by Reece Butler
“Because you’re a Gibson. And because that’s what Max did to Miss Perkins.”
Joshua’s jaw dropped. “My dad did that?”
“Yep. And your grandpa took a willow switch to his naked backside.” He waited a beat to time it right. “While she watched.”
A look of absolute horror formed on the boy’s face. If he was a normal ranch kid, he could take punishment, though Eric knew Max would never take a switch or belt to his children. He’d had enough of it as a kid. But having a mean old lady watch as you dropped your drawers and bent over? That was the stuff of a boy’s nightmares.
“I didn’t stick my tongue out,” Joshua whispered.
“Good job you didn’t,” replied Eric. He pulled into the clinic and parked. “Don’t move.” He walked around the front of his truck, opened the door, and helped Joshua down. A couple more doors and they were in the clinic waiting room. It was empty.
“Brenda,” he called loudly, “your nephew’s as bad as your brothers. He took a nosedive from his bike and might need a few stitches. And he got a good dose of road rash.”
Brenda came out from one of the examining rooms. “Eric! You’re finally back!” She grinned when she saw him, then looked at the boy half-behind him. Joshua shuffled forward manfully. “Joshua Gibson! What have you done?”
The boy glanced up at Eric, who nodded slightly to encourage him, and faced his aunt. “I rode my bike in front of Mr. Eric’s truck.”
Her lips pressed together for a moment. “It’s a good thing he always drives slow in town. You weren’t hit?”
“No, ma’am. My pants got caught in the chain and I fell.”
“I’ve got his bike in the back of my truck,” said Eric. “I’ll put it by the back door, if you want to tell Max it’s here.”
Brenda called after him, but he had no time to visit. Thanks to the airline’s screw-up, he had no bags to drop off at home, so he’d hit the Climax Roadhouse first thing. Traditions were important, and his one beer as soon as he got home was his. He’d promised himself he’d follow that beer with a bottle of Jack. And then he’d roust Sheriff bloody Max Gibson and have some fun. The woman would come after. Maybe she’d be impressed when he knocked Max out with one blow.
Or maybe she’d apply her lips to his bruises, and other places.
* * * *
“They weren’t letting off steam, Brenda. It was a drunken brawl. At my sister’s wedding!”
Nikki stormed into her small office and slammed her handful of patient folders onto the wooden desk. Brenda trailed behind like a pilot boat after a tanker. The clinic was only open a half day as it was Saturday. Due to Marci’s wedding last night, which everyone in town attended, they’d delayed opening for a few hours. There wasn’t much business so Brenda had been explaining the tradition of the post-wedding brawl. Nikki didn’t buy it.
“So? Real men work hard. And,” added Brenda with a pointed look, “they like to play just as hard. What better way than to have a bit of fisticuffs?” She reached for the files. “At least we have seven new male patients.”
“Only because Max wouldn’t release any of the idiots until I examined them!”
Nikki slumped on the corner of the desk. Even before Marci’s wedding she’d been tired from all the hoopla leading up to it. The hours she’d spent last night patching up drunken, laughing idiots didn’t help.
She wanted to sit, but her legs were too long to fit under the old desk. It was, no doubt, a donation from someone’s attic or barn. The doctor’s office, like her apartment, was tiny. At least the MacDougal ranch was designed for people her size. Marci was petite, but even she understood that Nikki was desperate to do something as normal as shower without banging her elbows against the walls. The thought of a bathtub long enough to hold her legs was the stuff of fantasy.
So was a big man to share it with. She hadn’t slept well, and one of the reasons had to do with the man she’d had her hands on while dancing. When he finally asked her to dance, and held her tight enough to prove he wanted her, she’d been ready to throw herself at him. But Matt had run off and left her with wet panties and an itch she needed scratched.
“Holding the men for your inspection was my idea, so they’d see you as their doctor,” said Brenda. “Max agreed because he was mad he had to work last night and missed all the fun.”
“Fun? Since when is punching someone fun?”
