by Zara Chase
“We just discussed it. I told her what we hope for.”
“And she didn’t freak?”
“She wants you to come over, and we’ll take it from there.”
Isaac could hear the smug satisfaction in his buddy’s voice and was glad that Farah had been receptive, at least to him. “Okay. Does the lady have any preferences?”
“Don’t be a wiseass.”
Isaac chuckled. “I’m talking about food.”
“Oh, hang on, I’ll ask.” Isaac could hear muted voices and then Drew was back on the line. “She says to surprise her.”
Isaac’s chuckle developed into a full-on laugh. He liked the adventurous type. “Now that I can do. I’ll be there in half an hour. Play nice without me, children.”
Isaac was still grinning when he drove back to the house he shared with Drew. He phoned through an order to Cho’s so he wouldn’t have to wait in line and then hit the shower singing.
A short time later he and Seymour arrived at the loft with a heavy bag of Chinese food. Instead of barging straight in like he normally would, he tapped on the door and waited a beat, just in case he walked in on something and embarrassed Farah. He didn’t want to spook her this early into her relationship with Drew—a relationship he hoped would soon extend to include him.
Seymour showed no such restraint and was through the door before Isaac had fully opened it, wagging his tail like crazy. Isaac followed him in more slowly and stopped dead in his tracks. Cozy didn’t come close to describing the scene that greeted him. Drew had lit the fire and a whole raft of aromatherapy candles flickered on every surface, giving off a captivating fragrance. Farah was sitting in the corner of the settee, wearing one of Drew’s T-shirts and, far as he could tell, not a whole lot else. He expelled a soft, low whistle.
“Hey, babe,” he said. “Looks better on you than it ever did on him.”
“Amen to that,” Drew answered, saluting Isaac with an open bottle of beer.
“Hi,” Farah said, looking as cute as a button with her flushed cheeks and hair still damp from the shower. “Who’s this guy?”
Seymour had already trotted over to introduce himself and Farah scratched his ears.
“That’s Seymour,” Drew replied. “He and Isaac are inseparable.”
“Hi, Seymour.”
The mutt rolled onto his back in front of the fire and graciously allowed Farah to tickle his belly.
“First time I’ve ever been jealous of a damned dog,” Isaac said, hefting his bag of takeout onto the kitchen counter.
“Let me get that,” Drew said. “You visit with Farah.”
Isaac gave Drew a small nod, telling him he appreciated his generosity. He then sat opposite Farah, grabbed Drew’s half-drunk bottle, and poured the remaining contents down his throat.
“What breed is he?” she asked, still petting Seymour.
“Honey, he and I are two of a kind. We’re pedigree mutts through and through. We have no breeding and no families to speak of. But on the positive side, we’re adorable—”
“Yeah, right!” Drew said from the kitchen.
“Adorable,” Isaac repeated, “and irresistible.”
“I just love your modesty,” Farah said. “But I think I told you that before.”
“You off the pain meds?” he asked, nodding to the glass of wine on the table beside her.
“Yes, thank goodness. I had the stitches out today. Everything’s healing well.”
“That’s good to know.”
“Tell me more about Seymour,” she said. “Where did he come from?”
She clearly wasn’t ready to talk about personal stuff—about Isaac’s reason for being invited to join their party—and Isaac was cool with that.
“I found him as a puppy, half-starved, skulking around the horse barn.” Isaac shrugged. “What could I do? It’s not the poor guy’s fault that he’s got no breeding. Hell, I know just how he feels.”
“So you took him in and nursed him back to health.”
“Yep. That was four years ago, and I can’t get rid of the damned mutt now.”
Farah laughed. “I can see that you hate having him around.” She paused to sip her wine. “Why does he limp?”
“He has a twisted paw.” Isaac ground his jaw. “We think someone hurt him deliberately when he was a pup.”
“That’s awful!”
“Yeah, it is. The vet did what he could, and he gets about fine now. He’s not in pain, which is the main thing.”
