“Tanner? You’re being awfully quiet over there. How do you feel?”
“Well, Dr. Cain,” he jokes, “you know I’m not into sharing feelings and all that crap, but I feel good about it. She isn’t one to say she’ll do something and then not. She’s had a lot of stuff thrown at her since she got here, but she's stayed put. I don't see her giving up on us just because she's never been around a poly-relationship before. She's too strong for that.”
“I agree.” I take another sip of my beer before diving into the next conversation. “What are we going to do about Gretchen. What she did today, not cool. I won't have her constantly going after Memphis.”
“What do you want me to do? I’ve told her there is nothing and will never be anything between us. I think it’s Rachel and Arthur pushing her to do this. I mean, what woman in their right mind continues to go for a man that has told them repeatedly that they aren't interested? It’s nuts.”
“The whole family, besides Jim, is nuts, Tanner. We’ve sat back and let you try to deal with her. It’s time for Cain and I to step in now. You think we should go to Arthur? Try to stop it on his end first?”
“I don't know, Jasper. The three of us can go see him tomorrow morning. We’ll let Memphis stay here and rest. She didn’t say anything today, but I could tell her nose and the bruising was bothering her a lot more than she let on.”
“Dude, she didn’t want to stop muddin’ the other day. Even after falling in the mud, she still had the time of her life.” Jasper starts laughing all over again. I have to admit, it was one of the funniest things I’ve seen. Put her in one of those pink tutu things, and she would have been the perfect ballerina. Until she landed on her ass in the mud that is.
“So tomorrow we go see Arthur. After that, I think we need to pay a visit to Jim. He’s gotten pretty attached to Memphis and if this is going to work, we’re going to need his blessing, and his help convincing her to stay.”
Jasper claps me on the back. “We won’t have a problem there. Jim treats the three of us like his kids. He knows we’ll do right by her. The only problem I see is Arthur. Once he gets wind of this, he’ll push her harder on taking the shares in Peterson. I have a bad feeling about that whole situation.”
“I hear you on that one. Jim said he wanted to take care of it, but I don't see how it would hurt if we bring it up when we visit Arthur tomorrow. Let him know we've been made aware of everything and he needs to back off of Memphis.”
“On that note,” I stand and stretch my arms above my head, “I’m heading to bed. Tanner, you’ve held her every night she's been here. I’m taking my turn.” Tipping my imaginary hat, I tell them night and head inside. After taking a quick shower, I open the door to Tanner’s room and see Memphis. When I met her the first time at my restaurant, I had no idea who she was, but I knew I felt a connection. When I found out she was Arthur's daughter and would be staying here, it was like a prayer had come true. This incredible woman was literally placed in our laps. I hope she can see past all the negative and what people consider normal, and take a chance on us. If there's one thing I am sure of, it’s that the four of us would be happy together.
Damn happy.
Soft kisses on my neck wake me up. When I look down to see the arm holding me, I’m pleasantly surprised to see Cain’s tattoos. “Morning, Cain.”
“Baby. You don’t have to get up right now. The guys and I have a few things we need to take care of this morning. I just couldn't get up without kissing you good morning.”
Rolling over I smile at the sight of Cain. His hair is a mess, sticking up all over his head. His eyes are not quite open, but his smile, his smile is beautiful. I lean up and place a closed mouth kiss on his lips. “Morning breath,” I mutter and shrug my shoulders.
“I don’t care about your morning breath. Get back over here and give me some sugar.”
I run my tongue over my teeth, thankful that I’m anal about my nighttime brushing and say to heck with it. For the chance to kiss Cain, I can deal with morning breath. I lean over and this time I kiss him like this is the last time I’ll ever have the chance. I give him everything I have and by the time we pull apart, both of us are panting.
“Baby, if we don’t stop I’ll never leave this bed. Jesus, Memphis. You’ve been holding out on me with those kisses.” He tosses the covers off and rolls out of bed.
Sweet Mary and Joseph.
