by Rye Hart
“Can you make it a bottle of white wine?” Whitney asked.
“Wasn’t gonna bring that red shit that Katie chokes down,” Lizzie said. “Shit sucks.”
“Actually, I wouldn’t mind having a beer or two,” I said.
The tub fell silent as everyone turned their eyes toward me. Grins popped up on all the brothers’ faces as Whitney stared at me with her eyebrows hiked up on her head.
Lizzie threw her fist in the air as she scurried off, her feet carrying her fast for the bar across the hallway.
“Are you going to be okay?” Whitney asked.
“Yeah. One or two won’t hurt anything,” I said.
“Glad to see you settlin’ back into things,” Caleb said.
“How’re you feelin’?” Andrew asked.
“Better. Relaxed. This hot tub is wonderful. Do all of the resorts have one?” I asked.
“They do. A couple have multiple ones,” Dylan said. “Speaking of— Caleb? I just thought of a feature that could go in the South Carolina build.”
“We really talkin’ shop right now?” Caleb asked.
“Private hot tubs on the balconies for the suites,” Dylan said.
“Oh, shit. Good idea. I’ll log it away before the beer gets here,” Caleb said.
“New rule. When in a hot tub with hot women, stop fuckin’ talkin’ bout work,” Wyatt said.
“Language. After all, you did say that we were in the presence of beautiful women,” Dylan said, with a mischievous grin.
“Oh, he’s a charmer,” Whitney said.
“Women such as yourselves deserve nothing less,” Dylan said.
But even though he was speaking to Whitney, his eyes were hooked onto me.
Lizzie came back with a cooler full of all the drinks we specified. The beer loosened up my body as well as my tongue, and soon the guys and I were talking as if nothing had changed. It brought back a lot of memories. I quickly found why I had fantasized about them all the time as a teenager. Why I was always masturbating to them and wishing they would kiss me. They were true gentleman with just a spark of wolfish nature. Not enough to make them seem like dogs, but enough to make you know you were wanted. I threw back my first beer without a second thought and was sipping on my second one as a flushed feeling of euphoria tumbled over my body.
The bubbles were popping against my skin, and the water felt like it was getting hotter.
I was relaxed. Loose. Unaware of worries that still plagued my subconscious mind.
It almost made me wonder what would’ve happened had I stayed, found a law school in the state and stuck by their sides. Would one of them have taken me in? Would I have ended up as part of the O’Conner clan? I never would’ve met Michael, and that would’ve been a good thing. But would I have ended up with one of them?
The thought ran through my mind all night as our party grew loud.
“You look wonderful in that suit,” Caleb said quietly.
“You haven’t seen me in it,” I said with a giggle.
“I have. You got out to go to the bathroom, and I couldn't take my eyes off you.”
“Now you know how I felt on all those fishing trips we took,” I said.
His eyes darkened as I clamped my mouth shut. What in the world had I admitted to?
“Katie? Want another beer?” Andrew asked.
“Nope. Two’s my limit now,” I said.
“This mornin’, you didn’t drink beer,” Andrew said. “You sure you don’t want another?”
“I’m sure. Have to keep myself under control,” I said.
“You know we got your back, right?” Andrew asked. “If you get rowdy, we got ya.”
“Doesn’t mean I should be,” I said. “But thank you. That means a lot.”
“You’re important. You should know someone’s lookin’ out for you.”
The comments kept coming all night long. Flirting and bantering. Drinking and laughing. It was more fun than I’d had in years, and it came as no shock to me that the brothers would be at the center of it all. Things felt natural with them. Fluid and familiar. I found myself floating around to each of them, feeling their hands somewhere along my body before I floated over to another. It was the first time I’d felt any other man’s hands on my body but Michael’s, and I found myself enjoying their attention and their light touches and the caresses of their fingertips.
But I could tell Whitney wasn’t happy one bit.
And I knew I’d hear about it in the morning.
CHAPTER 5
ANDREW
Holy fuck.
