by Marla Monroe
“Fine with me. I don’t exactly want to dress again. I’ll just put on one of your T-shirts. It will cover me to my knees, I think.”
“I like that idea, you in my clothes.” Sam kissed her, taking his time as he explored her mouth with his tongue.
“You’re blushing again, he said. Then he tapped her nose before sitting up and pulling her with him.
“You do that to me all the time.”
“What?”
“Make me blush. Either you or Mitch do it all the time.”
“You’re just so easy to tease. We don’t mean to embarrass you, Jackie.” He turned serious.
“You don’t, really. I need the bathroom,” she said as Mitch walked out.
“You can go first. I’ll live.” Sam laughed as she climbed over him and out of the bed.
“You didn’t sleep. How did she sleep?” Mitch knew him well.
“She slept well. You, on the other hand, snored and played with my chest hair.” He smiled at Mitch’s pained look
“No I didn’t. I was holding her hand. I can’t help where she put it. It could have been worse.”
“That wouldn’t have happened, little brother.” Sam sat up on the edge of the bed.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea not to take her out to dinner, even though it is late.”
“Why? Do you think she expected it? I mean, if she wants to, we can sure go out.” Mitch pulled on a pair of jeans and then snatched up a shirt.
“No, but she needs to see how it will be if she stays with us. People are going to stare some, but here, it wouldn’t have been so obvious like it will be at home.”
“I say we don’t push it right now. Like you said, it will be worse at home, and that’s soon enough to worry about it.”
“We’ll see.” Sam stopped when Jackie walked out of the bathroom and headed straight for her bag.
“Thought you were going to wear my T-shirt?” Sam asked as she dug through her bag.
“I am, but I want something on my bottom.”
“Too bad,” Mitch said. “I would have liked to think about it bare for me to fondle.”
“Mitch!” She pushed at his shoulder and laughed.
“Hey, can’t help it. I can’t get enough of you, baby.” Mitch chuckled when she frowned at him.
Sam handed her a T-shirt and she slipped it on. She’d been right, it fell to her knees. He hadn’t realized how small she was compared to them. They would have to be more careful around her. He didn’t want to hurt her. That was a possibility as large as he and Mitch were.
They read through the room service menu and chose steaks and potatoes, with theirs being medium rare and hers a nice medium. She seemed almost shy around them now. Sam was having none of that. They wanted her comfortable around them.
Sam settled her on the love seat, next to Mitch. He brought up some of their old childhood memories. They laughed and reminisced until room service knocked. Neither man had bothered with a shirt, but Sam went to the door and let the waiter in to deliver the meal. Jackie turned and faced Mitch, and Sam cursed to himself that he hadn’t thought about how it would look.
To his credit, the waiter didn’t look in her direction, but set up the meal and then left. Sam gave him a good tip and closed the door.
“Food’s on, guys.” Sam set up Jackie’s food, sliding the condiments toward her to use first.
“It looks delicious,” she told them. “I’m starved.”
They settled down to eat, and Sam found himself watching her instead of tending to his own food. He loved the way she sliced her meat and used her left hand to stab it and take it to her mouth. The site of her face when she tasted the steak was amazing. He caught Mitch even watching her. Then, she caught both of them.
“What? Why are you staring at me?”
“You almost look like you do when you’re having an orgasm,” Sam said
“Oh, my God. I can’t believe you just compared my eating with sex.” She giggled.
“He’s not kidding. You had this expression on your face when you bit into that steak that had I not known, I would have said you were coming.”
“I’m so glad we aren’t in public with the way you’re talking to me. I’d blush for sure.” She licked her lips then laughed. She pointed her fork at Mitch.
“What?”
“Why did you stare at me and lick your lips?”
“Because you licked yours, and I wanted to taste them.”
They finished eating with both men teasing her as she ate. Sam enjoyed seeing her eat and not picking at her food like so many women did. She seemed to enjoy her food. They set the trays outside the door when they were finished.
“I’m about ready for bed. Want to watch some TV until we get sleepy?” Sam suggested.
“Sounds good to me. We’ll need to get up early in the morning to get there in time for some of the auction we wanted to see,” Sam told her.
“I vote for an action movie. I don’t like girlie movies unless they’re comedies.”
“A woman after my own heart.” Mitch hugged her, then slapped her on the ass when he let go of her.
“Ow, asshole.”
“Mitch, she might be a little tender.”
“Damn, I’m sorry, Jackie. I wasn’t thinking.”
“I’m fine. You’re just going to be in trouble if you think you can spank me anytime you get ready, though.” She winked at him.
Sam let out a breath. She seemed to be okay. He peeled off his jeans and climbed into bed with the remote.
They watched an action thriller with Matt Damon. He grinned at Mitch. She’d fallen asleep just before the end of the movie.
“Can you get the lights? She’s leaning on me. I don’t want to wake her,” Mitch pointed out.