“Poor, Seymour.”
If poor Seymour had been a cat, he’d have been purring with all the attention Farah was giving him.
“Okay, you three, we can eat now,” Drew called out.
“Good, I’m starved,” Isaac replied.
He stood up and held out a hand to Farah. She slid hers into it as he helped her to her feet, then shot him a look of total disbelief. Isaac’s own expression probably reflected hers since something he’d never experienced passed between them as their hands touched. An intense, pulsating burn that hardened his cock and melted his heart, confirming Isaac’s initial take on Farah. He’d found his own version of nirvana.
Recovering from his extreme reaction, he led her to the table, taking the time to look his fill at her endlessly long legs marred only by the heavy dressing on her left thigh. God, she was perfection! He shared a glance with Drew, wondering just how possessive he was feeling. He wondered a bit more at his generosity in inviting Isaac over, but wasn’t that surprised by it. The two of them had been through a lot together and their bond ran deep.
“Here we go.” Isaac pulled out a chair for Farah, the one situated between him and Drew. “Help yourself, honey. I got a little of everything.”
She smiled. “So I see.”
“There’s cashew chicken, sweet and sour prawns, egg fried rice—”
“It’s okay, Isaac. I get it.”
“Then let me refill your glass while my buddy here gets me another beer.”
“Seeing as how you seem to have finished mine off, I’d best get us both one.”
“Hey, I thought we were into sharing.”
He hadn’t addressed the comment to Farah, but it was she who replied. “That’s what I heard, too.”
“There are limits,” Drew said.
Was Drew warning him off Farah? Look but don’t touch. No, he wouldn’t have invited him over if that was the case. Isaac desperately wanted to know where he stood, but now wasn’t the time to ask. Farah needed to be completely relaxed first. And fed.
He and Drew kept up a constant stream of conversation as they ate, trading insults off one another, talking about their college days, and general stuff to do with the ranch. Isaac told them about the colt he’d managed to tame that afternoon, and Farah seemed interested. By the time they’d done that topic to death they’d all had enough, and Seymour was paying close attention to the leftovers.
“Don’t give him any of that spicy pork,” Isaac warned Drew, who was scraping scraps into a bowl for Seymour. “You know what’ll happen if you do.”
“That’s okay. I don’t have to clear up after him.”
“You do if he messes in your loft.”
Drew laughed. “Point taken.”
They returned to seats in front of the fire, which was now dwindling. Isaac threw on a couple more logs and kicked them into place with the heel of his boot. He then sat in one corner of the settee, Drew in the other with Farah between them.
“You two have fun this afternoon?” he asked, somehow managing to sound casual.
“Doctor Death didn’t play fair. He got me to tell all,” Farah replied, placing a hand on Drew’s thigh and laughing.
Drew covered her hand with one of his own and also laughed. “At least she didn’t walk out when she saw me there.”
“Told you she wouldn’t.”
“You discussed me?”
“Darlin’, in case you didn’t figure it out yet, this guy’s been hung up on you since forever.” Isaac sen
t her a searing look. “Now I understand why.”
“It’s been the same for me. This damned feud got in the way of us being the people we ought to be.” She sighed. “All those wasted years.”
“I need to know why I’m here.” Isaac encompassed them both with a neutral glance. “Drew and I like to play, but you’re no game, Farah honey. You’re special, and if you’re not into sharing then I’ll understand.”
“Farah and I talked this afternoon—”
“Only talked?” Isaac elevated a brow. “Don’t believe that for a moment.”
“Okay, smartass, we talked after we made love. Happy now?”
“Delirious.” Isaac shifted into a more comfortable position, slouching back in the corner of the settee and crossing one booted foot across his opposite thigh in a probably futile attempt to hide his throbbing erection. “Do tell me more.”
“I explained how we like to share and how we’d always planned to settle down together one day with a woman we both love.”
