Wild Montana Nights (3 page)

“Do you have family close-by?” she asked.

“Our parents live about thirty minutes to the west of us.” Randall

took a bite of his second sandwich.

“Do you have any other siblings?”

“We have another brother, James. He’s the oldest. He lives in

Billings,” Marcus answered.

“So it is just your mom and dad then.”

“Well, actually, we have two dads and our mom. She’s married to

both of them.” Randall waited holding his breath.

“Oh, well. More power to her. Managing one man can be

confusing enough without adding a second man to the equation.” She

shrugged it off and kept nibbling at her sandwich.

Randall wanted to hug her. She wasn’t appalled at the notion. To

him, half the battle was won. He wondered if Marcus had anything

else under his sleeve to whip out tonight, or if that was going to be all of the show. He sure hoped so. He hadn’t been prepared for the day

when he woke up that morning.

Darla slid off the barstool and picked up her plate. She wiped off

the crumbs with a napkin in to the trash then rinsed the plate and sat it in the sink. She tidied up the kitchen after putting the mayo, mustard, and ham back inside the fridge. Marcus frowned at her as she finished her task.

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Marla Monroe

“Randall, why don’t you show her the rest of the house? I’m

going to finish up some things in the office.” Marcus rinsed his plate off as well, setting it on top of Darla’s.

“Good idea.” Randall stood up and cleaned off his plate. “You

saw the pantry. I’ll show you the cellar next. We keep our canned

goods there.”

“Do you raise a garden?” Darla asked.

“We haven’t. Mom does at home, but that would be strictly up to

you and what you want to deal with.”

“Fresh vegetables would be nice occasionally. I’ll see if I’ve

gotten the hang of things by the time spring gets here.” She smiled

and followed him down the cellar stairs.

“Spring won’t be here till at least May. We have a short growing

season.” Randall switched on the light once they made it to the

bottom of the stairs.

The cellar was roughly half the size of the house with one side

devoted to shelving for canned goods and the other side devoted to

gathering dust and cobwebs. There were six or seven bottles of wine

on a shelf in the corner, but other than that, nothing. Randall watched as Darla examined several of the canned goods and dusted off a few

labels on the wine.

“Everything down here needs cleaning. This will take several days

alone.”

Randall walked up behind her while she was looking at the bottles

of wine. When she suddenly turned around, he was looking down into

her upturned face. They were close enough he could have kissed her.

She looked into his eyes, and her mouth opened then closed. He

wanted to run his tongue around her lips and see if she tasted as good as she smelled this close. Something moved in a corner, startling her, and the moment was gone.

Darla blinked and took a step back. She smiled but didn’t act as

though she was uncomfortable. Well, he sure as hell was. His cock

would have the imprint of his zipper on it for the rest of his life as
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hard and turned on as he was right then. He sighed and led her back

up the stairs and showed her the rest of the house.

“I’ll show you the outside tomorrow during daylight,” Randall

promised her.

Darla smiled and told him thanks for the tour. She really needed to

get to sleep if she was going to have breakfast on the table by six

thirty. Good thing she was used to working early, she joked. He

smiled and pointed her in the right direction to her bedroom. He

watched her walk down the hall before he turned to find Marcus in the office. They needed to have a heart to heart on how they were going

to approach her. She wasn’t appalled about a ménage relationship.

That was a start anyway.

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Marla Monroe

Chapter Two

Darla turned a complete circle in the bedroom they called hers. It

was much too large for just her, and she suspected it was actually the master bedroom. Why would they have given it to her? Surely one of

them should have taken it. And that was another thing. Why weren’t

they married? They were good-looking, virile men with a thriving

ranch and some sort of programming business. It didn’t make sense.

Oh, and two fathers? That was beyond weird. Their parents lived

in a ménage relationship. She had never met anyone who lived like

that, but then she was from the Bible Belt of Mississippi.

She wondered how it worked. Sighing, she shook her head. It

didn’t matter. It was none of her business. She would be keeping

house and cooking for the two men. She wasn’t part of the family.

The idea of being part of a family settled over her for a few

minutes. She knew that was in her past. She would probably never

find anyone living in such a remote area now. Not that she wanted to.

Men couldn’t be trusted to tell the truth or keep their promises. She knew that firsthand.

She opened up the first suitcase and began unpacking. Everything

she owned fit in the dresser. The few things she had to hang up looked lonely and out of place in the huge walk in closet. She had three pairs of jeans, two worn dresses, and an equally worn coat. She would have

to invest in more clothes, especially a good coat. Winters, she knew, would be bitter here. It wouldn’t hurt to buy a pair of boots as well. If she was careful, she would have enough money to cover a few things

until she got her first pay check. The salary was generous—more than

she had expected with room and board included. She would be able to

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put a little away in savings for the future. The future, she wondered, what it would hold for her?

Darla settled the suitcases in the closet and unpacked her toiletries from one of the boxes. She couldn’t believe the bathroom. A large

whirlpool tub sat in one corner big enough for two or three and a

shower took up another wall. The multiple shower heads looked as

inviting as a long soak in the massive tub. When she finished

unpacking, she would settle for a shower. She needed to get into bed

and get some sleep. She had a long day tomorrow, the first day of her new life.

Early the next morning, Darla was already in the kitchen cooking

breakfast when Randall walked in. He looked every bit as

scrumptious as she remembered from the day before. Of course it

didn’t help that she had dreamed about him and his brother. All that talk concerning his parents being in a ménage relationship had fueled her imagination. Now she dropped her eyes back to the bacon she was

cooking. She was sure her cheeks were rosy. Maybe he would think it

was the heat from the stove.

