I leaned forward, curious to find out more.
"The chief's daughter loved both men, but in the end, all three of them were miserable. The men had come within a hair’s breadth of ruining their close bond of friendship and the woman knew that no matter who she chose, one would be devastated and the two men might no longer be friends. And, back then, just like now, a true and loyal friend was a great treasure."
"What happened?" I asked, forgetting about the coffeecake.
"The chief brought the three of them together and told them their strife was having a bad effect on the entire tribe and needed to be resolved, then he left them alone to come up with a solution."
I could picture the whole scene, though with me as the woman who had to choose between Luke and Aidan. What would I do in that situation? Luke with his dark good looks and possessiveness or Aidan with his sparkling blue eyes and mischievous nature? My heart ached for the chief's daughter.
"As the three of them sat looking at each other, the men's hearts began to soften. First one and then the other offered to step aside so that his friend could be with the woman they both loved. They each knew they could trust her welfare and happiness to no other. The Indian maiden was so touched by their bravery and generosity, it made her choice even more difficult, since now both men insisted she choose the other.
“The chief's daughter wasn't the only one impressed by the men's actions. The Great Spirit was as well. The Great Spirit came upon them and rewarded the men for their bravery and sacrifice by giving them both the woman they loved and placing a special blessing upon the maiden. Combining the cultures of both men, the maiden was decreed to be a princess and all of her male children would be born as twins, one Native American, the other a white man. This blessing would continue through the generations, with the children of the princess being princes and princesses. He further blessed them with the arrow of love. When the members of the princess' family met the one who was selected for them by The Great Spirit, an arrow of love would sting their heart and that's how they would know."
Karen paused and glanced up at me. "The chief's daughter was my great, great, great grandmother."
"So… you're really a princess?"
She laughed. "Yes, though I still have to cook and clean for a houseful of men."
"You said you have six sons. Do you have a daughter?"
"No," she looked at me pointedly. "When there is no daughter, then the oldest pair of sons of the princess select a wife and she becomes the princess after the death of the reigning princess. Our ancestors struggled to protect this land which has become Eagle Canyon and to keep it sovereign from the laws of any country. In order to preserve our heritage and our way of life, the line of succession needs to be continued."
"Luke and Aidan… they are your oldest sons?"
"Yes," she said. "They are actually crown princes and upon my death, they, along with their princess, will reign over our community."
Princes. I'd spent the night sucking the cocks of royalty.
Aidan
* * *
Shit.
I woke up and reached for Cassie only to find myself caressing Luke's braid. I jumped and jerked my hand back so fast it got caught in his hair. We both realized Cassie was gone and knew we needed to find her, but couldn't do anything until I was disengaged from Luke.
Once we were freed, Luke ran through the house naked shouting for her while I hopped around the room putting on my jeans.
"She's not here and your truck is gone. She left a note." Luke burst into the room and I threw his pants to him.
Bare chested and barefooted, the two of us tore down the stairs and out of the house, like we could catch a truck that had a head start on us.
When I saw my truck stopped in front of our parents' house, relief washed over me. Luke had already bounded in the door and I slowed down to catch my breath before heading inside. Now that we knew where Cassie was, I had to wonder what she and our mother had been talking about.
Luke paused outside the door to the kitchen, his hand up to silence me and we listened as our mother told the tale of our ancestors, how our community came to be. Who Luke and I really were.
It's not like we were fancy princes with crowns and robes, but we were important symbols of our heritage and our leadership of the community was important too. We didn't rule in the way a dictator or king might, but we were princes and our wife would have a heavy responsibility.
When our mother finished the story, Luke and I looked at each other wondering what we ought to do.
We didn't want to lose Cassie, that was for certain, so I shrugged and nodded toward the door. "We have to go in and explain things to her."
When we entered the room, Cassie startled and gazed at us, her expression unreadable.
"Good morning, boys," our mother said. "I've been getting to know your Cassie."
I could tell she liked Cassie and that was important. It wouldn't have stopped us from pursuing Cassie to the ends of the earth if Mama had not approved, but it sure made things easier when we were all in agreement. She was the Princess, after all.
Luke and I went to the table where Cassie was sitting and the three of us just stared at each other.
"Boys, why don't you take Cassie out on the deck and talk while I finish making breakfast?" She took in our appearance from Luke's tangled hair to our bare feet and chests. "I'm guessing you've all worked up quite an appetite." She didn’t even try to hide the smirk that pulled up the side of her mouth.
Moving around to Cassie's chair, I took her hand. "Will you come outside with us? We have a few things to talk to you about."
I'm not always great at reading women and their expressions, but I'm pretty sure Cassie was pissed off. Big time.
But she put her hand in mine and we all went out to the deck and sat down.
I wanted to sit on the big porch swing and cuddle Cassie on my lap, but I knew we all needed our space for this important conversation.
Luke and I held our breaths, waiting for Cassie to say something.
