by Vanessa Vale
It was all so similar to what my father had done with Clara. While she’d been so sweet and innocent, happy and so fucking cheerful all the time, she drew attention. Some people were good to her, but others… others were cruel. My father had been tired of hearing how defective she was and that she should be institutionalized. He’d held off until my mother died. His daughter wasn’t perfect, wasn’t normal, so he got rid of her. Tossed her out like rubbish.
That’s what Abigail thought James had done with her, but I knew him, knew him well enough to understand it was exactly the opposite. He wasn’t like my father. While protecting her, he’d given her every possible advantage.
James literally wilted before my eyes. “That’s what you think? I was ashamed of you?”
Abigail looked away.
“We aren’t avoiding this, Abigail Jane. You actually think I sent you to school because I didn’t want to see the scar on your face?”
She looked at the ground but nodded once.
James exhaled, ran a hand over his face.
“I sent you to school because I love you. You deserve the best. Hell, better than the best. Every time I see that scar, I think of what you sacrificed. For me. It is my fault you have it, and I have to live with the weight… the guilt every day.”
“You sent me away so you don’t have to, right?”
James gripped Abigail’s shoulders and all but shook her. “No, you fool. I sent you away because you should be smart and poised and fucking happy. I had the means to put you in school, and I gave it to you. I’d give you the moon if I could grab it. Even if I could, it wouldn’t compare to what you’ve given me.”
Her mouth fell open.
“So I should have left you to die in the fire?”
She’d been injured because of the fire that killed her parents? In saving James from it?
James closed his eyes. “Of course not. But you paid a terrible price.”
He stroked his fingers over her scar.
“I saved you. My brother. I couldn’t live without you. I’d say it was worth it,” she whispered.
It was true. Abigail had bravely saved her brother from a fire, from death, and she’d paid the price by being burned. James pulled her into his arms for a hug so fierce, so personal, it was hard to watch. No wonder he was protective and careful with her. The guilt he felt must be intense.
Abigail had a brother who loved her, perhaps too much. But that was never a bad thing. I’d had a sister who my father didn’t love enough. And that was the difference. Love.
It wasn’t that Clara was different, wasn’t like everyone else. It was because my father had been a cruel fucker who’d cared only about himself.
James pushed her back. “You’re caught up on your scar. You need to let it go.”
“So do you, then,” she countered.
James nodded. “All right. We’ll both try.”
He turned his head to look at me and Gabe.
“As for your husbands…”
He let the rest of the words go unsaid. The sharp pain in my jaw filled in the blanks.
The sheriff came out then, joining us on the sidewalk. He hoisted up his pants and wiped his sweaty brow.
“Mind telling us what’s going on?” James asked the man.
I was eager to hear it as well.
“Seems Grimsby’s mine has run dry. He’s destitute, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at him.” The sheriff glanced over his shoulder at the brick mansion. “Through marrying Miss Bennett, here, he planned to get hold of enough money to regain his social standing.”
All eyes turned to Abigail’s friend. She blushed and, based on what she’d said to Abigail, she’d lied about having money. How many lies were there?
“Surely people knew the mine wasn’t putting out,” Gabe said.
The sheriff nodded. “They did, but the only place aware of his financial fallout was the bank.”
“So when Miss Bennett turned out to be… begging your pardon, ma’am, less than he desired—the sheriff removed his hat and nodded at her.—“he sought other sources of income.”
“Blackmail?” James asked.
“That and kidnapping. There are a few other crimes unrelated to the ladies here, but he won’t be bothering anyone for a long time. You’re free to go.”
A deputy called him back inside. He nodded to us then turned back to the house, putting his hat on as he went.
“You were being blackmailed and didn’t tell us?” I was equal parts stunned and furious with Abigail. “We’re your husbands.”
Miss Bennett gasped and whispered, “Husbands?”
“I think there are a number of misunderstandings today, Carr,” Gabe said to James. “While you might be her brother, we’re her husbands, and we’re taking her home. If you want to punch me first, get it over with.”
James looked down at Abigail then turned her toward us. “While I want to put you in your room for the next two weeks, Abigail, you belong to your husbands now. Go with them.”
“What?” she sputtered. “Didn’t you hear what I said? They don’t want me. They don’t even want to look at me.”
James eyed us closely, somehow deciding whether we were worthy of his sister. “You need to talk with your men. I won’t let you live under false notions any longer. I trust them, and so should you.”
I was relieved he respected our role as her husbands and trusted we’d take care of her. There were lies and fucking blackmail to talk through. There would be punishment for our new bride.
“Take my sister home. Ensure something like this will never happen again.”
He meant punish her, which I was all too eager to do.
“James!” Abigail cried, astonished, crossing her arms over her chest. “They don’t want me!”
“Bring her to the ranch next week for dinner.” The way he ignored Abigail’s sputtering meant he believed whatever was going on between us was resolvable, and perhaps grounded in her issues with her scar. If they could talk through it, then so could we.
Gabe nodded, shook James’ hand. After stepping close and kissing Abigail’s forehead, James turned to Miss Bennett, holding out his elbow. “Ma’am. You’ll come with me, but we will be talking about your role in all this. Don’t think because you’re safe you won’t face the consequences of your actions.”
