Flawless Surrender (8 page)

“It is now, but it wasn’t back then. You were probably only 4 or 5 when it happened…God that makes me feel old.” He stopped moving and his head dropped dramatically.

“When
what
happened?”

“Ben and I went swimming one afternoon, just like always. Jumping off the rocks into the pool. You know, the thing about Devil’s Drop is that it’s spring fed from an underground cave system. The pool itself is almost fifty feet deep, or so I’ve been told.” He started walking again, but he seemed to have forgotten she was with him. She stayed quiet, listening to his story, and fearing she knew how it ended. “Ben was a great kid. He got straight As, he was the star of the little league team, and he was a loyal friend.”

There were several more breaths between them, where the only sound was the crunching of grass under their feet. Dalton’s tone changed when he spoke again, dropping an octave and filling with emotion. “He jumped off the rocks one last time. We had to go home because his mama was going to take us shopping for fireworks. We were eleven-year-old boys, so we loved shooting off fireworks and the stands had just opened for the season. Before we could go, Ben wanted to jump just one more time. I climbed out and I was drying off when he went in. He slipped as he got to the top of the rock, and fell. His head cracked against the granite before he tumbled into the pool. I could see the blood spray from his forehead when he hit, and then he was gone. Disappeared under the water. Just like that. I panicked, and took off for help when he didn’t come back up. I never even went in the water to see if I could save him.”

Dalton stopped moving and stared up into the dark sky. His body was so tense he looked like he would snap like a rubber band if she touched him, but she chanced it. Wrapping her arms around him, she held him against her, trying to absorb his pain. He tensed only for a moment, before his arms came up to clutch her to him. He pressed his face against the top of her head and continued his story.

“It took divers to find his body, and the autopsy said he died of blunt force trauma. He was dead before he went into the water, but I didn’t know that. He was my best friend and I never even went into the water to try to help him. I ran away. What kind of a coward runs away and leaves his best friend behind?”

“Dalton, you were only a kid. You couldn’t have gotten him out alone even if you had been able to reach him.”

“Oh I know. I’m a doctor after all. I know that it was a hopeless situation, but in my heart, I can’t forgive myself. After that, every time I ran into his mom, Minnie, she would see me and start crying. She couldn’t even stand to speak to me. His dad, Walt, would move to the other side of the road to avoid me. So I knew when I was eleven that I would have to leave Stone River behind. There was no way I could face what I had done, or make Walt and Minnie relive it for the rest of their lives. I left. I went to med school and after med school I found the program that would send me the furthest possible distance from Texas. Like any good coward, I kept running hoping I could outrun my past. I feel like I’ve been running for twenty years, ever since I turned away from Ben. Until two weeks ago, when my program was shut down and I was shipped back. Now I’m just trying to figure out how to take it all in, and what to do next.”

They held each other in silence. Zoey tried to put all of the compassion she had in her heart into that hug, and Dalton seemed to absorb it readily. His hand stroked her hair gently, as though petting her to calm her, but she knew he was really doing it to soothe the turmoil inside of himself. She began running her own hands up and down the hard line of his back, trying to give him the comfort he sought. When he leaned back to look down at her, she gave him a small smile. “How about we go in and get that second beer you promised me, then maybe we can see how good you are at the seduction part of your plan?”

“I don’t want you to sleep with me out of pity, Zoey. I like you, and you mean more than that to me,” he said, shaking his head.

“How can you say that? You barely know me,” she argued, pulling her arms away and crossing them over her chest protectively. She couldn’t help but feel stung by the rejection.

“I know more than you think. You’re a brave, strong woman, with a big heart, and a huge capacity for love. You’ve been hurt in the past, but that doesn’t stop you from helping the ones that have hurt you, and you’re in love with my brother.” His last words were like a slap to her face, and Zoey took a step backwards.

“What?”

He shrugged, “It’s plain as day to me, and a few days ago, I would have never considered making a play for the woman my brother wants as his own, but hearing about Rachel, and the guys, well…it just has me thinking.”

