Making love with the three brothers Kendall had been the most exciting, the most…moving experience of her life.
Austin isn’t the moon. There’s no reason why they couldn’t get together, see each other, from time to time.
She didn’t want to look too closely at why that thought made her throat feel tight.
“Samantha?” Preston’s brow furrowed, and a look of concern shadowed his eyes.
Good Lord, did I just zone out? Clearly she must have, because they were all looking at her that way. Casting back she realized someone had said something but she had no idea who or what.
“I apologize. My thoughts wandered.” She felt her face color, and guessed by the way their expressions cleared and their eyes twinkled that all three Kendalls must have assumed she’d let her mind travel back to the way they’d spent the last few hours at the cottage.
“No apology necessary.” Preston reached for her hand and nodded to his cousin. “You’ll give us a call if there’re any problems, Howard?”
“Of course. Your dads already told me how important it is that Miss Kincaid be able to keep her appointments next Monday.”
Taylor scowled at that, but the moment he noticed Samantha looking at him, he wiped his expression. He might have good control over his facial expressions but he couldn’t to do anything about the color his cheeks turned.
Relief at having the focus off her helped her heart rate return to normal and her blush fade. They left the garage and walked toward Preston’s Buick.
“Having your thoughts wander is likely the biggest compliment we’ve ever received,” Preston said.
Samantha shook her head. She wasn’t the kind of woman who would have a hissy fit because the man—men—she was seeing had a past. It wasn’t as if they’d made any commitments between them. “I had a feeling I wasn’t the first woman the three of you had shared. Given your family background, that only makes sense.”
“No, you aren’t the first woman we’ve shared,” Charlie said.
“But you are the first one who’s really mattered.” Taylor stepped in front of her and raised her chin with one finger. “You matter, Samantha Kincaid—and so did what we shared this afternoon.”
His words echoed her own earlier thoughts. Taylor’s intensity didn’t surprise her, but the slight hint of pain in his eyes did. Instinctively, she reached up and wrapped her hand around his wrist. Perhaps revealing too much of herself to these men was a bad idea, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. “Yes, it mattered.”
When relief crossed his face, when she heard him exhale, she listened to her heart. Stepping closer, she wrapped her arms around him, her cheek pressed to his chest. “The three of you matter when I wasn’t expecting anyone to, not ever. I don’t know what to do about that. I don’t know what to do about you.”
Taylor said nothing, just held her close and rested his face on the top of her head. They stood like that for a long moment, just the two of them, and Samantha thought it very kind of his brothers to let Taylor have this moment with her.
“First lesson in being Texan.” Preston moved in behind her, standing so close she could feel the outline of his cock through their clothing. His words tickled her ear. “When the ‘you’ is plural, it more often than not tends to be ‘y’all.’”
“I see.” Samantha fought her grin. Taylor had eased his hold of her so she moved. Keeping one arm around him she stood so she could see all three men. “Do y’all want to take me to the bank? I’d like to get back to your house so I can help your mother prepare dinner.”
“The bank wouldn’t be our first choice of where we’d like to take you, sweets.” Charlie came up to her right side. He leaned down and kissed her lips lightly.
“But a deal is a deal, and a bargain is a bargain,” Preston said. “So your wish—outside of the bedroom—is our command.”
Samantha couldn’t let the moment go. “It wouldn’t be my first choice either, gentlemen. But I do need to see to business.”
As a romantic declaration her words might have fallen short. But she didn’t see that judgment on the faces of the men who surrounded her. They looked happy as hell.
Samantha never knew a woman could feel contentment and unease at the same time until that moment.
* * * *
Grandfather Jeremy’s words reached them the moment they opened the front door. “Who do we have in New York City we could call about this…this travesty? Or maybe I should just fly up there, do some hunting, and shoot the sonofabitch myself!”
“Dad, calm down. This isn’t the 1920s. You can’t just shoot people who irritate you,” Martin said.
“Jer, let’s let our sons think for a minute.”
“I’ll load your gun, darling.”
One thing Preston could say about Jeremy Kendall—when the man was pissed, everyone knew it. Just as his father, Martin, could be counted on to be the voice of reason. The sound of the front door closing behind them still echoed.
What had him—what had all of them—heading straight for the parlor—was his Grandmother Chelsea’s words.
If she was offering to load her husband’s gun for him, things were serious.
“Perhaps this is a private family matter.” Samantha tugged at her hand, trying to get free.
“Oh, I don’t think there’s any ‘perhaps’ about it,” Charlie said. He grabbed her other hand.
“But ‘private’ is such a subjective term.” Taylor took his place behind Samantha.
Preston grinned at both of his brothers as they more or less herded their woman into the parlor with them.
“What’s happened?” Preston’s gaze fell on a document that his father, Nick, was reading.
“It didn’t take long for the jackals to scent fresh blood,” Dalton Jessop said.
Preston looked from his mother, who sat quietly, knitting, to his fathers. “Is that a letter from the triplets?”
Nick looked up from his reading. “No. There’s still been no word from them.”
“Apparently poor Judith had the misfortune to find herself married to an unscrupulous character.”
