The Gift of Three

by Kaitlin Maitland, Allie Quinn,

  “It’s not possible for me to be in love because…because I just met them yesterday. Who does that?” The tears began to fall again, spurred on by her confusion. How could she have any left to cry?

  “Yesterday?” Mac asked.

  “Them?” Rhys laughed. “You fell in love with more than one guy yesterday? What do they have to say about that?”

  If she could tell anyone in her family about the unusual circumstances of her tryst, Rhys would definitely be the first person she’d go to. “It was just two, and they, well…they didn’t seem to mind since they’re already in a relationship with each other.”

  “You fell in love with two bi men?” Mac asked, a mad grin on his face. “Only you, Mercy. Only you.”

  “I’m assuming you slept with them last night?”

  She nodded, unwilling to feel guilty for the pleasure she’d taken.

  “And then what? Did they kick you out? Do we need to kick bi-guy asses?”

  “No…they wanted me to stay.”

  “You panicked?”

  She felt her face crumple, and a new wave of silent tears racked her body. She was so ashamed of her cowardice.

  “Ah, sweetheart. Mercy, I completely believe that you could have fallen in love with a man, even two men, in one day. Hell, less than a day. That’s just who you are, kid. When you fall, you fall hard. Anything other than a full plummet isn’t enough for you. I know everyone thinks you’ve secluded yourself in that little cabin of yours, but…I know that you don’t see the point of looking for intimacy. If it happens, it happens.”

  “Aye,” Mac crooned, rocking her as her tears subsided. “Now, how did yae feel about the whole two-bi-men thing?”

  “I felt…like I could never get enough of them.”

  “Ha, well, anno that. Now, how do yae feel about ’em emotionally? Donnae lie to us, lass. We can already tell.”

  “You’re laying the accent on thick, aren’t you?” she asked sarcastically, taking the tissue box Rhys held out to her.

  “Anno yae fancy it.” Mac shrugged, a glint of self-satisfaction in his eyes.

  “I can’t love them.”

  “Why not?” Rhys asked, taking a tissue and drying her tears.

  “I’ve known them less than a day.”

  “Didn’t stop you from fuckin’ them,” Rhys said with a wink. He didn’t care that she had a sex life, but she would always be his little sister.

  “You would’ve fucked them if you saw them. Sex gods forged in the fires of Aphrodite’s love pot.”

  “Love pot? Is that a thing?” Mac asked.

  “It should be.”

  “Mercy, listen.” Rhys stopped their banter, taking her hands. “The way you’re feeling right now? That doesn’t happen often. Hell, you’re lucky if it happens more than once in your lifetime. Who cares if they’re bi? Who cares if there are two or three or ten of them? Do you want them?”

  She nodded without hesitation.

  “Do they want you?”

  “They probably don’t now, not after everything I said. But they did last night.”

  “Then fuckin’ go for it,” Rhys said with a snap of his fingers. Like it was a simple thing. “The answer is staring you right in the face. No one is going to judge you for being scared, Mercy. But don’t let fear ruin your chance at love.”

  “Uncle Rhys!” Jessica screamed from the doorway, surprising them all by running into the room and hopping into his lap.

  The sun had come up, and the clock on the fireplace mantel read seven a.m. She must have woken up later than she thought.

  “I’m gonna go wash up,” Mercy mumbled, pausing to kiss Jessica on the head in greeting and then slipping off in the direction of one of the first-floor bathrooms. The last thing she needed was her brothers seeing her tears and forming a manhunt for Dylan and Austin.

  “Oh, sweetheart!” her mother cried as she bumped into her in the hallway. “Are you all right? You left so soon last night.”

  “Oh…yeah, I’m fine.” She waved off Danica’s concern and walked past her, not needing her mom to worry about yet another drama messing with her life. “I’m gonna take a quick shower, though.”

  “You didn’t shower at home?”

  “I forgot. Lost track of time,” she called over her shoulder. Her mother’s anxious tone stopped her.

  “Mercy…your brothers mean well. You know that, right? They want what’s best for you, whatever that may be.”

  “Maybe what’s best for me is for them to get off my case.” She couldn’t help but say it, the response reactionary by then.

