Adams, Eve - Trio [Gideon's Ring 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (32 page)

He didn’t want her to have a next lover. He wanted to be her lover from here to eternity. Why didn’t he stop her?

Chris turned away. “Maybe it’s for the best.”

“What’s for the best?” Wyatt jumped into the middle of the conversation.

“Sarah left.” Chris knelt down at the fireplace and wadded up paper.

Wyatt knelt down as well and stacked kindling on top of the paper. “Well
,
of course she did. All the guests left.”

“And that makes Barrett a cranky boy.” Chris grabbed the matches and lit the paper.

Bullshit. That made Chris just as unhappy. Barrett saw it in his cousin’s sad eyes.

“Why? She was just another guest.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,
”
Barrett
snapped
.

Chris stiffened.
“
Barrett is just pissed that she left.”

“
So are you,
”
he challenged.

Wyatt continued to stack kindling on the burning paper. “When is he not pissed?”

“I’m right here,” he growled. “Quit talking about me like I’m not.”

Wyatt glanced up at him. “Are you really that upset that she’s gone? It isn’t like we lead the kind of lifestyle that caters well to being in a relationship. I thought that’s why you let Gail string you along for as long as you did.”

Michael walked over and placed his hand on Barrett’s shoulder. “I have to agree with Wyatt on this one. It’s better for business if we aren’t tied down.”

Barrett snarled and turned from his brothers, straight into Chris’s face. They exchanged knowing looks and turned away from each other.

Neither one of them wanted to hear that. Barrett wanted his brothers to support his want to have Sarah with him. He expected them to be on his side. Instead, they all tried to convince him that living without her was for the best. He knew Chris felt the same. “I love her,” Barrett admitted aloud for the first time.

Chris walked over to Barrett and rested his hand on his shoulder as he addressed the rest of the clan.
“
So do I.
”

Michael spiked an ebony brow.
“
Both of you? And did you two know that you
’
d both fallen in love?
”

They looked at each other and gave a curt nod.

“Oh, shit.” Wyatt stood up quickly and widened his eyes. “Why didn’t one of you tell me? Oh, shit.
Shit
.
Shit
.
Shit
.”

Barrett frowned at him. “What difference does it make now? We weren
’
t enough to make her want to stay.”
Story of my life.

“I may have had something to do with her leaving.”

Barrett eased around a chair, his muscles tight, his senses on full alert. Chris joined him as they slowly started toward Wyatt.

“Care to elaborate?” Chris rasped.

Wyatt slowly backed away from them. “I had no idea you two actually liked her, let alone loved her. I thought it was all part of the role you were playing.”

Barrett barely pulled in enough of a breath to speak. When he did, his voice rumbled through the room like thunder even though he kept the volume down. “What role? What the fuck did you do, Wyatt?”

“I told her that you two were her instructors and that you were both only doing your job.”

“And she believed you?” He didn’t want to admit to the hurt that clutched at his chest. He thought she trusted him. How could she give in to doubt that easily?

Unless it wasn’t doubt at all. Maybe she really did only come to the ranch for a
fucking
good time. Maybe he was nothing more than the tool she needed.

It didn’t matter. She was gone, and he was alone. Again. He and Chris stepped away from each other.

Wyatt went on. “Listen, man. I heard her talking on the phone this morning, all secret like. She said something and then asked what she should do. If you ask me, she’s hiding something.”

Barrett didn’t like one goddamn word that fell from Wyatt’s lips. “When was she on the phone?”

“This morning, like I said. As soon as she saw me, she said she had to go and hung up. If you ask me, I think she was talking to her boyfriend.”

“No one asked you,” Chris growled.

And Barrett knew better. Sarah didn’t have a boyfriend. She didn’t even have any viable candidates.

Unless he really didn’t know her, like she’d said.

It didn’t matter. She left, so he did whatever he did when the women in his life up and left him. He worked. Chris would disappear back to his shack in eastern Montana and sulk until he got over her, just as he did after what
’
s-her-name from Vegas.

“Michael, grab Matt and do a quick check around the perimeter. Maybe it’s just a downed power line. Find that and we can call the power company to get our power back up.”

“Barrett?” Michael looked at his brother, sympathy in his eyes.

Barrett Gideon wanted no one’s sympathy. He ignored the agonizing twist in his chest as he turned from his brother to hide his expression.

