Covington, Cara - Love Under Two Benedicts [Lusty, Texas 1] (Siren Publishing Menage Everlasting)

by Love Under Two Benedicts (lit)

  “Are you too busy for a visit?”

  Kelsey smiled as the familiar voice of her best friend preceded her into the kitchen. Susan Benedict had been Kelsey’s college roommate. At first meeting, they’d clicked. They’d kept in touch after graduation, and Susan had come to visit her in Austin when Sean had been born.

  She’d been there, too, in the aftermath of tragedy, helping her get through the funerals, nagging her to get on with her life when each successive anniversary of that event arrived.

  Kelsey had finally given in to her friend’s nagging and moved to Lusty and opened her own restaurant.

  Thank God for Susan and her nagging.

  “I’m never too busy for you.” Kelsey said, giving her best friend a huge smile.

  Susan and Tracy exchanged greetings, then Susan came over to where Kelsey worked.

  Looking at her now, Kelsey said, “You have the look of Sarah Benedict.”

  Susan’s smile was one of the nicest things about her. Her entire face lit up with it, and her eyes sparkled.

  “Everyone in my family has said that to me all my life. I heard you finally visited the museum yesterday. Of course,” she lowered her voice and stepped closer, “that’s not all I heard you did yesterday…or I should say, last night?”

  Oh, hell. How had Kelsey allowed herself to forget that Matthew and Steven were Susie’s brothers? She had just had sex with not one, but two of her best friend’s brothers!

  “Um, yeah. About that.”

  Susan burst out laughing. Then she threw her arms around Kelsey and hugged her tight. “I’m so happy for you.”

  Those words, whispered, shouted to Kelsey’s conscience and her mindset that what she and the brothers Benedict had was only physical.

  She put the last of the ingredients into the stock pot, covered it, and set it to simmer. She turned to look over at Tracy, who’d turned her attention back to work.

  “We’re going to my office. Holler if you need anything.”

  “No problem, boss. You want me to go ahead and start the roasts of beef when I’m done this?” Tracy asked.

  “Yes, please. Three should be enough, don’t you think?” The roasts were a good size, more than six pounds apiece. One of the Friday night favorites for the patrons of Lusty Appetites were the smothered roast beef sandwiches.

  Tracy frowned, and Kelsey knew she was thinking. “We might get a bigger dinner crowd than usual. I’ve heard a lot of talk about that new space movie that opened up over at the Galaxy in Waco yesterday. Folks heading in to catch the early show may stop here to eat first.”

  Kelsey nodded. “Okay, make it four. We can always do something with the leftover for tomorrow’s lunch.”

  Tracy smiled, and Kelsey understood it was in response to Kelsey’s having acted on her input.

  “My cousin seems to be working out,” Susan said as they entered Kelsey’s office.

  “She is. She loves the work, and she has a real knack for it. As much as I’d hate to lose her, I’m going to try and convince her to take some formal training. She could become a fine chef in her own right and have her own place one day, if she wants to.”

  Kelsey opened the small fridge she kept in her office and handed Susan a bottle of water. Taking one for herself, she sat down behind her desk, unscrewed the cap, and drank.

  “So. You went out with my two favorite brothers last night.”

  Since Susan was grinning like a fool, Kelsey relaxed. “Um, we didn’t exactly go out.”

  “I kind of figured that. Where did they take you?” She scrunched her eyes for a moment, then blinked. “Oh, of course. To the ranch.”

  “I hope you’re not going to ask me for a play-by-play because I am not dishing on sex with your big brothers.”

  Susan made a face. “Don’t worry. I don’t need any details.”

  “Well, that’s a relief.”

  “Necessarily.”

  Kelsey laughed, the absurdity of the situation tickling her. “You know, if we were male, and I was seeing one or both of your sisters, you’d probably feel duty bound to bust my chops.”

  “Yeah, but see? That’s where we women are so superior to the male of the species.”

