by Melody Anne
“I see your morning meetings are going well. It seems you’ve even made your next major acquisition,” she spat. She was trying to control her voice, but the venom running wild in her blood seeped through her words.
His smile fell away, replaced by a look of surprise. The cheating creep hadn’t even removed his arm from around that little bimbo’s waist. Was he really that cruel?
“I know we never talked about being exclusive, but I figured if you can sleep in the same bed with me all night, the least you could do is stay away from harlots during the day.” Haley shook with mounting frustration; tears welled up in her eyes.
Trying to calm herself and keep her cool, she took a few deep breaths. He wasn’t worth her tears.
When his mouth lifted and a sparkle entered his eyes, she saw red and lifted her hand to smack the grin from his face. He easily caught her and pulled her against his side, finally releasing the woman beside him. And the little winch also happened to be smiling. How punishing could these people be?
Toast. They were toast.
“Haley, I’d like you to meet my sister, Brielle.”
It took several heartbeats for Crew’s words to sink in, and once they did, Haley’s face flamed. Now he would know for sure how crazy she was. She couldn’t even look in the chuckling woman’s eyes. She’d just called his sister a whore. Who did that?
“It’s nice to meet you, Haley. Don’t worry about it; I know what a rake my brother can be. You have every right to assume the worst, though I will tell you, he was just gushing about you five seconds before you walked up in all your terrifying glory.” Brielle stuck out her hand.
Suddenly unable to speak, Haley met Brielle’s outstretched hand and shook it, feeling like a fool. It was Crew’s fault — she just couldn’t quite figure out how. Never before had she wished for a natural disaster, but she was praying for a hurricane to appear instantly and carry her off deep into the sea. Or a boiler could blow up…
“Sorry,” she finally mumbled when her wish wasn’t granted and the sky remained clear.
“My father wanted to surprise me by showing up out of the blue. Last time we chatted, he just said he was coming sometime. I figured he’d give me notice, but he likes to pop up unannounced. This is my dad, Richard,” he introduced.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Sutherland. As Brielle told you, Crew was speaking highly about you moments before you appeared. I hope you will be joining us this evening for dinner so we can get to know you better.” The twinkle in his eyes looked familiar, but Haley couldn’t trust anything she was seeing right now. She could barely meet the man’s eyes, let alone try to figure out why he looked like someone she’d met before.
Haley would rather be dropped off a cliff than spend time with the people she’d just insulted, but she nodded and smiled, trying furiously to think of any excuse to go running back into the resort. She’d bury herself under a mound of blankets and inhale a gallon of ice cream.
“Excellent. Our family has much to talk about and much to celebrate,” Richard said, taking her nod for affirmation, and then looking back at his son.
Haley spoke a bit too brightly. “That’s wonderful. I really have to be getting back inside. I’ll let you all catch up,” she said, tugging against Crew, ready to make her escape.
“Mmm, I like this jealous streak. Maybe you can punish me later,” he whispered in her ear, making her cheeks heat all over again. “Too bad the anklet doesn’t fit me.”
How could he say that in front of his family? Even if they couldn’t hear, she was terrified they knew exactly what he was whispering in her ear.
Without another word, she managed to untangle herself from Crew’s arms, and she fled inside.
She wasn’t coming out again for another ten years. Maybe her blush would have faded by then. She doubted it, but miracles did come true sometimes.
Chapter Twenty-Two
It wasn’t often that Crew didn’t have a word to say, but this was too much for him. How could it be possible? Things like this happened only in fiction, not in real life.
“I understand your shock, son,” Richard said. “I couldn’t believe it myself, but it is true. Signed, sealed, delivered, and scientifically verified. I didn’t want to give you news like this over the telephone, and I certainly didn’t want to tell you until I knew it was fact. We’ve already spoken to Ashton, Tanner and Lance. Brielle was the stop right before we came here. She insisted on joining us.”
