Heather's Gift (Men of August 3)

“Of course we accept it.” Marly shrugged. “Heather, we have every woman’s dream. Three men who live, and I mean live, for our pleasure and our comfort. They love us, completely, accept our moods and enjoy our differences. What isn’t there to accept?”

“Marly, your lover fucks another woman.” Heather felt as helpless in the face of these two women as she had when Sam had attempted to explain it.

“And mine fucks her,” Sarah countered. “Not anyone else, Heather, and only because she’s a part of Cade. These men aren’t like other brothers, and I know that’s hard to accept. But you have to understand; it’s who they are. You can’t change it. He might stop to please you, because he loves you, but that need will be there, and it will only grow. If you can’t accept it, then you need to stay as far away from Sam as possible.”

Heather came to her feet in a surge of anger. “I love him, Sarah. And I know he loves me. I can feel it; I can see it.”

“And he still comes to me and Marly when he needs us.” Her voice was gentle, her expression compassionate. “I can’t turn him away any more than I could turn Brock away. I would hurt us all to do so. How do you fit that into your perception of love now?”

Confusion washed over her. She had never discussed their relationships with their men with them, had avoided it every chance she had. Now it was there and impossible to ignore, and she found herself wishing she had stayed downstairs instead.

“He just needs to heal,” she whispered desperately.

“No, Heather, he needs to face it,” Marly said then. “Sam hasn’t faced the past, he doesn’t remember it, and refuses to face it. When he does, he’ll heal. But he won’t change. To a point, Cade and Brock have both faced what happened. It’s painful, and sometimes, though rarely, the nightmares are still there. But it hasn’t changed that need inside them.”

“Men will take what you let them get away with.” Heather could feel her body trembling with a rush of nervous energy. “You let them get away with it.”

Sarah sighed as she shook her head. “If it were any other man, I would agree with you.” She stared up at the ceiling somberly. “Mark was my ex-husband, Heather, and he screwed anything he could get to open its thighs for him. But Brock’s not like that.” Heather watched as she lowered her head again, her golden brown eyes intent, piercing. “Brock loves me; I’m his heart and soul. But he loves Marly too, and even you, because Cade and Sam do. They aren’t separate like other brothers are, Heather. A part of them—a very intrinsic, spiritual part of those men—is so closely bound that you’ll never separate them. If you try, you’ll hurt them all.”

“And they’ve been hurt enough.” Marly’s voice carried an edge of warning.

“Or maybe the two of you are just loathe to los

e the affection and the relationship you have with each of those men.” She voiced the suspicion that had filled her for months.

“Heather.” Sarah held her hand up when Marly would have spoken. “I understand you’re upset, and even angry. I was at one time, too, just as Marly was. Upset because we didn’t understand, to the extent that we’ve grown to understand, these three men. This isn’t a life that just any woman could lead. Selfishness and possessiveness won’t work here. And you’ll see, if you accept Sam for who he is, that there’s no need for it. But it’s something you have to accept alone.”

There was such compassion, such understanding in Sarah’s tone that Heather’s throat tightened with emotion. She couldn’t accuse these two women of not loving their individual men, but she knew they loved each other’s, as well as Sam, too. She shook her head, fighting her emotions, her sense of what was right and what was wrong, and found that still, she had no answers.

“Heather, Sam does love you,” Marly said softly. “I know he does. I know you’re all he wants, all he needs, to ease the pain he carries. Without you, Sarah and I…” She seemed to struggle for words. “It’s like needing water, and being given a soda instead. It eases for a moment, but the thirst is still there, and it’s soul deep.”

“If he loved me, I would be enough,” she whispered, fighting her tears as she crossed her arms protectively beneath her heart. “He has to love me enough.”

“Or maybe you have to love him enough,” Sarah said gently. “I suspect the demons Sam lives with. Marly and I both suspect that it wasn’t Cade who killed that bastard, but Sam. If that’s true, Heather, then that means Cade and Brock know it, they protect him from it, for a reason. Sam’s heart is softer, gentler than the other two. He’s the one that brings home stray puppies, even now. The one that plays Santa every Christmas for families in the county who don’t have money for their kids. The one that does what’s needed to lighten everyone else when the demons are at their worse. You won’t change Sam, Heather. But you, and you alone, could very well destroy him.”

And how was she supposed to live with that? The emotional pressure, as well as her own feelings, twisted and fought inside her until she felt the raking talons of her own lack of answers. She looked at both women, seeing anger, but also their compassion and understanding. They knew how she struggled, how she fought. She could see it in their eyes, in their acceptance of the men they loved.

“How can you do it?” she whispered. “Walk into a room and know the man you love has just had sex with another woman?”

“Not just another woman, Heather.” Marly leaned forward, her expression sincere, kind. “A sister. And I know it’s not just lust. He’s a part of Brock. His soul is merged so tightly with his brothers that he loves and needs Sarah, not as deeply, but just as true as Brock does. And it’s the same for Brock and for Sam, Heather.”

“We’ve watched them, Heather,” Sarah spoke then. “The closer Sam gets to you, the more instinctive Brock and Cade’s attraction to you becomes. It’s instinct, because they know each other that well…are that much a part of each other. And nothing you or I or Marly can do will change that. And if you want the truth, that part I wouldn’t want to change. Because I love Sam and Cade, too. They are a part of me. Not as deeply as Brock is, but still, a part of me.”

Heather looked to Marly. She nodded slowly, her expression showing her agreement, her acceptance of the men and the love she had for all of them.

“I don’t think I can do it,” she whispered.

“Heather, Sam will lead you through it. You’ll know when it’s right, and when it’s needed. And then, only then, can you really make the decision.”

“And don’t say you aren’t attracted to them all, either,” Marly snorted then. “I saw your face when you walked into the kitchen on us. You’re attracted, Heather, and be damned thankful you are Sam’s life, because that’s the only way in hell I’d let you within a mile of Cade.”

There was a smile on her face, but Heather knew she meant every word of it.

“This family is insane.” She sat back on the couch heavily, leaning her head back, closing her eyes and shaking her head at the impossibility of the situation. “Every damned one of you is certifiable.”

Chapter Twelve

Heather gave Sam several hours to find her. Long after the meeting with Rick was over, and the other men had retreated to their rooms with the women, Sam still hadn’t shown up. The whispered cries of sexual release penetrated the thick walls of their bedrooms, drifting into her room. The men were separate, though. They weren’t sharing, weren’t turning to each other, and Heather felt a vague warning in that knowledge. An uncomfortable sense of an impending storm with the potential to destroy them all.