“Stop it. Right now. Don’t start getting it in your head that just because I’m living here with the three of you, that we’re all going to suddenly fall madly in love with each other. You three are mostly jerks, who are cocky and a pain in my neck. Why would I ever want to be saddled with one of you, much less all three of you?” She was breathing hard, but she wasn’t sure if it was because what he said made her nervous or turned on.

“Why? Oh that’s the easy part. Because, Zoey, sweetheart, we can give you this…” His head dipped, and she had a second where she knew exactly what he was going to do, but she couldn’t stop it. She wanted him to kiss her. In fact, she had almost a desperate urge to fuse her mouth to his to prove to both of them that there was no chemistry.

Her plan backfired, because the moment their lips met, electricity sparked in the air and coursed through her body. She moaned as he took the kiss deeper, cupping her jaw with his hands to hold her in place and making love to her mouth. Her body melted into him, and she moaned when he nipped her lip before pulling back with a deep sigh.

“Yep. I knew it. You taste like the perfect sin, woman. Now, are we going to take this up to my bed and continue it, or are you going to walk away?”

He was challenging her. Fire lit the depths of his blue eyes, and she could feel the flush that covered her own neck and chest. Her body wanted his, there was no doubt about it, but she couldn’t take the next step with Dalton, until she resolved her feelings for Tanner. Polyamory might work for the Brooks family, but everyone around knew that Zoey Carson was better off alone.

Pushing away from him, she shook her head to clear the lust, and then glared at him. “I’m going to walk away, because like you said, I don’t want to be wanted out of pity or some misplaced desire for a future. In a couple of weeks I will move out, and in a couple of months you will leave Stone River, so there is no point in starting something neither one of us have any intention of finishing.” She turned and took a few steps toward the house before his voice stopped her for a moment.

“You can run, Zoey, but you can’t hide. There is something special between us, and I know it’s there between you and Tanner too. I don’t know about Clint, but something tells me that fate wouldn’t have brought the four of us together in this moment in time, if it weren't for a damn good reason. Good night, Zoey.”

Doubling her speed, she let the dark swallow him up behind her as she booked it for the well-lit ranch house. She wasn’t sure what she needed right now. Space, time, a good hard fuck? Maybe a little of everything. Dalton’s words hit too close to what she herself had been thinking, and it scared the hell out of her.

She wasn’t like Rachel. There was no happy ending in the future for broken Zoey. Hadn’t she had that proven a dozen times over in just the last month? Besides, once Dalton and Clint spent more time in Stone River they would find someone else to catch their fancy. Some other woman who was prettier and had a lot less baggage. She just needed to focus on finding a new place to live as quickly as possible…and keep her hands off the Keegan threesome.

Easier said than done, a small voice in her brain taunted her as she flew through the front door and straight down the hall to her room. Locking the door behind her, she dropped onto the bed and let her emotions take over. Her heart broke for Dalton and his dead friend, Ben, for Clint and his broken dreams of acting, and for herself and Tanner, what might have been, but they would never know. It was just one sadness after another, and she found herself sobbing herself to sleep.

The next week flew by, and Zoey barely had time to think about her situation, much less lament it. She had always been a morning person, so every day she woke with the sun and made breakfast. It seemed to surprise Tanner that she would meet him in the kitchen for coffee and breakfast. Clint and Dalton would wander in right before she had to go to work, and all three men took the time to wish her a good day. If she didn’t know any better, she would almost feel like she belonged there with them.

Work consisted of filling out paperwork, answering phones, filing, and running errands for her bitchy boss, Helen, who she nicknamed, Helga the Hooker. Helen was in her early fifties and a bitter biddy who seemed to have no compassion for the students she worked with. How she ever got a job as a children’s social worker was anyone’s guess. Zoey knew she was stuck if she wanted to stay in Stone River. Small towns weren’t exactly the ideal place for someone in her career, so she forced herself to grin and bear it. According to some of the other staff, the administration was watching her closely to see if she could ultimately be Helen’s replacement. It wasn’t much, but it was a sliver of hope in her dismal world.