  “Oh, honey.” Her mom wrapped Mercy in her arms from behind, rocking like she used to do when Mercy was a child.

  “You’re their baby sister who they love more than life. They’re never going to stop worrying about you. Just like I’m never going to stop worrying about you. Anything you want to tell me?”

  Mercy turned around, knowing she couldn’t avoid her mother’s penetrating stare.

  “Not now. Later…maybe.”

  “Okay. When you’re ready.” Danica kissed Mercy on the forehead and nuzzled their noses together, bringing comforting warmth back into Mercy’s heart. “I love you up to the stars, darling.”

  “Love you too, Mom.” With a genuine smile, Danica headed back toward the living room, and Mercy found an unoccupied bathroom. She took a long, hot shower to wash away the night and all the residual crying aches left over from her most recent outburst.

  Was Rhys right? Was the pain exceedingly sharp because she’d fallen in love with two men in less than one day? Maybe the overwhelming tide of emotional chaos was her mourning a life she’d never have. Not a life with two men, but a life with any man. Maybe she was destined to be alone and this was just the confirmation.

  Yet a part of her knew with a clear certainty that what she had with Lucas paled in comparison to what she felt—whether it be lust or love—for Austin and Dylan. In the end, she knew she should leave them be. They were good together. They didn’t need a third. She was content to live on her own. At least that was what she told herself to get through the bone-crushing pain when she thought of a future without them. Lord, what she would give to see them smile at her one more time. But it wasn’t meant to be.

  Mercy emerged from the shower to the sounds of children squealing. Not wanting to miss the looks of joy on her nieces’ and nephews’ faces when they opened the presents she’d bought, she dashed upstairs and borrowed sweatpants, a T-shirt, and a pair of old Uggs from her mom’s closet. Once she blow-dried her hair and dressed, she ran back downstairs to join her family, determined to put the previous night behind her. What Mercy saw upon entering the cluttered living room made her feel as though she’d been punched in the gut.

  Austin sat at the piano dressed in a blue sweater and jeans, playing soft Christmas tunes. She’d heard the music upstairs but assumed her family had put on a CD or something. His eyes were on Dylan, who was taking care of gathering the ripped wrapping paper, strewn about the children in a sea of shimmering reds and greens. Every now and then, one of the kids would stop him to show off a new toy from their growing pile of spoils. He’d laugh and rub the kid’s hair, remarking on how cool or special the gift was. He looked nothing like the intimidating and furious man from the previous night, dressed in a green, long-sleeved Henley and perfectly fitted jeans. His eyes were sparkling with laughter, and if Mercy didn’t know any better, she would have thought their argument and all the awful things she’d said had been a bad dream.

  The music transitioned easily from “The Christmas Song” to “Love Is Christmas,” the song she’d been coerced into singing for the partygoers. The Mercy song. Ever since hearing the song for the first time a few years ago, she’d fallen in love with the simple tune. It spoke of how Christmas used to make her feel, before the whole Lucas debacle. Dylan and Austin represented everything beautiful and good she’d loved about the holiday. She wanted to feel that goodness again. She wanted them.

 
; A crack radiated from her heart and through her body. Seeing Austin and Dylan participating in her family’s Christmas, as if they were meant to be there, broke a rusty chain she’d kept locked inside her for years, freeing her. Freeing her to weep like a fucking baby in front of her entire family, which was what she proceeded to do.

  “Mercy?” Rhys asked upon hearing her strangled sob. He glanced up from the toy Richard had been showing him, concern etched on his kind face. All the adults stopped what they were doing and regarded her in question. Her father stood, but Dylan stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and a polite smile. Austin had ceased his playing the moment he’d heard her name. She looked back and forth between the two men, and her courage dissipated with the speed a kid ripped open Christmas presents.

  She began to back out of the archway when Danica’s hands came down on her shoulders from behind. “I invited them, Mercy,” Danica said quietly, turning Mercy gently and guiding her away from the staring faces. They walked to the front door.

  “What?” Mercy stopped, turning to stare at her mom in confusion, nervous hands fiddling with her unruly hair and wiping her contemptible tears away.

