“You have breakfast with her!”
“Couldn’t eat a damn thing at our reception because I was too nervous looking at you. Next morning, I was desperate,” Will countered, still moving forward.
“You were almost—the three of you.” Julie flung a hand out at the men. “The two of you were almost a triad with her.”
“Like hell we were,” Forrest muttered, joining Will in his forward march toward her. Julie swallowed hard and took another step back until she hit the wall and shook her head at them, but Forrest added, “She wasn’t the one for us. Didn’t understand what we wanted. Couldn't accept us as we were. Not like you.”
“Because she couldn’t give you children…”
“Who said that?” Will demanded.
“She did," Julie whispered.
“Never been happier hearing you were pregnant but we never expected to find a woman who could love us both, let alone give us a child. Only started wanting a family when it was with you, little bird.” Forrest smiled at her and Julie felt her resolve against the men begin to crack.
It was all too good to be true, too easy to give into and believe because that was what her heart wanted. She wanted them to say she was the only woman they desired, the only one they loved, but there was one last obstacle between Julie and believing that these beautiful men were only for her. It was almost too much to even entertain, and Julie found herself stripped bare and vulnerable under the sincere words and gentle looks her husbands gave her.
It frightened her to be exposed in such a way, and she scrambled to throw up the last defense she had at her disposal, the final wall to crossing the little bit of space that remained between them and offering her heart to them.
“I heard you last night with Rosemary,” she said in a rush, looking at Will, whose eyebrows shot up at her admission.
“You were there?” he asked, rubbing a hand over his jaw, “Thought I heard something.”
“Of course I was there. I went looking for you after I couldn’t find you—or Rosemary.” Julie pursed her lips.
“It was nothing.”
“You danced all night with her.”
Will shook his head at her. “One dance isn’t all night, Jules.”
“You didn’t even take me out on the floor!”
He flung a hand out at her stomach. “Because you’re not far enough along for it!”
Julie’s mouth dropped open and then she snapped it shut. “That’s not how babies work, Will.”
“Better safe than sorry. I’m not risking it,” he said with a determined set of his jaw.
“Where were you?” Forrest held up a hand, stopping the flow of conversation. “I’m not following the two of you.”
“She heard me letting Rosemary down.”
Forrest sighed, his eyes moving to the ceiling. “Again?”
“Yes,” Will muttered. “Again.”
“Again?” Julie was dumbstruck by the news, and the flicker of hope, real hope, bloomed in her chest. “I—she didn’t—”
“She didn’t tell you that, did she?” Will asked, his hands going to his hips in frustration. “Didn’t tell you that I’ve been letting her down since she tried answering our ad herself.”
“But, Clarissa—you said, I heard...that you said she reminded you of her.” Julie shook her head, unwilling to give in to the hope that was no longer just a flicker but was as real and as tangible as her husbands.
“I did tell her that, but it wasn’t meant as a compliment,” Will told her with a grimace. “Clarissa was a love that could have only happened in my youth when I knew nothing and was ruled by my needs. She understood how men work and used it to get what she wanted from me.” Will shook his head at the memory. “God, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.”
Julie looked down at his remembrance and hated that she was hurt by it.
“Until you, Jules,” Will sighed, coming to stand in front of her, his hands cupping her face. “You’re perfect.”
“I’m not.”
"For us you are.” He smiled at her, thumbs caressing her cheeks. “You’re the love I know better than to let go. Clarissa knew how to use me to get what she wanted. I loved her until her last day but she never truly loved me, not when things didn't get better after the war, and you, God, you are—-you’ve been my darling little wife since you laid eyes on me. You want me. Truly want me, and Jules, there’s nothing more I want on this earth than to love you and have a family with you,” he reached back and caught Forrest’s hand, “and Forrest.”
“Will.” Julie’s eyes filled with unshed tears, and her breath hitched when she let out a little hiccup of a sob. She closed her eyes, feeling the wall around her heart tumbling down around her.