“And?” Isaac prompted when Drew paused to swig his beer.
“And, for some reason I can’t begin to fathom, even with all those fancy letters after my name that imply I understand the workings of the human mind, Farah seems keen to get to know you better.”
Isaac sent her a lazy smile. “Is that right?”
“You’ll have to be patient with me,” Farah said, looking nervous. “I haven’t had that much experience with one man at a time, much less two.”
Isaac took her hand and gently squeezed it. “You have no idea how patient I can be when there’s something I want.” He fixed her with a blistering look. “And I want you very much indeed, babe. For once I agree with the witch doctor here, and I’m prepared to go as slow as you want.”
She blinked several times, and once again a delicate blush crept up her cheeks. “Thanks.”
He leaned toward her and covered her lips with his own, just fleetingly. “You’re entirely welcome.”
“Why don’t you tell Isaac everything you told me about the shooting?” Drew asked. “If we’re going to be a threesome then there should be no secrets between us.”
“I’m not sure he’d be interested.”
“He wants to know everything about you that you’re prepared to share,” Isaac replied.
“All right then.” She took a swig of her refreshed drink. “If you’re sure.”
Isaac listened as she recounted all the details of a fucked-up police raid, trying hard to conceal his horror at her close brush with the grim reaper.
“I just feel so damned sorry for that kid,” she said, wiping a tear from her eyes. “He didn’t stand a chance of leading a decent life, not with his upbringing. Instead of politicians wasting all our tax dollars fighting with each other, they ought to do something about this growing subculture in our so-called civilized society.”
Isaac had been wondering why Drew asked her to retell something she was still so emotionally raw about. Now he understood.
“I agree it’s tough for kids growing up in poverty,” he said, sharing a brief glance with Drew. “I should know, because I’m one.”
“You?” Farah opened her eyes wide. “But you went to college. You’re not in the same league as the kid I killed.”
“I was, honey, trust me.”
“Where did you grow up?”
“Baltimore slums. I was the youngest of six, and we all had different fathers.”
“I thought you said just now that you had no family ties.”
“I don’t. Two of my siblings are dead,” he said in a flat voice, “and I don’t keep in touch with the others.”
“He’s not telling you the complete truth,” Drew said. “He tried to keep up with them, but they’re involved with gangs, and either in jail or running riot. They only time they returned Isaac’s calls was when they needed money or some place to hide. He eventually gave up on them.”
“Oh!”
“Mom was on the game,” Isaac said. “She did her best for us, but that ain’t saying much. We were all left pretty much to our own devices, and at age twelve I was already part of a gang, going the same way as the kid who’s got you so upset.”
“What happened to turn your life around?” Farah asked.
“It was pure luck. Some teacher mentioned this farm place, just outside the city, where kids could go and learn about animals.” He shrugged, lost in a dark place. “I guess I liked animals even then, even if I didn’t know it. I went along when the teacher asked if anyone wanted to take a look-see. Took some ribbing from my hard-ass buddies because of it but, let me tell you, the first time I touched a real live horse I was hooked. I kept going back to that place every chance I got, learned to ride, and started to see there was more to life than stealing stuff and terrorizing decent folk.”
“That’s astonishing,” Farah said, looking impressed. “It must have taken courage to break the mold, especially if your older siblings were all into gangs.”
“Yeah well, I started paying attention at school, found I liked learning, got a scholarship, and then met Drew.”
“What he hasn’t told you,” Drew said, “is that there’s a similar place just outside of Sanctuary where he volunteers.”
“Oh, I think I’ve seen it.” She wrinkled her brow. “Brownings?”
“Right,” Isaac said.
“I didn’t realize that’s what it is. It wasn’t there when I still lived here.”
“It’s a few years old,” Isaac said. “Drew volunteers there as well, and has some of the kids back to the Baldwin place every so often to get a feel for ranching.”
Farah shared a look between them. “What have I done?” she asked, clapping a hand over her mouth.
