Their New Year's Resolution (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Marla Monroe

  “Oh, no! Frosty!” Brent countered.

  “Rudolph!”

  “Frosty!”

  “Enough! I swear. I thought once they got to be thirty my kids would finally grow up. You’re scaring me guys!” Erica said.

  Everyone burst out laughing. She was so glad they were spending this time together. Even though the guys had insisted that she follow their usual Christmas routine without them for Christmas Eve, they’d shown up Christmas morning bearing gifts and ate a late breakfast of pancakes and sausage before dragging them back to their place to take a wagon ride around their place. They’d all had a ball.

  Erica had spent a little more time with them after that, but this was the first time since Christmas day that all of them were together doing something. It would be New Year’s Eve the next day and the kids were going to be staying at the Church for a lock in that they did every New Years. They ate hot dogs, hamburgers, oven made s’mores, and watched a marathon of movies all night long. It was designed to give some of the parents a break to relax with each other and keep the older kids from getting into trouble.

  Erica was excited. She couldn’t help it. They would have the entire night together. She couldn’t pick the kids up until noon. That meant she could actually spend the entire night with her guys. She was looking forward to ringing in the New Year with them. She prayed it would be the beginning of many more.

  After dinner, they went to the movies and watched a funny family Christmas movie that had them all choking with laughter by the time it had ended. Then the twins took them home and after a cup of coffee while she made sure the kids got ready for bed said good night. She hadn’t wanted them to go, but knew it was necessary.

  Every second they spent together, Erica was convinced that they were the perfect men for her and the children. She loved them and they loved her. She just wasn’t sure it could ever go much farther. Though no one had said a word, she’d begun to notice strange glances from people around the community. Sarah had told her she was being paranoid, but Erica knew she wasn’t. It left a dark cloud hanging expectantly in the distance.

  By the time she managed to relax enough she thought she would be able to fall asleep, Erica had talked herself into a headache. Even after four Ibuprofen, she wasn’t able to settle down. Finally she got up and found her e-reader to try and settle down again.

  It didn’t help that the book she was in the middle of was a sexy ménage love story. That’s when it hit her that she’d always enjoyed reading the ménage stories. Had she secretly been yearning for one all along? Was that why she didn’t feel awkward at being in that type of relationship, only worried about how it would affect her children and her career?

  Erica finished the book and climbed back into bed. It didn’t take long until she’d fallen asleep, exhausted and strangely satisfied about her decision to give a relationship with the twins a chance.

  * * * *

  Erica woke to someone banging on her front door. When she looked over at the clock she winced. It was barely eight in the morning. They’d all stayed up late the night before and her even later hours due to the headache made her a bit snippy feeling.

  She pulled on her robe and stepped into her slippers before hurrying downstairs to find out who was being so persistent. Sissy met her at the foot of the stairs, a wild look on her face.

  “What is it, honey?” She frowned at how pale her daughter looked.

  “It’s them. Please don’t let them in. They’ll just yell at you and call you names. I don’t like them. Please, Mom.”

  “Who is it?” she asked then it dawned on her. “Your Grammy?”

  Sissy just nodded her head. Erica sighed. She couldn’t ignore them as much as she’d like to. All that would do was make things worse.

  “Go upstairs and get Aaron. You two stay with Ricky in his room with the door closed. Understand? There’s no need for you to have to listen to their garbage. I’ll be fine, honey. Go on.” She watched as Sissy scrambled up the stairs. She waited until she heard several doors open then close before she stomped over to the front door and unlocked it.

  “What in the world is so important that you would bang on my door for over five minutes straight?” she demanded when she’d thrown open the door. She didn’t unlock the screen door.

  Huddled on her front porch was Reverend Thomas, his wife Deidra and Chuck’s mother, Virginia. Naturally it was the reverend who started talking.

  “We’ve come to offer to pray with you concerning your hedonistic practices in hopes you will change your ways,” he said in a deep booming voice.

  “Have you been looking up big words in the dictionary again?” she asked before she could stop herself.

  “This is stupid, Glenn. I told you she wasn’t going to take us seriously,” Virginia whined.

  “Quiet, woman.” The reverend looked at Erica and shook his head. “I didn’t want to do this, but you leave us no choice. We are going to sue you for custody of the children. Flaunting your sinful relationship with those two men all over town is proof that you have no business raising them.”

  Erica saw red, but she drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out before speaking. “I will not give up my children to the likes of you. I’m doing nothing wrong. They are good men who care about them. They do things with them and even went to Ricky’s Christmas play. I don’t see Chuck here doing any of those things. Hell, even when he was around he didn’t bother with them. Ricky remembers him well and will be the first to tell you that his dad didn’t like for him to be around.”

  “That’s a lie!” Virginia yelled. “My son is a good son. You and your whorish ways ran him off.”

  “I never once cheated on him. I was too busy working and trying to take care of the kids to even have the strength to see anyone else even if I had been tempted. He barely brought home enough to keep a roof over our heads. If it wasn’t for me, we wouldn’t have had food on the table. He spent most of his money on cigarettes and beer. Our kids might have done without good things, but he wasn’t going to suffer without cigarettes or beer.” Erica wanted to ram those words down his mouther’s throat. Not once during their marriage or after had she ever spoken bad about Chuck to her kids or anyone else. She couldn’t hold it in any longer.