Preston felt his tension ease. His mother’s tone told him all he really needed to know. Something might be happening to the family, but the family, itself, was fine.
“I should probably leave you all to your discussions.” Samantha won major points in trying to be diplomatic and sensitive.
I wonder how long it’s going to take her to learn that diplomatic and sensitive are not, generally, how Kendalls do things.
“No, don’t leave, child. In fact, I think you’re exactly what this entire situation needs, a fresh perspective.” Chelsea nodded. She patted the cushion beside her on the love seat, and Samantha only hesitated a moment before she went to sit beside her. Grandma Chelsea looked at each of her sons in turn. “Martin, tell Samantha what’s going on here. Let’s get her thoughts on the matter.” Then his grandmother turned her gaze on Samantha, and he could all but see their woman’s resistance drain out of her. Grandmother patted her hand. “If you don’t mind, Samantha, dear?”
“Of course not. I’d be happy to help you however I can.”
Preston smothered his snicker and hoped to God Samantha hadn’t heard it. Their woman apparently was as helpless as the rest of the family against Grandmother’s gaze.
Martin seemed to be at a loss as to where to start. Miranda shook her head and then set her knitting aside.
“Before I met my husbands, about a year before the war, they were stationed in Virginia—they’d gone to the United States Naval academy at Annapolis and were both lieutenants, junior grade, and posted to Norfolk. While they were there, they met a young woman on vacation from New York City. They had a relationship with her, a summer fling.” She smiled at both of her husbands.
“We were young, and quite frankly not as responsible as we should have been. Judith—her name was Judith Merrick—wasn’t interested in settling down. I don’t want you to think that we were deliberately c
areless toward her,” Martin said, directing his words to Samantha.
“She did give us her address in New York, and we did say that we would write. And we did. We actually wrote to her three times. But we never heard back from her,” Nick said.
“We just assumed she’d moved on.” Martin shrugged. “That she’d been absolutely serious when she’d said she just wanted to have fun. We were, all of us, very young.”
“My husbands are trying to be all Joe-Friday, here, just giving you the facts,” Miranda said. “Shortly after we met, they told me about Judith. I think that she actually broke their hearts a little bit. They wanted to make sure that I understood that they were not being casual with me, and were not looking for casual in return.”
“It was a difficult era, wasn’t it?” Samantha said. “Even though the war hadn’t come to our shores yet, it was happening in Europe. Father told me that at Harvard, there were debates about not when, but how, we’d enter the fray. I imagine that fear mixed with a sense of adventure filled many young hearts.”
“You’re a student of history,” Dalton Jessop said. “That’s good. And as a father, I can tell you your assessment is spot on—especially where the fear is concerned. Our nephews, Gerald and Patrick, whom you met at dinner last night, had already gone to England and offered their services to the RAF. They were pilots, and saw battle, having become members of the Eagle Squadron.”
“I read about the Americans who volunteered to fly for England,” Samantha said. “After Pearl Harbor, those pilots were repatriated.”
“Yes. Our nephews became instructors over at Goodfellow, for a time, and then were reassigned to the front.”
“They were perilous times, and I know that for us, we felt as if today was all we had.” Miranda sighed. “I can well imagine that Judith would have seized the day, having met two such wonderful men.”
“You humble us, sweetheart.” Nick went over to his wife and kissed her. Then he sat down on the sofa beside her, and held her hand.
Preston wasn’t surprised when Martin joined them, sitting on the other side of their mother, taking her other hand in his.
This was an image of his parents that lived in his heart. They were three, but they were one.
That’s what I want, that kind of unity. He cast a quick look at his brothers and knew they felt the exact same way.
“We never heard from Judith again, until about a month ago. A letter arrived from a lawyer in New York City. The letter had been written by Judith a few months before, addressed to us, to be delivered after her death. She was ill…dying, you see, and needed to tell us…” Martin stopped speaking.
Preston understood the emotion on his father’s face. It had been a shock to both men, that letter, and the news it had brought them.
“Judith had given birth to triplets in November of 1941,” Miranda said. “She’d married a man who’d known she was expecting—though at the time of her writing, they’d been separated for many years. She wanted Martin and Nicholas to know that they had sons—and she wanted her sons to know that their biological father was here, in Texas. She apologized for having kept the knowledge to herself, and she hoped they would forgive her.”
“We would have helped her,” Martin said.
“Yes, darling,” Miranda said. “We would have helped her—all of us would have.”
Preston met Samantha’s gaze, wondering what he’d see there—and felt everything inside him go right at the expression of compassion on her face.
“It must have been a difficult decision for her not to contact you,” she said. “Have you had any luck finding the boys?” She shook her head. “They’d be men, now. Almost thirty years old.”
“Thank you for assuming we’ve been looking. We’ve called the lawyer, asking for details. He said he would pass our message on, but that the boys were still grieving the loss of their mother.”
“It’s a difficult and sad situation, for everyone,” Samantha said
“And made even more difficult by today’s events.” Chelsea nodded to the sheaf of papers his father, Nick, still held. “Damned Yankee carpetbagger.”
