Independence: #4 Hayley

by Karen Nichols

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Jack pulled in a long slow breath. He knew Hayley and Dane were right. He was the one with a very short fuse when it came to idiots. And he really didn’t want to think of her brother as an idiot. He was used to certain people not accepting the choices he and Dane made as far as women were concerned.

  But they’d lucked out and weren’t about to lose what they’d found.

  “Maybe we should try again,” Dane said carefully. “We are not going to willfully hurt your sister. I can promise you that.”

  Dell was off the porch and across the short distance. His fist was out and struck the side of Jack’s face. Hard.

  “She’s my sister. She doesn’t need two guys messing up her life,” he growled angrily.

  Jack had stumbled back. The truck door behind him. He raised a hand, rubbing at his jaw.

  “Stop it! Don’t you dare hit him again!” Hayley shoved between them, her hands up and pushing hard against her brother’s chest. “Stop, stop, stop!”

  “Get out of the way, Hayley! He’s not worth your defense!” Dell growled and tried to shove around his sister, only to find his wife also coming between them. She’d rushed from inside the building at Hayley’s side. “He won’t even defend you…”

  “He’s not fighting because I asked him not to!” She shouted angrily, turning away and carefully touching Jack’s face. “He listens to me, Dell. He doesn’t pretend I’m invisible or ignores me. Do you understand that? They listen to me,” she repeated in an emotional whisper. “You’re a wonderful brother, but you never listened. I’m not a child anymore! You’ll always be my best big brother, Dell…but you have to let me grow up.”

  Tasha stepped in front of him, her hands on his chest and head shaking. “It’s past time for you to listen, Dell…please…for all our sakes.”

  “I heard them talking,” he said, pushing the words between his lips. “I heard them say they’re your Dom. That’s short for dominant, isn’t?”

  “That’s why you picked a fight?” Hayley gaped at him, taking the towel filled with ice from Tasha and holding it carefully at the side of Jack’s jaw. “I knew it would be you,” she whispered with a smile and a sigh. “You have the shortest temper.”

  “I was minding my own business,” Jack protested, his free hand snaking around her waist. He winced at the feeling. That’s gonna bruise, he thought.

  “Yes, Dom is short for dominant,” Dane said with a quiet firmness. He looked apologetically at Tasha. “If I offend you, I’m sorry in advance. Does he ever slide his fingers into your hair and hold you in place?” He didn’t wait for a response. “And then kiss you so hard and so passionately, that it feels like everything inside you melts? Have you only had sex in the dark? Somehow, I doubt that.” His chin went up when Dell began to seethe. “You aren’t so very different from us.”

  “There are fucking two of you claiming…”

  “I’m doing the claiming,” Hayley interrupted, crossing in front of him and shoving both her hands against his chest, making the tall powerfully built man stumble back. “They are not making any claims. I’m the one who claimed them. Both of them. I’m sorry you don’t understand and you don’t even have to. You just have to accept that it’s my choice. That I’m the one making the decision. Can’t you be happy for me?”

  “There are two of them, Hayley,” he ground through his teeth.

  “And I love them both. Just as if they were one person. Maybe it’s not how most people live, but it’s not an aberration, either,” she declared defiantly, the words her grandmother had used streaking through her brain. “I don’t know what it will be in a year or two. I don’t know if I’ll get run over by a truck next week. All I know is that they make me smile. They make me happy, Dell. They care about me…they argue with me and they hear me. If they don’t like something I decide, we talk about it, Dell. They don’t pull out a whip and make me do things their way,” Hayley’s hands were up and squeezing the side of her head. Her head shook slowly. “Can’t you see how much they mean to me?”

  “You’re more like us than you want to believe,” Dane told him flatly.

  “You bastards…”

  “No, Dell! This isn’t your choice,” his wife stepped in front of him, her hands on his chest. “You are like that! What they said is true and I love you for it,” Tasha peered up at him, her head shaking again. “Why can’t you trust her? Why can’t you believe that she’s strong enough to make her own choices? You can be supportive and a good brother by being happy for her. She deserves the same kind of happiness as we’ve had,” she finished in a soft whisper, her hand stroking gently down the side of his face. “You didn’t stop to think of whose sister I was before we hopped into bed.”

