Love Under Two Quarterbacks [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Cara Covington

  So maybe if those two came sniffing around, she’d enjoy them, too. She would enjoy it all.

  But she sure as hell wouldn’t trust any of it or entertain dreams of a happy ending.

  Chapter 2

  “I heard you were making goo-goo eyes at a pretty little redhead at lunch yesterday.”

  Cord Benedict looked over at his cousin, Brian. “Reckon I’ll have to tell Carrie that one of her husbands thinks one of the spa girls is a pretty little redhead.”

  Brian Benedict turned with the shovel of manure he’d just scooped up and tossed it toward Cord instead of into the wheel barrow. “Asshole,” Brian said.

  Cord dodged the smelly missile. “Yup.” Cord laughed, then scooped the material his cousin had tossed his way with his own shovel and put it into his own wheel barrow.

  He’d thought, with doing something so familiar as working on a ranch, that he’d feel homesick for his brothers.

  Brian and Chase together had filled that void nicely. In fact, in a lot of ways, the two reminded him of Jesse and Barry.

  Chase and Jackson, along with Ricoh Stone, the ranch’s foreman, had ridden off to check on a possible problem with a fence line down by the creek. Cord didn’t mind that he’d been left behind to shovel horse shit.

  It was all part of the job—the job he and his brother had gladly accepted the week after they’d told the Badgers’ manager that they were done with football.

  “So…what can you tell me about that pretty redhead?” Cord and Jackson had only seen Ari Stein a handful of times over the last two weeks. They hadn’t even talked to her, but something unusual had happened to them both the first time they’d set eyes on her.

  They’d fallen, and fallen hard. That wasn’t to say either of them were convinced that all they had to do was introduce themselves to the little lady, toss her over one of their shoulders, and then ride off into the sunset, living happy ever after.

  Fuck, the way life has been going for us the last couple of months we’ll probably have to fight that little spitfire tooth and nail all the way to the altar.

  He wouldn’t admit to anyone but Jackson that the prospect had him feeling more alive than he had in quite some time.

  “Her name is Ari Stein,” Brian said, “and Chloe hired her in January, when she was staffing her spa.” Brian stopped shoveling and used his arm to wipe the sweat off his brow.

  Despite that they were in the first week of September, the summer heat didn’t seem to be easing up any.

  “Yeah, we found out her name the second day we were here.”

  Brian leaned on his shovel. “Chloe likes her, and worries about her. Carrie says that they—that would be all of the women who work at the spa and even a few who go there regularly as clients—think she’s had a rough life before moving here.” Brian’s face turned solemn. “Something very, very bad happened to that woman at some point in her past.” He looked down for a moment and then met Cord’s gaze. “Something very, very bad happened to our woman, too, when she was just a little girl. I’m only telling you that so you’ll understand. Sometimes an abuse survivor recognizes another survivor. Carrie recognized Ari from the first moment they met.”

  Cord didn’t say anything for a long moment, because his heart was in his throat. How strange, that he should have felt such a quick connection to this other Benedict that he’d gone all of his thirty-three years before meeting. Looking in Brian’s eyes now, Cord realized what the thing that was very, very bad could be. He wanted to kill whoever it was who’d hurt Ari. Looking at her, meeting her gaze, he’d seen a woman who looked like a tough little nut, and one who’d also seemed very alone.

  Of course he understood what it was his cousin was really saying. “In other words, unless we’re serious, we should just let her be.”

  “It’s not my job to tell you that, cousin.”

  No, it wasn’t. Another strange thing. He should be madder than hell that this man would try to warn him away from a woman he was interested in.

  Coming to Lusty seemed to have flipped a switch, in both him and his brother. He’d never in his life thought in terms of spiritual connections to a place, or even that obscure theory known as genetic memory.

  He was beginning to believe in them now.

  Cord tilted his head to one side. “What makes you think what Jackson and I are feeling for her is more than just casual desire? There’s nothing wrong with seeing if she’d like to spend some time with us—all of us being unattached adults and all.”

