Love Under Two Introverts [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Cara Covington

  Shaun smiled. “Yeah. That was really cool.”

  “Well, what happened to Gord is one of the reasons we insist you keep your cell phone with you at all times. As long as it is charged and on you, then Adam can trace your location, if necessary.”

  “And that’s how Adam found Uncle Gord? By activating the GPS on his cell phone?”

  “It is.” Kate looked at him for a moment. “Some day when we go to Houston, I’ll take you to Benedict Oil and Minerals. The chief of security there, Mr. Grafton, is also head of security for the Town Trust. He’s entrusted with the codes, and only searches for family members when it’s believed they’re in danger.”

  “Wow. It’s like we’ve all got private security.”

  They did all, in fact, have private security. Instead of reiterating or elaborating, Kate smiled and said, “There you go.”

  Shaun sat quietly for a moment. Then he met her gaze. “Grandma, can I ask you something?”

  “Sweet boy, you can ask me anything, at any time.”

  “I get it, that Dad and Uncle Gord are kind of gone on Tasha. I mean, she’s hot.” Shaun blushed. “Please don’t tell anyone I said that.”

  Kate held up her hand. “I promise.”

  “So…I get that. And a lot of my friends here have two dads, and all, and everyone seems happy. I guess in a way it’s the same as people being able to marry anyone they want, even if they’re the same sex. It’s…real freedom.”

  “Yes, I think you’re right.”

  “So I guess it’s all right, you know, if they get married. Like Carol and Warren and Edward did. But what if…what if something happens to my dad? I never thought of stuff like that before, you know? But then we woke up one morning and Mommy was dead. And…”

  The tears streaming down Shaun’s face broke Kate’s heart. She left her chair and joined him on the sofa. This was a fear that most children his age never had to deal with, because death wasn’t a part of their reality yet.

  Not until it happened to someone they loved.

  Kate slipped her arm around him and held him close. “I’m not going to tell you that won’t happen. You know now that it could. So I will tell you this. If it does, you and Mark and Bonnie will have Gord, and Tasha…and the entire town of Lusty, Texas. We’re all family here, Shaun. Family is the real wealth we have.”

  “We never had a lot of family back home. Just you, and Grandma Mart. And Grandma Mart’s sister who smells like old toothpaste.”

  Kate chuckled. “Oh, baby, you have always had family. You just didn’t know it. Can I tell you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “Gord and Tasha already love you and Mark and Bonnie. I’ve seen that look of love in their eyes.” Kate grinned. “And I certainly heard it in Tasha’s voice when you got called out at that game last Saturday.”

  Shaun wiped his tears laughed. “I thought Uncle Caleb was going to toss her from the park.”

  “So did I.” Kate smiled. “Life has been really tough for you this past year. You’ve had to grow up pretty fast. I’m sorry for that, but I am also so very proud of the young man you are growing up to be.”

  “Thanks, Grandma Kate.” Then Shaun put his arms around her and hugged her tight. “I love you.”

  “Oh, I love you, too, Shaun. Now, I think your Aunt Bernice has brought some cookies and Coke with the tea. Let’s go see, shall we?”

  “Okay. Grandma? I think we should tell Mark and Bonnie about Uncle Gord. So they don’t make a lot of noise or get bratty later, when we go home.”

  “You know, I think that’s a very good idea. I think you should tell them. While we’re having dessert tonight would be a good time. And then, young man, after your aunt’s excellent pecan pie, it’s you and me and the Wii!”

  Shaun smiled, the first real happy smile she’d seen on him in a long time. “You’re on, Grandma. And since I’m feeling generous, I’ll even give you a handicap.”

  Kate blinked, and then she laughed. “Oh, dear boy, you may change your tune after tonight. Maybe next time it will be you in need of the handicap.”

  “We’ll just see.”

  Yes, Kate thought. We’ll see, indeed.

  * * * *

  Clay followed Gord and Tasha into the house. He shut the door behind him and then stopped and leaned against it. It felt good to be just the three of them, alone. He met Gord’s gaze and then looked at Tasha.

