by Mari Carr
“I’m sitting on twenty years of regrets, Harley. Your mom is too. And the worst part is we have no way of fixing any of it.”
She considered that. “That’s not true.”
Dad looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“Just stop thinking about the past and all the mistakes you’ve made. Stop saying it’s too late. Make today day one. Start over from here. Johnnie forgave you. Granddad has taken you back into the house and put you to work on the farm. And you’re talking to Mom again.”
“And you?”
Harley sucked in a deep breath. Anger was nothing but an emotional drain. So was worry. She didn’t have time for any of it anymore.
“I forgive you too. For all of it.”
It looked as if she’d pierced a tiny hole in the balloon. One second her father was sitting next to her stiffer than a corpse. The next all the air went out, his shoulders slumped, his head bowed, and he cried.
She’d never seen her father cry. Not once.
Harley reached out, wrapping her arm around his shoulders as he quietly sobbed, his body trembling. “It’s okay, Dad. It’s all going to be okay.”
“I miss him.”
She gripped him tighter. How many times had she heard or spoken those very same words since her return? “We all do.”
They sat there, huddled together for a very long time, without speaking. Once her father’s tears dried, they clasped hands and watched the world go by.
Two squirrels scampered amidst the leaves, chasing each other around the thick trunk of an oak tree. A couple of birds—robins—landed nearby, pecking at something on the path. Occasionally, a jogger would pass. At least three of the runners had done a double take when they’d caught sight of Harley and her dad together. They both just smiled and waved, and then grinned conspiratorially at each other, enjoying the shock value they were provoking.
“You happy staying at Tyson’s place?”
She nodded.
“Because you could come back to the farm. If it was my presence there that made you feel like you needed to leave, we—”
“It wasn’t you.” She didn’t move out to escape her dad. “It was time, Dad. Let’s face it; I’m too old to live with my parents.”
He grinned. “We all haven’t lived together under the same roof in decades. I guess I thought it might be nice to try it again.”
She’d taken several steps forward since coming back to Maris. Though she appreciated that her dad wanted to be close to her again, moving home would be a definite step back.
“I’m going to stay put. I really like living with Caleb and Ty.”
“I’m glad you’ve got those boys in your life. Glad they were there to help you when I…”
“It’s day one, remember?”
He rubbed his face. It was obviously going to take him time and practice to stop hating himself for all that happened. “Yeah.”
Harley considered telling him that she was more than friends with Tyson and Caleb. She really didn’t have a clue how anyone would take the news. She felt like she needed a gauge, someone not Art, to talk to about it.
“I love Ty and Cal.” Well, that hadn’t come out exactly the way she’d intended.
Dad nodded. “They’re good guys.”
She took a deep breath. “No. What I mean is…” She swallowed heavily, instantly regretting what she’d started. “I’m in love with them.”
Her dad looked at her curiously, studying her face. “Do they know?”
She bit her lip as she nodded slowly. “Yeah.”
“And how do they feel about that?”
“They’re in love with me too.”
He turned to look back out at the trees, letting the silence linger. She didn’t try to explain or go into more detail. It had been hard enough to say the little bit she had. Besides, there was no way on God’s green earth she was going to tell him things had progressed from friends to love to a physical affair.
She and her dad might have spent the last twenty years estranged, but now that he was sober, now that they were talking again, she recalled all too clearly the overprotective father who liked to tease her in middle school about how he intended to meet her future boyfriends. The basic plan included him sitting in the living room with his rifle over his lap. He always laughed as she protested and swore she’d never bring any boys home if he embarrassed her like that, but deep inside, she liked knowing that her daddy would do anything to keep her safe.
After far too many quiet minutes, he turned to look at her again. “You’re happy?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Happier than I’ve ever been in my life.”
He smiled. “A man can’t ask for more than that for his daughter. But you know, you haven’t exactly picked an easy path.”
“I know. Actually, it’s all really new. We plan to take our time revealing it. There are a lot of people we need to talk to first. I started with you, so thanks for being so cool and not freaking out.”
“No one knows but me?”
“No.”
It was as if thirty years fell away from her father’s face. He sat up straighter, his shoulders no longer slumped. “You trust me?”
She did. Maybe she was a fool. After all, her dad had let her down more times than she could count in the past. But something told her this time was different. He was different.
He was her dad again. The one who hung the moon.
“Yes.”
“I love you, Harley. I always have. I know it seems like that’s not true, but…I’m not going to let you down again. If those boys are what you want, if they make you happy, you have my support.”
He opened his arms and she went to him without hesitation, accepting the hug. She’d woken up this morning, snuggled between Caleb and Tyson, thinking life couldn’t get much better.
She’d been wrong.
Chapter Nine
Tyson sat at the counter to wait for Harley and Caleb for their lunch date. He’d arrived early, so he grabbed a cup of coffee. Nighttime was always heaven. Morning was always hell. The reality of what they’d started was much clearer in broad daylight.
