11. Atlas
11
atlas
The day was dragging, and it was only made worse with the third older gentleman asking me for Viagra. If I thought teens were horny, they had nothing on older folks who had nothing better to do with their day. I had to talk about safe sex practices with them because nobody wanted a chlamydia or syphilis epidemic in this small town or the surrounding areas.
“Please, do not take more than one and if?—”
“I got it, Doc,” Tony said, opening the door and leaving quickly to drop his prescription off immediately.
I shook my head, watching him move a lot faster than he did when he got here.
“I will not miss these days,” Dr. Gordon patted me on the back. “Nothing more terrifying than hearing someone ask for the blue pill and worse when they come back with an STD.”
I grimaced as he chuckled.
“Do they really have nothing better to do?” I asked, filing out a few notes in his chart.
Dr. Gordon still had everything on paper and had yet to digitize. It was a pain in the ass and as soon as I got the go-ahead, I would find someone to make our lives easier.
“It gets worse when someone brings their mom or grandmother to live with them,” he said, making notes in his own file.
“I can’t wait.” I said, giving one of the nurses Tony’s file.
Judy, one of the nurses, laughed. “You poor little baby.” She pinched my cheek.
“My young ears are burning.” I grinned at her.
“Please, you go home to two strapping young men; I’d say you're more scandalous,” she teased me.
“And that’s my cue to leave,” I said, taking off my stethoscope and waving.
I knew most of the town gossiped about us, but there was always a need to protect my guys from whatever I could, and gossip could be brutal in this town.
“Have a good night, Dr. Jensen,” they called out as I went to my office to hang my coat and grab my bag.
It was nice to get out before five and it was definitely nicer than twelve-hour shifts. Being a small-town doctor wasn’t all that bad. I drove home enjoying not having to deal with traffic and having to sit in your car for hours.
I pulled up to see Colt and Theo on horses coming back.
Cowboy fetish, check.
Maybe we would have to have dessert before dinner. I bit my lip attempting to play sexy when Theo’s younger brother came into view right behind them.
Dammit.
“Hey sexies,” I said, walking to them.
“Hey, Doc,” Theo said, climbing off his horse.
He kissed me softly and if he wasn’t so dirty from moving the herd, I’d wrap my arms around him and my legs too. Colt wasn’t as thoughtful as Theo, wrapping his arm around my waist, lifting me up for a kiss.
“Hey, Babe,” he purred against my lips as he set me down.
“Hey, Trouble,” I said, pecking his lips.
“Hey, Jude.” I waved at him as he looked at all three of us.
“Hey,” he replied.
“Why do you always look so surprised when you see us together?” Colt rolled his eyes.
“It’s weird to think that my brother has two boyfriends.” He shrugged. “Ok, it’s not weird, but never in a million years did I think he would have both of y’all.”
“I got lucky,” Theo said, his face turning red. “Our brother, Luke, got lucky too with his wife and his girlfriend.”
“Nah, we are the lucky ones,” I said, kissing Theo’s cheek. “Though Luke’s and Camila’s girlfriend, Genevieve, is smoking hot.”
“She always gives me dominatrix vibes, like she could tell me to get on my knees, and I would obey,” Colt said. “I would be ok with it.”
“She gives me mommy vibes.” I fanned myself.
“I don’t think we want to think of our sister-in-law like that,” Jude said, looking grossed out.
“I don’t think I want to think of her as a mother figure.” Theo looked confused.
Colt and I laughed as I hugged Theo.
“You going to stay for dinner?” I asked Jude.
“Jude and Iris are staying for dinner,” Theo said.
“Iris?” I raised a brow trying to keep my face neutral.
After the shit she pulled at their parent’s funeral and her holier-than-though attitude, I wasn’t a fan of hers and neither was Colt.
“Yes, Iris.” He gave me a look that said, behave.
