Chapter Five
Trey stood outside the back door to the lawn, where the pool was and many of their guests lounged around while the kids played in the water.
“She’s there.” Garrett pointed to a petite woman with dark red hair playing soccer with a few of the younger kids.
Trey knew what his brother had been talking about when he felt something close to a bolt of electricity race through him. She was in blue jean shorts and a black short-sleeved shirt that hung on her, not showing any of the curves he glimpsed when she twisted a certain way, and her clothes pulled tight against her. He wanted to yank the offending clothes off of her and put her in a pretty dress that hugged her curves.
“She’s beautiful.”
Garrett nodded. “You feel it, too?”
Trey chuckled. “Yeah. I see what you mean. Look how her face lights up and how the kids approach her. Abby hated kids, remember?”
Garrett nodded. “Abby hated everything about us and the lodge except the money.”
Trey watched Madelyn stop and take a few breaths from her exercise. Her dark red hair looked almost black in the shade, but the color came alive when the sun hit it. She had it pulled back into a low ponytail.
“She’s coming this way. I’ll introduce you.”
Every step closer she came, Trey felt his body tighten further. He saw her pause when she caught sight of his brother. He didn’t like the apprehension or sadness that filled her face before she tried to move around them.
“Madelyn, wait,” Garrett said.
The woman stiffened but made her way to stand in front of the brothers. Trey was surprised at how tiny she was. The top of her head was even with his shoulders.
“Madelyn, I’d like to introduce you to my brother, Trey.”
****
Madelyn’s stomach tightened as she turned to Trey, expecting the same treatment Garrett had given her. She relaxed a bit when she caught the gentle smile on his face and the hand he held out to her.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Walsh.”
Trey took her hand. “Please call me Trey.”
She cleared her throat. “I will. Well, I think I’ll head in for a bit.”
“Do you like horses?” Trey asked her.
“Yes, I do.”
“Come with us. I just brought some new ones back, and there is one I think you’ll love.”
Madelyn’s gaze sprang to Garrett’s. “Oh, no. I shouldn’t.”
She was shocked when Garrett grabbed her hand and started pulling her toward one of the barns.
“Garrett, what are you doing?” she said as she tried to dig in her heels.
“Showing you a horse.”
He was confusing her. He didn’t like her but was demanding she spend time with them. Maybe his brother is making him somehow, she thought.
“Listen, you don’t have to go with me…”
Garrett stopped abruptly, turned to her, and lifted her face up with a finger under her chin. “I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t want to.”
“Not unless your brother is making you for some reason.”
Trey snorted. “Not even then. Garrett is a stubborn jackass, but he has a lot of good qualities.”
“Oh, really?” she asked sarcastically.
Trey chuckled when Garrett growled and started pulling her along again.
Trey walked into the barn, down the aisle, and then stopped in front of one of the stalls. “Here she is.”
Madelyn moved to stand next to him and gasped. “Oh, my. She’s beautiful.” The horse was young and had long legs, like a thoroughbred. Her coat was black, as was her tail and mane. Her only other color was a white strip down her nose.
“She’s three and still needs to be broken in and trained. I’m planning on starting that in the next day or so. Would you want to help me?”
Madelyn jerked her gaze to Trey. “What? I’ve never done that before.”
“That’s okay. I’ll be there the whole time.”
Madelyn smiled. “I’d love to help any way I can.”
“Good,” Trey said. He leaned a shoulder against the wall and watched her.
She became self-conscious when she realized both men were on either side of her, staring at her. “Well…” she started.
“It’s about lunchtime. How about the three of us eat together?” Trey suggested.
Madelyn jolted and then glanced up at Garrett. “Oh, I don’t think…”
Garrett sighed, retook her hand, and started pulling her along.
Madelyn rolled her eyes and ran to keep up with his long-legged stride.
“Brother,” Trey called out. “You might want to slow down a bit. You’re practically dragging her.”
Garrett grunted but slowed instantly.
They went into the dining room and walked to the buffet. Garrett handed her a plate and started placing things on it.
“Wait, this is too much,” she complained, glaring at him.
“You’re too skinny.”
“What?” she sputtered. She’d never been considered thin. Now, she wondered if he was teasing her. She took a step away from the men and ensured no one else was around. “I don’t like to be made fun of.”
Both men frowned at her. She backed up another step when Garrett came her way. She sucked in a startled breath when she backed up against a hot wall of a man. She looked up over her shoulder to see Trey’s concerned face. He wrapped an arm around her waist when she tried to move away from him.