  “True enough, if it weren’t for two things. I saw the way you were both looking at her when you thought no one else was watching that first night you were here.”

  There’d been a reception for them, at the restaurant in town. Cord remembered the sense of being overwhelmed by so many Benedicts, Kendalls, and Jessops, all of whom were, as Anna Jessop had said, family in one way or another. They’d both felt grateful and humbled by the very warm welcome they’d received from everyone. There’d even been some young ladies who’d gone all fan girl on them. That memory made him want to laugh and blush simultaneously.

  But the main memory he had of that reception was Ari. They’d both found it hard to take their eyes off the redhead the entire time she’d been there. They’d tried but failed to work their way around to her.

  At one point he and Jackson had both realized that she’d been doing her best to maneuver so that they didn’t meet. Once they’d realized that, of course, they’d backed off.

  They hadn’t, however, noticed that anyone else was watching.

  “Okay. I’ll give you that. What’s the other thing?”

  “Crap, cousin, you’re a Benedict. We can’t fucking help ourselves, not when we meet that one woman meant to be ours.”

  He’d never heard of this particular family trait before. Benedicts were ambitious, stalwart, and married themselves as much to the land as they did to their wives—wives who were chosen carefully, with sober aforethought. As far as he knew, that was true of every single male member of his family, back to Grandfather Emerson.

  There had been no talk of a love-at-first-sight gene in the Benedict family gene pool—well, not for the Benedicts born and bred in Montana. Cord was beginning to suspect that there were more differences between these two branches of the family than just positioning on the map and the number of people in a marriage.

  And he wondered, as he went back to work, if what he was feeling—a sense that this really was where he was meant to be—was real, or if it was yet another emotional spin-off to having had to change his life so abruptly and so completely.

  * * * *

  Today would mark the third Commitment Ceremony that Ari had attended, and by far the only one she felt some sentiment about. She’d attended Carrie, Chase, and Brian’s celebration right after she’d arrived in Lusty. And then she’d attended Rebecca, Greg, and Cody’s. That had been different, and as solemn and joyous as any wedding could ever have been.

  Today, her friend and employer, Chloe Rhodes, was publicly declaring herself wife to two men. Chloe Jessop, Ari amended, as there’d been a small official marriage ceremony the night before, where Chloe and Grant had been legally wed.

  Ari recalled her very first impression of a woman having two husbands. She’d declared that she couldn’t see the attraction in having two lazy oafs in front of the TV watching football and asking for another beer. Or words to that affect.

  Of course that was before she got to know the people of Lusty and their idea of what marriage was all about. Now, she had to rethink that analysis, especially for the families she’d come to know. These women—all of them—really were lucky. She couldn’t in truth now see a single disadvantage to having two husbands.

  For the women of Lusty, anyway. That did not mean that Ari was interested in falling in love and getting hitched. Her reality had not changed.

  Love and marriage and a happy ending were not in her future, and never could be. Not when I’ve been living such a big lie for more than
a decade.

  “There you are!” Tasha came up beside her and grabbed her hand. “Chloe wants us up by the front.”

  “Oh, well, I don’t know…” Ari considered herself a strong woman, but found she was unable to break away from Tasha Garwood’s fierce hold.

  I’m not a front-row kind of person. I’m a skulking-in-the-back-row-and-hiding-behind-my-bangs kind of person.

  “This is her wedding day and Chloe, as the bride, deserves to have all her wishes fulfilled.” Tasha’s tone brooked no argument.

  Ari supposed she really couldn’t disagree with that assessment. It’s what I get for making friends and letting people matter to me.

  Tasha pulled her forward, and Ari went. The applause erupted, and like everyone else, she turned to watch the celebrants enter the hall and make their way to the bower.

  Of course, it wasn’t hard at all to spot the grooms. Grant and Andrew Jessop were taller than any other men in town. Hell, they were taller than any men she’d ever seen before. Chloe, of course, was their antithesis when it came to height.

