The Triple Threat (Love In Dayton Valley Book 1) Page 21

  “Ah phooey,” Auntie L said, her eyes still on the TV. “Of course, she does. You just need to learn how to tell her properly, instead of all that He-Man attitude that you boys today think you need.”

  “She’s right,” Auntie J added. “Tell her how she makes you feel, sweetheart. The rest will be easy.”

  “You’re wrong, I promise you. She’d probably kick me in the balls.” I winced, imagining it.

  “She might,” Auntie J said giving me a soft smile. “But then again, she might not.”

  Shit, I knew they were right. I just had to tell Ellie that I liked her, more than a friend, but tell her without ogling her tits or commenting on what she sounded like when she orgasmed.

  “You want coffee?” I asked, deciding that I’d think better after caffeine.

  “Don’t change the subject sweetheart,” Auntie L replied. “Because you know, you shouldn’t take too long deciding what to do about Ellie. I hear Delphine’s sister’s boy is coming back to town next week.

  Fucking Thor, he was a damn pain in my backside. There was no way he was getting his hands on Ellie.

  It was decided – I needed to sort my love life but definitely coffee first.

  About to turn for the kitchen the door opened, and Pop walked in, shrugged off his jacked and hung it on the hook by the door, next to mine.

  “I think that cow will calf in the next couple of days,” he said as he stooped down to kiss the tops of my aunt’s heads. “It’s not her first rodeo though, so don’t think there’ll be a problem.”

  “That’s good.” I scratched at the stubble on my cheek and nodded my head toward the kitchen. “You got a minute, Pop?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  He followed me and went straight to the basin and ran the hot water and began washing up.

  “What’s on your mind.”

  “I need to ask you something?” I winced not sure what his reaction would be.

  “Okay.” He frowned and pulled the towel from the side and set about drying his hands.

  I cleared my throat. “Do you have a thing, or would you ever have a thing for Bronte?”

  His mouth dropped along with the towel. “Bronte as little Bronte Jackson? Jim and Darcy’s Bronte?”

  I hung my hands off the back of my neck and frowned. I could tell by Pop’s face Ellie had got things so wrong.

  “Bronte who used to have braces on her teeth and wore pink ribbons in her hair? That Bronte?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Pop hesitated for a moment and then dropped his head back and gave the loudest belly laugh I’d heard from him in a long time.

  “I take it that’s a no then,” I muttered.

  When he finally stopped, Pop shook his head. “Where the hell you get that idea from.”

  I drew in a breath and then exhaled it real slow. “Bronte’s got a thing for you. A crush.”

  “Bronte has?” His eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline. “Really?”

  “Yeah, and well Ellie’s kind of worried you might be flattered and do something about it.”

  “She does?” He pushed his hands on his hips and moved his upper body closer to mine. “Why the fuck would she think that?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know, but that’s what she thinks.”

  “Well I promise you, I don’t. I never would. She’s a pretty girl, but that’s exactly what she is, a girl. Beside the fact that Jim and Darcy are two of my closest friends. I would never risk that.”

  “And that’s what I told Ellie,” I replied. “But she’s got this damn idea that we need to stop it happening. She’s doing everything she can to get Carter and Bronte together, so that she’ll stop crushing on you.”

  “Shit,” Pop groaned. “Bronte and Carter. Damn son, that’s like fire and gasoline. Only one way that’s going to go and that’s boom.”

  “That’s what I told her, but she’s adamant that nothing is going to spoil all the friendships you guys have.”

  “Well you can tell her to stop fretting about it,” Pop said as he placed a hand on my shoulder. “It’s not and will not ever happen. Too damn weird. I think I changed that girl’s butt once when she was a baby. So why you asking me about this? Do you think I might do something about it?”

  I’d thought about it a lot over the last few weeks and was dubious about Ellie’s claims. Now seeing Pop’s face and hearing what he had to say I was sure. “No, Pop. No, I don’t, but you know Ellie.”

  He gave a quiet laugh and shook his head. “Yeah I do. Seems you maybe need to explain a few things to her.”