“I got them. Settle her in next to you. I’ll set the alarm for in the morning.” Sam rolled out of the bed, trying to keep from shaking it and waking Jackie. He shut off all the lights except the bathroom, and left the door slightly ajar for her. Then he set the bedside alarm and climbed into bed to snuggle next to her. He enjoyed the feel of her warm body next to his. For a while, he just enjoyed the sensation, and then he let himself fall asleep.
* * * *
The auction was wild the next morning. They made it in time to get good seats up close to the arena. Mitch settled Jackie in between them. Sam would handle the actual auction paddle, and they’d confer together over Jackie as each animal was brought out. He watched her and was glad to see that she seemed interested in what was going on around them. Good. They would like it if she would come with them to the auctions when they came.
Then it dawned on him. She could be gathering information on auctions concerning her idea of breeding horses.
“This is good experience for you in case you do decide to open a horse breeding business.” Mitch squeezed her hand.
“Yeah, I was just thinking that. I should have come with you two when you looked at the bulls to see how to judge what you’re looking for.”
“It would be different with horses. We’ll go over some things with you when we get back home using ours.”
“Great! Thanks, I’d appreciate it.”
Then the auction began in earnest. They skipped through most of the first cows that came up, but bid on two young heifers that had looked good to them. They actually won both for about what they’d predicted they would go for. When the first of the bulls they had looked at came up, they were disappointed to have to let it go. The bidding went up too high.
“I hate you didn’t get him. He was number one on your list, wasn’t he?”
“Yeah, but there are still a couple of others that we liked,” Sam assured her.
Mitch pointed out the pros and cons of the various bulls as they were brought out until the next bull they were looking at came up. The bidding was tight, but Sam went ahead and raised the bidding one last time. Mitch was pleased that they had when no one outbid them. They’d gotten the bull at a reasonable price. Mitch was sure he w
ould be a good breeder.
“I’m going to run to the little girl’s room. I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll go with you. I’m going to get us some hot dogs and drinks. The next few cows we want are during lunch time, so we’ll be there then.” Mitch stood up with her.
“Be back in a few minutes,” he told Sam.
He waited outside the women’s restroom for Jackie and noted there appeared to be a line forming. He was glad she’d made it when she had. A few seconds later, she emerged, shaking her hands before wiping them on the sides of her jeans.
“No towels?”
“Nope,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Typical at events like this. Too many women and not enough bathrooms. Look at the line.”
“Yeah.” He took her now dry hand in his and led her to the concession stand.
They ordered hot dogs and colas and carried them back to the stands where Sam was bidding on another cow. He was disappointed in not winning, but he was very happy with the hot dogs. Mitch and Sam ate two while Jackie only ate one. They bid through the next two hours, but finally settled with the two heifers and the bull they’d won.
“I’ll go settle up with management on the sales. Why don’t you two go and bring the truck around. We can leave after we load them and check out of the hotel,” Sam said.
“Sounds good to me.” Mitch grabbed Jackie’s hand and pulled her along beside him.”
She giggled when Sam pulled her back and gave her a quick kiss. Mitch pulled her back and they headed to where they’d parked the truck and trailer.
“Will it be very hard to get them in the trailer?”
“The bull, maybe, but the cows are usually pretty docile unless they have babies to protect. These are young heifers with only a single calf each. The calves were sold earlier this year, I’m sure.”
“I’d hate to have a baby and it be taken away from me.”
“Don’t worry, by the time they are sold, the mommas don’t want nothing to do with them anymore,” Mitch assured her.
They pulled out of the lot headed home about four, after half an hour of trying to get the bull in the trailer. As he’d predicted, the two females where easy to herd in. The bull had to be obstinate. Jackie had pointed out that he might go in easier if they didn’t poke him so much, but Sam explained that it didn’t really hurt him, only startled him into moving.
“I still wouldn’t like to be poked by a cattle prod.”
“Neither would we,” Sam and Mitch said at the same time. Then they laughed at her amused expression.
“What?” Mitch asked.
“I was just thinking that might be a good way to keep you two under control.”
Chapter Fourteen
Jackie was exhausted by the time they made it back and the men had unloaded the animals. She was going to suggest they take her home when they got finished, but it was as if they had figured she would say that because they immediately suggested she take a nice, long soak in the Jacuzzi before going to bed.
“You’ll feel better afterward, I promise,” Mitch told her.
“Don’t you guys want me to go home now? We’ve been together for nearly two straight days now.”
“If I have my way, we’ll be together from now on,” Sam said out of the blue.
“Sam, we weren’t going to push her.” Mitch seemed put out with Sam over that.
Did that mean he was serious? Were they wanting more than just a short-term relationship? She couldn’t imagine being without them now that she’d been with them, but surely they knew a ménage type lifestyle wouldn’t work. The people in their town wouldn’t accept them.
Would she consider it? Jackie thought about it long and hard while she was in the Jacuzzi. The warm, bubbly water lulled her into a happy state of bliss where such things could work. The more she thought about it, the more she thought she would be willing to try it. Maybe in the light of day, and once she was out of the Jacuzzi, she would have second and even third thoughts about it. Right now, they hadn’t really proposed anything like that, so she didn’t need to worry about it—yet.
