by Lynn Stark
“Are you okay, Avery? Are you really upset by all these things? If you are, we can take them back.”
He didn’t answer at once, but continued to look out the window. When he did Clarissa thought her heart would break for all the pain she could hear. “No, it’s not that,” he said finally.
“Then what is it?”
There was a long silence when Clarissa didn’t think he would answer. She exchanged a worried glance with Bliss. Had they crossed some boundary? Doing naughty things sexually with someone didn’t necessarily give someone else the right to pry into that person’s personal business. On their side of the argument, however, was the fact that they were trying to include Avery in their lives on a permanent basis. They would have to know something about him, other than the information his employer had given them when he’d requested traveling with the horse. Knowing they couldn’t let just anyone into their lives, they had done a background check and found nothing to throw up red flags. So far Avery’s life had been very uneventful. They had taken the same care with bringing Gilly into their lives. After all, they had to protect Colt and their future children.
“It’s my brothers. I feel guilty having so much fun with you two, and having Colt and Gilly, while they’re hiding out.”
“Hiding out from whom?”
“All three of us are hiding from our father and his crackpot friends. They’ve started one of those centers where they rehabilitate gays.” He grimaced. “We get to go for free.”
Horrified, Clarissa glanced at an equally shocked Bliss before looking back at Avery.
“You’re all hiding from your father?” Bliss asked. Avery nodded. “For how long?”
“A long time,” he said bitterly. “At first we thought just moving out would be enough. And it was, for a while. Then our parents got this wild idea that we could be cured and they wouldn’t have to live with the shame of having gay and bisexual sons. After that, it’s all been downhill. They actually caught my brother Tristan once. They kept him in a small room with the lights on all the time and didn’t give him much more than water. Alex and I learned where it was and we got him out.”
“That’s kidnapping! I mean, what your parents did,” Bliss corrected quickly.
Clarissa could feel the fury pouring off the other woman. She felt the same. Some people were just such assholes. The harm they were doing to their sons was unbelievable.
Avery shook his head and looked at them with eyes filled with so much pain that it made her heart break. “Not when one of your father’s friends is a psychiatrist and declared Tristan as mentally unstable and unable to care for himself. Our parents were made his legal guardians. Tristan had never even met the guy until they’d caught him and taken him to their rehabilitation center. We’ve all been hiding out ever since, taking jobs that pay under the table, working for people who don’t want to know anything about you.”
“That’s a terrible way to live. And we will help you do something about it!” Clarissa declared. “You’ve arrived in the right place.” She turned in her seat and put the car in gear. “Let’s go get a nice cup of hot chocolate at the hotel. In the meantime, call your brothers. If they need help, we have the resources to get them here.”
Though she tried not to listen, Clarissa couldn’t help it as she drove around the square and then turned right onto the street which would take them to the parking lot behind the Silver Star Hotel. She parked the car, but didn’t turn it off as she listened to Avery trying to convince his brothers to come out of hiding.
The call did no good whatsoever. They had to practically pull the heartbroken Avery out of the car. They took him inside, walking through to the restaurant. Avery pulled off his hat and tried to organize his blond curls even as Albert, the maître d, approached them. The man had always been such a dickhead with patrons. Not to Bliss or her, of course. Colt would have given the man a new asshole. But since meeting his wife Barbara, he had mellowed out. On some days Clarissa thought she actually saw him smiling. Incredible!
Now Albert led them to their favorite table at the front, where they could watch what was happening around Silver’s square. Snow covered nearly every object, fire hydrants excluded. People scurried along, trying to get where they were going without suffering too much from the icy wind. Even though there was a small mall outside of town, residents and tourists alike loved the shops inside the old part of town the best.
Clarissa ordered hot chocolate and a plate of chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies. Avery sat very quietly, obviously still distressed by his brothers’ unwillingness to come to Silver. They would discuss it while sipping the chocolate. It was a wonderful, soothing concoction. Bliss giggled and Clarissa smiled when the huge white mugs of steaming hot chocolate were brought out. Avery’s eyes about popped out of his head at the sight. Fat marshmallows floated on the top. A matching white chocolate pot was placed in the center of the table, along with the cookies they had ordered, as well as a selection of other sweet treats.
“Now,” Clarissa began in firm tones. “Let’s just see what we can think of to get your brothers here where they will be safe.”
“You can really do that?”
“We know people,” Bliss told him confidently, smiling before lifting her mug.
“Yeah,” Clarissa agreed. “The kind of people who’ll make your father think twice about doing anything stupid a second time.”
“You have connections with the mob?” Avery asked, wide-eyed. He swallowed hard.
“No. Much better. We have friends.”
Chapter Five
Colt sighed. He had hoped after this morning that Gilly and Avery would both realize they had no reason to be jealous of one another. They, however, were proving that he had expected too much too soon. Many people in Silver seemed to connect instantaneously.
Neither man had any experience with the manner in which the people of Silver lived their lives. While Gilly had come to the town for that very reason, to give it a chance and to find love with a man and a woman, he had not expected to be thrown into a relationship with four other people.
