by Marla Monroe
“What, Haley?”
“Matt. Oh, my, God. He kidnapped me, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, baby. How are you feeling?
“I feel like I’ve been run over by a bull. He put me in his trunk.”
“We know, baby. It’s how we found you.” Joshua dialed Jayson’s number and told her how they’d followed Matt to the cabin.
“Hey, Jayson, she’s awake.”
She watched as he listened.
“Haley, Jayson is on his way here. Do you need anything?”
“Um, clothes maybe? I’m ready to go home.”
“Jayson, just come on back.” He disconnected.
“Why didn’t you tell him to bring my back clothes?”
“You can’t go anywhere yet, baby. You’re getting antibiotics for an infection. You nearly caught pneumonia and your cuts and scrapes are all infected.”
“Joshua, I want to go home. I don’t want to be here.”
He ran his hand through her hair. She leaned her head into his caress.
“I’m sorry, Haley. As soon as you’ve had enough antibiotic, we’ll take you home. I promise.”
She couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down her face. She hated hospitals. She wanted to go home and curl up in her own bed. She couldn’t believe that Matt had hurt her like he had. How could she not have seen it in him? She looked up at Joshua and wanted to tell him how much she loved him, but she would wait on Jayson to get back. She needed to tell them both at the same time.
“How about some water, baby?”
“That would be good. I’m thirsty.”
He nodded and stepped out of the room. Haley moved her legs and groaned. Her knees ached and her hands were throbbing. She remembered getting away and running through the trees. She shivered at the memory. How had they found her? She had been sure they wouldn’t be able to.
The nurse came in followed by Joshua. She was carrying a plastic jug with a straw in it.
“Here you go. How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. I’m ready to go home now.”
“I think you have a little while ’til the doctor releases you. You’ve got some nasty places on you, Haley. You need the medication to stop the infection.”
Haley took the colorful jug and sipped at the straw. The water tasted wonderful and was icy cold. She nearly drained the mug before she handed it to Joshua to put on the table for her.
“I’m going to call the doctor and let him know you are awake. If you need anything, just press the button.”
She walked out and, almost immediately, Jayson hurried in. He smiled at her and was by the side of the bed in two steps. Joshua had to move over to let him by.
“Haley, baby. I’m so glad you’re awake. Are you hurting? Do you need anything?”
“I wanted my clothes. I want to go home, Jayson. Joshua won’t take me.”
“Don’t even try it, baby girl.” Joshua shook his finger at her.
“You need more medicine, baby. I’ll take you home just as soon as the doctor says it’s safe to let you go home.” Jayson bent down and gently kissed her on the lips.
She struggled not to wince. He mouth was sore at the corner. She didn’t want Jayson to think he had hurt her. He would be upset.
“I thought I would never see you two again. I’m so glad you found me.”
“We would have found you no matter what, baby. There was no way we were going to stop looking for you. I’m just sorry we didn’t find you sooner.” Jayson was absently running his hand over her hair.
“I should have told you before, but I love you two. I love you so much. I realized that I might die out there never having told you.”
Jayson’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. He kissed the top of her head.
“We love you, baby girl. We’ve loved you for years and waited on you. Maybe we shouldn’t have waited so long. Maybe this never would have happened if we’d told you a year ago.”
“I probably wasn’t ready to hear it a year ago, Jayson. I’m just getting to accept it now. I’m not sure how this is going to work. I don’t know how to love two men. I mean, Joshua, I love you, too. It seems wrong to feel that way about both of you.”
“Don’t worry about that. All that matters is that you do.” Joshua’s hands gripped the bedside rail.
Haley reached up and took his hand with hers. She didn’t squeeze it because her hands hurt too much to do that. Still, she needed the touch of her men. It grounded her. She took Jayson’s hand in her other one and smiled up at them.
“I love you with all my heart.”
“We love you, baby girl.” Jayson brought her hand up to his mouth and carefully kissed it.
“Okay, guys. It’s time for you to go get something to eat. I need to check my patient.” The doctor walked in with the nurse close behind him.
“We’ll be right back, Haley. You behave yourself.”
She frowned at them as they turned to leave. She looked up at the doctor and smiled.
“Are you going to let me go home now?”
“Afraid not, Haley. You need at least another twenty-four hours of medicine. Then, if your injuries are healing cleanly, I’ll look at letting you go home. You’ve got some nasty infections springing up. I think we’ve caught them in time to keep them from becoming a problem.”
“I could take my medicine at home, you know.”
“I tell you what. I’m going to move you to a room, and if you don’t spike a temperature between now and then, I’ll let you go home tomorrow morning.”
“If that’s the best I can get. I’ll take it.” She sighed and relaxed as he looked over her injuries.
She winced and even yelped a time or two when he touched a particularly sore place on her. She had to admit she had a lot of places to heal up. The worst were the ones on her hands. They were puffy and hurt like crap.
