Haught & Bothered: Haught Brothers Book 3

by Leela Lou Dahlin

  “True?”

  She turned and saw Rosy approach. “Hey, Rosy. I got the information from the sale. That was pretty awesome. Thanks.”

  “You did an amazing job pulling the people together for that but I saw what you paid me and think there’s been a discrepancy.” Rosy sat at the bar with her phone in her hand. “I just got the payment.”

  “I paid you what I thought your participation was worth. There isn’t any way I could have done all that without you and I wasn’t even very helpful yesterday.” True took a sip of the wine thinking she probably should have paid her more than the forty percent she gave.

  “I wasn’t that helpful, and I can’t believe you paid me so much. You appreciate me and I’m so thankful for that, you have no idea, but this payment was massive.”

  “Good, Rosy. I know you’ve done some shitty things in the past and you’re trying to get your rep built back up, but know your worth. You are a huge asset to all of us. Don’t let what you’ve done in your past keep you at a place where you have to stay and grovel. You’re better than that. I see you trying to fit in with this family and you remind me a bit of myself.”

  “I have family.” Rosy looked around when she said that. It was like she had to say it out loud so she could believe that herself.

  “I’m glad you do although you still look at the Haughts the way I’m sure I do too.” True looked down at her glass. “I’m glad you have family. I got a tiny sliver of information that there’s a possibility I have a sibling of mine floating around.”

  “That’s awesome.” Rosy looked so happy True was mad that she brought it up but it crossed her mind every once in a while.

  “Don’t get excited. I don’t have a lot of leads and I’m afraid of what I’m going to find if and when I do find them.” True topped off her wine glass and raised it to Rosy. “I think I’m going to go and sit by the pool.”

  “Would you like me to come along with you?” Rosy asked as she got up from her stool.

  “Sure. The more the merrier.” That’s what True said and she meant it because she sure wasn’t going to be feeling merry alone with the way her thoughts were beating her up.

  “Great I’ll get my drink and meet you at the pool.”

  True watched the woman go back over and collect her drink. She could feel Alec’s gaze on her and she looked briefly just to make sure she was right but she didn’t pause to acknowledge him or look hard enough to see what his eyes would tell her he was feeling.

  Rosy came back and Gemmi called out. “Where are you two going?”

  “I’m in the mood for some fresh air so I was going to sit by the pool and Rosy said she wanted to come too.” True responded to Gemmi but knew what was going to come next.

  “Then I want to come too.” Gemmi tried to get up by herself but sat back down before Camden stood up to help her get her footing.

  True waited for the guest of honor to waddle over to where she was waiting before moving toward the door.

  When they got to the pool and Gemmi was set under a large umbrella they found that everyone who was inside was now finding spots outside.

  “I didn’t mean to move the party,” True said to Gemmi.

  “True, you know the party is where you are, and it was a good suggestion to move out here.” Gemmi was one person who wasn’t able to keep her feelings off her sleeve or in this case her face. So she could see the concern on her face even though she hoped she wouldn’t speak on it with all these people around.

  “Thank you. I’m glad you wanted to come outside too.” Smiling at Gemmi and hoping she was going to be able to convey that she was alright without words. The woman picked up her hand and held it for a long while before she squeezed it and put it down. Whew…crisis averted.

  “Everyone always wants to be where you are, True, but we’ll understand if what you need isn’t something you can find where we are.” Gemmi spoke quietly and True tried not to shatter from the love and understanding in her friends voice. “Just don’t forget us if you have to go.”

  True nodded at her friend and then finished her glass of wine. “I’d never forget you, Gemmi, and I’m thankful for your understanding.”

  There were more people coming over to the pool and the conversations were in full swing. True stood up and mouthed to Gemmi she was going to refill her glass. She walked back into the house, put her glass on the table and tried to pull herself together. For someone who was not very emotional, these last few months had been confusing and exhausting.

  “Is everything okay?” Camden said entering the room.

  “It’s going to be.”

  The man nodded his head. “Well you don’t have to tell me who’s ass to kick if things don’t work out.”

  “Thanks Camden.”

  She looked out at the patio at all her friends and family and wondered if she’d ever be able to leave them, even if it would make life easier for her.

  Chapter 14

  “Have you talked to her?” Beau waited until after everyone had eaten and the woman he was referencing had gone home.

  “Dude, you’ve been here all night watching my every move. You’re the one who asked me not to talk to her about the whole Luc thing so I haven’t.” Alec had been nursing the one beer for the last three hours. Drinking is what someone who was happy and celebrating did. It was not what he would be doing if he drowned himself in alcohol right now. All bartenders knew this whether they practiced it or not.

  “Look she told Karessa and I a bit of what’s been going on with you two and I wasn’t for it at all. With your past track record I knew you’d fuck this up. Now it looks like I was right.” The frown on his brother’s face was so deep it distorted his face. “It wouldn’t surprise me if you just got with her to piss her off so you wouldn’t have to be bothered with the feelings you have for her.”

