She’d found not just one, but two good men. After dealing with Joseph Connelly, she’d almost forgotten that good men existed. She’d known so few, and Joseph had nearly destroyed her faith with his drinking and beatings. She thought with his idea of a new beginning out west, they could leave the misery of Five Points behind. New challenges faced together could help them find a new life and maybe even give them a chance at happiness and prosperity. But he hadn’t changed and, if anything, the harsh life they’d found in Wyoming made him worse. She thought she’d never have a moment’s peace or contentment for the rest of her days.
And now… now it seemed as though she could have a lifetime of both.
She wiped the tears away and stared awestruck at the room Josh told her belonged to her now. A room of her own! She’d never had more than a few feet of space or a drawer to herself and now she had an entire room. She ran and flung herself onto the bed. It squeaked on its ropes as she bounced, but dealing with the noises at the Royal Princess made the little squeak seem like the sound of a tiny mouse after listening to the howling of wolves. The green and white quilt felt cool and crisp on her face and the pillows—she grabbed one and snuggled into it—were softer than anything she’d ever laid her head upon.
A dressing table stood opposite the bed, one a lady would use, filled with brushes and combs and small bottles. She decided she’d never ask why the Payne brothers had such feminine things or who they belonged to. She didn’t want to know, but if she ever found out and met the lady outside of a grave, she’d give her a big thank you, then punch her in the face for her own stupidity.
“Oh, Shannon Connelly, ’tis the luckiest girl in the world you are.”
She jumped off the bed and skipped to the window. She flung up the pane and let the golden rays of sunlight spill into the room with the warm April air. She leaned out, spotted the two men who had just changed her life, and waved.
* * * *
Josh yanked a crate toward him. “I dropped off her bag, then left her to settle in.”
Eli glanced to the second floor when he heard the slide of a window. Shannon leaned precariously over the sill and waved. He waved back and Josh nearly dropped his crate trying to do the same.
“She’s a bundle of energy,” Josh said. “Hope she doesn’t kill herself around here. I think a woman like Shannon might need some boundaries, though I’m not sure she’ll listen, no matter—”
“You gave her Hattie’s room.”
Josh glanced at the window as Shannon dipped back inside. “It was a stupid thing to set aside a room for your wife anyway.” Josh started toward the barn.
Eli glanced toward the window again. “I thought with all the men around the ranch, Hattie might want her own space.”
Josh stopped and turned. “Oh, she wanted her own space all right. In Pittsburgh. Without you. If you could have figured out what she wanted beyond that, you might still have a wife.”
“Doesn’t matter anymore. The divorce is final.” Eli grabbed another box and followed his brother into the dark, cool interior of the barn. They settled the crates near a storage bin and then Josh turned with his hands on his hips.
“She was never coming, Eli. You know that.”
Eli rubbed his hands over his face. “Yeah, I know.”
“She refused to come with us, and every letter she sent after we left has been the same. Too busy with the charities. Too busy with her friends. Too busy on her trips to New York and Philadelphia. Too busy spending our money. You’re a real dumbass. Do you know that? Did she ever even ask you to come back to Pittsburgh?”
Eli shook his head.
“Did she ever say she loved you?”
“No.”
“Then be glad you moved on and be thankful she’s not here ruining your life.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Josh shoved the box across the planks with his boot, herding it into the storage area. “What it means is that Hattie was never good for you. She wanted money, position, and prestige, and that’s all she wanted. She hasn’t moved out of our house because she still uses your good name to climb the social ladder. When we talked about selling the estate in Pittsburgh to move west, she balked. She looked at you with different eyes and started treating you like shit. You interfered with her vision of the future.”
“She kept her vision,” Eli grumbled. “She’s been living at the damn estate.”
“Yes, she is, because she bitched until she got her own way. Now you’ve got the financial burden for two places. Between them, they suck money faster than a baby sucks a mother’s tit. Hattie’s turned you into this.” Josh swept out his hands, and his face screwed up like he’d fallen into a pile of manure.
“And what exactly is this?”
