One to Keep

by Sophie Oak

  Nate sighed, satisfaction plain in his stance. “You see, I can be the

  good guy in this situation. I can say, sure, use my wife the way you

  have for years. Don’t worry about me. I don’t mind. I can say all of

  that, because I know that Zane will do the right thing.”

  Apparently, in Nate’s mind, the right thing was to toss down his

  coffees and run toward the man horning in on his wife. Stef turned

  around just in time to get tackled. Jen rushed toward the fight.

  “Zane, you get off of him right now!” Callie shouted at her

  husband.

  “You fucking overgrown ape, stop hitting me!” Stef tried to push

  Zane off.

  “You get off my son, sir!” Sebastian’s back stiffened, and he

  looked at Callie. “Call the police, dear.”

  “The sheriff is standing right over there laughing his ass off, Mr.

  Talbot,” Jen said. She looked down at Stef, who was trying to give as

  good as he got. She had to give him that. For a rich boy, he knew how

  to fight dirty.

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  “Zane Hollister, stop beating up my best friend.” Callie’s booted

  foot stomped in the snow.

  Zane got Stef in a choke hold. “Not on your life, babe. He kissed

  you. We took sacred vows to never allow another man to get close

  enough to kiss you. Right, Nate?”

  Nate was all smiles now. “That’s right, buddy. You do what you

  have to do.”

  “Asshole,” Stef managed to wheeze out. He pulled his elbow out

  and caught Zane squarely in the gut. “I won’t forget this when your

  next contract is up. Don’t think I won’t talk to the mayor about

  finding a new sheriff.”

  “Good luck with that, Stef. No one wants the job except Nell.

  She’s threatened to run against me. Other than that, you got nothing.”

  Callie pulled at her dark-haired husband. “Zane, you get off him

  right this instant. I’m invoking the note clause in our marriage

  contract.”

  Zane popped up in an instant, his face a storm of pent-up rage.

  “Fine. I’ll go bring the car around, but his ass is walking, and if you ever touch my wife with your lips again in a non-brotherly fashion,

  I’ll kick your ass even harder.”

  Zane stomped away, leaving Callie shaking her head as she lent

  Stef a hand. Jen brushed the snow off his back.

  “Note clause?”

  Nate frowned. “Yeah, every time we do something she doesn’t

  like she points to the note we wrote when we left her. She saved it.

  She framed it and put it on the wall by the door, and she’s threatened grave bodily harm if we take it down. She uses it like a sledgehammer

  filled with guilt.”

  “I merely remind the boys of the poor choices they once made.”

  Callie turned to Stef. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine.” His gray eyes narrowed as he looked at Nate. “You

  planned that.”

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  “I have no control over Zane’s actions, man.” Nate turned and

  followed his partner.

  “So, Callie isn’t your girlfriend anymore?” Sebastian was looking

  between them all as though desperately trying to figure out what was

  going on.

  “I was never really his girlfriend, Sebastian,” Callie said, her

  voice a sad little sigh. “I’m sorry I misled you. Stef has always been more of a brother to me than anything else.”

  “And now that…large, rather brutish fellow is your husband?”

  “His name is Zane.” She sighed again, this one a dreamy sound.

  “Stef introduced us. He introduced me to Nate, too. They are the best

  husbands a girl could have. Don’t let their rough exteriors fool you.

  They’re sweeties. I should probably go and make sure they don’t

  leave Stef behind. It’s a long way to Bliss.”

  Sebastian’s eyes stared at a place right below Stef’s face. “So you

  hid this from me? Callie got married, and you never told me you

  broke up?”

  “I was never with Callie,” Stef admitted. His whole body was

  shaking.

  Jen got close, and he shoved his arms under hers, wrapping

  himself under the coat she was wearing and rubbing his body against

  hers. “Hey!”

  “It’s my damn coat. You can share.” His beautiful face was stark,

  and his lips were turning just a little blue.

  Damn him. She couldn’t resist that slightly quivering lip. She

  pushed her body against his, sharing her warmth. But she wasn’t just

  going to lie down and give it up for him. She’d done that. Jen

  wrapped her arms around Stef, but turned to Sebastian. “He’s been

  lying to you because he didn’t want you to find out the truth.”

  Stef’s father’s face fell, and a chalky whiteness took over his skin.

  “Stefan, you have to know that you’re my son no matter what. I’ll still love you.”

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  “I never knew you loved me in the first place,” Stef managed to

  chatter.

  A slight flush permeated Sebastian’s skin. “Of course I do. You’re

  my son. Just because you’re…well, nothing changes that.” There was

  a long pause. “Is it, well, is it one of those boys?”

  Stef shivered in her arms, and he planted his face in her shoulder.

  “What is he talking about, and can you make him stop?”

  But Jen had an idea, and it made her giggle. “Which boys are you

  talking about, Mr. Talbot?”

