Apparently Chase agreed. “While you shower, Lucas will go speak to the men and get our dinner, and I’ll go grab us both some clothes and set the table.”
Because he watched her and knew her probably better than she thought he did, Lucas said, “We’ll want to shower too, and put on fresh clothes before we eat.”
“Of course. This is…this is just different.”
“There are no hard and fast rules, sweetheart. We can make up our own as we go along,” Lucas said, repeating Chase’s words to him from just the night before. He’d thought about what he and the younger man had discussed late into the night, and just about everything Chase had said made perfect sense.
The normal rules of society and relationships didn’t apply to them. He wondered what they could come up with, together, even as he worried that whatever they built together might not last.
* * * *
“Don’t you worry about a damn thing. I told you I’d get my hands on that ranch, and I will. I just need a little more time.”
“More time? You were supposed to have persuaded that bitch by now. You told me you’d have the property ready to sell to us by June first. Instead, I find out you’ve pissed her off to the point she won’t even speak to you. You only have a couple of weeks left. Do I have to remind you that you’ve already been given a considerable down payment?”
Kevin Marsh cruised the back roads between Marshville and the Circle D ranch, his pace a meandering one. Timing was everything. He wanted to arrive at Maddy’s after she’d had a chance to shower, have her dinner. Nothing turned him off more than the smell of cow shit. He didn’t know why Maddy insisted on playing cow girl, but he’d soon put an end to that.
Marsh blamed the unexpected heat of the mid-May day for the sweat forming on his brow. He wouldn’t allow himself to believe for even one moment that his discomfort had anything to do with his current conversation. Barnes might have a ton of money, but he, Marsh, was the leading citizen in his part of the county. Time to put the New York upstart in his place.
“Now you look here, Barnes. Things work differently out here in Colorado than they do in New York City. Old man Dalton’s barely cold in the ground. It wouldn’t have been seemly for Maddy to get married too soon. I pushed when I shouldn’t have, is all. She’s a woman, she’ll get over it. Doesn’t hurt to let her think she’s calling the shots for a bit. But the time’s about right, and I’m going to be making my move in the next day or so.” And when he did, once he had her right where he wanted her, he’d teach her a thing or two about a woman’s proper place. “I’ll have the property ready to transfer into your name way before your construction start date of July tenth. So back off and let me work my magic.”
“From what I’ve seen so far, you’ve got no magic.”
“Maddy Dalton isn’t like the bimbos you’re used to, Barnes. Truth is I’ve got several aces up my sleeve where she’s concerned.” And one of them looked to be extremely promising. He didn’t have everything he needed in his hands right at this moment, but he would after tonight. He smiled as he decided to give her a few hints right away. Besides, she should be damn grateful for the opportunity he was about to hand her.
Maddy had already reached the ripe old age of forty, and with no prospects in sight what-so-ever. He knew everyone hereabouts, and aside from some rough and tumble ranch hands there were no men available for Maddy to hook up with besides him. Many considered him the most eligible bachelor around, and plenty of women would do whatever he asked for a chance to be his wife. But he’d set his sights on Maddy, for obvious reasons.
He didn’t think she knew he owned a good-sized piece of property on her eastern border. He needed her ranch because of the stream and the hot spring it had, and because of the combined size when added to his. Barnes and his cartel offered to pay huge for this piece of Colorado. He stood to make money twice, too—first, by selling the land outright; and second, by the increase of tourist flow through Marshville. As owner of two of the major businesses in Marshville, he’d be raking in the profits hand over fist.
Barnes had already advanced him a quarter of a million dollars on the deal, based on his word and the property he already owned. Being a smart businessman, Kevin had immediately invested that money in other projects, projects that would take time to pay off. Of course he’d also bought himself a few amenities. This brand new Caddy really represented a business investment, too. It shouted success, which meant anyone wanting to buy or sell real estate for miles around would see him as the most successful man for the job.