  Their woman came over and wrapped her arms around him.

  She must have known that he needed her, needed to hold her like this for a moment. He’d had trouble from the beginning wrapping his head around the fact that some woman he didn’t even know had somehow become obsessed with him. The fact that his stalker had turned out to be a man didn’t offend him or bother him in any way except that what he’d considered to be an unlikely possibility had turned into a very nearly deadly reality.

  Gord approached them, and laid a hand on Clay’s shoulder. “Let’s get comfortable. Kitchen or great room?”

  Clay sighed. He put his hands on Tasha’s shoulders and eased her back just enough that he could place a chaste kiss on her lips. “I vote kitchen. It’s where all serious family conversations should be held.”

  Gord grinned. “That was our custom, too.”

  “I’ll put on the kettle,” Tasha said. “Herbal tea for you, Mr. Jessop, since you shouldn’t have too much caffeine for the rest of the day.” Tasha’s tone didn’t welcome debate.

  “You’re bossy,” Gord said.

  “You bet I am.”

  “You have to like that about her.” Clay smiled. “Okay, let’s get settled.”

  Tasha directed Gord to sit at the cozy alcove table. He sighed, but did as she asked. Clay got out cups and sugar, and quickly put together a snack of cheese and crackers. He snickered. Looking down at the snack made him think of that moment when Gord had told him—in his own Texan way—that Blair Creswell was unbalanced.

  Gord seemed to understand what Clay was snickering at. “Yeah, I figured you hadn’t heard that expression before but I knew you were smart enough to understand my meaning,” he said.

  “Well you could have told me Creswell was a few bricks short of a load,” Clay said.

  “Or that his aquarium wasn’t filled all the way to the top?” Tasha asked.

  “He didn’t have both oars in the water,” Clay countered.

  “His wheel was going around but his hamster was dead?” Tasha laughed.

  Gord chuckled. “All right, you two, I will concede that I do have a mild headache.”

  “And it hurts to laugh?” Clay asked.

  “A bit, yes. Damn, I hate being a cliché.”

  “Ah, poor baby.” Tasha reached into one of the cupboards and brought down a bottle of aspirin and set it in front of Gord. “Do you want some water?”

  “No. You heard Kate. I’m just as macho as all the rest of the men in the family. I can swallow them dry.”

  Tasha shivered. Then she said, “I’ll have you know that I have as my clients a lot of the wives of Lusty, and I know from conversations—confidential conversations, of course—that some of the men aren’t really always all that macho.”

  “We’re only crybabies when we’re really sick,” Clay said. “That’s so women can feel superior to us while they wait on us hand and foot. It’s kind of a genetic, win-win situation.”

  “Damn it Clay, you aren’t supposed to give away secrets like that,” Gord said.

  “I’ve got news for y’all. That was no secret, and women don’t just feel superior.” The kettle whistled and Tasha poured the water into the teapot. She brought it to the table and set it in the middle, then took her seat.

  “You two can go ahead and have coffee if you want. I don’t mind,” Gord said.

  “No, I think this is a good idea,” Clay said. He held his cup out for Tasha to fill with the herbal beverage. The scent of apples and cinnamon rose from his cup. He shoveled a spoon of sugar into the mug, and took a cautious sip. Not bad.<
br />
  Gord put some sugar into his own cup and stirred. He looked at Clay. “Something changed for you today, didn’t it?”

  “Yes, but it happened before you embarked on your little adventure.” Clay took another drink from his cup. He set it down, and looked at Tasha, then turned to Gord.

  “I guess, all along, while I was telling you that I would court Tasha with you but I was never going to love her, I was lying to myself. You knew that, didn’t you?”

  “I had my hopes,” Gord said.

  “I was just afraid, I guess. Afraid to love and then be alone again. Vicky’s death really devastated me.”

  “It wasn’t just Vicky’s death, my friend. Hers was just the last straw for you. You lost your mom and your sister, and then, just a couple of years later, your dad. Who the hell wouldn’t be cautious after that many losses?”