Still, Crew sat there and stared at these men, these near duplicates of his father — his uncles. As the oldest child, Crew had always wanted more family when he was younger, cousins to play with, tell secrets to, and run amok with. Now that he was a grown man, he was finding out they’d been there all along, on the other side of the USA.
His family had taken vacations in California, had been through Seattle. He could have sat next to his cousins at a table, and never known. It was all so overwhelming.
“You’re taking it about as well as my oldest boy, Lucas, did,” Joseph said. The booming sound of his voice finally snapped Crew out of his shock.
“I’m sorry I’m being so disrespectful. I…it’s just a lot to take in,” he murmured.
“Well, of course it is, boy. It’s not every day you find out you have aunts and uncles, and a heck of a lot of cousins. We’ve planned a family gathering so you can meet. They will love you all as if you’ve known each other since day one. Family means everything to George and me. Plus, it’s been a real privilege for us to meet our brother, Richard. We want to know our new niece and nephews.”
The way this larger-than-life man instantly accepted a new family as his own was humbling. How many years had Crew taken family for granted? How many times had he gone off and not once thought of calling his siblings? It had been only after his father’s ultimatum that he’d pulled himself together — finally seeing what he had to lose.
Not the money. Sure, at first, that had been the worst of it, but when he and his siblings had sat down to plot against their old man, something else had happened. They’d bonded again — a bond that had been stretched thin over the years, but never broken. Now, they spoke at least once a week. They knew what was happening in each other’s lives. They were a family again, leaning on each other for moral support during the difficult undertaking of transforming troubled businesses.
Now, they had even more family, and Crew wanted to meet them all.
“When is the soonest we can do this?”
“I want everyone there for Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday because that’s when I get to look around an abundant table and count my blessings. I hope you’ll plan on it,” Joseph replied.
“Yes, of course,” Crew responded.
“There’s an extra setting for your spitfire girlfriend, too,” Joseph said, sending Richard a wink.
Crew looked incredulously from Joseph to his father and then burst out laughing. Despite being apart their entire lives, the men were more alike than seemed possible. Was matchmaking in the family genes? Next Joseph would be yammering on about grandbabies... No. Not likely. No one could be as bad as his dad was when it came to pushiness for the next generation to be born.
“I will consider that,” he said, refusing to satisfy the old meddlers’ obvious curiosity. Let them sweat. Yes, he was in love with Haley, but she was still frightened. He was waiting for the right moment to tell her she was never escaping him. She could run and she could hide, but he would never let her get away.
“Stubborn. That’s definitely Anderson blood,” George grumbled.
Crew sat back smugly, pulled out a cigar and lit it.
“Well, don’t be selfish there, boy. Offer your uncles one, too,” Joseph bellowed. With a laugh Crew handed over cigars to all three men.
“Disgusting habit,” Brielle said as she moved her chair away from the smoke.
“You don’t know what you’re missing out on, Brielle. These are magnificent, came to me all the way from Colombia.”
<
br /> “I’m done with this testosterone-filled room. I think I’ll find your girlfriend, Crew, and see what dirt I can get on you. I have a few stories to tell her, too.”
Crew considered trying to stop her, but knew he’d be wasting his time or worse. His sister was a force of nature, and when she went after something, it was dangerous to stand in her way.
Instead, he sat back and whipped his head to and fro, listening to the three brothers bantering together as if they’d never spent a day apart. His father wouldn’t be lonely ever again.
*****
Brielle took her time exploring her brother’s resort. She couldn’t deny feeling a bit of jealousy that his project was a luxury hotel, while she was stuck on a ranch.
Then she smiled, for there was nothing at all to pout about. She wouldn’t trade places with Crew if she could. She’d never admit that ranch life was suiting her, but her incredibly hot neighbor was certainly a plus in keeping her in the wilds of Montana.
She’d let her neighbor come milk her…cows anytime!