“What’s wrong, sweetie?” Isaac asked.
“I seem to have landed myself with two big softies,” she said, her horrified expression giving way to a wide grin.
Isaac laughed. “Yeah, but keep it to yourself or our reputations will be shot.”
Chapter Ten
“Your secret’s safe with me,” Farah said, smiling at Isaac. “Well…safeish.”
“What do I need to do to buy your silence?” he asked.
“Ah, that’s for me to know and you to find out.”
When had Farah turned into such a flirt? She couldn’t blame her dizziness on the wine. Her head was spinning because she was having trouble accepting what was happing to her. All her most dearly held wishes and then some were coming true, and it was almost too much to compute. Not only did Drew love her, and had for years, but Isaac seemed equally enthusiastic.
Was her imagination getting the better of her? Did she really have two of the best-looking, kindest individuals in the county worshipping at her feet? She shared a glance between them, both so different facially, but equally compelling, and her spirits soared. All her problems—her work, the family feud, her jerk of an ex who’d been calling nonstop since she got home and whom she hadn’t told Drew about yet—faded away. This was real. This was the person she absolutely wanted to be, sharing her life with Drew and Isaac.
She didn’t know Isaac very well yet, but already felt as though they’d been acquainted for years. His compelling charm, and the casual way in which he sketched over what had to have been a pretty rough upbringing, made her heart lurch with sympathy. She thought her childhood had been blighted by the family feud, but that was nothing compared with what Isaac had had to cope with.
Farah’s flirtatious conversation with Isaac had faded away because she’d become lost in mental perambulations. She was conscious of them both watching her, as though waiting for her to call the next move.
“What happens now?” she asked.
“With the three of us?” Drew smiled at her. “That rather depends upon you, sweetheart. You know how Isaac and I feel about you, but there’s no pressure. Take as much time as you need to get used to the idea.”
She moistened her lips, feeling empowered. “Seems to me that ménages are all the rage in this t
own. Our respective siblings are all involved in them, Drew. Why should we miss out?”
“Attagirl!” Isaac blew her a kiss.
“Actually, I can think of dozens of reasons,” she said, “mostly to do with our family feud. Still and all, I don’t see why we should waste our lives pleasing them when we don’t even know how the stupid disagreement started.”
“Perhaps we ought to try and figure it out,” Drew said. “Farah and I were just starting to discuss this earlier, but—”
“But you got distracted,” Isaac said with a huge grin.
“Something like that.”
“Didn’t Jocelyn already do some digging?” Farah asked. “Before she got hooked up with your brothers, that is.”
“She found some stuff, but nothing that makes any sense.”
“It’s funny, but Tatum suggested doing more research.” Farah nibbled her index finger while she thought about it. “She’s had a look in your attic, but didn’t find anything other than a few old pictures. Perhaps I’ll have a rummage in ours and see what I can dig up. There’s years’ worth of stuff up there that no one’s ever touched, as far as I know.”
“It can’t hurt any,” Drew said. “Tatum might have missed something, so I’ll do the same at our place, and we’ll compare notes.”
“Mom and Dad have their regular date night on a Saturday, so I’ll have the place to myself tomorrow. That should give me enough time.”
“Be careful,” Isaac said. “Your leg isn’t healed yet. You don’t need to be lugging boxes around.”
“Don’t worry about me.”
Isaac shook his head. “Too late for that.”
“I bumped into Hailey and Sophie in town earlier,” Farah said. “It seems Sophie’s daughter and Tanner’s son are classmates, but because of the family feud, even they can’t get together without being pulled into the squabble.” She placed her hands on her hips and took a deep, determined breath. “This thing has gone on for quite long enough. Not only is it ridiculous, but it’s starting to blight our lives. We need to find the necessary ammunition to throw at our folks. If it comes to knocking heads together, emotional blackmail, whatever it takes…well, that’s what we’ll do.”