by Beth Walker
"Nice."
"Listening to him talk about how his wife would be able to look out the window of the kitchen and watch their children playing in the yard or how they could look out the front and see the cows and horses grazing in the pasture—it made me want to be that woman."
"It sounds like you have feelings for Cade already."
"I don't know, Gram. He's gorgeous, sweet, and smart. Everything a woman could ask for."
"All right then, what about Kale?"
"They are such opposites in looks, and Kale is all those things too."
"But?"
"Nothing. I'm confused. Cade told me he didn't care if I dated Kale or even had sex with him."
Her grandmother frowned and said, "I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't mean it at all."
"I know what you mean." She stood and walked to the window. Cars sped past below her, and she wondered if anyone slowed down to feel the passion in the wind, the rain on their face, or the love of their family these days. If someone asked her a year ago if she'd be standing here in Red Rock, trying to decide over two different men, she would have told them they’d lost their mind. "I read somewhere once that men can have one-night stands or casual sex and it doesn't mean a thing to them, but women are emotional creatures. It's difficult for us to be in a relationship under those circumstances."
"You know I'm here for you, honey, no matter what you decide, whether it be one, both, or neither."
The both part snapped Natalie's head around, staring open mouthed at her grandmother.
"I'm not sure you are aware of this or not, Natalie, but your mother dated two men at the same time."
"She did?"
"Yes. It shocked the entire town. It went on for a while. Almost a year, I think, before she finally settled on your father."
"Great. Now I'll be stirring up old rumors and whispers, when people around here realize the connection of me and my mother."
"You never were one to follow convention, sweetie. Don't start now. If it requires you dating both men to decide which one is better suited to you, then so be it, and to hell with the busybodies in town. They'll find something else to gossip about in no time."
She walked back to the side of the bed and hugged her grandmother. "Thanks, Gram. I love you."
"I love you, too. Now, get you a cab and head back to the house. You've got a date with one handsome man in a few hours."
"I'll be here in the morning to pick you up and take you home. Please, don't give the nurses a hard time."
"Me?" Her grandmother batted her eyes innocently.
"Don't give me your innocent look. I know better." Natalie kissed her on the cheek. "I'll call you later."
"Sure, honey. Have fun tonight."
* * * *
For the next several hours, Natalie paced like a caged animal. She tried on every piece of clothing she owned, but nothing seemed right. Without knowing exactly where they were going for dinner, she had no idea what to wear. Kale seemed more of the laid-back kind versus Cade. The nervous anticipation skipping through her body did nothing to help the situation. She finally decided earlier in the afternoon to forgo going out somewhere and found a couple of steaks in her grandmother's freezer. Food always seemed plentiful in the house. Fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, makings for salad, a couple of potatoes for baking, and dinner would be grand.
Five o'clock arrived with a dong of the doorbell, and she jumped in response.
Her palms felt itchy and damp. The hair on her neck stood and chills rolled down her back.
"This is nuts."
The door opened with a sharp tug of her hand.
"Hi," Kale said. "Can I come in?"
"Please." A quick flick of the lock on the screen and he stood close enough to smell. Oh Lordy. I love the scent of his cologne. Something spicy and all male. "Um. I couldn't find anything to wear so I decided to cook for you, if you don't mind."
"Mind? Honey, I haven't had a home cooked meal in ages. No way do I mind a beautiful woman putterin' around the kitchen makin' me food."
"Great. Come on in. You can drop your coat on the sofa. Would you like a beer?"
"Your grandmother keeps beer?"
"No silly. I ran to the corner store and grabbed some," she said with a laugh. "Of course, she could very well be a beer drinker sometimes. Hell, I don't have a clue."
"You didn't get to spend a lot of time with her growing up after you moved, huh?"
"No, and I'm sorry for it now. The last couple of days with her have been fabulous. When I go back to Portland, I'll have to make sure I come for visits often."
"But you'll be staying a while now, right? I mean, with her needing help around here and all."
"I'll be here for a few more weeks anyway. It all depends on how well she does with her rehabilitation. We won't know until she's done it for a week or so."
She grabbed two beers from the refrigerator, popped them open, and handed him one. Their fingers brushed, and her fingertips tingled from the contact. Not quite the same reaction she had to Cade, but interesting, all the same. After a sip of her beer, she motioned for him to follow her back to the living room.
They took seats, side-by-side, on the couch. "I've already got dinner in the oven. I would have grilled, but it's a bit cold out there," she said, running her sweaty palms down the thighs of her jeans.
"Don’t go to any trouble on my account," he replied, with a squeeze to her knee.
"No trouble at all. How about a movie? Gram has a pretty decent DVD collection."
"Sure."
"Why don't you pick something and I'll check on dinner. I'll be right back." Her quick escape to the kitchen gave her a moment to think and breathe.
How in the hell am I going to bring up this threesome thing with Kale? I know he mentioned something yesterday during lunch, but since I had the conversation with Cade, everything seems kind of strange.
"You okay in there?"