  Alec wasn’t surprised that True had told her two best friends, but he was shocked that Beau hadn’t said anything to him about it until now. “First…it’s idiotic to think I’d do something to run True off. I know how everyone feels about her and I know how she feels about everyone, but at least I now know how low you think I’d go for my own comfort. And second—you know what? I’m not going into this with you. I know she’s your friend but it’s none of your business.”

  “I’m not sure what’s going on with you, Alec, because you don’t talk to me or Camden about it. We figured out what was up with Cam after Gemmi came to you with what happened when he was seven and then I opened up about how Mom’s death affected me when I was about to lose Karessa, but you still won’t share. I think it has something to do with why you have treated a woman who has loved you for years the way you have.” Beau sat on one of the comfortable chairs in the living room and stared up at his brother. It was obvious he wanted him to sit down and spill his guts in the name of love but he wasn’t ready to share that. It was something he’d known about himself since he’d found out his father had died from a broken heart. He loved too hard.

  “I really don’t want to talk about this.” Alec was getting ready to go and he had been simmering in his own thoughts for the whole day feeling all sorts of things from guilt, to anger, to jealousy, to desire and back so the whole cycle could start again. That is what was going on inside him but outside no one would be able to tell by looking at him. He was sure of it.

  “That’s the problem. You never want to talk about it and there is a woman who’s been waiting for you to notice her. Now you have and you’re still just sitting there. The issue is this isn’t just about you…one of my best friends is thinking of moving away probably forever because you’re an asshole and she isn’t going to want to look at your face. Since my face resembles yours she won’t want to see me either.”

  Alec really had nothing to say to his brother about this that was going to get the man off his case. This secret surprise he was working on for True was causing more trouble than he thought it would. The problem was the messenger he was using. He was smart enough to
know bringing Joni into the mix wasn’t going to work too well, but he’d had no idea she was an undercover fan of True’s. Well, he knew she liked her work but not so much the picture of a man’s neck would get her all excited.

  “Beau?” Alec was watching the man get more and more upset. It was like when they were kids. Beau would get himself all worked up all by himself and then be ready to fight about whatever tale he’d talked himself into believing.

  “Fix this.” Beau said before standing up and walking off.

  *****

  Alec drove around after leaving Beau’s house and that odd conversation only to find every path he took seemed to lead him back to True’s front door. The lights were off and it was very late. He should call to see if she was alone but in the depths of his heart he knew she was. With a sigh of resignation he parked, got out of the car and walked to her door. He didn’t ever remember a time he was such a chicken shit. His nickname around the bar was Scary Haught…not that he was supposed to know about that.

  That thought got him to at least ring the doorbell although now that he did it he wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. He couldn’t tell her about what he and Joni were working on so that probably wasn’t going to go over well, but just watching Luc fawn over her was way too much for him to handle and he actually wanted to talk to her about that.

  The door opened and he frowned. “Why didn’t you ask who it was? You could have been robbed or worse when you opened the door.”

  “Did you come here to lecture me, Mr. Haught?” True looked like she wasn’t surprised he’d shown up but she didn’t look like she typically appeared when he saw her. The expression that was missing was one of his favorites, the happy to see him face. “I was reading and saw you drive by a few times before I took my shower and went to bed. Plus who else would be ringing my doorbell at this time of night?”

  He wasn’t even going to go there with that one because it was just going to start a fight. “Can I come in?”

  Doubt covered her face and he struggled hard not to let True see how much that hurt. She stepped back into the house and held the door open for him to walk through.

  “How often do you see Joni?”

  “There is something that she’s working on for me but I don’t talk to her much.”

  “So you don’t talk to her much, but you went to lunch with her yesterday and then you talked to her after she came to the sale at the gallery?” True sat down on the chair and drew up her legs under her to take up the rest of the chair.

  He shrugged and stood against the wall next to where she was sitting.

  “Why are you here?” She stared at him as she waited.

  “Why do you love me?” That is so not what he wanted to come out of his mouth and his stomach turned as he waited for her answer.

  “Is that why you’re here? To critique my feelings for you? She shook her head and turned her face away from him.

  “Not a critique…just a question. Watching you with your admirer all day seems to have made me a bit needy.”

  “Well that’s a new one,” she said with a humorless chuckle. He could see her face in the decorative mirrored wall she had in the room. She looked softer than she had all day as she contemplated her answer. “I’ve loved you from the very first time I met you. Everyone else had a big, bright smile and a look of welcome on their faces and you looked like you didn’t have it in you to fake it. You looked exactly how I felt.”

  He cleared his throat because he’d remembered her being introduced. She was so pretty with her shiny hair pulled up into a puff on top of her head as she stood there as if waiting to see what this rowdy group of boys would think of her. His brother had walked up and looked at True liked he’d found his next best friend but she continued to stare at him until she asked her question.

