The Hudson House Three (Siren Publishing Ménage and More)

by Louisa Neil

  Jeff had wanted Naomi to make this final trip with him, but she had business commitments to finish before moving east permanently. She’d been adamant about finishing her last jobs before the move. He’d wanted to start making their wedding plans the moment he found out about his inheritance. Naomi wanted to finish one chapter in her life before starting a new one. She rationalized that the planning would go smoother if that was all she had to concentrate on. And since he would be in the lab most of the time, they both understood most of the planning would be her responsibility. While he would have been happy with a few friends before the fireplace, Naomi wanted all the trimmings. He’d looked through so many wedding magazines and listened to her critique so many dresses he’d become mind-boggled. Ultimately, he understood the whole thing meant a lot more to Naomi than it did to him, so he told her to finish her commitments and then plan the wedding of her dreams.

  Naomi had impressed upon him that once they were married, she would spend her time redecorating the old place. He wasn’t sure the whole place need to be decorated, but she’d been adamant. If she was going to move across the country to marry him, she was going to turn the old place into a home they’d enjoy. Jeff felt a cold chill run through him when he remembered her describing the place as a gothic horror gone terribly wrong. To him, the stone façade looked regal, but he had to admit the interior was beginning to look a bit shabby. A little sprucing up would be in order. In the end, it didn’t really matter to him.

  They made an agreement that she could do what she wanted to the house and gardens, as long as she stayed out of his lab. Unfortunately, that meant she would replace the Tiffany chandelier in the main entry. The first time she walked into the home at Theo’s wake she’d been aghast at what she loudly pronounced “that monstrosity.” He also knew she planned to paper over the hand-painted mural that filled the entry walls. He had vivid memories of staring at the walls, which showed the family history. Inevitably, an adult would find him there and explain what the images depicted, his family legacy.

  Jeff decided it was better Naomi stayed behind to finish her decorating jobs so he wouldn’t feel guilty using all his time to get the lab together. He knew Alice and Mason were each ready to get back to work. The three of them were anxious about their equipment making the cross-country trip, but there were no other options. Once they knew their computers were up and running, they would all relax a bit. He had several notebooks filled with ideas for new programs they could design. So did Alice and Mason. Everyone was restless. They needed to get back to work. Jeff caught a glimpse of Alice wandering one of the paths toward the gardens.

  Small spaces made her nervous. Flying was the worst. Being out of control drove her crazy. He knew she’d taken a sleeping pill as soon as they boarded and slept most of the trip. At least she wasn’t gritting her teeth and wringing her hands the whole way across the country.

  Mason approached him on the steps and dropped his arm over his shoulder. “Well, is it everything you remembered? Everything you hoped it would be?”

  “That and more,” Jeff said with a wide smile. “Come on. Let’s go in and get settled.

  Mason, he knew, would roll with life. While dedicated to his work, he had the ability to slip in and out of his work mind at will. He never forgot his place when interrupted and always retained his ideas in his head. They worked well together and made a complete team. He and Mason would design the computer programs, and Alice would work out the kinks. Sometimes they worked on projects of their own. Other times they worked on specific designs contracted by other businesses.

  Jeff drew a deep breath and turned to Mason. “Ready to get settled?”

  “You bet. And I’m hungry.”

  “You’re always hungry, Mason. You eat day and night and never gain weight and hardly exercise. That really pisses me off at times.” They laughed at the statement.

  “I thought you loved to work out in the early mornings. That’s what you’ve told everyone for years. A workout and a run cleared your mind before you locked yourself away in the lab.”

  “Yeah, well. Right about now I could use a run to unwind after the plane trip.”

  “Then let’s get settled, and you can go for your run. Me,” Mason said, “I’m going to take nap.”

  “Should we wait for Alice?” Jeff asked, realizing she’d wandered away.

  “No, she’ll come back when she’s ready. She needs to unwind from the trip in her own way.”

  Their driver, hired to bring them from the airport, finished setting their luggage at the bottom of the steps. Jeff took care of tipping the man and grabbed a few of the cases. Mason took the rest. They paused at the top of the steps, Jeff with the key in his hand ready to unlock his future when the door was opened wide. Alice smiled at them.

  “The back patio doors weren’t locked.” She grabbed one of the cases Jeff was holding and took her laptop from Mason. “Welcome home, old buddy.”

  “Yes, welcome home, Jeff.”

  “Welcome home to all of us. Let’s get settled and find out if there’s any food in the kitchen.” He took his time heading up the grand staircase, taking in all the sights on the way to the master suite. They’d decided to use the east wing of the home for their private living quarters. Each of the bedrooms had a stunning view of the river. They’d turn the lower level of the west wing into their labs and work space. Once working, any view would be lost on them.

  They walked up the stairs, each heading to the bedrooms they’d picked out the last time they were there. It started as a private joke at Theo’s funeral. They’d been wandering around the old place when Alice pushed open a door to a bedroom designed in white and gold. She’d fallen in love with the space and the heavy, dark furniture.

  “If we ever visit here again, I want to sleep in this room,” she’d teased.

  “I’ll take the one next to you,” Mason said, noting the blue interior.

