by Sophie Oak
“You don’t trust us to take care of you?” Sam asked, sounding perfectly indignant.
Out of the corner of her eye, she confirmed that now Jack was hurrying toward them.
Like she hadn’t heard that one before. Several doctors had offered to “take care of her” before she’d married Ben. They had been quite easy to chase away. Her head was a little buzzy and she felt some of the recklessness of her youth flowing back through her veins tonight. “If you want me to trust you to take care of me, maybe you should think about marrying me.”
The minute the words were out, she sobered and realized what she’d done. That wasn’t something she should joke about. They weren’t flirty doctors looking for a quick hookup. She was about to apologize and take it all back.
“All right,” Jack’s deep voice said from behind her. “Thursday work for you, sweetheart?”
Christa’s eyes were wide and Abby realized she wasn’t the only one watching this scene play out.
She turned to Jack, certain her whole body was a nice shade of pink. “Jack, I was only trying to freak out Sam a little. He was being a tad bit overbearing. I wasn’t demanding that you marry me.”
“She sure as hell was.” There was an arrogant grin on Sam’s face. “She said she wouldn’t be able to trust us if we didn’t marry her.”
She shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous. I was joking. Besides, you are overlooking the fact that it’s illegal to be married to two different men at the same time.”
Sam shrugged. “We got it all worked out. We’re going to rock-paper-scissors for it.”
Jack sighed and shook his head. “No, we are not going to do that. We take this very seriously. I am going to legally marry you. You’ll be Abigail Barnes in the eyes of the law, but we expect you to wear Sam’s ring, too. I expect you to take him as seriously as you do me.”
Sam was wearing a dippy grin. She put one hand on her hip. “That’s hard sometimes.”
“You’ll muddle through.” Jack leaned over to steal a kiss. “I’ll apply for the license tomorrow. It takes three days. We’ll move your mother into the guest house.”
Her head whirled. “Wait a minute. We’ve only known each other for a month and a half. You can’t railroad me into marriage.”
Jack smiled wistfully. “Would it help if you knew I considered it more like I’m gently herding you into marriage?”
“No.” She had to laugh at the picture of Jack and Sam treating her like prized cattle. They did love their cattle. “That doesn’t make it better.” She got serious, thinking about what had happened earlier. “There’s a lot I don’t think you’ve considered. Marrying me means something in this town, and not something good.”
Jack shook his head. “It’s too late, Abby. You said you loved us. You’re not going to be able to wiggle out of it now.”
“You belong to us,” Sam said implacably.
“And you belong here.” Christa looked as serious as the men. She reached over and grabbed Abby’s hand. “I’ve missed you. I love you and I’m tired of being apart. This is the time in our life when we get to go crazy again. This is the time when we get to be who we are instead of who we thought we should be. I can’t stand the thought of figuring that out without you.”
Sam’s hand reached out to wipe away the tears she didn’t even realize she’d shed. Was she really going to let something that happened twenty years ago cost her all her happiness now? If she did that, then she wasn’t the woman she believed herself to be. If she let them run her out of town, she would be going against everything she’d worked to become. The idea of explaining to her daughter that she now was going to have two stepdads was daunting, but at least she knew her mom was all right with it.
Had anything in her life ever felt as good and right as being with these amazing men?
She looked at Jack and Sam and grabbed her joy with both hands. “Thursday sounds great.”
The smile that spread across Jack’s face was well worth it. He looked happier than she’d ever seen him, and his masculine beauty took her breath away. Jack leaned in and kissed her lightly, but with the promise of so much more. “I love you, Abby-almost-Barnes.”
“I love you, too,” she said solemnly.
Sam was less circumspect. He hauled her off the barstool and twirled her around before leaning her back for a wildly passionate kiss.
“Damn, Abby, you made us wait long enough.” Sam’s hands cupped her cheek with a tenderness that took her breath away.