The hot tub party got fuckin’ nuts. Girls in bikinis slinging back beers and bottles of wine. It was fuckin’ paradise. And, the best part was Katie.
Man, she looked fuckin hot. Hotter than I’d ever seen her. Her blonde hair had been piled high onto her head, leaving her long luscious neck exposed. What I wouldn’t have given to run my tongue along it’s curve.
Her breasts were high and full and I’d wondered how the weight of them would feel in my hands. It was all I could do to keep myself from running my fingers along the generous curve of her hip when she’d come to sit with me. Dammit, I was in trouble.
She was relaxing and enjoying her time, though I could tell her friend Whitney was a little on the irritated side about her opening up some beers. What was the issue? Katie slung them back all the time in high school with us. Her tolerance was through the roof. And even if Katie did get rowdy, what country girl in daisy dukes and boots didn’t?
In all honesty, I didn’t like Whitney. She seemed to be too controlling of Katie. The way she was looking at her in the hot tub when Katie was drinking those beers didn’t sit right with me. It was like she was shaming Katie for getting back to her roots.
That rubbed me the wrong way, and once Whitney started draping herself over all the guys, that was the last straw for me.
But I wasn’t going to tell Katie that.
Work hard, play hard was my mantra.
And Katie deserved to fucking party it up.
We all helped the girls stumble to Katie’s suite. Figured they’d all want to crash together. When I woke up early that morning with a pounding head and a desperate need for water, I knew the girls would wake up in much the same condition.
After popping some medicine and chugging two bottles of water, I made my way to their suite. It was my damn day off, and I was going to make the best of it. Katie was in town with two friends, and they were celebrating Katie not marrying some asshole she met in the city.
That was an occasion I wanted to celebrate, too.
I stole some food from the kitchen and made my way to their room. I set out juice and water as well as a full bottle of Tylenol for them to have when they woke up. I started frying up some bacon and sizzling some sausage, boiling some grits and scrambling some cheesy eggs. Katie ate the shit out of cheesy eggs. It was always her go-to breakfast want. Their suite was filled with the sweet sounds and smells of breakfast as I heard them stirring, stretching, and bitching about their heads.
They were pretty drunk the night before. Wyatt had to carry Lizzie to the damn elevator, and Katie was draped around my shoulder. Whitney was volleying herself between Dylan and Caleb, which made for a lot of giggling fits as we rode up to their room. The night had been fun, but this morning, the consequences reared their ugly heads.
The girls were hungover as fuck and begging for their lives.
“Lord help me, I’m dying,” Lizzie said.
“Shut up. Your voice hurts,” Whitney said.
“There’s a man in our kitchen,” Lizzie said. “The fuck’s that?”
“It’s Andrew,” Katie said.
I turned my head at the sound of her voice as she came shuffling out of her room. She looked like hell. Hair matted to her face and her eyes all red and puffy. Leaning against the doorway like she was still half-drunk. Whitney groaned as she peeled herself out of bed as Lizzie flopped down at the kitchen table, and Katie closed her eyes while she
held her head.
“Got some Tylenol on the table. Come sit on down. Breakfast is ready,” I said.
“God bless you for all this,” Lizzie said.
“Yeah. Thanks,” Whitney said.
But all Katie did was stumble to the table and plop down heavily into a chair.
The girls passed around Tylenol and juice as I put food on their plates. I wasn’t a cook like Dylan, but I learned my way around a kitchen. Living as a single man will force that on anyone, especially if he doesn’t want to eat garbage the rest of his life. Whitney and Lizzie dug in, stuffing their mouths and moaning at the delicious food on their plates.
But Katie sat there, her eyes closed and her head still in her hands.
I washed up the dishes as Lizzie and Whitney talked. They were trying to get Katie to engage, but she kept shutting them up. Man. She must’ve felt worse than she looked, and my heart went out to her.
I wish I could’ve taken her pain away from her.