She rubbed her forehead when Brenda rolled her eyes. The nurse was the only person she could talk openly to. Marci was too wrapped up in her new life as wife to Simon and Lance MacDougal. If Nikki wanted to stay in Climax, she had to fit in. Making a fuss about a bunch of men brawling wouldn’t help.
“Sorry, Brenda. It’s just that I’ve seen the results of too many fights arriving in Emergency. I know fists aren’t too bad, but I’ve see knives, chains, baseball bats, guns—whatever they could get their hands on. I don’t want to see my patients injured when it could be avoided.”
“Get used to a bit of roughhousing, Doc, especially now that spring’s here. It’s a Tanner’s Ford tradition. These men have been squabbling with each other since before they could walk. They’re still trying to prove who’s top dog. You’re not going to change anything.” She shrugged. “We love our traditions even when some of them are a bit quaint.”
Quaint? Nikki would use a stronger word, but she’d only been living in Climax a few months. It wasn’t as if they had weddings all the time. The last one was five years earlier. There wasn’t much chance there’d be another brawl anytime soon.
While Nikki was happy for Marci, her marriage left a hole in Nikki’s life. It also pushed her nose in the fact that while Marci was honeymooning with two tall, handsome husbands, she went home to a cramped single bed without even a stuffed toy to hug.
She wanted more than a teddy bear in her bed. She wanted a hot-blooded cowboy. Her lust for Matt proved that she was a fully functioning female, and she wanted to prove everything worked. She’d gotten so aroused by dancing with Matt at the wedding that she’d considered hauling him to bed. That was something considering he wanted a wife and she wanted nothing to do with a husband. But then he’d disappeared, as if he wanted nothing to do with her. Again!
She tried not to take it hard, but it was just another rejection in a long series of them. Even if he didn’t want her, she could still fantasize about him. Compounding her frustration was that she was at the time of her cycle when she got extra horny. Too bad, but she’d have to ignore it. She had work to do.
“I’m the town’s primary care physician, and responsible for keeping our citizens healthy. Having a drunken brawl at a wedding is not what I would call healthy.”
Brenda sighed. She perched on the rolling metal stool and stared intently at Nikki, who suddenly felt foolish. She was a stranger, and should not intrude. There’d been few injuries beyond bruises and a few cuts. Their morning-after headaches were likely causing more problems than the fight.
“Sorry, Brenda.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose, but her headache did not retreat. “Something snapped when I saw Marci drive away with Simon and Lance. I’ve taken care of her all my life. She doesn’t need me anymore, and it hurts a bit.”
“Give her a couple of weeks with those two fussing over her, along with a dose of morning sickness, and Marci will need you, both as a sister and as a doctor. But she’s now the responsibility of her husbands. It’s time for you to take care of yourself.” Brenda tilted her head like one of the MacDougal ravens hiding a hard-boiled egg under straw. “I watched you and Matt Frost dancing. He held you pretty close and you didn’t try to get away.”
“And then he disappeared,” she grumbled.
“Disa—?” Brenda frowned. “Didn’t you hear? Matt had to leave early to drive to Missoula to pick Eric up at the airport. He left for the big cattle auction this morning. Eric will bring the truck home.” Her eyes narrowed in speculation. “Is that why you’ve been so short today? Missing a certain hunky bachelor?”
> “What I’ve been missing is sleep. I’ve been tossing and turning a lot.”
“I know what you need,” replied Brenda slyly. “I don’t have that problem, since I’ve got Derek to turn to when I’m frustrated. Not that we go without sex long enough to get as antsy as you,” she added. “You’ve been here for months, working day and night. I know that look in your eyes. You’re horny, Doctor Meshevski!”
“Brenda—”
“How long since a man’s given you a good orgasm?”
Nikki felt heat rise up her chest. “I’ll, ah, file these.” She reached for the brown folders.
“Not so fast!”
Brenda shoved her stool with her foot. She rolled forward, stopping in time to slap her hand on the folders. There was a glint in her eyes that made the heat roll up Nikki’s chest even faster. No one, except Marci, knew her as well as Brenda.
