Brokenhearted Beauty [Divine Creek Ranch 19] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Heather Rainier

  Denny laughed and replied, “So I gathered. She looks like a dynamo, just like her sister.”

  Oh yak!

  Leah held back her response and her dad said, “That she is, Denny. She’s got her hands full these days.” Turning to Leah, he said, “Will you tell your sister that I’ll have a tow truck take her car to the mechanic and have him look at it and fix the AC? Could you give her a ride home if she needs it?”

  “Sure, Dad.”

  He pulled out his phone to take care of the tow truck and mechanic work and stepped away from them for a few minutes.

  Denny paused for several seconds, gazing down at his hands as he rubbed at a paint spot on his thumb joint. He tilted his head as he smiled at her. “Leah, I wanted you to know I wish you only the best, in whatever you do, and whoever you’re with. I confess when your dad suggested a trip out to Divine I jumped at the chance, hoping I might see you again. I just couldn’t let it go, the way I left it at the bed-and-breakfast. I felt the need to make sure you were okay…that you were happy. And I can tell you are.”

  She saw only sincerity in his eyes and nodded. “Thank you, Denny. They do make me very happy.”

  “Both of them?”

  “Yes, both,” she replied softly.

  She could see the mixture of surprise and doubt in his eyes as he asked, “Does your father know?”

  Leah nodded. “He can fill you in on the local tendency toward ménages in Divine. I know it must seem odd to you but it works for us.”

  “Just tell me that their focus is you and I won’t worry about you.”

  “It is. I think the woman who falls for you will be a very lucky woman.”

  “Thank you. Your sister is lovely.”

  Leah looked across the store at her sister’s bobbing blonde head as she went about her work, chatting amiably with a customer while tidying, and said, “She is.”

  “I would never guess you were sisters.”

  “We take after different sides of the family.”

  “She seems sweet.”

  Leah let out a long sigh, realizing that Presley Ann had changed enough that people who had never met her before might reasonably think that. And she had changed a lot. “Life has thrown her some curves lately.”

  “You might think I’m awful, because it was pretty obvious I was interested in dating you, but I noticed she’s not wearing a wedding ring and it looked like…” He sent her a questioning look, as if he was hoping she wouldn’t make him say it out loud. Leah understood what he was asking. A clueless customer had once asked her when her baby was due and even though the insult was unintended, she’d cried about it later that night.

  She smiled and eased his predicament. “She’s expecting. Due in November. The father isn’t in the picture.” She chuckled and added, “And you’re not awful.”

  Denny nodded but said nothing else as he mulled over the information she shared. Even five months pregnant, Presley Ann managed to garner admirers.

  The men left shortly afterward to go enjoy a late lunch, while Leah returned to her office to finish paperwork. A little while later, James and Vincent returned with her lunch in a paper box from Rudy’s.

  “Your favorite, I think?” James said as she opened it and her mouth watered from the scent of Rudy’s Ultimate Swiss and Turkey Sandwich, on a homemade wheat bun topped with spinach and mushroom salad, honey mustard, and juicy red onions, fresh from the broiler.

  She had to swallow her drool before she could speak. “Heaven on a bun. Yes. I’m your willing slave for remembering.”

  Vincent chuckled and nudged James. “Told ya.”

  She moaned with the first bite and beckoned them to have seats in her office. They filled her in on their day while she ate her sandwich and sipped from the Styrofoam cup of sweet tea they’d also brought.

  “It’s a little after the fact, guys, but Dad asked me a question earlier and I wanted to make sure of my answer.”

  “Ask away,” Vincent quickly said.

  “I told him about you proposing.”

  “I wondered, since he didn’t say anything.”

  “I think he was sparing Denny what was essentially a family conversation. Anyway, when we were alone and I told him you’d proposed, he gave us his blessing, but he also…kind of…asked for a definition of our relationship, to make sure that I would be taken care of properly, I think. His heart was in the right place when he asked…”

  James smiled and said, “What’s your question, honey?”

