Primal Surrender (21 page)

Mack’s voice was hoarse when he responded, “I know, Mom. It broke mine too.”

“He’s waiting for me though. Knows I’m coming to him soon, but he keeps telling me to wait a little longer. Says my boys still need me. Do you know my boys? Cormac and Ryker? They’re good boys.”

Rising to his feet, Mack brushed a kiss on her cheek, and smiled, “I know them very well, and he’s absolutely right, they do need you. We’re going to go now, okay?”

“Okay, tell Dottie that I will order one of those ice cream cakes for Danny’s birthday when you see her. And bring me back some cucumber seeds from the store, would you? I need to get the garden planted before winter.”

“Sure, Mom. Anything you need. I love you.”

Silently, Ryker followed his brother out of the hospital decorated prison cell, and back to the truck. Instead of firing up the engine, they both just sat and stared out the front window.

“I’m sorry for letting you down, Mack. I knew you wanted me to come back and help with the business. If I hadn’t let celebrity and money go to my head—“

“Don’t do that to yourself, Ryk. You did exactly what I would have told you to do if you had asked me. You know, mom’s right. Dad would have sold his soul to the devil if it made her happy.”

Ryker’s lip curled up in a half smile, “Yep.”

After another long pause Mack sighed, “I feel that way about Claudia, and I know you do too.”

“Yep.”

“It’s like there’s something deep inside of me, something primal, something I was born with that matches her. Like puzzle pieces, you know?”

When Ryker didn’t say anything else Mack started the truck and pointed it toward Stone River.

*****

For two weeks Ryker and Mack kept their physical distance from Claudia, but every moment of every day Ryker’s heart ached for her. He didn’t know how to fix what they had messed up because he really wasn’t sure how they did it in the first place.

The only positive to come out of the whole mess was the closeness he had found with his brother again. After returning from their disastrous dinner and the painful visit with their mom, Ryker had taken it upon his own shoulders to rebuild Mack’s leatherworking business. He’d made trips to every ranch within a hundred miles of Stone River, and he had orders for six custom saddles. It wasn’t enough business to sustain them, but it was a huge step in the right direction. The only problem he still faced was Mack’s lack of desire.

Last night they fought about it again when Ryker presented the sixth order to him and explained the owner of the Kicking J Ranch might be interested in a dozen more if he liked the work on the first one. That was thousands of dollars’ worth of business, and yet Mack had blown it off.

“Give it a chance, Mack. Even if we can’t build it back up into a million dollar company, we could at least make enough to support ourselves so you’re doing what you love instead of working for someone else.”

“What’s the point? I can live here at Brooks Pastures in a free house working with horses and just creating in my spare time, and not have the headaches to go along with the business,” Mack argued.

“But you won’t have the headaches. I will. I’m willing to step up and take control of the sales and bookkeeping, while you just create the product. Don’t you miss doing what you love?”

“Of course I miss it, but I don’t have the money to invest in it, and if we did grow the business then we would have to track down another leather artist to join us, or God forbid train another one.”

Ryker punched the wall, and then glared at his brother, “I’ll pay for it, you jackoff. I have enough to get us started, and float us for a while. And if they track down some of my missing money—”

“They aren’t going to track down your money. Give up the fight already, Ryk,” Mack said.

“Oh that’s rich. You’ve been telling me for almost a year to have hope things would work out, but now you’re acting like a scolded child because the woman you love is mad at you.”

“She’s not just mad at me. She hates us both. We’ve lost her, and so I don’t see any point in all of the work to build a business that would overwhelm us. If the business goes well, we would have to bring on new people, and then it becomes less fun.”

“You’re telling me you won’t try because you’re fucking afraid of success? What kind of pussy shit is that?”

“I can’t succeed without her, Ryk. It’s not worth it.”

Instead of fighting for Claudia, Mack had withdrawn like Ryker had never seen in his life. Cormac Thompson was a fighter, so seeing him broken and defeated was a shock.

This morning was the final straw. Mack had actually slept in the barn instead of coming back to the cabin, and when Ryker went in search of him, he found him stinking of alcohol and bitter regret.

“This has to stop, Mack.”

Glaring back, Mack just grumbled a garbled, “Fuck you.”