  “Your mother may be old, dear girl, but she isn’t blind. Or ignorant.” She smiled kindly, reaching toward Mercy’s hair, playing with a few frizzy strands.

  “I never thought you were—”

  “I know, sweetheart.” Danica took her hands with a firm squeeze and stilled their agitated movements. “I just wanted you to know…that I know. I could see last night the chemistry you three have, and Dina, Dylan’s mom, told me they were bi. Apparently these ménage relationships are becoming a thing.”

  “Mom!” Mercy couldn’t believe she was hearing this from her mother.

  “It’s okay. Weird but okay. You were never going to do anything normal anyway.” Danica kissed her on the cheek before handing her a random winter coat and nudging her out the front door. “I’ll give you a few moments to collect your thoughts, then send the boys out.”

  “Wait.” Mercy heard Tucker shout as the front door began to close, too speechless to form her own protests to this turn of events. “Who are these dudes?”

  Mercy rolled her eyes at her clueless brother and paced down the wraparound porch, brushing off some snow to sit in a handmade rocking chair her father had spent months constructing when she was a kid. It was one of his many DIY projects. She settled into the familiar wooden seat and cuddled into the warmth of the coat. The yard was full of foot-deep, untouched snow, and the purity and quiet of it all brought on a rare sort of peace, muting the tumultuous storm of emotions and thoughts within her heart and mind.

  “Hey.”

  Mercy jumped out of her seat hearing Dylan’s voice. She smoothed her hair back and then brushed at the thick down coat, which she now recognized as one of her mother’s.

  “Hey,” she said quietly, marveling once again at the fierce emotions roused by being in their presence. One light, one dark, and both nearly too devastatingly handsome for her simple heart to handle.

  “Howdy,” Austin joked, emphasizing the Southern accent. Mercy grinned at what seemed to be his go-to facetious attitude.

  “I…I’m sorry for the things I said,” she began, taking a step toward them. “I didn’t mean all of it. I was in a panic. I behaved shamefully—”

  “Panic about what?” Dylan interrupted, crossing his arms defensively. Okay, he was clearly still pissed, no matter how merry he acted toward the kids inside. “I mean, didn’t we prove that we meant what we said? Why did you say all that shit? What’s so terrible about a relationship with us?”

  “It isn’t the relationship with you that would be terrible. It’s the relationship with me.” Mercy’s words tumbled from her mouth in an uncontrollable waterfall. “I’m weird and I need to be alone a lot of the time, and I like quiet and I’m a major geek—”

  “You ran away from us because you think we can’t handle an introvert?” Austin laughed, flinging his arms out, making her see how ridiculous her excuses were. “Honey, I have The Lord of the Rings movies memorized. Extended editions.”

  “It’s not that,” Mercy huffed, shoving her hands into her hair and scratching her scalp, a nervous habit her mother had been trying to rid her of for years.

  “Then enlighten us, please,” Dylan barked, advancing on her with hurt eyes ablaze. “Because right now we’re pretty fucking lost as to why we treated you like a goddamned queen only to be tossed away like a couple of two-penny whores.”

  “That’s not how I think of you,” she yelled right back, standing on her tiptoes and shoving her finger in his chest. The bastard wanted to fight? She’d give him a fight. “It’s not what I feel about you.”

  “So you do feel something for us?” Dylan asked skeptically, grabbing her shoulders and staring into her eyes. What did he expect to find?

  “For Christ’s sake. It’s only been a day, Dylan.”

  “Don’t use that excuse on us.” He was so angry he looked like he wanted to shake her. “Not today.”

  “Today?” Mercy laughed bitterly, shrugging his arms off her. “What’s so fucking special about today? It’s just a day, like any other day.”

  “It’s Christmas, darlin’,” Austin said quietly from Dylan’s side, pulling her into his arms before cupping her face.

  His gentle touch was the antithesis of Dylan’s volatile need. “And no matter what Lucas did to turn this holiday dark, there is always going to be a special place in your heart for it. And now”—he gave her a short kiss on her nose—“there’s a special place in your heart for us. You need to quit bein’ scared and let us in.”