  “It’s just the three of us, right?” She began to feel a little breathless. “We didn’t talk about that and I know people have different ideas about polyamory. I won’t come home someday and find a woman sitting at my kitchen table, like, ‘Hi, honey, I’m home,’ ready to join our relationship, will I? Will I?”

  They were both shaking their heads and James finally spoke up. “You wondered if we’d want to invite a fourth, sometime down the road.”

  “Or fifth,” she added, beginning to feel a little sick at the thought that they might ever grow bored with sharing her. Cold sweat trickled down her spine.

  Vincent clasped her cold hand that was balled up on the desk in his big warm one and said, “Breathe, fluff. You’re looking pale.”

  “I freaked myself out, thinking about it.”

  “Do you think we’d be happy if you brought Denny home and said, ‘Guess what, we’ve been talking…’?”

  “No! I’d never do that!”

  “It’s about as likely that we’d ever do that to you. In short, no way in hell.”

  “The two of you are willing share. It just needed to be clarified for me, and I needed you to know, even though it’s technically not fair, that I will not share either of you with any other woman…like…ever.”

  “You have nothing to worry about.”

  Whew! “I just got this mental image of coming home and finding a strange woman there with you and…I think I worked myself up just a bit.”

  James chuckled softly. “Maybe a little, although you had every right to ask. To be clear, it’s just the three of us, from now on. And we won’t change our minds. You’re it, and more than enough for us, honey.”

  Vincent gave a distinct nod of his head. “Damn straight, fluff. Feel better now?”

  “I do.”

  “Those are the words we want to hear when the time is right,” James said with his eyes twinkling.

  Leah giggled, still a little in shock due to her change in status. “He also asked if we’d set a date.”

  After agreeing to sit down with a calendar that night to hammer the date out, the men left so all three of them could finish their workday. Leah recalled her dad’s request and headed over to the children’s department to pass his message on to Presley Ann.

  “Hey, sis,” Leah said as she joined Presley Ann at the little trolley that contained new stock for the department that needed to be put out.

  “Hey, what’s up?” Presley Ann said as she sorted thermal sleepers before placing them in a rack.

  “Dad asked me to let you know that he was arranging for Dave to tow your car over to his mechanic.”

  Presley Ann sighed softly. “I knew I shouldn’t have said anything. I already contacted Dave and he told me he would check it out before towing it. He said if he could fix it he would and bring it to me here. I didn’t want Dad going to that expense. I have an emergency fund set up for stuff like that.”

  “What about your AC?” Leah knew how expensive those could be to fix and the summer would be another hot one.

  Presley Ann shook her head and kept her eyes on her work. “That will have to wait. As long as the car can get me from point A to point B that’s all that matters right now.”

  Leah nodded, as she opened another box of sleepers and began sorting them. She was impressed that Presley Ann didn’t have anything else to say about going without AC.

  “I’m thinking about selling it.” Presley Ann’s brows knit together but she kept working quietly.
>
  “Your Mercedes? Why would you do that?”

  “It’s a two-door model. It’s really cramped getting into the back seat. I can’t imagine trying to get a little baby in and out of one.” Her cheeks flushed but she kept her eyes on her work.

  Anything Presley Ann could get with the money from selling her used Mercedes wouldn’t be as rock-solid as what she was currently driving, all the other problems she was having with it aside. She thought of the vehicles her father currently had in his extended garage and knew that her dad hadn’t considered that Presley Ann’s transportation might become an issue. She made a decision she thought she’d never make. She was fixin’ to meddle.

  “I also promised dad I’d give you a ride home tonight if you need it. What happened to your finger?” she asked, pointing at the bandage on Presley Ann’s thumb.

  “Smashed it this morning, in my apartment door. It’s kind of heavy and I wasn’t paying attention. I cracked the nail a little.”

  Leah’s stomach turned, imagining how much that had hurt. She’d never been over to Presley Ann’s apartment, a fact she felt a little guilty about.

