Their Border Lands Refuge [Men of the Border Lands 9] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (2 page)

He guessed that the other man had given up on that idea for some reason though nothing in his last letter would have pointed to that. Something probably happened to him. It was a dangerous time they were living in. He wondered what had happened to his wife, Skyler? She had sounded pretty from his description of her.

Huffing out a breath, Simon returned to hoeing weeds. There was no use in worrying over it. There might be a letter the next time he ventured into Barter Town. One never knew.

The sound of gravel crunching out front jerked him back from his thoughts. He carried the hoe over to where he’d left his rifle and picked it up after dropping the tool. He didn’t have a clue who would be venturing down his drive, but chances where it wouldn’t be anyone he knew. Most of his neighbors were in relationships and kept their distance from him since he wasn’t. A single man was considered to be a danger to their women. He didn’t blame them, but it sure made his life lonely.

When he walked around the side of the house, it was to find a large travel trailer parked in the drive. He kept the gun loosely pointed in that direction and waited for someone to emerge from the cab. Finally, the door opened and a man stepped out and held his hands up.

“I’m looking for Simon McKenzie.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Owen Smith.”

Simon lowered his gun and stared at the man. No wonder he hadn’t received a letter in a while. They had been on their way there. He smiled and stuck out his hand as he walked up.

“I’m Simon. It’s good to finally meet you face-to-face, Owen.”

The relief that crossed the other man’s face was amazing. He looked ten years younger than when he’d stepped out of the camper. He was sure it hadn’t been an easy trip to make. Looking over the other man’s shoulder, he wondered where his wife was. He didn’t have to wonder for long.

“Skyler. Come meet Simon.” He walked back over to the door and opened it.

A petite but curvy woman emerged from the camper, allowing Owen to help her to the ground. She looked to be about five feet three inches with strawberry blonde hair and the prettiest blue eyes he had ever seen. She didn’t look to be twenty-five years old, but Owen had said she was.

“Simon, this is my woman, Skyler Reynolds. Skyler, Simon owns this place. He’s invited us to live here with him.”

The pretty woman tentatively held out her hand with a strained smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She was scared and unsure. He completely understood that. She didn’t know him at all and had just left a dangerous place to land in one she knew nothing about with its own dangers. Simon wasn’t sure how much Owen had told her about The Border Lands. He knew from their earlier letters that the other man hadn’t even mentioned to her that he was writing to Simon. How long had she known about him? What had Owen told her about him?

“Why don’t you come on inside and I’ll show you around. The house is enormous. I keep most of it closed off during the winter to keep the heat in one place.” He led them up the porch steps and into the darkening house.

Grabbing a lantern, he lit it and beckoned to them to follow him into the den. Then he led them into the kitchen where he set the lamp on the table and started making coffee. He figured they needed to talk some.

“I didn’t realize you were on your way out, Owen. Did something happen?”

“Yeah. I came home from work one day to find that my house was being looted and my woman had been hiding downstairs in the basement all day. It was no way to live. I took a chance that you were serious about letting us move here and loaded up and came on.”

“You’re more than welcome to live here. There’s more than enough room for you and plenty of work to keep us busy.” He risked a glance over at where Skyler sat perched on the edge of the chair as if she would fly off at any moment.

“Thank you. We appreciate it, and we’ll pull our share of the load. Skyler is an excellent cook and good with canning and such.”

He poured coffee for all three of them and sat down across the table. “Why don’t we get you unloaded and settled in, and then I’ll fix us something to eat for dinner. I’m sure you could use an early night after the trip you’ve had. We can talk about everything in the morning.”

“Skyler can fix us something to eat while we unload, can’t you, Skyler?” Owen smiled over at the pretty woman.

“O–Of course. Does the stove work?” She glanced at it across the room.

“Sure does. I have gas and running water. No electricity out this way unless you have solar power. I’d like to put in some panels and a generator, but there’s too much to do around here just to survive.”

He sipped his coffee then stood up. “Let’s get your stuff unpacked.”