  Jeff remembered how Naomi had gone crazy over the front bedroom with the turret window and double doors. “Since you own the place, I get to choose first. This will be our master bedroom.” She slowly turned in the space. “This will be our side of the house. They can use the rooms in the other wing.” Her attitude slipped a bit, but she pulled it back quickly. It was well known to all three of them that she didn’t appreciate having to socialize with Jeff’s coworkers. He’d explained to her numerous times that they were friends who worked together. Eventually, she’d accepted the arrangement, acknowledging that the house was big enough for them all to have their private space.

  Jeff knew Alice and Mason tolerated Naomi and her self-important ways. He’d only seen Alice wear a dress or makeup to weddings and funerals. Most often, she was in worn jeans, T-shirts, and clogs while they worked. It was four months before Jeff had seen Naomi first thing in the morning without her makeup. He’d learned to tell her their dates were at least an hour ahead of the appointed times. He hated being late and Naomi felt it was worth everyone waiting for her because of her polished appearance. He wondered if she’d relax her hair and makeup once they were settled in the middle of nowhere. No, he decided, she’d be worse, playing lady of the manor to anyone with a social pedigree. Naomi was a climber, and while annoying to him most of the time, he understood that to be prosperous in this economic climate, he would need someone like her to help his business.

  He and Mason also worked in comfortable clothes, jeans, sneakers, and T-shirts. Mason’s tees always had some cryptic saying or some strange drawing or photo. They all wore white lab coats when working, in an attempt to keep the lab free from outside dust and pollutants. But none of that mattered. Jeff didn’t care how his business partners dressed as long as the work got done.

  He wandered around the large bedroom and sitting room, still not believing it was actually his. Jeff had a sinking feeling that it was a horrible joke and the lawyer would show up at the door and tell him it was a mistake and they had to leave. So far no one had showed up, and he’d been assured by several differe
nt lawyers it was truly his.

  His stomach rumbled, and he abandoned unpacking. Wandering downstairs, he found Mason in the kitchen, surveying the choices in the refrigerator. “Did Cook leave us anything good to eat? I’m starved.” Jeff leaned over Mason and glanced inside.

  “She left us a lot. Sandwich fixings along with some heat-and-serve stuff.”

  “Good, because I’m starved. Just make a choice and put it in the microwave.” Alice joined them, dropped a kiss on each man’s cheek, and moved away from the prep area.

  Jeff pulled out a bowl that looked like beef stew along with a second bowl of cooked egg noodles. He set the bowls to warm while Alice set the kitchen table and Mason chose a bottle of red wine. When it was all put together, they sat at the wood table, battered by years of use to a glowing patina. They each had a wine glass in hand. “To our futures at Hudson House,” he toasted.

  “To our futures at Hudson House,” both Alice and Mason echoed. After their first sips, it was a frenzy of passing bowls until they’d all had a few bites of the tasty meal.

  “Good stew,” Jeff managed between bites while slathering bread with butter.

  “I agree. If I keep eating like this, I’m going to have to start working out with you,” Mason said.

  Alice took another bite of her supper. She was the first one to push her plate aside. “I’m beyond full,” she said, pausing to look at Jeff. “I don’t know what Cook’s name is.”

  “Isabelle,” Jeff told her. “But she hates her name. If you want to continue to eat, just call her Cook. We always have.” He used the crust of his bread to sop up the last of the gravy from his dish. “Marilyn we’ve always just called Marilyn.”

  “She runs the house?” Jeff asked, topping off their wine.

  “She keeps the house running. You have no idea how thankful I am that she agreed to come back and work for us. After the way Theo treated her, it took a lot of groveling and promises.”

  “What did you promise her?” Alice asked, tucking her left leg up on the chair.

  “I promised her we wouldn’t yell at her, and that I’d give her free rein over the cleaning crews and anything else she wants.”

  “What about Cook. Did she leave when your uncle died?”

  “She did. I made basically the same arrangement with her I did with Marilyn. The kitchen is hers to oversee. As long as we have three squares a day, I’m willing to give her free rein in here.” He sipped his wine. “Both of them refused to work for Theo. You remember how bad the house looked when we came back for Theo’s funeral. The lawyer told me at the wake that he could only get a service to come in. Thankfully, now that’s Marilyn’s back, she’s gotten the place back in order.” He sipped his wine and continued. “If we want to have company or a party, we need to give her some notice. A day if it’s just a person or two. If it’s a party, we have to give her at least a week. I promised her if it was business related, she could call in the caterer of her choice, and she and Cook would just have to oversee them.

  “Since I don’t know anybody here except us, I don’t see it becoming a problem.” Jeff pushed his seat back from the table. “I guess we better load the dishwasher instead of leaving this for her in the morning.” He was joking, of course. Out of the three of them, his work space was always the most organized. His apartment was always clean and neat.

  “We’re on our own until Monday. Marilyn will start back full-time then, and Cook has left us enough to get by until then, too.”

  “Well, we won’t starve.” Alice stood and took her plate to the dishwasher. “I’m anxious to get to the work space. I want to take some measurements so when the equipment arrives we’ll have an exact plan of where to set things up.”