  “You’re right. I guess I’ve never dealt well with the traumas of my life. I just pushed them away. Hell, I only realized lately that I hadn’t even told my children that I’d had a sister.”

  “Sometimes our subconscious does things to help us cope with shocks and losses,” Tasha said.

  “Well, I know mine sure as hell did.” He turned back to Gord. “But all that didn’t really matter in the end, because while I couldn’t quite believe that someone was obsessed with me, the idea that Tasha might be in danger chilled me to the bone. And I realized then, I loved her.” He turned to Tasha and extended his open hand to her. Everything settled inside him when she placed her hand in his. “I love you, Tasha Garwood.”

  Her smile was sweet and, he thought, a little timid. “I love you, too, Clay Dorchester.”

  When Gord offered his hand to her, she placed her other one in his. “I love you, Gord Jessop.”

  “I love you, too, Tasha. Do you think you’ll be able to live with us? Make a family with us? That is what you want, isn’t it, Clay?”

  “Yes, it is. But I do come as a package deal. That may take some adjusting for the two of you.”

  “You know that I can’t have children of my own.” Tasha looked from him to Gord and back again.

  “Sweetheart, that really doesn’t matter to either of us,” Clay said. Gord nodded in agreement.

  “I know you said that. And I know that you both mean it. But the thing is…” Tasha sighed. “I was in love a few years ago. Really in love. Perry seemed like the perfect man for me. He was kind, considerate, loving. He even made it perfectly clear right from the beginning of our relationship that he didn’t like children at all, and he certainly didn’t want to have any. So when he asked me to marry him, I accepted.” Tasha sighed. “We were engaged for a month. Then, one Sunday we were having dinner with his parents, and his mom asked us when we planned to start having children. Perry…Perry actually got excited, and told his folks that he thought we’d be trying right away.”

  Clay squeezed Tasha’s hand, and Gord snagged a tissue to blot her tears.

  “When he took me home that evening, I asked him about his sudden change of heart.” She shook her head. “He said that he really didn’t like kids but his folks expected him to carry on the family line. They expected, in his words, ‘the heir and the spare.’ So I told him that…that I couldn’t.” She looked up at him and Clay saw the disillusionment in her eyes that hadn’t abated in all this time. “He dropped me. Just like that. He demanded his ring back, and left, right then and there. I–I was devastated.”

  “Of course you were, sweetheart.”

  “In hindsight, maybe I should have told him about the accident. I didn’t deliberately hide it from him. At least, I don’t think I did. We started out as friends, first, and kind of, I don’t know, evolved into being a couple. And with the way I believed he felt…” Tasha sighed. “So I guess what I’m saying is, be sure. The both of you, please be very sure. Because I don’t think I could survive another heartbreak like that one.”

  It occurred to Clay then that he and Tasha really had the same hang-up about relationships—the fear of losing, of having and then being left bereft. He looked over at Gord and understood something about that man, as well.

  Gord had never dared to reach out for love, because he hadn’t believed any woman would want him.

  Clay looked at Tasha. “I’m sure. I’m very sure. I love you, and that’s going to be forever, Natasha Garwood.”

  “You’re my one chance,” Gord said, “and the only woman I have ever loved.” He kissed her hand. “I saw my mother’s initial heartbreak, when she discovered she couldn’t have any more children. And I saw how my father, patiently and over time, was able to convince her that the only thing that really mattered to him was having the family he’d already been blessed with. If you say yes to us, and we’re all in agreement, then I’m going to spend the rest of my life being grateful for the family I’ve been blessed with.”

  “So what do you say, Tasha?” Clay asked. “Will you take on a couple of middle-aged bachelors and three energetic children? Will you marry us?”

  “Tasha, please say yes, darlin’.” Gord leaned close and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “Please marry us.”

  Chapter 23

  Gord had said she was his one chance. Well, he and Clay were Tasha’s one chance. They were her only chance, and she worried, for just a moment, that it still all might just go to hell on her, and she’d be left alone again.

