One Thanksgiving in Lusty, Texas

by Cara Covington

  “Men fix things, angel,” James said. “That’s what we do.”

  His grin, half shy and yet sincere made her smile. She knew she didn’t have to explain herself any further than that.

  “That’s how your father ended up making the mistake he did. His inborn need to fix the financial situation he found himself in after the death of his wife led him to misjudge an opportunity. Making any decision of importance while in such an emotional state is always a tricky proposition.”

  “He has been so different these last few months. He’s been lost without Mom. I imagine being grief-stricken only contributed to his lack of judgment.” Pam sighed. “Thanks for that. I was having trouble dealing with my own emotions. I was angry with him. No, I was furious.” She sighed, closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them again. She smiled at Adam and then at James. “I was furious, but looking at it from a man’s perspective…that’s helped me.”

  “You’re welcome. You’re allowed to feel how you feel—even furious with your father. And we do know you’re not asking us to do anything for you. We already know you’re a self-sufficient woman, sweetheart,” Adam said. “We know you didn’t confide in us expecting anything except a sympathetic hearing.”

  Adam sat back and looked at James. He had his head tilted to the side as he met his brother’s gaze, and Pam had the sense they were somehow communicating with each other. This was something they had done on occasion since she’d met them. Her brothers had the same tendency, but they were twins. She’d considered it a twin thing, not necessarily a brother thing. But I guess it is a brother thing because Adam is a year older than James and they are definitely on the same wavelength.

  James gave an almost imperceptible nod. Adam moved his chair slightly so that he was facing her. Reaching for her hands, he took gentle hold and brought them to his lips. She adjusted herself in her chair so she faced him.

  “You may have already figured out, Casanovas, we are not.” He held her gaze. In his eyes she read an apology but also such fierce determination. “We’re not smooth, and neither of us has a silver tongue. I’ve been hesitant to move our relationship to the next level, because there was a conversation we needed to have first, about expectations.

  “But we have to leave Baltimore soon, and we know the time for procrastination is done. We’d already planned to have this conversation tonight before you told us about your worries over your father.

  “The truth is, Pammy, we don’t want to go home without you. We want you to marry us.”

  Pamela blinked. She couldn’t have heard right. “Did you just say us?”

  Adam nodded. “James told me he believed you’re drawn to both of us. That you’ve begun to fall for both of us. Is he wrong, sweetheart?”

  Heart in her throat, her pulse pounding out a staccato beat, she wished for one moment that the floor would just open up and swallow her. That she wanted both men had been her dirty little secret—she’d thought. Then she looked, really looked, from Adam to James. All she could see on their faces was…hope.

  How could she possibly lie to them? “No, he’s not wrong. But how—”

  Adam placed a gentle finger on her lips. “Where we come from, it’s not uncommon for two men to share a wife. We have two fathers, ourselves. Another thing that’s common and has been a pillar of our community, our lives, is that family always comes first.”

  “I…I’ve always felt that way myself. It’s why I moved home after…” Pamela was having a hard time stringing her thoughts together. She wanted to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Had she fallen down the rabbit hole? She didn’t think so.

  “We know. We both admired the way, when we first met, you made no apologies for having done so. Your worry for your father now just shows us your character. Pamela Jayne Franklin, will you marry us? Marry us, and we’ll help you fix this mess.”

  She felt a wisp of unease. She wanted to marry them to be married to them, not for any fixing they could do. They must know that about me, after those glowing words about my character. “I don’t know how that can be done, but yes. Yes, I’ll marry you both.”

  “Thank you.” Adam leaned forward and kissed her. The caress was soft, sexy, and over way too soon.

  “I’ll kiss you when we’re all three of us alone,” James said. “The ‘how’ is that you’ll be Adam’s legal wife. Right now, his and only his fiancée when we’re out in public. Later, at home, there’ll be a commitment ceremony where we all three will pledge to each other and be recognized by the family as husbands and wife.”