“Okay, as soon as they get a room ready for you, I’ll transfer you out and order some oral medication for tonight. You’ll get one more round of the IV antibiotics, then go to the pills. I would feel better if you would stick around another night for the IV ones, but I can see by the look in your eyes that you might walk out if I don’t order the pills.”
“You’ve got that right. You better make rounds early in the morning or I might walk out anyway.”
“Somehow I don’t see that happening with those two men of yours running the show.” He chuckled and walked out.
She glared after him. If she wanted to leave, they couldn’t keep her here. She wouldn’t let them boss her around. Speak of the devils. They walked back in with a bag of something that smelled delicious.
“Did you get me something?” She smiled hopefully.
“I did. I got you a donut.” Jayson opened the bag and handed her the sticky sweet.
She moaned in appreciation and took it. The first bite went down a little hard since she hadn’t had anything to eat in a while. She really should have eaten something better than a donut for her first meal. She shrugged and finished the pastry anyway. She could eat better once they moved her to a room.
“Was that good, baby?” Jayson handed her a napkin.
“Yeah, but I’m really hungry now. I need something better to eat. I haven’t had anything to eat in a while.”
“Damn, that’s right. Joshua, should we go get her something?”
“I think they will feed her now that she’s awake.”
The nurse returned and began to get her ready to transfer to another room. Joshua and Jayson tried to stay out of her way, but the other woman gave them a dirty look more than once. She grinned. They were big men and tended to fill up a room when they were in it.
“Maybe you two would like to make yourselves useful,” the nurse finally said.
“What do you need?” Joshua was ready to help.
“You can push the bed and I’ll carry the IV pole. Jayson, you can help steer the bed from the top.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Haley sighed in reli
ef. She was going to get to move. Then she would be that much closer to going home. She closed her eyes and waited for the trip to begin.
* * * *
By ten the next morning Haley was checked out and ready to head home.
“Are you comfortable, Haley?” Joshua repositioned the safety belt on her for the second time.
“I’m fine. Let’s go. I’m ready to get out of here.”
“Joshua, drive. She’s settled in.” Jayson wrapped an arm around her shoulders along the back of the seat.
“Baby girl, are you sure you don’t want to go home with us? We can help you. You’re still hurting and…”
“I’ve already told you that I’ll be fine. You can call and check on me to your heart’s content.” She interrupted him before he could get started again.
“Okay, okay. I can’t help but want to take care of you, Haley. You mean the world to us.”
Jayson squeezed her shoulder, one of the few things that didn’t still hurt. She turned and smiled up at him.
“Are you still planning to pick me up Friday after work?”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be waiting on you to get home from work.”
Joshua lightly ran his hand up her thigh. “No way are you getting out of it.”
“I’ll have my bag packed and ready so that I don’t have to pack it when I get there. Let’s just hope I don’t have to work late.”
“I still can’t believe you’re going back to work Tuesday. Why not wait until next Monday?”
“I need to get my work caught up, or I’ll have a real mess. Plus, they need me.” She leaned back against the seat and Jayson’s arm.
When they pulled into her drive behind her Pathfinder, she realized that she didn’t really want to stay there by herself. She tightened her jaw and let Jayson help her down from the truck. Joshua had the door unlocked and open by the time they walked over.
“There are plenty of groceries, so you have anything you need.” Joshua hugged her loosely. Both men were so scared they would hurt her.
Jayson took his turn and added a kiss on top of her head.
“Thanks, guys. I’ll be fine. I’ll see you Friday night.” She backed up and slowly closed the door.
A few seconds later, she heard the truck start up and then back out of the drive. She sighed. As much as she really wanted to be with them, she needed to step back and evaluate their relationship. She couldn’t do that around them. They were bigger than life to her. She’d been friends with them since forever. This new direction their relationship had taken was exciting but frightening at the same time.
She walked into the kitchen to fix a glass of water. She looked inside the fridge and shook her head. They had loaded her up with vegetables, fruit, and cheese. She wasn’t hungry right now, but she might go for some fruit and cheese later.
Haley took her water back to her bedroom. She really wanted a bath. Thank goodness she hadn’t had to have any stitches. Out of all of the cuts and scrapes she had on her legs and knees, her hands were the worst. The puncture wounds had gotten infected and were only now getting better. She still had a week’s worth of antibiotic to take. She made a face. It tasted nasty when the pill didn’t go down right.
Without thinking about it, she ran her bath but avoided the salts as they would burn and sting with all her little scratches and cuts. She would miss the subtle scent of vanilla, but it couldn’t be helped. Hopefully her injuries would all be healed soon. Then she could have scented baths all she wanted.
A naughty thought occurred to her. What would the guys do if she wanted them to join her in a bubble bath? Would they join or just sit and watch? She was sure they wouldn’t leave her alone in the tub.
The water stung a bit on her deeper cuts, but overall it was pure bliss. It soothed her sore muscles. Once the stinging went away, she relaxed against the back of the tub.
She couldn’t help but wonder what the men were doing right then. Were they out on the ranch or inside taking showers? She could easily pull up the memories of their nude bodies in minute detail. It sent shivers down her spine at the thought of them touching her, caressing her. Haley moaned and leaned back in the tub. She needed to be thinking about their relationship, not sex.
