by Eileen Green
Lily Dempsey was the sister of a rancher out off Highway 2. Their father had been the first one in the area to bring in Kobe beef cattle, something that would help bolster their herd and their finances. Lily wasn’t your typical rancher’s sister. She was a writer, one of erotic romance novels, specializing in man love, from what his brother had told him.
When Matthew had gotten the call from Morgan that Kyle had been shot and needed help with his recovery, Matthew was all too quick to volunteer to help out. Morgan only got a certain amount of vacation time saved up, so they asked Matthew instead of hiring someone to come in to help.
At that time, Kyle and Morgan were still pursuing Lily. Matthew watched from the sidelines as the process had become somewhat comical. The woman had tried her best to refuse the gifts the guys had sent her. She tried to return flowers, candy, even fruit bouquets. Frustrated, Lily had even gone to the firehouse and told their captain to tell the men to stop sending her stuff. He had told Morgan and Kyle, but of course, they didn’t listen.
She became theirs when they refused to back down. They liked to call it wearing her down. They had her where they wanted her, in between them, when she went up into the mountains to have some privacy to write. A forest fire broke out and they worked with others to help rescue her.
They were happy now, and she was helping to plan her wedding with a bunch of other women. From what his brother had told him, there were going to be eight brides total. The question was, what was the blonde girl doing with them? Was she going to be one of the brides?
Why did that thought make him sick to his stomach? Had he lost her before he was able to try to win her?
“Yes. That’s Heather,” Andrew Collins replied. He took a swig from his longneck. “She’s Gwen’s daughter.”
A wide smile slid across Matthew’s face. This Heather was nearly family. “Really?” he said, trying to sound nonchalant.
Kyle and Morgan both chuckled, along with half a dozen men that sat at the table across the room. One thing that Matthew had learned from these men over the past few years was that they cared for their women, and they protected them.
This little get together had been kept from the men, but the temporary manager of the Tipsy Tavern had called several of the men and told them their women were there, drinking and having fun. Within an hour, a man from each of the women’s relationships had arrived.
They had taken a couple of tables near the stage. It was midweek and the place was filled with families, rather than revelers or the harder drinkers. Those were the ranch hands, the ones who came in during the weekends. This was a mild crowd.
Music came from the jukebox so the stage was empty. Conversation was low and friendly, although on occasion a child would get too loud. Otherwise, it was the perfect atmosphere to keep an eye on the ladies.
Keeping his eyes on Heather, Matthew asked, “Is she single?”
The men burst out laughing. It was a moment before Matthew looked around the table. He had realized that they were all watching him. “What’s so funny?” he asked uneasily.
“You’ve already been captured, and you don’t even know it yet,” Kyle answered smugly.
“What do you mean, captured?”
Matthew picked up the longneck in front of him and swung it a bit. “You’re looking at her as if you see her as if she’s your woman already.”
Chapter One
The August heat was getting to Heather. It was the one thing she hated about the area, something she had grown up hating. Oh, she had grown up hating her father, and her grandparents. Sometimes the hatred she had for them scared her. However, the heat was something she could hate, and then get over. The other hatred she couldn’t give up as easily.
Instead of sitting in the air-conditioned house where she lived with her mother and soon-to-be stepfathers, she was sitting at the diner in Polson. The place was cool, but every time someone opened the door to come in or leave, the heat seeped in.
The diner was filled as it was lunch time. Business people, ranchers, older women and men. Lyndee, Angela, Gina Lawton, and Gwen all sat at the large booth in the back along with Heather. Their drinks had already been served but their orders hadn’t been taken.
The two waitresses were rushing around trying to keep up with the orders and demands of the patrons. The older gentleman behind the service window in the kitchen was sweating as he moved around. Another woman was back there with him, one Heather hadn’t seen before.
The only reason they were meeting at the diner was because it was Lyndee and Angela’s day to go over their part of the wedding. In order not to overwhelm Heather, one of the ladies met with her once a week, however, with Lyndee still working here, and Angela so close, they thought it would be better to meet together.
Gina began to get up, but Lyndee and Angela both stopped her by placing a hand on hers. “No,” Angela said to her sister-in-law. “You don’t work here anymore.”
“But I could be helping.” Gina was always helping everyone out. She was the underdog. Most of the time it was all right, however, this wasn’t a time she should.
“Connor and Jared would kill you if you got up and worked in your condition,” Lyndee said, beating Angela to the punch. “You know what the doctor told you.”
“I’m not an invalid,” the sheriff’s wife said with a small laugh.
“No, you’re not. But after what you went through with Nathan, you know you have to be careful,” Angela pointed out. “We can’t take any chances.”
A sadness settled over Gina’s face. Heather was at a loss for what was going on.
Confusion reigned for Heather. If Gina was pregnant, she must have just found out. She didn’t look it at all.
Heather did know that Gina had come to Polson in some type of trouble. The older gentleman behind the counter at the diner had taken her in before Connor and Jared had set their eyes on her. Since she wasn’t one of the women getting married, she hadn’t spent much time with the lady.