  “I want us to marry very soon,” Adam said. “But even though we’re not officially married, we both consider ourselves your husbands now. And as your husbands, it’s our duty and our privilege to take care of you. So, here’s what we propose, to ease your heart over the situation with your father.

  “We’ll invest in the farm, and we’ll set it all up through your father’s lawyer.”

  “Oh! No, that’s too much money! You haven’t even opened your practices yet!”

  Adam’s grin—his satisfied grin—just added to her confusion. That rabbit hole theory was gaining ground in her mind.

  James leaned closer across the table. “We do have a practice we share back home. Our father is there now and has been since we came here for extra training. Also, and more to the point, we both have massive trust funds,” he said. “More money than we could ever spend in two lifetimes. This is very doable for us, Pamela, and not a burden of any kind. Think of it as our taking funds from one investment and putting them in another.”

  “Men fix things.” Adam echoed his brother’s earlier words. “We’re scheduled to leave for Texas on April fourth. Do you think you can be ready to go with us by then?”

  Pamela looked from Adam to James. Her father had one thing right. She wouldn’t have left home, no matter how much she wanted to be with these two men, as long as he was in a crisis. If these men were willing to marry her and help her father, how could she possibly refuse?

  “Yes, I can be ready by then.”

  “You’ve made us the happiest men in the world, sweetheart,” Adam said. “Now let’s eat our dessert so we can go back to your house. I need to ask your father for your hand.”

  “I sincerely hope you want more of me than just my hand,” Pamela said.

  Adam and James both chuckled, and something about the soft, low sound made all her lady parts react. Her nipples peaked, and her panties became damp. Her heart took up a lazy, sexy rhythm, and a shiver of arousal coursed through her.

  “Angel, never doubt it. We want you, all of you—mind, body, heart, and soul.” James said.

  Definitely either down the rabbit hole or dreaming. Please, no one pull me out or wake me up. Pamela took a bite of her pie and discovered it was now her favorite food in the world.

  * * * *

  One week later, Pamela Franklin married Dr. Adam Jessop in the living room of the Franklin home.

  “We’re going to miss Pamela.” Reg Franklin stood against the outside wall in the living room, his new son-in-law beside him. Both men held a bottle of beer. Adam’s gaze was on his bride. Just watching the two of them together as they’d repeated their vows earlier had eased Reg’s heart immensely.

  Adam’s brother James never left Pamela’s side, standing with her as she mingled with the family and friends they’d invited for this happy, if somewhat spontaneous, occasion. Reg had to admire the close relationship the two brothers had. It reminded him of his own dear brother, Matthew. How Elizabeth had adored him, and he, her! And how they had both mourned deeply when Matt had been killed by that drunk driver. Reg mentally shook his head. That loss had been fifteen years ago last month. The pain had eased, and it did console him to know Matthew and Elizabeth were now together.

  Still, seeing the closeness the three shared comforted him. His daughter might be going all the way to Texas to live, but she wouldn’t be alone.

  “I can’t thank you enough for what you did to
help me out of that mess I got myself into.”

  “You don’t need to thank me,” Adam said. “One thing Pamela and I agree on is that family is everything—and you’re my family now, too. Plus, we know our future children’s education fund will be in very good hands.”

  “How you can say that when I made such a fucking stupid mess of things…”

  Adam placed his hand on Reg’s shoulder. “Reg? None of us is perfect. You’ve had a rough year. Cut yourself some slack. I can write that out as a prescription, if you like.”

  Reg chuckled. “I’ll work on it. Pamela asked for all the papers those con men gave me—prospectus, business cards, even the newspaper ad I’d clipped out. When I asked her why she wanted them, she said she didn’t want me looking at them and beating myself up over them. So, I gave them to her. I wanted you to know that.”

  “Pamela loves you, and in her way, she gave you the same advice I just did. It’s time to close the door to the past and look to the future.”

