Green Broke Woman (24 page)

Travis turned the dishwasher on. “Jake—”

“Travis, if you try and stop me with your
damned moral code, I'll duct-tape your mouth,” Jake said. “I want those nasty
varmints dead, and I don't want to see our fucking dad ever again.”

“It was just when we were little,” Keith
reminded him. “Remember when he came back from that last trip and he was
different? He was more cynical, but he was better to us. Yeah, he was a
sarcastic smartass and he hated people, but he loved us and was good to us.
Hell, it was almost like none of that shit had ever happened. We never even
talked about it with him after he changed.”

“Maybe you should have,” Travis suggested.

Jake scowled. “Fuck talking. Our mom was
right to throw the son of a bitch out.”

Kayla walked into the kitchen with Virgil
following. “What's going on in here?”

“You, get out, you dick-offering bastard,”
Jake spat.

Virgil smirked. “
You
talking
about that incident in my truck a year ago? I didn't offer. She
pulled Willy boy out.”

“Oh, she did, did she?” Jake's eyes narrowed
when they fell on her. “Young lady, do you know what that means?”

Kayla licked her lips, looking nervous yet
eager. “I have the experience to please you?”

Travis grinned. The sassy little thing, she
said it so cute and innocent, too. If she agreed to explore BDSM with them, how
could they ever discipline such an adorable little thing? Whenever he looked at
Kayla he just wanted to cuddle with her and gobble her up in bed. Punishing her
wouldn't be easy, though spanking her sure was a whole lot of fun.

Jake's lips twitched like he wanted to
chuckle over her remark. “No. It means you're in trouble for being a little
sleaze.”

She snickered. “I'm the sleaze? You've been
with more people than me.”

“Maybe,” Jake admitted, “but you see I didn't
bring any of my exes into this house to piss you off.”

She looked guilty. “I'm sorry. Virgil and I
never went out, though.”

Travis raised an eyebrow at her, jealous but
still bemused over how cute she was. “That's even worse, cricket.”

“I can leave if
it's
gonna
be a problem,” Virgil offered, “but I was sent
here to protect Kayla.”

Kayla seemed as surprised by this as they
were. “Who sent you?”

“Someone you know,” Virgil said.

“Start talking, happy dick,” Jake ordered.

Travis snickered.
“Happy
dick, Jake, really?”

“Well, with Kayla sucking him I'm sure he
was,” Jake muttered in irritation. “Who sent you?”

“Hugh Randall,” Virgil said, staring at
Kayla.

Her mouth fell open, and her eyes got huge.

“He loves you, Kayla,” Virgil said. “He never
meant to hurt you, but he had to leave to protect you. That's all he'll let me
say. He said he'll explain the rest to you when he sees you.”

“What a load of bull,” Keith muttered with a
casual roll of his eyes.

“Fuck that. No asshole is coming for her,”
Jake argued. “Kayla is ours, and we're not letting her go with you or this
Randall jackass.”

“He's not coming to take her away,” Virgil
explained, “just to give her closure and explain everything to her.”

Kayla was still struck speechless, and she appeared
as though she might cry.

“Over my dead fucking body,” Jake said.

Travis watched Kayla closely. Whoever this
Hugh Randall person was, she obviously cared for him very much. “Who was he to
you, Kayla?”

“He was her Dom,” Virgil said.

“What?” Jake and Keith exclaimed at once.

Travis just listened, unsure of whether to be
depressed that Kayla had had a Dom before him, or to be glad she had experience
with BDSM.

She made a face, seeming uncomfortable.
“Thank you for volunteering that information, Virgil.”

Virgil pursed his lips. “Sorry. Was I not
supposed to say anything?”

“No, it's fine. I guess it doesn't matter one
way or the other.”

“You had a Dom before us?” Keith asked
,
seeming just as put out as Jake.

Travis glanced over at his other brother.
Nope. Jake looked way more ticked off than Keith was.

“Why didn't you tell us?” Jake demanded,
grabbing her forearm and pulling her to him.

Virgil looked uneasy.
“Whoa,
whoa.
Easy there.
Are all you fellas so touchy,
grabby when you're irritated?”

“They're just possessive of her,” Travis
explained. “They would never hurt her.”

“Well, that's fine I reckon,” Virgil said
reluctantly, “just so long as nobody slaps her face in the name of
possessiveness.”

“Excuse me?” Keith growled. “We would never
hurt her.”

“Why the hell is this clown still here?” Jake
asked, throwing Virgil an exasperated glance before looking back down at Kayla.

“This clown was sent to protect her.” Virgil
crossed his arms over his chest, holding his ground.

“She doesn't need your protection. She has us,”
Keith told him. “If this Dom was worth anything, he wouldn't have let her go.”

“Hugh did it against his will to protect
her,” Virgil explained. “And he never really got over her, which is why he
intends to come explain himself to her.”

“He's not getting her back,” Travis stated,
folding his arms. “She's ours now.”

“I think that's for Kayla to decide,” Virgil
said, turning his attention to her. “Who do you want to be with, Kayla?”

Her lips parted, and she truly looked shocked
... and torn. “Please don't put me on the spot.”

“She wants us,” Jake growled. “Right, Kayla?”

She nodded. “I do.”

“So you don't feel anything for Hugh anymore?”
Virgil asked.
“Or for me?”

Her eyes fell. “I guess I'll go pack my
things. Goodbye.”

“Excuse me?” Jake clutched her arm tighter.

“Where do you think you're going?” Travis
asked.

“I should have known I'd lose you guys
someday.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I won't hurt any of you. I'll just go,
and you guys can each find yourselves a submissive skinny girl, or athletic, or
whatever you guys want.”

