by Becca Van
“Is there anywhere I can stay in town?”
“Sure, there’s—ˮ
“You can stay with us,” Todd said.
“Oh…uh, thanks but—ˮ
“That’s a great idea,” Tiffany said with a smile toward her husband. “We have plenty of room.”
“I don’t want to impose. I think it would be better if I rented a room somewhere. Plus, I need to find some work.”
“What sort of work?” Tiffany asked.
“Ah, anything to do with farming and animals,” Jewel answered.
Tiffany tapped her lips with a finger and frowned as she thought and then she smiled as if an idea popped into her head. “I have the perfect solution.” Tiffany looked at Todd and Jewel got a funny feeling in her stomach when they both smiled at the same time and said, “The Handleys.”
Chapter One
Ash answered his mobile phone when it rang and smiled when he saw that Todd Murray was calling. “Hey Todd, how’s it going?”
“Great and you?”
“Things are coming along.”
“Yeah, you guys don’t mess around. I saw you’ve already finished with the house renovations and extension.”
“Yeah, we don’t like being idle.”
“Now that I can understand,” Todd said. “How’s the farm doing?”
“Really good. We’ve got ten horses total, and two more on the way. Our herd of cattle is well over two hundred head and the pastures are nearly ready to harvest.”
“Shit, I can’t believe how much you four have done in less than twelve months.”
“Yeah, me, too, sometimes. We’ve actually been talking about hiring on someone. With the stock expanding rapidly and the crops needing to come in, we need another set of hands.”
“Well, it just so happens that I have the perfect person for you.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. They have an incredible CV. This person has spent the last eight years travelling the country working on cattle stations and the like. The references they got from their previous employers are sterling. You’d be mad not to hire them on.”
“I hope they aren’t expecting a large wage,” Ash said. “We can pay minimum wage with a room and meals thrown in, but you need to let me talk to my brothers before I can say yea for sure.”
“No problem, but if I were you, I’d make a decision real quick. There are a lot of farms around here, and if the others hear that this person is looking for work…”
“Yeah, I hear ya. Give me an hour and I’ll call you back.”
“Sure.”
Ash disconnected the call and went in search of his brothers. The sun was setting, so it wouldn’t be long before they were all headed inside. He’d spent the afternoon catching up on the books and paperwork and had been pleasantly surprised at how well they were doing. Although they had bought this little farm house and the large tract of land from Tiffany just shy of twelve months ago, they’d been working their arses off and their hard work was already paying off.
It didn’t hurt that all four of them were retired from the army and had saved up a bundle of cash each.
He, Cal, Heath and Finch were good buddies with Dach, Desmond and Dallas King, and when they had heard about the polyamorous relationships in this area and that they were accepted by the general population, mostly, they had jumped at the chance to move to the rural town. Jenna, the King brothers’ wife, was a hell of a woman, and even though she’d been through some hard times herself, she loved her three men with all her heart, and they loved her back just as much.
Then there was Tiffany, Todd and Matt Murray. They were some of the nicest people he’d met. When Tiff had first put the house and land up for sale after losing her grandmother to cancer, he’d felt a little guilty because she’d looked so sad, but now every time he saw her, she was smiling and seemed to glow from the inside.
He and his brothers had seen a lot of shit while serving for their country, and although they’d had sex with a lot of women, none of them had ever really had a relationship as such. Ash always felt a little awkward around women, but he figured being in the company of men for so many years and fighting in wars, he hadn’t spent too much time in their presence.
But now that he and his brothers were retired, he wanted to change that. He just wasn’t sure how to go about it. It wasn’t that he was shy in the presence of the opposite sex, it was just that he felt so hard and cold inside. He always felt like he was about to put his foot in his mouth and unknowingly insult them or their gentle sensibilities.
Ash hurried to the new kitchen when he heard horses’ hooves clip-clopping on the ground. It was his turn to cook dinner and he was glad he’d had the steaks marinating all afternoon. He wasn’t a gourmet chef, but he knew how to grill a steak, bake a potato and toss a salad.
His brothers came inside after dealing with their horses and headed for the showers. By the time he had the steaks cooked and the potatoes done in the microwave, his brothers were entering the kitchen.
“Smells good,” Cal said as he headed to the fridge for the beer. He grabbed four bottles out and, after popping the tops, passed them over to Heath and Finch, before taking Ash’s and his own bottle over to the large dining table across the room.
Finch helped him bring the food over to the set table before they all sat down to eat. They all ate in silence until their stomachs were full. Ash leaned back in his chair and sipped on his beer.
“The Lucerne is ready for harvest,” Finch said.
“So’s the wheat,” Heath piped up.
“The cattle need to be moved to the south pasture,” Cal said.
“Plus, we have the two mares about to drop foals.” Ash pushed his plate away.
“We’re going to need to hire someone.” Cal sighed and rubbed a hand over his whiskered face. “I wanted to hold out for another year, but with things going so well, we need someone sooner rather than later.”
“Yeah, we do.” Finch got up, walked to the fridge, snagged four more beers and sat down again.