  “Uh-huh.” Not very eloquent, but in light of the way she’d behaved last night, Kelsey wasn’t feeling particularly superior at the moment.

  “I’ve known for a while they had their eye on you. Should I have said something, given you a heads-up?”

  Kelsey played with the condensation on her water bottle while she sorted through her thoughts. Unaccustomed as she was to opening up to most people, it had surprised her, right from their first meeting, that she’d been able to confide in Susie.

  “I don’t think I even really saw them until a few weeks ago, if you know what I mean. Then they began to stop by for coffee, and we’d chat, first one, then the other. I thought they were vying for my attention, you know, a kind of sibling rivalry sort of thing.”

  “Maybe I should have filled you in on the family history, then.” Susan’s frown caught at Kelsey’s heart.

  “I don’t think I was ready to see that, either.”

  “So…we’re fine? I don’t want you to think that I asked you to move here to Lusty to set you up or anything.”

  “No, we’re fine. That is, as long as you’re okay with the fact that I’m using your brothers as my own personal sex objects.”

  For one moment, Kelsey thought she saw a look of concern settle in Susan’s eyes, but then the other woman blinked, and only laughter lurked there.

  “They’re big boys. They can take care of themselves.”

  Big boys. Yes, they certainly were. Kelsey felt her face color as she put another meaning entirely on that expression. Since Susan immediately seemed to be enthralled with her own water bottle, she guessed the double entendre had registered with her, too.

  “I’m seeing them again tonight,” Kelsey said. “I—” She wanted to be able to talk to Susan about them, she realized. At least she won’t even blink about my being with two men. “I used to think that I’d never have sex again.”

  “I know. You said the therapist told you when you were ready your libido would awaken again.”

  “Yes, and I didn’t believe her.” Then, because this was her best friend and she didn’t want her operating under any misconceptions, she said, “I’m ready for this. I need it, but it will never develop into anything permanent. I haven’t changed my mind about that. I’ll never fall in love again and certainly never get married again.”

  “This is the new millennium,” Susan said. “Women don’t have to fall in love or marry their lovers in this day and age. We’re free and independent creatures.”

  When Kelsey tilted her head to consider that, Susan laughed. “Like I said, they’re big boys. I’m sure they’re not interested in hearts and flowers, either. And, as long as everyone is having a good time, what’s the harm?”

  Kelsey couldn’t have agreed more. Her focus was only on the physical. As she took a good drink from her bottle of water, she refused to think about why Susan’s assertion of her brothers’ intentions seemed to dig at her heart.

  Chapter 6

  Matthew rolled the window down as he drove his pickup truck away from the center of town en route to the ranch. Early afternoon on a Friday in the middle of summer, and the streets of Lusty, Texas, had turned quiet. Of course, for the most part the streets of Lusty were always quiet.

  He shook his head because the image of the young man he’d been popped into his thoughts. When he’d lit out of here headed for Chicago at the tender age of twenty-one, all he wanted was to leave quiet—and family tradition—behind. He’d wanted busy, bright lights, and action.

  Now Matthew wanted nothing more than to stay here in Lusty, settle down, and raise a family.

  Grandma Kate always liked to say that things happened in their own time and in their own way. He couldn’t deny the truth of that as he thought about how his life had gone so far and especially when
he thought about the arrival of Kelsey into his world.

  There was no doubt in his mind that Kelsey Madison was the woman meant for Steven and him. He’d known it the first time he’d laid eyes on her.

  She’d seemed so fragile the day she came into the restaurant to have her first look at the place. He’d felt a special kind of awareness the moment she’d walked through the door. One look at Steven, who’d been helping him finish up the painting and getting the restaurant ready for her, and he knew his brother had felt that instant connection, too.

  He’d already known a bit about her past. The moment Susan suggested leasing the building at 32 Main Street to Kelsey, he’d done a thorough background check on her.

  What he’d learned had not only broken his heart, it had put him on cautious alert. A woman with the kind of emotional baggage Kelsey carried would need special care.