  “We’ll meet you there in a few minutes.” Jeff continued to clean their supper dishes while Mason wiped down the table.

  “She left us with the dishes again,” Mason offered.

  “Yeah, I know. But considering all her other attributes, that’s the least of our problems.” They laughed, knowing Alice hated to do dishes. In her apartment, she always used paper and plastic. They accepted her aversion to doing dishes because her genius talent with a computer had saved their asses many times. While mostly an introvert, when she trusted a person, her true personality came through. She was funny when least expected and extremely protective of her friends.

  They all spent the next hours in the lab, measuring and laying out their new work space. It was after eleven when Mason finally gave up. “I’m beat, and my mind is dead. I’m going to bed.”

  “Go. I napped on the plane, and I’m still on West Coast time,” Alice said, distracted by her measurements.

  “We should all call it a night,” Jeff agreed. “We’ll be jet-lagged tomorrow.”

  “You guys go ahead. I’ll be up in a little while.” Alice tuned them out and chewed on the pencil she was using to jot down her notes.

  “Come on, Mason. We can’t keep up with her on a normal day. After leaving so early this morning and the long flight, I’m exhausted.” He paused to drop a kiss on her cheek as he passed by her. She nodded at the touch but was distracted. Jeff left her to her numbers, hoping to get a call into Naomi before he collapsed on his new bed. He was only slightly disappointed that he got her voice mail. He left a quick message that they’d arrived without incident and he was going to crash. He asked her to call him tomorrow when she got up. He knew she’d not call him back tonight. He turned on the television, flipped through the channels, and fell asleep during the process.

  Chapter Three

  Mason settled into his new master suite. It was decorated in several shades of blue with white trim. His bathroom was lavish compared to the one in the small apartment he rented in California. After unpacking his clothes and toiletries, it still looked empty. He didn’t care. The movers would have the rest of his personal items. Once his books and music arrived, he knew he’d finally feel at home. He stripped off his clothing, leaving it in a pile on the bathroom floor. He thought to shower but was afraid the simple move would wake him up. He didn’t want to be awake. He wanted to drift into a blissful sleep. “I’ll shower in the morning,” he said, looking at the scruffy face staring back at him from the mirror. “Maybe I’ll grow a beard for the winter,” he mused.

  He was exhausted. It had been a long day in all ways. They were all up early for their flight across the country. He’d been amazed that all their luggage had arrived with them. Then there was the trip from the airport. After several hours in the lab, he knew his brain wasn’t functioning on a normal level. He pulled back the bedspread, grabbed the remote for the television, and, after stacking several pillows against the headboard, let his weight drop onto the soft surface. By his watch, it was eleven o’clock, which meant it was really only eight on West Coast time, but he was still exhausted.

  He played with the remote, finding the channels he favored, and let himself drift off to sleep with the news on in the background for noise. Tomorrow would come soon enough, he decided, and he refused to start making lists of things to be done.

  Just as he was about to drift off, he heard the door next to his open and close. Alice had finally given up working in the lab. The little piece of guilt he carried for leaving her there to continue to work left him. He found it an odd comfort to know she was sleeping beside him, even if they weren’t sleeping together.

  * * * *

  The next day they were all anxious. They were ready to get to work, but their equipment hadn’t arrived yet. Jeff used the aging gym to work out and decided it would be one of the first rooms he’d have Naomi redesign. The equipment was old, almost prehistoric. There was no television to watch the morning news on while he worked out. He gave up and went for a run around the property. He wasn’t surprised to find Alice doing the same thing. He fell in step beside her.

  “How did you sleep?” she asked, her breathing not labored as his was.

  “I crashed. What about you?”

  “I got the layout planned.
Now all I need is the equipment to get started.”

  “Hopefully tomorrow. Why don’t we head into town for a late lunch? We can wander around a bit and kill some time.”

  “That will work for me. What about Mason?”

  “I haven’t seen him this morning. We’ll wake him up when we get back.”

  “Okay.” Alice paused, running in place while Jeff stopped and dropped his hands to his knees, trying to catch his breath. “Come on, you old fart. We’ve only ran a mile or so.”

  “Screw you, Alice. And I do mean that in the most physical ways.”

  “Don’t make threats you won’t follow through on.” She laughed at his indignant smile, catching him off guard. Naomi hadn’t entered his mind. Instead, he kept taking glances at Alice. Her blonde hair was pulled back, the tail sticking through the adjustment band in her baseball cap. He noted it simply stated, California. Her cheeks were flushed from the exercise, and her blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight. Beyond her large breasts and slim waist, he didn’t have to imagine her long, toned legs under the sweats she wore. They’d been wrapped around him many times. His cock stirred full, and he forced himself to look away, forced himself to appreciate the end of summer color all around him.

  Drawing a deep breath, he stood and surveyed his view. It was still exciting and the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, that wasn’t a woman, of course. If he’d been alone, he might have pinched himself to make sure it wasn’t a dream. Yet he knew it wasn’t. This was his now, the land, the home, and the view, with all its faults and luxuries. If only his father had lived long enough to enjoy this with him. He hoped in some cosmic way that his parents would know he was back on family land.