Chapter Seven
Ranger
Aspyn’s scent is still on my beard and my cock is heavy with need. I don’t want to rejoin the group. I don’t want to catch up with Liam. I don’t want to stand here in the living room making small talk.
I want to crawl into bed with Aspyn and finally claim her as my own before this whole idea becomes a memory, and she somehow slips away again.
Dragging in a ragged breath, I meet Liam at the edge of the sunken living room. He’s holding a short glass of bourbon, and though I haven’t seen him in nearly a year, he hasn’t changed much. He’s still a tall, nerd of a dude with a close cut and dark black glasses. His arms are streaked with tattoos, but he keeps all that covered with his suit coat.
“Hey, man.” I lean into his shoulder, grip his hand in mine, and shake it firmly. “You sleep in a suit too?”
“Caught my plane right after work.” He grins and leans in for a hug. “You’re one to talk. Pretty sure you were born in flannel.”
I nod and give him half a smile. “Wouldn’t doubt it. I think there’s an old photo album of me with an axe slung over my shoulder at four or five. I’d have to look for it.”
“That tracks.” He laughs and glances around the room as though he’s taking gauge of all that needs to be done. “Looks like there’s still quite a way to go yet. You finally got this place, though. That must feel good.”
I forgot Liam was around when the family drama ignited around buying the farmhouse and the ninety acres attached. My grandparents passed the place to my parents when they first got married. They had my sister and I and raised us here on the farm. I always knew they’d hand the farm down at some point, but I didn’t think there would be caveats to it. Apparently, a man can’t inherit a farm without a family. My parents died with that mentality and left the generational farmhouse to no one. The lawyer handling the will followed state law and offered the land up to the next of kin… me.
I debated on whether I wanted the place for nearly a year, but seeing generations of work sold off to some stranger didn’t sit well at the time. Now that I’m moved in, I see why you’d need a family to live here. There’s a quiet echo in the silence of a big empty house like this that could drive a man insane.
“I guess so,” I say. “Still not sure if I’m holding or selling. We’ll see how things pan out with the renovation. I don’t think I need all this space.” My mind goes to what Aspyn was saying earlier about me having a family, about kids, about life coming back to the farm. A part of me can see that. Another part knows the only person I see it with is Aspyn and that’s still a shot in the fucking dark.
“Makes sense, man. I just rented a small cabin up in the mountains. I’ve been fixing up the place little by little, but the whole thing came to a halt last month when I realized I was probably going to die there alone.” He lets out a short laugh. “That shit fucks with your head, so I went back to building benches.”
Back in the day, Liam built these incredible wood carved benches from cedar he sourced himself. I guess he’s still doing it, though I don’t remember it being so depressive sounding.
“Shit. That’s intense. What triggered all the depression, man?”
He shrugs then looks away, and I get the feeling I’m not going to get the whole story. “A lot of loneliness. I like working for Ryan. We used to spend hours brainstorming ideas for expansion and talking about how we were going to give employees more benefits and time off, but since his parents died, he’s been fucked in the head. I just do my work, head home, and measure shit until I pass out.” He sighs. “Anyway, it’s a good time for a break.” He pulls off his suit coat and hangs it on the back of the recliner. “So, who’s car is parked outside filled with junk?”
Shit. I meant to move Aspyn’s car into the garage to fix the brakes earlier, and instead I got wrapped up with dinner and an impromptu ‘ punishment.’ “She’s keeping it on the low because I guess she and Ryan had some issue. She hasn’t opened up about it yet, but… Aspyn is here. That’s her car.”
Liam’s eyes narrow as he turns toward me. “Fuck! What? Aspyn’s here? You guys didn’t tell me.”
“Again,” Jake laughs sarcastically, “she’s keeping it on the low.”
“You sure it’s really her? Aspyn normally drives a Jeep.”
This Corolla parked outside is a steep downgrade from a Jeep. What the hell kind of trouble has this girl gotten herself into?
“Yeah.” Jake clears his throat and pushes his hand down over his beard with a satisfied look on his face. I know all too well what that means. “It’s her. We’re playing it cool, giving her time to come to her senses. You’re up there in the thick of it. Do you know what happened?”
