by Pepper Swan
I set the table. One for Tucker as well, who was already out helping with the horses. We owned several. We all knew how to ride from all the lessons we’d taken when we were kids, and each of us had our favorite horse. “I don’t think we saw anything other than what we wanted to see, mostly a hot woman who was willing to have sex with us. Unfortunately, she was a little more than that to me. I actually thought we had a future together.”
“Well, don’t despair, Belle may be that future,” Boone said as he dished out scrambled eggs on both of our plates. He’d also made fried potatoes, country sausage, pancakes, and a large bowl of mixed fruit sat at this end of the long wooden table.
The kitchen had a row of windows that looked out on our property, with the mountains in the distance. We hadn’t renovated the kitchen because it was the one room in the entire house we all agreed on… it was perfect as is.
“I don’t know how my parents will handle it,” I said, thinking how much my parents wanted a grandchild, but also wondering how they would react to Belle, a baby caught in the crossfire of sex with a woman who obviously didn’t care at all about her own child.
“The one good thing we can all agree on about Rosie,” Tucker said as he strutted into the kitchen still wearing his hat, gloves hanging off his belt. “Was that she chose to have Belle and not abort her. Why she didn’t abort her, none of us will probably ever know, but whatever the reason, I think we can all agree that we’re happy she didn’t.”
He went right over to her and grabbed her little feet in his hands and kissed each one. Belle seemed delighted and squealed out her joy.
“Look who’s here this morning, cooking and not suffering a hangover in some hotel room in town,” Tucker said, never taking his eyes off Belle. “This is all your fault, sugar. For such a little thing, you wield a lot of power.”
“It had nothing to do with Belle,” Boone countered. “I wasn’t in the mood. That’s all there was to it.”
“And why do you think that was the case?” Tucker asked, removing his hat and sticking it on one of the many hooks on the back wall, then coming back to the table and taking a seat before he loaded his plate with food. Tucker had one of those hearty appetites, but he never gained an once, no matter if he sat on a sofa all day and binge-watched an entire series on Netflix, which he’d been known to do on several occasions. “You even had the girl right here in our house. Maybe if you’d smooth-talked Meg, she would’ve had sex with you. Did little Belle throw you off your game?”
“For your information, Meg isn’t the type for that kind of sex.”
“And what kind of sex is that?”
“A one-night stand kind of thing.”
“So, she’s more like Rosie?” I asked, throwing fuel onto the embers. “I know you fell for Rosie, just like I did, and even Tucker here fell for her.”
“I did not fall for Rosie. It was all about sex. Nothing else.”
“Let’s face it,” Tucker said. “We all fell for her. Not only was she good in bed, but she treated us like we were each the only man she cared about in the world. She had me wrapped tight around that little finger of hers. I must have given her three raises while we were together.”
I couldn’t believe this was the first time we were talking about Rosie. “Only three raises? I gave her two substantial bonuses.”
Boone knocked off his coffee and poured another cup from the pot on the table. “That’s all you guys did? That’s nothing compared to what I gave her.”
“What the hell did you do?” Tucker asked.
“I gave her five thousand shares of vested stock options in our company that by today’s calculations are worth…” He stopped and plugged something into his phone. “…five hundred thousand, forty-three dollars and change. That’s if she hasn’t already sold them when those shares were worth even more a few weeks ago.”
I couldn’t speak.
Tucker stared at Boone with his mouth open, as if he were so stunned he couldn’t formulate enough thought to want to close his mouth.
“Don’t look so shocked,” Boone said. “She was good at her job.”
“And which job was that exactly… a blow job?” Tucker asked, finally getting his wits back.
“That too, but she was an asset to our company,” Boone said, trying to defend the indefensible.
“Five thousand shares worth? We don’t even give that much out to our top employees. Oh yeah, Rosie had all three of us by the balls.”
“Well, at least we have Belle,” I said, gazing over at her. I knew she would have to eat soon and be changed again.
“We don’t have Belle. We have no idea if she belongs to any of us. It could all be a lie,” Tucker said.
“But we have a way to find out,” Boone said, then he walked out of the room and two minutes later, he returned carrying a Walmart bag. “I have three paternity tests in here. I think we should do it this way, so we can keep this from the public eye for as long as we can. We have enough of a spotlight on us through our company. We don’t need anymore.”
“Let’s do it,” I said, wanting to know the truth.
We were just getting ready to rip open the kits when the doorbell rang, scaring Belle to death. She let out a wail that could shatter class.
“What do we do?” Boone asked, putting the kits down while staring down at her.
“One of you picks her up and soothes her,” I said. “While I answer the door.”
“I haven’t held her yet. I never held a baby before,” Tucker said. “You take her, Boone.”
“Me? Why me?” he protested.
“Oh, get out of my way,” I told them, unfastened her, and lifted her out of her seat. I put her on my shoulder and rubbed her back as I made my way to the front door.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ve got you. Nothing can hurt you now,” I told her in my softest voice. Funny how my voice tempered whenever I dealt with Belle.
I swung open the door, thinking it was a delivery of some sort. Instead, I stared down at what was perhaps the loveliest sight I’d seen in a very long time. Of course, Belle let out another scream at the exact moment of my visual pleasure.
