Red Zone: Boys of Fall

by Mari Carr

  Lorelie poured more iced tea in both of their glasses. “Yeah. Wade’s got some friend who used to play guitar in his band coming as well. Apparently this Glen guy had a gig last week and had to miss the wedding. He wants to meet Charli, so he’s made plans to be in town then to accompany Wade. An old times sake kind of thing. So voila—now I have a band playing at my party.”

  Sadie took a sip of the sweet tea and sighed. Lorelie made the best tea in town. “Is the guitar-playing friend hot?”

  “Lord, I hope so. I need some new eye candy. Not that having all the guys from school back hasn’t improved the view in Quinn lately.”

  Speaking of eye candy, Sadie glanced out the front window again, hoping to catch a glimpse of Oakley and Joel.

  “Okay, what gives?” Lorelie asked.

  Sadie twisted her head back to look at her friend. “What?”

  “You’ve looked out that window no less than a hundred times in the last half hour. What the heck are you looking for?”

  Sadie wasn’t sure how to reply. She and the guys definitely weren’t advertising their unorthodox relationship—for lack of a better description. In fact, they’d agreed to keep it on the down low.

  She’d seen them three times since their first foray into the world of an explosive ménage, each meeting at the bar after closing and each encounter hotter than the one before. She was going to have to invite them to her apartment one of these days. It might be fun to actually have sex with them in a bed. That thought provoked a grin she couldn’t hide.

  Lorelie’s eyes narrowed. “What the hell are you up to?”

  “I’m not up to anything.”

  Lorelie rolled her eyes. “Sell it to someone else, sister. You have that recently laid air about you. So which one of the guys finally convinced you to do the horizontal mambo? My money is on Oakley.”

  Sadie laughed. Lorelie was four years younger than her, so they hadn’t been friends in school. Hell, they hadn’t even gone to school together. Lorelie had been in middle school when Sadie was a senior.

  Sadie hadn’t had any super close girlfriends in school. She wasn’t a fan of drama or girlie shit, so she’d always hung out with the guys instead.

  However, in the past year or so, she’d found herself in more and more social settings with Lorelie and her friends—Lela, Annabelle, Charlene and Randi—and she had to admit she really liked them.

  Though Lorelie was the one she had grown closest to. Probably because—like Sadie—Lorelie had been raised by a single father, spoke her mind and didn’t put up with a lot of bullshit.

  “Why do you think it’s Oakley?” she asked noncommittally.

  Lorelie shrugged. “The guy is relentless. I’ve seen him flirt with you. And let’s face it, there’s just so long you can play hard to get before you start to wonder why the hell you’re turning him down. He’s not hard on the eyes and the man has a six-pack on top of a six-pack. So how was it?”

  Sadie didn’t reply. In truth, she didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t supposed to say anything.

  Luckily, Lorelie didn’t always need another person present to have a conversation. She continued speaking without giving Sadie a chance to answer. “Of course, if it was Oakley, it’s probably over, right? I mean, that guy’s never gone back for seconds that I’ve ever heard of.”

  Sadie hadn’t considered that. Lorelie was right. While she’d heard some rumblings about Oakley’s flings, he’d never seriously dated anyone, and she had never heard of him taking a one-night stand and turning it into a weekend. For a second, she felt a twisted sense of pride. She’d kept Oakley interested enough to come back. Quite a few times, if she counted the failed attempt after the wedding.

  However, Lorelie misinterpreted her continued silence, her brows rising. “Joel? You fucked Joel?”

  Damn. Sadie really was going to have to join this conversation or Lorelie was going to keep guessing. God help her if her friend landed on the right answer. Then she considered Lorelie’s tone. “Why would that be so unheard of?”

  Lorelie opened her mouth to answer, and then closed it again. Clearly Sadie had stumped her.

  Sadie was really interested in hearing Lorelie’s impressions of her entering a relationship with the guys and was tempted to tell her the truth. After all, Lorelie knew Oakley and Joel better than anyone, given the fact they’d worked on the ranch for years. The men treated Lorelie like a little sister, and although Lorelie claimed the protective-older-brother stuff drove her nuts, Sadie suspected the opposite was actually true.

