Trusting Chance [Fate Harbor] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Caitlyn O'Leary

  “Josie, open this door, or I’m going to break it down.” And there was Sam. His demanding voice was somehow comforting, too. God, she was really one messed-up woman. She walked over to the door, not wanting to yell across the room. She leaned her head against the wood.

  “Please, let’s talk tomorrow after the shop closes. I just can’t do this tonight, okay?” She was proud that she had kept her voice level. If she had thought herself capable of doing that, she would have answered their phone calls, and saved herself this late night visit.

  “It’s too late for that, baby. You promised to keep in touch, and you failed. Now open. The. Goddamn. Door.” She was too numb to be scared or aroused by Sam’s dominant voice, she just responded to it. So she unhooked the chain, and unlocked the door, which was immediately opened by one large, concerned male. Josie looked up at Sam in a daze. Funny, she expected him to be angry.

  “I wasn’t angry, baby, I was scared.” She must have said that aloud.

  “You did,” Chance answered. She turned her head to look at him, but she felt like she was under water. How were they reading her mind?

  “Zee, you’re saying everything out loud. Jesus, she’s burning up. Sam, get her to the couch.” Josie felt the room drop from beneath her, and then she was flying. Sam gently lowered her to the sofa. When she looked into his beautiful green eyes, she felt really happy, but he didn’t. Maybe he didn’t like her as much as she liked him.

  “Jesus, Josie, you’re killing me here.” Sam’s hands felt so good against her forehead, so cool and dry. Why was he being nice, if he didn’t like her?

  “I swear to everything holy, I like you. Why didn’t you tell us you were going to Florida? Is everything okay with your sisters?”

  “How’d you know Florida went I?”

  “Chance, get the thermometer, she’s not making sense.”

  “Still looking, it’s not in her medicine chest,” he called from her bathroom.

  “Are your sisters all right?” Sam asked again.

  “Had to tell in person…” Josie’s eyes shut just as Chance came back with the thermometer.

  “About damn time,” Sam said, taking the instrument from Chance’s hand.

  “Did you find out why she went to Florida?” Chance asked. “Open your mouth, Zee.” Josie opened her eyes, and stared up at him. Then she saw that pretty sunny color that was Chance’s hair, and she moved her head.

  “Josie, stay still, look at me, and open your mouth.”

  “I think she went to tell the girls about the three of us.” Sam answered Chance’s question.

  “Is that why you went there?” Chance asked.

  She turned back to Chance, and Sam immediately tipped her chin back toward him.

  She didn’t want to move her head. It hurt. Hurting was bad. What Becca said had hurt. She didn’t want to hurt Sam and Chance. There was so much hurt.

  “Take out the thermometer,” Chance instructed Sam.

  “It’s one hundred and four! I think we need to take her to the hospital.” Sam eased her to a reclining position on the couch, pulling together the lapels of her robe.

  “Hold on, let me call Mom.” Chance pulled out his phone and was immediately talking to Betty, explaining the situation. “Zee, have you been throwing up?” She looked up at Chance in confusion. Why did he want her to get up? She had just gotten comfortable. She struggled to sit up. Chance crouched down in front of her, gently easing her back down onto the sofa. “Zee, can you understand me?” Josie nodded, struggling to focus on him.

  “Have you been sick to your stomach?”

  “Yes. I’ve been throwing up.” She thought it was the upset from Becca’s reaction.

  “How does your body feel, does it ache?” She nodded, which just shot another stream of pain from her neck into her brain stem. She groaned, the room got fuzzy, and she had to just nap for a little while.

  “Yeah, Mom, everything you just said.” Chance listened intently. “Okay, got it. Thanks, you’re the best.” He turned to Sam. “She said it’s a bad case of the flu. If her temp stays this high for more than twelve hours, we should get her to the hospital, but she should be just fine after a few days.”

  “I want to take her home.”

  “You and me, both. Let’s get some blankets, and some kind of bucket in case she throws up. I dibs driving,” Chance quickly claimed.

