Cherishing Brianna [Fate Harbor 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Caitlyn O'Leary

  When she didn’t respond, he continued, “I wish I were good at accents. Everybody sounds like a Yank to me, but Emily can tell if they are from the South, or New York, or the lots of different places.” Brianna grinned at his dejected expression, but she knew that he was playing it up to make her feel better.

  “Yeah well, it only ever helped me when I played Snow White at Disneyland.”

  “Huh?” Zac sat back from the table and picked up his coffee cup, giving her his full attention. “Did you wear the full costume? The wig and everything?”

  “Oh yeah. I would walk around the park. It was a job I had when I was living with the Hutchins. Anyway, I would stop and take pictures with people. I had a good ear. When people would come up to me they would usually be talking, so if they were speaking in English I could ask them what part of the Midwest they were from. Or what part of Wales or whatever. If they were speaking in Korean I could say hello to them.”

  “How do you say hello in Korean?”

  “Anyoung haseyo.” It came out automatically.

  “Brianna, that’s amazing.” What was amazing was how his shirt stretched across his chest. Unfortunately she hadn’t been picking up any reciprocal vibes. But the second she thought that, he gave her the slowest and hottest smile. “I would have given anything to see you in your Snow White costume.” And that was the moment that the knock on the door sounded.

  “That must be Chance or Sam.”

  “Oh, Angel, I think you are underestimating the situation.” Zac grabbed her hand, and led her to the front door. As they passed the living room window, Brianna gulped to see two trucks and a Cadillac out in front.

  Zac opened the door, and he was still holding her hand. “Welcome. Please come in.” He stepped back to let in Betty and Butch. She saw Olivia, Sam and Chance and a couple of other men following them, but before she could process Betty was in front of her.

  “Oh honey, I’m so glad to see you looking so good, you had us worried.” Betty enveloped her in a big hug, and then Brianna was transferred into Butch’s arms.

  “Kiddo, it’s so good to see you. You need to visit more often, and you need to take better care of yourself.” Was there anything better than getting a hug from Butch Hutchins?

  As she stood there, soaking up Butch’s warmth and strength, she heard Olivia’s voice. “Give her over, Dad. I need a hug.” Butch transferred her to Olivia’s embrace.

  “Are you okay, baby sister?” Brianna was worried her ribs might break. She and Olivia were evenly matched in size, but her sister was fierce in her hugs. She held Brianna away from her and looked her in the eye, and Brianna just leaned back in and hugged her.

  “God I’ve missed you, Olivia.” Brianna reluctantly let her go. “So introduce me to your men.” It was amazing to see her sister light up like a child at Christmas. In all the time she had known her, she had been so composed, it was a revelation to see her so excited and in love.

  “Brianna, I want you to meet Ian Ransom and Joshua Parker.” With each hand she pulled forward two gorgeous men. One looked faintly Native American, where the other was a huge Scottsman. Both of them smiled at her and gave her hugs, but she knew she was being judged. She understood. She was judging them as well. Nobody wanted Olivia to get hurt.

  “Hi, guys, it’s so great to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”

  “Hi, Brianna. I’m glad you made it,” Joshua said.

  “Safe and sound,” Ian inserted. “We’re glad you made it safe and sound, because Olivia has been really worried about you.” His displeasure was clear and Olivia hit his arm.

  “Down, boy. Brianna, ignore him.” Olivia gave her a pleading look.

  “Why don’t you all sit down, and I’ll get some refreshments.” Zac motioned everybody toward the living room.

  “Zac, I’ve imposed enough, why don’t Sam and I just take off now? Right, Sam?” Brianna shot her brother a pleading look, but Zac gently grasped her upper arm.

  “Nonsense. I’ve never had the opportunity to meet Olivia, Ian, or Sam. Are you going to deny me this opportunity?” She looked up at Zac in confusion. Was he out of his mind? Why in the hell would he want to be surrounded by the hovering hoard? What was more, it had only gotten worse with the addition of Ian and Joshua. She bit her lip. She had forgotten she had used to call them the hovering hoard. Zac looked at her. His eyes were twinkling. He had caught her hint of laughter. Damn it, he was too damn cute for his own good.

