by Marla Monroe
“Thad. This looks bad.” Harry didn’t know what to do with his hands, afraid to touch her now.
“It’s not as bad as it looks. I’ve seen a lot worse. It’s already pretty much stopped bleeding. That’s good.”
Harry watched as Thad ran his hands over her neck, checking each side before moving down to her shoulders and collarbone. Then he checked each arm, taking his time and grunting every once in a while. Harry wanted to throttle him when it seemed to take him forever to check the rest of her body.
“Well?” Harry prodded. “Does she have any other injuries? Is she going to be okay?”
Chapter Eleven
Abby’s head pounded as she tried to open her eyes. They felt stuck, for some reason. What was going on?
I remember all the pretty fabrics. It was really loud and then there was that flash of light. I remember thinking I’d better get back downstairs. What happened after that?
“Abby? Can you hear me, chér? Wake up for us.” It was Thad’s voice. How could she miss the French?
“Why isn’t she waking up? It’s been hours, Thad.” Harriet’s voice shook and cracked at the end.
Why was the other woman so upset? And why would she worry that Abby had been asleep for hours? Then she realized she hadn’t heard Harry’s voice at all. Where was he?
“Just keep talking to her while I help Harry pack everything up. As soon as she’s able we need to find another place that’s clean and dry. Everything smells wet here now. The water has dripped all down the staircase and soaked the floor. If it doesn’t dry up soon, it’ll start to mold and we can’t afford to get sick from mold.”
Abby tried to open her eyes again, but they were still stuck. She changed tactics and tried to move her hand to rub whatever it was off of her eyes but it seemed to weigh a ton. Was she tied down and blindfolded? Why would they do that?
I don’t really know them. Maybe they teamed up with Thad and are going to kill me. I walked right into a trap and didn’t even know it!
Panic filled her mouth with sour acid, making her cough.
“Abby! Can you hear me? Wake up, Abby. You’re scaring me.” This time Harriet’s voice didn’t crack. It sounded stronger. “Come on, Abby. Talk to us.”
She wanted to, but her mouth seemed just as stuck as her eyes. How could she let the other woman know she was okay?
“You’ve got to wake up, Abby. Harry’s scared to death that you won’t. He really cares about you. Thad, too. Do something.” Abby felt Harriet pick up her hand. “Squeeze my hand to let me know you at least know we’re here. Come on. You can do it. Squeeze.”
She tried, honestly she tried, but she couldn’t seem to make her hands work any better than her eyes or mouth. She could feel the other woman shaking, then the sound of a sob broke Abby’s heart. She tried to get up to comfort her.
“Oh, my God! Harry! Thad! She squeezed my hand. Hell, she scratched my hand. What do I do? Should I sit her up or what?” Harriet squealed, shaking Abby’s entire arm in her excitement.
What did I move? I wasn’t trying to squeeze her hand. I was trying to get up.
“Here, let me feel.” Harry’s husky voice sounded so good in her ears. Then she felt his much rougher hand holding hers as if it were made of spun glass. “Squeeze my hand, Abby.”
She concentrated on moving her fingers then gave up and tried to sit up again. If that had worked before, it would work again. She hoped so anyway.
“I felt it! She’s in there, Thad. How do we wake her all the way up? Why isn’t she opening her eyes or talking to us?”
Thad’s voice held that Canadian French lilt she enjoyed hearing when he spoke.
“She’s regaining consciousness but it’s going to be slow. We don’t need to push her anymore. Now that we know she’s back, let her wake up on her own now.”
The next time Abby came to herself, she was able to open her eyes and realized it was dark again. How long had she been asleep and why? The air had a dank smell to it now. Her clothes felt damp, not wet, just damp. When she started to sit up, her head started to ache and her vision swam.
“Hey, easy, Abby. It’s good to see you awake. The guys are going to be over the top when they find out you’re awake.” Harriet had apparently been sleeping next to her and was sitting up as well. “Are you in pain?”