  “He only drank because you drove him to it,” Virginia shouted.

  “Quiet, woman! I’m handling this,” Reverend Thomas roared.

  “No, you’re not. I’m not listening to anymore of your trash. Now get off my porch and don’t come back!” Erica said in as calm a voice as she could manage. She started to step back and close the door but Reverend Thomas slapped something against the screen door.

  Erica stopped dead in her tracks as her mind desperately tried to make sense of what she was seeing.

  No. It can’t be. How did they get a picture of us? I can’t believe this.

  “Not so sure of yourself now, are you, slut,” Deidra said with a snicker.

  “This is a picture of a seriously sick woman who shouldn’t be allowed to raise those children. Can you imagine any judge in the state would allow this? What you were doing in this photo is against the law!” he roared.

  Erica stumbled as she stepped back, clinging to the doorknob. How? Who had spied on them to do something like that? She couldn’t believe this. They would take her children if she didn’t stop seeing the twins. They might try anyway. It was her worst nightmares coming to life. Deep down she’d never believed it would work out, but she hadn’t seen this coming.

  “Who did you get to spy on me like that? You hired someone to take pictures of me?” She just couldn’t wrap her head around it.

  “I took them,” the good Reverend said. “I wasn’t about to allow anyone else to witness such depravity from those children’s mother. They would be forever tainted by your deeds if someone else had taken this. You should thank me for not allowing that to happen.”

  “Oh, my God! You took that picture? You were trespassing on private property! How did you get in?” s
he demanded, anger flaring once again.

  “It doesn’t matter how I got in. The fact remains that you will lose your children if you don’t stop seeing those sons of the devil immediately.” The reverend’s eyes flashed with moral excitement.

  “I don’t care if she does stop seeing them,” Virginia yelled. “I want those children. They need to know what a good man their father is and not whatever filth and lies she’s told them.”

  “I haven’t told them anything bad about your son, Virginia. I didn’t have to. His absence tells them everything. He’s never called or written to them. Nor has he ever been to a single birthday party, school function, or sat with them when they were sick. He didn’t even do that with Ricky before he walked out. You are not getting my children!” Erica felt as if her head would explode as her blood pressure threatened to set a new record.

  “You will be sorry, Erica. Once every one hears about your dirty secret you won’t be able to hold your head up in this town. No one will use your business and you’ll never be allowed to see your children again,” Deidra yelled through the screen door.

  “I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Kent’s deep voice boomed around the crowd at her door.

  They all turned as both Kent and Brent walked up the steps, effectively cutting off their path to their car. Reverend Thomas pushed his way to the front of the women to meet the two men. Erica couldn’t believe they were there. This was only going to make matters worse.

  “You are the reason she’s going to lose them. Have you no shame that you would actually show up on her doorstep after what the three of you did?” he yelled.

  Brent looked at her and smiled reassuringly. She wanted to tell them to leave, but couldn’t. This wasn’t their fault. She might have to stop seeing them, but she wouldn’t hurt them by asking them to leave.

  “Which is none of your business. You need to walk away and leave Erica and the kids alone before you make more trouble for yourself than you’re ready for,” Kent said matching glare for glare.

  “What you are doing is an abomination to God and illegal in this state. I will use it in court to strip her of her rights if she doesn’t stop seeing you and allow us to see the children more often,” the reverend said.

  “I will never again let my children go to your home. I didn’t know you were hurting them and terrorizing them. You can forget ever seeing them without me again!” she yelled, completely out of control now. Her entire world was crumbling once again.

  “Don’t worry, Erica. They won’t be doing anything. They have much more to worry about if they don’t drop this now,” Kent assured her.

  “You can’t make threats to us,” Deidra snapped with a huge smile. “We’re the ones in possession of evidence of your debauchery. You have nothing!”

  Kent opened a folder Erica hadn’t noticed until now. He handed a piece of paper to the reverend. When the man’s face turned white and the picture he’d been holding dropped to the ground, Brent picked it up and after looking at it, passed it to Kent. Neither man showed the first sign of what they thought when they’d seen it.

  “This—this is ridiculous. I don’t know where you got your information, but none of it is true,” Reverend Thomas said.

  “What is it?” Deidra demanded and snatched the paper from her husband’s hand. Her face turned just as pale as his had. She turned to look at him then hauled off and slapped the man.

  Erica just stared at them. She had no idea what was in that paper but it must have been a doozy. Deidra stomped off the porch past the twins and climbed into the car on the passenger side and stared straight ahead.

  “What is going on?” Virginia whined.

  “Shut up, woman.” The reverend looked at the two men before looking at his sister. “Come on. We’re finished here.”

  “No! We’re not finished until that whore gives me my grandkids. She’s poisoning them against us and their dad.”

  “Shut up, Virginia! Get in the damn car!” he yelled.