  While Zac went and got lemonade and iced tea, she found herself looking around an old-fashioned, ranch-style living room. Butch and Betty were seated on the loveseat across from her, and Olivia was bracketed by her men on the sofa. Chance was lounging on the piano bench and Sam was leaning against the mantel. Everyone was silent until Zac came back and passed out refreshments. After he was done, he came to stand behind her chair. The silence was not a good sign at all.

  “Okay, let’s have it,” Brianna demanded, unable to handle the silence a moment more.

  “What?” Brianna had to give it to Betty, she could play innocent better than a three-year-old with her hand in the cookie jar.

  “Come on, there is so something going on, and I’m pretty sure I know what it is. Olivia let it slip a couple of weeks ago, and I told her no then. My answer hasn’t changed. I moved away from home when I graduated from high school, what makes you think I would move to where y’all are now?”

  “She said y’all, did you hear that Sam?” Chance asked as he snagged a glass of iced tea.

  “She’s really a southern California surfer girl at heart, and here she is talking like a native Texan. It’s cute as hell.” Sam grabbed his lemonade. Brianna watched as everyone helped themselves their drinks. “Sweet iced tea for the Southern girl,” Sam said as he handed her a glass.

  Brianna rolled her eyes as she took it.

  “Brianna, southern California didn’t have a lot of happy memories for you, so Butch and I understood when you decided to move as soon as you graduated. We also understood why Sam enlisted. Both of you needed to start new lives. But time’s moved on,” Betty said, looking at Brianna. “Not just time, but we’ve even moved locations.”

  Butch laughed. “What your mother is trying to say is that we think now is the perfect time and place for you to come home.” She looked at this big man, somebody who had scared her in the beginning, but had turned into a rock she could lean on. Brianna gave him a wan smile.

  “I know you mean well, but I—”

  “Three months. Three, months sis. You can stay for just three months, can’t you?” Brianna looked over at Olivia and rolled her head on her shoulders. Damn it, she had never been able to say no to her sister when she asked a favor. Olivia so rarely asked for anything.

  “Olivia, what if I let you down? Look how I screwed up on the motorcycle the other night.” She just had to try one more time to get out of this untenable situation.

  “So don’t let her down, you’re an adult, you know how to act responsibly,” Ian snapped. Brianna felt like she had been punched, but she’d be damned if she’d take this shit from anyone, even if they were saying it to protect Olivia.

  “Wow, I guess Olivia’s never going to have to wonder where she stands with you, huh, He-Man? So is it the steroids or the red hair?” Sam and Chance both barked out laughs, and she saw Joshua grinning. Meanwhile, Brianna watched as Olivia’s fingers tightened on Ian’s bicep.

  “Look Ian, what I do with my life is my business. I care about every member of my family. You don’t know me, and I don’t know you. So let’s agree not to judge one another on such a limited acquaintance, shall we?” Brianna took a long shallow breath between gritted teeth, hoping nobody would notice how nervous she had been delivering that speech. Zac, who was standing behind her chair, put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

  “Ian, you’re being an ass,” Joshua said in a very mild tone as he smiled directly into Brianna’s eyes. “Brianna, you living the life you want, the wa
y you want, will never upset Olivia or her family. I know how these people operate now, and they stand by their loved ones.”

  “Please, can you stay for three months? We’re going on our honeymoon, and then we have to be in Boston for a month after that. If you stay for three months, that means we’ll have six weeks to be together. That gives me six weeks to try to convince you to stay.”

  “Can’t you just come back here after your honeymoon for a week?” Brianna knew she was sounding desperate, but that was only because she was feeling desperate.

  “Honey, I can’t. I really can’t. Not only are we putting the Louisville Kentucky shelters online so they’ll be connected, we’re opening our first shelter in the city of Boston. It’s just too hectic. We have to be in Boston, and can’t come back any sooner.”

  “It’s not all about you, Brianna,” Ian said as he glowered at her.