Liam shakes his head. “Went into work one day and she was gone. Ryan didn’t say much about it other than he was giving her time. I figured it had something to do with her parents dying. You know how sensitive she is. I’ve called her at least a hundred times and it just goes to voicemail. Hell, I even thought about hiring someone to look for her, but Ryan kept saying she probably just needed space. I swear, every time I thought about it, I’d stress myself out but always came back to the fact that she’s a grown woman.” He sighs loudly. “Did you guys know she was coming?”
“Nope. I ran into her at a vacant lot up on the outskirts of town. It was the weirdest thing. We didn’t even recognize each other at first.”
“How long had it been?”
“Lord, six years maybe, but,” I swipe my hand over my beard, “I didn’t have this then, and she used to be blonde.”
“Where is she now?”
“Bed. Side note, you can’t go telling Ryan where she is.” I step forward and straighten my shoulders. “It’s between us until we figure out what’s going on.”
Liam glances down at his watch. “Sure thing. I get that she’s worn out, but she’s in bed before eight? Usually, she’s a night owl. Is everything okay?”
Before I get a chance to answer, Jake jumps up from the couch. “ Bed? Why is she in bed? I should check on her. Tonight was weird. She probably needs—”
I land my hand on his shoulder. “She’s good, man. She said she’s tired.”
“Why was tonight weird?” Liam sips from the short glass of bourbon he’s holding, though his eyes stay on us. “I saw the panties on the floor, but I didn’t want to say anything. Those aren’t Aspyn’s, are they?”
“Well, that escalated quickly.” Jake laughs and sits back on the couch, but I see him texting and I know he’s talking to Aspyn. Part of me is jealous. Jealous that he just does what he wants without regard. Then again, maybe that’s what Aspyn wanted. I’ve never been good with women or knowing what they need. I assume they want what they say they want, and I respect that, given someone isn’t putting themselves in danger, but all too often I get the feeling that what women actually want is the opposite of what they say.
Maybe I fucked up. Maybe I should go back there before he does. I want Aspyn to know she can count on me to talk just as much as she can count on Jake, and I have some catching up to do to get to the place they’re at. Then again, if she can talk to Jake easily, maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe that’s why being with all of us works. We all offer something different.
Did she say she wanted to be with all of us… or that she wanted to have fun with all of us? Why the fuck am I thinking about it?
“What the fuck, guys?” Liam leans on the back of the recliner. “You guys were fucking around with Aspyn? Is that why you don’t want me to tell Ryan? He’s borderline psychotic. He’s certainly going to lose it. You know that, right?”
“Things got out of hand, for sure.” I nod and cross my arms over my chest, a little disappointed in myself for letting things go so far.
“Like both of you were fucking with her?” Liam glances back and forth.
Jake grins. “Yeah, it was a fantasy she’s had forever. The three of us, actually.”
“The three of us… who?” Liam lets out a snort of a laugh. “What are you talking about?”
“I don’t want to tell her business without her here, but ask her sometime. I’m sure she’d tell you.”
Liam bites back another grin.
I should like this, right? We're all friends, we've all wanted Aspyn for as long as we can remember, and she's wanted us too. This is a great thing.
Except… it’s not. Part of me still wants her all to myself.
“I’m sorry. What the fuck is going on?” Liam shakes his head. “I get the math on why she’d want you guys. You’re both… jacked. But me?” He glances down at his chest. “You’re just saying shit. She doesn’t want me. Trust me. We’ve spent hours together talking over the years and nothing came of it. She’s not into nerds.”
My jaw is tight and there’s a bead of sweat working its way down my temple. “You like her too, don’t you?” I groan.
“What?” Liam is a terrible liar. “Why? It doesn’t matter what I think.”
“Answer the question.” Jake raises his brows and knocks Liam on the shoulder playfully. “You like her, right?”
“I mean,” Liam clears his throat, “I like how unpredictable she is. And I like that she’s creative and mouthy. And I like how she only dresses in black and insists on eating grilled cheese wherever we are. I love that she loves the beach but hates swimming, and that she leaves notes on Post-its in library books for future readers. I love that she clicks her tongue when she’s nervous, and she’s an awful driver, and that she has this obsessive personality that latches on to something and won’t let go until her brain is ready.” He laughs to himself. “A few months ago, she was fascinated over this reality TV show about sister wives. I wonder if that’s where all this is coming from.”
I laugh. “So… you don’t have a thing for Aspyn?”
Liam looks away then back again. “She’s Ryan’s little sister. It doesn’t matter that I have a thing for her.”
“It does,” Jake adds, “and this thing about all of us, isn’t a sister wives obsession. She’s been telling me fantasies about this for ten years.”