“I decided to take Boone up on his job offer as nanny to little Belle, and from what I’m hearing, I couldn’t have come at a better time.”
She rolled her suitcase inside, unleashed her tiny dog and took Belle, cradling her in her arms. Belle immediately stopped fussing.
“She’s soaking wet! Poor thing. No wonder she’s wailing.” She took off for Belle’s room, her hips swaying in tight skinny jeans, boots clicking on the wooden floor, while her little dog ran right behind her. “Come on, Toto.”
Oh yeah, the dog looked exactly like Toto.
I suddenly flashed on Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Meg was no Dorothy, but given what was happening all around me, Tucker, Boone, and I could very well take on the roles of those three knuckleheads who escorted Dorothy to Oz.
All we needed now was a yellow brick road and our lives would be complete.
It dawned on me that the rug chosen to run up the hallway to the guestroom was a muted yellow design our decorator had insisted we use because it cheered up an “otherwise drab long hallway.”
Yep, we were caught in a fantasy and I, for one, couldn’t wait to see where it would take us.
Meg 6
I hadn’t noticed it last night, but the runner in the hallway that led to Belle’s room was a soft shade of yellow with some darker browns and oranges. It was something I would have picked out and would never think three cowboys would choose for anywhere inside their ranch house, but then the rug in the living room was a muted blue and grey that accentuated the gray leather sofas and bright blue accent chairs.
So far, whoever decorated this house, had great taste, not very Western, but lovely just the same.
By the time I’d arrived home last night, I’d already decided to take the nanny position. I didn’t want to beg for my old job back, one I didn’t like, in a tavern I could care l
ess about.
I was afraid Boone and the guys wouldn’t want me, so I thought I’d appeal to their more basic instincts and wore my tightest, best-fitting jeans and my sexiest low-cut black sweater. As far as getting the job, I’d merely tell them I was taking what had already been offered. That way there couldn’t be any arguing about the idea.
“Thanks so much for helping out,” Tucker said as he appeared in the doorway. “By the way, you sure look different in street clothes, rather than your bar clothes from last night.”
I put Belle down on the changing table someone had put together since I left here last night.
“I don’t know if that’s a compliment for how I looked last night or how I look this morning,” I said, as I slipped a clean diaper under Belle’s bottom.
“Both. Damn, I didn’t mean for that to come out the way it did. I sound like a judgmental asshole.”
“Not really, but if that’s what you want to think about yourself, who am I to stop you?” I chuckled then, and I could tell that helped with the awkwardness of the situation. “It’s the outfit the owner of Last Call wanted us to wear while we were working. Plus, I didn’t mind it. Showing some skin always helps with tips.”
“That outfit showed a lot of skin… I mean, hell, I don’t know what I mean other than you’re a very beautiful woman, and you seem smart. What are you doing working in a bar in Silver Springs? More importantly, what are you doing taking care of a baby for three tech guys who like to think of themselves as cowboys? Though in truth, we don’t know the first thing about cowboying other than what to wear and how we should own some horses.”
That got a deeper laugh out of me, which caused Belle to smile up a storm now that she was dry and warm again in the pink onesie I’d picked out for her last night. Even Toto seemed to like it as he sat on his haunches near my feet and talked to us.
Toto rarely barked. Instead, he did a gargle thing in the back of his throat.
“I haven’t taken care of a baby this small for a long time, so it’s like I’m relearning everything. And you should know it’s not done out of the goodness of my heart that I came home with Boone last night. Although, little Belle here has stolen my heart, that’s for sure. Boone promised to pay me fifteen hundred dollars for last night, and another two thousand for the week. That’s more than enough money to pay for my rent, especially now that I’ve decided not to return to Last Call. I lost my job because I walked out last night with Boone, which is fine. My boss wasn’t exactly the most easy-going guy around. He was more like a bear in cowboy boots,”
“I like how your mind works,” he said, sniggering.
“Thanks. I think I can take it from here,” I told him, wanting some downtime with Belle, but he didn’t budge from the doorway.
Damn, but he was something to behold, strong arms and shoulders, thick hair that beckoned me to run my fingers through it, dark brooding eyes I could get lost in, and a good sense of humor. I liked that in a man. If he could laugh at himself, and at my irony barbs, he was my kind of guy.
“How do you know Boone?” he asked, now leaning on the doorjamb.
“I don’t, not really. He always sits at the bar, never at a table. I’ve never even waited on him. But I know he likes to obliterate himself most Saturday nights. What’s that all about, anyway?”
“I’m not exactly sure, but I think it’s his way of blowing off steam. He hates responsibility, and we kind of pile it on him. He handles it great during the week, but then on the weekends, he blows off everything and everyone by getting shitfaced. He usually disappears around eight thirty or nine and doesn’t come back home until twenty-four hours later. By the time he walks back into the house, he’s sober but still suffering from the previous night. He never asks for anything. Just goes to his room and by Monday morning, his driver picks him up around seven and he’s off to our offices. Vince and I rarely go in anymore. When we have to, we work from here. But today was different. He woke up early and made a huge breakfast. I’m sure there’s still some out there if you’re hungry. He even made pancakes.”