“You’ve never had an orgasm, have you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I have.” Nikki faltered under Brenda’s hard, knowing look. “Fine! I’ll admit it. I’ve only had them alone.”
“No man has ever touched you in a way that made you forget about everything but what you’re feeling?” Brenda frowned and shook her head slowly. “You’ve been with a bunch of selfish pricks. You need to find a real man, one who can satisfy you. Matt used to be quite popular with the ladies. I’m sure he knows his way around a woman’s anatomy.”
“No, thank you,” she replied primly. “I hear Matt wants a wife. I do not want a husband.”
Brenda narrowed her eyes. “Did you see his older brother, Eric? He rescued my rascal nephew and brought him here. He had his shirt wrapped around Joshua when he came in.” She leaned forward. “Were you looking out your office window, Doctor?”
The tall, broad-chested man hadn’t seen her glancing out the window. He’d had all his attention on the bloody boy with him. She’d waited, almost panting, and sure enough he’d come out again. He’d tossed his blood-stained shirt in his truck before carrying Joshua’s bike to the back door.
Like his brother, Eric filled out a pair of Wranglers like nobody’s business.
“Eric?” she asked, pretending innocence. But heat, unwelcome but uncontrollable, rose up her chest and face. “Stop smirking!”
“Aha!” Brenda leaned back in satisfaction. “That’s why you’ve got your knickers in a twist. Matt left you wet and wanting last night, and now his big brother has caught your eye. Eric’s a rolling stone who’s made it clear he’ll never settle down. He’s perfect for you.”
She’d shivered when she’d seen Eric’s tight expression. Combined with the musculature and size, he made her think of Conan the Barbarian, one of her favorite fantasies. She’d fantasized about being tossed over his shoulder and carried away, then ravished repeatedly. That was before she’d arrived in Climax and discovered women often married two men at once.
Sex with the imaginary Conan had been enough to light her nights. Matt had replaced him, until she’d seen a photo of Eric. He had a commanding presence that made her toes curl. The thought of both of them in bed with her was way over the top. She closed her eyes as her inner flames reached even higher.
“Brenda, I’ve had no experience flirting and my few dates were disasters. I could not look Eric Frost in the eye and ask him to dance, much less hop into bed. And even if I did, I wouldn’t know what to do.”
Brenda suddenly gasped. “Oh, no, don’t tell me you’ve never even had sex!”
Though her face was flaming, Nikki pretended to examine her blunt, smooth nails. Thanks to the wedding, they were a pale pink. Like her hair, boots and clothing, they were designed to get the job done with a minimum of effort. She didn’t dress to catch a man. She’d given up long ago.
But then she’d danced with Matt. He’d slid his hands over her bottom and pulled her against his very impressive erection. She’d wrapped her arms around his neck to keep him there. When they moved his cock rubbed against her clit. She’d almost come, right there on the dance floor.
“You’re a virgin, aren’t you?”
The heat was now embarrassment rather than arousal. “So? I spent all my time studying. I had to keep my marks high to keep my scholarships.”
“Didn’t you date in high school? Even once?”
Brenda was her closest friend. Marci would always be her sister, but she had a family to care for and Nikki’s job didn’t give her much spare time to visit.
“My mother came from a strict family,” said Nikki quietly. “She wouldn’t let my father touch her until they were engaged, complete with a ring and a date. Even using condoms, it only took a couple of months before she was pregnant. She was delighted, thinking they would marry even sooner, but he handed her a check to cover medical expenses and walked away. Her parents threw her out on the street.”
“Six years later, it happened again. Mom worked near the university and met Marci’s father in a convenience store. He was a foreign student, from some fancy place in Spain. She was wary, but he did everything to convince her to believe he’d take her, and me, away and live happily ever after.”
“But when she fell pregnant he showed his true personality. He said Mom was already used when he got her, so he did nothing wrong. She was just someone to practice on, to learn what he liked so his wealthy fiancée would have a better husband.”
“Mom already had one child to care for, and was furious at how she’d been treated. She made a formal complaint to the university. She showed them signed letters where he’d promised marriage. He was shamed into giving her enough money to get us through until she could work again.”