Cain dressed is one thing. Cain in nothing but a pair of heather grey boxer briefs is a whole other universe. I try to look away and not act like a teenager at her first Beiber concert, but I just can’t.
“Like what you see, baby?”
My eyes jump from Cain’s delicious rear to his eyes. “Busted,” I admit. “I figured if you guys want to try this relationship thing, it’s only right that I get to check out what I’ll be working with. You know how it is.”
Cain jumps back on the bed and I laugh when it sends me airborn. He reaches out and grabs me, pulling me in and underneath him. “You think you are so funny this morning.” He rubs his morning beard over my collarbone. “I think it's only fair that I get to check you out, too.” Cain reaches for the covers and tries to take them away but I have a death grip on them. “Come on, baby. Let me see what's under those covers.”
“Cain, if you don’t get off of me, I’m going to punch you.” I’m laughing so hard, and now I have to pee. “Cain, please get off me.”
“Come on, baby. Just a peek.”
“Cain.”
“Memphis.”
“Cain, if you don't get off me I’m going to pee in this bed.”
That stopped him. Cain jumps off, then reaches back, tears the covers off me and pulls me out of the bed. “Come on then. I don’t want to sleep on wet sheets tonight.”
I smack his arm. “Where are y’all going this morning?”
“We just need to take care of a few things. Do you need us to bring you anything back?”
“No, I’m good but thank you.”
After taking care of my morning business, meaning I peed and brushed my teeth, I head out to the kitchen. “Are you leaving now?” I ask Jasper.
“I’m just waiting on the other two and then we'll head out. We won’t be gone too long.”
“It’s okay. I have a new book I’ve been wanting to read and it looks like it's going to be a gorgeous day to sit out on the porch.”
Jasper walks over to me and runs a finger down my unbruised cheek. “If you decide to go anywhere, will you promise to at least text one of us so we don’t worry?”
“I promise.”
“Good girl.” Jasper leans in and kisses me thoroughly.
“We ready?” Tanner asks as he walks into the kitchen.
“Ready,” Cain answers, following right behind him.
“Call or text us if you go anywhere.” Tanner gives me a look that stops me in my tracks. “Please, don’t disappear on us again, Memphis.”
“I already promised Jasper I would,” I whisper to him. “Tanner, I swear I won’t disappear. I told you yesterday that I'm willing to try this and I meant it. I’m here, okay.”
Nodding his head, he bends down and gives me one, two, three quick kisses before standing back up. He tilts his head, then bends back down, kissing me much longer. When he’s finally satisfied, he pulls back and turns to leave. “Lets go guys. I want to be back before lunch.”
Cain and Jasper follow him out and I listen to the loud rumble of Tanner’s truck as it drives away. Sighing to myself, I put on a fresh pot of coffee before heading back to Tanner’s room to get dressed for the day. Grabbing my new romance book and a giant mug of coffee, I head out to the front porch. The sun is shining bright, the birds are chirping loud, and I am so happy I could burst.
The crunch of gravel draws my attention from a particular steamy scene and I see a car driving up. “You have got to be kidding me,” I mutter. I recognize Gretchen's car from when it was here yesterday. What is she doing here again? I stand up when she gets out
of the car. “What are you doing here, Gretchen?”
“Why are you still here? I told you yesterday to leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Gretchen. You need to turn around and leave. Tanner doesn't want you here. He told me he's told you several times nothing will ever happen between the two of you.”
Her hand comes up and she points at me. It takes my brain a second to register that fact that she’s not pointing at me with her hand, she pointing a gun at me. “I warned you to leave. We had everything planned out. Tanner is supposed to be mine. The company is supposed to be mine and his. You are ruining everything!”
“Gretchen, calm down. Put the gun away and we can discuss this like two adults.” I don’t know if reasoning with her will help, but I do know I’m too far away from the door to make a run for it and the guys haven't been gone too long, so the chances of them showing up is slim to none. “Come on, Gretchen. You don’t want to do this.”