  It still amazed Ari that, for all of that, it was Chloe who held the hearts of her two men in her small hands.

  The bride and grooms made their way to the front of the hall and greeted everyone in the front line. Ari was getting a little better at allowing hugs, and what better time was there for giving Chloe back a hug than this?

  It was only then, when the celebrants passed, that she realized Tasha was no longer standing on her right.

  Ari found herself flanked by a blond-haired, blue-eyed devil on one side and a dark-as-sin and just-as-handsome one on the other.

  Before she could change her position, the men each captured one of her hands. “Don’t fuss,” the blond one said.

  “Ceremony’s about to start,” the dark one said.

  “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”

  Chase Benedict leaned over and peered at her from beside the dark one. “You haven’t met? Well then, please, allow me. Ari, I’d like you to meet Jackson and Cord Benedict. Gentlemen, please meet Miss Ari Stein.”

  At least he’d pointed so she now knew which one was which. She told her inner voice to shut the hell up about her already knowing that bit of information. It was the principle of the thing that counted.

  “Ah, Ari as in Ariel, the sweet-tempered Disney mermaid?” Jackson’s words might have been considered complimentary if that sneer hadn’t settled around his mouth as he’d spoken.

  She could have kicked herself that her repertoire of snappy comebacks somehow evaded her as if the chest had been closed, locked up tight, and hidden away. Very conscious of the ticking clock—smart-ass answers were only good if delivered within ten seconds—she mentally scrambled, raised one eyebrow, looked behind her, then faced him and said, “Nope. No tail here, or any piece thereof.”

  On her left side, Cord coughed to cover his laughter, while beside Jackson, Chase Benedict’s low chuckle nearly made her smile.

  Conscious of Jackson Benedict’s stare on her, she faced the front. She thought she’d done a pretty good job under pressure—until she realized they both each still had a hold of one of her hands.

  I’ll wait until their attention is focused on the Ceremony, and then I’ll gently slip my hands out of theirs.

  Her inner imp fell over, kicking the floor as hysterical laughter consumed it.

  All right, so I kind of like the way it feels having my hands held. Is that a fucking sin? Ari wondered if it was a sign of severe mental illness that she would try to do battle with her own inner voice.

  “Welcome, everyone! Especially today we welcome our honored guests, and newly arrived family!”

  Ari’s attention was drawn to the dais, where Kate Benedict and Samantha Kendall stood together. They presented quite the visual contrast and the artist in Ari couldn’t help but appreciate the vision they made. Samantha had to top five foot eleven, easily. Caught up in a very precise chignon, her red hair, a vibrant shade that Ari had been told still needed no chemical assistance reflected back some of the lights that shone overhead. She looked very regal, Ari thought. Next to her, Kate Benedict, a woman much shorter and less svelte, with her pure white hair in a similar updo, seemed just as regal—at least she did in Ari’s eyes.

  “We’re here today to celebrate the Commitment Ceremony of Grant and Andrew Jessop to Chloe Rhodes.” Kate’s voice wasn’t very strong, but having stood in the back at the last Ceremony, Ari knew it carried well.

  “We’re officiating together, because Chloe, you’ve come to mean so very much to all of us here in Lusty.” Samantha looked off to Ari’s left and Ari guessed she was looking at Chloe’s personal guests, several of the friends she’d made who lived in Divine.

  “For those of you who may not know, Chloe saved the life of my son, Adam, shortly after she arrived here in Lusty.” Samantha grinned. “She had already become one of us, but that definitely cemented the deal. Since that day, I have been honored to consider her a daughter, and my sons have taken her on as their honorary baby sister.”

  “Sometimes,” Kate said, “we think we know what we want in life, and we do what we can to make that happen, only to discover that we are unable to attain it. But then fate steps in, and when we look back, we’re able to say at the end of the day, that things really did turn out for the very best. Sometimes, we have to remember that we don’t always know what our future has in store for us.”

