Oak, Sophie - Pure Bliss [Nights in Bliss, Colorado 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Sophie Oak

  “I didn’t look, baby.” James didn’t even want to. Serena was a lovely woman, and he had nothing at all against her, but Hope was it for him. He wouldn’t look at the Serenas of the world ever again.

  Serena’s eyes narrowed on Hope. “What are you doing here? God, Hope, you’re so deeply pathetic. You couldn’t get Logan. Wolf wouldn’t look twice at you. So now you’re going after James. Again.”

  Okay. Now he had something against Serena. He wasn’t about to let anyone talk to his woman that way. He stepped close to Hope, but she held out a hand.

  “Don’t even bother, James. I can handle this.” She leaned against the porch rail. “Logan was my friend, Serena. I know it shocks you that I could have a male who’s just a friend because a woman like you needs to believe every man in the world wants to sleep with her. I love Logan because of the man he is and not because he has a dick that I can control him with. As for Wolf Meyer, he’s a friend, too. I knew he was going to leave soon. I don’t start short-term relationships with men who won’t stick around. And I sure as hell don’t show up naked at a man’s home in the desperate hope that I might keep him. Go away, Serena. He’s not going to get serious with you. And the truth is, you don’t really want him to.”

  “How the fuck do you know what I want?” Serena fairly vibrated with rage.

  James had wanted to save Hope, but it looked like she was going to save him.

  “Take a deep whiff, Serena. Give it a minute for the wind to pick up.” Hope breathed deeply. “There it is.”

  James nearly laughed out loud at the look of horror that crossed Serena’s face.

  “What is that?” Serena asked, gagging a little.

  “That would be animal feces.” Hope didn’t even hold her nose.

  “Sorry, the herd is close in today,” Trev explained in his deep, Texas accent. “Doc here is going to check them all out tomorrow.”

  “I am?” Noah asked.

  “Yep,” Trev replied.

  At least someone was properly handling Noah.

  Hope gestured at the pasture in the distance. “This is ranch life, Serena. You look around here and see wealth, but the truth of the matter is everything is going back into the business. All of James’s money is tied up in the land. He’s not going to take you on fabulous vacations. Do you know what a great vacation is for a rancher? Heading to another ranch to check out bulls. So as James’s beloved wife, you’re going to get to watch a whole lot of bulls performing. Sexy.”

  “Are you ready to run a house?” Noah asked Serena. “Because our momma worked hard every day to keep this place up.”

  “He doesn’t have a housekeeper?” Serena asked, her eyes uncertain for the first time.

  “He barely has ranch hands. Some asshole took the cash he needed and left him to deal with everything alone, so all he can offer you is really hard work.” Noah stared at James while he explained ranch life. “It’s why he didn’t go after the woman he wanted all this time. It’s why he stayed away from Hope. He didn’t have anything to offer her.”

  “Uhm, I can offer really hot sex.” James felt a little hot under the collar listening to Hope and Noah explain how crappy his life was. It was all true, but it sounded deeply pathetic. “And I have some money now. And I was planning a trip to Montana. Hope, it’s beautiful up there.”

  “The purpose of this trip?” Hope asked.

  Damn it. “I have to go look at a bull.”

  Hope whipped her finger in the air. “See, cow porn. Woo-hoo.”

  He felt himself blush. “Well, there was going to be more to it. Trust me, there will be a lot of human porn going on, too.”

  Yeah, that was romantic.

  “Montana? You were going to take me to Montana?” Serena sounded deeply offended.

  James sighed. “No. I wasn’t going to take you anywhere. I’m taking my fiancée.”

  Noah’s mouth dropped open. “You asked Hope to marry you?”

  “Not really. He kind of told me, and then his ex showed up wearing a trench coat and a smile.” Hope’s lower lip sort of pouted out.

  Yep. He was in trouble. He always screwed up the romantic stuff. Noah was better at it. “We are getting married.”

  “And apparently we’re going to spend our honeymoon measuring bull penises.” She turned back to Serena. “You should run as fast as those heels will take you.”