“So, you wouldn’t have had sex even if you were engaged?”
Nikki shook her head. “Not until I had a good job where I wouldn’t be fired for being a single mother. Mom might have had a comfortable life if she hadn’t had the two of us to raise. But she always put us first. She said we were the best part of her life,” she added quietly.
“Does this mean you won’t indulge if you find someone who turns you on?”
“I make enough money now to raise a child on my own and be comfortable.” She looked out the small window to the street, knowing her blush was even brighter. “I’m interested in discovering what it’s all about.” She turned back to Brenda. “If, that is, the town of Climax doesn’t rip up my contract for doing it.”
“Ha!” said Brenda, grinning widely. “The women in town love you. There’s no way they’d let you go. You could have wild sex with a couple of men, get pregnant, and refuse to marry either of them. They’d still want you here.”
The rush of relief nearly made Nikki collapse. She’d hoped things were going well but, as Brenda said, the town liked to keep to the old ways. Female doctors were not part of those ways. Perhaps treating the men after that brawl had done some good, if it meant they accepted her as their doctor. It was their wives who’d pushed them forward. One of them explained this way they didn’t lose man points. They could say they only did it to make their woman happy.
“In order to guide your patients in their sexual health you need to have a two-person orgasm,” said Brenda with satisfaction. “Or three, counting yourself,” she added with a half smile. “That means you need to get laid by someone who can make your body sing, but won’t hang around for long. Someone like Eric Frost.”
Brenda’s smug smile made Nikki’s stomach tighten. So did the eager ache a few inches below, where her pussy thrummed in need. Could it come true? She didn’t expect her wilder fantasies to happen. That’s why they were called fantasies. But she yearned to find a man who cared enough to bring her satisfaction. Even once, so she’d know she wasn’t a failure as a woman.
She leaped to her feet and swept the folders off the desk. She needed a reason to escape and calm down. Filing would suit the purpose.
“Fine, I’ll think about it,” she said without looking up. “But if he likes to fight, I don’t want to even see him.”
“That’s fair,” replied
Brenda. She followed Nikki down the short hall. “On another topic, Max said he got the okay for you to move into that empty house I told you about. It has a master suite with a huge bed, bath, and shower. I’ve seen the tub. You could stretch your legs out, or bend them and have water come up to your neck.”
Nikki groaned at the thought of sinking into deep, hot water. “I haven’t had a relaxing bath since I got here. Not that I’m complaining,” she quickly added. “The accommodation the town’s providing is fine.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Brenda. “That apartment should be condemned. I’m just sorry it took so long for the Council to contact the absent owner, who’s happy to have someone live there and keep the place up.”
“I’ll take good care of it,” insisted Nikki.
She took her time in the file room while Brenda checked the examination rooms. She couldn’t have brought a man to that dinky apartment. She couldn’t fit on the short single bed, and it squeaked so badly that she was sure it would collapse if a man joined her, even if he lay still.
But if she had a big bed to spread out in, things would be different. Even better would be having a man spread her legs in that big bed and…
Chapter Seven
After taking a long, cold drink, Eric set the bottle down and leaned back with a sigh. He was home and all was well with his world. With Matt sharing the room, he’d had a good night’s sleep. No nightmares, a rarity for his time in Montana. That would change tonight, but he would deal with it. He’d been dealing with it for twenty years.
The beer was cold and crisp, and the saloon was dim and quiet. Perfect. Nothing much changed in Climax from one decade to the other. Or from one generation to another. Strangers came and went, or came and stayed. Old folks got older and babies were born. The work wasn’t much different than when his great-grandfathers, Luke, Gabe, and Oscar, had the Circle C ranch with their wife, Sarah.
Though the saloon side of the Climax Roadhouse didn’t open until five, no one minded him sitting quietly in the corner. After giving Ethel, the owner, a hug and nodding at the few people in the diner, he’d slipped into the saloon and got himself his usual. When she got a free minute she’d bring him all the gossip. She called it news, of course. As long as she told him about Matt’s woman, he’d listen to her update on everything she considered important.
