by Sam Crescent
She looked down at her plate as she thought of the Sundays spent at her folks’. The pain around her heart hurt. She needed to get out into the fresh air.
“Excuse me,” she said. Before waiting for their permission, she got up out of her chair and walked out the back door. The warm air was a welcome relief compared to the pain inside the kitchen. Her mother used to cook in one similar. Tears spilled down her cheeks and she moaned in frustration at her weakness.
When would their loss ever get easier?
She walked over to the stone step and sat down. The tears spilled down her cheeks unchecked as she gazed up at the sun.
Chapter Six
Jesse watched her walk out. His heart ached for her. He knew she struggled to deal with the loss of her mother. Her mother had been a wonderful, caring woman. When the news had come through about their deaths, Louise and Cassidy had been distraught.
“I take it her parents are still raw subjects?” Michael asked.
“Wouldn’t it be for you?” Jesse asked. He put his fork down and walked out the back door.
She was sitting on the stone steps leading out to the yard in the back. He saw the tears running down her face. Jesse pulled up his jeans and took the seat beside her.
They didn’t talk. He watched the leaves rustling on the trees from the slight breeze in the air. Without the added fresh air, the sun would be a killer.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
He turned to her, seeing the pain in her eyes. “Don’t do it, baby. Never be sorry for feeling the loss of your parents.”
“I thought I’d be past crying by now.”
“It is these moments that make you who you are, Cassidy. You love your parents, and Sundays were always spent with them. I came to one of your Sunday lunches, remember. I know what today means to you.”
He put his arm around her shoulder and drew her closer to him. She snuggled close. Her scent invaded his senses, making him want to do more than comfort her.
Cassidy hugged him back. Her small hands tightened in the fabric of his shirt. “What do you think my mom would say about me being with five men?”
Jesse smiled, thinking about Mrs. Jocks. “I think she would be happy to have five men protecting her oldest daughter. Providing we all went round to dinner. She loved looking at handsome men, remember.”
“Well, Jesse Walker, I never knew you could be so vain.” She looked up at him with a smile on her face. He wiped the tears from her cheeks, stroking her jaw in the process.
“I’m not vain. I knew your mother. She was a lovely woman, and she would want you to be happy. If that happiness came with five men, then she would be thinking about all those grandchildren she wanted.”
“She loved kids.” Cassidy pulled away, rubbing the last of the moisture from her face.
“And she loved you and Louise.”
Cassidy leaned back on the steps on her hands. He watched her look up at the sky. There were no clouds, just a clear never-ending blue.
“You know I’m going to be the envy of every single unattached woman in town.”
“You’ll handle it. Besides, there are plenty of men in town looking for a woman. I’m sure they won’t be without company for long.” Jesse did the same as Cassidy, leaning back and looking up at the sky.
They stared up at the sky in silence. The only sounds to be heard were the rustling of the trees and the birds singing.
“Will you move into the ranch with us?” Jesse asked. He’d been thinking about where Cassidy had been staying for some time. If all six of them were going to give this relationship a go, then it made sense for her to be close, living with them.
“Why?”
“Michael has moved in to be closer to you. We want to see if we can make this relationship work. I think it’s only fair you’re living with us.”
He heard her sigh before getting up off the step.
“You’re right. Let’s go and empty some of the belongings from my house.”
“Do you want me to get a couple of the others?” he asked, standing up and brushing the dirt from his ass.
“No, I don’t. I just want to spend some time with you. Besides, this house is too small for all of you. You’re not planning on bringing in another woman or anything?”
“Of course not. We want to give this a chance. If you need your space, you can go back home whenever you like.”
“Good. I’m going to get some of my stuff.”
Jesse followed her back to her house. He glanced behind him and saw a couple of his brothers stood at the back door. He waved at them and carried on.
* * * *
Cassidy packed three suitcases of clothes and belongings from her bedroom. She would need her toiletries and a few bits to make her stay more comfortable. Part of her wondered if it was a mistake to try to be with five men. Pushing the negative thoughts from her mind, she walked down the stairs to find Jesse packing up her kitchen.
“You don’t want any of this to go bad.”
“No. I’m sure you guys will devour everything I have in no time.” When he packed the last sauce she owned, they carried her stuff down to the main house. Scott, Roy, and Gary were waiting for her. Michael was on the phone but gave her a wave as she entered.
“Work has called him,” Scott explained.
“Okay. This was Jesse’s idea. Do you have a spare room for me to stay in?” she asked.
“You could stay with me,” Roy said.
Jesse chuckled. He put the boxes of food on the table and took two of her suitcases off her. “I’ll show her to her room.”
She followed him up the two flights of stairs. “I’ve never been up here before.”
“We had the top floor redecorated a couple of months back. We were hoping one day you’d decide to be our woman, and we wanted to be prepared for it.” He opened the first door he came to.
Cassidy walked in and gasped. The room had been decorated with a woman in mind. The walls were a pale shade of pink with dark oak furniture. She had a chest of draws and a beauty table. Putting her cases on the floor, she went to the table and ran her hand over the wood.
