Katlyn (M/F/M red-hot menage shifter romance) Standalone (Shadow Creek Shifters Book 1) (7 page)

“Don’t mind Paige,” Brendan explained. “She’s a nut when it comes to punctuality.”

“I won’t apologize for that since it’s a good quality to have. I respect people much more when they’re on time.” Paige smiled. “Dinner will be promptly at six every night.”

“There’s no need to go to any trouble for us. We can just cook at our cabin,” Katlyn said.

Paige’s shapely brow arched upward, her smile disappearing. “That’s fine for breakfast or lunch, but I insist both of you take your dinners with us. After all, you are the new teacher. That way you can keep us updated about how the students are doing.”

Katlyn swallowed hard. It irked her that she was expected to have dinner here every night. “We’ll see. I won’t make any promises, though. There’s more to teaching than what happens in the classroom.”

Paige interlaced her fingers until her knuckles whitened. “I must insist. If you’ve read all the fine print of the contract you signed, you’ll see that it states that you are to have dinner at the main house nightly.”

“I must have missed that part, but I do recall it said I may be able to get an advance of my pay for necessities, and I really need suitable clothing for the classroom.”

“The clothing I sent over isn’t working for you?”

“I’d rather have clothing that belongs to me. Is it possible for Angus to take us into town after dinner?”

Paige began to open her mouth, but Brendan silenced her with a raised hand. “I’d be happy to take you ladies into town later.”

“I’ll tag along, too, just in case you need help lugging your purchases back to the car,” Chase said with a twinkle in his eye.

“I’m fine with the clothing you sent, Paige,” Tessa said.

“As you say, Katlyn. I truly want your employment at the ranch to be a happy one.” Paige smiled at Tessa. “I’d be happy to have you stay here with me. We can get better acquainted that way.”

“Just make sure you don’t get too acquainted,” Brendan said.

Before Katlyn could wonder what that meant, a robust woman brought dinner into the room. Barbequed chicken was served with baked potato and carrots, but instead of partaking of the meal, Paige was intent on drinking red wine from a silver goblet.

“This is delicious,” Katlyn said.

“Yes, Mary is the best cook in these parts. We lured her away from our neighbor, Jonathon O’Reilly,” Paige explained.

“So how was the fencing, Paige?” Brendan asked.

“Someone had to have knocked it down. Several fence posts were ripped from the ground again.”

“Any signs of sheep wandering in our pasture?”

“There was wool tangled in the fence.”

“But no sheep on our property?”

“Not according to the ranch hands, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t on our side of the fence.”

“We need more proof than that before I’m able to lodge a complaint at the Rancher’s Committee.”

“Why not just speak to your neighbor about it?” Katlyn suggested.

The corner of Brendan’s mouth quirked upward. “That’s not how we handle things. The committee insists that we file an official complaint and allow them to deal with it. Too many gun-toting ranchers in Wyoming. There’ve been a few murders in the past, even.”

“Oh, my. That’s pretty serious.”

“Yes. It’s bad enough having to deal with the livestock being mauled by predators in this area.”

Katlyn had to ask, “Like what kind of predators? Mountain lions?”

Brendan’s eye narrowed to slits and for a fraction of a second they appeared cat-like. “Mountain lions aren’t the only predators around. There are plenty of wolves and bears, too. Also some ranchers are of a mind to sabotage their neighbors.”

“Do you think your fence was compromised so that sheep could graze on your property, or another reason?”

“Since we haven’t lost any livestock, it’s hard to say. Or isn’t that the case, Paige?”

“No, the cattle are fine, but a few calves are missing.”

“Why didn’t you tell us that earlier?” Chase demanded, half rising from his chair.

“Don’t worry. Angus is out there tonight, and they’ll turn up.”

Chase sat back down. “We can’t risk losing even one head. Is someone fixing the fence, at least?”

“Yes, don’t worry. I took care of it.”

* * *

When dinner was finished, dessert was brought, which consisted of a warm brownie and ice cream. It was gobbled up fast and Katlyn left with Brendan and Chase in a red pickup truck. It rumbled up the drive and under the Shadow Creek sign, heading to the south. The pavement was smooth for the most part and they passed more ranches. The mountains were in the background and grass blanketed the ground in most places, but there were also barren areas where nothing grew.