“We want you, little bird,” Keith ran his
fingers up her nape through her hair. “You're not going anywhere.”

“You expect me to be honest, but—”

“Damned straight,” Jake blurted.

Travis smiled. “Jake, you gun-jumper, I don't
think she was finished.”

“If I'm honest, everybody gets hurt, and then
none of you will want me anymore,” she said with sadness in her sweet voice.

“We'll always want you, girl,” Travis
reassured her. “Now just tell us how you feel.”

Her eyes closed, and her tone lowered to a
grieved hush. “I love all of you, including Virgil, and I'm not over Ma—Mr.
Randall. Goodbye now.”

Jake gripped both her arms. “You're still not
leaving.”

“We appreciate your honesty,” Travis said
though frankly it hurt like hell and made him fiercely jealous to think of her
with another Dom—loving him no less.

“Truth bites,” Keith complained, “but it's
good that you were honest.”

“What the Sam Hill does everybody keep saying
that for?” Jake sounded annoyed. “She wasn't honest. We had to confront her
about the truth and coax it out of her.”

“She doesn't have to tell you everything,”
Virgil said.

“Yes, she does,” Keith argued.

“What the hell is this clown still doing
here?” Jake glared at Virgil.

“As long as she's with you I'm sure Randall
won't mind me leaving her for tonight,” Virgil said. He kissed the top of
Kayla's head, seeming humored over Jake's glare of death. “I'll see you
tomorrow, honey.”

“Like hell you will,” Jake spat.

“Actually I will.” Virgil headed out.

“Keith, will you show our guest out?” Travis
gave a sideways nod with his head.

“Gladly.”
Keith followed the cowboy out of the
kitchen.

Jake glowered down at Kayla. “We're
gonna
talk about this, pet. You're
gonna
tell us everything.”

“I had a Dom once,” she said meekly with a
shrug. “What's the big deal? You've had subs before.”

“The big deal is that you loved him,” Travis
said gently, “and it sounds like you still do. That's what you said.”

Her face became gloomy with sorrow. “I can't
help how I feel. We never really had any closure.”

“You're not to ever see him again,” Jake said
firmly.

“I understand,” she murmured, eyes glued to
the floor. “Can I please go to my room now?”

“No,” Jake growled.

“That's fine,
darlin
',”
Travis said. “Get some rest. We'll talk tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

Jake glared at him. “Excuse me?”

“Let go of her, Jake,” Travis ordered calmly.

Jake grunted at him and let her go. Travis
had to smile at his brother's vexation with him. It was so nice being the
oldest and the younger siblings had to mind him.

Kayla left the kitchen.

“If you don't push her, she'll clam up on
you,” Jake warned.

“If you push her too hard, she could close
up, too,” Travis added. “Kayla's different, special. We have to find the right
balance appropriate to her.”

“I don't want that smirking Southern bastard
or that asshole Dom coming here,” Jake said through clenched teeth.

Travis sighed. “I don't either, but somehow
I've got the feeling that we haven't seen the last of them.”

****

Kayla woke up to take a drink of water from
the glass on her nightstand. She thought she saw a shadow outside. Startled,
she donned her glasses and recognized Keith's form walking in the subdued gleam
of the porch light. Where was he going at this late hour?

She put on some clothes and shoes and then
left the house, hoping not to lose him. Maybe he was just going to the barn to
check on the horses. She saw all the vehicles were still accounted for, so he
must be in the barn, either that or he'd gone for a walk. Not seeing him, she
looked around the
Langleys
’ property in all Keith's
usual favorite places, but she couldn't find him.

As she drew nearer to the large wooden barn,
she heard what sounded like a male outcry of suffering. She pulled her hoodie
to her tighter and picked up the pace.

Please let him be okay.

Her heart raced in panic, and everything else
seemed to vanish as her eyes honed in on the light streaming from the bottom of
the closed barn door. A few more cries of distress and grunts of pain ensued.
What was he doing? Was someone hurting him?
Beck?
Slade?

She slowed her frantic pace down and tiptoed
toward the door. The horses snorted with interest from inside, and a few of
them whinnied in fear whenever a swift lashing sound filled the air. Keith
didn't beat his animals, so that couldn't be the source of their anxiety.

She gingerly opened the door a crack and
peeked inside. Her hand went over her mouth, and her heart nearly stopped in
agony when she saw Keith holding a switch that looked like it had been dipped
in blood. His back was all cut up and streaked with blood. He heaved a tortured
sigh and set the branch down.

His sniffling broke her heart. Had he been
crying? When he turned slightly she saw he held a tequila bottle, and his face
looked rouged with the effects of crying.

She pulled open the door and went inside. He
looked startled to see her.

“Kayla, you should be in bed.” He looked
guilty, but his voice sounded devastated by something, as though he was beyond
caring what anyone thought of him.

“Keith, you're bleeding really badly.” Her
eyes welled, and her voice cracked with grief and concern. “We have to get you
to a hospital.”

“I'm fine, Kayla.”

“What is that? Why do you look like you've
been crying?” Tears spilled over her eyes. “Why are you drinking alone and
hurting yourself?

His countenance became grave and haunted. “I
didn't know where else to turn.”

“Do I really make you so unhappy?” She
sniffled, feeling the burn in her eyes and the soreness in her throat. “I can
leave if you want to be free, but please don't hurt yourself like this.”

“It has nothing to do with you.”

“Then what is it? Why were you beating
yourself with a switch? I thought you liked giving pain, not taking it.”

“This isn't about pleasure. I'm punishing
myself.” He had a far-off look in his troubled blue eyes.