  “Are you taking steroids?” Olivia asked in an exasperated tone of voice. “Please, Brianna, do you have something that can’t wait?” Damn it, she was feeling boxed in.

  “It’s complicated.”

  “Please, Bri, won’t you consider it?” Brianna turned from Olivia to her foster mother.

  “Mom, you don’t understand.”

  “Brianna, I really think that you need to agree to stay until Olivia returns home. I know you don’t want to, but I’m asking you to do this as a favor to me.” She looked over at the man who had been one of the best things to have ever happen to her. She idolized Butch Hutchins, and here he was, asking for a month of her time. She swallowed and rubbed her sweaty palms on the legs of her borrowed jeans. She then felt Zac squeezing her shoulder in support. “We’ve missed you, and the state you were in tells me you need to rest. Let us just spoil you for a while, then you can do whatever you want, but won’t you give us that?” She looked around at all the people she loved, and admitted to herself that they were right. She needed a rest. The idea of leaning on these people she trusted for support sounded like a gift from God.

  “I would love to, Butch.”

  Chapter 7

  Now he finally knew the answer to the age-old question, you had to be forty years old to feel comfortable wearing a tux. One of the last women he had dated was a doctor and she had gone to a lot of charity events, so Charlie had finally broke down and bought one, instead of continuing to rent one. It made all the difference in the world to have something fitted exactly to your body, especially when you were six foot three and built like a wrestler.

  “You look lovely, sheriff,” Mrs. Ryan said as he ushered her to her seat. He gave an inward wince at the term lovely, but an outward smile, and thanked the older lady.

  “Helen, nobody is going to outshine you today but the bride,” Charlie said with sincerity. He looked over the eighty-year-old woman, and was impressed to see her white hair done in a sophisticated bob, dressed in a peach, knit, two-piece suit that showed off legs that ended in patent-leather peach pumps. “As a matter of fact, I’m surprised that Jack let you far enough off the leash to allow me to walk you up the aisle to your seat.”

  “I promised him sexual favors, if he would let me rub up against you while you were decked out in your wedding finery. He’ll be along in a moment.” Charlie couldn’t smother his laugh in time, and people all around them started staring.

  “Pet, are you not behaving?” Jack Ryan asked smoothly as he slid into the pew from the other side. Charlie watched as a blush crept up Helen’s face. “Sheriff, thank you for taking such good care of my wife. I’ve got it from here.” Charlie watched as the older man picked up his wife’s hand, brought her palm to his mouth, and kissed it. There she was, eighty years old, melting into the church pew. Damn, what he wouldn’t give to have something like that.

  As he turned around to walk to the back of the church to find the next person to usher into their seat, he saw two of his oldest and dearest friends seated next to their fiancé. Caleb Samuels, Leif Johansen, and Isabella Camarena were totally oblivious to anything and everyone around them. Charlie watched as both Caleb and Leif picked up one of Isabella’s hands and brought it to his lips, each kissing one of her palms. She softened into their embrace, just like Helen had moments before. He turned his head away, not wanting to intrude on such an intimate moment.

  When he got back to the church vestibule, there was nobody left to seat. He saw that it was down to Ian Ransom and Butch Hutchins. Joshua Parker was the man who Olivia was going to legally marry, and Ian Ransom was going to act as the best man with Brianna as the maid of honor. Butch was going to escort Olivia down the aisle. Outside a tent was set up, which was where Ian, Joshua and Olivia were going to join in a commitment ceremony. Charlie had heard that Joshua’s parents weren’t attending either ceremony.

  “Where are the girls?” Charlie asked as he looked around.

  “Late,” Ian said gruffly. Butch clapped the man on the shoulder, providing reassurance.

  “Of course they’re late. Olivia wants to look perfect for you. Give her time.”

  “I’m going to go grab a seat. Break a leg.” Charlie grinned at the nervous firefighter. Just as he turned, Brianna walked out. She was breathtaking. She was wearing a floor-length gown that hugged her curves just right. It looked like something an old-fashioned movie star would wear. It was a material made in the softest green to match her eyes and compliment her hair. She was a vision.