“Funny you should mention that.” Ash smirked.
“What?” Callum asked.
“Got a call from Todd Murray.”
“How is Tiffany?” Finch asked.
Ash glanced at Finch and saw the soft smile on his face. All four of them had a soft spot in their hearts for Tiffany Murray. She was dynamite when riled, but she was one of the sweetest women they had ever met, besides Jenna King. They had only met some of the other women in ménage relationships in passing, but they looked just as nice as Tiff and Jenna.
“She’s good, as far as I know.”
“So what did Todd want?” Heath asked.
“He knows someone looking for work. He told me this dude has spent the last eight years working his way around Australia and working on cattle stations,” Ash explained.
“Wow, we sure could use someone like that,” Cal said.
“Yep.”
“If we hadn’t grown up on a farm ourselves, we wouldn’t be in the position we are so quickly,” Finch said. “But I think we’d be mad to pass up taking this guy on. Do you think he knows how to harvest?”
“Not sure, but from what Todd was saying, he knows all about cattle and horses.”
“Then we need to snap this guy up fast,” Heath said. “It’s a busy time of year with all the harvesting due. Even if this guy doesn’t know about crops and such, it would leave time for another of us to help bring the crops in while he takes over the cattle and horses.”
“So you agree to hire him?” Ash asked.
“I do,” Heath said.
“Definitely,” Finch said.
“I hope this guy isn’t expecting a big wage.” Cal raised an eyebrow as he met Ash’s gaze.
Ash shook his head. “Nah, I said minimum wage plus room and meals.”
“And?” Cal asked.
“I told Todd I’d call him back after talking to you lot,” Ash explained.
“Well, what the hell are you
waiting for?” Cal asked with a smile.
Ash pulled his mobile phone from his pocket and called Todd. He put it on speaker phone so his brothers could hear the conversation, too.
“Hey Ash.”
“Todd. I was wondering when the person you mentioned earlier could start?”
“Hang on a sec,” Todd said. He must have covered the phone with his hand, because he couldn’t hear a thing. After a couple of minutes, he was back. “They want to start as soon as possible.”
“How does tomorrow at seven sound?” Ash asked and waited for a reply.
“Yep, that’s good.”
“All right.”
“We’ll be there at six-thirty. We have to help bring some stuff over.”
“They don’t have a car?” Ash asked.
“Yeah, but it has a few problems and Tiffany won’t be able to start on it for at least a week. She has a couple of jobs to complete first and it’ll take time for the necessary parts to come in.”
“Oh, okay.”
“So we’ll see you at six-thirty. You were offering meals and room, too, weren’t you?” Todd asked.
“Yep.”
“Okay. Good. See you then.” Todd disconnected the call.
Ash frowned. He was tense, but he had no idea why. He had a feeling things were about to get a whole lot better. As he gathered the dirty dishes with Finch’s help, he tried to work out why he was feeling the way he was and put it down to having another set of hands to make the workload a little lighter. He just hoped that this guy was as good as he sounded and hadn’t lied on his CV.
* * * *
Jewel felt a little better after getting a semi-decent night’s sleep. She couldn’t believe how nice and friendly Tiff, Todd and Matt were. She had spent the night in their spare bedroom and had had the luxury of showering last night and this morning. She missed Benjy, but from what Tiff had told her about his problems and what needed to be done to him in order to fix him, he was in good hands. He’d been towed to Tiffany’s workshop last night by Matt and she had ridden back to their home with Todd and Tiff in the restored Mustang. When she’d found out that Tiffany had done the restoration on the car herself, she had relaxed about leaving Benjy in her hands.
She headed to the kitchen and the tantalising smells, and found Matt cooking breakfast. Once again, she was shocked but pleasantly surprised. Though her experience with other men, relationship-wise, was nonexistent, she heard other women talking, and from what she’d heard, it wasn’t very good. Those other women hadn’t stopped whinging and complaining about how lazy their partners were, but to find such a ruggedly masculine man standing at the stove was a bit of a shock, and unusual. At least in her book.
“Hi Jewel, how did you sleep?”
“Wonderful. Thank you. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Grab yourself a cup of coffee,” Matt said, pointing to the coffee pot and then to a cupboard. “Cups are in there.”
Jewel grabbed a mug and poured herself a cup of the dark brew. After taking a couple of sips, she sighed. Tiffany and Todd came rushing out and they, too, headed for the mugs and coffee.
“Can I do something?” Jewel asked again.
“No,” Tiff answered. “My men always cook breakfast.”
“Really?” Jewel raised her brow sceptically.
Tiffany chuckled and then clasped Jewel’s hand and tugged her over to the table. They both sat down. “Yes, really. Honey, I don’t know who you’ve been keeping company with, but the men in this town look after their women and kids.”
Jewel glanced over at Matt and Todd, and when she saw they were talking, she turned back to face Tiff. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, whatever you want.”
“Why would you want to be with two men?”
“Oh, well, besides the fact that I love them and they love me, they treat me like a queen.”
“I just can’t imagine…” Jewel shook her head.