They were two weeks into their unconventional affair. Every sexual encounter was more explosive than the previous and in the darkest hours of night, as he lay in bed with them, he could almost believe what they had was perfect.
Almost.
Then, he woke up and all the doubts and concerns crept back in.
He was in love with Harley. Caleb was too. And neither of them minded sharing the love of their lives. Those facts remained the same.
But another thing that hadn’t been a question when they’d embarked on this love affair was starting to make itself known.
Something he hadn’t anticipated, hadn’t considered or even thought was a possibility. Something he hadn’t let himself think, even in the depths and privacy of his own mind.
Last night, when they’d been together, touching, kissing, undressing each other, Caleb’s hand had brushed Tyson’s dick. And he’d felt it stir.
No. It was more than a stir. More than a simple physical response to an accidental touch. Tyson had wanted Caleb’s hand on him. Wanted…
Tyson pushed the idea away. His mind was playing tricks on him. He was neck-deep in the excitement, the novelty, the newness of what he was experiencing with Harley and Caleb. That didn’t mean he wanted to have sex with Caleb.
He was reading too much into it. Creating something from nothing.
Probably.
The problem was, when he’d woken up today, that new unease had been piled on top of the never-ending anxiety that came whenever he considered sitting down and talking to his parents about his new relationship.
No matter how amazing things were between the three of them in bed, it didn’t mean that life was going to be all sunshine and roses. There were still too many unknowns.
Too many people to tell, to possibly lose in their lives.
Too many feelings to sort through.
/>
Staring down at the black brew, he sighed heavily.
Macie approached him from the other side of the bar. “That’s a sad sound. What’s the matter, Ty? You look like you just lost your best friend.”
Harley had told her dad about them earlier in the week. God. Brave woman tackled the sensitive subject immediately and Tyson envied her. She didn’t have to wonder how her dad would take the news, wasn’t losing sleep over the confrontation. She’d told them all about her conversation with her father in the park, his regrets and apology, her forgiveness, and then his apparent acceptance of their relationship.
Tyson hadn’t seen her dad since she’d made the revelation and while she assured him her dad was cool with it, he wouldn’t rest easy until he felt that truth for himself. Back in the day, her dad had been a serious badass, sporting leathers, riding the Harley around town, and cursing like a sailor. He and Caleb had thought Mr. Mills—the polar opposite of their suit-and-tie dads—was the coolest father in town, even if they were slightly terrified of him. That man had disappeared for a long time, but Tyson noticed him reemerging lately, muscles replacing the fat, the vacant expression giving way to sterner, sharper, more astute eyes.
And while Tyson had been shocked that she would confide in her dad after so many years spent estranged, Caleb was more concerned that word would get out about them before he’d had a chance to talk to his parents.
There was no denying Harley’s dad had accepted the news better than Tyson and Caleb’s were going to, and that didn’t make it any easier to say the words.
Two weeks in, and the silence was already starting to chafe. Secrets had never come easy for Tyson. His family called him an open book, claimed that was what made him a good doctor. People could trust him to tell them the truth.
Honesty and compassion.
Those were the words his dad used to describe his bedside manner. He was proud of that description. Hiding something like this from the people he cared about didn’t come easy to him, but telling them the truth wasn’t simple either.
Like Caleb, he loved his family more than life itself. He looked up to his dad, thought his mom walked on water and his cousins were some of his closest friends.
Macie waved her hand in his face. “Hello. Earth to Tyson. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I slept with Harley.” The sentence ended too soon, the rest of it getting stuck in his throat.
Tyson forced himself to look at his cousin, to read her face. Caleb would read him the riot act for telling her first because…well, Macie had a well-earned reputation as a huge gossip. But he knew Macie wouldn’t judge them harshly, wouldn’t disapprove. She had an unconventional, wholly accepting view of the world. She was going to be the easiest person in his family to tell. Her and Jeannette.
After that, it would get tougher. Not because his other cousins would disapprove. Simply because he was fairly alpha. And until last night, he’d thought himself completely hetero. Now…
Fuck. He didn’t know what he was. He was a guy sleeping with a woman with another guy in the bed. A guy whose touch…
Tyson shoved the worry away once more. He had enough on his plate just telling his family that he and Caleb were sharing Harley.
He didn’t have a clue what Evan would think. Or Chas. Or Luc and Diego, for that matter. No doubt they would assume that he and Caleb were lovers as well, like they were.
Yeah. It was going to get trickier to explain to the people who were bound to have lots of questions. Macie wasn’t one of those. She’d roll with it. Like she did everything in life.
She was grinning from ear to ear. “Well, that’s an interesting development.”
There wasn’t anyone else at the counter and his Uncle TJ, with the radar-like hearing, was next door at the bakery. The regular lunch crowd hadn’t rolled in yet, so the place was relatively empty, which was why he felt safe talking to her.
“Actually, about time, I’d say.”
“About time?” Tyson was surprised by the comment.
“Anyone who grew up with y’all knew there was something special there.”
“Yeah,” Tyson said, aware he was leaving out a big part of the story.