“After Clarissa never thought I would love anyone again,” Will told her before he smiled ruefully, “not anyone that wasn’t Forrest, but then he found you.”
Julie sniffled and nodded at him. “He did.”
“Knew you were it from the minute I opened your reply.” Forrest touched her cheek gently. “You’re the soft we needed. We don't work without you.”
Tears slid down Julie’s cheeks, and she trembled as she cried, tucked between her two loving husbands. They wrapped their arms around her, hands linking together, and Julie let out a shaky laugh of disbelief.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered and tilted her head black to look at the two men. “I shouldn’t have tried to run from you. I became overwhelmed by what she was telling me, and I should never have believed her.”
“Shh, shh.” Will kissed her temple. “Things have been unconventional between the three of us. We should have told you about Clarissa in the letters.”
“It just felt like Rosemary knew a part of you I couldn’t reach.” Julie leaned her cheek against Will’s chest and closed her eyes. “I desperately wanted to make you happy, and it was torture thinking another woman had your heart.”
“That woman is you,” Will told her.
“You’ve made us the happiest men in all the territory,” Forrest said, hugging her close.
Julie sagged in her men's arms in relief, content to just be in the moment with her husbands. It was in that instant Julie glimpsed their future, that while it wouldn’t always be easy, so long as they had one another, all would still be right in their world.
“Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?” she asked quietly.
“So long as it's got all its fingers and toes I don’t care.” Forrest huffed out a laugh. “I do hope it has your eyes,” he said, rearing back to look at her.
“Teacher’s pet,” Will muttered with a wry grin at the blonde, who only winked at him over Julie’s head.
“Trying to make up for being away chasing vagrants,” Forrest said, sliding his hands up to cup Julie’s face in his hands, his fingertips lightly stroking the soft skin behind her ears as he did so.
“I missed waking up to you. Missing seeing that soft look in your eyes.” He leaned forward and kissed her lightly. His lips pressed against hers in what felt like a chaste kiss, though at the tiny moan Julie let loose it didn’t stay sweet for long, and before she knew it she was pressed, with her back against Will’s chest as Forrest explored her mouth.
“Taste so sweet,” he murmured against her lips before he began to pepper her neck with kisses. Julie tilted her head back and gasped when she felt Forrest press himself against her through her skirts.
Eyes shut, Julie asked the question she had been too terrified to ask only moments before. “Do you forgive me? I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have run. I’ll never do it again—”
Forrest silenced her with another passionate kiss, his teeth nipping her bottom lip before he leaned back and said, “Little bird, you’re going to be the mother of our children. There isn’t a thing you could do that we wouldn’t forgive.”
“He’s right,” Will said as his hands worked at unbuttoning her dress. “We will mess up, all three of us, but that doesn’t mean we won’t forgive and move forward t
ogether.”
“That’s what marriage is. Falling and getting back up together,” Forrest said, slipping the dress down her shoulders once Will had unbuttoned it.
“Learning together.” Julie’s fingers caught in Forrest’s hair before she leaned back and ran a hand through Will’s longer brunette locks. “I’m so happy to learn with the both of you.”
Forrest kissed the skin above her collarbone, his tongue lightly dragging across Julie’s skin and making her squirm against Will, who let out a sigh at the pressure of her body against him.
“Well, you are the teacher.” He grinned at her rakishly.
Julie rolled her eyes. “You did not just—"
Her words ended in a sharp gasp as Will pulled her skirts up around her thighs and no sooner had the material settled did Forrest drop to his knees and begin to work her underthings and stockings off. Words flew from her mind at the sight of her husband on his knees between her legs.
“Time for talking is done.” Forrest’s lips ghosted over her skin, and he pressed a kiss against her hip. “M’gonna show you how much I missed you, Mrs. Wickes-Barnes.”