“That was our mother’s. She loved to groom herself, and all of my fathers made it for her from scratch.”
“Jesse, it is beautiful.”
“We wanted you to have it.”
“This is amazing. Thank you so much.”
There was a bed along the far wall, and she ran her hand over the sheets. Silk. There was no expense spared. “You did this room for me?”
“Yes. Here, let me show you the wardrobe.” He took her hand and opened one of the far doors. It wasn’t a wardrobe, but looked like another room. He turned the light on. There were a few items of clothing hung up. “We brought you some clothes that we found. I hope you don’t mind.”
She pulled out a red cocktail dress. A dark red. “Do you think it would suit me with my hair?”
“Does it matter? You’d be wearing it for us. We saw the dress and knew you’d look good in it.” She put the dress back up and saw some shoes. Stiletto heels in four different colors.
“You have been busy.”
“What do you think?” he asked.
“I’m speechless. I’ve never seen anything so amazing in my life.”
“We may be cowboys, but we learnt how to spoil our woman by watching our dads spoil our mom.”
“She was one lucky lady.”
“She was, and so are you.” He caught her round the waist and pulled her close. “You’d better get used to all the attention and being spoilt. I know I’ve wasted a great deal of my life waiting for you. I’m not going to do anything to fuck our time up together.”
Cassidy ran her hands up his shirt to circle his neck. “I never knew how good this could feel. Will one of you be joining me up here?”
Jesse chuckled. “As much as I’d love to say yes, I’m afraid we’re going to decline your offer.”
She pouted. “Why?”
“We want you to be wi
th us, but more than anything we want to show you this is more than sex.”
“I know it is.” She gave him a squeeze before pulling away. “I’d better get settled in. I’ll see you all downstairs.”
“Of course.” He rubbed her forehead. “You shouldn’t frown so much. This will work out, Cassidy.”
Cassidy nodded her head. “Of course it will.” Jesse left her to unpack. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked around at her room. Everything was perfect, and yet she couldn’t help but wonder how her life was going to change. She got up and began to unpack. She would look forward to her new life.
Tomorrow, she was meeting Claire at the diner which worked as the bakery. She couldn’t wait to tell the other woman about what was happening.
Chapter Seven
The following day, Cassidy got up and made breakfast for all the men. The ranch hands hadn’t shown up yet, but Gary said they were going to employ a cook to do the food for their workers.
They all kissed her good morning before they left. Michael finished his coffee and stood up.
“Could I ask you to take me to town, Sheriff?” she asked. The other four had left, and she hadn’t had the chance to ask them.
“Of course.”
“I’ll grab my bag.” She ran out of the kitchen, got her bag and put on some flat sandals before joining him at his truck. Michael was already inside with AC cranked up. “Can you believe this heat?” she asked.
“I can believe it, and it’s only going to get worse.” He pulled out of the front of the driveway and went in the direction of town. “Will you need me to give you a lift back home?”
“No. I’m spending some time with Claire Martin. Shane and Liam will take me home.”
“They’re good people,” he said.
“I know. When we were in high school together, no one could get between, Claire, Shane, and Liam. They were as thick as thieves. It was right of them to make a go of it. At least I think so.”
“You’re a little different from the others,” Cassidy said. She recalled the dream she had the morning after getting drunk on a bottle of whiskey.
“How do you mean?”
She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to think of the best way to approach what she’d been feeling from Michael for days. “I had this dream and in it you wanted to punish me.” He didn’t laugh at her questions so she took that as a good sign.
“Did you want me to punish you?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“You’re wondering what it all means.”
“Yes.”
He sighed. “Cassidy, I can’t talk about it right now, but you’re right. I’m different and one day I’m hoping to explore that with you.”
“Would you ever hurt me?”
“Not to cause you lots of pain. I’m a dominant man, Cassidy. You knew there was something different inside of me and there is something inside of you that responds to me.”
She knew what he was talking about. Since the first moment she met him there had been a spark between them. She wanted to please him and do everything he wanted. The feeling was strange and entirely different to the way she felt with the Walker brothers.
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
“You know I do.”
“Then trust me enough to know I’ll go easy on you.”
“Do the others know about your, erm, desires?”
“No, they don’t. I don’t go around wearing a label saying ‘I’m a dominant, line up to get spanked.’” Cassidy burst out laughing. “See, this is not something you need to be afraid of. I want to dominate you, Cassidy, but I don’t want to change who you are.”
“You’ll teach me?”
“I think you know most of it already. It is becoming popular in books and films. We’ll talk about it soon.”
Michael was right. There was something different between them. She liked knowing a part of him was darker than the other four. He would take care of her and she’d never have to worry again. For once, she’d like to have a day where she didn’t have to think about what she had to do next. Cassidy pushed the thoughts of Michael and his sexual appetites to the back of her mind.
They drove in silence for a few minutes, and Cassidy used the time to look out the window. Summer would be a nightmare. She preferred the winter. Last year they were lucky enough to get some snow.