“I’ll be nice if she is going to be nice.” I shrugged. “If she has beef. she needs to get over it. I won’t have her saying shit to you when you've tried and?—”
“Calm down, killer,” Colt chuckled. “Give her a chance.”
I raised my brow.
“She’s his family,” Colt said. “She’s trying.”
“Fine.” I rolled my eyes. “I’ll get something started.”
“Just make mashed potatoes,” Theo yelled. “I’m grilling.”
“Ok, babe.” I glanced at him looking for any signs of nervousness, but he seemed fine.
Colt smacked my ass, leaving me to go put his horse, De Ville, up. I went into the house to start the potatoes and saw the steaks already marinating. Once the potatoes were boiling, I showered the day away, dressing in sweats and a t-shirt.
The guys were outside with a beer, sitting around the grill we got Theo last Christmas. Jude was talking about something animatedly as Colt laughed and Theo smirked. A smile graced my lips that this was my life. I didn’t have to go back somewhere or I wasn’t on a time crunch. The weeks I had been here, slowly shedding anxiety I didn’t know I had been carrying. My soul was bleeding out the burden of being away, slowly bringing back my old self.
I checked the potatoes, letting them cook a little more, gathering all I needed to whip them up. The front door opened as Theo walked in, leaving his hat on a hook. He was dirty from work, his tanned skin only made his blue eyes stand out and his shy disposition never really faded, and I loved that.
“Hiya, Cowboy,” I said, rounding the island.
He smirked while walking to me. “How was work?”
“Our elderly population are a freaky bunch.” I laughed at his horrified look.
“I don’t think I want to know,” he grimaced.
“Other than that, it was great,” I said, pulling him close. “I missed you.”
“I always miss you.” He kissed my forehead and my nose before capturing my mouth in a kiss.
I was hard in seconds, my libido was supercharged since I had been back. We had never had this much sex, even when we first started dating.
“Quickie?” I murmured against his lips.
He groaned. “Iris will be here soon.”
He kissed me one more time, pulling away as I pouted. “You're worse than Sol when she doesn’t get her way.” We chuckled, then went silent.
“I miss them,” I whispered my secret.
“Me… me too, Doc.” His cheeks grew pink. “I… I liked having them in the house, it felt?—”
“Like they belonged here.” I finished his sentence.
Theo nodded, not looking at me.
“I’m scared too, big guy,” I said, cupping his cheek.
“What does this mean and why do I feel guilty?” He leaned into my hand.
“We all need to talk,” I said, holding his face in my hands. “If we let this fester, it won’t be good for any of us.”
“You're right, I can’t keep doing this,” he whispered, kissing me softly.
The sound of a car coming up the road reminded us we had company coming. I wasn’t looking forward to being with his sister. Most of Theo’s family was on my shit list and when his parents passed away, so relieved they couldn’t hurt him anymore, he took it hard.
His parents had always treated him like he was a burden because they didn’t understand that he was different. Theo didn’t have an official diagnosis till he was in high school and that broke my heart. He was bullied in school and left to fend for himself, and if it weren't for his brothers, mainly Jude, things would have probably been a whole lot worse for him. His trauma from his parents still lingered with him and his sister still defended them.
Iris had been too young to see what Theo had had to go through, and I understood that she was fed lies and still lived with them when they passed, but she was a grown-ass adult who could have learned the truth. They all suffered at the hands of their parents. No one was left unscathed, and it was hard to see the emotional scars they had left behind on their children.
“I know she doesn’t deserve our kindness, but can we please try and be nice for a bit?” Theo asked.
I would give this man everything and he rarely ever asked for anything. Theo loved his family. No matter what, he yearned to be close to them again.
“Ok, but I’ll be bitter for you.” I pecked his lips.
He shook his head, but I saw a small smile. He got the steaks and broccolini out of the fridge as I whipped the mashed potatoes. Theo went outside before me, and I might have lingered for a bit before I came outside.
“Atlas.” Iris saw me first. “Are you back for a break?”
“No, I’m officially here now,” I said, giving her a hug.