Gwen patted Heather’s hand. “Gina had been shot in her stomach at the last of her pregnancy with Nathan. There is a lot of scar-tissue that has built up, so the doctor wants to make sure she Gina doesn’t over expend herself. She has to take it easy.”
“Oh,” Heather said, not sure what else to say.
“Since I can’t do much,” Gina offered, “I can do what I do best. Sew.”
“What do you sew?” Heather asked as she opened the large folder in front of her. She had to know why Gina was there.
“I usually make corsets. Since the wedding is coming up, and it’s going to be outside in December, I’m making capes for any of the ladies who want one.”
“Capes?” Again, with the questions, Heather thought. She couldn’t fathom how capes would come into the equation of a wedding.
Gina apparently had seen the confusion on Heather’s face. “To keep the brides warm while the ceremony is going on, I am going to make capes for them.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Heather commented. She had wondered how she was supposed to keep everyone warm during the ceremony.
A visit to Ropes and Cuffs a couple of weeks ago had Heather’s mind racing. The club had once been a massive house that had been converted. The main floor had an open concept now hosting the BDSM furniture that was needed for the patrons to enjoy themselves. The second floor consisted of separate themed rooms with more BDSM furniture.
Out back was a large pool. Black slate pool deck was going to prove slippery in the wintertime as the women had talked about wanting the ceremony outdoors. This was going to be difficult to set up, a lot of work to figure out what she was going to do.
The ceremony was going to be beautiful as the patio overlooked the hills beyond. If it snowed, it would lend to the winter wonderland look requested.
The waitress, a woman with chestnut colored hair in a ponytail that reached her mid-back, arrived at the table. There was a harried look on her face, her coffee-colored eyes a bit wild. Heather could see she was
tall, well, at least a couple of inches taller than she was. She looked to be a few years older than Heather.
“Hello, Mandy,” Gina said cheerfully. “Busy, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Mandy said, her head bobbing. She looked around before looking back at them. “I-I don’t know how to handle all this.”
Heather felt sorry for the woman. By the looks of her, she had some kind of anxiety issue. Heather had seen it before in people at school, people who were afraid of other people. They usually ended up on medication. This Mandy lady needed to be diagnosed and medicated.
Reaching out a hand toward Mandy, Heather patted it and smiled. “It’s going to be all right, Mandy,” Heather said softly. “Just close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths. You need to calm yourself.”
She was surprised when Mandy did as she was told. The lady’s eyes closed as she breathed deeply. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Mandy did this several more times before she opened her eyes.
Mandy looked so much calmer than before. She looked down at Heather and smiled. “Thank you.”
Heather smiled at the woman. “You’re welcome. If you get like that again, just do as I said. But promise this…you need to go to a doctor and see if there is anything they can do for you. Okay?”
Mandy nodded her agreement.
“Good,” Heather said. “Now, I think we’re ready to order.”
The ladies put in their orders and then Mandy walked away.
“That was great,” Gwen praised. “Where did you learn that?”
Heather shrugged, a touched embarrassed by the praise. “It was nothing.”
“Heather Bowers, there is nothing wrong with admitting where you learned something. You are a smart girl and I expect you to use what you know to help others.” Gwen wasn’t upset with her. Heather knew that her mother always pushed her to be the best she could be.
“I took a couple of psych classes in school. She looked like she needed help, and I didn’t want her to have a full-on panic attack. People shouldn’t have them in public, especially where they work. Their employers tend to have issues with that.”
There had been a few people at school that had panic attacks. Others tended to talk badly of them behind their backs, and Mandy seemed too nice to have that happen to her.
As they waited for their food, the wedding discussion continued. Lyndee and Angela had been shopping for dresses and had chosen theirs already. Lyndee was concerned that she was going to look like a whale in hers, but all the women tried to convince her the dress was beautiful, and she was going to look smashing in it.
Angela liked the dress she had picked out. It was a fitted bodice with a smooth silk skirt that kissed the floor. In the back, the skirt flared out into a beautiful train. Red silk ribbon began at her cleavage and swept up over her shoulders where the ribbon widened, and then tapered down to where the bodice buttoned.
At the bottom of the bodice, red ribbon began again in a small bow and then it flared out to about eight inches apart before tapering into another bow. Again, it flared out, this time to about eight inches and then tapered back. At the bottom before it came to a bow, there were three small red flowers embroidered into the silk. The red ribbon this time flared out to the edge of the dress. More embroidered flowers dotted the bottom of the train.
It was a beautiful dress, and Angela was going to be an absolutely beautiful bride. The dress was going to complement her red hair. No veil would be worn, and the cape Gina was going to design for her was going to be a shawl more than a cape, that way the design of the ribbon in the back of the dress would be visible.
Now that Heather had the look that Angela was going with, they had to pick out a cake.
Pictures had been passed around, drawing attention from other people. Eyebrows were raised as people eyed the wedding dresses. A lady got up from the next table and stepped up to the table. She had a business card in her hand and was handing it to Heather.
“Forgive me for interrupting you, but I couldn’t help notice you are planning a wedding. I own a bakery in Kalispell and I’d like the opportunity to help you with your cake.”