“Our agreement didn’t mention the construction start date, but June first. I’m going to hold you to that, Marsh.”
“Keep your damn pants on, Barnes. I’ll have everything well in hand in the next couple of days.”
Marsh didn’t give the man an opportunity to bitch any further. He hung up and tossed the cell phone onto the seat beside him.
They way he saw it he’d been more than patient with Maddy. Things would already be settled if old man Dalton had waited just a couple more weeks to kick off. He’d had an agreement drawn up, giving him power of attorney for Dalton’s estate. He knew he wouldn’t have had any trouble getting that ornery old coot to sign it, either. The old bastard had been a real hard ass when it had come to his daughter. Maddy would have found herself in a position where she’d have had to marry him if she wanted to stay on her precious ranch. Robert Dalton’s untimely demise had put paid to that plan, so he’d tried to court Maddy good and proper, stressing that her daddy would be smiling down from heaven if she did what any self-respecting woman without any other prospects for matrimony would do. But had she listened? All right, maybe he had gotten pissed off and tried to get some of his own back by giving the bitch a hard time lately. So he’d cast about for other options to get her where he needed her. Gone fishing is what he’d done. He hadn’t been dishing B. S. to Barnes about having the situation under control soon.
He did have a couple irons in the fire where Maddy Dalton was concerned, and the time had come for him to test at least one of them.
Chapter Five
Chase didn’t waste any time gathering things from his area of the bunkhouse and Lucas’ place. Maddy was still in the shower when he returned. Not wanting to push her too far, too fast, he dumped their clothes in the bedroom that used to belong to Mr. Dalton.
It felt weird standing in that room, and not seeing the old man propped up in his wingback chair, ready to play a game of checkers. When Chase had first met the gruff owner of the Circle D, he’d been a boy of ten, newly suffering the loss of his mother and having been wrenched away from everything familiar and dumped into the hands of a father he couldn’t remember.
Mr. Dalton had been partially incapacitated by then and wasted no time letting him know they had one thing had in common—having life crap on them. He would forever regret that he hadn’t returned here, sooner. He’d never thanked Robert Dalton properly for his kindnesses, and he wished he had.
Putting more somber thought aside, Chase headed to the kitchen, making quick work of setting the table. He supposed to a certain extent he considered himself in control of this situation. He had a definite agenda that included Maddy and Lucas, true. But his manipulation of the situation, and them certainly wasn’t malicious. He cared for them both a great deal, and would never do anything to deliberately hurt either one of them.
He looked up, a sixth sense alerting him. Maddy stood at the door to the kitchen. He’d never seen her look so unsure of herself, and he knew that wasn’t what she’d intended at all. She’d wanted to shower alone in order to have the chance to put her defenses back in place, reconstruct the walls he and Lucas had already battered. But despite her outward appearance, her words to him had a bite.
“You seem to be making yourself right at home.”
God, she’s got spirit. I love that. He couldn’t stop his huge grin. “Gee, Maddy, just a few days ago you urged me to do exactly that.”
“You know what
I mean.”
“Sure I do, sweetheart. The question is, do you?”
When she just stared at him he went with his instincts, walked over to her, and gently pulled her into his arms. He said nothing, just rubbed her back gently and waited. Lucas came into the kitchen just then, carrying a tray piled high with burgers and fries—and one bowl of chicken soup.
“It’s more than just sex, isn’t it? I mean, I know you said it was more than a one-night stand, but it is more than sex. Isn’t it?” Maddy asked the question against his chest, but he heard it clearly.
And so did Lucas.
“Of course it is. For all of us.” Lucas’ tone held that same note of tenderness that never ceased to stroke Chase’s heart.
Chase put her back from him just far enough that he could see her face—and she could see his. “We’ve all got baggage, Maddy. And I don’t think any of us has any idea exactly what this relationship of ours is, exactly. But yeah, it’s a hell of a lot more than sex.”