"Yes. I'll be right out. I'm sticking the potatoes in the microwave." Breathe, Natalie, breathe.
After taking care of her tasks in the kitchen, she moved through the doorway to the living room, stopping in her tracks. Kale had turned the lights down low, and with the sun setting so early in the winter, it made quite a romantic picture. A fire burned bright in the fireplace, crackling and popping to the music he put on the stereo. Garth Brooks crooned The Dance softly in the background.
"I decided I didn't want to watch a movie with you right at this moment. But I'd love to dance with you."
"Here?" she asked in a small laugh.
"Of course. At least here, I don't have to worry about other cowboys cutting in because you're the prettiest girl in the place."
"You can compliment me all you want. I don't mind."
Laughter echoed in the room, and he pulled her tight against his chest. "I love it! You're great."
He took her right hand in his left, allowing his other hand to skim down to her lower back. The soft music continued to play and she lost herself in the feel of being in his arms.
"This is nice."
"Mmm. I think so too," he murmured, brushing his lips against her ear.
"Kale," she whispered.
"Hmm."
"We need to talk."
"Yeah, I know."
"Cade and I talked—"
The ping of the microwave interrupted her trail of thoughts.
"I think that's the potatoes," he said.
"It is," she replied, stepping out of his embrace. "The steaks should be about done too. Would you set the table?"
"Sure."
The warmth of his hand at the small of her back, sent tingles down her legs. When they reached the cupboards, she grabbed place settings for two and handed him everything he needed to set the table. A low whistle came from his lips to the tune on the stereo as he set the plates and silverware out.
She pulled the meat from the oven, the potatoes from the microwave, and the vegetables from the stovetop. "Why don't you grab the plates a
nd we'll fix them over here."
Plates in hand, they moved back toward the table together. He set his down and held her chair.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
"You know, it's funny. Men in Oregon don't do those kinds of things."
"Things?"
"Hold doors, pull out a lady's chair…you know gentlemanly things."
"See. You should move back to Red Rock so you can be treated like the lady you are." His smile devastated her control. Dimples peeked out of his cheeks, she hadn't really noticed before. The five o'clock shadow coating his jaw line tempted her to touch, to feel the scrape of his whiskers against her fingertips, and to lose herself in his lips on her hand.
"If it were only that easy."
"You can live where ever you want, Nat."
"At the rate I'm going, I'll be here a while. I'm not sure how my grandmother is going to do here in the house." She folded the napkin in her lap. "Luckily, they already turned one of the downstairs rooms into a bedroom when grandpa was sick."
"Have you talked to your mom about all of this?" he asked. His tempting lips wrapped around the beer bottle when he took a long draw.
"No and I probably won't. She's going to be majorly pissed at me about it, but my grandmother doesn't want me to call her, and I feel it's her choice, not mine."
"Your grandma is a hoot."
A hearty chuckle left her lips. "You aren't telling me anything I haven't figured out. I never know what will come out of her mouth next."
Watching his face, she wasn't sure what to make of the looks passing over it. At the point of her mentioning talking to Cade, he appeared annoyed.
"I really didn't want to bring this up during dinner, but I need to get this off my chest."
His gaze dropped to her breasts, and she cleared her throat to bring his attention back to her face. "I didn't mean those."
"Sorry," he said with a sheepish grin. "Can't help it. They are rather nice."
"The girls' thank you, but we need to talk seriously here."
"All right." The fork full of potato disappeared between his lips, waylaying her thoughts for a moment.
"Cade and I talked about the two of you sharing."
"Sharing what?"
"Don't act like you have no idea what I'm talking about, Kale. Sharing a woman."
The frown on his face did nothing to alleviate her uneasiness.
"What exactly did Cade tell you?"
"You've done it ten times—sometimes at your house and sometimes at his apartment—a few of times before you both married, and a couple times since the divorces. But it's always with the acknowledgment and consent of the woman involved."
A heavy sigh left his lips in a rush and she smiled. He apparently didn't like this conversation much.
"Sounds like he explained things pretty well."
She nodded. "Yes, he did. I want to hear your side of things and if you two talked about having said type of relationship with me."
"You?"
"Yes, me, Kale. Don't look so surprised. I'm not a complete idiot. I know men talk, and if you two have done it before, then I want to know if you discussed doing it with me."
The look on his face was almost funny, as his cheeks flushed with color.
"You're embarrassed."
"A little." He jumped to his feet, pacing the kitchen floor. "I'm not the type of man to talk to a woman about bedding her." His fingers cut a path through his hair. "You told me earlier, you and Cade already had sex."
"Yes, we did. Last night and this morning."
"Twice?"
She looked away for a second then focused back on his face. "Well, yes. He spent the night last night and it happened."
"Shit."
"It doesn't matter, Kale. The issue I'm having right now is my attraction to both of you. Handsome doesn't come close to describing you two. Either of you can have your choice of women, I'm sure, and I am beyond thrilled to think you are attracted to me."