“I think I’m gonna go take a shower,” Lizzie said. “Whitney. Wanna help?”
“With you taking a shower?” Whitney asked.
“Just come on,” Lizzie said. “Get better at reading signals, city girl.”
Lizzie tossed me a wink as she dragged Whitney back into a bedroom, then the door shut with a slam as Katie groaned.
“Anythin’ I can get you?” I asked. “Coffee? More Tylenol? A morphine drip?”
“Death? Death sounds good,” Katie said.
“Not on your life, pretty lady.”
“Haven’t been called that in a long time.”
“Which tells me you made the right choice. Any man at your side should remind you how beautiful you are on a daily basis,” I said.
“I’m sorry,” she said with a sigh.
“For what?”
“For whatever embarrassing thing I did last night.”
“Nothin’ embarrassin’ for you to be apologizin’ about,” I said.
“I’m sure there was something. When I wake up like this, it’s always something.”
“I promise, you did nothin’ wrong. I haven’t seen you have fun like that in a long time. I’m glad you got to have some finally.”
“Any reason your voice dropped a whole octave there?” she asked.
There was, but I wasn’t sure if I should’ve been talking about it with a woman recuperating from one heartache already. Even if I tip-toed around it, I’d be walking a fine line. Risking ruining my friendship with her over some fantasy I had one time at a fucking bonfire. But ever since I’d held her close in my arms that night, I couldn’t get her out of my mind. My attraction to her had always been strong, but she was “little Katie,” and that was that. I wasn’t no pervert, and I wasn’t fixing to start then.
But last night, in the hot tub, things got intense. The flirting got real, and her body started pressing into everyone, and she stayed in my arms longer than most. She curled into me with her soft curves and her string bikini, and I could feel her pressing deeper into my chest. My arms fell around her, cloaking her and trying to soak up as much of her as I could before she pushed away.
“Andrew?”
I shook my head, pulling myself from my trance.
“What was that?” I asked.
“I said, ‘thank you for breakfast.’ It was very kind of you to come in here and cook for us.”
“Well, I don’t cook like Dylan can, but your friends ate it so it must’ve not been bad.”
“I’ll get to eating it once my headache goes away.”
“Take another Tylenol. You only took two,” I said. “You can take a third one. Won’t kill ya.”
“I will. Thanks.”
“Not a problem. I’d love to stay and chat, but I figured I’d leave y’all to recuperate. I’m off today, but if you need anythin’, Dylan’s got the front desk again downstairs.”
“Got any plans for your day?”
“I’m plannin’ the family reunion.”
“The O’Conner Family Bash is coming up soon?” she asked.
“Next week, actually. Gonna be a good one.”
“They always are,” she said.
“You know you can come if you want.”
She raised her head from her hands and chanced a look at me. I could see her squinting her eyes in pain, and it killed my heart. But it was odd to me that she was experiencing a hangover this bad. Even with the wine she had with the girls, she only had two beers.
How long had it been since she really let loose like that?
“I think I’m going to take my breakfast to bed,” Katie said.
“Whatever you want. I’m gonna start this dishwasher, then I’ll get outta y’all’s way,” I said.
“Goodnight, Andrew.”
“It’s ten in the mornin’, Katie.”
“Well, I’m falling back to sleep sometime today. So goodnight.”
I chuckled as she smiled at me, gracing me with that sparkle in her eye just before she shut her bedroom door. I heard the other two girls giggling up a storm in the bathroom. Probably listening in on our conversation or some shit. I started the dishwasher and left the room, ready to start the last leg of planning for the reunion.
Then I ran straight into Dylan.
“Checkin’ on the girls?” he asked.
“Yep. They’re all back asleep. Cooked ‘em some breakfast.”
“Hope you didn’t kill ‘em,” he said.
“My cookin’s not that bad, asshole.”
“Language, Andrew. And since I have you here, I want to talk about the family reunion comin’ up next week. Anythin’ you need me to do?”