The five of them were in the billiards room, a room which had seen the wealthy of the nineteenth century, railroad tycoons, industrialists, and shipbuilders, as well as presidents, kings, and bored European princelings. At one time his great-great-grandfather had hosted parties people begged invitations to. It was during one of these “parties,” which lasted several weeks as the rich took their holidays in the Wild West, that his ancestor had met Colt’s Russian great-great-grandmother. It was a stroke of luck for her to be out of Russia at the time, otherwise she would likely have been killed in the revolution. Perhaps he could distract them with a history of the room and the house. Hell, nothing else had worked.
It would take time. Colt supposed there was no real rush. It would be nice to have everyone settle in, if Gilly and Avery decided to stay, before he married Bliss and Clarissa. In little less than two days the two men had come to mean a lot to them. It would hurt if they decided they couldn’t find it in themselves to give their relationship a serious try. Still, he wouldn’t push them.
Shifting his gaze to where Bliss and Clarissa were perched on tall stools to watch the almost non-existent game, he admired them. Colt knew he would have to ask them to marry him very soon. Now that he had agreed to it there was no putting it off. There was no reason to do so. He had been lonely and miserable without them and knew they had felt the same.
Excitement buzzed through Colt at the thought of marrying the two women whom had come to mean so much to him. Why had he never really given it any thought? Admitting as much to his friend Piper had been one of the most embarrassing moments of his life. How did he get to his age without thinking about marriage and children?
Then there was the generosity the women had shown when taking his needs as a bisexual man into consideration. How unselfish was that? They wouldn’t try asking him to be only half of who he was, though he had to wonder how much searching he would d
o for another man if it didn’t work out with Gilly and Avery. They were both perfect in their own way, each offering something different. He had some work to do there, but knew they had to work their own differences out themselves.
A shiver of pleasure pushed away his rather glum thoughts as a female body slid onto his lap. He smiled down at Bliss as she settled herself, gazing at him with her heart in her beautiful gray eyes. Neither woman had ever hidden a thing from him. They gave him everything they had and more. It would be like that after they married, too. No, it would be better after they married because he wouldn’t be so selfishly unaware of it.
Lifting a hand he ran his finger over her lips, smiling when she teased the tip with her tongue. She then kissed it and snuggled closer to his chest.
They had been together so long that trying to be without them had been the dumbest thing he had ever done. He could have lost them. What if they had found someone more emotionally generous than he had been?
“What has made your face sour?” Bliss asked, lifting a soft hand to stroke his cheek. He felt the rasp and knew he would have to shave before they went to play. And he planned to play a lot with his women. “I don’t think I’ve seen that particular expression since your favorite mare was bred to the wrong stallion.”
A laugh escaped him. He took her hand and brought it to his lips so he could kiss her palm. “I was just telling myself I have been a real jerk for a long time.”
“Oh, never!” Bliss cried, knowing exactly what he was talking about. “We were all in the middle of a muddle. We all needed time to work things out in our heads. And it worked, didn’t it? We all put ourselves in a different place. It needed to be done, otherwise we would still be stuck doing and thinking the same old things.”
“In the middle of a muddle?” Colt asked, a brow lifting as he smiled down at her. “Is that even possible?”
“Of course it is. We just went through it. Anyway, things are working out between us. Well, it will if those two can stop glaring at each other.” She waved a careless hand toward Avery and Gilly, who were starting to argue over a game of billiards…again. “Everything will be fine. We just have some wrinkles to smooth out.”
Actually, they had a lot of wrinkles to smooth out. Bliss and Clarissa managed to get Avery to tell the story of how he and his brothers were in hiding. There was some concern, of course. Colt didn’t like the idea of the danger this could pose, not only for Avery, but for all of them. But as he had told Avery, there were solutions to most problems and with some thought, planning, and discussing the details with new friends of his, they should be able to find their solution to this one.
Seeing the pain and worry in Avery’s eyes had caused his own protective nature to kick in. He really wished that it wasn’t Avery’s father they had to deal with. He doubted his young lover would appreciate it if he beat the crap out of the man.
No, they would have to be reasonably civilized in handling the matter. Reasonably being the operative word. No one said a thing about him having to be nice. And he wouldn’t be sending nice men to retrieve Avery’s brothers. If there was any interference, it would be dealt with accordingly.
A not-so-pleasant smile curved his mouth as he thought of the four men he would ask to do the job.
“Oh, I know that look!” Clarissa said as she rose from the chair she had been sitting in to cross the room, her rounded hips swaying provocatively. “What are you planning, my darling man?”
It took Colt a moment to answer as his gaze moved appreciatively over the woman. They no longer had girlish bodies with taut breasts, slim hips, and thighs. They were both filling out and as he had before, he found a true appreciation for how their bodies were now. Though they were both physically fit, their soft curves added to their allure. His cock twitched beneath Bliss, signaling its agreement and he knew he would have to take them to play very soon. Bliss giggled and rubbed her ass against his rigid flesh.