“Actually, Memphis,” she spits out my name, “I do.”
I hear it only a split second before I feel it. Looking down, I see red beginning to stain Tanner’s white t-shirt I slipped on this morning. Just as I place my hand over my stomach, I feel the bite of another bullet, this one hitting me right above the knee. I look up to ask her why when the third one hits me in the collar, this one knocking me back against the wall. Dizziness sets in and I collapse onto my knees. I watch Gretchen jump in her car and speed off before I fall forward, slamming my already bruised cheek on the concrete porch.
I don’t know how long I lay there, looking up at the bright shining sun, or how long I listen to the birds chirping before I lose consciousness. The only thoughts I have are of Cain, Jasper, and Tanner. They snuck themselves into my heart and now I'll never get the chance to tell them how much they’ve come to mean to me. I wish Momma could have met them. She would have loved them and welcomed them with no reservations.
Blood sprays out of my mouth when I laugh to myself thinking about Momma and what she’d have to say about all this. She would tell me, “Memphis, just ignore that girl. She is pure ugly and you know what they say about ugly? Jesus don’t like it.”
She’d be right on both accounts. Gretchen is ugly, and Jesus don’t like ugly.
(Jasper)
Six hours. That’s how long we had to wait before we were told anything about Memphis.
I’ll never forget what it felt like when we pulled up at Tanner’s and saw her lying so still on the porch. At first we didn’t know what she was doing. Did she drop something? Fall and hurt herself? It wasn't until we got onto the porch that we saw the pool of blood she was laying in. When Cain turned her over, I thought she was dead. She was so pale and limp in his arms. I died a thousand deaths in that one moment.
When the ambulance arrived we still didn't know what had happened. There was so much blood it was impossible to tell where it was coming from. Tanner lifted her shirt and found a hole in her stomach and another by her collar. We could see the hole in her leg, just above her knee. When we looked at her back, we couldn't find any exit wounds. I’m no doctor, and believe it or not, not every country boy likes to hunt, but even I knew that not having an exit wound was deadly.
The police showed up as the ambulance was pulling in. Who did this? Did she have any enemies? Could it have been a robbery gone bad? So many questions but we had no answers. Arthur was with us the entire time. Jim had a meeting at the bank so we planned on catching up with him later. Who else knew that Memphis would be here alone and knew how to shoot?
So many questions.
We all felt like we had failed her. We left her here alone and unprotected. A growl and the sounds of someone hitting the wall brings me back to the present. I see Cain grabbing Tanner by the shoulders, pulling him away from another hole in the hospital’s wall. “If you don’t cut that out and settle down, they're going to kick us out of here,” I say.
“What is taking so long?” Tanner is about to lose it completely.
Cain leads him over to a chair and forces him to sit down. “You heard what the doctor said. She just got out of surgery. Once they move her to the ICU, we can go down and see her.”
“Who would do this to her? I just don’t understand it.” I keep asking the same question and neither of them have an answer for me.
“I think I can answer that.”
We all three whip our heads around to see Arthur walk into the waiting room. “What do you mean you can answer it?” I stand up, fisting my hands while I wait on him to tell us what the hell he’s talking about.
“When I got home from our little meeting this morning, I met Gretchen pulling into the garage. She was white as a sheet and shaking so bad. I asked her if she was okay, and all she kept saying was I did it, she’s gone now. When I asked her what she meant, she started mumbling something about Memphis should have left when she warned her yesterday.”
Tanner jumps up and gets in Arthur's face. “Are you telling me Gretchen is the one that shot Memphis? Three damn times?”
Arthur drops his head and nods.
“Did you call the police yet?” I ask him.
I hear him exhale and I know we’re not going to like his answer. “Rachel came out and took her back in the house. I had no idea what she was talking about until Jim called an hour ago and told me what was going on. Rachel had already given Gretchen one of her tranquilizers so she would calm down and rest. I figured I’d talk to Memphis before I did anything rash.”