“M—my head hurts and I feel a bit woozy.” She squeezed her eyes shut until the dizziness passed, then slowly opened them to see Harriet holding a candle and peering at her head.
“What? Is something wrong with my hair?” she asked, reaching up to feel for herself.
Harriet caught her hand in midair. “Don’t touch, Abby. Thad sewed you up and put a bandage over it but if you fiddle with it, it might start bleeding again.”
“Stitches? Why? Did I fall and hit my head?” No matter how hard she tried to remember, nothing came to her past eating brown sugar pork and beans. Thad had made sure she’d gotten them, too.
“You don’t remember?” Harriet sighed. “That’s dumb. You just told me you didn’t remember what happened. Lightning from the storm the other night struck the top of one of the trees and it fell through the roof onto the second floor. It knocked you to the ground in the closet and we had to cut a hole in the wall to even get to you.”
“A storm? I don’t remember a storm at all. When did this happen? How long have I been asleep?” Abby almost dreaded the answer. If it had been more than one night, she’d set them back on getting to the new settlement before the weather started to change.
“It’s been three days, Abby. I wasn’t sure you were going to wake up at all.”
“Where are the guys?”
“They are making a stretcher we can use to carry you to a drier place until you are able to walk again.” Harriet squeezed her hand. “I’ve never been so scared in my life, Abby. I was so afraid you would never wake up or die. Thad said you would be fine, but I was beginning to think he’d lied just to make me feel better.”
“Slow down, Harriet.” Abby gave a weak chuckle, then held her head.
Note to self, no laughing. My head feels like it will explode if I laugh again.
“We don’t have anything for pain, Abby. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s just a headache. I’ll be fine. Where are they? You need to go tell them that I don’t need the stretcher anymore.” She didn’t want them to carry her anywhere. She could walk. Couldn’t she?
Terrified that something might be wrong with her legs that Harriet hadn’t said anything about, Abby jerked back the cover to examine her feet and legs. She sighed with relief. Nothing appeared wrong with them and she could feel it when she scratched the skin over her thigh and shins as well as her toes.
“What are you doing? You’ll hurt yourself, Abby.” Harriet grabbed her hands and held them in her own.
“It’s okay. I was just making sure I could feel my legs and feet. I was scared something was wrong with them so that they had to carry me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with you except that head injury you got from the storm. You had some bruising over your ribs and your left hip, but nothing seemed broken.” Harriet got to her knees. “Don’t try to stand up until one of the guys is here to help in case you’re weak. I’m going to go tell them the good news. Be right back.”
Abby watched Harriet disappear from the reach of the candlelight. She couldn’t believe it had been three days. Even when she’d been exhausted from work, she’d never slept more than twelve hours before. She must have had a really bad head injury after all. It didn’t help that she couldn’t even remember it. Even what she could remember was hazy at best. What she did remember was the amazing taste of the brown sugar beans and how long it had been since she’d had anything that good. Even lukewarm, they’d been a treat. And Thad had made sure she was the one to get them.
“Abby?” Before she could even turn her head, Harry was on his knees, wrapping his thick arms around her in a lung-deflating bear hug.
“Take it
easy on her, Harry.” Thad’s chuckle let her know he was there as well.
“Sorry.” Harry pulled back just enough so he could look down into her eyes. “How do you feel? Harriet said you had a headache.”
“Yeah, but it’s not too bad. I feel okay. A little weak, but almost good as new.” She flashed the brightest smile she could manage, then laughed at the panic that widened Harry’s eyes. “What? Did I chip a tooth or something?”
Thad laughed again. “No, but that smile is kind of scary. Tone it down a bit so Harry doesn’t have a heart attack.”
“Oh. Look, we need to get going as soon as it’s light outside. You’ve wasted enough time waiting on me. The weather is changing and winters up north are really bad. We need to be there before it starts snowing.” Abby looked up at Thad and tried to pull out of his embrace, but the man didn’t seem to want to let her loose. “Harry? I’m okay. Really. You can let me go now.”