  “Yeah I think I do.”

  Images of her came into my head and I felt weird in my stomach. Like I’d just been on a Ferris Wheel that had gone twice the speed it should’ve.

  “It explains a lot though,” Pop added, stooping to pick up the towel he’d dropped.

  “Like what?” I asked.

  “Why she keeps shutting you down. She’s got a happy life. Everything in her garden is rosy. She’s never lost anyone, her folks are still together, we’re all one big happy family. She likes everyone to be happy – hence her getting Melinda to invite us all for Thanksgiving. Ellie thought we could all be happy again.”

  “That doesn’t explain why she says no to me,” I said, thrusting my hands into my pockets like a sulky little kid.

  “She’s scared, son.” Pop cupped my cheek with his big, rough hand. “Ellie’s scared that she says yes and you two don’t work out, we’ll all suffer. No more, big happy group of friends meeting up for Thanksgiving.”

  I thought about what he said and knew that there was an element of truth in what he was saying; all the exact same reasons Ellie had given. Getting Bronte and Carter together didn’t matter because if they didn’t work out, no one would be surprised. They hated each other, had for years, so it wouldn’t change the order of things.

  “You know, it could also mean that she’s scared of totally losing you. You and she are friends at the moment, but what happens if you become more and it doesn’t work out. What then?”

  “No one can predict the future. Ellie certainly can’t. I could be the best damn thing to happen to her, and she to me.” I threw my hands in the air, frustrated by it all, even if I did see her point of view.

  “That damn stubbornness we talked about.” Pop smiled and slapped me on the back. “I guess you need to persuade her of that.”

  I grimaced and hung my head. “To be truthful, she may actually not be talking to me right now.”

  Pop rolled his eyes. “What you do, son?”

  “Well, last night she gave Bronte’s cat laxative so that she had to take it to Carter. Ellie told me what she’d done, so I made her go and clean the shit up from the surgery and sit with the cat so Carter could come and have a beer with me.”

  “And he allowed that? His sister in the surgery while he was in Stars & Stripes?”

  I raised my brows and shrugged.

  “Fuck,” Pop muttered. “No wonder Lance isn’t ready to hand over the reins to him. Well, I guess you’ll only find out how big a grudge she holds when you go around there, and there’s no better time than now.” He slapped a hand on my shoulder and when I opened my mouth to protest, he continued. “I didn’t raise you to be a coward, son. So, seeing as we already got a lot done this morning, I suggest you go wash up and I’ll put the coffee on. Oh, and Hunter.”

  “Yep.”

  “When you tell her how you feel, maybe be the gentleman your mom raised you to be.”

  I opened my mouth to protest, but knew Pop was right, asking Ellie Maples to give me a chance was one thing that I needed to do right.

  Ellie

  Waking up, my nightmare of the night before suddenly came back to me.

  Me, gagging, while I cleaned up the diarrhea that Rodrick, Bronte’s cat kept squirting out of its ass. The smell was horrendous – a mixture of fish and…well, shit. Plus, Carter lied when he’d told Hunter that Rodrick had shat for the last time. That little bastard
shat another three times while I was watching him and giving him sips of water from a syringe. You’d have thought I’d have coped, what with me being a children’s nurse, but no my eyes were watering, and I was gagging with each squirt.

  Hunter must have thought he was so funny setting me up, but I’d get him back one day. I pulled my handkerchief from under my pillow and sniffed it. I’d doused it with some perfume the night before as sniffing it took away the cat poop smell, for a few seconds at least. I didn’t want to waste any more though, so wondered whether Mom had some essential oils left from her yoga and meditation phase.

  Throwing my legs out of bed, I padded out of my room and down the hall. It was almost ten, so I knew my parents would be awake. Probably reading the papers like they normally liked to do on a Sunday morning.

  “Mom,” I shouted as I rubbed sleep from my eyes, walking toward their room. “Mom.”

  Pushing open their bedroom door, I yawned loudly. “Hey, Momma do you have—”

  “Ellie, get out,” Mom yelled.