Her smile was fledgling, but there. She looked over at the tray of food Lucas still held.
“I’ll put that to warm in the oven while you guys shower and change.”
* * * *
“The reason I left when I did wasn’t because Dad decided to pack it in. We did leave at the same time, but he’d made it clear he considered his obligations to me met the day I turned sixteen. He gave me a ride as far as Colorado Springs, made sure I had bus money. Then I was on my own.”
“Son-of-a-bitch! Damn it to hell, Chase, you could have stayed here,” Lucas exploded.
“Dad and I talked about helping you get into college,” Maddy echoed Lucas, and Chase had to smile. “You really should have stayed.”
“I couldn’t. By then I had feelings for both of you and no idea in hell what to do about them.”
Chase watched Maddy process that information. “So you’ve always been…” She stopped mid-sentence, her face turning a brilliant red.
“Bi-sexual?” Chase finished for her. When she nodded, he said, “Yes. Didn’t understand it at first, but yes, I always have been. And I think I had to go away—just so I could come back.”
“I think I always have been too, though I didn’t ever put a label on myself,” Lucas said quietly.
Dinner had been eaten, and they sat out on Maddy’s front porch. He and Luc each held a bottle of beer, but Maddy had opted for coffee.
“I don’t think that I could ever…I mean, I’ve never even thought about having sex with another woman.” Maddy blushed again, shrugged, and looked as if she wanted to apologize for the size of the Christmas turkey.
“You don’t have to, sweetheart, and I for one certainly don’t expect it.” Tricky, tricky ground, Chase thought. They all three tread very lightly. But at least they were treading.
“I’d say more than three would definitely be a crowd,” Lucas added. “I can only tell you how I feel. For the first time ever, I’m with two people I trust, two people who know my deepest secret, and it’s okay. Being me is okay, and I can’t begin to tell you how liberating that feels. And if there has to be rules to whatever this is we have, then that should be one of them. We can all be ourselves, and it’s okay.”
The sound of a car coming down the long lane toward the house caught their attention. A band new, shiny Cadillac DTS carefully made its way toward them.
“Who drives the pimp-mobile?” Chase asked.
Maddy burst out laughing while Luc’s chuckle came quieter. “That would be Kevin Marsh,” he said.
The car pulled to a stop and a lone man emerged. Pudgy, he sported a white Stetson, white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, tan dress pants, and what looked to Chase like five hundred dollar boots. Something about the popinjay set his protective antenna to quivering and his back up.
“Evening, Maddy.”
“Kevin.”
“Thought I’d come out, see how you’re doing.”
“I’m fine.”
Chase swallowed his laughter. Marsh didn’t have any clue that he’d just been dismissed.
“Thought you might invite me in for a bit, so you and I can talk. Without the hired hands around.”
Chase thought Marsh said the words ‘hired hands’ the same way someone else might utter the phrase ‘rag pickers’.
“You should have called first, Kevin. As it is, I have plans.” Maddy’s tone emerged cool and laid back, but Chase could see she hated Marsh, and hated having to deal with him. He also noticed that she kept moving her gaze to both him and Lucas. Did she think either of them would deny her the right to fight her own battles, if that’s what she wanted to do?
“If I had called, you’d have said for me not to come out.” Marsh spread his hands, out, the chuckle jovial-sounding, as if he shared a joke with close friends. Looking closely at the man Chase could see the humor didn’t reach his eyes. He was willing to admit that he might be prejudiced by what he’d already heard about this character, but Chase decided that didn’t matter. He didn’t like Kevin Marsh, not one little bit.
“Kevin, you’re more insightful than I gave you credit for.” Maddy sounded polite, but Chase could tell her manners were wearing thin.
“Why don’t you two cow pokes go on back to the bunkhouse where you belong?” Marsh had addressed that to him and Lucas.