“Morning, Darla. How did you sleep last night?” He crossed to the

coffee pot and poured a mug.

“Fine thanks. The bed is massive. I think I got lost in it.” She

blushed harder and concentrated on cooking.

“Do you have everything you need? Like I said, we may have

something if you don’t. Otherwise, we’ll be going into town

Saturday.” Randall leaned back against the counter and sipped his

coffee.

“Would it be okay if I went along this time? I need to get a couple

of things.”

“Sure. Marcus and I are both going, so we can get something to

eat in town. It’s what we usually do when we go.”

“I don’t want to be any bother…” she began.

“It’s no bother at all,” Randall said.

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Marla Monroe

Marcus walked into the kitchen and right up behind Darla. He

bent over her back and sniffed at the bacon.

“Smells great,” he said. “How did you sleep last night?”

Darla stiffened and swallowed hard. It felt so intimate for him to

be that close. Heat from his body seeped into her. His shirt rubbed

against her back, and she nearly yelped when he settled a hand on her shoulder.

“Randall, I’m already in love. No more burned bacon.”

Randall laughed. “I never was a good cook. Mom was sure both

of us would starve when we moved out here.”

Marcus moved from behind her. She peeked around to see him

pouring a mug of coffee.

“Um, breakfast is nearly ready. I think I started a little late this morning. I’ll have it right tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Marcus said. “You’ve never worked on a

ranch before, so it will take a little getting used to.”

She nodded and pulled the biscuits out of the oven. “How do you

want your eggs?”

“Just scramble them all,” Randall answered.

Ten minutes later she had everything on the table, and the men

took their seats across from each other. Darla started cleaning up the dishes she’d used to cook with.

“Hey, come over here and sit down and eat. Dishes can wait till

you eat breakfast.” Marcus stood up and pulled out a chair. “Grab a

plate.”

“Oh, I can eat later. I shouldn’t eat with you.”

“Why the hell not? You gotta eat. You might as well eat with us

and save time,” Randall added.

“I…if you’re sure.”

She opened the cabinet and pulled out a plate. She gathered

silverware and sat at the head of the table. It was the only place left to sit. She felt odd sitting there with them. Randall got up and poured a
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cup of coffee for her. He sat it in front of her and smiled. It was

contagious. She smiled back.

Randall and Marcus discussed the ranch and things she had no

knowledge of. While they continued their discussion, Darla planned

her day.

“So is there anything you need before we head out?” Marcus’s

deep voice startled her. She nearly dropped her fork.

“Oh, no. I’m fine. I have plenty to do.”

“Randall made a list of some of the things we are used to eating so

you could make out a grocery list. We aren’t picky, though. Believe

me. We’ll eat just about anything you feed us. Been living off our

own cooking for several years now.”

She laughed. “It can’t be that bad. You’re both healthy-looking

men.” She blushed realizing what she’d admitted to.

“Well, thanks,” Marcus said.

Randall reached over and touched her hand. “You’re mighty

pretty yourself.”

Uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking,

Darla stood up and carried her plate to the sink. She hadn’t quite

finished, but her appetite had fled along with her common sense

evidently.

“I’m working in the office today. I have a program I’m working

on, so I’ll be close by if you need anything.” Randall rinsed off his plate and sat it on top of hers.

“I’ll be back around noon. Sandwiches are fine.” Marcus stood up

and looked as if he was going to touch her, but he turned and walked

toward the kitchen door leading outside.

Randall donned his hat and followed his brother.

* * * *

“Damn, I’m having a hard time keeping my hands off her.”

Marcus growled.

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Marla Monroe

“Yeah, I’m with you on that. It’s hard to believe we only met her

last night. I feel like she belongs here with us.” Randall watched his brother saddle his horse.

“I wish it were me staying home with her today.”

“You’ll get your time,” Randall said.

“See if you can make any headway with her. Don’t scare her off

though.”

“I think I can handle it just fine, little brother.” He grinned when

Marcus scowled at him.

“She looked good in the kitchen, didn’t she?” Marcus led his

brother’s horse outside into the crisp morning air.

Randall nodded thinking about how it would feel to greet her in

the mornings with a kiss and a hug. Hell, waking her up with a kiss

sounded even better.

“I’d better go. The boys will be wondering where I am. I’ll see

you at lunch.” Marcus mounted the horse and headed off toward the

west pasture.

Alone with Darla. It sounded good, but he wasn’t sure how to

proceed. The idea was to make her comfortable around them. He

entered the kitchen to find her wiping down the stove. The dishes

were finished and the table clean. She looked so tiny compared to

him. He was almost afraid to touch her. As if sensing he was watching her, she turned from the stove and stared.

“Did you want something? I can make more coffee if you would

like.” She shifted from one foot to the other.

“No, thanks. Maybe later. I’ll be in the office if you need

anything. Don’t worry about interrupting me.”

He walked out of the kitchen and down the hall to the office he

and his brother shared. They each had a desk to conduct their

individual business interests from. Marcus took care of the ranch for the most part, while he ran a programming business. He helped with

the books during calving season. Marcus would be tied up from sunup

to sundown for several weeks.

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Noise from the hall had him looking up toward the door hoping

she was going to come in and ask him something. Instead, a soft

humming reached his ears as she passed by the door. He smiled at the

slightly off-key music. It was the prettiest sound he’d ever heard. He listened for a few more seconds then buried himself in his computers.