Creation of Desire: Reassuring Rachel [More Desire, Oklahoma 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Leah Brooke

  Frustrated that she’d gotten to this point, and furious with himself for allowing it, he knew the time had come for him to put his foot down. He and his brother had talked until they were blue in the face, but couldn’t seem to get through to her.

  It was time for action.

  She looked so damned fragile and defenseless that he knew he had to be gentle with her, but seeing her in this condition left him feeling anything except gentle.

  He kept his voice low and soft, but allowed a thread of steel to come through. “You look so tired, baby. Exhausted. Why don’t you let Erin and Marissa handle the shop today and you stay home here and get some sleep?”

  “I can’t.” Stepping away from him, she shook her head and sighed, looking more dejected than tired. “Erin has a doctor’s appointment today, and Marissa has Sammy home sick with the same cold Theresa has. When Erin comes in later, I’ll try to lie down with Theresa in the back for a while. Erin really shouldn’t be around anyone who’s sick, though.”

  Boone frowned again when she avoided eye contact, something in her demeanor setting off all sorts of alarms. “Something’s wrong besides Theresa. What is it?”

  Something was very wrong. Something had put that look of misery in her eyes, and he wasn’t about to leave until he found out what.

  He reached for her again, his stomach clenching when she sidestepped him—avoiding his touch.

  It hurt. A lot.

  Hiding the fear that tightened his stomach, he clenched his jaw and moved farther into the bedroom. “Damn it, Rachel. Something’s wrong and it has nothing to do with being tired.” Partly because he couldn’t stand to see the sadness in her eyes any longer than necessary, and partly because he knew that pissing her off would be the fastest way to get to the bottom of whatever bothered her, he crossed his arms over his chest and gave her his most arrogant look. “Out with it, or I swear, we’ll stand here all fucking day.”

  Her glare told him that he’d succeeded in angering her, but with the sadness still lingering in her eyes, it gave him no pleasure. She went to the dresser and yanked the drawer open, once again averting her gaze.

  “Yes, but I’m too tired to talk about it. Besides, we’re all in a hurry to get to work, and it’s not a topic we can rush.” Her voice broke, ripping his heart to shreds.

  Alarmed now, he gripped her arm, turning her to face him. Even more determined to get answers, he lifted her to her toes. “Fuck work. If something’s wrong, I want to hear about it right now.”

  “Too bad.” Rachel pulled away from him and gathered a handful of the lacy lingerie that never failed to delight him and slammed the drawer closed. “I’m tired and grungy, and I want a shower.”

  He gripped her forearm before she could turn away and yanked her back against him. “If you think you’re walking away without telling me what’s wrong, you’re in for a shock, baby.” His frustration made his tone rougher than he’d intended, but he didn’t have the chance to apologize before she erupted.

  Shoving him away, she fisted her hands on her hips, her eyes flashing fire. “Fine, asshole. While you were in the shower, your phone rang, so I answered it.”

  Boone got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and took a deep breath, bracing himself for what he’d hoped to avoid. “And?”

  Rachel’s smile sent a chill through him. “And? You know what, Boone? Go fuck yourself.” She started to turn away in a huff, but Boone saw the flash of hurt and shimmer of tears in her eyes and yanked her back.

  “Mona called, right?” Furious that the bitch he’d once thought he’d loved had caused the hurt in Rachel’s beautiful eyes, he gritted his teeth. “That fucking bitch.” Running a hand over her hair, he kissed her temple. “I’m sorry she upset you. Just ignore her. I’ll take care of it.”

  Shoving away from him again, she looked up at him through wet lashes. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Her eyes welled with tears, ripping his heart out. “Why did you keep it a secret?”

  Boone sighed, running a hand up and down her back in an effort to ease her trembling. “To be honest, the first time she called, I came home to find out that Theresa was sick. Nothing was more important than that, and I forgot all about it. I’d told her that I wasn’t interested, and to leave us the hell alone. She’s called several times since then, and I keep hanging up on her. So does Chase. She hasn’t called for a couple of days, and I really thought she finally got the message.”