“Nope. I’m gonna go double-check with Caleb on food. He’s supposed to go shopping after his half shift today. Then I’m gonna talk to Wyatt and make sure no one has RSVP’d last minute for this damn time. And yes, I know. Language. Got it.”
“It would be best if you stopped cussin’ all together,” he said.
“Not a chance. Sorry it hurts your dainty little ears, bro. But I ain’t changin’. And before you say anythin’, no. I don’t do it in front of paying customers.”
“Good. Because guests don’t want to hear that kinda trash talk on their vacations,” he said. “What are we grillin’ for the reunion?”
“Figured chicken breasts, an array of vegetables, corn on the cob, some shrimp, and hamburgers.”
“What’s for dessert?”
“Banana puddin’ and Momma’s Oreo Layer Cookie Cake,” I said.
“Perfect. You sure you don’t need anythin’ from me?” Dylan asked.
“I invited Katie, but she didn’t really give me a straight up answer. Make sure to invite her again when she’s feelin’ better. I think she might like comin’. And double-check the time for me. Right now, I’ve got it in my head that it starts at two. Let me know if that’s right.”
“Didn’t you send out the invitations?” he asked.
“I made a damn Facebook event ‘bout it, Dylan. Fuck. You ask me what you can do, then you shit on me for it?”
“Yikes. Someone else needs some more sleep as well. Take a nap before you trot around doin’ all this stuff.”
“Plan on it. Last night was a wild ride, and I’m exhausted.”
“You’re not the only one. Took me three cups of coffee to remember my name this mornin’.”
“Had you taken Whitney to bed with you last night, she could’ve reminded you of it all night long,” I said with a grin.
“Not my type. You know that. Let me know if you need anythin’ else.”
“Just a double-check on the time and to make sure someone else invites Katie,” I said.
“I can do both,” he said. “And remember, you’re off today. If I see you ‘round that front desk or fiddlin’ in the stables with the animals, I’m tearin’ you up.”
“Got it. Family reunion shit and no work shit.”
“Language,” he said.
“You know I’m gonna keep cussin’ just to piss you off
.”
CHAPTER 6
WYATT
Sunday was an optional work day for me, and I decided to take it.
With this new property we’d acquired for the resort, there was shit tons of marketing and advertising that had to be done.
Slogan selection and planning out commercials, trying to find a way to tap into the East Coast and how we could get them excited about booking a room at our new Charleston addition took a lot of brain power.
I was going cross-eyed looking at everything, and I knew I had to get up from my desk. I’d drive myself fuckin’ insane trying to come up with things on the spot if I didn’t clear my head. That was my job; marketing and advertising for the resort. That and helping Andrew out with the animals when he got swamped with other stuff Dylan was always throwing at him.
And the best thing to clear my head during a day like that was a good horseback ride.
“Wyatt?”
I turned around as I walked toward the back door and saw the prettiest sight alive. Katie was standing there with her curly hair bouncing around her cheeks. It used to be so long and big with poof but having those curls all around her face suited her now that she was in her twenties. She came up to me smiling and threw her arms around me, and I soaked up her warmth for as long as I could.
“You look good for someone’ nursin’ a hangover,” I said.
“I see you talked to Andrew,” she said.
“Briefly. You get a nap in?” I asked.
“I did. But when I woke up, Lizzie and Whitney weren’t around. You know where they headed off to?”
“My guess is either back to the bar or the pool, though they might’ve been scheduled to leave today. Most of the guests were before things happened.”
“Oh, man. I didn’t think about that. They did tell me they wouldn’t’ dare to wake me up after my wicked hangover. You think Dylan would look it up for me and see if they’ve checked out?”
“I’m sure he’d do anythin’ for you if you flashed him that pretty smile of yours,” I said. “You gettin’ yourself into anythin’ today?”
“Just a horseback ride. I was going to see if the girls wanted to come with me, but since there’s a chance they aren’t even here, you want to go with?”