“Thanks, but I’m not a breakfast person. Sounds as if you guys expect a lot from Boone.”
“He doesn’t have to work that hard. He chooses to,” Tucker said, sounding defensive.
“So, would somebody else would run your company if he didn’t?”
I knew how to get right to the soft underbelly of the problem. I think I’d learned it from working with lawyers for five years. They knew how to tap directly into the crux of the matter.
“No. One of us has to physically show up in the office to make sure nothing important gets overlooked. There’s always a ton of crap that has to be done, and it usually can only get accomplished from our main office. Boone seems to love doing it. We don’t talk much about our new positions. He just goes into the office everyday and we stay here… on the ranch.”
I held onto Belle as I headed for the door, her eyes wide, taking everything in. Toto followed right behind me. She seemed to be a content baby when she wasn’t hungry, or her diaper wasn’t soaked through. I figured she could probably use a bottle, though. And now that I was staying for at least a week, I’d have to try to get her on a schedule. “So that’s why he drinks so much on Saturday nights? Because he loves working while you guys… do what? Practice your ridin’ and ropin’ skills?”
I walked on past Tucker after making my point. Both he and Vince had to secretly know this arrangement was killing Boone or maybe they didn’t, and I was the first one to point it out.
Either way, it needed to be said.
Tucker was a prime example of a burning hot hunk of exquisite manhood if there ever was one, and despite his inability to see through Boone’s love of work, Tucker’s manly scent filled my head with possibilities… dirty, lust-filled possibilities. Tucker hit everything on my checklist of one hot cowboy, even though his cowboy status still needed some finessing.
“Wait. You’ve got it all wrong. Of course, that’s not… you don’t understand. Where did you say you were from?”
“I didn’t, but now that you’re asking, I’m from San Francisco,” I told him, not wanting to go into the details of my life. I’d left all that behind me once I packed up my last box, and for now, that life was safely tucked away in a storage bin. I didn’t want to slide it open again unless this new life of freedom I was busy perusing had ended. And from the looks of Tucker, Boone, and Vince… I was just getting started.
“And what did you do in San Francisco?”
Okay, here it came. Truth time. Shit, I so didn’t want to do this. I walked faster, wanting to get to the kitchen. Not only was Tucker bugging me but also Belle suddenly realized she’d gotten hungry again.
“I worked in marketing for a multi-million-dollar law firm,” I told him as Belle cried.
“That sounds as if you were pulling in a nice salary. Why’d you leave? Did you get fired?”
I opened the refrigerator door and found several bottles already made up.
“No, I didn’t get fired. I quit. Did you do this?” I asked, pulling one out, then sticking it in the bottle warmer that had been set up on the counter and turning it on.
“Do what?”
“This?” I asked, nodding to everything.
“I wouldn’t know where to begin. It must have been one of the other guys, probably Vince. He comes from a big family. But you didn’t answer my question.”
The warmer dinged, letting me know the bottle of milk was perfectly warmed.
“Stick out your wrist,” I told him, holding the bottle while Belle wailed in my arms.
He did as he was told, and I squirted on some milk.
“How does it feel?” I asked.
“Like it’s cooler than my skin, but I run a little hot.”
“I can tell,” I said, adding all the innuendo I could.
“What’s that’s supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Just a simple observation.”
“What kind of observation?”<
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He took a step closer, but Belle screamed at her space intrusion.
“Get your mind out of the bedroom while I give you your first lesson in fathering. Let’s sit down in the living room, so you can feed her.”
Now was not the time for innuendo. We had to focus on Belle’s needs first.
“Me? Why me? Isn’t this what we’re paying you to do? To take care of Belle?”
He followed me to the living room, the house seemed more livable now that Belle was settling in. “Sit down in a chair. It’ll be easier for you. You can rest your arm on the armrest. And you’re not paying me anything, Boone is.”
Again, he did as he was told, and I handed him a fussy Belle. At first, he didn’t know what to do with her, but then I showed him how to tuck her into the crook of his arm. “Now, lean back, and try to get her to take the bottle. Just slide it over her lips, and she’ll pull it in.”
And in the next moment, Belle took the bottle, placed her hand on the side of the bottle, like she was holding it up, while she stared up into Tucker’s eyes.
“I’m going to unpack and get settled in. I’ll take the adjoining room next to Belle’s room, if that’s okay. I want to be close to her at night.”
“If you want to be close, you can sleep in her room. There’s a big soft bed in her room that she won’t be using anytime soon.”
“I need my own space, if it’s okay with you and the rest of the guys. I like my privacy for various reasons.”
“And just what might those reasons be exactly?”
I thought about it for a moment, then decided to be honest. What the hell? If I was going to live with these guys, they should know more about me. “I run a little hot as well, and I might do things… no, I know I’ll do things to take care of that heat. I don’t want to be anywhere around Belle when I’m pleasuring myself. Besides, I normally sleep naked, and I’d rather be in my own room.”
He sighed. “You realize that you’re moving in with three virile-as-hell men, right? Anything can happen. How the hell will any of us get any sleep knowing you’re in your bed… naked?”