  “I can’t,” Mercy whispered, the fight draining out of her as she wrenched herself from their hold. She tromped halfway through the yard into the snow to get some distance. She wasn’t surprised when Austin’s arms came around her midriff.

  “You can.”

  “I’m scared,” she finally admitted, bleeding the wound. “I’m scared if I let you in, you’ll break my heart. I can’t live through that shit again. I can’t. I loved that bastard so much, and he fucking destroyed me.”

  “We’ll never do that.” He turned her back around to face them, Dylan by his side, his anger continuing to simmer. “You’ve been suffering from this for all these years. You’ve never made peace with it. It’s created this prison cell around your heart. You needed us to batter those bars down, and fast. No one could have gotten in there slowly, giving you time to change your mind. You don’t need to say it. I know it’s crazy fast. But, Mercy, the first time I saw you—”

  “Something clicked. This feels too right,” Dylan interjected, brushing her hair back. His ire seemed to have dissipated through the course of Austin’s speech. Her former self would have clung to cynicism in the face of their bold optimism, but these men, they warmed her heart and made her remember the magic this time of year could inspire. How impossible things could be possible.

  “Give us a chance,” Austin whispered, standing there with the man he loved, asking her to be theirs. She wanted them and they wanted her. They wanted her. She turned away from Austin’s sweet face toward Dylan, his mouth tight with tension, waiting for her response.

  Too nervous to respond, she cast her gaze around the snow-covered yard, back toward her childhood home. The large house seemed warm and inviting. It was filled with memories of happy and chaotic times. All she’d wanted was to create a home with a family of her own and pass on the warmth and love her parents had instilled in her. Regarding the two men, she saw a future filled with possibilities and joy…no matter how unconventional the relationship would be. Hell, her mother had already given them approval.

  In the end, the choice was simple.

  “Yes.”

  Dylan swooped in, taking her mouth in a fierce claiming. One arm wrapped around her waist, lifting her off her feet, the other tugging Austin in closer, adding him to their kiss. She felt Austin’s lips close in on both of theirs, completing the circle in a t
hree-way kiss that shot fire from her mouth to her toes and melted the snow. She’d been an unquantifiable idiot for leaving them the night before.

  After a moment, Austin and Dylan pulled back, trailing sweet nips and nibbles down her jaw and neck. She laughed, enjoying the tickling sensations that paired with her immeasurable happiness.

  “Wrap your legs around me,” Dylan whispered against her ear with all the piercings, tugging at each silver hoop and stud with his teeth. She did as she was told and basked in the heat of their bodies surrounding her. Austin came up behind her, cupping her bottom and squeezing. The tips of his fingers rubbed through the thin fabric of her sweatpants until they found her swollen entrance, already hot and wet from their kisses alone.

  “Oh, darlin’,” Austin whispered, slotting his erection against her bottom. And oh, she needed that long cock inside her again, even though she was still sore from the last time. “We shouldn’t have let you go.”

  “I’m pretty stubborn. You couldn’t have stopped me.” Mercy grinned, leaning her head back on Austin’s shoulder before turning her head to kiss his neck. They hadn’t shaved yet, and the spiky feeling of stubble abraded her lips, marking her as theirs in yet another way.

  “We have a set of handcuffs and a wrought iron headboard that says differently.” Dylan chuckled, bending over her chest to nuzzle her breasts through the T-shirt.

  “Eww,” Mercy heard from the porch, effectively quashing her libido and dunking her into an eternal vat of embarrassment.

  “Aunt Mercy is kissing those boys, Daddy,” Jessica succinctly pointed out in her high-pitched, blunt way. “Are they married yet?”

  “No, honey pie,” Jacob’s voice said with too much humor for Mercy’s liking. She was never going to live this down. “Aunt Mercy is being bad, kissing those boys without marrying at least one of them first. Do not do what Aunt Mercy does. She is a bad girl.”

  Dylan and Austin wisely lowered her to the ground, but she refused to open her eyes and see what she was sure was a cluster of her entire family…watching her dry hump two men…in the front yard of her childhood home on Christmas morning. Oh, joy.