  I looked over as a slipper came flying past my ear and Dad looked up from between Mom’s legs with a grin and a shiny chin.

  “Oh my God, no.” I squealed and slapped my hands over my eyes. “Oh shit.”

  “Ellie get out, now.” Mom’s cry was pretty desperate.

  “I can’t, I’m paralyzed.”

  My legs just wouldn’t move. No matter how much I knew I needed to get out of there, my instinct to run was sadly lacking.

  “Sweetheart,” Dad soothed. “Just move your legs, turn around, leave and close the door behind you. Mom will be down in a few.”

  “You are not going to carry on?” I screeched. “Oh my God, you’re disgusting.”

  “It’s only natural,” he replied. “Plus, your mom got hers and I didn’t so—”

  “No! Not another word, I’m going. I think I’m going to be sick.” I made a gagging noise and exited, pretty swiftly considering my legs hadn’t been working moments earlier.

  “Close the door,” Dad yelled.

  I slammed it closed and before I’d even made it halfway back to my room, all I could hear was my mom shouting out how incredible my dad was.

  There was only one thing that would take away the hideous vision and that was pancakes. Mom usually made Sunday breakfast, but I wasn’t sure I wanted her touching my food, knowing the sausage she’d already been holding.

  Still shuddering I walked into the kitchen to find Carter sitting at the island.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, practically snarling at him. “I thought you’d have the hangover from hell, considering I left you and Hunter in Stars & Stripes well after midnight last night.”

  “Some of us can hold our liquor,” my brother replied. “Unlike others.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah and some of us can sit in the sun for longer than twenty minutes and not look like raw, skinned flesh.”

  He gave me a sarcastic smile and I giggled. Where I took after my mom’s side of the family and their Native American heritage, Carter was most definitely a Maples. His hair was a dark auburn just like my Grandpa Jeremiah and he had the same fair skin, with a scattering of freckles. That meant it took him a lot longer to get a tan than it took me. He got there eventually, it just took a while and a whole lot of looking like a boiled lobster.

  “You’re so damn childish,” he said as he opened up the refrigerator and pulled out the juice. “What’s got you this morning?”

  I pointed up to the ceiling. “I just walked in on them doing the nasty.”

  Carter shuddered. “Ugh, no wonder you’re in a pissy mood. When do you figure they stop doing that sort of thing? What age?”

  He looked genuinely interested as he pulled two glasses from the cupboard and set about pouring juice into them.

  “No idea.” I took one of the glasses from him. “Thanks. To be fair, I hope I’m still having sex when I’m their age.”

  “Yeah but I definitely won’t have any kids to walk in on me. It’s a wonder we’re not scarred the amount of times I’ve seen Dad’s bare ass with Mom’s legs wrapped around it.”

  “How do you know your kids won’t bust in on you servicing your wife; whichever damn stupid woman that might be who marries you.”

  Carter rolled his eyes. “Because, I’m not getting married and I certainly don’t want kids.” He shuddered. “Definitely not in my plan.”

  “Yeah well.” I sighed. “Someone would want to have sex with you first and that in itself would be a miracle.”

  Carter looked at me disdainfully and flicked my ear. “I get plenty, thanks very much. And no woman leaves my bed dissatisfied.”

  I shuddered at the thought and decided to change the subject of my brother getting his rocks off.

  “You think that maybe we would get taken away from them if the authorities knew?” I asked.

  Carter sighed. “We are twenty-four and twenty-six, so no. Anyway, they were always pretty careful when we were young.” He started to laugh. “You remember when they locked themselves in the bathroom and I thought they were stuck, and Mom was making that noise because she was upset?”

  “Oh my God, yes,” I exclaimed and slapped my hand on the cool granite top. “You called the Sheriff and the Fire Chief to come get them out.”

  “Dad was just pulling his pants back on when that firefighter smashed the window.” Carter grinned. “Mom was fucking mortified.”

  “The firefighters thought it was me and you locked in there. And the Sheriff, what was his name?”