  “You’re an asshole. I don’t care if she pukes on me, I want to hold her,” Sam said. Chance went down the hallway, smiling to himself. He loved seeing Sam play such a nurturing role. They got her bundled up good, because it was raining. Sam carried her down to the truck, and the two of them got her situated into the back. She was still out cold, despite all of the jostling, which was plenty of cause for concern to both of them. It took twice the time it normally would to get to the house, because the rain was pouring heavily, and Chance didn’t want to take the turns too quickly for fear of upsetting Josie’s stomach.

  Josie woke up when they opened the door of the truck and the wind and rain whipped into the interior. “What?”

  “Shhh,” Sam soothed. “We’ve got you. We’re getting you inside, and we’re going to get you warm and tucked in, in just a second.” The cold rain felt good against her hot skin, and she threw off the blankets she was bundled in, much to Sam’s consternation. By the time they made it into the house, she was wet and shivering.

  “Are you out of your mind, woman?” Sam nearly shouted at her.

  “It’s the fever,” Chance calmed him. He plucked Josie out of Sam’s arms and strode down the hall to the master suite, with Sam close behind him. Chance headed straight to the bathroom and started stripping Josie, and Sam started the shower. Both of them just got out of their boots and shoes, and entered the huge shower stall, to get Josie warm.

  “So co–co–cold,” she chattered.

  “I know, baby. I should have kept the blankets around you.” Sam cursed himself. He held her and rubbed her arms, ensuring that the water didn’t get in her face.

  Chance touched her scalp. “The top of her head feels like ice, but her forehead still feels hot. I’m going to wash her hair.”

  “Oh, please do,” Josie pleaded. “That would feel so good.” Despite their worry, both men grinned at one another at the sensual sound in Josie’s voice.

  “If you get to wash, I get to condition,” Sam said.

  “Deal.”

  Chance got the herbal shampoo he had bought for Josie and lathered her hair, and for the first time was truly conscious of the weight of it. “God, woman, how do you not have headaches all the time?”

  “Hmmm?” Chance realized she was out of it again. He lifted the heavy mass, and thought that no matter how much he loved it, he was going to have to talk her into cutting it. While Chance was washing her hair, Sam stripped out of his clothes, and while Sam conditioned her hair, Chance stripped. They both got her dry before putting her to bed.

  “Mama Betty said we needed to get her to drink plenty of clear fluids,” Chance said. “You stay with her. I’m going to bring in some water and juice.”

  When he got back, Sam had her bundled up in a semiseated position, resting against his chest. Chance had found some straws, so he started with the apple juice. “Josie, can you hear me? You need to drink this, and take some Tylenol.” He put the straw to her lips, and Sam kept her upright.

  “I hear you, I’m just feeling woozy. Damn it, why do you guys always have to take care of me?” Josie grumbled.

  Sam and Chance grinned at one another. Their Josie was back with them.

  “Drink up, Zee.” She drank half of the glass, then pushed it away.

  “You gave us a scare,” Sam said as he stroked her hair, nuzzling her temple, subtly feeling her for fever. Sam gave Chance a look, telling him that she was still warm.

  “Why did you have to fly to Florida, if your sisters are arriving here in three weeks for spring break?” Chance asked.

  “I had to tell them about us in person. I w
anted to give them time to prepare before they got here, and I couldn’t do it over the phone or Skype.” Sam started to take away some of the pillows behind her, so she could lie back.

  “Had to tell them in person…” They both watched as tears dripped down her temples, falling into the pillows.

  “Baby, what happened?” Sam asked gently.

  “Oh, Sam, I had to listen, you know. I had to let her vent. That’s my job, to keep it together, and not lose it. You know?” They both watched as her chin quivered.

  “What did they say?” Sam asked quietly.

  “Just her,” she mumbled.

  “Okay, what did she say?” Chance demanded.

  “Hmmm? What are you talking about?” Josie asked as she fell asleep. Chance put the apple juice glass on the night stand and reached over to place his hand on Josie’s forehead. “She’s still hot, but it doesn’t seem as bad as it was in her apartment.”