Colt cleared his throat. “I was thinking about the men I would have go after Avery’s brothers. They’ll be able to do the job in a manner I wouldn’t have the patience for.”
“And which men would that be? Levi and Connor for sure.”
“Yes, Levi and Connor,” he confirmed, trying to keep his mind on the subject. Bliss was still squirming like a naughty imp on his lap and Clarissa was behind the chair, her delicate hands stroking his neck and shoulders. The pad of her thumb traced the outer edge of his ear. “And I believe Jax and Lang should be the other two. Ben and Cross are more likely to blow something up before asking questions.”
That got Avery’s attention away from sniping at Gilly. He dropped his stick on the table and hurried across the room, worry on his face. “They won’t get my brothers hurt, will they?”
“I’ll be sending these men to collect your brothers. If there’s a chance they’re being watched by your father and his people, they will need help getting away. I want you to call your brothers again. Explain that Silver is a very safe place for them to be. If they have no emotional connections to where they are hiding, then they should come here. Tell them, too, that I have men that can be trusted to provide them both with a safe means of getting here. The invitation also includes anyone they might be involved with.”
“I’ll try,” Avery said, frowning. “But they both said they were safe where they were and that they didn’t want to leave.”
“The problem with staying in one place too long, it makes it easier to be found. Talk to them. If you can’t convince them, perhaps I should speak with them.”
That seemed to put the hope back in the younger man. His body straightened and a light came into his eyes. “I’ll give it another try.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and headed to the other end of the room.
Colt watched as Avery paced back and forth across the room, his body language speaking volumes. Patting Bliss on the hip she slipped off his lap. He walked toward Avery and waited. Sad blue eyes looked up at him. Colt held out his hand and the phone was put into it.
“That’s Tristan.”
Nodding, Colt put the phone to his ear. “Tristan? My name is Colt Redford. I’m Avery’s lover.” He kept his voice calm, steady, emphasizing his relationship with the man’s brother. “Is there a reason why you don’t want to leave the place you’re at?”
“It’s safe here,” Tristan said finally, his voice low. “It’s so far out in the country it’s tough to even find the place.”
“Do you ever leave it?”
“Not often,” he admitted. “But boredom’s better than what my father wants done to me.”
“I can understand that. But the longer you’re in one place the easier it will be for your father to find you. I know two very trustworthy men who will come get you and bring you here, to Silver. Even if your father tracks you here, you will be surrounded by people with only your best interests at heart.” He paused, but when Tristan didn’t respond immediately, he decided to use a little emotional blackmail. “Your brother is terribly worried about you and Alex. He’s quite pale. He didn’t eat much at supper. The three of you have been hiding long enough. It’s time you take a stand here, in Silver, with your brothers. Not only will you be safe, but I will provide you with a legal team which will see to it that your parents no longer have any control over your life.”
Another long silence followed his promise. Colt looked at Avery and gave him a reassuring smile. A wobbly one was given in return. He was pleased to note that Gilly had moved close to Avery and had a protective arm around him.
“I’ll come,” Tristan finally said in a low, shaky voice. “Just tell me when I should expect your friends to get here. I’m living on a farm about fifty miles from Atlanta.”
Colt memorized the directions. He was relieved when Tristan’s voice became stronger, more confident. He saw it as a sign that Avery’s brother was determined to do this. “There will be two men. Their names are Levi and Connor. I’ll send a photo to your phone and give them your number. They’ll leave tonight an
d be there first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks, Mr. Redford,” Tristan said quietly. “I’ll owe you for this.”
“Call me Colt. We’re practically family. And you don’t owe me a thing.”
Colt had Avery call Alex next. Evidently another call was enough pressure for him to agree to come to Silver. After the brothers spoke for a moment, he took the phone again and repeated the process, getting the location in Arizona and giving Alex the names of the men who would be coming for him.
“A whole plane just for me?” Alex wanted to know, sounding excited. “A private plane like I’ve seen in the movies?”
“Better. This one’s mine and it’s real, not a movie prop.” Colt was relieved that the guy’s sense of adventure had kicked in. It would make the whole process easier for him. “Jax and Lang will be there in a few hours. Bring along anything you feel you can’t live without.”
There was a pause, and then Alex asked in a quiet voice, “Can I bring a friend?”
“As long as they are over eighteen it won’t be a problem. If he is underage, and needs help, I will see what I can do.”
“He’s twenty-three.”
“Then he’s more than welcome to join you.”
Once he had ended the call Colt held out the phone. Avery seemed afraid to take it, but he hurried across the room and took it. He took out his own phone and called Levi. He had gotten to know all the men whom had come into town to either protect Piper or her brother Mink. The six men were very reserved. All of them had been in the military for years. Their bonds with one another were tight. Their experience was what made them valuable for the job he was sending them on. It didn’t take long for their photos to be sent to Avery’s phone. The man was all but quivering with excitement as he sent the appropriate photo to each brother.
After that Avery seemed to lose all energy. Colt bent to kiss him on the forehead. “Why don’t you go to bed, sweetheart?”
Huge blue eyes looked up at him. “You don’t mind?”