  “This isn’t about us…”

  “It is if you continue being so closed minded,” Tasha told him sadly. “She isn’t a child. She’s a grown woman with a vital position as part of the ranch. She deserves to find happiness…in her own way. And you need to let go of yesterday. You and I are tomorrow…she deserves her own choices in her tomorrow, too, Dell. Please…”

  “You want to know what goes on inside our house? Inside the walls of our privacy? Inside a private part of my life that is quite honestly, none of your business?” Hayley spun on him, hands on her hips. “You want to know what we did the other night when we lost power?”

  “Hayley…” Dell took half a step back under her attack, his gaze narrowed first on his sister and then on the two men behind her.

  “You opened that door, Dell. You did it…so now you get to hear…oh, let’s see…we lost power about three in the afternoon,” she tapped one finger against her cheek. “Jack made sure that we had tons of dry wood on the porch and inside for the fireplace. Dane went and checked the generator and made sure it was filled with fuel to keep the fridge going. Then he checked all the kerosene lamps and set them out. I found candles and lined the fireplace with them. Then…” she lowered her voice seductively.

  “Hayley…” Dell’s teeth ground together.

  “Then we had a wild, wild…game of RISK.” She watched her brother’s face turn a dull red. “I collected all the blankets and pillows and snacks and we spread out in front of the fire and played games…and cards…we tried a jigsaw puzzle, but it got too dark.”

  She looked over at Tasha and winked at the other woman having a really difficult time keeping a straight face. She avoided looking at her husband and bit her lip. Hayley kept staring at him.

  “Then we fell asleep in front of the fire about midnight,” Hayley told him dully. “Wow…hope you’re not too stunned by the revelations that we’re normal.”

  “There are two of them…”

  “Get over it,” she threw back with a toss of her head. “No one asks you what goes on in your love life. I expect the same consideration…and I expect you to be polite and respectful. Of both of them. If Gram and Gramps can accept my choice, then you need to as well. I don’t…” for the first time her voice cracked with emotion. “I need you as my brother…not my keeper, Dell…please…”

  “There are two of them,” He repeated flatly. “Don’t you think people will talk? People will label you…”

  “Is that how you see your grandparents? Did you label them when we explained the DNA involved?”

  All heads and bodies spun at the low, vibrant voice. One that Hayley and Dell were especially familiar with.

  Chapter Forty

  “Daddy,” Hayley breathed, tears watering her eyes as she stumbled forward and into his arms. “We were on our way in to the brunch…I’m sorry we’re a bit late. Where have you been? I haven’t seen you for a few days.”

  “No doubt held up by your brother and his idiot ideas. And I’m glad I can still sneak up on you. I parked off to the back and was talking to your granddad about some new stock we have arriving in a week or two.” Marshall Russell didn’t sound angry. There was more sadness in his voice than anything as he held his daughter close. He wrapped her
with one arm and extended the other hand toward the closest, Dane. “Marshall Russell.”

  “Dane Landon, Sir,” Dane instantly fell into respect mode, his hand shaking the older man’s warmly. “A pleasure to finally meet you.”

  “And you’re…?” Marshall took the offered palm with a strong shake.

  “Jack Bennett, Sir.”

  “I’ve read up on your company,” he said quietly, nodding a silent approval. “You’re making an interesting splash in the field.”

  “I…” Dane blinked in surprise. “Thank you, Sir.”

  “That’s why you fit so well with the WindSwept Narrows people,” Marshall said easily. His hands went to Hayley’s shoulders. “So…seems we need to get this straightened out and get on with the holiday, don’t you think? Since when did you turn into a prudish judge and jury, son? Since I was there, I know damn good and well you weren’t raised to be judgmental. Especially of family.”