As she passed the bar, a curious sound caught her attention. Inching the door open, she slipped inside the dimly lit room, then stood by the back wall as she watched Haley in the corner of the room with her long fingers stroking the keys of the piano.
The poor woman was doing a terrible job of playing, but the man behind the bar didn’t seem to mind in the least. When he spotted Brielle, he walked over.
“Sorry, we aren’t open for another two hours,” he said kindly as he motioned for the door.
“I’m here to see Haley,” Brielle said.
The man’s eyes narrowed protectively, which had Brielle’s curiosity piqued. Who was this woman who had the men in her life so ready to spring to her defense? Brielle was determined to figure it out.
“What business do you have with Ms. Sutherland?”
“I promise you it’s nothing bad. Let me introduce myself before you call for the bouncers. My name’s Brielle Storm — Crew’s baby sister.” She stuck out her hand, and after a moment’s pause, the man’s shoulders relaxed.
“Marlin. It’s good to meet you.”
“You don’t have a last name, Marlin?” Brielle asked with a low chuckle.
“Yeah, but I don’t like it. Just call me Marlin. I’ll leave you ladies for a few minutes. I have to run to the back anyway to let the guys know what to bring out.” With that, the man slipped out the door. Haley hadn’t noticed their exchange as she continued to fumble with the chords on the piano.
The girl had also decided to sing, and Brielle didn’t know which was worse, the piano playing, or her singing. She wouldn’t be winning a Grammy anytime soon, though she certainly was enthusiastic.
Now it was time to get to the bottom of what was going on between her and Crew. From the steam flying between Haley and her brother, Brielle strongly suspected she was more than just a girlfriend. Was this woman worthy of her brother? A feeling deep in her gut told her yes.
“I hope I’m not interrupting you,” Brielle said as she came out of the shadows. Haley hit the keys with a jolt, thus ending her “song” with an impressive array of discordant notes. Brielle could see Haley had been hoping her hiding spot would hold, but when Brielle wanted something, nothing would stop her, and right now she wanted to find out who Haley was and exactly what she stood for.
“No. Of course not. I’m not really supposed to be in here, but the bar’s closed right now. Marlin lets me sneak in because I enjoy playing around on the piano, though I’m obviously terrible at it. I took a class in college on music appreciation and picked up the basics. The instructor, who played beautifully, taught me a few simple songs.” Haley neglected to mention the impressive piano in her grandparents’ house — after all, she’d been forbidden to touch it while they were alive.
“I know ‘Frosty the Snowman,’ and ‘Silent Night.’ My father always insists on Christmas carols around the piano, so each of us were required to learn a couple of songs,” Brielle said with a hopeful grin. She sat down on the bench beside Haley and started plunking out “Frosty” since Haley was too shocked to play right then.
“What are the songs Crew knows?” Haley asked, her eyes wide and mouth agape.
“‘The Drummer Boy’ and ‘Friendly Beasts.’”
“I love both of those songs. I’ll have to see if he’ll play them for me,” she said with excitement and delight.
“Well, if you’re planning on coming for Christmas, you’ll hear him,” Brielle said slyly and watched Haley’s reaction.
There was hope in the girl’s face, true hope that she would still be with Crew at Christmas. The worry in Brielle’s chest evaporated when she saw how smitten this woman was.
“That’s several months away,” Haley said, gathering herself together quickly and looking down at the keys.
“Well, I wanted to seek you out to make sure you’ll be there for dinner tonight. I want you to know that I thought you were great not letting Crew get away with anything. If I had been some floozy instead of his sister, you probably would have clawed my eyes out.”
Reddening, Haley glanced over at Brielle, then plunked a few keys with Brielle in a terrible rendition of “Silent Night.”
“I don’t know why I got so upset,” she murmured. “It’s not like we’ve ever said this is something official. We’ve only been together a couple of months now…”
“I think you got so upset because you like my brother — as hard as that is to believe — and maybe even love him.”