Owen stood up with him. He wanted to get them under his roof before they changed their mind. Until they had arrived a few minutes before, he hadn’t realized how much he wanted them there for the company even more than for the help around the place. He glanced over at Skyler as she stood up, looking a little lost. She was a beautiful woman who he would love to be with, but he held no illusions there at the present. She was scared, and he would never force himself on a woman. Only time would tell if there would be any affection between them.

Skyler stood in the middle of the kitchen squeezing her hands together. It was all happening too fast. She had done nothing but worry and think about this over the last week. Now that she was there in the stranger’s house, she wasn’t sure how she would deal with it. Panic threatened to get the best of her. She swallowed down the sob that nearly overtook her and reached out with shaking hands to pick up the lamp. She would need it to see what was available. She would take one minute at a time for now.

The pantry proved to be full of supplies. She figured with it being so hot that sandwiches would be the best solution, but she couldn’t find any bread. Instead she sliced tomatoes and warmed up some vegetable soup. It wasn’t her best meal, but without knowing what she had to work with, it was the best she could accomplish.

The sound of footsteps in the next room jerked her from her thoughts and had her scrambling across the room. It didn’t sound like Owen’s to her. Sure enough, Simon walked in alone. He smiled and nodded at her.

“Owen will be right down. He was fixing up the bed.”

Skyler just nodded and stayed where she was.

“Soup smells good. Thanks for fixing it.”

“I–I couldn’t find any bread.”

“I haven’t made any this week. I’m sorry about that, but I’ve been real busy working in the garden and tending to the cows.”

“Skyler makes good bread.” Owen’s voice startled her.

She edged toward him and sat down next to him when he took a seat at the table. They ate in silence, and then when she got up and began clearing the table, her hand touched Simon when he reached for the same bowl. She jerked back at the spark that snapped between them, nearly dropping the dish back on the table.

“Sorry.” She quickly carried the dirty dishes to the sink.

She ran water in the sink and began washing up while the men talked in low voices behind her. Simon had her completely unnerved. He was a handsome man as best as she could tell in the dim light of the lamps. He kept his long brown hair tied back at the nape of his neck. Hanging free, she was sure it would be thick and soft. His hazel eyes were friendly, and they twinkled when he smiled. He had large hands that were calloused, and he stood a good six feet three or four inches tall. He looked muscular by the way the white T-shirt stretched tight across his wide shoulders and broad chest.

She felt someone walk up behind her and turned to see the man in question smiling down at her.

“I brought the glasses.” He held them out to her.

Skyler attempted a smile and took them from him before turning her back once again. She shivered despite the heat. Just his presence near her had an odd effect on her. She couldn’t figure out what it was. Then he moved away and Owen walked up next to her to dry the dishes. He didn’t say anything as if he knew she was on edge. As long as they had been together, he probably recognized when she was overwhelmed.

“You guys ready for bed?” Simon carried a lamp over to Owen.

“Yeah. I think we need to get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day for us getting used to how things are around here.” Owen wrapped a hand around hers and took the lamp Simon held out.

“I hope you like it here. It’s a hard life, but you’ll be safe here, Skyler. Between the two of us, Owen and I will watch out for you.”

Skyler didn’t know what to say to that, so she remained quiet as she followed Owen through the den and up the stairs to the second floor. She was hyperaware of Simon climbing the stairs behind her.

“This is it, Skyler.” Owen led her inside the bedroom, leaving Simon out in the hall.

“Sleep well, you guys. See you in the morning.”

Skyler couldn’t help letting out a breath of relief that he hadn’t followed them in. Deep down she knew he wouldn’t be sleeping with them right away, but the fact that he would someday was always at the back of her mind.

Owen sighed and pulled her into his arms. “Everything is going to be fine. You’ll see. He’s a good man. This will be a good home for us. No more hiding in the basement all day. You’ll get to be outside some.”

“I’m sorry, Owen. I can’t help but be nervous and worried. It isn’t normal for two men to share a woman.”