Julie only managed a quick nod before Will leaned her back against him, supporting her with an arm around her waist, as Forrest pulled her close and went about showing her just how much he had missed her in the month he had been gone.
Nothing much got done that day by the law, at least not anything outside the four walls of the sheriff's office, and the people of Gold Sky were pleased as punch to have their favorite family back together once more. It might not have been perfect, but it was home.
And that was more than enough.
Epilogue
Ten months later…
"Oh, give the little darling here!" Manon Baptiste held out her arms for the wiggling bundle of perfection her daughter held against her chest. Julie has been considering the safest way to get out of the buckboard while holding her daughter safely to her.
"Thank you, Maman.” Julie let out a relieved sigh and handed the infant to her mother, who cooed lovingly at her first grandchild.
"You precious little gift," Manon murmured, arranging the pale yellow blanket of cashmere just so around the newborn, Seylah. The baby was all flawless soft tan skin, wiggling fingers and toes, with large hazel eyes, and had inherited her mother's riot of chestnut curls, being born with a full head of hair.
Seylah Wickes-Barnes was a treasure to Gold Sky, who greeted the addition of one more soul with love. The entire town had erupted in celebration when an excited Will had let loose a yell on the early morning of her birth, that after fifteen long hours of labor when Julie's water had broken at early that afternoon, they had been blessed with a healthy child.
"It’s a girl,” he had hollered, throwing open the door of the ranch. The front yard and lane of the ranch had teemed with concerned friends and citizens of the town who had camped out over the ordeal to be the first to welcome Gold Sky's newest citizen. There had been no shortage of love for Seylah, who had the good fortune of being blessed with three loving parents and many more immediate family members, when Jean, Manon, and Julian had arrived in town a month after her birth.
And while Julie had been nervous, even fearful, of telling her family of the life she had chosen—that she loved not one, but two men with her entire heart and soul—Seylah's presence was enough to diffuse and put aside the confusion of her family.
"I don't...understand it," her mother had told her with a shake of her head as Julie waited for a response from her family at the revelation that Julie had two husbands. Her family sat pressed in next to each other on a settee in the parlor. Julie stood with a hand each clutched by Forrest and William, who stood on either side of her. Their larger frames and warmth lent Julie strength during such a stressful time.
"Maman, I love them," Julie whispered.
Jean opened his mouth to speak, but the wail of an infant in need cut him off. And just like that, the focus of the entire room shifted to attending to Seylah's needs, and whether they understood it or not, all it took was the sight of Forrest and Will rushing to fuss after the baby girl to change their minds.
"She's hungry." Will held a bottle up.
Forrest shook his head. "No, she needs a change. I'll do it."
The pair of fathers rushed from the room to change the baby and Manon laughed sending Julie a knowing smile.
"I think I might understand your choices now, my darling girl."
Jean and Julian had taken a tad longer to warm up to the idea of Julie being wed to two men. However, that changed when they witnessed the care and concern both men expressed over Julie while she nursed. Julian had been particularly won over when Forrest set up a game of poker special for him.
Now a month later the Baptiste and Wickes-Barnes clan had settled into a comfortable dynamic, a world that centered on little Seylah, and Manon had already begun inquiring after a second grandchild.
"She will, of course, require a sibling."
"Maman, please," Julie moaned, rubbing her temples while her mother laughed at her daughter's consternation. It had been especially gratifying for Julie to see the ones she loved the most come together into one big, happy, family. She had never been happier. The smile on her face needed little help as the town was coming together to celebrate the fourth of July, an occasion that blessedly brought her husbands and father together in solidarity at having served in the Union Army.
Julie glanced their way and saw all three men laughing raucously over what she could only imagine was a bawdy limerick her father had informed her the men had often sung over campfire.
"Here, give me your hand," Julian said, suddenly appearing in front of her. He handed her down and nudged her shoulder with his. "Looks like a veteran celebration with how they are getting on now."