Liam wrinkles his brows. “How the hell long have you guys been doing this?”
“No.” I shake my head. “I just found all this out yesterday. She and Jake had a relationship a decade ago.” I clear my throat. “When she was barely legal, and he was a sick fuck.”
“Okay, okay, man.” Jake smiles, though I gather this time the laughter is nervous energy. “It wasn’t like that. We connected.”
“Right,” I tease. “You connected. ”
“We did.” His tone rises as he says, “Look, I’ve tried to see other women and forget Aspyn exists, but at the end of the day, Aspyn is the girl I’m thinking about. If I could help it, I would. She’s the one. She’s always been the one. It’s just never been the time.”
I swallow down a hard lump in my throat. I want to punch a wall, or growl, or piss around the outside of her bedroom so they all know she belongs to me. “What are we doing here?”
“What do you mean?” Jake asks, staring toward me. I assume he can sense my pity party because his shoulders tense.
“You’re cool with all this sharing stuff? I mean, you just said she’s the girl you’ve been waiting for, and now you want to share her?”
Jake narrows his brows. “I want her to be happy and I want her to feel good. I love her. So, if you guys make her happy, I want us all to do that for her. Anyway,” his gaze meets mine, “you’re in love with her, too. Aren’t you?”
I chew the inside of my lip and stare at Jake for a long moment before letting out a heavy groan. “I think we all are, but we should talk to Aspyn about what she wants before we talk about this anymore. I told her I’d take her to the restaurant on the corner for a walkthrough in the morning. You guys are welcome to come.” Given the fact that I’m not sure how all this works yet, I err on the side of generosity because I know Aspyn will appreciate having everyone there.
I think.
She didn’t seem too excited to see Liam, and that’s odd considering how close he said they’d gotten over the past years.
Liam relaxes in the recliner with a sigh. “I didn’t see this happening. Thought I was coming out here to clear my head, not fuck it up more.” He looks toward me. “How’s the whole small-town sheriff thing going?”
“It’s going. We need more help than we can find but,” I glance toward Jake, “Aspyn mentioned you should come down and help out. Maybe you can put that military training back to work.”
Jake laughs. “Would I need military expertise out here? You guys have a bunch of roadside bombings and hostage situations, or is it mainly donut shop raids?”
“Ha. Ha.” I roll my eyes in jest. “There was a fight down at the bar last night and you could’ve swept up for me. That guy was a pain in the ass.”
“Yeah, I’ll have to think about it. It would work out if we all stay here and lived like a bunch of brother husbands in this big farmhouse.”
“Okay,” I groan, “and that was the last of what I had for the day.”
“No, no, no,” Liam laughs. “We’ve got years of card games to catch up on.” Card games were our thing back in Alaska. Ryan, Liam, Jake, and I would play all night long, or until the majority ran out of betting cash. Usually, Jake was the first out and Liam and I would play for hours. Jake’s by far the easiest to read and the loosest with his bets.
“You and Ryan didn’t keep up the tradition?” Jake crosses his arms over his chest. “Figured you’d find a new team of dudes to lose to.”
“You’re funny, man,” Liam chides with playful intent. “We haven’t played cards since Ranger took off. That was what… five or six years ago?”
“One game?” Jake glances toward me. “I think I have a deck of cards in my bag.”
“You’ve been playing?”
“It’s what we did for fun overseas. So… all you bitches are about to get spanked.” Jake turns toward the bedroom, and I wonder if he’ll make a stop along the way to see Aspyn.
Liam is saying something, but I’m so focused on bending back to watch for Jake’s intentions that I don’t hear enough of what he says to make sense of it.
“Fuck, man. I see you turning green from here.”
My chest tightens. “It’s that obvious?”
“Little bit.”
“I don’t know how Jake is so open and carefree about everything. I love seeing Aspyn happy, but sharing isn’t something I’m accustomed to.”
“Yeah, you guys have yourself a thing going here.”
“Your bluff never has been good, man.”
He wrinkles his brows. “I’m not bluffing. I like Aspyn, a lot. I always have, but… I think you guys are in over your head.”
That’s no joke. We are one hundred percent in way over our heads, and something tells me this is just the beginning.
I glance toward Liam as we all head toward the farmhouse table in the dining room. “You’d be surprised the things you’ll do when you see everything you ever wanted standing right in front of you.”