  She was afraid to say yes, afraid to reach one more time for what she wanted with all her heart.

  And then words echoed in her mind, Kate’s words given to her when she’d confessed being afraid. I think fate has brought the three of you to this place, at this time, for a reason. So be brave, sweet girl, and dare to reach for your heart’s desire.

  Tasha met first Clay’s gaze, and then Gord’s. In their eyes she saw such love, and such hope. Their emotions reached down, deep inside her, and she knew their yearning found an answering call. This relationship the three of them were building might be seen as convenient by those looking in from the outside. But since when did she ever care what other people thought of her?

  It all came down to one immutable, undeniable thing, and that thing was love. She loved Clay Dorchester and she loved Gord Jessop. Not only did she love these two men, but she loved Clay’s children, too.

  “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  “Damn it, woman, way to leave us hanging!” Clay laughed, pulled her out of her chair, and molded his mouth to hers.

  His taste, that very special flavor that was pure Clay Dorchester, drenched her soul. Movement beside her made her lift her lips from Clay’s and turn her head to meet Gord’s very happy grin. She leaned closer and kissed him, melding her mouth with his in celebration of this moment. There, now, that’s the elixir that fills up all those empty places inside me. The taste of both of them on my tongue at once.

  “I want very much to make love with you right now, my Tasha,” Gord said. “But I’m going to follow doctor’s orders—because I want a long, healthy lifetime with you.”

  “That’s what I want, too.” She kissed his lips again gently. She’d been more than a little miffed when Robert had ordered them to take it easy for the next forty-eight hours, but overall, she knew her priorities.

  Gord sat back. “There’s no reason the two of you couldn’t go upstairs for a little alone time. That was the original plan for Sunday night, if I recall—before we decided to move the kids in here because of Cresswell.”

  Tasha met Clay’s gaze and knew they were on the same page.

  “Not under these circumstances,” Clay said. “Another time, you can be certain we’ll take you up on that. And I’ll expect the two of you to take advantage of alone time, too. But not tonight.”

  “I agree with Clay. So why don’t we go and enjoy the hot tub and then catch a nap? I don’t know about the two of you, but I could sure use one after all the turmoil of today.”

  “I guess I might as well catch a little shut-eye since the two of you are determined to see I don’t sleep for
long at any one time through the night.” The corner of Gord’s mouth turned up in the way he had when he was poking fun at himself.

  “I’ll tell you what.” Tasha kissed him, a quick, fun-filled kiss. “Once the doctor pronounces you fit, you can feel free to wake me up every hour or so the very next night.”

  “And then you, sweetheart, can awaken me,” Clay said to her, “and we’ll all have a sleepless night.”

  Gord grinned. “That sounds like a plan.”

  The heat of the spa tub pulled a sigh from her very soul. Tasha hadn’t realized how strung out she’d been until all the tension began to melt under the ministration of the heated bubbles. It had been a very tense and scary day.

  Gord rolled up a small towel, and placed it behind her neck for a makeshift pillow. With each of her hands held by a man she loved, and had just given her promise to, Tasha thought moments like this one were as close to heaven as she’d ever been.

  She let her thoughts drift to the years yet to come, to the joy and yes, the hard work that lay ahead of them as they made this blended family, and made it work.

  “What do you reckon your children will have to say about all this?” Gord asked. “Do you think they’ll be all right, all of us living together?”

  “It might be a challenge,” Clay said. “I know that they all already care for you both. That was important to me, and something I was able to discern pretty early on. Truthfully? This is going to be an adjustment for us all.”

  Tasha knew there’d be a few squalls and maybe even a storm or two along the way. But she believed with all her heart that in time, they all could only benefit from forming this unique and loving family.

  The three of them emerged from the spa considerably more tired than when they’d gone in. As soon as she got out of the tub, Tasha set her cell phone alarm to go off in a half hour, so she could wake Gord up. When they were under the blankets of Gord’s massive bed, Tasha felt every bit of strength melt out of her. She could have been seeping into the mattress itself, so absolute was the sensation of falling asleep.