  “Sheriff Dixon.”

  “Yeah, Sheriff Dixon was convinced they’d locked us in while they went into town drinking. He’d even brought a lady from Child Protection with him.”

  We both laughed hard, neither of us noticing that our parents had walked in.

  “What’s so funny?” Dad asked as he dropped a kiss to my head, while Mom hugged Carter.

  “Nothing,” I sighed and turned to give him a tight squeeze. “We love you is all.”

  “Aww, my babies.”

  Mom moved to grab my brother’s face to kiss him, but he quickly dodged her.

  “No kissing,” he cried. “Ellie told me what she just caught you doing.”

  “I have showered,” Mom protested.

  “Don’t care,” Carter ground out as Mom made another dive for him. “It’s too vivid in my head.”

  “You here for breakfast?” Dad asked.

  “Yep. I have no food at home, so…” Carter shrugged and smiled at Mom whose eyes went all glassy.

  “Of course, you can eat here, sweetheart,” she replied. “Go sit down and I’ll get it started.

  Pushing away from my position at the island, I shook my head, wondering how Carter always managed to wrap Mom around his little finger.

  “I’m going to get dressed,” I said. “How long will breakfast be, Mom?”

  “Twenty minutes, sweetheart.”

  I then got exactly the same soft smile and it hit me, as it did most days, how lucky I was to have the parents I had, despite their need to fornicate almost every hour of the day. Hunter didn’t have that complete family that we had, and I realized how much he must miss his mom every single minute of every single day.

  Contemplating life without either Mom or Dad, I was almost to the stairs when I heard a knock at the door. We didn’t usually get visitors on a Sunday morning, so I was a little surprised.

  When I opened the door, I was even more surprised to see it was Hunter standing there.

  “Hey,” I said noticing how hot he looked.

  He was wearing faded jeans and a dark green, long-sleeved Henley, which clung to his muscles.

  “Cute PJs.” He grinned at me and tugged on the bottom of my pajama top.

  I looked down at the white cotton with pink sheep all over it and smiled.

  “They’re the sexiest thing I own,” I replied, stepping aside to let Hunter in.

  As he passed me, he stooped to speak close to my ear. “I reca
ll a little black dress that was much sexier.”

  His words were said quietly, and when his breath whispered against my skin, I felt goosebumps erupt all over it. The sensation was incredible, and I had to stop myself from climbing Hunter like he was a tree and I was a damn monkey.

  Swallowing I looked up at him and let out a slow breath. “You’re here early.”

  “Yeah,” he replied, his eyes looking over every inch of my face. “I wanted to do something and knew if I didn’t do it now, I’d probably chicken out.”

  “You do? Okay.”

  My breathing got heavy as Hunter moved closer, his nearness sending every nerve ending in my body on high alert. While I was aware that I was mad with him about getting me to sit with Rodrick, I suddenly didn’t have it in me to care. My hormones certainly didn’t give a damn that he’d set me up.

  “What is it then?” I asked.

  “I want to ask you something.”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, I noticed his confident smile slip. He thrust his hands into his jeans pockets and took a step back.

  “What?” I felt a surge in my stomach, hesitant about his question. “What do you want to ask?”

  Somehow, I knew it wasn’t some stupid little favor. It was going to be big. My thudding heart and breathlessness told me so. Hunter had said about us needing to talk, but this didn’t feel like it was him wanting to ask me that.

  “I know you keep avoiding talking about it, but what’s been happening between us…” Hunter tailed off and looked over at the side table where a vase of yellow roses stood. “Are they for my mom?”

  I turned and looked at them and it suddenly hit what the date was. It was Sondra’s birthday and just as she did every birthday and anniversary of her passing, Mom put out a vase of yellow roses.

  “Yeah,” I replied taking a deep breath. “Mom puts them out on her birthday and anniversary.”

  “Yeah I remember.” Hunter let out a shaky breath. “Pop always puts red ones out.”

  Taking his hand, I smiled up at him. “Red is love and yellow is friendship.”