  “You’re okay with this?” The tension in Dell’s jaw was evident, the thick vein at the side of his throat pulsing. But it was the confusion in his eyes that had Tasha stepping in front of him.

  “She’s happy,” Tasha said very softly. “Look in her eyes, Dell. It’s natural to worry…even if it were just one of them, you’d still worry. She’s your sister. But she’s happy,” she repeated emphatically. “I know what she’s feeling…because I feel it inside me when we’re together…you and I…no one judged us…people just wished us well.”

  “You’ve got a real smart woman there, son,” Marshall winked at Tasha. “She’s good for you.” He kissed the top of Hayley’s head and smiled at his girl. “I take part of the blame…I always tried to make you take on the role of big brother and take it seriously…but I didn’t account for when you both grew up. You and me…we’ll be there if she needs us…but it’s time to hand the role of protector over to someone else. And it just so happens your sister takes after her grandmother. A lot of love in this little girl we watched grow up…how do we put a cap on that?”

  Hayley sniffled and accepted the tissue from Tasha. “Thanks.”

  He looked from Dane to Jack. “Especially if these two believe they can manage her.” His laughter was deep when Hayley slapped at his middle. “Feisty as always.”

  “No one starts out a relationship looking at the end of it,” Jack said quietly. He looked over at the scowl Dell still sported. “We don’t expect you to understand our choice, either the why of it or how it works for us. Nothing we do is designed to hurt the relationship you have with your sister. That would be a sure way to make a major mistake on our part.”

  “But you have to meet us half way,” Dane finished simply. “It isn’t about us. You don’t have to like us. But for her…I think you have to tolerate us. Believe me, usually if one of us screws up, the other is there to kick his ass. It’s always been like that and I figure it always will be.”

  “That’s the first step, son,” Marshall said firmly. “It isn’t our life. Period. Will we watch…just because we love her? Hell yes. But these guys seem pretty smart…” he winked at Hayley as she went to stand just in front of her two guys. “They’d have to be to even break into her workaholic lifestyle.”

  “I brought food for the brunch,” Hayley said when the silence seemed to stretch on. She shivered and took two of the bags, striding up the stairs and into the large building.

  They would settle it and with her dad there…it wouldn’t break down into a brawl. At least, she hoped it wouldn’t.

  She thought about their words as she laid out the things she’d bought and spread gifts beneath the huge tree. They’d been lucky. Their relationship had formed when they were all basically on vacation. But she’d glimpsed enough of their life to know they would make it work. Maybe because they were smart. Mostly because they loved each other.

  “You know he really worries about you,” Dane said from her side, pulling wrapped gifts from the bag he carried and handing them to her to lay beneath the tree.

  “I know,” she said with a little nod. “I suppose if I had spent too long thinking on the picture we present to the world, I’d have run in the other direction.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t,” Dane told her, his lips brushing her forehead. “We’re both glad you didn’t,” he repeated, looking over and silently directing her eyes. Jack and her father were deep in a discussion about something, both nodding and exchanging thoughts. “Your dad is interesting.”

  “I think you’re all interesting,” she teased, taking his hand and going off to greet her grandparents.

  Laughter filled the air inside the huge room, while wrapping paper, ribbons and bows were scattered far and wide over the floor. Hayley started out trying to contain it to a given area, but that quickly fell apart when ribbons caught around feet and two little girls were dashing about showing off their gifts.

  She leaned back in the chair, feeling good. Dell wasn’t exactly friendly, but he didn’t confront them anymore. Jack’s jaw was a dull shade but wouldn’t be too bad. He sat at the end of the table, his hands moving as he talked to her grandfather. She heard words now and then about building and earthquakes.

  Dane was actually on the floor with Tara and Katie, glaring at the redhead who beamed as she held up her properties from the Junior Monopoly game.

  Hayley laughed to herself and caught Eden’s gaze. “I’m going over to the barn and see how the new babies are doing. Want to take a walk with me?”