She recalled playing in the snow like a little girl. All of the Walkers had come out to join which turned out to be fun. Gary and Scott had let loose for once. She rubbed her temples as a small spark of pain began.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Yeah. My head hurts. I was thinking about Scott and Gary. The tension between them is difficult at times.”
“I had noticed they didn’t get along. What’s up with them?” He turned right, making his way into town.
“Could you drop me off by the diner?”
“I was going to take you to the station. I’ve got a few things to do, and then I was going to walk you to the diner, if that is okay?” He leaned over and patted her knee. The heat from his hand went straight to her pussy. She didn’t know how long she would be able to hold out with the sex. Her dreams were filled with five sexy men, and it had been too long for her.
“That will be fine. I don’t know what’s wrong with Scott and Gary. They’ve had problems as long as I can remember. I don’t think it helps that there is such a small age gap between them. Gary is only three years older than Scott.”
“So most of Scott’s life he has been passed over for Gary?”
She thought about what Michael was saying. It made sense for some of the issues, but it seemed unfair. “I guess it could happen. I know they fight all the time. Sometimes over the stupidest of things.”
“They both love you, and that is all that matters.” He locked their fingers together. She looked down at where they were connected and felt a thrill all the way up to her heart. Michael made her breathless with anticipation. She could never explain how he always made her want to please him. From the first moment they met, she knew he had a hold over her she would never understand.
He parked outside the station, and she let go of his hand. “Wait,” he ordered.
She sat back in the seat as she watched him get out of the truck and come to her side. He opened her door then offered his hand to help her down.
“Thank you,” she said. Cassidy was touched by his gentleman display.
“Every lady deserves to have doors opened for her.”
“You’re a true gentleman, Sheriff Hall. I’m one lucky lady.” She chuckled as he bowed low.
“Come on. I’m sure you know everyone inside already, but I want to tell them all you’re my woman.”
He grabbed her hand and moved toward the entrance. “Do you get many criminals walking through these doors?” she asked.
“Not in a small town like Long Mead. Then again, a couple of weeks ago, four brothers, two friends, and a sheriff were arrested for fighting at the local bar. I believe over a sexy little redhead.”
She burst out laughing at his teasing. It had been their own faults. Claire had refused to post bail on Liam and Shane. Cassidy had done the same with Michael and the brothers.
Michael opened the door, and she saw Calvin and Denny Hendy talking with Stephanie McGraw behind the desk. She knew both men were not officers of any kind and noted the blush on Stephanie’s face as Denny reached out, stroking the other woman’s cheek.
“Hello, Mrs. McGraw,” Michael said.
“Sheriff Hall. Calvin and Denny wanted to talk to you. I said you’d talk to them when you got in.” Stephanie stood, pushing her skirt down her legs. “Hi, Cassidy.”
“Hiya, Stephanie.”
Michael turned to her with a look of disappointment on his face. “I can’t walk you to the diner like I planned.”
Cassidy reached up and kissed him. “Don’t worry about it. Do you need Stephanie? She looks a little flustered, and I’m sure she’d appreciate th
e break.”
“Sure. Take her shopping and then to lunch with you and Claire. Stephanie, you can take today off. With the heat and everything, I think you could use the break,” Michael said. He kissed her once again and left.
She walked up to the desk where the other woman was watching Calvin and Denny walk away. “Thank you so much. They’ve been around here constantly. I feel like I can’t breathe.”
Cassidy chuckled. “Come on. I’m going shopping with Claire today. You can join us if you want.”
“I’d love to. Let me grab my bag.”
She walked outside the station, fanning herself the moment the heat glared at her. Stephanie joined her seconds later. She heard the other woman gasp. “This heat is insane. I can’t wait for winter.”
“I hear you on that.” She checked her watch, seeing it was almost ten. “Claire is meeting me outside the diner. I’m late.”
They walked side by side through the heaving town. People were everywhere. Considering Long Mead was a small town, on Mondays it sure got busy. Cassidy was sure people in the surrounding area visited the town because of the handsome men and the ménage-relationship rumor. Not that it was much of a rumor, but they did like to keep things to themselves. Outsiders either kept their thoughts to themselves or risked becoming a problem. They passed the market square where they were doing all of their selling. The diner wasn’t too far. Once they passed all the people, she saw Claire stood outside the diner with Liam and Shane kissing her.
“Wow, Claire is one lucky woman,” Stephanie said.
“From where I stood, I think you’re in for your own luck.”
“Calvin and Denny are not the settling type. You know it is just a sport for them to get any woman who says no to suddenly say yes. They’ve broken more hearts than I care to remember.” Stephanie flicked her blonde hair off her shoulder.
“You certainly know a lot about their exploits for a person who doesn’t care.”
Claire saw her and gave her a wave. Shane and Liam left with two beaming smiles on their face. “Damn, they look like they’ve been to heaven and back,” Cassidy said, embracing Claire.