  “What message?” Stepping back, she took a deep breath and stiffened, as if expecting a blow.

  The defensive position ripped his heart out, the idea that she thought he could ever hurt her mind-numbing.

  Lifting her chin, she faced him squarely, her bottom lip trembling. “Why did she start calling you? What does she want?”

  His face burned, the hurt and insecurity in her eyes enraging him, as did his own sense of guilt for not telling her. “She says she wants to get back together. My guess is that she ran out of money. She always went through it like it was water. She’s a selfish bitch, baby, and a troublemaker. Don’t let her get to you, baby. She’s nothing to us.”

  Although he and Chase had been shocked by Mona’s expensive tastes, they’d pretty much given her whatever she wanted.

  That had all ended the day she’d disappeared, returning late in the evening to inform them that she’d been pregnant and had aborted their child.

  Rachel drew in a shaky breath, her bottom lip still trembling. “She wants you back, or does she want both of you back?”

  “Both.” Boone sighed, irritated when she fought as he pulled her against him. “She just happened to call my phone first. I told her that I was very happily married and that there was no way I’d ever consider taking her back.”

  He couldn’t help but compare the life he’d had with Mona to the one he had with Rachel now. He’d thought himself content with Mona, who lived for excitement, but it was nothing like the excitement and love that Rachel brought into his life.

  She fulfilled his wildest fantasies, while filling him with a peace he’d never known.

  Rachel looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears. “Then why does she keep calling?”

  Gathering her close again, Boone sighed, wishing he could make Rachel understand how little Mona’s calls meant to him, and how much she did. “Mona is the type of woman who doesn’t handle rejection well. She doesn’t take no for an answer, because she’s spoiled and self-centered. She thinks she can get any man she wants, simply by flirting with him. She used to like making us jealous. To be honest, she was exhausting. Now, we can’t understand what we ever saw in her. We didn’t know what love was until we met you, baby.”

  She leaned back to look up at him, her gaze narrowed. “Why didn’t you tell me that she’s been calling you?”

  Frustrated that she was making a big deal out of nothing, he blew out a breath. “She’s not important. You’ve had enough on your plate, especially with Theresa being sick. I didn’t see the need to bring it up when you were already stressed.”

  “Were you ever going to tell me?”

  Boone had hoped she wouldn’t ask. He sighed, unable, and unwilling to lie to her. “Probably not. I knew it would only upset you.” When she nodded and turned away, he followed her toward the master bathroom, desperate to make her understand. “I’d change the damned phone number if I could, but you know I use it for business, and that it’s the number everyone uses to reach me.”

  Rachel nodded again, her expression cold as she started to close the bathroom door. “I’ve got to get ready for work.”

  Furious, and more than a little desperate, he shoved the door, slamming it back against the wall. “Damn it! You’re not going anywhere until we talk about this.”

  She raised a brow in that way she did when she knew that she’d cornered him. “What more is there to say?”

  Frustrated that he didn’t know the answer to that, he followed her into the bathroom, purposely crowding her. “Damn it, Rachel! I don’t
want Mona causing any trouble here. She’s nothing to me.”

  She nodded and gave him a weary smile. “I know.”

  “Then why do you still look that way?”

  Running a hand through her hair, she started to close the door again, holding the knob as she slumped against it. “What way, Boone? Tired? Because I am. Disillusioned? Hurt? Because I thought I could trust my husbands to be honest with me. How would you feel if you found out that a man who used to be my lover had been calling me and I hadn’t told you?”

  “Pissed. Hurt.” Scrubbing a hand over his face, he blew out a breath. “I know. You’re right.” Touching her arm, he held her gaze, his love for her nearly choking him. “I was just trying to protect you, baby. I knew it would upset you to know that she was calling, and I swear to you, she means nothing to either one of us. We only care about you.”

  Rachel’s eyes filled with tears, making him wish she would just take a swing at him. “You kept her calls from me and put a distance between us that hadn’t been there before. You made her more important by keeping her calls from me. Please, just leave me alone right now. I’m too tired to deal with this.”