“I made you wait a whole month and a half,” Abby pointed out. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
“Like I said, it was too damn long.” He smiled over at Jack, but something else seemed to catch his attention. She watched as his face went stark white and he swallowed deeply. His face twisted like he was really trying to think of how to put something to her. “Baby, you know how I explained to you that I don’t always make the best decisions when I am inebriated? Here comes one of those bad decisions. Please save me.”
He placed her strategically in front of him in a suspiciously shield-like fashion.
“Look what the trash man forgot to pick up.” Christa stood up and came to Abby’s side.
Abby was aware that Jack had moved onto her barstool. He looked terribly amused as a bleached blonde slinked into the room, wearing a shirt that barely contained her store-bought breasts and jeans that someone had spray-painted on. Her hair had been teased to within an inch of its life, and Abby couldn’t tell how old she was under the pound of makeup she was sporting. There wasn’t anything wrong with a woman wanting to look good, but this was way, way too much. There was no mistaking the predatory gleam in the blonde’s eye as she looked around the bar. Her brown eyes were hard, but they widened when she caught sight of her prey cowering behind another woman. It didn’t seem to affect her. She gestured to someone, and yet another peroxide devotee of far too little clothing came out of the woodwork.
“Oh, look. She brought a friend,” Christa said with a sarcastic grin. “I do believe she did that for you, Jack.”
Jack had the good sense to shudder. “I would hide behind Abigail, too, but Sam is taking up all the space.”
The dynamically tacky duo pushed their way across the crowded dance floor, making a beeline for Sam Fleetwood.
“You want to tell me who I’m protecting you from, Sam?” Abby had a guess.
“Melissa Paul.” Sam confirmed her suspicion. “She took advantage of me one night while I was drunk out of my mind, and then she had the horrible idea that she was my girlfriend.”
“Women get that way when you sleep with them,” she murmured.
“Well, they shouldn’t.” His hands tightened on her shoulders. “I assure you I didn’t mention it to her. I could have been stone drunk out of my mind, but the words I love you wouldn’t have passed my lips. I saved those words for you, baby.”
“Uh-huh,” she muttered with a resigned sigh. She looked back at her cowering future husband. “Does it bother you that you’re currently hiding behind a woman’s skirts?”
Jack laughed but Sam looked unrepentant. “No, ma’am. You will find I am very flexible when it comes to your skirts. I will attempt to get into them as often as possible, and when the need arises, I will hide behind them shamelessly.”
Abby grinned because he was really heartbreakingly gorgeous. He was going to make her life a joy to live. She would never be bored with these two around. Abby couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face.
She was going to marry them.
“Sam,” Melissa Paul breathed in a sultry voice. It was so deep and sexy that she wondered if the woman got paid by the minute to talk on a sex line. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you’re avoiding me.”
“Then you must know something we don’t.” Christa sounded sassy and confronted the blondes with one hand on her waist. “Because he is definitely trying to avoid you.”
There was a huffing sound from the secondary blonde, but Melissa P
aul rolled her eyes and focused on Sam. “Can we go somewhere and…talk? Leslie here can keep Jack company. She doesn’t mind at all, do you, Leslie?”
The other blonde was slightly unsteady as she took a step toward Jack. “I don’t. He looks hot. I don’t think he’s scary at all. Lissa thinks you’re too kinky for her, but that don’t scare me none.”
She reached out and put a hand on Jack’s chest.
That was too much. Abby reached out and forcibly removed the offending hand. “Hands off, honey. This one is mine.”
“Maybe he should decide.” The blonde was now paying attention to Abby.
Jack was stumbling all over himself to get the words out of his mouth. “Oh, I am one hundred percent hers. Yup, all hers. We’re getting married on Thursday.”
Abby heard Christa laugh and barely managed to contain her own because Jack looked positively terrified at the idea of having to deal with the horny chick.
Melissa Paul looked infinitely pleased. “So old Jack is marrying the village whore. Good for him. I always knew he didn’t mind used goods.”