“Sorry. I’ve been so damn worried.” He let her pull back but kept a hand on her upper arm, lightly rubbing it as if he couldn’t quite let go yet.
“I’m sorry I worried all of you. I don’t even remember any of it.” She looked up to where Thad remained standing next to Harriet.
“We’re all just glad you’re awake and nothing major is wrong. A little memory loss is nothing compared to what we’d all feared.” Thad’s features relaxed so that Abby realized they hadn’t been earlier, even when he’d laughed.
“I want to see if I can stand without losing my balance. I still feel a little shaky but I need to get up and move around. I’m stiff.” Abby kept talking when she noticed that both men were shaking their heads. “I need to get up. If you won’t help me, I’ll wait until you’re not around and get up by myself.”
“Stubborn, minou, aren’t you? Help her up, Harry. I’d rather we were around to catch her if she starts to topple over.” Thad stepped back and waited for Harry to help her to her feet.
When she was standing, Harry let go of her in small steps. Thad had stepped closer so that both men had their hands out to catch her, depending on which direction she leaned toward. Being vertical had its drawbacks. One was that she had a longer way to fall if she did lose her balance, and the other was that the position change had amplified the pounding in her head. Nausea had her gulping for air and dropping her head in an effort to stave it off.
“What’s wrong?” Harry ran his hands up and down her arms.
“Are you sick to your stomach?” Thad seemed to know what she was going through.
“Yeah. Give me a minute. I think it’s getting better now.” Abby was sure it wasn’t, but didn’t want to alarm anyone.
God, please don’t let me throw up. I can’t slow them down any more than I already have.
“You’re dehydrated. You’ll feel better once you’ve sipped on some water. Not a lot, just enough to settle your stomach.” Thad took the water bottle Harriet had gotten and handed to him. “Here, just a few sips.”
Abby took the bottle in both hands once he’d unscrewed the top. It tasted wonderful. She really wanted to drain the thing but knew Thad was right. If she drank too much, she’d get sick for sure.
“Thanks. I do feel better now, but I’d better sit back down and rest.”
Harry helped her sit but didn’t remain next to her. Instead, he left the circle of light from the candles to disappear in the direction of the kitchen. She sent a questioning glance in Thad’s direction but he only shook his head.
“Don’t worry, Abby. He’s just relieved that you’re finally awake and doing this well. We’ve all been worried about you, and Harry really likes you, ma chèr. Give him some time.” Thad handed her the bottle of water back and encouraged her to take a few more small sips.
“What about you? Do you like me, Thad? I’ve gotten a lot of mixed signals from both of you. I’m kind of confused,” she confessed.
Abby wasn’t sure where her bravado had come from. Maybe it was due to nearly being killed, even if she didn’t exactly remember any of it.
“Yes, I do, Abby. I enjoy talking with you and being around you. You’re strong and capable and—”
“You make me sound like a good draft horse or a prize cow.” Abby had to fight hard not to cry. It was what she’d feared. Her size always seemed to matter to men.
“I was going to say, and the sexiest woman I’ve ever met.” Thad’s brows furrowed even as he narrowed his eyes. “Why do you think that I’m comparing you to a draft horse? You’re beautiful and smart. Can’t I like you for reasons other than your rocking hot body? ’Cause I can go on and on about that, but most women want to be liked for their brains and not their body.”
Abby realized that without meaning to, she’d insulted him. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair of me. It’s just that I’ve had to deal with insults about my size all my life and I tend to fight first and not wait for the digs. I shouldn’t have lumped you with all of those people.”
His face lost the hard lines and tense lines between his eyes. “It’s okay. You really do have a sexy-as-hell body, chèr. My idea of heaven would be to sit by a stream with my head on your lap pressed against your belly and looking up at those amazing tits of yours. Um, sorry, breasts.”
Abby couldn’t help but laugh. “Tits are fine. I can handle that if you can handle tally wanker,” she teased.
“What? Are you kidding me? It’s a cock, a nice fat long one.”