  “I seriously need to stretch,” Eden admitted. Her head shaking as she looked at the buffet table again. “I can’t believe all the food…and how much I ate. I told Rafe he was going to have to roll me down the glade to the house. But I did collect some great new recipes for my binder.”

  “I can’t believe you carry along a little journal,” Hayley laughed, both women gathering their shawls around them as they stepped into the six o’clock winter. The winds were tossing around cold bits of snow and any leaf that still dared clutter the ground. “Did you lose power the other night?”

  “Yeah…Rafe said it’s normal, but…I don’t like it,” Eden wore boots with thick chunky heels and kicked at a stone. “He’s got the house pretty prepared for stuff like that, though.”

  “I thought I’d miss things…but for a few hours, it’s not so bad,” Hayley admitted, breathing a long sigh when they entered the barn. “Not totally warm, but definitely warmer than out there. C’mon…I’ll show you the new babies.”

  “I’m not keen on the idea of making friends with something that’ll be someone’s dinner,” Eden said carefully, still feeling her way around her new family.

  “These are for the kids…not food,” Hayley laughed. “Those generally roam a pasture and nature takes it course with them. These are teaching aids…in the kid farm and for teaching shearing to the new staff. We have a couple people who make things from the wool that we sell in the gift shop.”

  “Have you ever seen the wool made into yarn?”

  “I have…and I’ll stick to being a vet,” Hayley told her, both of them laughing. The noises they made had carried and two little lambs had looked up from the hay they were sleeping. “They’re two weeks old…”

  “They’re so cute,” Eden dropped to her heels and reached through the metal bars to scrape her nails over one white curly wool head.

  “We try and get them socialized as soon as possible in case we have kids visiting,” Hayley explained, leaning cautious on the rail at the top. “Rafe isn’t…angry…is he?”

  “About what?” Eden’s voice betrayed her confusion until she looked up at Hayley. “About the guys? No. He said you’re happy and that’s all he needed to know. Doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be in line if they did you wrong.”

  “Thanks,” Hayley said through her laughter. Laughter that came to an abrupt stop. She swallowed hard. “Tessa…”

  “Who…?” Eden rose to her feet slightly behind Hayley. She followed her friend’s stare and recognized the woman. “Your missing friend.”


  “Tessa, what’s wrong?” Hayley positioned herself more in front of Eden. And she knew Eden would catch on.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Eden was never so glad she hadn’t traded up on her little phone. Deft fingers manipulated the small rectangle in the pocket of her skirt, the buttons memorized. She hit the center button and then the one speed dialed for Rafe and then the mute button. She didn’t want their visitor hearing Rafe when he realized what was happening.

  “I thought you were in Florida visiting your parents?” Eden said loudly, searching deep for her acting skills. “It must be gorgeous down there this time of year. Much warmer…”

  “Shut up!” Tessa screamed, her voice echoing through the barn and sending the little lambs running for their mother in the far corner.

  “You scared them,” Eden said clearly. “Hmm…I bet that long rifle is really scary. I never learned how to use one…I guess if I’m gonna be a farm girl, I should learn, huh?”

  “I said shut up.”

  “She’s my friend, Tessa. Her name is Eden. Why did you leave your parents? They’re searching all over for you,” Hayley said in a level, calm voice. “We were very worried about you.”

  “You’re a liar. You lied to those guys…you lied to me.”

  “I’ve never lied to you about anything.”

  “You made Derrick angry. So angry, he wouldn’t speak to me when I came back.”

  “Raymond Derrick was abusive to you,” Hayley said loudly, wincing at the appearance of the long barreled rifle. “He…there is a protection order out to keep you safe,” her voice trailed as pieces she’d refused to believe fell into place. “You shot at me.”

  “I shouldn’t have missed,” she returned flatly. “I had everything going for me…”

  “I…I reached for something on the seat…” She recalled sadly. “Why, Tessa? We’ve been friends for years…we’ve known each other…”

  “I wanted Derrick and you…you made that impossible.”

  “He was hurting you,” Hayley said, pleading for the other woman to grasp what was being said. “He used you to bring other girls into his range.”