  Boone stood there like an idiot while she closed the door in his face. He reached for the doorknob, pulling his hand back before turning it, not knowing what else he could say.

  “What’s going on?”

  Staring at the door, Boone waited until Chase came up behind him, keeping his voice low even as the shower came on. He’d messed up and knew he’d have to somehow make it right. “Mona called my cell phone this morning. Rachel answered.”

  Chase’s eyes went wide. “Shit.” He scrubbed a hand over his face, and cursed again as he turned away. “I thought something was wrong. She looked different when I went back into the kitchen after changing Theresa. I thought you blocked Mona’s number.”

  Boone clenched his jaw. “I did. She must have called from another one, but both obviously are in her name.”

  Turning back, Chase looked at the bathroom door. “What did Rachel say?”

  Boone followed his gaze, hating the thought of letting this go until later, but he didn’t want to push Rachel in her present frame of mind. “She wanted to know why I didn’t tell her.” Swallowing heavily, he turned to his brother, rubbing his churning stomach. “It hurt her, Chase, which is just what I was trying to avoid. Even though I told her that Mona means nothing to either of us, Rachel says that we made her important by allowing her to cause distance between us by lying about her.”

  “Fuck.” Several long seconds passed as Chase stared at the door. “We didn’t exactly lie to her.”

  “Yes, we did. By not telling her. By keeping it from her.” Fisting his hands at his sides, Boone paced back in forth at the foot of the bed, trying to figure out how to make it up to her—to make things right again. “Look, she’s beat—practically swaying on her feet. Tonight, we’re going to pamper her and make sure she gets some rest. Maybe then, she’ll listen to reason and we can convince her that we kept it from her to protect her.”

  Chase grimaced. “We’re going to have a fight on her hands. She doesn’t think anyone can take care of Theresa the way she can, and she doesn’t want to bother us, since we work so hard. Christ.” With his hands on his hips, he blew out a breath. “She’s killing herself and doesn’t want us to help. All of a sudden, I feel like she’s been shutting us out.”

  Turning away from the bathroom door, Boone headed out of the room to check on his daughter. “Yeah.” It shamed him to realize that he hadn’t realized just how diligent their wife had been in taking care of Theresa on her own.

  Chase followed him out and down the hallway to the living room. “I’m not going to let her do this anymore.”

  “We agree on that.” Boone bent over his daughter, kissing her forehead, relieved to find it cooler. He’d never known how much love he could feel until he married Rachel and she gave birth to their child.

  She filled his life with love and had made him a better man than he’d ever thought he could be. She’d smoothed his rough edges and brought joy to his life and Chase’s that he’d never thought he’d have.

  Furious and insulted that she thought he would toss that away on a woman who’d used him and killed his child, he straightened, clenching his jaw in self-anger. “She’s been working herself too hard, and we’ve been letting her get away with it. No more.”

  Furious with himself, and at Mona, he knew he’d made the right decision by not following Rachel and continuing their discussion.

  Once she rested, and he dealt with Mona and got over his anger, they would talk again.

  He didn’t need this crap in his life. He wanted everything back the way it should be.

  Tonight, he’d talk to Rachel and get this settled once and for all.

  Chapter Two

  Making sure that Theresa’s blanket covered her face against the wind, Rachel dragged herself up the steps and into the lingerie shop she owned with her sister, surprised to find the door unlocked and Erin already inside. Uncovering Theresa’s face before she kicked up a fuss, Rachel started forward, anxious to get out of her jacket. “What are you doing here? I didn’t think you were coming in until after your appointment.”

  Erin shrugged, grinning at her niece and rushing forward. “My appointment was rescheduled to later this afternoon. Besides, you’ve been worn out this week, and we figured you could use some help.”

  Rachel blinked. “We?”

  “We.” Jared, one of Erin’s husbands, came through the curtain that separated the store from the backrooms. “Oh, honey, you look beat.” Smiling at Theresa, who squealed and reached for him, he took the baby and diaper bag with a practiced ease that made her feel even clumsier. “Hey! How’s my little angel?”