  “Should we take her temperature again? What did Mama Betty say?” Sam was anxious, and Chance didn’t blame him.

  “She said that fluids and Tylenol should take care of things. We should check her temp every four hours.”

  “Let’s let her sleep,” Sam suggested. “I could use a drink.” He got up, pulled on a pair of sweats, and they headed to the kitchen. This time they skipped the beer and pulled out the Scotch.

  “It sounds like it didn’t go well with her sisters,” Chance said as he braced his arms against the kitchen island.

  Sam slumped onto one of the barstools and downed his entire glass. “It never occurred to me that we might have another obstacle besides Josie. I mean, I was only thinking about convincing her this could work.” When he saw his friend arch his eyebrow at him, he continued, “Okay, and I’ve been an obstacle. I admit it. But, Jesus, Chance, give me some credit for working on it. I’ve been seeing that counselor that Leif recommended twice a week. I know it’s only been a couple of weeks, but it’s already helped.”

  “I know, Sam,” Chance said. “I’m really impressed with your efforts. I know that shit has to be hard as hell. I don’t know if I could do it, but for a life with Josie, yeah, I probably could.” Chance slammed his glass down on the counter, splattering the contents everywhere. “I really thought those girls would be fine with this. They love Josie. I know they want her happy. They seem so well adjusted, and open-minded.”

  “Have you met them?” Sam asked.

  “No, but I had them checked out pretty thoroughly. I wanted to know any potential roadblocks up front. Not that I was going to let anything stop me, but I just wanted to know about them. Hell, Chance, they’re college students. They’re at the age of experimentation. They’re supposed to have an open mind about stuff like this.” Chance dropped his head in his hand.

  Sam looked at his friend in horror. This was not the Chance Reynolds he was used to seeing. Chance always had a plan. If something went wrong, he went under it, over it, or around it. When he said as much, Chance told Sam that he didn’t understand.

  “Those two girls are Josie’s life. Sam, if they aren’t on board, then there is no way Josie will go for this,” he explained.

  “We don’t know for sure what was said. Josie’s sick. She could be overreacting to one little thing that was said, blowing it all out of proportion.” Chance got up and poured himself another drink.

  “I pray to God you’re right.”

  Chance was actually passed out in his bedroom when Sam went in to take Josie’s temperature. He had been in periodically to make her drink water and apple juice and to see if she needed to go to the bathroom. He hated to have to wake her up again, but he wanted to ensure that her fever hadn’t increased. He had called Betty after Chance downed his tenth shot of whiskey and went to bed. Just hearing his foster mom’s soothing voice had made him feel better. She’d explained that the flu was going around, and it was likely Josie caught it on the airplane flying to Florida.

  Sam asked if Betty had known about Josie’s trip to visit the girls, and she admitted she had. Sam asked why Josie felt it was necessary to see her sisters just prior to their planned visit for spring break. Betty tried to explain how Josie just felt it was important not to surprise the girls with her relationship when they arrived. Sam was still wrapping his head around the fact that Josie had flown down to Florida, instead of telephoning or Skyping. It said a lot about her sense of responsibility.

  When he got to the master suite, Josie was actually sitting up, reaching for a glass of water.

  “Hey, before you drink that, can we take your temperature?” Sam asked.

  “Sure.” Josie patted down her hair and pulled up the blankets, ensuring that she was completely covered.

  “Baby, it’s a little late to be covering up now. Who do you think put you to bed?” Sam winked. He shook out the thermometer and popped it under her tongue. She stared up at him, taken by his smile. “If your fever is down, do you want to come out to the living room?” he asked.

  She nodded her head. He reached down and pulled the thermometer out of her mouth and read it.

  “Looking good,” he said. “Your fever is down to a hundred and one.”

  “If that’s good, what was it before?”

  “When we got to your apartment, it was a hundred and four. Why didn’t you call us, baby?” Sam watched as she turned her head away from him. He let it go for the moment, instead focusing on lifting her up, with the comforter, and taking her to the living room.