“The world isn’t the same anymore, Sky. This is the norm now.” He kissed her on the forehead and let go of her. “Let’s get some sleep.”

She sat on the chair in the corner and removed her shoes before stepping out of her jeans and pulling off her T-shirt. As soon as she had all her clothes off, she slipped into the bed and curled up next to Owen without touching him. They were both tired, and it was too hot to sleep on top of each other like they normally did. Still, she wanted him to hold her. Her world was changing once again, and this time she wasn’t so sure she could survive it. Despite being in a new place and the stress she was feeling, Skyler managed to drift off to sleep soon after hearing the soft snores coming from Owen.

* * * *

Skyler woke up curled around Owen’s back. It was still dark, but there was the hint of light coming through the window. She had to think for a minute where she was. Having spent the last week in the travel trailer, she wasn’t used to so much room in the bed. Without waking Owen, she eased out of the bed and made her way to the bathroom. She needed a shower to wash the stickiness of sweat off of her.

It took her a few tries to light the lamp since she hadn’t needed to use one back east. Then she closed the bathroom door to keep from waking Owen. They would both be learning a new way of life starting today. He would need all the rest he could get.

The lukewarm water felt wonderful to her skin. She quickly washed off and climbed out to dry off. By the time she had dressed and opened the bathroom door again, Owen was awake. He smiled as she walked into the room.

“Morning, Sky.”

“Morning, Owen. I’m going to see what I can find to make for breakfast.”

“Good idea. I love you, baby.”

“I love you, Owen.”

She carried the lantern with her downstairs to make sure she didn’t stumble over anything. She didn’t know the house well enough to walk around in the dark yet. No doubt she would eventually know it like the back of her hand.

Setting the lantern on the counter by the stove, she put the coffee on to boil and began preparing dough to make biscuits. She was thankful that she was able to locate what she needed so easily. With Simon being a man and alone, she had expected that the kitchen and pantry would be in terrible shape, but was surprised that he kept a fairly neat house.

She had just poured a cup of coffee when she heard footsteps behind her. Thinking it would be Owen, Skyler poured another and turned to hand it to him. She gasped to find Simon standing there in just a pair of jeans that weren’t even fastened at the waist. His broad chest held a dusting of hair that narrowed as it trailed down his abdomen to disappear beneath the waistband of his jeans. She realized her eyes had drifted lower toward his crotch, and she jerked them back up to catch the amused expression on his face.

Simon took the cup from her. “Thanks. Hope you slept well.”

“Yes, thank you.” She quickly backed away only to find she was already against the cabinet.

Simon didn’t move from in front of her. He sipped the coffee and stared down into her eyes with what could only be amusement. It began to irritate her that he found her nervousness something to laugh about. She slipped past him and returned to making breakfast.

“Owen should be down in a few seconds. He was taking a shower.”

“That’s fine. I’m enjoying your company.”

She ignored him and stuck the biscuits she’d made in the oven. They would be filling even if they weren’t going to be her best. She would have to get used to cooking with gas and using the staple items he had available.

“You’re very pretty, Skyler.”

She felt her face heat up at the compliment. She wasn’t used to them. Sure, Owen told her she was beautiful all the time, but it was Owen. This was a stranger who one day expected her to have sex with him. Her hands began to shake again. Much to her horror, he took them in his hands and squeezed them gently.

“Don’t be nervous around me, Skyler. I’m not going to attack you. I would never hurt you.”

“I don’t know you yet. I can’t help it. You’re a complete stranger to me.”

“Didn’t Owen tell you about me?”

“Not until we had been on the road for a few days. He knew I wouldn’t be happy about the arrangement.”

Simon dropped her hands and took a step back. “I see.” He regarded her for a few seconds then walked over to the back door. “I’m going out to see about the chickens and the cow. I’ll be back in about thirty minutes.”

Before she could say anything, he had walked outside and closed the door behind him. She realized she’d hurt his feelings. She honestly hadn’t meant to do it, but she couldn’t think straight around him.