  “This Commitment Ceremony is a tradition that goes back to the very beginning of Lusty—to those six people who dared to do what could have gotten some of them sentenced to death. They dared to love and live as their hearts dictated. They not only survived, but thrived.” Samantha Kendall smiled. “And in their wisdom and their love, they created this sanctuary in the middle of Texas, a place where people could live and love who they chose, as they chose.”

  “Today,” Kate said, “we celebrate the creation of a new family here in Lusty, a new family that follows in the tradition set by our founders.” She looked down at Chloe, Grant, and Andrew. “Are you ready to pledge yourselves to one another before the people gathered here?”

  The three stepped closer to the dais and each other, forming a sort of circle, their hands joined, with Chloe in the middle. “We are.”

  It occurred to Ari that despite the fact the men standing on either side of her—and still holding her hands—were Benedicts by name, this would be their first Commitment Ceremony.

  She decided to do her best to put away her natural animosity, in honor of Chloe Rhodes Jessop, and answer any questions she could that they might have. She could see out of her peripheral vision that both men were truly focused on the proceedings.

  Grant was the man who’d legally married Chloe last night. Ari knew that because Chloe had told her that’s how it would be because he was the oldest of the two. She’d noticed that the oldest man not only became the legal husband, he was also always the first to give his pledge. Grant raised Chloe’s hand to his lips and kissed it.

  “My Chloe, it took me a while to figure things out. I knew you were meant to be ours, but I did fight that some—until we nearly lost you. Now, I don’t know what I would do without you. Chloe Diane, you have made my life into a real life, one worth living. You’ve given me love, and laughter, and more than a few gray hairs already.”

  A soft chuckle rumbled through the crowd. Chloe smiled, even as her cheeks turned pink.

  “But here’s the truth. I wouldn’t change a single thing about you, not one. I love you with all that is in me, and I will continue to love you, and cherish you, through this life, and beyond into the next.” Instead of bending down to kiss her cheek, he released his brother’s hand, and hers, and lifted her up, smacking a loud kiss on her lips.

  Ari could see how gently he set her on the ground again. He turned to his brother. “Andrew, you’re my brother, my closest friend, and we have braved forest fires and smoke jumping together. There’s no other man I trust more with my life—and no other I w
ould want with me to help me care for our wife, and the children that I hope one day we will be blessed with. I’m grateful and proud that we’re making our life’s journey together.”

  Andrew raised Chloe’s other hand to his lips and kissed it, the same as Grant had done. “Chloe, you’ve had my heart from the moment I laid eyes on you. I didn’t know what love was until I looked up, and there you were. You make me want to be a better man. I’ll honor and cherish you and love you all the days of our lives.” He, too, picked her up, and this time Chloe laughed, and kissed him.

  He set Chloe down and turned to his older brother. “Grant, we dreamed for a long time of finding the perfect woman to love and cherish together. Now we have Chloe, and I promise you today that I will always be your partner in caring for her and our children. You’re the head of our family. I’ll follow wherever you lead.”

  The two men joined hands in a clasp of solidarity. Ari found the moment very emotional and moving.

  Then all eyes turned to the bride. “Y’all know I was cast adrift way too young, with only my memories of family to sustain me. I have a photograph, now, that shows my momma and my daddy, looking at each other with such love on their faces. That was what I always remembered about them—the way, when my mother walked into the room, my daddy would just light up.

  “That was what I wanted for myself, but I didn’t know if I would ever have that. And then I came to Lusty and found you. Grant, you were so stone-faced when we first met. I really didn’t think you liked me much at first. Andrew, you were so sweet and teasing, but I knew your heart was right there.

  “It took me a long time to get over breaking the heart of a very good man, and taking the life of a very bad one. And all through that, you were there with me.

  “I have no doubts about this step we’re taking together. I see on your faces that same look of adoration my daddy wore. And I feel in my heart the same deep, yearning need and love I know my mother had for him.