“This unfun, too serious, uncommunicative block of stone.” Josh turned on his heel and sauntered back into the sunlight, talking over his shoulder. “You never used to be like this, you know.”
Eli strode after him. “And you’re so perfect?”
“Hell, no, I’m not perfect. But I’m still the same man I always was because I wasn’t saddled with Hattie.” Josh laughed, then turned around and clapped him on the shoulder. “And you’re no longer saddled with her either. So you want to know what I’d say to that?”
Eli sighed. “Doesn’t matter what I want, you’re going to tell me.”
“Damn right I am.” Josh turned his face toward the window, squinting in the sun. “I say take what life offers you, brother, and enjoy every moment of it. Particularly if life offers you a bundle of Irish passion.”
“And what do you do about the guilt?”
“Me? I wouldn’t have it. If we’re talking about you, I’d learn to live with it until time makes it less than nothing. You did everything you could, but Hattie’s perfectly happy where she is, and you’re perfectly happy where you are. You aren’t meant for each other. Just accept that.” Eli shuffled his boot in the dirt, avoiding his brother’s gaze. “Shannon made you smile, Eli. When you’re granted a gift like that, you take it with both hands.”
Eli glanced up and his lip lifted in a half-smile. “I kind of already did.”
“Yeah, I know, and that smiling Eli is the one I remember.” He grabbed another crate. “Let’s keep him around for good this time. Deal?”
“I think there’s a fair chance he’ll stick around.”
“Good, then sit down and write Hattie that fucking letter. Get her out of our house.”
* * * *
Josh breathed in deeply. “What is that smell?”
He tossed his hat toward the peg in the corner but didn’t come close to hitting it. He needed to find the source of that wonderful aroma. He started across the room toward the back of the house. Eli pulled him up short by grabbing his arm.
“Christ, Josh, look at this place.”
Pulling himself out of the hazy fantasy of a fabulous dinner, Josh noticed for the first time in a very long time he could see the planks of the cabin’s floor. The layer of dust had been swept away and the dirty footprints scrubbed clean. The parlor table had been cleared of its clutter of books and ledgers. A gas lamp glowed in its center, the light coming through a clear crystal chimney, finally devoid of soot. The desk had been tidied, all the papers combined into neat little piles. Throws and pillows, usually scattered randomly over the chairs and settee were folded and stacked on the chest in the corner. The mahogany piano shone in the light of the cheery fire flickering in the hearth. Everything seemed to sparkle and shimmer like a new day.
“She works fast,” Eli said.
“No blood to clean,” Josh said.
“It feels nice,” Eli said.
“It sure does.”
Eli grazed the edge of the parlor table with his fingers. “Like a home.”
Exactly like a home.
Josh walked to the corner and retrieved his hat, hung it on the peg where it should go, then went back outside and wiped his boots on the mat again just to be
on the safe side. After that, he couldn’t resist the kitchen any longer. Eli beat him there.
Shannon stood at the table. Her arm plunged in and out of a pot as she ground the masher against a lump of potatoes. The smell of beef steaks drifted through the room and filled his nostrils. She glanced up as both men stood transfixed in the doorway.
“I made m’self at home. ’Tis just about ready. Sit.” She slid a plate of greens across the table, then dumped a huge mound of mashed potatoes into a bowl. “I hope you like your meat rare. ’Tis me experience that most men do.”
Eli dumbly slid into a chair, but Josh couldn’t stop his gaze from roaming the kitchen. This room, like the parlor, had been swept and polished, and every surface glistened in the sparkle of the lamps. How she’d managed to get so much done amazed him. They’d only spent several hours unloading the wagon and storing the supplies then another hour or so checking in with the foreman.
Shannon dropped three steaks onto a platter then settled into her chair. She waited until Josh sat, then she folded her hands and quietly said a few words that Josh could barely hear. He politely bowed his head until he heard “And thank you for this glorious day. Amen.” When he lifted his head, he saw that Eli hadn’t moved. He nudged his brother’s foot under the table. Eli jerked in his seat and seemed to snap out of whatever spell he’d fallen into, but failed to open his mouth, so Josh took the reins.