“Easy, Love. We weren’t teasing you.”
She shook her head. “I think I’d rather go to my room and rest.”
Trey’s one hand was full, holding his plate, while the other grabbed her hand and glanced at his brother. “Bring both plates. We’ll go into the study.”
“Wait.”
Trey hushed her and pulled her along. Thankfully, they didn’t run into anyone.
“Sit down,” Trey said when they stood in front of the large sofa.
“I’ve never seen this room.”
“Because it’s private. This wing is just for family,” Garrett told her.
“Oh.”
Garrett sat her plate on the low table in front of her, then sat on one side of her and Trey on the other.
Trey took her hand. “First, I need you to believe we were not teasing you. But I also got the impression you think you’re overweight. Am I wrong?”
She shrugged. “I’ve always had a fuller figure.”
“We happen to prefer women like you. These women nowadays that think a man likes a girl so skinny he can see the outline of her ribs are crazy.”
She looked over at Garrett and waited for him to say something.
He nodded. “I feel the same way my brother does.”
She sighed. The man was confusing her. She looked back and forth. “What is it you both want from me?”
“We want a chance to get to know you,” Trey said.
“Why? I’m only here for the summer.”
“Give us the time.”
“Are you talking about a relationship?” she asked.
“Yes,” they both said.
She exhaled. “I don’t know either of you at all.”
“That’s why you’re going to spend time with us.”
She stared at Trey. “And how am I supposed to choose between you and not have it affect your relationship with each other?”
“That’s the thing. You don’t choose. You get both of us.”
She stared in shock before she jumped up and walked away from them. She turned to face them. “I’m confused. How is it possible to have a relationship with two men?”
Garrett stood. “It won’t be easy, but it happens more than you think.”
“Have you both done that before?”
They nodded.
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“We were married to one woman for a while.”
“You were? What happened to her?”
“She didn’t like living in the wilderness or not always having our attention.”
She could hear the resentment in Garrett’s tone.
“She left,” Trey told her. “And frankly, it was a blessing. She made everyone miserable.”
“But you loved her?” Madelyn said with her eyes on Garrett, guessing that was part of the man’s problem. “And you miss her?”
Garrett grunted. “Hell, no.”
Madelyn scowled. “I don’t understand. You act like…”
“The only thing I feel for her is resentment.”
“From what I understand, you usually treat women nicely, but from the first moment you saw me, you’ve … I don’t know … but you acted as if you disliked me. Do I look like her or something?”
Trey stood back and crossed his arms while she and Garrett faced off.
“No, you look nothing like her. She was blonde, thin…”
“Beautiful?” she asked.
“Yes. Very,” Garrett said.
A spike of pain lanced through her. She pressed on her temples, where a dull headache started. She couldn’t take any more at that moment.
“Listen. I’d really like to lay down for a bit.”
Both men scowled.
“We’re not done talking,” Trey said.
“As far as I’m concerned, we are. I came here to relax after… Anyway, I’d just really like to be left alone.”
She turned away and walked to the door. A warm body pressed against her back, and a hand above her head on the door kept her from opening it.
“I don’t know what’s going through your head, but I can guarantee it’s wrong.”
She breathed in Garrett’s masculine scent and shook her head. “I just want to lay down.”
She felt him press his lips to the back of her head. “Go. We’ll check on you later.”
She wasn’t going to fight. She just wanted to get away from them.
When she got to the room, she lay down in bed and tried to relax. She wanted to fall asleep, but the words of her husband and his mother filled her head.
“If you’d only lose weight, you’d be pretty,” his mother said several times. Her husband liked telling her she wouldn’t be there if she hadn’t been so useful. She knew the main reason he had married her was to care for his mother, who lived with him.
She was still shocked that they’d had any kids. He didn’t come to her bed often, and then not at all after Amy, her daughter, was born. She just realized she hadn’t had sex in twenty-seven years. The fact she hadn’t missed it said a lot about her husband’s technique, or she was just frigid, as he enjoyed telling her often.
Her resolve grew to stay away from the men. They were either cruel people who liked to mess with others or were bored, and she was the only single woman around.
If worse came to worse, she’d leave. She didn’t care if she lost money. Her emotional health was essential to her, and she didn’t need the money. The one thing her parents, husband, and mother-in-law had done was to leave her very well cared for. She never needed to worry about money. She had enough to last several lifetimes.
She’d take it day by day and try to avoid them the best she could.