  Virginia’s mouth gaped open but nothing came out. She stared at her brother until he physically turned her around and shoved her toward the steps. As they walked toward the car, Kent called out to them.

  “If that’s not enough for you. We’ve got more good news we’ll be glad to share,” he said.

  Erica wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw the reverend jerk slightly before he opened the car door and collapsed inside. It was several seconds before he started the engine and backed out of her drive. It was then that she noticed the twins had parked out on the street.

  “Are you okay, Erica?” Brent asked.

  “W—what is going on? How did you know to come?” she asked staring at them in a daze.

  “Can we come in?” Kent asked.

  She blinked several times before nodding and unlocking the screen door.

  Brent took her by the shoulders and turned her toward the kitchen. He nodded at his brother before settling her at the table and hurrying to get coffee started. It was a few minutes before Kent showed back up. He sat down next to her and took one hand into his.

  “Sissy called us. She was scared for you and knew we would never let anything bad happen to you or them,” Kent told her.

  “The kids! I need to go tell them everything is okay.” She tried to stand, but Kent held he down.

  “They’re fine, honey. I went up and talked to them. They know everything is fine now and will come down after we’ve had time to talk. Okay?” Kent ran a finger across her cheek.

  “How did he get on your property to take pictures?” Erica asked. It was all she could think about.

  “I don’t know, but we’ll find out and fix it so it doesn’t happen again,” Brent said, placing mugs of coffee on the table. “Drink, Erica. You’re too pale.”

  “What was in that paper you handed him? I’ve never seen him get pale like that or know of anything that would shut Deidra’s mouth before.” She sipped the hot coffee before looking up at Kent.

  He opened the folder he’d dropped on the table and turned it toward her so she could read. The more she read the sicker she became. How had they found all of this out? When she finally looked up, it was to see worry in Kent and Brent’s eyes. Brent leaned back against the wall just behind his brother.

  “Is all of this true?” she asked.

  “Yes. We verified it before we even thought to use it. We were planning on giving it to you tonight so if they ever gave you trouble again, you’d have it to protect yourself and the kids,” Kent told her.

  “How did you even find it out?” she asked.

  “Between me and my brother in law, Gabe, it wasn’t all that difficult. The reverend wasn’t worried that anyone would find any of it out because he was above reproach to his congregation and the community,” he told her.

  “I can’t believe it. I don’t want the kids to know any of this. It’s too sick and nothing good could come of it,” she said, pushing the folder back across the table.

  “We agree. They don’t need to know,” Brent said, picking up the folder and closing it.

  “Chuck is the product of incest? Really? No wonder he was such an ass,” she said, trying to banish it all from her mind. Knowing that the reverend and his sister had fathered the asshole only made it worse.

  “Makes since now why the three of them all live together in the same house. It’s amazing to me that Deidra never suspected,” Brent said shaking his heads, but after that show on the porch, I’m guess she didn’t have a clue.”

  “The gambling and Virginia paying off all of Chuck’s problems and he brother’s debts is nothing compared to that,” Kent said. “But it’s all documented and backed up with evidence. We’ll give it all to you so you can keep it in case they ever try to pull that again.”

  “We’re free. I can’t believe it. We are finally free of them and all of their sick accusations and rumors. Thank you. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you for this,” she said.

  Brent smiled and walked around the t
able to squat next to her. “Don’t worry, babe. We’ll think of something.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “Three, two, one! Happy New Year!” all three of them shouted at the same time.

  Brent pulled Erica in for a kiss then handed her over to his brother to get his. They were stupidly happy and a little bit drunk. What had started out as a bad day had ended in an amazing night. He couldn’t be happier in that moment. He also couldn’t wait for the next surprise.

  Kent released their woman from his kiss and grabbed Brent’s attention with a mental shove.

  Now?

  Now.

  The both went down on their knees and Kent fished the ring box out of his coat pocket. They’d decided to ring in the New Year on the deck around a bonfire drinking Champagne. It was the perfect place to ask her to be their wife.

  “What are you doing?” Erica asked with a Champagne giggle.

  “Erica Carol. Would you do us the honor of being our wife?” Kent asked.

  “We love you more and more each day. We promise to cherish you and each and every day of our lives with you,” Brent chimed in.

  “We promise to help you raise the children and provide for you and them. We will stand by your side no matter the problem, the illness, or the sorrow,” Kent continued.

  “Say yes, Erica. My knees are killing me,” Brent said with a grunt.

  Brent watched as she grew teary eyed once it all sank in. Her hands went to her mouth and then she was saying what they’d prayed to hear the last few days.

  “Yes! I’ll marry you. I love you both so much. I’ll be a good wife and stand by your sides as well. Oh. My. God! I’ve got to call the kids!” she said turning a circle as if she’d lost her way.

  He and his brother stood up. “Easy, babe. The kids already know.”

  “They do? How?” she asked.

  Kent chuckled. “Well, we had to ask someone for your hand. We went by the church before we picked you up and took them to a separate room and asked them if it would be okay. They gave us the go ahead and here we are. Are you going to let us put your ring on you or not?”