“Everything looks great, Shannon,” Josh said.
“’Twasn’t as bad as I expected.” She spooned out some potatoes and dropped them onto Eli’s plate. “After listenin’ to the both o’ you, I found m’self wonderin’ exactly what I’d find. ’Tis me thinkin’ that men see a little bit o’ clutter and don’t know where to start.”
Eli flushed as he glanced toward the parlor. “I forgot to wipe my boots on the mat.”
Shannon waved her hand. “No matter. ’Tis an easy thing to remedy.” She winked. “You’ll be rememberin’ to do it next time.”
“I will.” Eli pulled his plate toward him and started to cut his steak. Quiet settled over the table for a moment and then Eli laid down his knife and fork. “There was a woman.”
Josh choked on a piece of meat. He nearly knocked over his glass of water trying to grab it, then downed it in one large gulp. Shannon pressed her lips together and nodded.
“’Twas me thinkin’ the room held a bit o’ frill for the Paradise.” Her lovely green eyes settled on Eli, and she placed her hand over her heart. “She’s with the angels then?”
Eli developed an intense interest in analyzing the shape of his potatoes. “Ah, no, she’s in Pittsburgh.”
Shannon’s brow crinkled. “Visitin’ parents then?”
Eli tensed, shook his head furiously, then scrubbed his chin, a sure sign that in a minute he’d get up and bolt. Eli might be a quick draw and the first to challenge a man, but women generally scared the piss out of him. Why Eli had opened this conversation when he couldn’t follow through? Josh cleared his throat, and his brother’s gaze snapped to his. Eli released his breath and relaxed in his chair. Shannon’s gaze swung between them, her frown deepening.
“I’m not understandin’,” she said.
“Eli is divorced,” Josh said. “Hattie refused to come west and still lives in Pittsburgh at our family home.”
“Refused? What is she then? A complete idiot?”
“Not even close,” Josh said. “She got what she wanted with the marriage, and she intends to keep it.”
“You’re rich, then.” Shannon nodded. “Aye, I can see it plain. You’ve given her the fancy clothes and elegant house, the garden parties and the teas, the carriages and the balls. I’ve seen me share in New York, though from a distance. Oh, no, the gentry can’t have the likes o’ themselves spoiled and tarnished by the likes o’ me. ’Twas me lot to stand below stairs and wait on their sorry asses.” Shannon slapped a dollop of potatoes on her plate then scooped another mound and threw them at Josh’s plate. Josh lurched backward as the food sprayed toward him. “I imagine your Hattie fits into the grand world quite well. Pretty she is?”
“Yes,” Eli said.
“A true lady then.” Shannon’s jaw clenched as she stared at her plate. She lifted her face and stared at Eli. “Cultured, refined, soft and gentle, and every other damn thing a woman should be as well?”
“Yes,” Eli murmured.
“So ’twas her wish to continue to be the lady o’ Payne Manor and the darlin’ o’ Pittsburgh?”
Eli nodded.
“Bah! She’s a fuckin’ bitch is what she is.” Shannon attacked her steak, wielding her knife with precision. The hard strokes of the knife sliding across her plate made Josh wince. “’Tis truly beyond me comprehension. Your Hattie must be blind as a bat to not see what is plain before me own eyes.”
Josh put his hand over hers, stilling the ruthless sawing of the knife, and the room fell silent. “What do you see, Shannon?”
She stared at her plate, her face somber. “I see that for all the wealth she clings to and all the grandeur that surrounds her, she threw away the greatest treasure o’ all. A right fool she is to not claim what is hers.” She glanced toward Eli as a blush stole over face. “I’ve no problem claim jumpin’.”
“Then you don’t mind that I’ve been married?” Eli asked.
Shannon tossed her braid over her shoulder. “Not in the least. ’Tis not in me nature to turn down such a wondrous gift and I pay back in kind. Besides, ’tis true I was once bound to a fool as well. He was a heartless prick who didn’t recognize treasure tossed in his direction. If he hadn’t gotten himself killed, I’d have no problem takin’ it back and handin’ it to another. Neither should you.”
