Special Cowboy Menage Collection

by Morgan Ashbury

  His usual arrogance in full view, Marsh strode up to Maddy as if he owned her, not even acknowledging the men with her. Then he noticed the charred debris beyond her.

  “What the hell happened there?”

  “There was a fire,” Maddy replied. Before Marsh could react to that, Chase nudged her.

  “See? I told you small-dick men drive big-ass trucks.” Chase said.

  “So you did. I’m so sorry I doubted you.”

  “Now see here, Maddy. You ought not let the hired hands get too familiar.” Then he nodded toward the charred ruins of Lucas’ house. “And if you had a real man around, things like that wouldn’t happen. Now I’ve brought my friend Rick with me so you could meet him, as he is going to be best man at our wedding.”

  “Rick?” Maddy questioned. She felt pretty certain that she knew the names of all of Kevin’s friends—the few there were—and that there’d never been a Rick among them.

  Kevin’s ‘friend’ stepped forward, hand extended, a chilling smile on his face. “Rick Barnes. I’m very pleased to meet you, Maddy. You don’t mind if I call you Maddy, do you? I feel as if I already know you, the way Kevin has gone on and on about you for so long.”

  “That’s it.”

  Lucas’s two words warned Maddy he was about to lose his temper. He shot her a look of half-apology, and she realized in that instant that despite his anger, he was willing to step back and let her handle Marsh, if that’s what she wanted to do.

  Just as she motioned for Lucas to go ahead, another vehicle came down the drive. She had a sinking sensation in her belly as the familiar black and white patrol car belonging to the sheriff’s department pulled to a stop.

  * * * *

  Lucas took a half step closer to Maddy, his attention all on the arrival of Sheriff Barclay. The man didn’t look very happy, and that didn’t bode well for anyone.

  Barclay nodded to everyone then looked at Sean. “Are you Mr. Paris?”

  “Yes, I am. Sheriff Barclay?”

  The two men shook hands, and then George Barclay turned his attention to Maddy.

  “There’s no easy way to say this. They found Bill Campbell’s car at the bottom of a ravine over in Jefferson County. Near as they can tell, he ran off the road sometime before dawn. I’m sorry, Maddy. He’s dead.”

  “Aw, hell.” Lucas felt a jab to his gut. As pissed as he was at Bill for having set the fire, he hadn’t wanted the man dead.

  Maddy closed her eyes for a moment, and Lucas put his arm around her shoulders and drew her close. From the corner of his eye he could see Marsh getting ready to plow his way into the middle of a situation where he didn’t belong. Little pecker always did think he was the star of every damn show.

  “Thanks for coming out to tell us, George. I don’t suppose there’s any way of knowing one hundred percent that he set that fire.” Maddy said hopefully.

  “Maddy, the fact that he ran is confession enough.” Chase said quietly.

  George Barclay nodded his agreement.

  “See, Maddy, it’s just like I’ve been saying to you. You’re only a woman, which is why you have arsonists and men who don’t know their place walking all over you out here. You need a real man in your life. Now, since the Sheriff is here, do you want to tell him something? Or shall we just go ahead and invite him to our wedding?” Marsh’s voice came out almost sing-song sweet. He reminded Lucas of a spoiled little boy—which he supposed, in many respects, he was.

  Maddy blinked a couple of times, and he could see she had almost forgotten Marsh. Lucas understood she was still dealing with the news George had brought.

  Lucas looked at Chase, who nodded.

  To Maddy, he said, “May I?”

  Her expression cleared some, and she gave him a smile. “By all means.”

  He rounded on Kevin and took a single step forward. Unsurprisingly, Marsh took a step back.

  “One: Maddy doesn’t need a man, you little prick, she already has two of us, and you don’t fit the definition, anyway. Two: If she did need another man, you don’t qualify. Yes, that sounds a lot like number one, but you’re so fucking stupid, you need to be told twice. And three: if Maddy did have anything to say to the Sheriff, it wouldn’t be good news for you, ass hole. As a matter of fact, she’s still thinking about that option.”

  “She’s still thinking about marrying me?” Marsh asked brightly.

