Chapter Three
“First, I have a quick question. How familiar are you with the history around here?” Taffy asked. “More specifically, the period of time right before the Civil War.”
“Ummm,” Elena hummed, caught off guard by the odd question. “Not super familiar other than what I learned back in high school. Why?”
“Because those moments in history are responsible for who and what the Iron Seeds are today,” Taffy explained as she tapped her long nails against the desktop. “You see, it all started with a pair of brothers that settled here back in the 1850’s. Jeb Iron and his wife Annalee were living here for only a few months before his younger brother, Jeremiah, came to live with them. According to Annalee’s journals, the brothers had never intended to share her. It just kind of…happened.”
“How does sharing your wife, ‘just kind of happen?’” Elena asked with an arched brow.
“Surprisingly easier than you’d think. If I hadn’t read copies of the journal myself, I wouldn’t have believed it either. I laughed when Vinnie told me the history until I read the proof with my own two eyes. Jeb and Annalee had no idea they were going to open their marriage to Jeremiah…it really did just kind of happen. When they first settled here, it was just the two of them. Jeb was excited about the homestead he was building with his wife, and all Annalee could write about was how happy they were with their decision to settle here. A few months later, things changed.” Taffy paused and sighed. “Jeb hadn’t realized how dangerous this area was until they’d already put down roots. Once he knew it was only a matter of time before they’d be attacked, he wrote a letter to Jeremiah asking for backup.”
“Ahem,” she interrupted, raising her hand like she was back in school. “Why would they be attacked?”
“Leading up to the Civil War, things were crazy around here. Neighbors were fighting neighbors, and it was ugly. Kansas was a free state, but Missouri wasn’t. By the time Jeremiah arrived, homesteads that were anti-slavery were being attacked by pro-slavery militias coming over from Missouri, and folks were dying. His presence made Jeb and Annalee feel more secure, but they weren’t nearly strong enough to hold up against a troop of men. With the ambushes coming closer and closer to the Iron Homestead, Jeb hired guards to stand watch at the homestead while and he and Jeremiah joined John Brown, the famous abolitionist. They refused to let the pro-slavery groups terrorize them any longer.”
Taffy gestured to a framed painting on the wall that Elena had noticed earlier. Despite its popularity in the shops around town, she knew little about it other than it featured the bearded dude from Taffy’s story. She now regretted all of the naps she’d taken during history class because what she was hearing sounded fascinating. She still hadn’t connected how the brothers ended up sharing Annalee but figured that would be coming soon.
“That period of time was referred to as Bleeding Kansas because of all the bloodshed that took place,” Taffy relayed sadly. “A lot of innocent people were fighting against the South and the Irons were smack dab in the middle of it. Annalee wrote about how scary it was to wait for word that the men were safe. Then one day, Jeremiah came home. Alone. Barely strong enough to stay on his horse, he gave her the news that his brother had died fighting off an attack from a bushwhacker militia. Her husband was gone.”
“Oh shit,” she breathed with wide eyes.
“Jeremiah explained that as Jeb lay dying from a gut wound, his brother made him promise that Annalee and their infant daughter were cared for. He swore to care for them always, propped his brother up just enough for him to watch the setting sun one last time, and rode his ass home as fast as he could. Two months after breaking the news to his brother’s widow, he asked Annalee to marry him, and she said yes.”
“Wait a minute.” Elena frowned as her brain sorted through the information she’d just heard. “I thought you said they shared a wife?”
“I was just getting to that part,” Taffy explained. “Unbeknownst to Jeremiah and Annalee, Jeb hadn’t died from the wounds he’d received fighting beside his brother. He’d survived—barely.”
“No. Way.”
“Yes, way,” Taffy assured her with a nod, her blonde curls bouncing. “Jeb had been found, bleeding and unconscious, but very much alive. By the time he was well enough to travel home to the homestead to his wife and daughter, four months had passed, and Annalee had already married his brother. Not only that. The two had fallen in love and she carried his baby. Jeb could see it wasn’t just a marriage of convenience. Jeremiah and Annalee were in love and had created a family of their own.”
“Yeahhhhh,” Elena drawled, thinking of the hot mess that situation had to have been. It sounded like the plot straight out of a telenovela. “There’s no take-backsies with something like that.”
“None at all. Annalee refused to choose between the two of them and neither man would walk away from her and their family…” Taffy trailed off with a shrug.
“So, they ended up accidentally sharing a wife,” Elena finished, her mind swimming with even more questions than before.
“Exactly. Of course, it took some adjustment, but it wasn’t long before they saw the advantages that came from a relationship like theirs.”
“What advantages?” The only thing she could think about was how scandalized people would have been. If the town were full of a bunch of prudes now, it had to have been hella worse back in the day.
“With both Jeb and Jeremiah contributing to a single household, their farm was a lot more productive than the ones around them. Jeremiah focused on the crops while Jeb handled raising and breaking horses. Before long, their little enterprise began growing as fast as they could hire the help to keep up. By the time their third child was on the way, the three of them had fully settled into embracing their non-traditional union. The brother’s devotion to their wife became well-known and they openly credited the success of their farm and horse ranch to their unique arrangement. Some of their friends and neighbors began to follow the example that Jeb and Jeremiah had set by accident. Before they knew it, they’d unintentionally started a small but thriving ménage community. Over the years, the Iron Homestead and their community turned into our compound on the edge of town and the Iron Seeds MC.”
“Wow,” Elena breathed. That was all she could say. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. “I mean, I just thought that ya’ll were kinky. I never would have guessed that the threesomes around here came from a tradition passed down since before the Civil War. Just saying it out loud sounds bonkers.”
“Believe me, I know,” Taffy agreed with a laugh. “And for the record, the Iron Seeds have more than just threesomes. There are a handful of quads and a few brave ladies that claim five men each. We don’t have any families larger than that though, at least in this chapter. Our Colorado chapter on the other hand is a little wilder than we are. They have one family with seven husbands.”
“Seven men…” She shook her head, unable work out the logistics of that grouping in her head. That was way too many dicks in her opinion. Granted, with her experience, she’d barely mastered one, but seven ? The only thing she could keep thinking of was the carpel tunnel flare ups she’d have from having to handle that many wanks. Her wrists suffered more than enough from her daily grind that she couldn’t even imagine being Snow White of the seven dicks. Not that she would say any of that straight to her new employer’s face. “Well…to each their own, amirite?”
“Exactly.” Taffy gave her a big smile and nod. “With that attitude, you’ll fit in perfectly around here.”
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Come in!” Taffy called out.
Elena turned around to greet the newcomer with a smile on her face that froze the moment they made eye contact. She couldn’t think, blink, or breathe. Everything was on pause.
“Paxton!” Taffy cried, quickly moving to embrace the man that had scattered Elena’s marbles. “When did you get here?! You weren’t supposed to drive down until later this week.”
Elena tried not to intrude on their little reunion but found it unavoidable considering how small the office was. She basically had a front row seat to every single inch of the hotness that Taffy was fawning over. He was tall, close to six and a half feet she’d guess, with dark blond hair, dark blue eyes, and a build that made her believe in a higher power. There was no question about it. How else could she explain the perfection she was gawking at? The man was an angel—a heavily muscled, tattooed, thick bearded, hot as fuck angel.
“Just now,” he said, lowering Taffy back down to the floor until she had both heels beneath her again. “Dads said you were back here but didn’t say anything about you having company.”