The men had obviously used another bathroom to shower, and were dressed in jeans and western shirts. She could tell something was up.
“We decided to go out to eat. How about Mexican?” Mitch asked.
“Um, sure. Let me finish dressing. That sounds good after hot dogs.” She smiled at them.
Sam seemed a little quiet to her. He smiled, but it looked strained. They’d had a disagreement, and it had probably been about her. She didn’t want them fighting over her. See, she told herself, it’s not going to work. There will always be one of them unhappy about something the other was doing with her. She sighed and followed them out to the truck minus the trailer.
They arrived late enough that they had to wait on a table. Several people that they all knew came up to talk. They seemed fine enough about them all three being together. But they’d been a threesome all during high school, so they might not think there was anything romantic going on.
The older ones did look oddly at them, but didn’t say anything or thumb their noses at them. Jackie wasn’t sure what to think. She’d thought a longer term relationship might work earlier, but now she just didn’t know. She had fallen in love with them and wanted to always be near them, but how could she handle what other people thought or said about them?
During the meal they discussed the auction and other things about the farm. Then Mitch asked her questions about her thoughts on breeding horses on a small scale. “Are you really interested in it, Jackie?” Mitch asked.
“Yes, I would love to. Once I get a better job, I’ll start working on it.”
“We may be able to help you out some on it.” Sam took a swig of his beer.
“How?”
“We’ll give you some ideas on how we raise cows that will be similar to your raising horses. Maybe let you use Jack’s Run for a stud if you’re interested.”
“You’re kidding! That would be awesome, but it will be a little while before I’ll be ready.”
“You never know, it might happen sooner than you think,” Mitch told her with a smile.
They were just about finished when Derrick Porter and his wife, Angela walked up to their table to chat. She’d known them in high school.
“Are you three really all dating each other?” Angela asked.
“Um, yeah,” she said. She refused to hide.
“That’s wild. A real threesome here in Clifton. I never would have believed it.”
“We aren’t really advertising, Angela,” Mitch said a little coldly.
“Oh, well. You’re all here together, and there’s already gossip since you were seen together in Billings this weekend. I would think your secret is out.” She wasn’t being catty, just Angela.
Jackie figured this was it. How they handled it would determine her decision on making this more long term. She didn’t want them to be uncomfortable every time they went anywhere, or feel the need to defend her if someone made snide remarks like at the bar the other night.
“Well, then I guess there’s no need to try and keep it quiet anymore.” Sam reached over and took her hand in his as did Mitch. “We’re serious, not just messing around.”
“Good for you,” Derrick said. He nudged his wife.
“I think if you can handle it. Go for it.” She smiled and waved good-bye as they walked off.
“Are you okay with this, Jackie?” Mitch asked. He looked a little worried.
“Yeah, I guess I am. I mean, I know people are going to talk, but they would talk about anything. I was already their conversation over diner because of my divorce, so now I’ll hold that spot a little longer. What’s the big deal?” She hoped she was as strong as she was portraying herself.
Face it, Jackie. You’re totally in love with them and would do anything to stay with them a little longer.
“Then now’s as good a time as any,” Sam said.
“Maybe when we get back home.”
Mitch didn’t look as sure.
“Hey, Mitch. If you’re not comfortable with the relationship, now is the time to say something before we get too into it. I understand if the fallout is too much, or if there’s something between you and Sam about me. I don’t want to come between you two. You’re brothers.”
“No, that’s not it. I love you, Jackie. Sam does, too. I just didn’t want to push you into something you might not be ready for.”
“You love me?” She couldn’t get past that part of the conversation.
“Yes, we’ve both loved you for a long time, but you got married on us. We didn’t think we had a chance with you anymore,” Sam told her.
“Then you came home and were getting a divorce. It was a second chance for us. We want to make this permanent. You’d marry Sam because he’s the oldest, but the three of us would be married, as far as we’re concerned.”
“Wait, you’re asking me to marry you?” She hadn’t dreamed they were that serious.
“Will you?” Sam asked.
“I–I don’t know what to say. I love you two so much. Can we make it work?”
“I think we can,” Sam told her.
“Me too. I just think we’ve rushed you.”
“Shut up, Mitch,” Sam said.
“Shut up, Mitch,” she said with a smile.
She launched herself into Sam’s arms and then pulled Mitch out of his chair and kissed him next.
“Yes, I’ll marry you both.”
There was a hush over the room. Then several people clapped while others turned their backs and continued eating as if they weren’t even there. Did it matter? Did it hurt? Some, but not enough to stop her from hugging both to her. They would have their trials, but she would do everything she could to make it work. Love could conquer anything. Including doubts and people gossiping. She would have to send Stewart and Julie a thank-you note.
“What are you grinning so hard about?” Mitch asked as they rode home.
“Oh just that I owe someone a thanks that I would never have thought to speak to again.”
“Who?”
“My ex-husband, for becoming my ex.”