  “From then on you were the one I wanted to know. Once I made you smile and after that my whole goal in life was to see it happen again. You’re gruff but you’re also kind, although you don’t want anyone to know about that side.” True smiled like she was remembering something. This whole speech she’d not looked at him but somewhere off in the distance. “The day I brought you soup and you asked me to stay I was in disbelief the whole time because you usually let me get close and then push me away. Actually I’m always waiting for that part…even now. So if it’s coming then let’s have it.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t think I don’t know the pattern. You get close to me then push away. I think this is the longest I’ve stayed close and honestly I think that’s why I tried to cut it off this time. It’s difficult for me to do. If it’s not your odd humor or your weird charm that keeps me coming back it’s your dick game. It’s pretty strong.”

  “You do like a good fuck. Nothing wrong with that.” Alec tried to lighten the mood but he wanted to kick his own ass for how he made this woman who meant so much to him feel.

  “I think I love you because you typically make me feel really good about myself, I can talk with you about everything and you usually make me laugh through any and all my issues. You make me happy just by being your grumpy, standoffish self.” True turned to look at him then and although he swore he laughed each and every year his brothers teased him about his heart size and it’s relation to a green guy on a mountain who wanted to stop Christmas it felt like that his heart grew a few sizes listening to True. “What do you feel about me, Alec?”

  It was like his heart was beating in overdrive and he had no idea what would come out if he tried to talk. This isn’t how he operated. He took things in, analyzed them and gave logical answers. This didn’t feel logical or well thought out. His emotions were prepped to answer this question and he wasn’t sure what he was going to say, so he did what they did well. Pulling her up from the chair he brought her to him and kissed her neck. It was like he was hyperaware of everything. The taste of her skin on his tongue made him want more and she dropped her robe revealing all of that beautiful brown skin. He bit and licked a path between her ear and her shoulder. She undid his pants and his mind was a whirl with the desire to show her how much he’d enjoyed what she’d said about him and wanted to show her the answer to her question.

  She turned him so his back was facing the couch where she’d been sitting, then she dropped his pants so they fell to his ankles and pushed him so he sat down.

  It was going too fast and there was something wrong with the mood of the room but it was so difficult to figure out when his cock was hard against his stomach and a naked True was straddling his lap like she was a cowgirl in a porn film.

  “True wait.” Alec said trying to get a hold of what was going on. He hated feeling out of control but since he’d been on this rollercoaster relationship seven plus months ago that was the way things had been going. He just needed to take a minute and think this through.

  “Wait for what? You gave your answer.”

  “What?” He heard the defeat in True’s words and put his hand on her hips to stop her descent but she was faster than he was and she slid down on his cock taking him balls deep with one smooth motion. “Ohhhh.”

  She brought his hands up to cup her breasts as she brought her mouth down to his. Her kisses were aggressive and mind blowing. Then she started to move. Not the slow strokes he’d always used to get her nice and revved up, she started on high speed and was like a machine with the easy and powerful way she rode his cock. It took all rational thought and he could barely get anything past her kisses.

  “True?” He watched her ride him and the erotic nature of the moment made his balls draw close, but there was no way he was going to come before she did. He wouldn’t have it. Alec moved his hands to her hips to take control of the pacing and lifted his head so he could capture one of her nipples in his mouth. He sucked harder than he intended and she grabbed the back of his head demanding he keep at it. Pounding away into her soft, wet pussy and trying to hold back was like a punishment. His cock was so hard and his body was so tight with the fight to do right by her.


  “I’m coming, Alec. Don’t stop.” The ripples her orgasm caused to pulse through her body also had her squeezing his cock within the warmth of her body and he roared his climax before hers had ended.

  “Holy fuck, True.” He’d never had anything feel that good…that complete in his life. He looked over to the woman who’d commanded his body but found no smile in return for his. She hopped off his lap leaving his wet cock waving in the breeze.

  “Come on.” She directed him to get up before she bent over in front of him. He was about to tell her he needed a bit of a break before he went again, but when she stood up she brought his pants with her. Pulling them up over his hips but leaving his cock out she held the two sides out and waited for him to grab them.

  “True?”

  “Shhh..follow me.” She was acting peculiar but he’d go with it. He fixed himself and followed her to the door. Maybe she wanted to show him something outside since she’d opened the door. He walked out and waited for her to follow but only heard the sound of the door closing and locking.

  “True?” He called her name as he knocked on the door.

  “Go home, Alec. The kitchen is closed.”

  It was hard for Alec to believe that after the most intense sex he’d ever had he was standing alone on her porch. He knew the woman well enough to know she’d talk when she was ready and not a damn second before so standing here attempting to draw her out wouldn’t work well at all.

  He’d see her at work tomorrow and maybe she’d feel like saying something to him then.

  Chapter 15

  True knew there was really no reason to work shifts at The Haught Spot but she’d been doing it forever because she loved it. Being with customers, talking with the staff, joking with Beau and Camden and of course being able to watch Alec. It was her favorite pastime but she was going to have to look for something else to do with her time. Was she considering leaving for a tour with Luc? Not really. She enjoyed what she did and liked that she had international followers, but she couldn’t do what she’d been doing. Alec had told her why he liked her and she decided to give him a fuck off…literally. It was one for the record books. The man was fucked stupid and she was glad she could give him something to remember her by.