As they roared into town, businesses lined the main street that resembled an old west town with all wooden buildings with false fronts. They parallel parked along the curb and made their way across the street and into a store called The Central Clothing Company.

“Are you sure the place is still open?” Katlyn asked.

“Sure is. Paige called and told them we’d be stopping by. Sales have been too meager in this town to pass up business.”

The bell rang and a woman dressed in a red gingham-style dress greeted them. “Hello, there. Who do you have hiding behind you Brendan?”

Katlyn waltzed around him, and when she did, the woman remarked, “Boy, but you’re sure a tall one.”

“Six foot,” Katlyn volunteered. “I hope you have something that will fit me. I’m the new teacher at the ranch.”

“Did you have anything in mind?”

“I’d love some comfortable dresses, like thin cotton.”

“Is that all?”

“No, she’ll need a complete wardrobe. She lost everything back east in the floods there,” Brendan explained.

The woman’s brow shot up, “Oh, my. Where were you from?”

“Massachusetts,” Brendan replied.

“Hardly,” Katlyn began. “Ohio.”

“Poor dear. They must not have reported that on the news. I thought Ohio was having a dry spell this year.”

“Well, not everything makes the national news.”

Katlyn was handed clothes that she tried on that were modest for the classroom, but she also found jeans her size and scoop-neck shirts that helped in the cleavage department. She really had hoped that Brendan and Chase would like how she looked in them.
Stop it, Katlyn, you can’t worry about them, or screw them mindless
, but how she wanted to. She couldn’t help but notice that both men had some of the tightest jeans on and how they hugged their crotches, leaving little to the imagination.

When she stepped out of the dressing room, Chase had a red nightgown that he held out as he spoke to Brendan. It was quite obvious that neither of the men noticed her when Chase said, “Katlyn would look great in this.”

Brendan replied, “She’d look even better out of it. I really hope we can find a way to get up close and personal with her again, and soon.”

“I thought you said we were to stay away from her.”

“Yes, but—”

“I’m not sure if that will fit either of you,” Katlyn said, startling them both.

Chase grinned. “We’re buying this for you.”

“I don’t need any night gowns like that unless I meet me a hot cowboy, or two.”

With that, Katlyn waltzed away, snatching up the nightgown and making way for the register. Her heart beat hard now, and she rubbed her thighs together—she felt very uncomfortable as she twitched in need. At least she knew they were on the same page as she was, but she just wasn’t so willing to let herself give in so quickly.

After they left the clothing store and the purchases were put in the cab of the truck, Brendan and Chase escorted her to a nearby saloon. When they strolled into the place, lively music that made you want to tap your foot in time to the music played on the juke box. They sat in a booth in the far corner and well into the shadows. Brendan ordered a pitcher of beer and once it was on the table and the flirtatious server had left, Chase poured them each a glass.

“To us,” Chase said. “May we conclude this night together, just the three of us.”

Katlyn took a gulp of her beer as Brendan said, “Chase, really? We all know this isn’t the best time to move things forward.” He gazed hungrily at Katlyn. “Unless you really want to, Katlyn.”

Another gulp was taken and Katlyn’s heart pounded, her juices dripping in response to their words. “I-I can’t. What happened back in Wisconsin scared the hell out of me. What if someone finds out about who you really are?”

Brendan’s hot breath tickled her hair as he moved closer. “Don’t worry about that, we’ll protect you.”

“And the patrol?”

Brendan’s fingers moved up her thigh. “They aren’t anywhere near.”

Katlyn bit down on her lower lip, suppressing a moan. Chase didn’t help it a bit as his hand squeezed her other thigh under the table. Absently, Katlyn parted her thighs in anticipation of feeling their fingers between them, but a man stomped over. “Hello, there, beautiful. How about coming over to our table? We’re much better company and know how to treat a lady.”

Another hot cowboy to consider.
Katlyn admired his lean hips and muscular upper body. His plaid shirt was open nearly to the waist and he was completely hairless. His dark hair had a rim around it and she knew he had taken off a cowboy hat recently. “Friends?”

He motioned over to a table where three other men sat who were all equally as steamy. “Sorry, I’m fine where I am,” Katlyn said, even though she considered going over there just to irritate Brendan and Chase who were a little overconfident at the moment.