  Henry frowned at the whole group. “I think I’m going to talk to Stef about bringing in a therapist. Maybe we could get a group rate.”

  “You’re not marrying Hope,” Noah shouted.

  “I am, too.” James squared off with his brother.

  “I think I had this dream already,” Hope muttered under her breath. She stopped and walked down the steps toward Serena, who now clutched at her trench coat. “Serena, did you leave a flower on James’s truck earlier today?”

  She was back on that? James thought they had cleared that up. “I told you it was Serena. But I doubt now that you and Noah have explained to her what a crap-ass catch I am that she’s going to be leaving me any more flowers. She gets it. Hope is the only woman in the world who wants to put up with my shit.”

  Serena ignored him for once. She shook her head. “No. I didn’t leave anything for him. I was at rehearsal earlier today. I’ll be honest, I only pulled this dumb stunt because I heard a rumor that he was hanging around you. I kind of thought he was loaded. Now that I know the truth, uhm, you can have him. I mean he’s hot and all but he talks way too much about cows and feed and stuff.”

  Would his humiliation never end? “Well, you talked about stuff I didn’t know anything about either.”

  “James,” Serena protested. “I talked about the news and art.”

  Bingo. City talk.

  “Hope, are you all right?” Henry moved forward. “Do I need to call Doc again?”

  “No. I’m fine, but I need to leave. Henry, will you give me a ride out to Nate’s place?” She didn’t look at James.

  Noah walked straight up to her and took her hand, feeling her pulse. “You’re anxious. You need to sit down and you need to talk. Henry said a man was in town asking questions about you.”

  “What the hell?” James forgot about Serena. He stared at his brother. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

  “You were busy,” Noah shot back. “You were too busy screwing her to take care of her.”

  James’s blood was pounding through his system. “Someone should have come to get me. I’m her man. I’m the one who’s marrying her.”

  “You’re not marrying her,” Noah insisted.

  Hope turned away from both of them. “I’m not marrying anyone. I’m leaving.”

  Noah nodded as though making a decision. “I’ll take you, darlin’. I’ll grab my stuff, and we can get out of here.”

  She shook her head. “No. I am not going anywhere with either one of you. I will not be the toy you two fight over one minute more.”

  “I told you I want to marry you, Hope.” James couldn’t let her walk away. He really couldn’t let her walk away with Noah. He would lose his woman and his brother because Hope wouldn’t fuck it all up. She would be a good wife, and Noah would be gone.

  He would lose everything.

  Hope wouldn’t look at him. “It doesn’t matter now, James. In a couple of hours, you’ll be very happy I left.”

  “Why don’t we move this into the house?” Trev said, his face closing off. “We’re not alone out here, and I think Hope needs to talk.”

  “I do not need to talk, Trev,” Hope insisted.

  Trev took a step forward, his mouth a grim line. “Oh, I think you do. Do you understand what you’re risking? Tell me you don’t want it right now. I see the way your hands are shaking. If you need me to, I’ll take you into Alamosa. There’s a meeting at five o’clock. We can make most of it.”

  Serena looked around at the group. “These people are all crazy. Damn, Hope, just come with me. We can go back to my place in Creede. I think we both need a
good long drink.”

  “That is the last fucking thing she needs,” Trev said, his voice harsh.

  It was all out of control. Hope looked pale and fragile. What had happened to put that look on her face? And why was Trev McNamara, the poster boy for drug rehab, talking like he was Hope’s sponsor? The only meetings Trev went to in Alamosa were AA meetings. Hope? An addict?

  Was that what she was covering up?

  He was going about this all wrong. He was letting Noah get him riled up when he needed to be focused on Hope.

  He took her hand and pulled her into his arms, something inside him relaxing when she laid her head on his chest. “Baby, if you need to go to some meeting, I’ll take you. I’ll take you into Alamosa, and I’ll come in with you or I’ll wait outside. It’s going to be okay. Noah can come with us if you want.”