  He pulled his wool peacoat around his slender frame. “Those

  Harper boys he was always around. I suppose I always knew deep

  down. He talked about them all the time. I couldn’t get him away. I

  thought it was about Callie, but now I can see the truth. I just don’t see why he wouldn’t admit it. I’ve never been one to hold a person’s

  sexuality against them. Talbot Industries offers life partners insurance and benefits. Why would my own son lie? Unless…oh, no, it’s that

  Max fellow, isn’t it? Oh, my son, you can do better than him.”

  Stef’s head came up, and he stared down at Jen. His eyes closed

  briefly as though in terrible pain, and then those gorgeous gray orbs were piercing into her. “Does he think what I think he thinks?”

  A little bit of glee lit her heart. “I think he thinks you love Max.”

  Stef turned to his father, his face turning red despite the cold.

  “Damn it, Dad! I am not Max’s gay lover. Max is married.”

  Sebastian sighed, his relief a palpable thing. “Okay. I can handle

  Rye. He’s a nice young lad.”

  “I’m not with Rye, either! He’s married, too. I am not gay.”

  Jen tried to contain her giggle, but it was hard when his whole

  body was quivering, and he seemed to be trying to crawl into her. He

  looked like a little boy arguing with his dad. She’d never seen Stef

  look so open. “I can vouch for the ‘not gay’ part, Mr. Talbot. I know

  for a fact that Stef Talbot is one hundred percent capable of sleeping with a girl. He just needs to tie her up and spank her a little bit first.”

  “Jennifer!”

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  She shrugged. “Do you deny it?”

  “TMI, Jennifer. TMI.” He frowned down at her before burying his

  fac
e in her hair. His breath was warm against her ear. “You’re under

  my authority now, love. I have the papers to prove it. I’ve been

  indulgent to this point, but now you’re racking up the punishment

  time.”

  Now she didn’t need the coat. Her whole body flushed with the

  memory of what it felt like to be punished by Master Stefan. Then he

  shivered again, and the moment was lost.

  “Where the hell is Zane with the car?”

  Sebastian’s mouth was open as he watched his son. “Perhaps I

  should have come much sooner. We’re going to have to talk about

  this, Stefan. I didn’t raise you to spank people.”

  Stef groaned in her ear and burrowed further as though he could

  escape into her skin.

  When Zane pulled the SUV around, Stef pushed her into the back,

  making sure she was in between him and his father. The two men

  stared at each other over her head the whole hundred miles from

  Alamosa to Bliss.

  * * * *

  Two hours later, Stef was back in fighting form, and Jen sort of

  wished they could go back to that delicious moment when he needed

  her body heat and her support. The minute Zane turned into the Talbot

  estate’s drive, he’d sat up and held himself away from her. He’d gone

  from needy little boy to the distant Dom she’d tried so hard to get to know. He’d neatly and efficiently packed everyone into separate

  rooms as he and Nate filled Zane in on what was going on with her.

  She figured she should have been in on that meeting, but

  apparently her voice wasn’t required. She heard them in the study

  talking to someone over the conference phone. It sounded like Finn

  Taylor explaining what legal maneuvers he was planning. Jen simply

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  let Callie lead her to a big, brightly decorated room that contained all the stuff Stef had packed up from her apartment. There was a suitcase

  of her clothes and some of her sketchbooks.

  “He was really upset when you left,” Callie said as she opened the

  drapes and let in some of the most beautiful light Jen had ever seen.

  “Really? Because the way we left things, I thought he would be

  thrilled.” Jen didn’t like to think about the morning she’d left.

  Sometimes she couldn’t help it, and it played over and over in her

  mind like a bad movie. Of course at night when she was asleep, she

  dreamed about making love with Stef. She couldn’t help it. In her

  dreams he took her over and over. He spanked her to warm her up and

  then made love to her like a starving man.

  Callie blinked behind her glasses. “I don’t know what happened

  between the two of you. I just know he was really upset. I know Stef.

  He was far too quiet, and he retreated into his studio for two weeks

  after you left. He barely said a word to anyone.”

  “He was just feeling a little guilty.”

  “I don’t think so,” Callie said. “But I’m not going to be able to

  convince you.”

  There was a brief knock on the door that saved her from Callie’s

  further explanations. Jen opened the door expecting to see Stef. She

  was surprised at the large, lovely man inhabiting her doorway. His

  hair was cut startlingly short, but Jen could see it was reddish. His

  face was an intriguing mixture of craggy lines and lovely features.

  “Hello, did Stef send me a toy?”

  He frowned, his brows making a neat V in his forehead. “No. I’m

  a doctor.” He looked past Jen to Callie. “Is this one of those patients, Callie?”

  Callie laughed. “No, Caleb. She’s just extremely sarcastic. Jen,

  this is Dr. Caleb Burke. He’s the new town doctor. Stef brought him

  in for Rachel’s birth.”

  Jen noticed he was carrying a large, battered leather bag. He

  strode into the room like he owned the place. He set his bag down and

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  shrugged out of the thick parka he was wearing. The doc worked out.