Walking through the front door of the ranch house Friday night, she was assaulted by the scent of garlic and Italian seasonings. Her mouth watered as much as her brain bounced. Every night this week she had come back to the Triple T to cook dinner while the three men worked the ranch. She had been surprised how quickly Clint and Dalton slipped back into their cowboy boots, but they seemed to be enjoying it. The four of them ate dinner and chatted comfortably, although the flirting had continued, it hadn’t intensified, and none of the guys had pushed her. After dinner, most of the time she would join one or more of them in the living room to watch TV for an hour or so before she went to bed and masturbated herself to sleep.

Living with them left her perpetually horny. The scent of hay and male sweat was suddenly a powerful aphrodisiac that left her limp with need. If any of them knew the fantasies her brain spun up after she shut her bedroom door, she would be mortified. She attributed her crazy fixation on ménage sex to Rachel’s blissful happiness with her men, and it irritated her that she couldn’t get off on normal fantasies anymore. Her mind’s eye was always adding men to the scene until suddenly she was back to all three Keegan brothers worshipping her body. She was beginning to think she was insane.

To her shock, Clint had taken over the kitchen wearing a white apron that had orange smears of something on it. A large casserole dish sat on the stove and he was layering noodles, sauce, and cheese into it carefully.

“Hey, angel, how was work today?” His smile was wide and welcoming, and she found herself returning it without meaning too.

“Eh, it was work. What in the world are you doing?” she asked, dropping her purse on the counter and removing her earrings.

“Making lasagna. What’s it look like?”

She stared at his profile as he worked, enjoying watching the muscles of his forearms flex and roll. “I thought I was supposed to cook?”

He shrugged and winked, “You aren’t a servant, Zoey. I wanted you to have a night off, and I actually enjoy cooking.”

“Really? Did your mom teach you?” She stepped out of her high heels, scooping them up and hooking them over her purse strap before unbuttoning the top three buttons of her collar. When she glanced back up, Clint’s eyes were focused on the exposed skin of her collarbone, and they both swallowed hard.

“Uh, no, actually. I didn’t learn until I was in California. I worked as a sous chef for about four years in an Italian restaurant before it went belly up.” Zoey watched as he gently pressed noodles into sauce, with the fine precision of a surgeon, and she tingled as she wondered what it would be like to have those same gentle fingers pressing into her skin.

“Thank you. It smells fantastic. Is there anything I can do to help?” She stepped closer and inhaled deeply.

“I’ll let you make the bread if you’re nice.” Clint grinned at her, and then swiped a finger in the sauce and held it to her lips. She hesitated before accepting the challenge in his light brown eyes. They were the color of peanut brittle, and they sparkled when her lips closed over his digit. She ran her tongue over the tip of his finger teasingly before pulling away with a pop.

“Fuck a duck,” he groaned, still standing with his finger out as if he couldn’t handle pulling it away.

“Tastes delicious,” she said softly. “I better go change clothes. I’ll help with the garlic bread when I get back.”

Turning away, she collected her stuff and left him staring after her. Her step was lighter on her way to the bedroom than when she first came home, and she was fighting to hold in a laugh. How long had it been since someone had done something nice for her, just because? Probably her birthday last spring, when Rachel took her in to Austin for a girl’s day of shopping and lunch at her favorite steakhouse. That day turned into a day long shopping spree for Juliet’s nursery instead of for Zoey, but it was fun.

Her laundry was piled pretty high, and she grimaced as she realized the only clean lounge clothes she had left was a pair of very short workout shorts, and a slightly too snug t-shirt that showed her belly if she stretched her arms. There really wasn’t another option unless she wanted to wear dirty clothes or work clothes all evening. Nixing that option because no woman should have to wear pantyhose more than eight hours a day, she changed and swung her long hair up into a ponytail.