“I’m serious. You wouldn’t let me waste away in a pity party for one, and I’m not going to let you do it either.” Ryker took a seat on a hay bale, watching as Mack took his shirt off and dunked his face in a bucket of icy cold water.

“You never really loved her, did you?” Mack snapped.

Ryker fought to hold his temper in check, “That is the furthest thing from the truth and you know it. I love her more than anything else in the world. Hell, she’s the type of woman I would have walked away from football for.”

His statement seemed to surprise Mack as much as it surprised him, and they both stared at each other in silence, each man dealing with his own broken heart. Finally Mack dropped onto the hay bale across the barn from him and sighed heavily, “I’m sorry, man. I’m trying to let her go, but damn it, I don’t want to. I fucking love that woman. I want to spend the rest of my life with her.”

“So if I’m hearing this right, you’ve both fallen in love with the luscious Claudia. And you aren’t claiming her because why?” Sawyer Brooks stepped into the barn, clearly having heard their conversation.

Ryker glared at the cocky cowboy, who was happily ensconced in the perfect marriage. “Because we both want her, and neither of us is willing to walk away.”

“Again, I’m still not seeing the problem? Look around you boys, this is the twenty-first century, you don’t have to duel at dawn to claim the ladies hand,” Sawyer said, snickering at their dilemma.

“We offered to share her, but she didn’t go for it,” Mack said, dropping his head into his hands. He looked so dejected that Ryker felt guilty for loving Claudia. “We haven’t seen her for two weeks.”

Sawyer’s eyes widened and he let out a long whistle. “You boys are dumber than I thought. Hey, Rogan, Parker! Come here a minute!”

The two older Brooks brothers appeared in the doorway a moment later. While Parker waited silently, Rogan spoke up right away sounding concerned. “What’s up? Everything okay?”

“Fuck no it’s not. These two dumbasses fucked up with Claudia, and need our help,” Sawyer said, giving both Thompson brothers the stink eye. Ryker glared right back, refusing to speak up in defense of his choices.

Quickly, Sawyer explained what he knew to Parker and Rogan who took it all in like Army Generals preparing for battle. Rogan turned his dark eyed gaze on Ryker and bluntly asked, “Do you want her enough to do anything to make her happy?”

Nodding, Ryker sighed, “Anything at this point. Life has been hell without her.”

Mack agreed, “We already told her we would give ménage a try, but she freaked out, Rogan. She told us she didn’t want to be a toy passed back and forth between us. How the hell are we supposed to share her if she won’t let us?”

“What exactly did you offer her?” Parker snarled.

“We were going to work out a schedule—” Ryker started to explain, but the three Brooks brothers in attendance all cursed and looked at him like he had just spit on his daddy’s grave. “Well then what should we be offering her?”

“Love,” Sawyer said. “Don’t you get it? She wants you both. She loves you both. So you both have to be full partners in this relationship with her and with each other.”

“Fuck that shit! He’s my brother and I’m not gay!”

Parker moved so fast Ryker didn’t see his fist move until it connected with his nose. Blood gushed out and pain blurred his vision. “What the hell, man?”

“I don’t fuck my brothers, and don’t you ever insinuate it again. Sawyer means you two have to act like a team if you want to win this woman. Let me put it in terms you’ll understand, you couldn’t win a football game with just one man running the ball. You have to have other players to throw it, and block the other team’s maneuvers. In a ménage relationship, you have to work together to make her happy, because if she’s happy you’ll be happy. Get it?”

“So we don’t have to share a bed?” Mack asked.

“Not with each other. Or at least, not without her in the middle,” Rogan said. “With four of us and Rach, we are forced to take turns, and I know the Keegan boys have to do so as well because there are three of them, but you two would be able to sleep with your woman every night.”

“What’s the benefit?” Ryker asked, using Mack’s alcohol stained t-shirt to staunch the bleeding from his nose.

“There’s always someone to talk to. Someone to share good times and bad times with. If I’m stressed out and need some alone time, I know my brothers are going to take care of Rachel while I’m gone. She’s happy and she loves us all, that makes me happy,” Rogan said.

Sawyer laughed, “And then there’s the sex. Have you ever tried double penetration? Dude, you’re missing out, and so is she. Just because you’re fucking the same woman doesn’t mean you’re gay. It just means she gets twice the pleasure, and if you’re the men I think you are, you’ll get off on her getting off.”