The woman eyed him with trepidation. “I believe I’ve learned what the consequences are.”
James shook his head at her. “Not all of them.”
He waited patiently for her to take his arm. While he seemed gentlemanly in the gesture, I knew if she refused he’d probably toss her over his shoulder. But she took the proffered arm and went with James down the street.
When Abigail finally looked at me with those beautiful dark eyes, I shook my head slowly. “Not one word, precious. Not here. We’re going home, and you can tell us all about it when you’re over my lap, ass bare and red from my hand.”
She sputtered with indignation all the way home.
CHAPTER TEN
Abigail
Riding in Gabe’s lap the entire way back to Bridgewater had been wonderful… and horrible. After the encounter with Mr. Grimsby, I’d needed to feel Tucker’s arms about me, then Gabe’s with a fierce desperation. Then I’d remembered. Remembered the conversation they’d had in the stable. I ached for them, to have it once again be so perfect with them. But it had all been a lie. And so I rode in silence, feeling every inch of Gabe’s hard body against mine, my heart breaking.
“If you can’t stand to look at me, why did you marry me?” I asked Gabe once he lowered me to the ground from his horse. I refused to go inside the house with them without knowing.
I wished my voice was stronger, that I was stronger, but the tears fell.
Gabe dismounted, tied the horse’s lead, and leaned against the rail. Tucker sat down on the steps leading up to the porch and put his elbows on his thighs. He tipped his hat back so he could meet my watery gaze.
“What has y
ou thinking this?” Gabe asked.
“The stable… the man… he said mean things about me and you didn’t deny them. You lied to me.” With trembling fingers, I wiped the tears from my cheeks.
“Seems like there’s a whole slew of lies these days,” Tucker countered. “Let’s work through them.”
I kicked a clod of dirt in the short grass in front of the house. The sun was low enough in the sky to be blocked by the building.
“Mr. Masters did speak disrespectfully, and I’m sorry you heard that. What you obviously didn’t hear was when we told him we married you because we were in love.”
I gasped at Tucker’s plain words then dropped to the ground since my legs couldn’t hold me. The words had literally knocked me off my feet. My dress billowed around me in the grass.
Love?
“You obviously didn’t hear the man’s nose breaking, and you didn’t see Kane and Ian drag the bastard to the property line,” Gabe added.
My mouth fell open.
“Did you?” Tucker asked.
I gave a little shake of my head as I glanced up at him through my tear-fringed lashes. “I heard the mean words then ran out.”
“We haven’t lied to you, precious. Not once.”
“As for fucking you the first time, Tucker told you why he took you that way. Because he wanted you to feel good.”
I nodded numbly again, remembering he’d done just that.
“I’m not keeping track, but if I’m correct, every other time we’ve fucked you, we’ve been face-to-face and watched you as you came,” Gabe added.
My tears fell even harder now, knowing I’d done both of them a disservice, especially in using it as a weapon against them with my brother.
“I am sorry,” Tucker began. “So very sorry you had to hear what Masters said at all. I should have punched him in the face sooner.”
Gabe made a sound of agreement.
“Perhaps you should start from the beginning about your lies.”
I flinched but knew the words were warranted.
I wiped my cheeks, sniffed once, then again, and told them the entire sordid story from the beginning. I spoke of my friendship with Tennessee, her interest in Mr. Grimsby, her pretense of being wealthy. Then of Mr. Grimsby and his threats. And on and on. Neither man interrupted me and, as I spoke, the words came easily. I’d told them of the made up beau, but it was only part of the big lie. When the recounting finished, I was truly lie-free.
“You did all that to save your friend?” Gabe asked.
I’d been looking down at my fingers, clutched together, but I met Gabe’s dark eyes at his question. “Of course. I couldn’t just leave her to that man.”
“No, you like to rescue everyone,” Tucker replied. “Not caring about the expense to you.”
He meant my brother and how I’d saved him from the fire. My scar.
“He did have a gun,” I said, grumbling, thinking of Mr. Grimsby.
It hadn’t been the right thing to say. Tucker’s jaw ticked. “A gun! It is not your job to save your friend. Alone,” he added.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Gabe wondered.
“Why didn’t I… because Mr. Grimsby would have killed you!”
“You don’t think we can protect ourselves and you, precious?” Tucker asked.
“I… I just didn’t want you hurt.”
The thought of that happening made my stomach churn.
He pierced me with his light eyes. A slight breeze lifted the hair from his forehead. He was so handsome, so intensely perfect. “And why is that?”
“Because… because I love you, too. I always have.”
Tucker stood to his full height and walked over to me. I had to tilt my chin back to look up at him. He was so tall, so foreboding I had to wonder why I’d ever questioned their abilities. He scooped me up by my upper arms, hauled me against him, and kissed me. My feet were off the ground, dangling, but I didn’t care. Tucker’s mouth was on mine, hot and eager, searching and… God, perfect.
Wrapping my arms about his neck, I held on, afraid to ever let go.
He pulled back, then set me back down on my feet, but he tugged me with him so he was sitting once again on the step, this time with me on his lap.