She couldn’t have been gone for more than ten minutes, but by the time she reentered the kitchen, Dalton was spreading butter on the French bread, and Clint was topping the lasagna with cheese. They both glanced at her as she came into the room, and froze.

“I like this look,” Clint said, eyeing her like a fashion critic, he made a circular motion with his finger so she would spin around and she laughed. The moment her back was too them, she heard them both groan.

“What? Do they look that bad?” She twisted to try to see her own backside, only succeeding in hiking the t-shirt up to show off a band of skin at her midsection.

Dalton put down the butter knife and leaned over to kiss her on the forehead, “Nothing could look bad on you, pretty lady.”

A blush stole up her cheeks, and she dropped her eyes. “Thank you, I think. I feel a little useless with the two of you doing the cooking tonight. Is there anything else I can do?”

“Nope, just take a seat and let us handle it. Dinner will be ready in about a half an hour,” Clint answered with a smile.

She narrowed her eyes at him, “You’re being awfully nice to me all of a sudden, Hollywood.”

He threw up a hand, and looked pained, “You wound me, angel! I’m always nice to you! In fact, after dinner, if you want I’ll be extra nice to you and give you a full body massage.”

Zoey laughed, but before she could respond, Tanner entered the room from the back door. He shocked her even further when she realized that he had a bottle of wine and a single red rose in his hands. Her mouth hung open, and his complexion darkened when their eyes met.

“Hey, Zoey. This is for you.” He held out the rose, and she glanced at his brothers and then him in confusion.

“What is this for?”

Tanner looked to Clint and Dalton who both just smiled and left him to explain. “We wanted to do something nice for you tonight. You’ve been taking such great care of us all week…well…”

She took the rose from his hand, running her fingers over the soft petals and then down the stem. A thorn pricked the skin of her thumb and she hissed.

“Damn it. I knew I should have said yes when Roberta offered to de-thorn it,” Tanner said, his jaw clenching. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Thank you, the flower is beautiful exactly as it is, and thank you to you both too,” she said, smiling at Clint and Dalton, “It means a lot to me that you guys would do this.”

“Anything for you, angel,” Clint said with a wink. “Better get that rose in water, and a Band Aid on that thumb. We can’t have you bleeding out before dinner. Tanner, get the girl a glass of wine already. It’s Friday night and she should be relaxing.”

Tanner flipped Clint off, but he did as instructed, reaching up into the cabinet for a bud vase before he pulled out a wine glass. Zoey carefully removed the thorns and leaves from the long stem. The flower was perfect. Its deep crimson petals were wrapped in a full bud that would spread to become a stunning bloom. She felt a wave of warmth settle in her chest at the idea that Tanner Keegan had personally selected a flower for her. What a long ways they had come since that terrible night at Robin’s so long ago.

When she finished with the flower, she turned to find all three men watching her, and she laughed. “What is it?”

Tanner’s jaw clenched and he handed her a glass of wine, “Nothing. Why don’t you go get off your feet until dinner. I need to go shower real quick. Dalton, did you call Ulysses about getting Devonshire’s shoe replaced?”

Just like that, the moment was broken as Tanner and Dalton discussed a horse that had thrown a shoe that day. Clint gave her a wink, but he went back to working on the food prep, leaving her to do as she was told and head into the living room.

She sunk into the butter soft leather of the sofa, sighing with pleasure as she put the flower on the end table next to her, and took a sip of wine. Flavors exploded on her tongue, and the mellow scent of berry filled her nose. There was nothing of interest on TV so she stopped it on a music station, tapping her foot as Jason Derulo sang about “The Other Side”.

