possessed him to have her move their things. He had wanted to drive home the fact that they were going to be living together and sleeping together from then on.
That he had actually forgotten about Irene’s things being up in his closet surprised him. He had often taken them down and held them to his face in an effort to remember her scent. He missed her and felt like it was his fault she had died like she had. He didn’t think Marcus even knew that he had some of her things in his room.
Would Kate say anything or just pretend she hadn’t found them? He wouldn’t blame her for saying something. She was their wife now. Something inside of him told him to get rid of Irene’s things, but he didn’t do it. He would leave them where they were for now.
He walked out of the bedroom straight into Kate. She turned haunted eyes up to him.
“Sorry. I was just coming to tell you that dinner is on the table.” She turned and walked away.
She knew he had come to check to see if she’d done anything with the other woman’s clothes. Fuck! Bruce ran a hand over his face and followed her down the stairs.
Marcus and Mike were already at the table eating. Kate spooned chili into her bowl and sat down. Her place was at the head of the table with Mike at the opposite end. He and Marcus sat on either side of the table.
Mike and Marcus kept up a general conversation around the table which he joined in. Kate didn’t. She ate her chili and spooned out second helpings to the men. Then she got up and started cleaning up the kitchen. Marcus frowned at Bruce. Bruce shook his head in hopes the other man wouldn’t say anything.
He got up and carried his bowl and plate to the sink. When she took them to wash, he laid a hand on her shoulder and bent over to whisper in her ear.
“Thanks for moving our things for us.” He hoped she would understand he meant thanks for not getting rid of Irene’s things.
“Sure.” She shrugged. “Everything’s just like I found it.”
She had understood. He felt like a heel now that he’d said something. Why hadn’t he just left things like they were? He sighed and walked back to the table to join the discussion. When the conversation began to ebb, he stood up and stretched.
“Time for bed. I’ll add more wood to the fire, Mike.” Bruce walked into the living room and worked on the fire.
Mike eased back into the living room and on the couch. “I should be able to walk around more tomorrow. I’m feeling a lot better now that I’ve gotten up.”
“Just don’t go too fast and have a relapse.” Bruce patted the man’s good shoulder.
“I won’t. I just think I need to leave as soon as I can and give you guys time to get to know my sister. She’s not relaxing around you like she should. I think it’s my fault.”
“Don’t you worry about her. We’ll work it out between us soon enough. It just takes time to find yourself in a new place. She is having to do it for the second time in a year.”
Mike just nodded and settled under the covers.
Kate walked into the room and hugged and kissed Mike good night. “If you need anything, just call up the stairs. We’ll hear you.”
“I’ll be fine. I can get up and down by myself now if I need anything. Don’t worry about me, Kate.”
“Come on, baby.” Marcus wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her toward the stairs.
Kate climbed them with Bruce bringing up the rear. Her twitching ass had his cock growing harder by the second. Fuck, he wanted that ass, but she wasn’t anywhere near ready for that. Instead, he needed to be concentrating on making her feel good so she would relax around them.
As soon as they entered the bedroom, Bruce closed the door and began undressing. Marcus did the same. Only Kate stood still without pulling off her clothes. She seemed scared to move.
“What is it, baby?” Bruce asked.
“Um, I was going to take a shower. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She headed for the bathroom.
“We’re going to take one, too, baby. It’s a big walk-in. We can all fit.” Bruce watched her eyes grow wide.
“Oh, um, I can take a bath if you two want the shower.” She was backpedaling, trying to get out of it.
“Naw, we’ll all three bathe together.”
He walked over and began undressing her. She took over unfastening her pants. Once Marcus had her shirt off, she bent over and pulled off her jeans. Then she stepped out of her underwear as he pulled off her bra. She stood there with her hands by her side, obviously trying not to cover herself.
Marcus urged her toward the bathroom. He turned on the shower, adjusting the water temperature before stepping inside.
“Come on, Kate. It’s warm enough. You’re going to catch a chill in the cool air.”
Bruce sat out the towels and grabbed a couple of washcloths. He planned for them to bathe her. Marcus smiled, tak
ing the hint, and rinsed out his cloth to start on her face.
“Hey, I can bathe myself, guys.”
“But we want to bathe you, Kate. Just relax and let us take care of you.” Marcus began soaping up the cloth and running it up and down her arm.
Bruce did the same thing and washed her other arm. They each took a side and bathed her from top to bottom. He liked that her face grew red when they each took a breast to clean. He rinsed her off and bent over her to suck on her nipple. Marcus followed his lead and they were both drawing tightly at her tits.
When she moaned, he reached between her legs to find her wet, and not from the shower. Her silken juices were coating his fingers as he played with her pussy. He could take her now, and she’d be ready for him. If he did, Marcus could take her later when they were in bed. He knew he was just making excuses for having sex with her, but he wanted her. He didn’t want to wait.
He pulled her to him and kissed her. He licked along the seam of her mouth in an effort to gain entrance. She slowly opened her mouth to his and he attacked her with his lips, teeth, and tongue. He couldn’t get enough of her. She tasted spicy like the chili. Marcus was nibbling at her neck from behind. No doubt his cock was poking at her ass like his was poking at her belly. Did it excite her or scare her? He pulled back to see her face.
Her eyes were shuttered in arousal. It was all he needed to see. He grasped her leg and held it while he fit his cock to her slit. Marcus held her steady with his hands on her breasts from behind her.
Bruce thrust into her as she let her head fall back against Marcus’s chest. She moaned when he pulled out and thrust again. It took three tries before he had seated himself against her cervix. He held himself still for a few seconds as he regained control. Then slowly moved in and out of her until she was holding on to him in an effort to keep him seated inside of her.
Marcus continued his assault on her nipples as he kissed, licked, and sucked along her shoulder and neck.
Kate whimpered when he pulled out and pushed back in again. He slowly began to increase his pace and the strength of his thrusts until only Marcus holding her up kept her off the back of the shower wall. He could feel his balls draw up and cursed that he couldn’t prolong his climax any longer. What was it about her that squeezed his dick dry every time he got inside of her?