"So," she said, looking from me to Luke and back again. "You two are princes. When were you planning to let me in on this little secret?"
"That's why we were going to bring you here for dinner tonight. We wanted our mother to tell the story. We thought if you met her, the Princess, it would make more sense."
"We want you to be our princess, Cassie. To be our wife. Stay here with us. Make us a family."
She gaped, slack jawed. First at me for long, pulse stopping moments and then Luke.
"You don't know anything about me. How can I be your wife? Your p-princess?" She smoothed her hands down her skirt. "I-I told myself I could have one night, just one awesome, spectacular night with the two of you. That's what I promised myself, and I never promised you any more than that or anything at all. You both just insisted on me being with you." She stood and paced the deck. "I'm not saying you forced me to do anything, and I loved every minute of being with you. Being with you both." She looked at us and smiled shyly. "But, this just isn't what I have in mind."
Stunned, we both gaped at her. Our Cassie. Our sweet, beautiful Cassie, didn't want us.
Chapter 12
Cassie
* * *
Tears streamed down my face as I pushed my way past Luke and Aidan and into the house. I found a powder room and shut myself in there while I collected myself. I grabbed a box of tissues and had a good, snotty cry.
When I was cried out, I splashed some cold water on my face and looked at myself in the mirror.
Why was I so mad and who was I mad at?
If Luke and Aidan had told me yesterday they wanted me to be their wife, let alone their princess, I would have gone running.
Yet the idea of leaving them made my heart ache in my chest.
I'd just gotten over the loss of my husband, and I was ready to move on with my life. I'd been with Bret since college. Until he'd died, I'd never lived alone, never made all my decisions for myself.<
br />
Plus, I still had that one last thing to take care of.
His ashes.
Maybe I wasn't so innocent when it came to secret keeping. It's not like they'd asked, but it was a pretty major omission. We were all guilty of that.
I opened the door and the two of them were standing there, silent and sad. I stepped forward and they wrapped me in their arms. Where I belonged.
After a few moments, I pushed them both away. "I have not been completely honest with the two of you, either." In unison, their eyebrows went up.
"I have a husband."
They both stepped back as though I'd had flames coming from my mouth.
"Wait. I mean, I had a husband." I was making a big mess out of all of this. "Bret, his name was Bret, and he d-died two years ago."
To their credit, they did not give me the sad pitying look I had come to expect—and brace against—whenever I told people about Bret.
I stood there, in the doorway to the powder room, and told them everything about the last few years of my life. About how this trip was meant to be a new start for me, but that it had another purpose as well. "I promised Bret I would scatter his ashes from the Golden Cliffs into Halcyon Lake and I plan to do just that."
I looked at both of them, my heart squeezing with agony. "I just got over the loss of one husband, I don't think I am ready for two more. Besides," I said, looking past their broad shoulders and hoping for an escape route, "I'm sure a second-hand wife isn't what you had in mind for your princess."
They studied me in silence. I wasn't sure if I wanted them to talk or to just shut up and let me go.
Aidan turned to Luke. "Looks like we're going to Halcyon Lake. We'd better get packed."
They each took me by an arm and steered me toward the kitchen. "What are you doing? I told you I have to go, and I don't want to be your princess."
"We have a long day of driving ahead of us," Luke said. "We need a good breakfast."
"You two are the most stubborn, pig-headed men I have ever met. Didn't you hear me just say that it's over? It was a one-night thing. No hard feelings. Please, just let me go."
"Whether you like it or not, you are our princess and we will not allow you to make this trip alone. Once you have completed your mission, then you may do as you wish. All we ask is that you allow us to take care of you until this is done and that you hold off from making a final decision until we return."
Luke's words made a lot of sense. As much as I'd looked forward to a solo road trip, now that I'd gotten used to being around them, it felt strange when we were apart. In truth, I wasn't ready for our time together to end. I just didn't know how long I wanted to stay.
"Fine," I said.
Cassie
* * *
After breakfast, Luke and Aidan packed up their things and Aidan called his office telling them he'd be out for a few days. I wasn't sure how long he thought it would take us to make the two-hundred-mile trip, but I didn't argue. I felt guilty enough that I didn't want to go along with their plan for us to be a family, let alone that they were rearranging their lives for me.
We stopped by the hotel and I got my things, including the coffee can with Bret's ashes in it, and checked out.
"A coffee can?" Luke said as soon as we were on our way. This time he was driving, I was in my usual spot in the middle, and Aidan rode shotgun.
"Bret had quite a sense of humor."
"Tell us more about Bret," Aidan said, taking my hand in his and holding it on his thigh.
When we'd been in the truck the night before, it had been all sex and lust, but today it was totally different. Not bad. Actually, it was perfect. I felt secure, loved. And respected. They hadn't tried to talk me into staying with them or to persuade me with their sexy ways.
Had they changed their minds?