Mack and Ryker exchanged a look, and Ryker could almost hear his brother’s gears turning in his head. “I think we’ve been going about this all wrong.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Sawyer said, cursing when Parker smacked him in the back of the head.

“Thanks, guys.” Mack stood, and faced Rogan, “I’m going to need to take a few days off, boss.”

“Take as long as you need. This is too important to screw up, Mack. Don’t hurt her again. Rachel really likes her, and I know she would be upset if Claudia went back to Austin for good.” Rogan gave them both a wave, and he and his brothers left the barn.

“Could you live with that kind of relationship?” Ryker asked him with a frown.

Mack shrugged, “I don’t think I could if it was anyone else, but maybe with you as the other guy.”

“You know, the only thing that weirds me out is the sex. We’re bound to touch somehow, and I’m not keen on waking up to see your naked ass every morning,” Ryker said, knowing full well that neither reason was enough to stop him from jumping into this relationship with both feet.

Mack snorted, “Yeah, well if I have to live with your ugly mug in order to land the sweetest woman I’ve ever tasted, I can manage.”

“So now what?” Ryker asked, giving his brother a wry grin.

“Now we go get our woman back.” Mack clapped him on the back and they both laughed as they walked out the barn with a new plan.

*****

Claudia met Zoey and Rachel for lunch at least twice a week now, and she spent most of her days working on her home and enjoying the freedom from corporate pressure. Her townhome in Austin had already sold, and for more than the asking price. The Granite Estates project had been scrapped, and her father intended to sell off the properties and walk away from Stone River for good. If only she had that kind of brass. Instead she stayed in the same place, just miles from the two men who her heart ached for.

It wasn’t so bad when she was busy with a project and didn’t let her mind wander, but once the sun set and she was alone, it was overwhelming. Every cell in her body wanted to pick up the phone and call them. She wanted to apologize for her anger, and listen to their side of the story, but one thing kept her from doing it. They had knowingly tricked her into having sex with Ryker to verify her feelings, instead of just asking her.

“Are you going to stay in Stone River for good now?” Zoey asked as they dug into ice cream sundae’s after their lunch date. Rachel’s real estate company was going to handle the sales of the Granite Estates property, and she had a meeting with a prospective buyer for one, so she had cancelled out of their lunch.

“I don’t know if it will be for good, but I’m not going anywhere for now. I love my house, and even though I’ve already put a lot of work into it, it still needs a lot more before I can sell it for a profit.” Claudia let a bite of cookies and cream ice cream sit on her tongue, enjoying the memories flowing through her. Ryker loved the cookies and cream flavor because the cookie bits tasted like Oreos. He had brought her a dish one afternoon while she was working, and tasting it now made the pain of his absence sting.

“I’m glad. It’s been great having you here,” Zoey said with a smile. “So, have you heard from Thing 1 and Thing 2?”

Claudia snorted out a laugh, “If you mean Mack and Ryker, then no. I told them not to call and they haven’t.”

“Stupid assholes.”

Turning wide eyes on her friend, she asked, “Why? They are just doing what I told them too.”

“But any good Dom knows his sub will push him away when she’s feeling backed into a corner and hurt. Mack should know better,” Zoey’s words caught Claudia so off guard she dropped a spoonful of ice cream on her lap.

“Shit! Pass me a napkin, please?” Taking the tiny paper from Zoey, she cleaned herself up and then snapped at her, “How do you know about that? Has Mack been telling everyone I’m a kink freak now?”

“Whoa! Back up! Mack didn’t say shit to me. Tanner is my Dom, Claudia, and Rachel is Parker’s sub. Didn’t he tell you Parker was the one to introduce him to The Cage? I just assumed you and he…” Zoey grimaced and a blush stained her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I thought we were there in our friendship. I won’t ask again.”

Guilt crept over Claudia, and she shook her head with a sigh, “No I’m the one who should be sorry. I’m just oversensitive about the two of them. Mack and I didn’t really have a chance to explore before everything blew up. I don’t know that I see him as my Dom, as you call it. I just see him and Ryker as the men who stole my heart and then fought over it.”