  She let out a long breath and put her hand on Presley Ann’s to get her to look up at her, keeping her voice low as she spoke. “I need to apologize. I saw the way you seemed to be walking on egg shells when you encountered us earlier and I don’t want it to be like that, working with me. I know I’ve kind of been a bitch on her high horse the last few months, waiting for you to revert to the old Presley Ann.”

  Presley Ann’s face fell but she nodded without speaking as Leah continued.

  “All of our lives together you’ve been hard on me, Presley Ann. You’ve criticized me. Patronized me. Left me high and dry in social situations you forced on me, talking me into going to the Dancing Pony and the Twisted Bull and then leaving me to find my own way home alone. I resented you for a long time.”

  Presley Ann’s eyes grew bloodshot as she nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

  “I still don’t understand why you acted the way you did all these years. But your manner, the way you act around people, has undergone a transformation. I respect that you’ve stuck to your guns, regarding receiving help from dad, and living on your own. I’m…impressed. If you’re interested, I was hoping we could somehow…start over again.”

  A soft sob escaped from Presley Ann’s throat and she clutched her hands together where they rested on the trolley and then gasped in pain and shook out her injured hand. “Sis, I’d love that. I’ve been searching for a way to somehow make it all up to you. I figured you’d understand work, and if I worked hard enough it might somehow make up for…how awful I was to you.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not. I’ve been trying to find a way to say how sorry I am but I’m a coward, I guess. This baby is making me realize how selfish I’ve always been, and how entitled I felt. It’s not about me anymore. This little one needs me to step up and I…I can honestly say that although I’ve never worked harder, I’ve also never been as happy as I am, even though I’m miserable. Does that make any sense at all?” She sniffled and then laughed as she wiped tears from under her eyes.

  Leah laughed with her and shook her head. “No. Not a bit but I’ll take your word for it. Maybe I could join you and Dad for supper on Saturday night?”

  Presley Ann nodded enthusiastically. “And you could bring James and Vincent, too.”

  “Absolutely. I have some good news to share with you.” Leah laid her hand flat on the trolley and the diamond in her engagement ring sparkled.

  Presley Ann gasped and lifted her hand to look closely at it, her smile growing. “I knew it! They are so in love with you. I just knew they had to propose.” She looked up at Leah and genuine happiness shone in her eyes. “They’ll take good care of you and make you happy, sis.”

  Heat filled Leah’s cheeks. “We’ll take good care of each other. They deserve it.”

  “You all do.” She tipped Leah’s hand up to look closely at the diamond. “This is at least a carat, maybe a little more, and very, very good quality. They must’ve gotten it from Clay Cook.”

  Leah smiled and looked down at it. “It was Patterson who bought it, before he died.”

  Presley Ann’s eyes met hers over her hand and her lips compressed and trembled a little. “You’ll see him again someday, you know that, right?”

  Leah nodded. “I do. But I miss him so much right now.” Presley Ann’s faith was refreshing, especially coming from her, and it eased the sting of the reminder that he was gone.

  “I want to know that kind of love someday,” her sister said in a husky voice.

  “I hope you do, sis. Do you think there’s any chance your baby’s father might one day be a part of your life?”

  The slight shake of her head and the way her lips pressed together in a flat line spoke of resignation. “I doubt it. Don’t get me wrong, though. He’d be more than welcome in my baby’s life and maybe even in mine. I regret my decision the night we met, to not share names. What felt like a sexy adventure at the time now just seems irresponsible. It’s a choice I’ll always regret.”

  “He has no idea?”

  “None. We didn’t share details from our lives. All I know about him was that he drove a customized pickup towing a fancy new fifth wheel. He sang to me. Sometimes I can still hear his gorgeous voice. I only knew him for one night but yeah, I’d love to see him again. He was sweet to me.”

  “Maybe he’ll come through town someday and your paths will cross again.”