That was what I wanted, wasn't it?
Crap.
Aidan squeezed my hand. "Cassie, please tell us about Bret."
So I did. I'm not sure how long I went on, but it seemed like I'd talked and laughed and cried for hours, the two of them listening and laughing along. Aidan handed me his handkerchief when I cried—who carries one of those anymore? Aidan does.
God, they were so wonderful.
What was wrong with me?
By the time I'd finished telling them about Bret, we were ready to stop for lunch. While they got us a table, I stood outside the restaurant and called Ellie, now that I was in cell phone range.
"Hey!" I had to hold the phone away from my ear when she answered. "Where are you? I have been worried sick about you. What's going on?"
Ellie always made me laugh. She was so over the top about everything, but I appreciated her concern.
Yesterday at the Library, I'd emailed and only told her about my little accident and that I was waiting for my car to be repaired. On the phone, I hadn't planned to tell her more than that I was fine and not to worry, but before I knew it, the whole story came tumbling out. Okay, I glossed over the details of my night with Luke and Aidan, but I'm pretty sure that she got the picture when she shouted "Holy Fuck. Two guys! You go girl!"
"Ellie, please," I hunkered down in a corner of the building, praying no one had heard me telling her what I'd been up to.
"And they want to marry you and you can be their princess?"
"Yes."
There was a long pause.
"Is this one of those YouTube pranks? Is someone recording all of this? Because if I go viral, I'm going to be pissed."
"No, Ellie," I laughed. "No one could make something like this up, could they?"
"So, when is the wedding?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You don't mean to tell me that you're going to let these two men, who literally want to make you a princess, get away?"
"I thought you wanted me to go out and live my own life. To find myself."
"Oh screw that. ‘I need to find myself' is just what single people say to justify being alone. Your future is staring you in the face. You need to go for it."
Luke and Aidan were looking out the windows of the restaurant at me and, if I didn't want them to come and carry me inside, I'd better get off the phone. I ended the call after promising Ellie I'd be in touch.
"It's not wrong to be happy, Cassie," was the last thing she said before she hung up.
Chapter 13
Cassie
* * *
We arrived at The Golden Cliffs in the late afternoon. We were the only ones in the area. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I could understand why Bret wanted me to take his ashes there.
Once we arrived, we sat in the truck for a few minutes, none of us speaking.
"Are you ready, Cassie?" Luke asked, his voice gentle.
"I-I'm not sure," I said. Now that it was time to let go and say good-bye, it was all much more difficult than I'd expected. After all I'd been through with Bret and his illness, and then his death, I'd thought I could handle anything.
Aidan and Luke opened the doors to the truck and I slid out on Aidan's side, his arm supporting me. Luke retrieved the coffee can and handed it to me. I hugged it to my chest and started to shake.
"Cassie," Aidan said, his arm still around my waist, "if today isn't the day to do this, that's okay. We can all go home and when it is time, we'll come back."
"No," I said, "you guys brought me all the way out here…"
Aidan's arm tightened around me and Luke took both my hands in his. "Don't you understand, Cassie? We would drive you to the ends of the earth and wait as long as it takes if that's what you needed for us to do. Our only goal in life is to care for you. To love you and protect you."
My shaking subsided and I drew a deep breath. "Thank you."
"From what you've told us, we know Bret was a wonderful man and you loved each other very much." Aidan turned me so he could look straight into my eyes. "No man could replace him, but maybe two men could do a pretty good job of filling the void in your life." He bent down and kissed me ge
ntly, his palm cupping the side of my face. I covered his hand with my own.
When the kiss ended, I reached for Luke. He held me against his hard chest, the coffee can crammed between us, for long moments, somehow his strength infused me.
"I think I'm ready," I said, looking off toward the cliffs.
"Would you like us to go with you?" Aidan offered.
"No," I said, letting out a long breath. "This is something I need to do myself." I looked at each of them. "Honestly, now that I am here, I can't believe I thought I could make this trip alone. Thank you."
I turned and walked toward the cliffs. The sun was starting to set and the sky was awash in red and orange as I reached the top and looked out over Lake Halcyon. The water was calm, the surface like glass. I stood and gazed across the lake all the way to where it touched the horizon and met the glowing sun as it lowered for the day.
A montage of images passed through my mind: my first date with Bret, our first kiss, the day he proposed, our wedding day and so many memories of laughter and love in everyday things. The way he'd turn the radio up and make me dance with him in the kitchen, how he used to make pancakes every Sunday… until he couldn't.
No, I would not think about those times, the illness, the pain and suffering.
The sun was turning into a sliver on the horizon.
With tears in my eyes, I opened the can and gently sprinkled the contents onto the evening breeze. "Good-bye, Bret," I said, my voice choked with emotion.
I stood there for a few more minutes watching the last of the ashes float away.
Bret was gone.
Luke
* * *
Claimed: Eagle Canyon Menage Book One Page 6