  “It’s not that it’s weird or anything. It’s just, you and Joel are very different. I think you and Oakley have more in common. Joel is just so serious and…”

  “Stuffy?” Sadie supplied helpfully.

  Lorelie considered the answer and then nodded. “Not in an annoying way or anything. I mean it’s not like he’s judgmental or condescending or holier than thou. He’s just…”

  Sadie knew what Lorelie meant. She and Oakley were fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants types. They tended to view everything with an off-color irreverence, making fun of stuff that wasn’t really funny and doing whatever they wanted just because it felt good. Joel wasn’t like that—or at least he hadn’t been until this week, when he’d agreed to something Sadie knew must rub against the grain for him.

  Joel played by society’s rules. He was hardworking, well respected. He was the man everyone wanted for a friend because he was just so damn nice. He’d give someone the shirt off his back if they needed it, even if it was the dead of winter, and he took his mother out for lunch every Sunday without fail. It was Joel who had gathered the troops after Coach’s heart attack, calling his former teammates to let them know what was going on. Coach would never have requested help for himself, so Joel had seen to it, made sure his coach had gotten all the support he needed.

  Oakley teased him sometimes, called Joel a people pleaser. Sadie admired that in Joel, even if she didn’t totally understand it. Like Oakley, she preferred to live life by her own rules. She refused to make herself miserable just to make someone else feel better. That probably made her a bitch, but it was just the way she was.

  “I guess Oakley and I would be a better fit,” she admitted.

  “Are you dating Joel?” Lorelie asked.

  She’d given her friend the wrong impression. “Oh, no. I’m not dating either of them.”

  Lorelie’s brow creased. “So you’re just sleeping with Joel? You know, that doesn’t sound much like him. Always had him pegged as a one-woman man, not the type to engage in sexual flings. Joel’s very much a forever kind of guy.”

  Sadie had always thought the same thing. Which was why she’d been very careful to lay out exactly what she wanted from him and Oakley. She didn’t want them to misunderstand or think that she could ever be their girlfriend. That was the beauty of their arrangement. It wasn’t like she was in a serious relationship with both of them. By keeping it purely a sexual thing, she wasn’t in danger of hurting them.

  Because she sure as shit wasn’t the commitment type. They could explore all the dynamics of their fun, mind-blowing threesome sex until they got tired of one another and then move on. And the best part was it had been Joel’s idea to end it when it got old.

  Not that it was anywhere near getting old. Sadie was starting to think they might actually have a few years’ worth of sexual fantasies to indulge. Which was pretty exciting…and terrifying.

  “It’s just sex,” Sadie said with conviction.

  “And he’s okay with that?”

  Sadie grinned at the tone in Lorelie’s voice. There was a definite warning laced with the question that left Sadie in no doubt Lorelie would kick her ass if she hurt Joel.

  Sadie nodded. “Yep. He absolutely is.”

  She’d have to tell Joel that Lorelie knew they were sleeping together. She hadn’t planned on revealing anything about them at all, but Sadie could see some benefit to Lorelie knowing at least half of the truth. This way she wouldn’
t question it, should Sadie stop by for a late-night visit to the bunkhouse.

  “Well, then I’m sorry to break the bad news to you, but Joel headed into town with Oakley to run some errands. Don’t expect them back until later this afternoon.”

  “Oh.” Sadie was more disappointed than she cared to admit.

  “Wade asked if I had any song requests. I figure you know what gets people dancing at the bar. Besides, my musical preferences run to pop, not country, and I can’t really see Wade and his friend knocking out a few Beyoncé and Taylor Swift songs for me. Want to help me come up with a list?” Lorelie asked.

  “Sure,” Sadie said. They spent the next hour creating lists of songs, decoration ideas and looking up recipes on Pinterest for the food table. The guys hadn’t returned by the time Sadie pulled out of the driveway on her motorcycle. She watched for them the entire time she rode back into town, hoping to pass them on the road and entertaining herself with a fantasy of the three of them getting it on in the back of their pickup truck along the side of the highway.

  Sadly, she made it all the way back to her apartment without an Oakley/Joel sighting.