And because she was astute as hell, Macie knew it too. “What’s Caleb think?”
He hesitated a second too long.
Macie’s eyes narrowed, then her grin grew even larger. “Finish the story, Ty.”
Tyson shook his head as he chuckled. “Why? You already filled in the blanks.”
“Here’s the thing, cuz. I don’t always fill blanks in the right way. My multiple-choice answers lean toward the kinky side. Plus, Luc, Diego and Jeannette were in here this morning for breakfast, so I’ve got threesomes on the brain.”
Tyson didn’t correct her. She had it right.
“Welllll,” she drawled. “How about that?”
Then she shrugged and refilled his coffee cup as if Tyson had told her nothing more exciting than there was a thirty-percent chance of rain today.
“That’s all you’re going to say?”
“Like I said, you three have been inseparable since the cradle practically. Don’t think this announcement will shake the town off its foundation.”
Only Macie would believe that.
Tyson rolled his eyes, surprised she was able to take the news in stride. Even though he’d told her because he knew she wouldn’t be overly shocked, he’d expected at least some sort of amazed response. Jeez. She was acting almost bored. “The three of us are friends, Mace. We went all through school together and we have a band. I can’t believe there’s anything in that history that says ‘these three are going to embark on a wild ménage together’.”
Macie’s eyes widened. “Wild, huh? Damn, I’m going to need more details. Now’s a good time for me. How about you?”
Tyson laughed. God, she was good for the soul. “I wish there were more people in the world like you.”
She looked horrified. “Whoa. Don’t get carried away. You might want to think about that wish a little harder.”
“Good point,” he teased.
“So it’s working out? It’s okay?”
He nodded. “It’s amazing.”
“I’m glad Harley came home. I was worried about you guys. Never seen such sad sacks. But if it’s as amazing as you say, then why the heavy sighs and gloomy look? What’s wrong?”
“Caleb is worried about,” he paused, then, for lack of a better description, said, “coming out.”
“Coming out?”
He raised his hand quickly and shook his head. Wrong words. He wasn’t even ready to admit that to himself yet. No way he’d go there with Macie. “No, no. He and I, we’re not, we don’t—”
“I got it, Ty. You and Caleb aren’t playing hide the salami with each other. Just with Harley.”
“Nice description,” Tyson muttered with amused sarcasm.
“Why wouldn’t you tell people about this? It’s not like you’re breaking new ground. Luc and Diego already did that for you, with Jeannette.”
“For one thing, Cal and I are…we’re from here. I think maybe there’s a different set of expectations for us than Luc and Diego.” He blew out an exasperated breath. He was doing a terrible job explaining all of this.
“Yeah. I can see where you’re coming from. There are plenty of people who will think you’re freaks, who’ll act all disapproving, give you dirty looks, talk about you behind your backs. But so what?”
He glanced up and snorted. “So what? Seriously?”
“You and Caleb are following in your dads’ footsteps. Taking on leadership roles in Maris. Even as young as you are, you’ve earned the respect and admiration of a lot of people around here.”
“People who are going to look at us differently after this.”
Macie nodded. “Yep. And some will judge you harshly. But I’m betting a lot of them won’t. Because they know you, know the kind of men you are deep down. You’re the good guys. There are a lot of folks
in this town who really won’t give a shit who you’re sleeping with. And I don’t think you’ll miss the ones who do care.”
“I’m a doctor, Mace. And Caleb’s a businessman. I’m not sure we can snub our noses at social convention as easily as that and not suffer some repercussions.”
“Like what? You’ll lose patients? Caleb loses business?”
He nodded.
“Is what you have with Harley and Caleb worth that? There’s another doctor in town, Ty. It’s not like the people who are too appalled to be in your presence won’t have medical care. And I’m damn sure you won’t lose so many patients that you can’t keep your practice running. God, this could actually be a good thing for you, because you’re way overworked now as it is. As for Caleb’s businesses, I think history has proven that most people will go for ease over principle every time. Sure, there are a handful who will boycott a fast food chain or a store if they don’t agree with the owner’s stance on this issue or that, but there are just as many who will keep buying stuff there because they don’t want to drive twenty minutes away to the next closest store. Caleb will be fine.”
“What about my dad and Cal’s?”
“Ah. And now we get to the heart of the matter. It’s not the town you’re worried about.”
“I always imagined this part of my life would be easy. I’d meet a girl, fall in love, take her home to meet my parents. Proposal, marriage, kids, happy life.”
“That’s not happening now?”
Tyson was quick to correct her misunderstanding. “Oh no. That’s all happening. I’ve never been in a relationship that felt this good. All the pieces just fell together. But…”
“But there’s another guy there with the same plans, same girl. How is that going to work?”
Tyson didn’t have a clue. Harley mentioned last night that they should probably start figuring out answers to the hard questions. The ones people were going to ask.
Caleb insisted it was still too soon to worry about stuff like marriage and kids. And Tyson found it hard to argue. It probably was too soon.