  Reg considered Adam. The man had come that Friday night—the night he’d confessed his sins to his daughter—to ask his permission to marry Pamela. He’d also offered to invest in the farm. They’d gone through Ted. The terms of the investment were that a percentage of the profits would be paid each year into a trust fund, to provide educations for Pamela’s future children.

  Adam is wise beyond his years. Reg would have refused a “bail-out” under any other circumstances. He still balked, until Ted, having made inquiries, let him know just how much the Jessops of Lusty, Texas, were worth. As Ted had said, the man was literally taking funds from one investment strategy and placing them in another. It really wasn’t a bailout at all.

  Yeah, I’ll never believe that. But maybe I can let go of some of my guilt.

  Since those were the words Adam himself had more or less used, Reg was becoming more comfortable with the situation. Adam was absolutely right in that they were family, now. And understanding how strongly Pamela had felt about moving home to help in the aftermath of Elizabeth’s death, he understood something now about Adam, too. The man was devoted to Pam’s happiness and had done what he could to ensure she had nothing to worry about where her father was concerned.

  “You’re right, Adam. It is time to look ahead to the future. In fact, I’ve already taken one small step. This morning, I hired Mrs. Mulvaney, from down the road, to come and cook for us. She’s widowed, in her fifties, and her kids don’t visit as much as they should. She sounded pleased at the prospect of coming by for a bit each day, and she’s a damn fine cook. That’ll be one more thing my Pammy-pooh doesn’t have to worry about.” He caught Adam’s quick grin at the nickname.

  “That’s good news. You know that we’ll visit, and you and the twins are always welcome to come visit us.”

  “I’ll plan on it. Never been to Texas.” Then he asked the question he’d been wanting to ask for a few days now. “Lusty, huh?”

  Adam Jessop actually blushed. Considering the man was an M.D., that was saying something. “Yes, sir. The town was named at its founding, back in the 1890s. We’re used to it, and I never gave much thought as to how it sounded, until we left home and attended college.”

  “So, it’s a well-established place, then?”

  “It is, and we’ll be taking over our practice that our father has been working, for us. Our Uncle Terrence has been there part time, as well. He became a doctor just as the Second World War began. He enlisted, and his first posting was close to the front lines. Dad will retire as soon as we get there, and Uncle Terrance will do the same, likely in a month or so.” Adam met his gaze. “Uncle Terrence came back after the war and took over being the town doctor from an older, distant cousin, Jerimiah Parker. Dad joined him shortly thereafter, so being the town’s doctor is kind of a family tradition. When they had a shortage at a nearby hospital, Uncle Terrence joined the staff there.”

  “I’d like to ask you one more question, if I may. It’s a bit personal.”

  “You’re my father-in-law,” Adam said. “Ask away.”

  “In light of the debacle I’d made, I had my lawyer make some phone calls, looking into your offer.”

  “I expected nothing less,” Adam said.

  “From what he learned, your entire family is as rich as Croesus. Being a doctor can be a stressful career. Why bother, when you clearly don’t have to work at all?”

  Adam’s smile was gentle. “Grandmother Amanda and Grandmother Sarah,” he said. “They both passed when I was about twelve, but what an impression they made! Grandmother Sarah, especially, had been adamant. According to her, ‘You don’t live rich, you don’t act better than other people, you spend your time earning your keep, and you live your life in service to others.’ Those are words I’ve never forgotten, and words most of the family lives by.”

  “Not a word among them I would disagree with. Son, I look forward to visiting and meeting your family.”

  “We’ll look forward to it, too, sir.”

  Someone put some music on the stereo, and “The Twelfth of Never” began to play. Reg nudged Adam. “Go dance with your wife. It’s your wedding day.”