  “Small dick and a fucking moron,” Chase commented. “But we’ve been rude. We haven’t introduced you to our friend. This is Sean Paris. Sean is an attorney with the office of the Attorney General for the State of Colorado.”

  “Actually, it’s going to be announced on Monday that I’m being promoted to Assistant Attorney General.” Sean said that almost shyly, but his grin as he faced Marsh and Barnes stretched wide and, Lucas thought, looked predatory.

  “Sean, this is the little shit head who gave that photograph to Maddy and threatened to have her arrested if she didn’t marry him and sign over the ranch,” Chase finished the introductions.

  Lucas noted that George had taken off his sunglasses and was giving Marsh a hard look. He decided he needed a bit more fun, himself. “Not only that, but he’s already made a deal behind Maddy’s back to sell her land to—if I’m not mistaken—this fine gentleman right here, Kevin’s never-before-heard-of best friend, Rick Barnes.”

  Barnes was good, Lucas would give him that. He shot Kevin a look that spoke of pure shock and bewilderment.

  “Now see here! Who are you to—” Marsh erupted in indignation, but Barnes cut him off.

  “Kevin—you threatened Ms. Dalton? You mean…you never had the right to speak on her behalf in the first place?” He turned his attention to Maddy, and Lucas thought everyone present—well, everyone with the possible exception of Kevin Marsh—could see the wheels spinning, and the damage control kicking in.

  “Ms. Dalton, I sincerely apologize! I was under the impression that Kevin had acted in good faith and on your behalf, because you wanted to sell your land. Now I understand why my surveyors were so concerned yesterday. Here, let me write you a check right away to pay for the repair of that fence my surveyors damaged.”

  “No need. The fence is already fixed,” Lucas said. He felt Maddy move closer to him. He thought she might be getting ready to speak up. But rather than indicate she would step in and take over the confrontation, she simply leaned against him.

  “Not a very good example of due diligence on your part, Mr. Barnes,” Paris said, quietly. “What kind of business did you say you were in, back there in New York City?”

  Lucas caught a flash of shocked rage on Barnes’ face, one moment when the polite mask dropped and his true inner beast showed. He recovered quickly.

  “I’m afraid my only excuse is I allowed my friendship with Kevin to overrule my usually more detail-oriented business brain. By the way,” he tilted his head to the side, his smile and tone of voice turning coy, “I don’t recall saying I was from New York.”

  “No? Huh. Must be the accent.” Paris delivered that with obvious sarcasm. Just enough, Lucas thought, to let Barnes know he had the goods on him. Paris can be pretty damn dangerous too, for a kid.

  The tension in the air was thick. Sliding a glance at Chase, he could tell the other man felt it too, and more, understood it just as he did.

  “Well, now.” George Barclay set his glasses back on his face. A good tactic, Lucas thought, to prevent anyone from judging his seriousness by the look in his eyes. “Think I’ll go and pay my respects to Miss Verna. Let her know what her nephew has been up to lately. And while I do, I’ll have to consider things very carefully. After all, I’m a duly sworn officer of the law, and I’ve just been made aware of some possible criminal activity on the part of one of Marshville’s supposedly upstanding citizens.”

  Barclay nodded to them and headed toward his car. Kevin Marsh recovered his shock quickly, and trotted close behind the officer.

  “Now, see here, Sheriff, there’s no need to be b
othering Aunt Verna with all this. I was…um…just trying to get Maddy to notice me, that’s all! I didn’t mean anything by it!”

  “Like a bully caught by the principal in the school yard,” Chase muttered in disgust.

  They all turned their attention to Rick Barnes.

  “I had no idea Kevin was like this. I’m very disappointed in him. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll just wait for him in his truck. A pleasure meeting you all.”

  When Barnes had settled himself inside it and the truck door closed, Maddy turned to Paris.

  “Does this mean you won’t be able to go after Barnes as you thought you might?”

  Paris gave her a little smile. “Oh, I don’t know. I think I’ve effectively chased the big bad con man out of my state and back to New York City. Success doesn’t always have to end in charges being laid.”