“Do you know why I’m so protective of you, precious?”
I shrugged against his shirt. “You did say you love me.”
“That, yes.” Tucker grunted then kissed the top of my head. “It’s time I told you a story of my own. About a girl named Clara. My sister long before my father married Gabe’s mother. Before I knew him at all.”
Sometime while Tucker was telling me about his sister, Gabe sat beside us, looked out at the prairie, the buildings in the distance. At Bridgewater.
Tucker had me crying once again before he was done, the poor girl without any understanding of people being so mean. No wonder he was so ruthlessly protective.
“Can you see why I was speaking the truth—”
“We, brother,” Gabe added.
“Why we were speaking the truth when we said we don’t see the scar? We love you. We have for years.”
Gabe laughed. “Probably for too long.”
“Then you’re not mad?” I asked.
Gabe tucked my hair back behind my ear. “Mad? At you?”
I nodded, bit my lip.
“Furious for putting yourself in danger,” he replied.
“Disappointed you didn’t believe in us enough to know we wouldn’t go along with Masters,” Tucker added.
“Upset you didn’t tell us the truth.”
“Irate you went off on your own.”
The list was long and they added to it, back and forth.
“But we love you,” Gabe repeated.
I relaxed and exhaled a pent-up breath at the last. To hear those words from him, from them, was like a balm to a festering wound. It healed me in ways I never, ever, imagined.
Tucker stood up easily, holding me in his arms as he did so. He turned and strode up the steps and into the house. “But that does not mean you won’t be punished.”
***
Gabe
Tucker carried Abigail up the stairs and into his bedroom. I followed, but at a slight distance, afraid I might get kicked with all the wiggling and thrashing about she was doing.
“Put me down!” she cried.
“Gladly,” Tucker countered, dropping her onto the bed.
She bounced and came up ready to leap off, but we stood on either side, blocking her.
“I don’t want to be punished,” she replied, wiping her hair out of her face. She was beautiful when she was riled, but that wouldn’t keep her from learning her lesson.
“I didn’t want to lose ten years of my life seeing you waving a gun in front of a madman,” I said.
“I didn’t want to find out you kept something so big, so dangerous a secret,” Tucker added.
“I didn’t want to discover you’d run off when you overheard something we could have easily talked through.”
Tucker crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn’t want to let your brother know we fucked you from behind.”
Tucker’s last words took all the fight from her. She sank down on the bed, her shoulders dropping, her cheeks turning a fiery red.
“What you did was dangerous. Not just dangerous, but deadly,” Tucker said.
“Are we talking about running away, riding to Butte on her own, or facing a lunatic?” I asked.
Tucker grunted.
“I’m sorry. I see now I should have told you,” she replied meekly.
“About what?” Tucker asked.
“Everything.”
“It’s not just your husbands you scared.” I paused, waited for her to look up at me. Tears filled her eyes. “The others here were worried, too.”
“You lied to Ann,” Tucker said, shaking his head. “How many lies have you told, Abigail?”
“Too many,” she whispered, glancing down at her fingers clasped tightly in h
er lap.
“How are you punished, precious?” Tucker tipped up her chin.
“You spank me.”
“That’s right,” I said. “You know how it’s done.”
Tucker stepped back, waiting. Finally, she went to climb from the bed. We watched as she worked the buttons of her dress open and pushed it off her shoulders. The rest of her clothes followed.
It was arousing to see her bare skin exposed bit by bit, and my cock hardened. But I wasn’t ready to fuck her. Yet. Just like Tucker, I needed to spank her, to have her over my lap and take back control. We’d lost it the moment she’d ridden off. Hell, we hadn’t had any control all until she told us the entire truth.
I settled onto the side of the bed, held out my hand. Tentatively, she placed her small one in mine and I pulled her over my lap, settling her so her head was close to the floor, her hair a wild tumble hiding her face. Her toes barely touched the wooden boards, and her ass was upturned just right.
“You like when we fuck you, Abigail?” I asked, stroking my hand over her silky skin, then gave her a firm spank.
She stiffened then murmured her reply. “Yes.”
“We push you, don’t we? We take you hard, and you love it.” Spank. “Why is that?” I asked.
She gasped at the power behind my palm then was quiet for a moment. This was a punishment, and I would not go easy on her ass. “Because… because I know you’re going to take care of me. Make me feel good.”
“That’s right, precious,” Tucker said. “And to do that, we need to know everything. What if we do something you don’t like and you don’t tell us?”
Spank.
“Then I won’t feel good. I might get hurt.”
“Exactly,” I replied, giving her another swat. “We see to all your needs. Your happiness, your safety. We can’t do our jobs when we don’t know everything.”
“We can’t do our jobs when you lie,” Tucker added.
Spank.
“No more lies,” I said.
She shook her head, her hair swaying over the floor. “No more lies,” she repeated.
I was done talking. I spanked her then, all over her bottom until not one spot wasn’t a fiery shade of red. She’d stiffened and tried to buck away, used a hand to shield her bottom, but I took hold of it and kept it pinned behind her back. I didn’t relent.