“This town has a lot of polyandrous marriages, and you wouldn’t find happier women,” Tiffany said.
“Don’t you get slandered?”
“No. Well, not really. There are a couple of old busybodies who turn their noses up and cross to the other side of the street, but most people in this town are very tolerant. Do you have a problem with one woman with more than one man?”
“No,” Jewel replied. “I don’t give a shit what other people do, as long as no one’s getting hurt.”
“Speaking of…How did you get the bruises on your face?” Tiffany asked.
Jewel’s mind was immediately filled with visions of Reilly as he beat and tried to rape her. Tears burned her eyes and her breathing became panting. She looked up when Tiffany covered her hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
She took a deep breath, exhaled slowly and pushed those images away. “You didn’t. I just don’t want to talk about it.”
Tiff frowned for a moment, but then she smiled. “Are you looking forward to starting work?”
“I guess. I can’t stand hanging around not doing anything. If I’m not on the move then I’m probably asleep. I hate not working.”
“How long have you been travelling?” Tiffany asked.
“Eight years.”
“Wow. Really? You don’t look old enough.” Tiff smiled.
“How old do you think I am?”
“Uh…twenty-two.”
Jewel laughed because she felt that Tiffany was lying. “Guess again.”
“Twenty-one.”
“Are you shitting me?” she asked.
“No,” Tiff answered. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-five.”
“Well, I should have guessed right away.” Tiff chuckled.
“What do you mean?”
“There’s not much difference between twenty-one and twenty-five.”
“If you say so.” Jewel felt like a bug under a microscope there for a minute. She had a feeling that Tiffany could see way more than she wanted her to.
“Here we are, ladies,” Todd said as he and Matt brought over plates of bacon, scrambled eggs, toast and the coffee pot. The table had already been set with crockery and cutlery.
“Dig in, girls.” Matt took a seat next to Tiffany and Todd took the one opposite.
The men talked about their security company and Tiffany told them about the job she had scheduled for the day. Jewel liked listening to them, but she wasn’t used to chatting too much, so she kept her mouth shut. When they’d finished eating breakfast and refused help with the clean-up, she headed to the room she’d slept in the previous night to make sure she’d packed everything.
She grabbed the large, battered bag and carried it out to the front door. She wasn’t looking forward to meeting new employers, but she was definitely hankering to work with animals again after being cooped up in a hospital bed for a week and then in Benjy for three days straight. Jewel loved working out in the fresh air and was looking forward to getting some exercise, even if it was on the back of a horse.
She’d often thought about buying her own mount and horse float, but she knew that there was no way Benjy could tow such a heavy trailer, and after having him for so long she was reluctant to part with him. Plus, there was the fact that it was unsettling for a horse to be moved constantly without having a familiar place to settle. Horses could be such nervous creatures and the slightest thing could upset them. Maybe when she found a place to call her own, she would buy a couple, plus a dog or two.
Jewel had never found somewhere she’d wanted to stay for more than year. She had no idea if she ever would. It was like there was always something missing, and no matter how hard she tried to find it, she never did.
“Ready?”
Jewel jumped and spun around. Matt, Todd and Tiffany were standing there watching her closely, and she hoped they hadn’t seen how lost in thought or how sad she was feeling. She pasted a bright smile on her face and nodded.
“Yeah. Thank you all so much for
putting me up for the night. I really appreciate your hospitality.” Jewel hoped she didn’t sound as stilted as she felt.
“Nonsense.” Tiff placed a hand on Jewel’s shoulder. “That’s what friends are for.”
She blinked quickly when her eyes burned and put it down to the sun streaming through the window off the side of the door, before she bent down to pick up her bag.
“Let me get that for you,” Matt said, and rushed over to take her bag.
Wow, a gentleman. I guess chivalry isn’t dead after all. Who would have guessed I would find such nice people in this weird little town?
Chapter Two
Callum and his brothers had just finished clearing up after breakfast and were about to head out when he heard a truck coming up the driveway. He was curious and eager to meet their new employee, so he hurried out to the front porch.
“Where’s our new guy?” Ash asked as he, Heath and Finch came to stand beside him.
“Don’t know.” Cal sighed. Tiff and Matt were in the front seat of Matt’s truck and Todd was in the back. “Maybe he got a better offer.”
“Wait!” Heath exclaimed. “Is that a head I see in the back seat next to Todd?”
Cal squinted and, sure enough, caught movement. “He must be a real short arse.”
“Doesn’t matter how tall the guy is,” Finch said. “As long as he’s a hard worker.”
“Yeah, sorry.” Cal winced. Just because he and his brothers were six-foot-plus didn’t mean everyone was. Matt stopped the truck and everyone began to get out. And then his breath caught in his throat and his heartbeat began to race.
Their employee wasn’t a man at all. He was a she, and when she walked around the truck and was in full view, his knees nearly buckled. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She was average height at around five foot four to six, but she was slim with curvy hips, and from what he could see, she had a good set of breasts on her. When he realised what he was doing, he lifted his eyes to her face and breathed in deeply as he tried to get his lascivious thoughts under control and his half-mast cock to go down again.