  If she was this close to the edge, he damn sure wasn’t going to put more pressure on her.

  “I want to go to Nate’s. I want to see Nate.” Even as she insisted, her arms wound around him.

  Nate Wright. What the hell did she have going on with Nathan Wright, and why did the sheriff know more about Hope than her own lover? Jealousy burned in his gut. He’d watched Noah make love to Hope and he’d been irritated, but Nate Wright knowing her secret pissed him off.

  “Why do you need to talk to Wright?” Noah’s voice was a hard growl. He must be feeling the same brutal jealousy.

  “It looks like the sheriff’s already on his way.” Henry pointed to the long drive that led from the highway to the house.

  Sure enough, there was the Bronco charging up the drive, dust flying behind its wheels. The lights weren’t on, but there was zero doubt that whoever was driving was in a hurry.

  Hope shrank back, coming out of his arms.

  Cameron Briggs, the acting sheriff of Bliss County, got out of the car, his face set in deep lines. This wasn’t the Cam that James drank with on occasion. This Cam was a lawman, and he’d come to do a job.

  A deep fear settled in James’s heart. Something very bad was about to happen. He stepped in front of Hope only to find his brother was already standing there. They formed a phalanx, attempting to hide Hope.

  Cam wasn’t fooled. “Hope, I need you to come to the station with me.”

  “She’s not going anywhere.” James said the words before he thought them.

  “What’s going on?” Noah asked.

  Cam stared through them as though he could see Hope. “I need you to come with me, Hope. Your husband is here.”

  James felt the world tilt out of place.

  Husband.

  “All right.” Hope stepped around them. “I’d like to talk to Nate before I go in.”

  Cam nodded. “You can talk to Nate on the radio in the car, but Hope, this man who claims to be your husband has some mighty nasty accusations against you. And he has the paperwork to back it up. If you want to head out, I could always say I couldn’t find you.”

  James still couldn’t get that one word out of his brain. The only woman he’d ever loved was married to another man. His head was reeling. His stomach felt sick. Hope was married. She hadn’t argued with the accusation. She’d just asked to talk to Nate.

  “She’s not going anywhere.” Noah reached for her, but she moved toward Cam.

  “I am. I have to know if it’s really him. I have to see it. Good-bye.” Hope turned toward the Bronco.

  “Good-bye? All you can say is good-bye?” Noah practically screamed at her. He slapped James across the chest. “Are you going to let her walk out?”

  He wasn’t sure of anything anymore. He took a step back, his feet stumbling. Hope had lied. Hope was married. She belonged to another man.

  He watched as the Bronco took her away toward her husband and wondered if he would ever feel whole again.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Noah wasn’t quite sure what had just happened. He only knew that his brother was sitting on his ass while their woman was being driven away in a goddamn cop car.

  She was gone. She’d just walked away, a hollow look on her face like everything was already over.

  “Why are you sitting here?” Noah asked, the words grinding out of his mouth. James wasn’t supposed to sit on his ass. James was the guy on the white horse who rode through hell to save everyone.

  “She’s married.”

  Yeah, James seemed pretty damn caught on that.

  “I’m going to call Callie in case Nate is fishing. It seems like he knows more about this than the rest of us. Callie will let everyone in town know what’s going on.” Henry walked back toward the main house, Serena following.

  “You two need to get your shit together or that girl is going to be in trouble.” Trev stalked off, too, leaving him alone with his brother.

  “Get off your ass, Jamie. We have to go into town.” He would rather have had the chance to talk to her before she’d left. Given what the acting sheriff had said, something very bad was going on.

  “She’s married, Noah. She’s not yours and she’s not mine. She’s fucking married.” There was a red rim to James’s eyes that spoke of his emotion. James never cried. Never even came close. He could almost lose a fucking limb and the most he would say was “ow.” The last time Noah knew James had cried had been the day he’d buried their father.

  Noah softened his voice. “Yes, she’s married. And she’s scared of him. She’s terrified. This is what she was afraid of.”