  Adam clearly didn’t need to be asked twice, and neither did Pamela. Reg watched them as they moved together to the crooning of Johnny Mathis. He watched the way they looked at each other, the way his daughter melted into this man’s arms, and the flow of movement as he led her around the room. The couple had been married by Reverend Sparks right here in this room not three hours ago. Neighbors had brought over a potluck supper, and now there would be a little dancing. Nothing fancy, all homespun. The lights caught a few of the rhinestones imbedded in Pammy’s wedding dress, which had been Elizabeth’s dress that she and her mother had made.

  Reg’s throat tightened as he inevitably thought of his Elizabeth and plans made in the dark of night before sleep. Tears shimmered, and for a moment, he felt her right there beside him. “Aw, Lizzie, you’d be so proud watching her in your gown, how she sparkles. I know it’s not the big shindig you imagined for her, but if love and compassion are the measure, our baby’s wedding truly has it all.”

  Chapter Three

  “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re beginning our descent into Dallas, arriving at Love Field. The local time is twelve thirty-two p.m., and the temperature a balmy sixty degrees. Current winds are at about fourteen miles an hour, out of the south, south east. No precipitation is expected this afternoon. We hope you enjoy your stay in Dallas. On behalf of Captain Pettigrew and the flight crew, thank you for flying American Airlines.”

  The fasten seat belt sign came on, and Pamela sighed. Except for one notable occasion when she’d gotten up to use the bathroom, she’d kept her seatbelt fastened the entire time for this, her first flight ever.

  Her husbands had booked seats in first class, and the three-and-a-half-hour flight had included a light lunch as well as fresh coffee. Adam and James had offered her the window seat, but Pamela had been content to be on the aisle, so she could talk to Adam on her left and James on her right, seated in the same row but on the other side of the aisle.

  Her glance was snagged, again, by the shine of the gold band on the ring finger of her left hand. She couldn’t help but look at it, time and again. Adam had placed that slim, delicate ring on her finger yesterday, during their brief ceremony in her father’s living room, with the framed photograph of her mother looking on.

  Wearing her mother’s wedding dress, a gown Elizabeth Franklin had made with the help of Grandmother Franklin, Pamela had felt her mother there and felt her mother’s love and approval. She didn’t need anything more to know she’d made the right decision in saying yes to these two men.

  We’ll have our wedding night tomorrow, sweetheart. We want to love you in our own bed, behind our own closed doors.

  “What did you think of your first flight, sweetheart?” Adam picked up her left hand, placing a kiss right over the ring she wore.

  “Except for when everything shook for a few minutes,
I enjoyed it. How far is it from the airport to your…oh gosh! I don’t even know if you live in a house or an apartment!” In that moment, as the stewardesses were checking trays, seat backs, and seatbelts, Pamela realized there were a whole lot of things about her brand-new life and her brand-new husbands that she simply didn’t know.

  Adam shook his head. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I just now realized we’ve both been a couple of complete dunces. We haven’t told you much about Lusty or what to expect at all, have we?”

  “You’re not a dunce, Adam, and neither is James. This has been a very busy couple of weeks for all of us.” Time had simply raced from the evening her father had given his approval of her marriage until they were standing in the living room in front of Reverend Sparks with their small gathering of family friends.

  “And one during which we skipped the courtship and rushed you straight into marriage.” James had leaned across the aisle and said that.

  She opened her mouth to respond, but Adam leaned in closer.

  “To answer your questions, it’s a two-and-a-half-hour drive home. Our cousin, Caleb Benedict, is going to pick us up at the airport. We—the three of us—have a two-story house in the Victorian style, just a couple of houses down from where the doctor’s office is located, in the middle of town. Though it’s possible to do so, no one actually lives in that house anymore. Our house has a master suite, along with three other bedrooms upstairs. Downstairs there’s the usual—kitchen, dining room, living room, downstairs bathroom, and an extra bedroom that we currently use as a combination den and home office. There’s a good-sized, enclosed back yard with some gardens. I understand our mother’s been keeping an eye on them for us while we’ve been away.”

  “Any furniture you don’t like, we can replace with new,” James said. “It’s your house now, angel. We both want you to be happy there.”