  That much was plain.

  “Don’t forget all the people who get shot around here. For such a

  small town, you deal with a lot of trauma. I wasn’t here for the last

  two shootouts, but I have an emergency plan for the next one.”

  Jen had seen the effects of the last little emergency that happened

  in Bliss. Mel and Nate had gone to the hospital. Before that, both Max and Rye had been injured. “Hopefully we’ve seen the last violence for

  a while.”

  The doc slapped his hands together. “Nope. Place like this is a

  magnet. Bad things will always happen, and I’m going to be ready for

  it.”

  Callie nodded and gave the doc a smile. It was the same smile she

  gave Mel when placating him. “Caleb is a great believer in

  preparedness. He made the whole town act out a scenario where the

  town was taken over by armed gunmen. Nell and Henry decided to

  protest and…”

  “Nell and Henry got shot. Protesting won’t stop an armed

  gunman. Kevlar. That’s what you need, and a damn fine plan of

  action.”

  Caleb Burke had his hands on his lean hips, looking down at Jen

  like a drill sergeant with a new recruit.

  Jen turned to Callie. “Tell me Nell and Henry are still in one

  piece.”

  Callie waved off the concern. “He used paint guns. It was fine.

  Henry was surprisingly mouthy for a dead guy. The big problem was

  that Mel was late, and Caleb used green paint.”

  Jen knew exactly where this was going. “Aliens have green

  blood.”

  “Yup. Mel freaked out. Guess you weren’t so prepared for that,

  were you, doc?” Callie asked with a smile.

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  Caleb had the good grace to look slightly apologetic. “It wasn’t

  bad. I took out Mel with a tranq gun. He was fine. Now, let’s get on

  with it. If you’ll take off your clothes, we’ll get started.”

  Jen took a small step back, because the man didn’t look like he

  was joking. “Excuse me?”

  “Stef brought in the doc to give you a physical,” Callie explained.

  “He’s worried someone broke you in prison. He’s got a shrink coming

  in next week to help you with the trauma.”

  “I was only in jail for a day. What does he think happened to me?”

  Caleb coughed a little. “Well, any number of things can happen to

  an incarcerated person. Dehydration, injuries due to violent acts, staph infections.” He leaned in, his voice going low. “Sexual injuries. You

  don’t have to be afraid or embarrassed. I’ve seen it all.”

  “OMG, I was in lockup for twenty-four hours in the Dallas

  County Jail, not lost in some third world country. I’m fine. They gave me water. I didn’t even have time to acquire a girlfriend. Tell Stef to stuff it.” She turned to Callie. “I am hungry, though. They tried to

  give me bologna.”

  Callie shuddered as she grabbed their coats. “We should go to

  Stella’s for lunch, then.”

  “Hey, I have a job to do here.” Caleb got between her and the

  door.

  Callie patted his chest. “I wouldn’t, Caleb, sweetie. She’s like

  Rachel.”

  Caleb paled slightly and backed down. “Okay, then. Um, well, if
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  you need anything or, you know, start to remember stuff like torture,

  call me. You know, post-traumatic stress can hit you when you least

  expect it.”

  “He’s insane,” Jen stated as they walked out the door.

  Callie pointed toward the snowmobiles on the lawn. “You

  expected different? He was the best we could get. He’s a damn fine

  surgeon, and he’s feeling his way as a general practitioner. He used to work at a big hospital in Chicago, but something happened and, well,

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  let’s just say Caleb knows where of he speaks when he talks about

  post-traumatic stress disorder. You should see him get together with

  Mel. Caleb is sure Mel is repressing trauma that happened while in

  the military, and Mel is certain Caleb’s been probed.”

  “Nice,” Jen said, hopping on the back of the snowmobile.

  “They’ve gotten to be really good friends.” Callie gunned the

  engine and headed toward Stella’s.

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  65

  Chapter Six

  “What the hell do you mean he’s dead?” Stef heard himself

  shouting, but he couldn’t help it.

  Finn Taylor’s voice was perfectly smooth over the speaker. “The

  police were called out to Ms. Waters’ complex when the movers Stef

  sent got there to finish cleaning out her apartment. The police entered and found a Caucasian male aged thirty-five with his throat slit from

  ear to ear in the living room. One of the detectives called to the scene remembered Renard from the day before. His receptionist made the

  official identification. Jean Claude Renard is dead.”

  Stef felt his stomach churn. This was trouble. It had started out as

  bad trouble, but this was much worse than he expected.

  Nate sat back in his chair, crossing one booted foot over his knee.

  He looked every inch the lawman he was. “Do the police have any

  idea what Renard was doing in Jennifer’s apartment? We locked up

  after we left.”

  There was a little sigh. “Gentlemen, this crime is so fresh I have

  very little information about it. The only reason I know what I know

  is my partner’s extremely good relationship with the chief of police.”

  Stef snorted. That was a delicate way of putting it. Julian Lodge