  Perhaps it had been a by-product of how he’d been raised with two dads and one mom, or maybe it was the family tradition of ménage marriages, but he considered women, all women, special, deserving of care and attention.

  His instincts about her had proven true when, for the first several months, she hadn’t even seen either Steven or him as men.

  Thinking about last night brought a wide smile to Matthew’s face. She sure as hell thought of them as men now.

  He turned into the laneway of the ranch, drove on straight past the house to the barn. He knew his brother would be around the place. A creature of habit, Steven used Friday afternoon to fix any machinery or tack that needed repairs or worked around the house and yard performing upkeep.

  Steven greeted him as he entered the saddle barn. “You on what they call bankers’ hours these days, bro? Good thing you’re going to be moving back here soon. You need to remember what it is to work for a living.”

  A soft snort and puff of air caught his attention. He didn’t answer Steven right away, instead heading over to one of the stalls on the west side of the barn. As he approached, the palomino filly in that stall began to nod her head up and down, as if to tell him it was about time he’d made an appearance.

  “Hey, Duchess. There’s my girl.” Matthew stroked the mare, a horse he’d had for more than six years. He made it a point to come out to the ranch and ride at least twice a week.

  Once things were settled and he was living here again, he’d be able to do that more often. And, he conceded mentally, help out more with ranch work.

  “Not my fault the sheriff’s office has a summer schedule. I get Friday afternoon off, as well as Tuesday morning. Then all day Sunday. So not quite bankers’ hours. Jealous?”

  “Of a job in town? Hardly. You want to talk here or out there?” Steven nodded toward the range.

  Matthew smiled. “Out there. Just let me toss a blanket on my lady here and grab a halter and some reins. We’ll be good to go.”

  Before long, he and Steven were setting a brisk pace as they rode out away from the house and barn, deeper onto Benedict land. He loved these times, times when it was just him and his brother, the horses, and the land.

  Matthew looked over at his brother, at the look of contentment on his face. Steven’s heart was in the ranch while his was in police work. Because they’d been there together yesterday and because he’d not visited his great-greats at the museum in some time, Matthew’s thoughts turned to the first Benedicts to ride this range. When he let his gaze take in the land, unchanged in the last century or so, he could imagine being back with his ancestors, with Caleb and Joshua as they took over a spread that had first been amassed by a man whose soul had been as black as sin.

  “I wonder if they had to step cautiously with Sarah?” Steven asked, proving they were both on the same page. He brought his black gelding, Night Shadow, to a walk and turned, giving his attention to Matthew.

  “Some, I imagine. I recall reading Joshua’s journal. They believed her married when they met her, which made things difficult all the way around, considering they both fell in love with her almost at first meeting.”

  “I remember reading that, too. Even as they dealt with that small matter of eluding an assassin, it seemed as if they clicked right from the start.”

  “Of course,” Matthew said, “we’ve never been allowed to read Sarah’s journal, so we don’t know the entire story.”

  Another family tradition was that the men were forbidden to read the journals of Sarah Benedict and Amanda Jessop-Kendall. Those were held in trust by the females of the family, and to date, none of them had ever shared much with their men.

  “Maybe we can get Kelsey to answer that question for us one day,” Steven said.

  “Maybe we can.”

  “You certainly read her right,” Steven said after a moment. “You said she’d agree to sex, call it that, and try to keep things between us only physical.”

  “I can hardly blame her, really. How many times has she said she’s not looking to become involved with anyone?” Matthew shrugged his shoulders. “Every time we’ve asked her out, and anytime one of our well-meaning female relatives have tried to play matchmaker, that’s how often. She’s going to need time to accept what she already feels for us. To admit she’s more than attracted, that she’s already half-way in love with us would be, I imagine, a little like saying goodbye to her husband all over again.”

  “Hell of a thing,” Steven said. “Lucky that bastard who murdered her husband and son was killed by the cops. Otherwise, we’d have to kill him.”