  “She didn’t tell me. She let me make love to her and let me ask her to marry me and never once did she bother to tell me she was already married.”

  Stubborn. His brother had always been stubborn. “She was afraid, still is. And from what I can tell, you didn’t ask her to marry you. You told her. You fucked this up. Now get off your ass and come into town with me, or I’ll leave you here and I won’t look back.”

  He would leave. He would go after Hope, but he was lying about looking back. If James wouldn’t be swayed, Noah would go, but he’d miss his brother forever. He’d miss the ranch.

  James sat there, his head hung. Noah thought about what Trev had said. James had a big wall around him, and nothing Noah had done so far had even started to bring it down.

  “I’ll do it, Jamie. I’ll walk into the house, and I’ll pack a bag for me and a bag for Hope. I’ll drive into town and I will get her out of there one way or another, and then we’re going to run. You won’t see us again. You can stay here on your precious ranch and rot. You’ll have the cows to keep you company. Are you really so fucking scared that you’re going to let her go into god knows what alone?”

  James didn’t even look up. “She’s going to see her husband. Are you going to take her away from her husband?”

  “I damn well am,” Noah shot back. “If she loved him so much, what is she doing out here? Shouldn’t you listen to the story before you judge her?”

  “She lied.”

  Noah was ready to pull his own hair out. James was sitting here while Hope was getting further and further away. “We all fucking lie, Jamie. You know what, brother, maybe Hope was right. You were just using her to pay me back. What does that make you? Do you realize what our parents would think of you right now? Fuck you, Jamie. I’m going to get my woman and figure out what the hell is going on.”

  He turned his back. He was done. He owed his brother, but Hope was in immediate danger, and he’d meant what he’d said. He was going to get her. If he could bring her back to the ranch, he would. If he couldn’t, then he would take her and run.

  He didn’t get past the end of the porch before he was tackled from behind. James hit him with the power of a locomotive. Noah groaned as he hit the dirt, the breath knocking out of him. He tasted grass. He felt a hand on his collar and then damn near choked as he was hauled bodily off the ground.

  “You motherfucker,” James yelled, his face red with rage. “You think you can walk back in and I’ll just act like nothing happened? You think she can lie to my face and I’ll just be f
ine with it?”

  His brother’s fist flew straight at his face, and Noah wished that the breakthrough Trev had promised him James would have wasn’t about to come at the cost of his face. He took the first punch, his head snapping back, and then a certain mad pleasure took over.

  Pain. Feeling. How long since he’d felt truly alive and connected to his brother? He’d fallen hard for Hope, and he’d thought she could bring them together, but he finally genuinely understood what his parents had found. It wasn’t simply a woman who held his dads together. They had cared about each other, too. They had needed each other. They couldn’t have a chance with Hope until they got their shit together.

  His whole face lit up with shock and sharp, biting pain as James struck again.

  “You fucking left. She’s leaving. Why don’t you both just leave together and don’t you fucking come back this time.”

  The heart of it. He’d left, and James thought he hadn’t looked back because Noah hadn’t told him. His brother had no idea how often he’d sat and stared at the phone and prayed he had the courage to pick it up. “Jamie, come on, man. I’m not going to leave again.”

  James’s eyes flared, and for a moment, Noah thought he might have gotten through to him, but then he pushed Noah away with a disdainful huff. “I don’t give a shit what you do.”

  He turned his back, and Noah couldn’t take that. For all the mistakes he’d made, he didn’t deserve his brother treating him like a piece of dirt. With a low growl, Noah attacked. He plowed into his brother, his fist flying. He didn’t speak. If James didn’t want to listen to him talk, then Noah could do it this way.

  He grunted as his fist met hard muscle. He was deeply grateful for all those hours he’d spent in the gym, lifting weights and running on a treadmill for so long and so hard that he almost could run from his trouble. James rolled, kicking out, and Noah tasted dirt again.

  There was a sad little whining as Butch showed up. He moved restlessly as Noah and James rolled in the dirt, grunting and kicking and punching.