Chapter One
Stacie Stern sat with the Ransom brothers at her father’s funeral. Seth, the oldest, was to her left, Jake, the middle brother, to the right, and Grant, the youngest, was behind her. Stacie had been cooking and cleaning house for the brothers for over three years, since she had graduated high school. It was a good job and she was lucky to have it. Work in the small town was hard to come by, and the brothers were good to her and her dad.
Now it was just her. Her father’s long battle with cancer was over and he could rest now. Stacie didn’t know it yet, but her battle was just beginning.
The reading of the will was done and Stacie was still stunned. It was gone, everything, gone. The hospital bills took all of her dad’s insurance money and she was going to have to sell the house to pay the remainder. She was left with nothing but her clothes and the contents of the house. Everything had been in her dad’s name, the house and the cars. The attorney had told her she had thirty days after the death of her dad to have everything out of the house and that both cars would have to be sold along with the house. That day was today.
The Ransom brothers had been nice enough to help her get everything out of her home and were letting her stay in one of the extra rooms on the ranch. It made sense. She was there all the time, anyway.
The brothers had been very supportive of her and her father. They had let her take all the time off she needed to be with him and had offered to pay for anything she needed. Seth, the oldest, was tall, six feet seven inches, with dark-brown hair and the bluest eyes she had ever seen. He had taken her aside one day after the reading of the will and offered to pay all the hospital debts so that she could keep the house. Her men were amazing.
Stacie had refused. She could never let them do something like that. She didn’t want to say anything, but she was enjoying her time at the house and being with all of them.
All of the men had been very attentive to her, making sure she had everything she needed and she was never alone. One of them was always in the house with her. If she stayed in her home, she would be alone, all alone.
Right now, they were getting what she wanted and needed from the house before it was to be sold. They planned on putting what she wanted in her room at the ranch, and the rest could be stored in the barn until she needed it.
Stacie was still in a state of shock. She had expected her father’s death, but she knew she could never really be prepared. It had been just the two of them for so long, and now she was alone.
Her mother had left when Stacie was a baby. Her mom had been very young when Stacie was born and hadn’t wanted the responsibility of a child. She had left her with her father when Stacie was just six months old. One night she went for dinner with a friend and didn’t come back. Over the years, she had contacted Stacie’s dad periodically looking for money and had tried to see Stacie a few times, but not very often.
The men had what Stacie wanted out of the house and arrangements had been made to get everything else removed and the place c
leaned before the sale in two weeks. Seth and his brothers had taken care of everything, so Stacie didn’t have to deal with it.
Walking up to her and putting an arm around her shoulders, Seth told her, “That’s it, honey. Do you want to come and make sure we have everything?” as he walked her toward the house.
Turning to the three men looking at her, Stacie said, “Give me a few minutes, okay?” They all nodded, understanding that she needed some time to herself.
While they were waiting on Stacie, the brothers talked. “I think we need to start tonight.” Seth started the conversation.
“Do you think she’s ready?” Jake went next.
“I know I am.” Grant nodded.
“I can tell she’s ready. She’s been very responsive and it’s been long enough,” Seth declared. Stacie had been spending time with the men and they had all been watching her to see how she responded to little touches and small gestures of affection.
“Do you think she’s really ready for all three of us? It’s a lot to ask.” This came from Grant.
“There’s only one way to find out. Grant, you’re the youngest and closest to her age. I think you should start, and Jake and I will join you after you’ve had some time to talk to her. If it isn’t what she wants, you know the signal, but I’m sure she’s ready. She responds to all of us equally,” Seth instructed.
“But how are we going to make this work? I don’t know if she’ll go for the idea of sharing.” Grant was worried.
“I’ll take care of all that. You just follow instructions.” Seth was the oldest. They had all been in love with Stacie for years, but she was so young when she started working for them, just barely nineteen. Now she was twenty-two and the brothers were tired of waiting. They had spent the last three years watching her mature.
They continued talking until Jake saw Stacie come out of the house with tears on her face. Running up to her, he pulled her into his arms and held her, letting her cry. Grant and Seth came over to them and the three brothers held her, safe in their embrace.
When she finally stopped crying, Grant helped her into his truck for the ride back to the ranch so that they could unload everything.
While the boys were unloading, they sent Stacie into the house for a hot bath and to relax. Grant gave her a few minutes to go into the house and get settled before he went in himself.
Chapter Two
Grant walked quietly into the house and kicked off his boots. Running up the stairs, he listened to make sure Stacie was in the bath. Their girl was in for a surprise.
Without knocking, he opened the door and walked into where Stacie was taking her bath.
“Grant, do you need something?” Stacie asked, startled, grabbing for the towel she had put beside the tub. Grant grabbed the towel before she could get to it, so she slid down in the tub, hoping the bubbles would cover her.