  Matthew didn’t feel the need to comment, as once again, they were on the same page. If there was one thing Benedict men were known for, it was putting their woman front and center in their lives.

  “I thought we’d eat here tonight,” Steven said. “We can do up a stir-fry, impress her with our culinary expertise.”

  Matthew laughed. “Sounds good. Of course, we can’t tell her the stir-fry is the only indoor cooking we can do.”

  “Probably won’t need to. Her being a chef and all, she’s bound to figure it out.”

  “Too bad we can’t court her properly like we want to,” Matthew said. “We’ll have to save that for after we’re married.”

  “After the way she balked at the bit of romance we gave her last night, I believe you’re right.” Steven looked out over the horizon, his eyes taking in their heritage. “Good save there, by the way.”

  “Thanks,” Matthew said. “I kind of expected that would be her attitude when she acted all businesslike at the museum. Felt like she’d agreed to think about buying our used car rather than making love with us. Of course, her attitude only leaves us with that one alternative.”

  Steven nodded his head. “Fuck her brains out at every opportunity so she becomes addicted to us. And hope in the process her heart prods her to admit she loves us.”

  “Shouldn’t take long,” Matthew said. He reined his horse in, turning the mare toward home. “I’m already addicted to her.”

  “Yeah. That makes two of us.”

  * * * *

  Kelsey had made one change to the plans for tonight. As she waited for Lusty’s one and only stoplight to turn green, she thought back over the conversation she’d had with Steven earlier that afternoon. She’d expected some sort of argument when she’d told him she wanted to drive out to the ranch herself rather than have them pick her up.

  She frowned, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel. He hadn’t given her any argument at all, but he had talked her into coming earlier. Then he’d told her that since she cooked all day, he and Matthew would throw together some dinner for them.

  Since he hadn’t argued about her driving—so she could leave as soon as they were done instead of staying the night—she hadn’t argued about arriving early and letting the men cook. It had meant leaving Tracy to close up, but she’d done that before, and really, what was the point of owning her own business if she couldn’t take advantage of being the boss once in a while? The light turned green, and Kelsey’s thoughts returned to tonight’s agenda. So, okay, they’d
have dinner first. It wasn’t as if the three of them were having a date. The body had to eat, and they might as well do it together, and then move right on to the recreation portion of the night’s program.

  Probably roast chicken or stir fry, the ever-easy man-meal.

  Kelsey drove through town, headed for the state road that led to the ranch. She passed what everyone called the Big House and, right across the street, what they referred to as the New House. That second mansion, home to the Jessop-Kendall family, had been built more than a century ago. Of course, it was built after the Big House, hence its name. Kelsey shook her head. She supposed she’d eventually get used to the way Texans thought. Since she’d lived in the state for nearly ten years already, she wondered when that would be exactly.

  As she drove, her mind recalled some of the photos she’d seen at the museum the day before. Now that she thought about it, she realized there were several families in Lusty that had ménage relationships in them.

  I wonder why I didn’t notice that before?

  If, before yesterday, she’d been asked to describe her new home town in one word, that word would have been “welcoming.”

  Being a newcomer and opening a new business in a small town where so many folks were related or could trace their roots back generations to the beginning of the town was usually a recipe for failure. Small towns sometimes tended to be xenophobic, treating outsiders like outsiders for years, if not decades.

  Yet, from day one, her restaurant had been full, and people had been nothing but kind to her. At first, she’d attributed that to the fact they all knew she was “Susie’s friend.” Now she wondered if being the place it was, with people living alternate lifestyles, that simply meant everyone was more tolerant and accepting by nature.

  She turned into the long, winding lane of the Benedict Ranch. She’d made the right decision, driving herself here. The short commute had done wonders in lifting the minor stress of the day, making her feel as if she’d just got her second wind.

  She crested the small hill and smiled when the house came into view. It was just so pretty, that white two-story home with its green trim, wrap-around verandah and Grecian pillars.