Her eyes drifted shut, and she let herself be swallowed up in the lyrics of the song and the uplifting dance beat. She wondered if she could handle a fling with one of the three Keegan brothers. It wasn’t like she would be here forever, in a couple of weeks Rachel’s mom would go back to Oklahoma, and Zoey would be able to move in there if she hadn’t found her own place yet. Living on the Triple T, she didn’t have any rent to pay so she should be able to save up the money for a deposit pretty quickly. What if until then, she let herself be seduced by Clint, or even Dalton? There was no way she would offer herself up to any of them after being turned down so flatly by Tanner and then Dalton, but if she just flirted back a bit, maybe…

A sudden sinking of the sofa cushion next to her made her jump and her eyes flew open to find Clint settling in beside her.

“Whoa, sorry, angel. I didn’t mean to scare you. I seem to have a particular talent for that.” His arm went around the back of the couch just like Dalton’s always seemed to do when he sat with her.

“It’s alright, I guess I was lost in thought and didn’t hear you come in.” She reached for the remote and turned the volume down on the TV as Christina Aguilera started singing “Your Body”.

“That’s a good song,” Clint said, stealing the remote from her hand to turn it up just as she sang about finishing off on her own. What a fitting song for the thoughts she had been having a moment ago. “You know, I got to meet her once.”

“Who?”

“Christina. I guess meet isn’t quite the right word. I got to park her car once when I was working as a valet.”

Zoey laughed out loud, and Clint’s eyes widened. “You have got to do that more often. You’re beautiful when you laugh.”

A snort slipped out and she shook her head. “And you are a Grade A flirt.”

“Grade A, huh? You really think so? I’d rather be a Grade A prime piece of meat in your eyes, I think.” He wiggled his eyebrows sending Zoey into another round of giggles. She whacked his shoulder with the back of her hand, and he grabbed it in both of his, holding it over his heart. “You’re breaking my heart, angel. And here I thought we were going to get married and have a dozen kids together.”

“A dozen? You have to be joking? I can’t have a dozen kids, I would swell up to the size of a house!” she teased, and he tugged on her hand, pulling her against his chest.

“Perfect, as long as you’re mine I don’t care how big you are.”

Clint swooped in for a kiss before she could respond, and she melted against him. Tomato sauce and man was all she tasted as his tongue swept past the barrier of her lips and stroked over her own. One of his hands slipped from between them to cup the back of her head, holding her in place for his mastery, and she lost herself in him.

Someone moaned, and then whimpered, and she was startled to realize it was her. Her hands flexed against his chest, fisting into the fabric of his t-shirt, and kneading the muscles of his pecks as she kissed him back.

A sharp slap on her raised ass broke them apart, and she turned to glare at Dalton, still breathing hard. “What the hell?”

“Save a little sugar for me, pretty lady. Clint here has to go check his masterpiece. The timer just went off.” Dalton looked way too pleased to have come upon her making out with his little brother, and she couldn’t decide if she was irritated or if she wanted to kiss him so she could compare the two.

Her lips tingled, and her pussy clenched when Clint brushed a sweet kiss over her mouth and then swaggered into the kitchen leaving her alone with Dalton. She turned a hard look on his grinning face.

“You enjoyed that.”

He gave her an innocent look, “What? The interrupting part, or the part where I got to watch from the doorway as you tried to swallow Clint’s tongue down your throat?”

Face flaming, Zoey glared at him with all of the intensity she could muster. It might have helped if he was wrong. “You know, a gentleman wouldn’t point those things out.”

Dalton’s laugh boomed through the room, and she fought to keep a straight face, “Whatever gave you the idea that I was a gentleman, pretty lady?”

Zoey tipped her chin arrogantly, “I wasn’t the one who put the brakes on.”

His blue eyes flared with heat, and he stalked her. Slowly but surely he edged closer to where she sat on the sofa until he was close enough to reach out and pull her up against his chest. Her hands gripped his shoulders to keep from tumbling backwards, but she knew instinctively that if she let go he wouldn’t let her fall. Two large hands reached down to squeeze her ass, his pinky fingers falling just below the hem of her shorts so they settled in the connecting crack where her upper thigh stopped and her ass curved.