Sam suddenly wasn’t cowering anymore. He stood straight up, and Jack was out of his barstool, too. Leslie had the good sense to look afraid, but Melissa didn’t have the Darwinian instincts to know she was in trouble. She was still looking coyly at her prey. If she wanted to defuse the situation, she would have to take it in hand. When she thought about it, this was a ridiculous situation to find herself in.
Her throaty gut laugh got everyone’s attention. Sam, Jack, and Christa all looked at her like she’d gone the tiniest bit crazy. Abby gestured toward the blonde. She couldn’t stop laughing. It was making her cry a little.
“Look at her. She called me a whore. Seriously? Honey, I can see your nipples. Don’t be ridiculous.” She took a deep breath. “Now, turn around before you make a complete idiot of yourself.”
Melissa Paul’s head bobbed in outrage. “I’m not the one making a fool of myself. You’re some old cougar trying to get her hands on a man who could be her son.”
Abby’s hands went up in disgust. “What? Did I have him when I was five? I am not that much older than him. What have you done, Sam? Have you slept with every twenty-something blonde in the county?”
Sam looked at her with wide eyes. She was beginning to think of it as his kicked puppy look. “Not every single one. I’m sure there are some I missed, and now I promise my blonde-banging days are over. I swear I haven’t slept with a single other person since I met you. I am all about the redhead now.”
Abby sent a questioning look back at Jack.
He smiled angelically. “I don’t even like blondes. You’ll find I’ve practically been a saint compared to Sam.”
“I believe that,” Abby said flatly, shaking her head the whole time. She turned back to her younger rival. “Now, you’re scaring Sam. Please go away.”
Melissa looked between the two men and Abigail, a revelation slowly dawning. “It’s true, isn’t it? I thought that was some ugly rumor. You two perverts like to share women. Well, hell, Sam, if that’s all you need, I can do Jack, I suppose. You don’t have to settle for some old chick. I can be kinky, too. Me and Leslie will even do a four-way if you like.”
“But I’m the whore.” Abby looked to Christa, who had the same look of disgust on her face.
“Damn straight, you’re the whore,” Melissa shot back. “Everyone knows it.”
There was a charge of electricity running through the bar. Everyone was watching them. This could get bad. Christa winked, letting her know she had Abby’s back. A strange sense of excitement thrilled through Abby. Her life had been relatively calm for the last couple of years. Christa was right. This was the time to reclaim a little of her crazy youth, and it was definitely time to put the young girls in their place.
“Keep your hands off my man.” She wasn’t going to back down. “This one’s mine, too. I don’t know what he did to make you think he wants you, but he doesn’t. He’s very sorry to have led you on…”
“I didn’t…” Sam started, and then smartly shut his mouth at the look on her face.
“…but he is very committed to our relationship,” Abby explained firmly. “There will be no more drunken hookups. He’s going to curb his drinking so he can make more appropriate choices in the future. Sam is limited to three beers from now on.”
“What?” Sam looked around for help from some corner. There was none forthcoming. “Damn it.”
“So go find some other man to bother.” Abby dismissed the woman with a curt nod of her head.
Melissa Paul obviously wasn’t used to being dismissed. She leaned over and shoved a hand into Abby’s chest. “Listen here, bitch. I am not letting some old cougar push me around. You can have Jack. I think he’s a pervert, anyway, and I’m going to tell everyone in town that he’s forcing Sam to sleep with you. Everyone knows Sam depends on Jack for money. I’m going to ruin all of you if I don’t get Sam.”
Christa gasped. The whole bar seemed to hold its collective breath.
Abby had had far more than enough. Her hand curled into a fist. “You forgot one thing about us cougars. We have claws.”
She reared her fist back and punched the younger woman straight in the face.
* * * *
“What the hell are we supposed to do, Jack?” Sam couldn’t keep his eyes off the two women.
