Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
They walked hand-in-hand around the sprawling lodge and down toward the huge lake.
The moon’s reflection on the eerily-still surface of the water created a huge white ball. Cara glanced up and, as always, was amazed that out here, unlike in Carlisle, no light pollution marred the cloudless sky. The stars appeared as twinkling diamonds.
Absolutely stunning.
Just like the man now leading her down the slight embankment to the lake.
Just like the man waiting for them, sitting on the ground near the crackling flames in one of the lake’s fire pits.
No, not directly on the ground. On a large blanket.
Next to Heath sat a bottle of wine and three stemless metal cups. As they got closer, between the bright moon and the fiery glow coming from the fire pit, she spotted a spread laid out consisting of fruit, cheese, and crackers.
They were having a picnic? At night?
It hit her then. Unlike when they had shared dinner at the lake a few weeks ago, this was the exact spot where she and Dayne encountered Heath for the first time. She didn’t know it at the time, but it was the start of something great.
However, the nights were becoming too cold to be sitting outside since winter was right around the corner. Reminding her again, bad weather would make it a lot more difficult for her to continue to drive from Carlisle to Fisher Falls every weekend.
She was so different now than the first time she stepped onto this property. She was more open-minded, more well-rounded, and so much more sexually fulfilled.
It didn’t take long for her to feel as at home here as in Carlisle.
Maybe even more so at Double D, since she was never alone.
If she wasn’t with Dayne or Heath, plenty of activities could keep her occupied and someone was always around to talk to, whether it was a guest, employee, or one of Dayne’s siblings.
Dayne and Heath helped her settle on the blanket before Dayne joined them both on the ground.
Heath’s rumbled, “I missed you,” paired with a quick lip touch swelled her heart.
“I missed you, too.” More than they knew.
“Two weeks felt like a lifetime,” Heath admitted next.
It was crazy but true. “Agreed. Thank you for that titillating entertainment you two provided last weekend.”
Heath’s lips curled up at the corners. “Knowing you were watching?—”
“And participating,” Dayne added, grabbing the wine and working free the cork partially jammed into the bottle.
“Made it even better,” Heath finished, handing him the first glass to fill.
As soon as it was, Dayne offered it to Cara. “Don’t drink yet. We should make a toast.”
Hmm. “What are we toasting?”
Dayne avoided her question as he filled the other two glasses, giving one to Heath and keeping the other for himself. He lifted his cup in the air. “To six months together.”
“Has it really been half a year?” Cara whispered, also lifting her wine. Time had flown.
Heath lifted his cup, too. “Crazy, right?”
At once, they tapped their glasses together before taking a sip. The Cabernet Sauvignon was from a local vineyard and was one of her favorites.
What was going on here?
This picnic by the lake that included both her favorite wine and favorite men couldn’t be because they’d been seeing each other for six months. There had to be more to it than that. She couldn’t imagine someone like Dayne celebrating six months of exclusivity.
“So…” Dayne started after he downed what seemed like half his wine.
Her eyes sliced between the two men. The fire reflected off their faces, creating pockets of shadows so she couldn’t read their eyes or expressions.
Her stomach twisted. “So…”
“We have to tell you something,” Dayne announced next instead of simply saying what needed to be said.
Why was he dragging out whatever it was?
She pressed the backs of her knuckles to her mouth and held her breath.
“I’m moving onto the ranch.”
For a few seconds, what Heath said didn’t sink into her brain. When it did, her mouth dropped open and she glanced between the two. “What does that mean exactly?”
“He’s moving into the farmhouse.” Dayne then added, “With me. ”
Wow. That was unexpected. Especially when there hadn’t even been hints of this previously. “When?”
“As soon as I can sort some things out,” Heath answered. “As you know, I can work from anywhere.”
“I hate when he’s gone so I asked him to move in.” Dayne shrugged like it was no big deal.
But it was a big deal. That also meant the men viewed their relationship as more than just sex. At least between the two of them.
Them excluding her bruised both her heart and ego a little. Had they bonded with each other more than with her? Had she been too much work for them? Would they eventually cut her out all together and find someone more their speed?