  Rachel slipped out of her jacket, somehow managing to tangle her sleeves with the handles of her purse. “Her fever broke about five thirty this morning.” Shaking her head, she held out a hand when her sister rushed forward. “No, Erin. Stay back. I don’t want you catching whatever she has. I didn’t expect you to come in. You should be resting with your feet up.”

  Erin waved away her concern. “Please. I’ll be fine. Besides, she’s been on antibiotics for a couple of days already.” Raising a brow, she reached for her niece. “Unless you think I’m going to catch teething. Hey! Is that a tooth?”

  Jared kept Theresa close, frowning at his wife as he pulled Theresa out of reach. “Maybe Rachel’s right. There’s no sense in taking chances. I’ve got her. I never get to hold her anyway. I’ll make sure she’s settled before putting her in the crib in the back. Poor thing. A virus and teething at the same time. She must be exhausted.” Lifting his gaze, he eyed Rachel critically. “Her momma, too. Why don’t you go in the back and take a nap? I’m staying here with Erin until her appointment.”

  “No.” Rachel put her arm around Erin and led her toward the small kitchenette in the back. “Erin needs to sit down and take it easy. I’m fine. I just need more coffee.” Spotting the container of yogurt that Erin had obviously been eating, Rachel gestured a chair. “Erin, why don’t you sit down and finish your breakfast?”

  Jared grinned, but his eyes remained sharp with concern. “Careful. She gets grouchy when we tell her to sit down.”

  Rachel smiled and nodded. “I know. I’ve dealt with her all my life.”

  Frowning, Jared readjusted Theresa in his arms and reached out to run a hand over Rachel’s hair. “I know you have, and you’re good at it, but you look too tired to take her on today.”

  Clenching her jaw at the reminder at how terrible she looked, Rachel shrugged and went to the coffee pot. “Thanks for making coffee.”

  “You’re all a pain in the ass.” Easing into one of the chairs at the table, Erin smiled. “I didn’t. Jared did. You know how much he, Duncan and Reese drink coffee.” With a sigh, she sniffed the air. “Oh, I miss my coffee. I think he makes it just to torture me.”

  Rachel finished fixing hers and dropped into t
he chair across from her sister. “I know. I need this one if I’m going to be any use today at all.” Mentally running through her list of things to do, she took a big sip. “At least I’m feeling more awake than I did earlier.”

  The coffee and shower had helped, but finding out about Mona had adrenaline rushing through her veins, making her alert like nothing else could have.

  Sitting forward, Erin crossed her arm on the table in front of her. “You want to tell me what’s wrong?”

  She should have known that nothing would get past her sister, but she didn’t want to upset her. Rachel had had a scare with high blood pressure while pregnant with Theresa, and the doctor watched Erin closely to make sure she didn’t have the same issue.

  Taking another sip of coffee, Rachel shrugged. “Just tired. Poor Theresa was up most of the night. I’m so glad her fever finally broke. Tonight, I’m hoping for a good night’s sleep for both of us.”

  Jared came back into the room. “Aren’t Boone and Chase helping with her?” The glint in his eyes told her that there would be hell to pay if he found out otherwise.

  Smiling at the thought of what her husbands would say to that, Rachel wrapped her hands around her cup to hide the fact that they shook. “Of course, they’re helping. They keep getting up with her, but your darling angel insists on having me hold her. They’ve been helping me as much as they can, but she’s been miserable. Then, she has the audacity to fall asleep as soon as Chase picked her up this morning.”

  She smiled at the memory of Chase holding her, her smile falling when she thought about what came afterward.

  She’d become so involved in being Theresa’s mother, that she hadn’t paid enough attention to being a wife to two very sexual men.

  If she lost them, it would be her own fault.

  The bell on the front door chimed, ending their conversation, and it was several hours before the last customer left. By that time, Erin was due to leave for her doctor’s appointment.