  “You’re good. I can see why Phil counts you as one of his best friends,” Chase commented.

  Sean smiled widely and once more he looked like a kid. “Ditto. I hope we all can be friends, too? After all, we have to stick together, don’t we?”

  Lucas had thought he’d caught the vibes earlier. He hadn’t always trusted his own instincts in the past, but he thought that with recent activities they might be improving. No wonder the man had been incensed about the fire. Now he smiled and offered the lawyer his hand.

  “You bet. Let us know when you’re free. You can bring your partner and enjoy a real down-on-the-ranch cook out.”

  “That’s a deal.”

  The Sheriff’s car peeled away, heading down the drive. Marsh, muttering to himself, scampered back to his truck. He opened the driver’s door, and froze. To Lucas it looked as if the man had temporarily forgotten the presence of Barnes. The expression that washed over Marsh’s face was priceless—as if he was about to sit down in a big pile of shit. He got into the cab gingerly and started the engine of that big-ass truck.

  They all followed the retreat of the red Ford with their eyes. For a long moment no one said anything.

  “Oh dear.” Maddy’s voice sounded strained. Lucas shot her a glance and realized she was trying hard not to laugh. “I don’t think Kevin understands just how upset his ‘best friend’ really is.”

  “No, he’s not a terribly intuitive individual, is he?” Chase agreed.

  “I wouldn’t worry too much,” Paris said, smiling. “Barnes is way too careful and far too smart to actually cause the little twerp grievous physical harm.”

  Lucas nodded. “No, but I expect old Kevin is going to be hurting some.” And as far as he was concerned, that wasn’t a bad thing at all.

  Chapter Twenty

  Maddy had never planned an evening like this before. She didn’t know much about all the little fancy touches, all the accents that would make the evening special. At one point, she’d wondered, briefly, if she’d lost her mind. She understood horses and cattle and ledgers. She knew branding and calving and could muck out a stall like nobody’s business. What the hell did she know about romance, for crying out loud?

  A vow, a promise and a piece of paper.

  Focusing on those words calmed her. What she knew about romance, was that everyone was entitled to some. She was entitled to some, and so were her men. They deserved her efforts to accomplish something outside her comfort zone.

  All in all, it had been a hectic few days. The fire investigators had been out, and had quickly determined that the fire that had nearly taken her lovers had been deliberately set. Further, in searching the property, they’d found a gas can that no one could ever remember seeing before. It had recently been purchased by, and still bore the fingerprints of, Bill Campbell.

  Sheriff Barclay had driven out with Verna Marsh, who had apologized profusely for her nephew’s ‘indiscretions’. “He’d have come out to apologize himself, but he’s had a dreadful accident. Fell down the stairs at his house. Several times, by the look of him.”

  Maddy hadn’t known what to say to that. She felt relieved all the bad stuff had ended.

  She refused to borrow trouble, or even consider for one moment that there would be any bad stuff in their future. One of the best things about living out of town, in the middle of nowhere on an isolated piece of Colorado was that if they chose to, they could damn well keep the world out.

  She wasn’t looking at the world through rose-colored glasses just because she was in love. She understood that Chase had likely been right, and there would be a lot of people in the months—years—to come who would not approve of the way she and Chase and Lucas had chosen to live their lives.

  So be it.

  For the immediate present, neither Pat nor Charlie seemed to care one way or the other how Maddy, Chase and Lucas lived. Chase had said that certainly surprised him. She wasn’t certain what he meant by that.

  Maddy never thought she’d ever be looking at a happy-ever-after for herself, but damned if that wasn’t exactly what she hoped and prayed for.

  If nothing else, the last few days had taught her the value of love, and what mattered most in life, and what did not.

  So she’d come to a decision. She wanted to do something special for the men she loved. She knew exactly what she wanted to do, of course, but hadn’t been certain of the mechanics of it. Her new friend Sean Paris had proven a huge help there.

  Maddy smiled. Oh, she’d been sly setting things in motion. She’d casually mentioned to her men that it sure would be nice if they could all dress up and go out to dinner—like a date. Lucas and Chase had really come through for her, and they’d all just had a fine meal in Gunnison.