  “I can walk, you know.”

  “I know. I just like holding you.” He placed her gently on the sofa.

  “Where’s Chance?”

  “He’s feeling a bit under the weather.”

  “Oh, no! Did he catch the flu?” she worried.

  “No, it was a totally man-made illness. He drank too much, and passed out,” Sam explained. He grabbed the afghan off the back of the couch, wrapping it around her, too, then handed her the remote control to the television.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” she said, trying to hand back the remote. “You need to explain why Chance drank himself into a stupor.” Josie gave Sam a hard look.

  “If you really want to talk, baby, then it is going to go both ways. You are going to have to explain why you went off to Florida without telling us, and what happened to get you so upset. Are you really up for having that conversation now?” he challenged.

  Josie looked down at the remote control, which suddenly seemed to have a lot more appeal.

  “That’s what I thought. Why don’t you and I just sit here and cuddle tonight, and save all the heavy stuff for tomorrow?”

  “That sounds really good, Sam. Thank you.” She curled into his warm arms and they spent the night not paying attention to the television.

  The next morning Chance found them asleep on the couch. He called Elise and told her that Josie was sick and not coming in to the bakery. Elise told him she had things handled, then asked if Josie needed anything. Chance said he and Sam had everything under control and thanked her for being such a good friend. He then went into the kitchen and made some oatmeal and toast for Josie, and bacon and eggs for him and Sam. Sam must have smelled the food or the coffee because he shuffled into the kitchen.

  “How’s Josie doing?” Chance asked.

  “Her fever was down to a hundred and one last night. We’ll need to take it again this morning.”

  “Did you guys talk about her trip?”

  “No, she wasn’t up for it, and I didn’t push. We just vegged out in front of the TV.” Sam reached for a plate and started serving himself.

  “Is she awake?”

  “Nope, she’s still out cold. I thought you would be, too,” Sam said dryly. “Let’s just eat, then we can wake her up, take her temp, and see if she’s up for solid food. Eat up.” Sam motioned to the food that Chance had prepared.

  Chance made a plate and sat down at the island. “You don’t seem worse for the wear,” Sam finally said.

  “I got up in the middle of the night and to
ok some aspirin and drank a lot of water. I think all the booze helped to clear my head.”

  “Jesus, Chance, you are the only person in the world who would say getting shitfaced cleared their mind.” Sam shook his head at his friend.

  “What can I say? I’m a breed of my own.” Chance put down his fork and finished his orange juice, then lowered his voice. “Even if Josie caught some grief from her sisters, we can still work past that.”

  “How do you figure that?” Sam asked.

  “We win them over. They’re planning on coming to visit in two weeks for spring break. We make sure that they meet every permanent polyamorous relationship in town, and we woo them with our charm. If that doesn’t work, we take out our big guns.” Sam raised his eyebrow. “We sic Betty on them.”

  The knot of fear that had started in his stomach yesterday afternoon when Josie started crying, that had grown exponentially with every shot Chance had drunk, was now beginning to unravel. Sam hadn’t realized how much he depended on his brother to come up with an idea, but that was his role. Chance came up with the plan, and Sam executed and enforced the plans. That’s how it had been all of their lives. Chance now had a plan, and it definitely had potential.

  Sam smiled. “Okay, let’s go wake up our girl, and find out what we’re up against.”

  Josie luxuriated in the feel of her hair being stroked. She couldn’t imagine a better way to wake up, until she felt the arch of her foot being massaged. She thrust into the magical fingers that were pushing into the bottom of her foot. Sam, she thought to herself, recognizing his touch, and the way her hair was being brushed back from her face, she knew those hands belonged to Chance. She was having a tough time remembering how they had gotten into her apartment, but when they were making her feel so good, who really cared?

  “Zee, it’s time to wake up. Do you feel good enough to eat something?” Chance whispered softly in her ear, causing tendrils of hair to blow and tickle her neck. Her stomach growled.