“Are you kidding me?” This time it's Cain in Arthur's face. “Your delusional daughter shot Memphis three damn times and you thought calling the police and turning her in would be rash? What exactly are you playing here, Arthur?”
“I’m not playing anything, Cain. What is it to you anyways? This is between me and Memphis. It has nothing to do with any of you.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Arthur. It has everything to do with us,” Tanner says. “Our world is laying in a hospital bed right now fighting to stay alive. Anything that involves Memphis involves us.”
Arthur narrows his eyes at each of us. “What exactly are you saying, Tanner? Why are you even here?”
I see it in his eyes when he finally figures it out. “You’re kidding me, right? The three of you and her? You turned my daughter away so you could share Memphis? You can’t be serious, Tanner. Just because your grandparents were freaks doesn't mean…”
I couldn’t help it. My fist had a mind of its own and it wanted to shut Arthur the hell up. The focus of my hit knocks him back and he falls backwards over a chair. Ask me if I care? Hell no I don’t. Pointing my finger in his face, I give him one warning. “Say one negative thing about Memphis or our relationship with her and it will be the last thing you ever say. Do you understand me?”
Arthur doesn't get a chance to respond before the doctor interrupts us. “Miss Reynolds has been moved to the ICU. She’s on the second floor, room 203.”
“Tanner,” I grab him by the neck, “call Jim. He should be heading back from the cafeteria by now and let him know where we’re headed.” I look over to Cain. “Call the detective and let him know that is was Gretchen who pulled the trigger.”
“I told you I didn’t want anything done until I talked to Memphis.” Arthur has the nerve to say to me.
“You should be thankful the doctor interrupted us. Leave now, Arthur. If we see you here again, I’ll call the police and tell them you are trying to harass Memphis, after I finish kicking your ass.”
Tanner slaps me on the back. “Ignore him, Jasper. Let’s go see our girl.” The three of us turn our backs on Arthur and head for the elevators. Tanner is right. Seeing our girl is more important than anything.
By the time we get to the nurses’ desk outside of the ICU, Cain has hung up with the detective and Jim is on his way up. The nurse, thankfully, allows us all to go back together. I’m sure we’re all a sight and she probably figured it would be easier than having to deal with three angry men that could snap at any minute. The
sight of Memphis in the hospital bed stops me cold. I hang back as Cain and Tanner take a side and start whispering in her ear and touching her anywhere they can find that isn't hooked up to a machine.
If I didn’t hear the beeping of her heart on the monitor, I would swear she was dead. Her complexion is so pale, it's almost translucent. The doctor told us she lost so much blood we were lucky she made it to the hospital. How she pulled through surgery is a miracle. Her pink hair is matted with blood and full of knots. Her lips are chapped and her face is even more bruised than it was. My knees almost give out on me, but I force myself to stay standing and walk to the end of her bed. Grabbing onto her small feet, I bow my head and do something I haven't done since I was a kid and my mom would drag me to church.
I pray.
I pray to God and any other deity I can think of. I pray for her to pull through. I beg, barter, and plead for him to let her stay with us. I promise that we will never leave her unprotected again. I swear that she will never go another day of her life without feeling so full of love she could burst. I vow that Cain, Tanner, and I will be the best men we can be for her. Anything I can offer, I do. I assure whoever is listening that if they will spare her life, let her come back to us, that we will give her the world. She will never want for anything as long as she lives. Memphis has our hearts and we will never let her forget it.
This stubborn, pink haired girl busted into our lives and forever changed us. I will never let her leave us. I know my brothers feel the same way. If Memphis had any reservations about being with us before, she can ruffle her feathers all she wants, because I can tell you right now, we aren’t ever letting her go.
Ain’t never gonna happen.
In every TV show I've ever watched where someone was in the hospital after a surgery or an accident, they always show them waking slowly. This did not happen to me. My eyes shot open and a wave of panic hit me at a rush. When I’m retelling this story years down the road to my grandchildren, I believe I’ll leave out that last part.
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