  Her sister shrugged, obviously not holding out hope. “Meanwhile, life goes on.”

  Life did go on. Leah had learned that for herself. Leaving her sister to finish her work, Leah hoped that Presley Ann would find the happiness that had so far eluded her.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Gentlemen, you have a nice place here,” Doug Woodworth said Saturday night as he stood at the windows in the dining room, looking out at the yard that was shaded by old oak trees and down to the river beyond.

  James nodded as he and Vincent joined Leah’s father at the windows while Leah and Presley Ann conversed quietly in the living room. They’d arranged for Leah’s china cabinets to be moved from her father’s storage building to their home earlier in the week. The actual moving process would take several more days but they’d talked her into letting them bring all the boxes containing her crystal and other collections right away. At first she’d resisted, saying that unpacking such items should come last, not first. But they’d prevailed over her practical nature and sweet-talked her into it. Then they’d surprised her by bringing her a few boxes they’d pulled down from the attic. She’d teared up when she’d opened the boxes and discovered that they contained James’s and Vincent’s mother’s smaller collection of crystal, which they welcomed her to add to her own. With help from Presley Ann, she’d unpacked, polished, and displayed each piece while they’d taken care of the evening’s preparations and now pink and blue Bubble Wrap littered the floor around the china cabinets.

  The way Leah’s face glowed told him everything he needed to know. Practical, regimented, and organized she might be, and he loved that about her, but there was a side to her that loved letting someone else be in charge.

  “I haven’t seen her that happy in a long time,” Doug said softly. James looked over and realized that Doug was also watching Leah. “Thank you for inviting us to your home for dinner. You saved me the argument with Presley Ann over who was paying for supper tonight. This is a beautiful home. I like seeing that you can take care of Leah,” he added, looking overhead at the exposed beams and the warm red-gold of the log walls.

  “Thank you. It was built by our parents.” After taking a sip from his beer, Vincent asked, “Presley Ann doing all right above her uncle’s shop?”

  “Surprisingly, yes. I doubted she’d have enough space but she’s made it into quite a cozy, comfortable home.”

  With a nod, James said, “Leah told us the same
thing after she went to visit her last evening.” He grinned, remembering that Leah had absconded with a full container of Bluebell Blackberry Cobbler ice cream from their freezer and said she was going for a movie night with her sister. She’d had their blessing, even though it meant an evening without her, because they knew it was part of her effort at forming a better relationship with the sister she’d never really been close to.

  Blinking rapidly, Doug turned back to the window. “It does my heart good to see them talking and laughing together. Their relationship was always so oppositional while growing up and I gave up on it getting better when they became adults. The burden for that falls mostly on my shoulders, I’m afraid.”

  “How so?” Vincent asked, as they went out the back door and onto the covered porch. The fans were running on high, keeping the humid warm air bearable and the mosquitos at bay.

  After they were settled in the patio furniture around the empty fire pit, Doug finally said, “When Leah came along, she was such a quiet little thing and always so eager to please. She showed signs early on of the kind of person she’d be. Neat, organized, and observant. I identified with most of those qualities and encouraged them, especially when she came up to the first store I owned with her mother. I let her have the run of the place so she grew up watching me work. I was so proud of her when she applied for her first job at that store, not expecting to just be hired on because she was the boss’s daughter, you know?”

  James chuckled. “That sounds like Leah. Not one to cut corners.” Blue lumbered up and flopped down, rolling to his back between his and Vincent’s chairs, offering his belly to them for a scratch.

  “Hell, no. She’s my by-the-book daughter,” Doug said with an answering laugh. “A couple of years after Leah was born, Presley Ann came along, and she was like her mother in many ways. It was like having a fairy-tale princess under my roof. While her mother was alive, she kept Presley Ann on the straight and narrow but once she passed…Presley Ann was never the same. I indulged her entirely too much. I see now she was filling the hole in her life left by her mother’s death with material things, but at the time, I didn’t know how to deal with my own grief, much less hers.”