Hard 5: Multiple Love

"It looks like you've been awake all night to put this together," Connie gushes. "I'm a terrible cook. I don't know how you do it."

"I'm sure you're not," I say politely, picking up a large bowl.

"I am," Connie says. "I'm good at lots of things, but mixing food groups into something edible is not my strong suit. Although, for some reason, I seem to be able to make a Thai green curry. Maybe I'm the reincarnation of an amazing housewife from Asia." She takes hold of a bowl, too, and we begin to make our way through the house.

The boys have joined two large wooden tables outside and found a mishmash of chairs to fit us all. They're currently talking in the center of the yard, with Cash pointing out over the ranch land toward my old property. I guess he's filling them in on their latest purchase. Placing the food on the table, we make our way back inside.

"So, how long have you been living with the Bradfords?" Connie asks.

"Not long," I say.

"Well, they seem like good folk," she says. "If they're anything like their cousins, that is." She smiles, pausing at the table. "Are you dating any of them?"

I shake my head, screwing up my face into a grimace. "No. It's strictly business."

"Really." She nods, pursing her lips as though she's pondering the lack of relationships in the house. "And are they dating anyone else?"

"Not as far as I know," I say. "They're all about the work right now."

"All work and no play…" Connie pauses, glancing over her shoulder. "Which one are you interested in? There must be one. They're all so good looking. I swear, there is something in this family that produces the most handsome menfolk. Really. Even the older men are silver foxes…although if you ever tell my father-in-law, I said that, I'd have to kill you."

I chuckle at Connie's humor, feeling comfortable in her company, even after such a short time.

"They are handsome, but I don't think it would be a good idea. Not with us all under the same roof."

Connie's eyebrows raise and draw together. "Being under the same roof is so much more convenient." Taking hold of the rolls and the butter dish, she nods. "I was thinking about hooking them up with my friend Sandy," she says. "Well…" Pausing the doorway, she looks both ways to make sure there is no one else listening. "…I was wondering if they might also be up for a similar thing to their cousins and me. You know, a multiple-partner situation."

I clear my throat, feeling like Connie's confiding in me a little too quickly. "I wouldn't know how they feel about that kind of thing."

"Really? They didn't say anything when they knew we were coming?"

"No. And it's not the kind of thing to come up in general conversation."

"I know." Connie grins. "You know my best friend is married to their cousins."

"I heard."

"Maybe I should just come right out and ask them?" she says. "Or do you think that's too brazen?"

I try to imagine Cash's response. Or Scott's. "Probably best not to." In my chest, my heart feels constricted at the thought of Connie's friend in the middle of the Bradfords. She'd be a better option than Amber, but I still hate the idea. My mind drifts, putting myself in the center of these five men and heat creeps up my neck and over my cheeks.

In the yard, Brett is squawking. As we emerge with more food, Sawyer comes to take the bowl I'm carrying. "I'll help too," he says.

"Ah, a man not related to the Neanderthals," Connie says loudly.

Scott's eyes narrow, but her men laugh. "Is that a hint, babe?" Holden says. He looks like his twin but with shorter cropped hair and a thick beard.

"Less a hint and more of an observation, babe," she says, winking before she sashays back into the house.

Whatever she said works, and Cary leads Holden and the other twins, Karter and Kane, into the house. With so many available hands, the food is all outside in one more run.

They all descend like vultures, filling plates and shoveling down my hard work. It's fun to hear them reminiscing over childhood memories. From what I can make out, the Bradfords and Banburys used to hang out a lot, and then things changed. The Bradfords’ father bought a farm, and their mother was no longer in the picture. As it's their mother who is sister to the Banburys' father, contact dropped off.

It's fascinating to see the similarities between the cousins and the differences. There is definitely a family look about them, but the Banburys have an air that is way more white-collar. I know they're firefighters, but the way they talk comes from a good education, the kind that only money can buy. The Bradfords are down-to-earth, gruffer, and bearish.