Adams, Eve - Trio [Gideon's Ring 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (31 page)

The shine of fresh tears in her eyes wretched at his gut. He let out a breath and pulled his attention to the road as they both drew in several breaths. He hated seeing her so upset.

After several minutes passed, Chris turned to her.
“
Talk to me, baby. Tell me what
’
s really got you so wound up?
”

A tear streamed down her pretty cheek
,
and he hissed in a breath.
“
I just need to get away from you. You and Barrett.
”

Jesus Chris
t
, that hurt. Was he that bad to be around? He swallowed thickly.
“
Why?
”

“
Don
‘
t make me say it.
”

“
I
‘
m not going to drop you off until you do. Sarah, baby, I need to know what
’
s wrong. I can
’
t help if I don
’
t know what the problem is.
”

She thinned her lips as she narrowed a burning glare at him.
“
You
‘
re the problem, Chris. You and Barrett.
”

He recoiled, her words like a sucker punch to the gut.
“
What the hell did we do?
”

“
You
‘
re both very good at your job.
”

And then it clicked.
“
You seriously think this was just another job to us?
”

“
Wasn
‘
t it?
”

Ah, hell. No wonder she thought he and Barrett were about as worthy as the gravel scattering the roads.
“
Maybe at first, but
—”

“
I don
’
t want to hear any more.
”

“
Like hell, lady.
”
Chris growled.
“
You are going to listen to me.
”

“
Say another word and I jump out of this rig.
”

That he didn
’
t doubt, especially when she put her hand on the door and started to open it.

“
Okay, okay. Not another word.
”
Damn crazy woman.

Who had him just as crazy. Hell, he was just as close to jumping out of the rig, she made him that nuts.

Another thing he absolutely loved about her.

Maybe he should just tell her. He
’
d only told one other woman in his life that he loved her
—
the mother of his child. And he hadn
’
t seen her in almost three years.

After Tiffany, he never wanted to love again. It just wasn
’
t worth it. Until Sarah.

He should just tell her. Taking in a breath, he then released it when he chickened out. What a goddamn coward.

For several minutes
,
he worked up the courage to tell her. He turned and took a breath, and then slowly let it back out.

She
’
d fallen asleep.

“
Sarah,
”
he started softly, so not to wake her.
“
I want to tell you something.
”
He turned to her again to see she hadn
’
t stirred.
“
This isn
’
t easy for me to admit. Barrett thinks it
’
s all a big joke, my weekend with Tiffany. I don
’
t fall in love easily, but when I do, it
’
s like an avalanche in my heart. I fall hard. I fall fast.
”

He turned to her again. She still hadn
’
t stirred. She looked so peaceful that he just watched her as he drove her to the address she handed him.
“
I think it happened in the snowcat, but I can
’
t be sure.
”

He hated to ramble, but as long as she stayed asleep, he could say what he needed to say and not fall over his words.
“
I love you, Sarah Emerson, more than life. Barrett is just as crazy about you. We don
’
t want you to leave.
”

She hummed and curled into a little ball as she slept. Poor girl. He and Barrett exhausted her. It would take her days to recover.

And the men even longer.

“
I
–
uh
–
just wanted you to know that. If you would have stuck around long enough, we would have been able to show you.
”
He sighed as he pulled up to the house she
’
d asked him to drop her off at. Reaching over, he nudged her awake.

She sat up and blinked, first at him and then the house. The disappointment in her pretty eyes couldn
’
t be denied.
“
We
‘
re here.
”

“
That we are. Do you want me to get your bags?
”

“
I
’
ve got them.
”
She opened the door and paused when he leaned over to take her hand.

“
There
‘
s something I want to tell you.
”

“
You
‘
ve said enough, Chris. Good-bye.
”
And she closed the door.

For the rest of the day Barrett busied himself with the task of getting the rest of the guests off the goddamn ranch. He couldn’t get them out of the glamping tents and down to the custom Hummer limos fast enough. The sooner they were gone, the sooner he could forget this weekend ever happened.

First Gail. Then Sarah. His luck with women really fucking sucked.

Chris returned and helped the rest of the Gideons load the luggage into the limos, oblivious to the turmoil twisting around in his cousin
’
s gut.

Only after the last limo pulled out and only the Gideons remained did Barrett finally turn to him. He wanted to break Chris’s neck for being so nonchalant about losing Sarah. But then again, Chris wasn’t the one in love with her.

Or was he?

Chris was acting even cooler than normal, which meant he was trying to hide something. Barrett knew him better than he knew his own brothers. Ever since they were both in diapers,
he and Chris
shared a bond he didn
’
t share with anyone else.

So he knew when Chris had something to hide. “Did you get Sarah to the airport okay?”

Chris shook his head. “She asked me to drop her at a bus station.”

“And you did?” The vein in his temple throb
bed
. When Chris grinned, Barrett wanted to rip out his guts.
“
Well?
”

“Of course not. She wanted to go see her brother up there in Holston, so I drove her there. It didn’t take too much more time, and she even offered to pay for the gas.”

Jesus and Christ. “You didn’t make her do that, did you?”

He turned and walked into the lodge. “Damn, it’s cold in here. You know, you should really think about getting propane heat, at least in the lodge. The Spanglers had a good point. Guests don’t want to pay two thousand dollars to sleep in a tent.”

God
damn
it. “You took her money, didn
’
t you?”

“Would you calm down? She offered. Besides, gas prices are astronomical. If it
’
s got you that upset, you can mail her a check.”

Barrett was pissed enough to kill.
“
Chris, you
’
d better talk to me, damn it.
”

Chris slumped down in a chair next to the giant fireplace and picked up the poker, turned from Barrett, and jabbed at the barren fireplace. “Looks like we’ll have to start a new fire. I can’t even find an ember in here.”

“Chris, if you don’t take this seriously, so help me, I will end you.”

His shoulders appeared to deflate as he stared into the fireplace. “What do you want from me, Barrett? She wanted to leave. It wasn’t like you did anything to stop her.”

Barrett growled deep in the back of his throat. No, he didn’t do a damn thing to stop her. He just let her go. The best thing to ever happen to him and he just watched her walk away.

“
Neither did you. Jesus, Chris. You practically rushed her out of here.
”

“
It was my only chance,
”
he said quietly.

“
Chance for what?
”

Chris suddenly stood and straightened, the concern and care in his demeanor gone. Determination set in his expression as his gaze hardened. “The reality of it is, she was a guest. We blurred the line between fantasy and reality. She signed a contract to spend the weekend here at the ranch and receive instruction on how to better her love life. I think we taught her quite a few things she’ll find useful with her next lover.”