He just needed to work and power his way through the pain. It got him through every breakup with Gail, and it would be what he needed to patch up the shredded muscle he called his heart. Maybe Chris would stick around long enough for them to share a drink later and laugh about it all.

As if on cue, Chris joined in. “Wyatt, start working on the schedule for the next couples’ retreat. They’ve been lucrative, so why not move them up to twice a month.”

Barrett nodded at Chris in thanks.

“
Are you sure?
”
Wyatt waited for Barrett to answer.

“
Damn straight. Get Strickler to get us that goddamn five-star rating so we can start advertising it.”

Wyatt watched Barrett with keen eyes. “Shouldn’t we talk about this?”

“Talk about what, Wyatt? There’s nothing to talk about. I’m the fucking GM, so do what I say.”

He flinched, and the younger Gideons all exchanged glances. Barrett labored his breathing, but didn’t apologize even though he felt like a pile of shit for screaming at them. It wasn’t any of their fault Sarah left.

It was his.

Wyatt stepped forward.
“But Sarah—”

“Is gone!” Rage mixed with blind fury consumed him and fueled his actions. He slammed his fist into the bricks encasing the fireplace, and the unquestionable snap of bones reverberated through the main room. An explosion of pain rocked his system, and he staggered back.

Great. Just fucking great. Now he had a broken hand to go with his broken heart.

Everyone fell silent. Only the sound of the pops and cracks from the wood as the flames licked them into embers filled the room as he held his hand, cringing in agony. He drew in several breaths to try and pull some of his anger back in and not puke from the excruciating pain.

His brothers looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. He turned away from them before he lost it completely.

Maybe he already had. Chris didn
’
t say a word as he led Barrett out of the room and to the mudroom. Barrett kept his expression carefully hidden as he allowed Chris to take him out of the house and into one of the vehicles. When he glanced up to make sure Chris was taking him to the hospital and not to drop him off a cliff, Barrett sucked in a stunned breath.

Chris’s eyes were filled with tears.

Three weeks later…

Sarah sat at the computer, staring at the screen, focusing on anything but not throwing up again. She swallowed as her stomach twisted and informed her that it had other ideas.

“Do you want another cracker?” Amber lifted the box of soda crackers and shook them. “I heard it is supposed to ward off the nausea.”

Sarah shook her head and immediately regretted it. She closed her eyes and breathed in and out slowly until the nausea passed. Only then did she open her eyes to see Amber watching with concern on her pretty expression.

“Are you going to tell him?”

“
Which one? I don
’
t even know who the father is.
”

“
Does that really matter? They both deserve to know.
”

“I don’t know. I don’t want either of them to feel responsible.”

Amber took a seat next to Sarah and scooted her chair closer so she could lay her head on Sarah’s shoulder. “Sweetie, they
are
responsible.”

“So am I,” Sarah countered and swallowed again. She grabbed the box of crackers and pulled one out to munch on it in the hopes it would, indeed, ward off the nausea.

“You know, there are options.”

She pushed away from Amber and stood to get away. “There are no other options.”

“It could be a false positive, you know. You did have that burrito for lunch the other day.
I once had lunch at an all-you-can-eat in San Diego sushi bar and seriously thought I was either going to die or give birth, I ate that much.
”

“It’s not a false positive.”

“
Are you sure?
It was a big burrito.”

“Am, I skipped my period, and my boobs are killing me.
”

“Did you pee on that little stick?”

“Actually, yes.
” She bit into the cracker and chewed. “Twice.”

“
Oh, shit.
Are you at least going to tell Norris?”

“And risk him killing them? Not on your life.” Another violent wave of nausea hit, and she held her breath as she closed her eyes. She slowly released the breath as she imagined herself wrapped in her sexy cowboys
’
arms, Barrett threatening to gag her as she challenged him in any way possible while Chris whispered delicious words that had her ready to submit to them.

It helped. Somewhat.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Sarah jerked her eyes open as Norris walked into the room, his skeptical brown eyes directed on her. She darted her gaze to Amber and gave her a slight shake of her head. Amber huffed but said nothing.

“Nothing,” Sarah lied and smiled through another wave of nausea.

Norris narrowed his eyes and tilted his head as he studied her. “You’re green.”