  She climbed the three flights of stairs to her place, her libido in overdrive. The men had turned something on inside of her and it was relentless. As she opened the door, she debated between a cold shower or a visit with her vibrator.

  The vibrator that had gotten her through the past few months of a sexless existence suddenly didn’t seem quite as inviting. It didn’t hold a candle to all the amazing things Joel and Oakley could do to her body.

  “Cold shower it is,” she murmured. She was going to have to call the guys and make plans for a hookup. She hated cold showers.

  * * *

  “Mom at eleven o’clock,” Oakley muttered under his breath as he and Joel got out of the pickup truck.

  Joel looked over and saw his mother stepping out of the beauty parlor. She raised her hand and waved. Joel smiled and started to walk toward her, but pulled up short when he realized Oakley was still standing beside the truck.

  “Aren’t you coming over to say hello?”

  Oakley grimaced. “Do I have to? Your mom does not like me, bro. Looks at me most of the time like I’m the son of Satan.”

  Joel chuckled. “Maybe it would help if you didn’t cuss so much or adjust your dick in your pants all the time or chug beer like it was water or fuck anything that moves. Quinn isn’t that big, buddy, and you’ve got a bit of a reputation.”

  Oakley put his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “I don’t do any of that in front of your mom.”

  “Doesn’t mean she doesn’t hear about it. She’s probably afraid you’re a bad influence on me.”

  Oakley snorted. “Yeah, right. Because you were such a fucking saint when we met.”

  Joel didn’t understand the wince that accompanied Oakley’s comment until he heard his mother’s voice right behind him.

  “Oakley,” Mom said as way of a greeting. Of course, she’d managed to lace it with an avalanche of disapproval. She’d clearly heard him say the F-word.

  Joel gave him an I told you so look as he turned to give his mom a kiss on the cheek. “Hey, Mom. You look nice today.”

  She reached up to touch her bangs. “Just got my hair done. What are you boys doing in town?”

  Apparently no matter how old Joel got, in his mother’s eyes, he would always be a boy. “Just hitting the hardware store for some stuff we need to do repairs around the ranch. And then we’re going to the grocery store. Lorelie caught us before we could make our getaway and gave us a list of food she needed.”

  Mom smiled. “That’s nice of you. You still coming over on Sunday for lunch?”

  He nodded. He’d only missed a half-dozen Sundays in the last decade, yet his mother always felt the need to double-check. “Of course.”

  Oakley fidgeted next to him, looking for a chance to escape. His mother was nothing like Oakley’s folks, who were free spirits who laughed often and hadn’t imposed many rules on his friend growing up. Oakley didn’t know how to relate to Joel’s strict, quiet mother and her devout religious beliefs. In fact, Mom seemed to be the only person with the ability to make Oakley nervous. So much so, he rarely spoke in her presence, always afraid he’d say the wrong thing.

  Joel was probably an asshole for enjoying his friend’s discomfiture so much. After all, his mother had never been rude to Oakley. She just hadn’t been great at hiding her displeasure of his wild lifestyle and foul language. Oakley had expressed his amazement that Joel had grown up with any sense of humor at all. Joel tried to explain that just because his mother didn’t smother him with hugs and kisses and care packages like Oakley’s did, didn’t mean she didn’t love him. She just wasn’t comfortable expressing emotion—any emotion.

  “Good.” Mom hitched her purse higher on her arm. “It’s my week to clean up communion, so you might want to come a little later. Or you could come earlier and go to mass with me. I know Father Andrew would love to see you there.”

  His mother had been trying to get him to return to mass with her for several months. Joel had always gone with her to the Sunday morning services, but after Coach’s heart attack, things had been too busy on the ranch. He’d used that as an excuse, but the fact was he’d only been attending mass to please his mother. He didn’t find the same peace in the service that she did. Now that he’d made the break, he was finding it difficult to unbreak it. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it this week, Mom. I’ll just meet you at home for lunch.”

  Mom’s expression was pinched. He’d pissed her off.

  Oakley shifted uncomfortably. “Okay. So we probably should, um…”

  Joel took the hint. “Right. We’ve got a lot of errands to run.”