“So that’s not from the boys?” Taylor nodded toward the papers. Preston knew from his brother’s tone that he wasn’t the only one relieved by the news.
They’d only just learned that they had three half brothers, but they all three wanted to meet them and get to know them. They wanted to let these new brothers know they weren’t alone. Being triplets might be a trip, but it sure as hell came with its own pitfalls.
Family was family. That was how Kendalls did things.
“No,” his mother said. “It’s from that horrible man poor Judith was married to. No wonder she left the blackguard years ago.” She shook her head, and Preston knew his kind-hearted mother was sincere in her words.
“Just an hour ago,” Martin said, “we were served notice that we’re being sued by Judith’s estranged husband. He claims alienation of affection, marital interference, and of course, emotional pain and suffering.”
“How much is he trying to grab from the Kendall coffers?” Preston asked.
“Ten million dollars.”
Preston opened his mouth to say something witty, but closed it when Samantha jumped to her feet, outrage written on every beautiful inch of her face. “What! Why, that’s ridiculous! Carpetbagger, indeed. Something has to be done about that man! He can’t be allowed to get away with this! This is outrageous!”
Preston closed his mouth and met his father, Martin’s, gaze. He saw the twinkle in his eyes, and the way he sat back, watching Samantha. Nick’s hand had casually slipped over his own lips, a sure sign that he was fighting the urge to laugh. The only two who didn’t appear to be hanging onto their mirth were Samantha—and Grandmother Chelsea.
“I knew you were a sensible girl,” Grandmother said. “You’re right, of course. This Mr. Robbins cannot be allowed to get away with this. Where do you suggest we begin, dear?”
Chapter 9
Samantha realized that not only was she the center of attention, but that everyone was looking at her with varying degrees of hope. As her mind scrambled, the words she’d heard when they’d stepped into the house came back to her. She looked at Jeremy. “You asked about someone in New York City?”
“The law firm representing that miscreant is a New York City firm,” Jeremy said. “Not a surprise, I suppose, under the circumstances. But we don’t have very many contacts there these days.”
“My father has a lot of ties to the legal community in New York. He’s a circuit court judge now in Connecticut, but his influence and connections are quite widespread.”
“Ah, yes. You told us that was why you wanted to pursue your career here in Texas,” Martin said. “You want to do it on your own.”
“I do, yes. My father understands, of course. We’re actually quite close. I was thinking that he might know something about the firm that’s representing that…carpetbagger.”
The corner of Nick’s mouth turned up in a little smile when she quoted his mother. He handed the documents to Samantha. “We’d appreciate any assistance you could give us,” he said. “My father was correct when he said we don’t have a lot of contacts in the Empire State.”
“Gentlemen, why don’t you take Samantha into the office so she can use the telephone?” Martin looked at Preston. “I think it’s an excellent idea that the four of you act as our legal team in this matter. You know what they say—the lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. Nick and I are too emotionally involved in this situation to be able to think objectively. We’d feel better if you stepped in.”
A look of sadness crossed his face. Miranda held out her hand, and he latched on to her. “Darling, neither of you could have known you’d fathered sons. You did what you could to contact her after she left you, and what did you get? Your letters returned, unopened. What else could you have assumed but that Judith had purposefully cut you off?”
Samantha looked from Mira
nda to her husbands. “Maybe things were different when you were younger. In my generation? A man who pursues you after you’ve ended things is a man to be feared.”
“You’ve a kind heart, Samantha,” Chelsea said. “And you’re right. We women aren’t powerless. We make our own decisions, and our own choices, sometimes in spite of the men in our lives. We can’t know what was in Judith’s mind or her heart, but she knew where you were. If she’d felt she needed you, she’d have reached out to you.”
“I know you’re right, Mother,” Nick said. Then he nodded toward the papers that Samantha held. “But what kind of a life did she have, did her boys have, shackled to a man like that?”
Samantha knew it was a question no one could answer satisfactorily.
Preston came over to her and ran his hand down her back. “I’ll show you where the office is. We’ll read that and then put our heads together.”
Out of the corner of her eye she saw that the most senior Kendalls went over to their wife, and helped her to her feet.
Samantha didn’t have to ask, or wait to see the evidence. She knew they were giving Miranda and her men the privacy they needed.
Preston led her down a short hall and into a room on the left.
“In the last few minutes, I fell in love with your mother.” The door to the office had closed behind them and she handed the papers she held out to Preston.
“We have a Xerox.” He in turn handed the sheets to Charlie, and then he kissed her forehead. “We’re rather partial to Mother, too. What’s inspired your devotion?”
“I don’t know of another woman who’d show such compassion for a woman she’d never met, one who’d been a lover of her husbands. Yes, I know the relationship with Judith Merrick was over before they even met your mother. But we women are seldom that logical about such things, let alone caring and kind.”
“You’ll have to have Mother tell you how she met, fell for, and then married our dads. It cost her the job she loved, and for many years—until we were born, actually—it also cost her the support of her own family.”
Their Lusty Little Valentine [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 9