  “Where’s Olivia?” Ian asked, looking past her at the door she had just come through.

  “Brianna, you look beautiful, and if Ian had a brain in his head, he would have told you the same thing,” Butch said as he moved forward to kiss his daughter.

  “She’s not coming out until we’re down the aisle and waiting at the front of the church,” Brianna said as she walked up and smoothed down Ian’s lapel. She gave the big man a hug and looked him deep in the eye. “Ian, Olivia wants to walk down the aisle to both of her men.” Charlie could see how deeply moved Ian was by the sentiment, and once again he found himself turning away from a moment that was just too intimate to be shared.

  “Off you go, you two. The sooner you get going, the sooner I can walk the bride down the aisle,” Butch said as he waved the two toward the door.

  Charlie hustled out the door so he could snag a seat near the back of the church, and then he turned with the crowd as Ian escorted Brianna to the front of the church.

  This looked nothing like the woman in leathers he had met three nights ago. She looked like she should be walking a red carpet somewhere. When she walked by, she gave him a quick wink, and he grinned like an idiot. As she passed, he was disappointed that he wasn’t going to be able to see her face, or her breasts anymore, and then he immediately changed his mind.

  What an ass! The dress was one of the figure-hugging deals that forced her to walk with a wiggle. God bless Olivia for choosing it. He was going to have to send another wedding gift. He had thought Brianna filled out her leathers pretty well when he had frisked her, but he had no idea what a work of art those pants had been containing. Charlie shifted in his seat, thankful that his suit coat would be long enough to cover his erection when he stood for the bride’s entrance.

  * * * *

  Apparently there were two men in Fate Harbor that she wanted to sleep with, Brianna thought as she swung her foot, the silver pump dangling off her toe. She watched Charlie Meade as he danced with her foster mother. God, he was good with the ladies. She was pretty sure she was the only woman in the tent that he hadn’t danced with. Interesting. That was definitely significant.

  She continued to drink her soft drink and peruse the dance floor. It was the first time all night that she had a moment to herself. Apparently Chance had told people she wanted to meet everyone, and the whole town had decided to come and introduce themselves. One of the things that had surprised and enchanted Brianna was the number of threesomes that she had seen on the dance floor. The oldest looked to be in their seventies. Olivia had told her that this was a practice that had been long establi
shed in Fate Harbor, but it wasn’t until she had seen this that it had really clicked home.

  She smiled seeing her brothers with their little wife. She wasn’t surprised to see Chance so deeply in love. Chance was destined to live a charmed life. He had sped through high school and gotten a master’s degree in finance by the time he was twenty. He was gobbled up by a start-up in Silicon Valley and made CFO almost immediately. He was retired with a golden parachute faster than most people finished paying off their first car.

  It was Sam that surprised her. Sam was a lot like her. They were both the same age, and both of them had been shuffled between the Hutchins and their parents. When they graduated, she had taken off, and Sam had joined the Marines. He had always been somebody she could lean on and depend on, but she had worried about him. He was closed off, and a lot of times it was like only Chance could get through to him. But seeing him now, he seemed happy and fulfilled. She watched as he drew Josie in closer and nuzzled her neck, and then Chance bent and kissed the top of her head.

  “They look good together, don’t they?” Charlie plucked the glass from her hand before it sloshed.

  “Yes, they really do. I’m sorry I didn’t make it home for their ceremony.”

  “It was another one where the entire town turned out. We love our weddings.”

  “I counted almost ten triads on the dance floor.”

  “There are more, they just aren’t dancing.”

  “I never figured that two of my siblings would end up in polyamorous relationships,” Brianna said as she gazed at Charlie’s blue eyes. He was awfully handsome. She even liked his blonde hair with the red highlights. He picked up on her notice because suddenly his eyes narrowed.

  “How about you Brianna, would you like to dance?” he asked as his hand snaked out to grasp her hand. God, she liked how it completely swallowed her own. Mentally she compared it to Zac’s and realized it was different, but she really liked both. She was in hot water.