  They were about to say their goodbyes when Sadie’s father approached them.

  “Hello, Ms. Rodriguez,” Mr. Milligan said, tipping his baseball cap respectfully.

  Mom’s smile was friendly. “Good afternoon, Mr. Milligan. Lovely to see you.”

  Nelson Milligan was an enormous, hairy bear of a man. Joel and Oakley weren’t small guys, both of them well over six feet tall. Mr. Milligan made them look like toy soldiers by comparison. The man was easily six-seven and pushing three-fifty—all of it sheer muscle. And all of that muscle was covered in tattoos of skulls, naked women, a huge dragon and Sadie’s name on one of his biceps. He looked like a cross between a Hell’s Angel and a death-row inmate. The dude was fucking scary.

  If Joel’s mother intimidated Oakley, Sadie’s dad scared the hell out of Joel. And Joel didn’t spook easy.

  So far they’d managed to avoid the guy since hooking up with Sadie. With any luck, they’d been successful in keeping their affair a secret, because Joel didn’t want to know what would happen if Nelson Milligan found out about it. Sadie had mentioned murder and while she’d meant that as a joke, Joel was fairly certain that was a definite possibility.

  Mr. Milligan smiled at his mom. Unfortunately, any bit of pleasantness on his face was gone when he turned to face Joel and Oakley. “Heard you two left Wade’s wedding with my daughter.”

  Shit. Joel nodded. “We shared a cab.” He didn’t bother to add that the cab hadn’t taken them to their own home.

  Mr. Milligan’s scowl deepened. “No shit. I own a bar, Joel. If there’s anyone in town who knows the local cabbies better than me, I’d like to meet them.”

  Joel wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he didn’t. He glanced over at Oakley, who gave him a slight I don’t know what the fuck to do shrug.

  “Man who drove you that night said he dropped the three of you off at Sadie’s place. Said you looked pretty chummy.”

  “Chummy?” Joel’s mom asked.

  “Also heard you two have been showing up at Pitchers at closing time. Suppose you’re going to tell me it’s just a coincidence you picked the nights when I wasn’t there.”

  That was no coincidence at all. Sadie had given them the nightly work sch
edule and told them exactly when to come.

  “We’re friends, Mr. Milligan.” Joel didn’t have a clue how to get out of this.

  Mr. Milligan crossed his arms. “That all?”

  Joel didn’t want to lie. It didn’t come easy to him, didn’t sit right. Because in just a few short days, he knew he could never return to being merely friends with Sadie. He was crazy about her. At some point, he’d have to figure out what to do with those feelings because he’d backed himself into a corner—agreeing to a no-strings fling and including Oakley in the equation. He was fucked six ways to Sunday.

  “Yep,” Oakley answered, finally joining the conversation. Oakley teased Joel about his bad habit of being “honest to a fault”. Meanwhile, Oakley was a master at stretching the truth. “We’ve asked her out about a thousand times each. She keeps turning us down. You got any advice for us, Mr. Milligan?”

  Oakley’s guileless grin didn’t fool anyone.

  “Yeah,” Mr. Milligan said, suddenly appearing a foot taller. “Stay away from my daughter. She’s too good for either one of you.”

  “What’s going on with you and Sadie?” Mom asked Joel point-blank.

  This conversation kept going from bad to worse.

  Joel winced. “What Oakley said. We’re friends.”

  “But you’d like it to be more?”

  So much more.

  Before he could reply, his mom turned to Mr. Milligan. “Sadie works in your bar, is that correct?”

  Mr. Milligan nodded, clearly reconsidering his timing. He’d wanted to scare the shit out of him and Oakley, but he’d failed to take Joel’s mom’s presence into account.

  “She’s the girl with the tattoos and the earring right here?” His mother tapped her nose to demonstrate.

  “Yeah. She is.” Mr. Milligan’s tone dared his mother to make a disparaging comment about either, but that clearly wasn’t his mother’s intent.

  “I met her at a wedding last December. She was working the bar there. They had one of those Keurig coffee machines set up. I couldn’t figure it out for the life of me. Sadie taught me how to use it and made me a cup. You have a lovely girl, Mr. Milligan.”