“That’s wonderful.” She gave me a big hug. “I’m sure Theo is excited to have you back.”
When we pulled away, I noticed she was different. Iris was no longer the younger sister she was a year ago, I saw something different in her.
“I’m glad to be back, I miss them,” I said, snuggling up to Colt who wrapped his arm around me.
Iris studied us, looking over at Theo and back to us.
“I’ll be honest, I couldn’t believe Theo and you guys were together.” She smiled. “But how could you not when you see it firsthand. I’m glad he has you guys.”
“Ah, little sis, look at you growing up.” Jude pulled his sister in for a side hug.
“I know I have a lot of growing up to do and I figured, what better way to do it than close to family,” she said, as I looked at Theo who had turned around. “I found a small apartment and a job here.”
“Are you serious?” Jude beamed.
“Yeah, it was either here or Denver and I don’t think I could get used to the city,” she said, looking shy. “I hope that’s alright, I know that we haven’t been too close in the past but I would like to move on from that and?—”
“What about the farm?” Theo interrupted her.
“I sold it.” She looked at her feet. “Mom and Dad’s debt was a lot, and workers are hard to come by. It was a foolish dream to try and save it.”
“Shit, Iris, why didn’t you tell us?” Jude asked.
She shrugged. “And admit failure? It was hard to process, maybe I’ll have a chance to buy it later or at least be a part of it somehow.”
“Izzy,” Theo came up to her. “You didn't have to do it alone.”
He pulled her in for a hug and she threw herself to him.
“I needed to do it alone,” she cried. “I loved the farm. It was home for so long and I thought I could do it alone, but the debt was crippling, the workload was never-ending and not finding help was the cherry on top.
“Izz, what are you talking about?” Jude hugged his siblings.
“I just thought I could keep our family legacy alive. But I think no matter what I did, even if I had had you guys, there was no way we would have survived more than a few years,” she said muffled.
“They hadn’t been doing well financially for a while.” Jude kissed her head.
“I found all the transactions you had given them, Theo,” Iris pulled away. “I’m sorry when I said you weren’t helping, and I was shocked when I saw the amount you had given them. How did it get so bad?”
“They never wanted to change, they thought that if they kept doing what they had been doing, money would get better,” Jude said.
Theo huffed. “They were so stuck in their ways, and that farm was slowly dying because they couldn’t see that they needed to do something different.”
“I’m so sorry, Theo.” She hugged him again. “I have something for you.”
She walked away as we all looked at each other. I don't think any of us were expecting for her to see the light, especially after their parents had died. She came back with an envelope.
“This belongs to you and Jude,” she said, handing it to Theo.
Theo grabbed the envelope warily.
“It’s not a lot. Most of the sale had to go towards their debt and I paid for their headstones,” Iris said nervously.
“Shit, Izzy, I can’t take this.” Theo showed Jude.
“I don’t need it, you sacrificed a lot to help them stay afloat. I think it should go to Theo.” Jude said, pushing the envelope back to Theo.
“We can split it between the four of us,” Theo mumbled. “It’s only fair.”
“I paid off my little Honda and gave six months of rent at this apartment and Luke said he didn’t want it,” Iris shrugged. “After all that money you fronted them without asking for a dime, take it.”
I was too curious for my own good and walked over to Theo seeing a check for fifty thousand. My eyes widened, expecting a few thousand. It wasn’t near the amount he had given them, but this would help the ranch so much.
“Put it towards the ranch, put it towards your future and the legacy of our family,” Iris smiled. “I’ve heard nothing but great things about the ranch and all you do for the community.”
“Take it, Theo, she’s right. Put it towards all the shit you need to get done,” Jude said. “This is still our family's legacy.”
Theo nodded, hugging Iris. Colt and I looked at each other with relief on our faces. Theo deserved this and so much more and I was glad he would have his sister here. Family had always been everything to Theo, getting his sister back was a step in the right direction, and hopefully it would heal a part of him.