Of course, she hadn’t come to the ranch with the expectations to fall in love with any man, much less two, but… “That’s…great.” She was struggling to be more enthusiastic about their news.
Apparently, Dayne wasn’t done with his announcements. “I also hate when you’re gone.” He lifted her hand from her lap and pressed his lips to the back of it.
Hold on here.
He continued. “We want you to join us. It wouldn’t be the same without you. We wouldn’t be the same. You’re an important part of this relationship.”
They wanted her to do what ? “You mean you want me to move in with you, too?”
A minute ago she was sad when they didn’t include her. Now that they were, her anxiety spiked. While this was something she wanted, she had no idea how to make a move like that happen.
She couldn’t just pick up and leave Carlisle. She owned a house and had a job. Add in the fact that a job like hers wasn’t easy to find and it became next to impossible. She had worked too hard and too long to earn her master’s degree to simply walk away from her career.
She was torn. While this was what she hoped for, she couldn’t simply give up everything. What if things went wrong? How would she support herself? She didn’t want to be financially dependent on Dayne or Heath. She didn’t want to be a “kept” woman where she had no independence.
And while she was sure positions were available on the resort, she was doing what she loved: helping people find their next favorite read, do research, or utilize all the resources provided for free in a public library.
Mucking stalls or sanitizing playrooms was not for her.
The bottom line was, wanting to live with her men and actually doing it were two different things.
“I can’t simply quit the job I love. That’s just crazy.”
With a tilt of his head, Heath swept a lock of her hair over her shoulder. “But we’re crazy about you.”
Cara shook her head. “While that’s all well and good, that doesn’t pay my bills.”
“What bills would you have if you sold your place in Carlisle and came to live with us here?” Dayne lifted one finger. “You would have no mortgage.” He lifted a second. “No utilities.” Then a third. “Hell, you’d even eat for free. Your expenses would be slashed.”
Sure they would, but at what cost to her self-reliance?
“It’s not as simple as you’re making it out to be, Dayne.
How about my self-sufficiency? How about the whole reason I earned my master’s degree?
Should I simply throw it all away? It’s not like Clearfield County has a huge library system. It doesn’t.”
Dayne’s eyebrows pinned together. “How do you know?”
“Because I already checked out of curiosity.” While she assumed they weren’t thinking about a future together, she had been.
“Then, your reluctance has nothing to do with me or Heath?”
“Not at all. Believe me when I say, I miss you two when I’m not here.
I think about us all the time. I look forward to our weekends together.
But you expect me to give up my home and the job I love for us to be together full-time.
What if I do then we realize it’s not working?
Then what? I’d be in a jam. I could end up unemployed and potentially homeless. ” That was a scary thought.
“She’s right, Dayne. She deserves to feel secure in her life.”
Dayne responded with, “I wish I could offer you a job here at the resort. What I could offer you would be nothing like the career you’re so passionate about and we do understand what an accomplishment it was to earn that degree.”
Cara rubbed her forehead. “I want to be here with you two, I do. Believe me. There’s nothing my heart wants more. But my head is telling me to be reasonable and responsible.”
“Sweetheart, we’re good with whatever you decide,” Heath assured her.
“We don’t want this to be the reason we lose you, because that’s the last thing we want.
But before you make your decision, I want to mention that I’m keeping my place in Hoboken.
For now, at least. I might rent it out. That’s always an option for you, too.
You could keep your house in Carlisle and find a tenant. This way you have that security net.”
“At least until you’re ready to let it go. Or it couldn’t hurt to keep it as an asset. You probably have equity in it already and that investment will continue to grow.” Apparently, Dayne had put on his official Chief Financial Officer’s hat .
“That could work, but what about my income?” That was a huge obstacle she couldn’t ignore.
Heath blew out a breath. “This week we tried to come up with a solution for that but without your input we struggled.”
Interesting. “What did you come up with?” She was pleased to hear they wanted her with them badly enough that they made an effort to find a way.
“We thought about the obvious first. Between Penn State University and Centre County, there’s a larger library system in State College, but neither Dayne nor I are thrilled you’d have to drive that distance during winter.”
“They would need openings, too,” she reminded them. “Those are few and far between.”
Heath sighed. “Right. We even checked for librarian openings in the surrounding school districts.”