“Suit yourself, but if you change your mind, give me a call. The name’s Nate Winston. I own the Silver Creek Ranch, a few miles from Shadow Creek.”

“Well, there certainly are plenty of creeks hereabouts.”

“She’s the new teacher,” Brendan explained.

“Great to know. My son Maxwell will be there tomorrow. That is, if school really starts tomorrow.”

“It sure will,” Chase said. “Just remember, Katlyn is hands off.”

“Oh? Does that also include the two of you?”

“Yes, it does,” Katlyn said. “I don’t mix business and pleasure.”

“Sometimes, business can be pleasure,” Nate hinted right before he walked away.

Katlyn had to get ahold of herself and she had plenty of questions now. “Is he—”

“We’ll talk back at the ranch. It’s not safe to talk here,” Brendan said.

* * *

A few hours later, Brendan, Chase and Katlyn were in a one-room cabin near the barn sitting at a table. She had to divert her eyes from the king-sized bed in the corner that she knew would fit them all nicely.

“So about Nate— is he a shifter?”

Brendan poured them each a shot of whiskey. “Yes, he’s a wearwolf.”

Katlyn had to down her shot, and once she no longer felt like hacking her guts out, she asked, “So the children that I’ll be teaching don’t just live at this ranch?”

“No, you’re teaching the children of the local shifters of the area. Shadow Creek is a safe house area. Silver Creek are werewolves and Shady Creek are werebears.”

“Don’t werewolves only shift on a full moon?”

“That’s a myth. They can actually shift at will, and really only do so when they hunt, as we do.”

“So what do you hunt? Obviously not livestock.”

“Nope, that would be a death warrant for all of us.”

“And your neighbor, Jonathan?”

“He’s quite human, I’m afraid. It’s hard to be so close to humans. They threaten our existence. If word got out about us here in Wyoming, life as we all knew it would end.”

“But where does that leave me?”

“You have as much to lose as we do,” Brendan said. “I really had no idea that the Shifter Patrol would go on a rampage like that and kill everyone at that club.”

“What about the owner, Martha?”

“Not so sure. She might have escaped in time.”

“She originally didn’t want to let me in. There is something about her that unsettles me. She was disciplining a young woman for being late for work. She had her on a leash!”

“The Wilted Petal was a sex club, not church. Plenty of deviant things happen there, but not to worry. That’s all behind you now. Chase and I might enjoy the company of a woman, but it’s always a mutual thing. We don’t force anyone to do anything, Katlyn.”

“Are there anymore questions?” Chase asked as he leaned over the table and squeezed Katlyn’s hand in his.

Katlyn scooted the chair back and it fell backward and she fell to the floor with a thud. Brendan and Chase raced to help her back up and that’s when the whole world spun for her. She half knelt, half rose to her feet with her ass practically in Brendan’s face and her face way too close to Chase’s crotch.

They took ahold of both of Katlyn’s arms and helped her completely to her feet. They were close, too close for rational thought, but Katlyn was too buzzed from first the beer and now the whiskey for good decision-making. She trembled as she gazed into Brendan’s eyes. “I-I’m sorry. I-I can’t do this.”

“Do what?” he asked. “I don’t recall asking you to do anything tonight.” He cupped her face in his hands then. “I’d never take advantage of you like that, certainly not when you’re drunk. When and if you decide you’re ready for the three of us to get together, I want it to be right for all of us, not just one of us.”

His hand slipped away and Chase reiterated what Brendan had said, adding, “I want you, but not like this. You need time to absorb what we’ve told you tonight and tomorrow you’ll be meeting the children for the first time.”

“I better go. I’d hate to be late. I’m not even sure what time school is yet.”

“It’s at nine, but you might want to get there a little early. It’s only a meet and greet day with dismissal at noon. Paige should have discussed that with you,” Brendan said.

“I wish she had. What about Paige, though? Is she also a shifter?”

“I’m not at liberty to discuss Paige with you.”

“Tessa is with her. Please tell me.”

“She’ll be fine. We’ll see you home first and if Tessa isn’t there, we’ll find her and bring her home safe. Paige has a right to her privacy and we can’t tell you anything about her. Give it time and she’ll tell you herself.”