He walked to one of the cabinets and retrieved a bottle of ibuprofen, shook out several pills and handed them to her. Just one more example of them taking care of her. It warmed her to her toes and scared the hell out of her all at the same time.
“What’s on your mind, baby?” Adam asked.
Was she that easy to read? Could they already see inside her mind and soul? Her fingers tensed on her fork for a moment as she contemplated denying that anything was on her mind, but Adam’s honesty compelled her to be equally honest.
“The dynamics of the whole relationship you all propose… It’s rather mind-boggling,” she admitted.
She didn’t miss the triumphant smiles passed between the brothers. Surely to them, this was a sign they were making headway. And maybe they were, as insane as she was to even contemplate it.
“Anything in particular you want to talk about?” Adam prompted.
She sighed and set down her fork. “This has all pretty much blown me away. I don’t even know where to begin. I keep expecting to be told this is one huge joke at my expense. ”
Ryan put a hand on her knee. “This is no joke. Now tell us what’s on your mind. ”
She took in a deep breath, told herself she was completely nuts and then proceeded to tell them precisely what concerns she had.
“The thing is, you guys only have one person to concern yourselves with, relationship wise. I have three. Three overbearing, overprotective, rather large men. I don’t see how it’s remotely possible that I could please all of you all of the time. ”
Cocky, self-assured grins adorned the three men’s faces.
“I don’t think any of us expect perfection,” Ethan said. “Though,” he added with an up and down sweep of her, “I’m not arguing with what we’ve been given. ”
“We’ve discussed this many times,” Adam said in a serious tone. “We know it won’t always be easy. It wasn’t always easy for our mother and fathers, but if we all work at it, there’s no reason we can’t live in harmony. ”
“I guess I just don’t understand the concept,” Holly said. “I can’t wrap my brain
around it. ”
Ryan reclaimed her attention by turning her back around to face him. “Then think of it this way. Three men completely devoted to your happiness. Three men worshipping your body with theirs. Three men who would love you with complete abandon. Three men who would protect you and cherish you always. ”
She stared at him open-mouthed. “Well, when you put it that way,” she muttered.
“Damn, Ryan, why didn’t you speak up earlier?” Ethan said in amusement.
“The first order of business is to go into town and buy you some clothes and whatever else you need,” Adam said, changing the subject.
“But I don’t need anything,” she protested. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, but she didn’t want them buying her a bunch of stuff.
“Ryan, you care to repeat that part about three men devoted to her happiness, worshipping her, etc. ?” Ethan spoke up. “Because I’m pretty sure making sure our woman is clothed and provided for falls under that heading. ”
Holly blushed.
“Ethan, you and Ryan want to drive her into town? I need to check out the horses and get the hay out. It’s supposed to snow again tonight. ” He turned to Holly. “There’s a western store in town. It isn’t much but you’ll be able to get boots, jeans and some shirts. And a coat. You need a decent coat. Next week, we’ll drive into the city to do the heavy shopping for you. ”
“Thank you,” she said softly. She couldn’t manage much more around the huge knot in her throat. She felt dangerously close to tears and fought to contain them.
Adam leaned forward and brushed his mouth across hers. He was surprisingly gentle. For the first time, she reached a hand out to touch him, running her fingertips across his cheek, feeling the slight stubble along his jaw.
When he drew away, his eyes were burning with passion, and she felt heady with the knowledge she had affected him so.
“Well if we’re going into town, we need to go now. We don’t want to be late getting back if it’s going to snow,” Ryan announced, standing up from his seat at the bar.
“Is it…is it safe for me to go into town?” she asked. The idea that someone might see her and report back to Mason struck fear into her heart, no matter the brothers’ vow to protect her.
“We’ll make sure you’re not seen,” Ethan said. “Riley’s Western Store is on the edge of town. We’ll park you in a corner of the store and do your shopping for you, let you try on stuff if you need to, and we’ll keep a sharp eye for anything unusual going on. ”
“Okay,” she said, expelling a long breath. “Let’s do it then. ”
* * *
The drive into town was long and quiet as they traveled down the mountain. Holly sat up front while Ethan drove and Ryan sat in the back of the Land Rover. During the course of the trip, Ethan reached over and twined his fingers with hers.
She drew comfort from the small gesture and readily laced her fingers in his.
Mid-morning, they drove into the small town of Clyde. Adam had been right. There wasn’t much beyond a small grocery store, a feed mill, a few cafes and the western store, but there was a quaint main street and the businesses were clean and well-kept.
Ethan pulled up at the western store, and he and Ryan surveyed the area before opening their doors. Ryan opened her door and gestured for her to get out. Once she was out, Ethan and Ryan flanked her and they headed into the store.
They led her to the area beside the one small dressing room and had her sit.
“Now tell us what sizes you need, and we’ll bring you some stuff to look at,” Ryan directed.
She laughed. “There’s no one else in here. I think I can look myself if that’s okay. ”
Ethan glanced around once more. “Okay, I’ll go stand by the door. Ryan, you keep an eye on Holly while she shops. ”
Holly walked over to the racks in the center of the store and began thumbing through the shirts. She found a few long sleeve flannel shirts in her size and removed them from the rack. She wasn’t sure how much she should spend so she only took a few and moved onto the jeans.
As she was searching for her size in the pants, Ryan walked up behind her with several more shirts over his arm. At her self-conscious glance, he shoved the shirts toward her, his expression brooking no argument.
“Take them up to the counter for me, will you?” she asked. “I’m fairly certain they’ll fit. ”
“Want me to pick you out a pair of boots while I’m up there?” he asked.
She smiled. “I’d like that. Thanks. ”
She walked closer to the window overlooking the street and picked out a few pairs of jeans in dark blue and one each in black and khaki. As she turned to follow Ryan to the checkout, her eyes stopped on a familiar black vehicle pulling down the street.
Frozen to the spot, she watched in horror as Mason Bardwell climbed out of the flashy BMW, his gaze flitting up and down the street.