The woman was perhaps in her mid-thirties, short ash blonde hair combed back in a feathery texture. She was about five feet, six inches tall, and slightly plump.
Gwen chuckled before saying, “I’m sorry, but did your bakery have a fire about two years ago?”
The woman blushed as she looked at Gwen, a bit confused. “I did. How do you know?”
“My fiancé was one of the paramedics that got called in. He had to stay at the firehouse after that, and try to shower off the molasses that gotten all over him,” Gwen explained, a lilt of laughter in her voice.
The woman thought for a moment. When the memory hit, she laughed. “I remember him. He was a mess. I’m really sorry about that.”
“It’s all right. It does make for some interesting conversations.”
Heather had heard the story several times. Gwen had said that Andrew had smelled like molasses for a week.
Accepting the card the woman had handed her, Heather looked at the name. “Thank you, Augusta Manning. Let me discuss this with all my brides and we’ll get in touch with you.”
“Brides?” Augusta asked, a bit surprised.
Heather chuckled. She knew how the woman felt. “Yes. It’s a group wedding that’ll be taking place in the winter.”
“Well, congratulations to all the brides. I hope I hear from you.”
Augusta extended her hand. Heather shook it. “I’m Heather. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You, too.”
Augusta set some money down on the table she had vacated and headed out the door.
“Well, that was fortunate running into her,” Angela said. “Perhaps we won’t have to audition bakers.”
“I’d take her just to see the look on Andrew’s face when I mention her.” Heather was so glad her mother had a sense of humor now. It had been lacking while she was a girl for there was nothing for her mother to be happy about, except Heather’s school accomplishments.
Mandy delivered their burgers. Heather set aside the paperwork and enjoyed the food along with the company.
* * * *
The drinks were cooling in the fridge in the kitchen, beer in the fridge in the garage. The only reason they were separate was because the one in the kitchen had all the food for the barbeque in it. Lily had been preparing salads and other dishes all day while Kyle and Morgan had been putting the meats together. All they were waiting for was the guests to arrive.
Matthew had been on edge all day at work, waiting for the moment he was going to be able to go home and finally be introduced to the woman he had been dreaming of for the past month.
Heather had been working with all the parties involved with the wedding, but hadn’t made it to Lily yet. Tonight would be the night.
He had dreamt of her every night since seeing her at the Tipsy Tavern. There hadn’t been time to meet her that night as she and Gwen left with Andrew and Jake after getting a bit tipsy. Matthew had tried to step in, but Morgan stopped him, saying until he was truly her boyfriend, he didn’t have the right to be her protector.
The dynamics of these ménage relationships was interesting, or did the protectiveness come from the BDSM side of these people? He would need to find out, but deep down inside, he wanted to take care of Heather.
“Hello. Earth to Matthew. Matthew?” His brother’s voice began to penetrate Matthew’s thoughts.
“Huh? What?” he asked, confused. He looked around. His brother, Kyle, and Lily were looking at him with amusement.
The three of them had been joking with him all day. He just needed Heather to arrive.
“I had put some lettuce out in the fridge in the garage. Can you bring it in?” Lily asked him as she sliced the French bread on the kitchen island. She was making garlic bread to be set on the grill for a few minutes right before they were ready to eat.
“Might as well
bring in enough beers to get us started,” Kyle added.
Matthew did as requested. He made his way out to the garage, the one that was as hot as a sauna. Late August was brutal here. Luckily the house was air conditioned and the patio out back was covered so they could get out of the sun back there. He had to admit he couldn’t wait for fall and winter to arrive.
Opening the fridge door, Matthew pulled out the lettuce needed and grabbed four ice cold beers. After kicking the fridge door closed, he juggled the contents in his arms, however, on the way to the door, he lost one of the bottles. It dropped to the floor with a sickening thud before shattering.
“Well, fuck!” he exclaimed.
Foam bubbled and spread amongst the pieces of brown glass. He stepped carefully over the mess and started for the door that led into the house. It opened quickly and the person he had been waiting for appeared before him.
“What happened?” she asked quickly.
She wore a light blue sundress that landed right above her knees. Her legs were tanned beautifully as were her bare arms. Her near golden blonde wavy hair hung loose, the way Matthew loved it. She wore very little makeup, letting her true beauty shine through.
“Oh, my gawd!” she exclaimed when she saw the mess. She grabbed the head of lettuce and a couple of the bottles and set them on a stack of boxes near the door. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” he answered. He was irritated with himself.
“No, you’re not,” Heather said as she rushed to him. She grabbed his free hand and held it up.
Blood was running from the palm of his hand. A shard of glass must have flown up and cut him. The red liquid ran freely, dripping onto the floor of his brother’s garage. Damn, I hope Morgan doesn’t get pissed with me.
The funny thing was, it didn’t hurt.
Glancing around as if she was looking for something, Heather grabbed a towel that was in a box marked vet on it. Lily had redecorated and was going to donate the old towels and sheets to the vet. Thankfully she had left them close to the door.