Abby nearly rolled over laughing at the look of outrage on his face. He’d crossed his legs and now held his hands over his crotch. She couldn’t believe they were teasing each other like this. He seemed so capable and steady that she’d wondered if he ever really relaxed. Here it was and she loved it.
“What’s so funny?” Harriet stepped into the candlelight, followed by her brother, and sat cross-legged across from Abby.
“Thad thinks tally wanker is insulting to a man’s penis. What do you think?” she asked the other woman.
“Oh, God! Don’t you dare say wiener dog around Harry. He gets absolutely livid.” Harriet burst out laughing when her brother scowled at her.
“Why are we even talking about this in the first place?” Harry asked, still wearing the dark scowl.
“We’re trading insults.”
Abby didn’t really want to go into the truth on that one. Not with Harry. It felt a little like betrayal to her. It wasn’t like she was in a relationship with either man, but showing favoritism right now didn’t seem right. Especially since Harry had been so worried and she still wasn’t comfortable with feeling attracted to both of them. Even if she could admit it to herself and maybe even go with it. She didn’t think that the two men would be able to share with each other. If she couldn’t have both of them, it would be best if she didn’t choose one over the other. She’d always regret it and would probably feel guilty.
“Can I get in on that?” Harry asked as his face seemed to slip into a less agitated expression. “I have some doozies for Thad.”
“Hey! Don’t come at me. I can insult you in French and you’d never know it.” Thad smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“No more insults.” Abby wasn’t about to let them get into a fight like that. “We were just playing around, Harry. Weren’t we, Thad?”
To her relief his smile relaxed and he nodded. “Sorry, we’re all on edge with what happened.”
“Yeah.” Harry seemed to switch to his normally relaxed self. “I bet you’re hungry. What do you want to eat? There’s—”
“Beanie Weenies,” Harriet interrupted with a squealed laugh.
Harry just looked up toward the ceiling and shook his head. “Why did Mom and Dad insist on twins?”
“Um, Harry. I don’t think your parents had much of a choice,” Abby pointed out.
“Actually, they did,” Harriet chimed in. “They had trouble having kids so the doctor put Mom on a fertility drug and she ended up pregnant with six little butter beans threatening to hatch into babies. The doc told them they needed to mak
e a decision, to try to carry all six or trim it down to one or two. They chose two.”
“I don’t think they needed to hear all of that, sis.” Harry ruffled her hair, then gave her a push so that she rolled over.
“So, what will it be?” Thad spoke up over the two siblings’ tickling match.
Abby burst out laughing. “I sure don’t want whatever they had. Look at them.”
Thad watched the two of them wrestling over a pillow now. He just shook his head.
“Right. I’ll have a can of pork and beans, please.” Abby suddenly felt shy with him despite there being the twins in the room with them.
“Coming right up. Take another sip or two of water. I’ll be right back.” Thad rose to his feet and walked out of sight.
Abby didn’t miss the way his ass filled out his jeans. That tear just under the pocket proved that the man went commando. Or he wore a thong. Um, no. She couldn’t see him wearing a thong. She looked over to where Harry and his sister had stopped tussling and were talking. She would bet that Harry wore boxers. Now she wished he would stand up and walk away so she could see if there were any telling tears in his jeans. Of course, she could always ask his sister. She’d know. She’d probably tell Harry that Abby had asked, too. Nope. Not going there.
Why am I torturing myself like this? Just thinking about them naked has my pussy tingling and soaking wet. They would never agree to share, and that’s the only way I can be with either of them. Please let there be other men I’m attracted to when we get to the new community.
Abby fretted all through eating her beans, wondering how she would be able to ignore them once they arrived at their destination. She didn’t want to ignore them. She wanted the exact opposite. Could she figure out a way to get them to share? She cut her eyes over to where Harriet sat eating while Harry worked on something from his backpack. Maybe Harriet would help her since she wasn’t attracted to Thad. But could she trust the other woman not to warn her brother?