Abby got Melissa in a chokehold. Leslie had tried to jump into the fray to help her friend, but Christa had given a loud rebel yell and leapt on the smaller woman. They were wrestling on the floor of the bar, tangles of limbs and hair and vicious nails.
It probably shouldn’t arouse him, but it did. Well, his Abby taking on Melissa Paul did.
“Watch out for her nails, Abigail!” Sam yelled. He knew how deep they could sink. Not that he was going to mention that to Abby.
Abby and Christa taking on the women who’d come for him and Jack had caused a chain reaction. Many of the women in the bar seemed to think a taboo had been broken and had thrown themselves into the new norm with a malicious glee. Three other girl fights had broken out, and it was hair-pulling, nail-scratching chaos.
“We do nothing.” Jack took a long drink. “That woman is defending your honor and you’re going to let her. Besides, Abigail’s winning. Our little honey is downright mean. You had best follow that three-beer dictate of hers or she’ll pile drive you. Where the hell did she learn that move?”
Melissa pulled out of the hold and reached out to snatch at Abby’s hair. Abby yelped, but then kicked out perfectly with her heel and Melissa went flying.
Sam watched his future wife pull another female up by her hair. A warmth flooded him. She was really pretty when she was fighting.
“And think about it, Sam,” Jack continued. He was watching Abby with a content grin. “She’s doing all of it with a plug up her ass.”
Sam’s breath caught. Jack was right. “She is one hell of a woman.”
“And she’s all ours,” Jack said with a satisfaction Sam couldn’t mistake.
He turned to the man sitting next to him, pointing toward where Abby had Melissa down for the count. “We’re going to marry her.”
The cowboy’s eyes widened. “Brave man.”
In the distance, Sam heard a familiar noise. He quickly calculated the distance and figured they didn’t have long.
Jack hopped off his barstool. He looked back at David Sandberg, who stared at the proceedings with complete shock on his face. The Barn had seen its share of bar fights, but nothing like this.
Sam clapped him on the back. “It’s going to be okay. From now on Sunday night can be girl fight night.”
“Tally up the damage and send me the bill, Dave,” Jack said with a wink. “The cops are coming. I’ll collect Abby. You tell Mike he needs to get Christa out of here or we’ll be posting bail.”
Jack walked over to their future wife and tossed an arm around her waist, hauling her off her screaming blonde opponent.
�
��Hey, I wasn’t done with her!” Abby yelled as she was carted out like a piece of luggage.
Jack laughed. “You’re done for now, warrior princess. Sam’s honor has been avenged. It’s time to call it a night.”
Sam ran ahead. He helped Mike pull his wife off a crying Leslie. Christa laughed when Jack caught up to them. Even though they hustled, Sam noticed Abby and Christa seemed satisfied with the chaos they had wrought.
“Abby Moore’s back.” Christa made the pronouncement with a hearty fist pump.
Sam opened the door.
Even from her position over Jack’s shoulder, she replied with an arrogant grin. “You tell this town they ain’t seen nothing yet!”
Sam couldn’t wait to see what she’d come up with next.
Chapter Twelve
“I’m sorry, Jack, but I have to do this.”
Abby sat up in the backseat of the Jeep as Jack turned onto the two-lane highway where her mother’s trailer park was located. Jack had tried his hardest, but she hadn’t been swayed by his arguments that she should stay the night with them. If she was going to change her whole life and make the attempt to stay here and build something, she needed to talk to her mom about it. Her mother would be impacted by this decision.
They’d been arguing for fifteen minutes, and all the while Sam had been trying to seduce her in the back of the Jeep. Sam didn’t seem to be following the conversation she was having with Jack. He was intently concentrating on rubbing her nipples and nibbling on her ear.
“You’re putting off the inevitable,” Jack claimed.
She sighed when Sam kissed a very sensitive spot behind her earlobe. “I can’t leave her alone, and I can’t uproot her without any warning. It’s not going to change anything. I don’t think it will. She was very clear that she approved of the two of you, so it might not be as hard as I think to convince her to move.”