“I’m writing her a letter tomorrow to get her out of the house,” Eli said. “Should have done it long ago.”
“Then it’s settled,” Josh said. “We make our own paradise and fuck everyone else.”
Shannon’s gaze drifted between. “Everyone else can find their own fuck. ’Tis me hope I’ve found mine in the both o’ you.”
“I think we can accommodate you on that score,” Josh said. “We can work out a schedule, or we can just let you decide on a day-to-day basis. I’m very easy to please.”
Shannon laughed. “’Tis no doubt I have o’ that.”
“Eli’s not much for sharing, but he’ll just have to learn.”
Shannon toyed with her water glass. “’Twas me thinkin’ sharin’ might not be a problem.”
“Oh, it will be,” Josh said, shaking his head. “You don’t know Eli all that well yet. He can be a selfish bastard. It’s a sad, sad thing.”
Eli grunted and resumed cutting his steak. “I share well enough with you.”
“Not women,” Josh said. “Never women. Not that I’d ever want to be with the kind of women you pick.”
Eli nodded toward Shannon. “I picked her, didn’t I?”
“No, I picked her. As usual, you were dogging it, Eli.”
Eli cocked his head. “Dogging it? I’d already made up my mind when you—”
“You’re just not a quick thinker like I am,” Josh said.
“Brainless is more like it. I hate to think what would happen if—”
A shrill whistle cut through the air, and Eli snapped his mouth closed. Josh’s mouth dropped open. Shannon’s hot gaze swung between them.
“Where’d you learn to do that?” Josh asked.
“Me da taught me. Comes in handy when two beasts are goin’ at it. Now that I have your attention, let me clear the issue. ’Tis not sharin’ I had in me mind. ’Twas me intent to give m’self to both o’ you. At the same time.”
Eli’s knife clattered to the table. “Together?”
“Aye, if ’tis o’ interest to you. I’m here, you’re here. Seems a logical thing to me. We’ve no need for schedules and the like.”
“I like the way she thinks.” Josh stabbed his fork in Eli’s direction. “And you, big brother, need to be more open-minded anyway.�
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Eli picked up his knife, and his hand clenched around it. “That’s not open-minded. That’s insanity.”
Josh speared his fork toward Eli again. “You wouldn’t know a good idea if you tripped over it.”
“It was my idea to come west,” Eli said.
Josh threw up his hands. “And you’re losing your memory. It was my idea to come west.”
Eli leaned over the table. “I distinctly remember—”
Shannon leapt to her feet and another whistle burst through Josh’s eardrums. She slammed her hands down on the table. Her eyes blazed as she glanced between them.
“’Tis an answer I’ll be wantin’, gentlemen. And I’m wantin’ it now.”
“I think it’s the best idea I ever heard,” Josh said.
Eli lowered the knife. “I don’t think—” Josh glared at him with narrowed eyes, trying to push the right words into his head. If his brother screwed this up Josh intended to make him pay. Eli stared back for a moment then lowered his eyes and speared a bit of steak. “I’m willing to try.”
“Good.” Shannon settled back into her chair and waved toward their plates. “Eat up. You’ll be needin’ your strength after supper. I’m feelin’ a bit…frisky.”
She winked at Josh.
“I’m feeling a bit frisky myself,” Josh said. “And I really want to learn that whistle.”
Chapter 4
“We insist,” Josh said.
Eli paused with a plate in his hand. “We do?”
Josh nodded. “Of course we do. Did you intend to make her work herself to the bone? She’s already done enough today. We can do the dishes. Finish clearing. I’ll get the water.”
Josh disappeared through the back door and the screen door hit the frame with a slap. Shannon sat back in her chair and watched as Eli’s big, strong hands gathered up the plates. All she could think about was how those hands felt roaming her body that afternoon. She toyed with the buttons of her dress, opening them one by one as heat enveloped her from the tips of her toes to the nape of her neck. She really needed to cool down.
Three in Paradise Page 4