"Why wouldn't we be, Nat? You are beautiful, sexy, smart, and sweet. You're the type of woman every man wants to come home to after a hard day's work."
"Thank you. But you are avoiding my questions."
His fingers trailed through his hair again, leaving several strands sticking up, and she wondered why she felt the need to smooth them back into place.
"All right, yes. Cade and I discussed it right after he found you out on the road. The next morning, in fact. Neither of us really went into detail."
"How do you feel about sharing?"
"If the woman is accepting to it, then I'm good with it. It can be an amazing experience for her, but also for the guys involved."
"Cade described to me how it works."
"Thank God," he murmured, and she couldn't help but smile. Poor guy. He seemed so uncomfortable talking about this; it almost made her want to let it go. Almost.
"How would you feel about me having sex with both of you?"
"Do you want to have sex with me?"
"I don't really know, Kale. We haven't had much time together, you know, getting close, cuddling and all."
"Have you had time to do those kinds of things with Cade?"
"Things just happened with Cade. He showed me his house, and he's been a rock for me with my grandmother. We came back here after all the turmoil from yesterday and things heated up from there. Now, I want to spend time with you and find out if this attraction I feel can lead to something more."
"I'd like that too."
"Good. Come finish your dinner. I didn't mean to cause an issue while we were eating. I'm comfortable with you, Kale, and if nothing else, I think we could have a really good friendship."
He grimaced and shuttered.
"What?" she asked.
"The friendship word."
The laughter bubbling from her lips sounded more like the Natalie she knew. Serious conversations like this weren't part of her personality, but she felt it needed saying. "I didn't mean it. I swear!" She held up both hands in surrender as giggles still filled the room. He grabbed both of her hands in his and kissed her quickly.
"Good. Let's finish this fabulous meal then we can watch a movie, go out for drinks, dance, or whatever. Anything you want to do, but it has to afford me the opportunity to wrap my arms around you and get close. I want the same chance you gave Cade."
Kale kept the conversation light, making her laugh the rest of the meal. Serious didn't fit the description of his personality at all. She did remember him being more of the class clown when she lived here during her childhood. Joking around and never taking things too seriously was his specialty.
"You remember Mrs. Baxter, right?"
"The English teacher?"
"Yeah. You probably didn't know it, but she started dating the football coach."
"Mr. Alexander? You're kidding me, right? Those two couldn't be more opposite. She was, um, what's the word I want? Frumpy, I guess, and he was the handsome jock. He had all the female students panting after him, even if most of us in school were jail-bait for him."
"Guess what? They're married now."
"You're kidding? Really? Wow!"
He nodded. "I believe they had a baby a couple years back, too."
"I would never have pictured those two together."
"Me either, but I guess it goes back to opposites attract sometimes."
"What about you? Do you want kids someday?"
"Yeah, I'd like to have a couple anyway. My ex never wanted kids. I didn't realize it until after we'd already been married a year and I mentioned it to her. You would have thought I'd asked her to carry an alien inside her or something. She freaked."
"To each his own, I guess."
"Do you want kids, Nat?"
"Of course. I'd love to have several, but I need a husband first. I don't believe in having a child until there is a loving relationship to bring them in to. I've seen way too many one-parent households with my students. It's a major struggle for the children and the
parents." She grabbed their plates and took them to the sink. "Let me quickly wash these and we can take our drinks into the living room."
"Let me help."
"Really?"
"Sure. My mother did raise me to help around the house. I even cook sometimes."
Both hands planted on her hips she tapped her toe. "I thought you said you hadn't had a home cooked meal in ages."
"Oops. Busted." He shrugged and laughed. "I meant, by a beautiful woman. I do cook for myself, but it's not the same." His lips brushed her nose and he pulled her close. "Mad at me?"
"No."
"Good. Can I kiss you now?"
"Do you want to?"
"More than anything on Earth right now."
The warmth of his breath on her face had her toes curling in her shoes. The wicked little smile on his mouth made her heart skip a beat. When he brought his lips closer, hers started to tingle in anticipation. He’d kissed her before, but not an all consuming, passionate, melt-your-panties kind of kiss and that is what she wanted.
One hand slid into her hair. The other held the side of her face. He nibbled at the sides of her lips, sweeping his tongue over the seam of her mouth, before plunging inside when she moaned. Both of her hands went around his neck, and she tilted her head to fit their mouths together better. Tongues explored the insides of each other's mouths, licking, entwining, and stroking. Each diving and retreating.
His hands slipped down her back, tugging her close enough her breasts brushed his chest as her nipples tightened. He tasted good—damn good.
When he finally sighed and pulled away, she wanted to chase him down and bring him back.
"Some kiss," he murmured, pressing his forehead against hers.
"Yeah."
With a rough clearing of his throat, he took her hand and pulled her toward the couch. "Do you want to stay here, or do you want to go out somewhere? The honky-tonk down the street has a live band tonight."
The phone on the end table jingled, and she frowned. "I wonder who that is." Her grandmother didn't own anything close to being high-tech, so no caller ID. "Hello?"