"I know. I'm glad." Julie grinned at him. "I'm happy you're here. When do you have to leave?"
Julian shrugged. "Who knows. I'm finding the drawing rooms of the city quite boring as of late. Perhaps I'll stay on longer than Maman and Papa."
Julie bounced. "Truly?!"
"Most likely."
Julie let out a screech and threw her arms around her brother. "We will have a wonderful summer! You'll see!"
"Oh, Lord," Manon sighed, stepping close to her children, "are the two of you planning some kind of uprisal?"
"Julian is staying!" Julie crowed with a laugh.
"Really, Julian?"
"Mm," Julian nodded at his mother as they walked along to the town center where everyone was gathering to watch the planned fireworks for the celebration. "New York has been...stifling lately. I think a change of scenery is just what I need to feel rejuvenated."
Manon cradled Seylah close and kissed the baby girl's forehead. "I would feel good about the two of you spending time together. How long will you stay?"
"Ah, now that is the adventure of it all." Julian winked at his mother. "We will just have to see how long I can last before New York calls me home."
"How bohemian of you," Manon told her son with a wry look on her face.
"Quite." Julian stuck his hands in his pockets with a smile. "Though I won't intrude on my fair sister and her happy home for the duration of my stay."
“You won't? Why not?" Julie demanded.
"Oh, men and wives need...privacy, especially if you are to grant Maman that second grandchild she craves."
Julie blushed but then said, "Fair."
"Where shall you stay then?" Manon gave him a curious look.
"There's a boarding house in town. It's lovely. My friend Alice Hill runs it, and I know Julian will find comfort during his stay there."
Julian clapped his hands. "Then it's settled! To Ms. Hill's I shall go!" He turned, looking around, "Which way would that be?"
"You're going now?" Julie raised an eyebrow.
"As father says, no time like the present. Besides, if I go now, I'll be practically settled by the time the real celebration happens."
"It's just down t
hat way then.” Julie pointed down the crowded street. "Alice might not be there but her cook, Violet, should be."
"Perfect. I'll return shortly, my fair ladies." Julian gave them an extended bow with a flourish that had Julie giggling and their mother rolling her eyes as she cradled Seylah.
Julian turned on his heel and sauntered down the block until he came upon a pretty Victorian with a wrap-around porch that seemed far too grand for Gold Sky. A white and blue sign painted with an elegant gold script read Gold Sky Boarding House: Proprietress, Miss Alice Hill.
"Nice, very respectable," Julian mused, sauntering up the small walk to the front door. He pulled the bell cord for the door and clasped his hands behind his back as he waited for entry.
A minute passed, and then another, and he wondered if he had been ahead of himself in his excitement to get things done. What if everyone had gone to the square for the celebration? He supposed he could come back easily the next morning, and had just resolved to do so when the door opened suddenly, revealing a stunningly statuesque woman with raven hair, sparkling brown eyes, a tanned face full of freckles, and a broad, open smile that set Julian's heart racing and his palms sweating.
"Hello, I'm Violet Shield."
Excerpt: Julian’s Story
Julian stepped inside of the boarding house and cautioned a look around him. He knew the establishment was reputable. His sister’s glowing recommendation of not only the facilities but the proprietress had made him hopeful for a comfortable stay, but a cursory glance around the well-appointed space had convinced him of it.
Miss Alice Hill’s boarding house was entirely unexpected on the frontier but would have fit in among the businesses of the city’s most affluent streets. The furniture was tasteful, luxurious drapery decorated the French style windows, the hardwood flooring gleaming and spotless... and then there was the woman who greeted him at the door.
Violet Shield.
Something coiled and tightened in his chest at just thinking her name. The woman was like a vision in the desert, the warm smile on her face touching a softer part of himself he’d turned away from. A part of him he hadn’t realized he’d pushed away until the moment the door had opened and there she had been.
Heart and Hand: Gold Sky Series Page 21