Haley now blanched, and Brielle knew without a doubt that she’d just met her future sister-in-law. She and Crew were crazy about each other. Now, they just had to admit it, and Brielle would have her first sister-in-law.
“I...uh…don’t love him,” Haley said. “It’s complicated, but he’s been helping me with some stuff. Men like Crew marry debutantes or Ivy League girls. They may date women like me, but they marry ladies.”
“What do you mean?”
Haley’s pain-filled words tore at Brielle’s heart.
“I’m not exactly in the same class as Crew — as you. I’m not too stupid to realize that. I enjoy him, and he’s been wonderful to me, but this is a summer thing, nothing more. We’re just having fun,” she trailed off.
Brielle studied her, wanting to know this woman’s secrets, wanting to know what had happened in her life that had filled her with so much insecurity.
Guilt consumed her as she thought back to all those years she’d been nothing but a rotten little brat. She’d taken everything she’d been given for granted — the best education, the best clothes, a new car for her sixteenth birthday, everything she’d ever wanted. How shallow she’d been. What a waste of life.
Here was a woman who’d obviously had so much less, yet she was proud and strong and doing it on her own. Brielle had a feeling the two of them would be close friends, and she herself would be the one to gain by the friendship.
“Haley, you should know that love doesn’t care about your rank in life. It doesn’t care where you went to school, or if you can play the piano. Love is magical and honest and it will find you whether you want it to or not. Don’t give up on yourself, because it’s pretty obvious to me that my brother thinks you’re about the classiest girl out there.”
“I…uh…” Haley couldn’t speak.
“I adore my brother. He and my other three brothers always spoiled me rotten — quite rotten, I’m afraid, but that’s a story for another time. I just wanted to meet the woman he’s obviously fallen in love with.”
Brielle beamed to see Haley’s mouth drop open. If nothing else, she’d gotten the wheels in Haley’s head spinning. Sometimes men were big buffoons who just didn’t know how to express themselves, and women had to take matters into their own hands. In fact, she knew of one particular man in Montana who could benefit from hearing her thoughts.
“I won’t keep you any longer, Haley, but I really do hope to see you tonight at dinner. It’s been a real pleasure spea
king with you.” With that, Brielle got up and left the flustered woman alone. Haley had a lot to think about, and Brielle was hoping for a winter wedding.
There was nothing like snow-covered ground when two people joined their lives together. The new bride and groom were literally forging a new path for themselves from the moment they stepped from the warmth of the church and made their way home — their footprints marking their progress in the pure white snow.
Yes, despite a few bumps in her own road, Brielle was a romantic. It was grand to be herself again and even grander to have her family back, all close-knit and full of love.
Smiling giddily to herself as she made her way toward her room, she didn’t even notice the men stopping in their tracks to gaze at her. She knew she was attractive — she wasn’t stupid —but she had no idea of the full power she possessed.
Chapter Twenty-Three
OK, she was in love. Hopelessly, irrevocably and forever in love. Haley’s heart glowed with warmth as she watched the three men sip on their scotch and fill the room with cigar smoke and raucous laughter. They were a riot and she couldn’t get enough of them.
“That’s four of a kind. I win!” Haley pulled the pile of Skittles candies toward herself. She’d more or less cleaned them out.
“I think you’ve been cheating, young lady,” Joseph said with a mock pout as he put down his lowly two pair.
“You, my kind sir, are being a poor loser,” she taunted.
“If only I wasn’t so in love with my Katherine, I’d fight my new nephew for your affections.”
“I could fight Katherine for you,” Haley said with a wink, loving the soft pink glow in his cheeks.
“Ah, young lady, you do know how to make an old man feel young.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
The men had been at the resort for a week, and she sought them out regularly when Crew was busy running his resort. The potential buyers were there, and they’d made an official offer. It looked as if her time in paradise was nearly at its end.