Though Chase felt tempted to hot-foot it down the porch steps and plant his fist in Marsh’s face, he merely looked over at Maddy. Since she sat between himself and Lucas, he could see that man’s expression and understood they both occupied the same page, both of them exercising enormous restraint.
“Well, now you see, Kevin, that’s the problem. Those plans that I just mentioned I already have involve these two fine gentlemen. I have an idea! Why don’t you go back to town where you belong?”
Chase had to admire Maddy’s poise.
“Well, now, Maddy, there’s no need to be like that. I thought you and I could at least be neighborly. You know, visit a spell and trade gossip. Why, just yesterday I ran into Doc Albertson over in Colorado Springs. I told him what a fine job he’d done taking care of your pa, especially those last five or six months when poor old Robert had to have been in so much pain. Told him if I ever got myself in a bad way, I’d want the same kind of super-duper pain relievers he prescribed for good old Robert. Funniest damn thing. He seemed to think he’d only prescribed mild Percocet for your dad.”
“Is that a fact?”
Chase didn’t know what had just happened, but the change in Maddy was palpable. An edge of tension covered her that hadn’t been there just a moment before.
“That is a fact. Sure got me to wondering. You may not know it, but I can be like a bulldog when something gets me to wondering. Why, I just won’t let it go until I have me an answer.”
“Maybe you have too much time on your hands, Kevin. You need to get yourself a hobby, or something.”
“I already have a hobby, and a new one at that. Mystery solving. Matter of fact, I’m headed over to Colorado Springs right now to meet a few people who might be able to help me with my latest mystery.” Marsh’s smile spread wide, but the look he sent to all three of them—Maddy included—seethed with malevolence.
“You best get going then, before you lose the light of the day. Be a shame if you got lost on the back country roads.”
He didn’t say another word, just tipped his hat in a way Chase could only describe as insulting. Chase remained silent as Marsh got into his car and drove off. Lucas didn’t have as much patience.
“What the hell was that all about?”
Chase looked at Maddy, waiting for her to answer. On Luc’s face he read confusion, and on Maddy’s, prevarication.
“Just Kevin being a pain in the ass. Poking around to see if he can find any weakness, anyway to cause hurt or pain. Sort of like a fishing expedition, I expect. Like I said, just Kevin being a pain in the ass.”
“He does it very well.” Chase said
Maddy’s answer left a lot to be desired. The
fact that Lucas took it at face value and agreed with her stopped Chase from pressing the matter further.
He’d already figured out that one thing that drove Maddy—and likely the reason she hadn’t let any man ever get close to her—was her fear of not being in control.
He could only hope she would eventually learn to surrender that commodity from time to time.
* * * *
The mesa called to her, flat and open and removed from the ranch and its challenges and joys. Her horse, a beautiful mare named Diamond, pawed the ground anxiously, proving to Maddy that the need to run and be free wasn’t only her own.
She looked over her shoulder, letting her eyes sweep over everything that belonged to her, everything that she had worked and sweated and fought for over the last nearly twenty years.
She had stayed after college because this was home, and her father had needed her. And she’d needed to take care of him, too.
As she watched, two men on horseback came into view. She didn’t find it at all strange that she would recognize them, even from this distance. She knew they saw her, too. And she didn’t know what to think when Lucas and Chase just stayed there, watching her. Letting her have her space.
Turning around, she put her heels to Diamond, urging the horse to race with the wind. Together they ate up ground, the lay of the land familiar to them both. Here the angle of ascent was discreet, a long upward sweep that took energy and time to climb. Here in any direction she cared to look the land belonged to her.
So what?
She slowed Diamond to a walk. They had reached the Mesa and as she turned the mare in a tight circle, taking in the vista that formed her birthright, the question echoed inside her again.
So what? There would be no children to pass this legacy on to. She’d decided she would never marry, because she didn’t want the emotional demands of marriage. Children would be even more of an emotional drain, wouldn’t they?
Special Cowboy Menage Collection Page 5