  She’d seen the look of surprise on their faces when she’d pinned a white rose on each of their lapels before they’d left the house.

  Now they’d returned home, and she asked them to come into the small dining room—a room she almost never used because the kitchen was bigger and cozier.

  “What’s all this?” Chase asked, taking in the candles, the champagne bucket and glasses, and the flowers.

  “Looks pretty fancy,” Lucas said.

  Maddy smiled, and maybe they saw the nervousness on her face, because they looked at each other before turning to face her.

  “Is this for us?” Lucas asked, and in his smile she read acceptance, and love.

  “It’s great,” Chase said.

  “There’s more. Just wait here.”

  It only took her a moment to get the chilled wine and her major surprise.

  Chase took the bottle from her as soon as she came back into the room.

  “Shall I?” he asked.

  “Yes, please.”

  It was hard to be patient, to wait until Chase had poured some champagne into each of their glasses. Maddy could never remember being so excited.

  God, her men were great, the way they each took up a glass after handing her one, and stood silent, letting her set the pace, take the lead.

  She hadn’t actually written out what she wanted to say, but she found the words nestled in her heart. As soon as she began to speak, her nervousness eased.

  “I’ve been a loner most of my life. I discovered a long time ago that I couldn’t depend on anyone to be there for me, to help me—not even my parents. So I learned to do for myself, and up until very recently wouldn’t dream of asking anyone for help, let alone standing back to let someone take the lead. I built solid walls around me and had made up my mind never to let anyone inside them.”

  “No one can blame you for that, sweetheart. We certainly don’t.” Chase’s words, and his expression, brimmed with tenderness.

  “I saw the burden you carried from an early age, darling. So, what Chase said.”

  Maddy smiled. Inhaling deeply, she continued. “I had also decided I would never join my life to anyone else’s, and as I grew older, I could never see the need to. I used to deride that kind of commitment. I used to say, ‘what’s so special about a vow, a promise, and a piece of paper? A vow can be faked, a promise broken, and a piece of paper torn to shreds.”

&
nbsp; “I remember hearing you say that once. Your daddy had been in a drunken rage, stomping all over you, as I recall, because you weren’t interested in marriage.” Lucas said.

  She could see the memory disturbed him. And she knew his anger was that her father had treated her so.

  “Well, I’ve changed my mind. I know we can’t get married, officially. There are a couple of states where you guys could, but there is no place anywhere that would recognize a marriage between the three of us.”

  “Sweetheart, that doesn’t matter.” Chase’s voice sounded strong, even though his eyes glistened with tears.

  “All that matters is what we are to each other,” Lucas added.

  “All that matters is what we are to each other, yes. But I can take that one step further. I can offer you both, if you’ll accept them, a vow and a promise. And a piece of paper.

  “My vow to you is that I will honor and cherish you, and abide with you always; that I will be there when you need me, no matter what. I promise that I will let you help me when I need the help, and that I will always, always be grateful that you love me. I love you, Lucas Calhoun. I love you, Chase Reynolds. In my heart, you are both my husbands.”

  “Sweetheart.” Chase spoke the word, but they both reached for her.

  “Just one more thing. The piece of paper. This is the closest I could come to a marriage contract.” She picked up the two scrolls and handed one to each of her men.

  Chase had his opened first, his eyes scanning the document before flashing back up to look at her.

  “Maddy?”

  “You’re giving us each a third interest in the ranch?” Lucas asked.

  “It’s more than that. We’ll be legal partners, share and share alike. We’ll be each others’ beneficiaries, and we’ll each have power of attorney for the others.”

  “The State of Colorado wouldn’t recognize us as spouses, but they’ll damn sure recognize us as partners.” Chase’s smile said it all. “You, darling, are brilliant.”

  “And generous. Are you sure, sweetheart?” Lucas asked. “You’ve fought for this ranch all your life. You fought your dad who had mismanaged it, you fought years of bad markets, bad droughts and devastating blizzards. Are you sure you want to just give up control?”