As soon as the water grew cool, she climbed out of the tub and quickly dried off. Since she wasn’t hungry yet, Haley thought she would relax and take a nap before fixing something to eat. The bed looked wonderful to her. She pulled her phone out of her pants pocket and set it on the bedside table and climbed beneath the sheets.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Friday afternoon seemed to drag by as Haley finished up a case exploration for her bosses. She hoped that since it would be close to five anyway, that she could go ahead and leave. She really wanted a shower before the guys showed up.
Haley had spent the last two days thinking about them and what they meant to her. She loved them. More than that, she adored them and wanted to spend all her time with them, but did that amount to something more permanent, or was it something they would all grow out of eventually? How could she tell?
The hands on the clock didn’t look like they were moving. She struggled to get her mind back on her work. Not five minutes later she was back to thinking about them once again. What would she do if they asked her to move in with them again? She didn’t have an answer for that even after all the thinking she had been doing lately.
Finally, she typed the last paragraph and sentence on her paper. She read over it before printing it out and taking it to her boss. He nodded and smiled at her.
“How are you feeling today?”
“I’m fine. A little tired, but I’m still taking antibiotic and it makes me feel bad.”
“Why don’t you go ahead and leave early. It’s four, and you work late often enough to more than deserve an hour off. I’ll see you Monday.”
“Thanks! I appreciate it.” She smiled and hurried back to her desk to gather her things and shut down her computer.
Two minutes later, she was on her way home. When she pulled into the drive, Haley felt a sudden overwhelming fear of getting out of her car. She sat there for a few minutes, but the feeling didn’t go away. There was no way she was going to be able to get out and go inside. She was shaking all over.
Haley backed out of her drive and headed for the ranch. She didn’t stop shaking until she reached their mile long drive. When she pulled up behind Joshua’s truck, she didn’t even make it out of her SUV before Jayson was at the door.
“Hey, baby…” Then he saw her face and he picked her up and carried her toward the house.
“What’s wrong with Haley?” Joshua opened the door for them.
“I don’t know, but she’s white as a sheet.”
Jayson carried her into the living room and sat on the couch with her still in his arms.
“What’s wrong, Haley? What happened?”
“I don’t know. I feel so silly.”
“Don’t worry about feeling silly. Something spooked you.”
“I got off early and thought I’d take a shower before you got there, but when I drove up to the house, I got a sick feeling and couldn’t get out. So I came here instead.”
“You did good, baby girl. You can always, no matter what, come to us. You understand?”
She nodded. Then she buried her face in Jayson’s shirt. She was so embarrassed.
“Yeah, is the sheriff there? This is Joshua Crowley.”
She looked up. Why was he calling the sheriff? She looked back at Jayson. He had the same steely expression on his face.
“What? You don’t think that someone was there, do you?”
“We’re not taking a chance, baby. Matt is out on bail until his court date next week.” Jayson squeezed her closer to him.
“Hey, Sheriff. Haley just drove out here because she got spooked and couldn’t go inside her house. Can you check it out?” he listened then nodded. “Thanks. We’ll wait to hear from you before we head back to pick up her things.” Joshu
a clicked off.
“He’s going to use the key I gave him when you were missing to check out the house. After he calls us back, we’ll go out and pick up your clothes, baby. It’s going to be fine.” Joshua bent over and kissed her lightly on the lips.
“Why did I get so scared? I’m not a sissy.”
“No, you’re not. That’s why I wanted the sheriff to check it out. You have good instincts, Haley. I have to believe that someone was there and you picked up on it.”
Jayson nuzzled her cheek. “Just relax until he calls us back and gives us the all clear.”
“Do you need something to drink?” Joshua asked.
“I could use a beer, but not yet. I need to eat before I drink or I’ll end up sick.”
“How about a glass of iced tea instead?”
“Thanks. That would be great.”
Joshua walked toward the kitchen. He was back in less than a minute with a tall glass of the cool liquid. She sipped it and sighed. She couldn’t believe she’d been so wimpy. What must they think of her? She’d never shown fear like that before. Was she going to be this way from now on?
She finished the tea, and Jayson took the glass from her, handing it to Joshua just as his cell phone rang. He set it on the coffee table then answered his phone.
“Yeah. No shit. Okay. Right. Thanks, Sheriff.” He disconnected and stared at Haley.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Matt was waiting for you in the house. He had a gun, Haley. He was planning to kill you.” Joshua sat down heavily on the couch and pulled her feet up onto his lap.
“Thank God you didn’t get out of your car, Haley.” Jayson buried his face in her hair.
Joshua pulled off her shoes and began to massage her feet. She could tell that he was just as upset as Jayson by the way his jaw was set.
She reached out to him. “I’m okay, Joshua. I’m all right.”
“If you hadn’t gotten the willies, you would have walked into a trap, baby. I can’t get that out of my mind.”
“Did the sheriff say what they are going to do with Matt?” Jayson asked.
