Chapter Twelve. Holly felt deliciously sore and drowsy as she left the bathroom with Ethan

Holly felt deliciously sore and drowsy as she left the bathroom with Ethan. Love. He

loved her. It didn’t seem possible even though he’d all but told her it would happen.

They joined the others in the kitchen where Adam was standing by the stove. Ryan sat on a barstool drinking a beer.

She walked over to Adam and wrapped her arms around him, resting her cheek on his back. He stiffened—in surprise?—for the briefest moment before turning around in her arms.

He smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head. “You seem happy,” he said.

Her cheeks grew warm and a ridiculous smile attacked her face. “I am.”

He tipped her chin up with his fingers then bent to kiss her. His lips moved possessively over hers. His tongue pressed inward, tasting her, laying claim to her mouth.

He slowly released her. “Have a seat. Supper will be ready in a few minutes.” She floated over to where Ryan and Ethan sat and took the stool between them.

As Adam puttered around the kitchen, laying out the plates and glasses, Holly decided to broach the subject of her usefulness.

“I was thinking,” she began.

The men turned their attention to her.

“That is I was wondering what it is I could do to help out. I mean, if I’m not going to be a guest, that is, I’m going to stay.”

She took a deep breath and cursed her insecurity.

“Holly,” Ethan said, his tone slightly reprimanding. “We want you here. We want you to stay. This is your home. I realize it might take you a while to get used to things, but there is no need to dance around any subject, nor is there any need for you not to embrace your status here.”

She smiled and ducked her head. “At any rate, I wondered what I could do to help.”

“There’s always something that needs to be done,” Adam said with a shrug. “At present, we divide chores and responsibilities. We’d be glad to have the help.”

“I can’t cook,” she blurted, embarrassed by the admission. She felt hopelessly inadequate. Her upbringing hadn’t trained her to do much.

“No one said you had to cook,” Ryan said calmly. “I could learn,” she added quickly.

Adam plunked down the platter of chicken fried steak on the bar and stared at her. “Holly, we don’t want a domestic slave. You’re here as our wife. Our mate. The mother of our children. We managed fine on our own. We can cook just fine. If you want to help out in other ways, I’m sure we can come up with something.”

Her cheeks warmed with embarrassment. “I’m making a mess of things, aren’t I?” Adam sat down and passed the platter over to Ethan.

“You’re uptight,” Adam said gently. “We just want you to be happy. Relax. You don’t have to do anything right now. Let’s concentrate on freeing you from your current marriage so the bastard has no claim on you. Everything else will fall into place.”

“When do we go to Denver?” she asked, grateful to change the subject.

“Day after tomorrow. I’ve arranged for Riley to come in and feed the horses while we’re gone. We’ll drive down, check into a hotel, then see Cal the next morning.”

She nodded then cleared her throat. “I wonder if there would be time for me to hit a salon while we’re there?” She twirled the ends of her hair nervously with her fingers. “I’d like to get the color fixed.”

“We can do whatever you want,” Adam said.

“I also need to stop by a bank. I need to start an account so I can have funds wired in.

I don’t trust Mason not to empty them.”

“You don’t have to worry about money,” Ryan said darkly. “We’re more than able to provide for you.”

“It’s not his money,” she said. “I’m not taking money from him. I’m protecting mine.”

“He seemed to be fairly wealthy,” Ethan said.

She sighed. “He is. But if he can find a way into my trust fund, he’ll empty it to spite me.”

Adam raised his brow. “Trust fund?”

“From my parents,” she explained. She shifted uncomfortably on her stool. “They were wealthy. They died when I was a teenager, and I came into my inheritance when I turned twenty-one.”

“I see, and how old are you now?” Adam asked. “Twenty-four.”

“And when did you meet Mason?”

“Shortly after my parents died. He…well, he stepped in and took care of me.”

Ryan muttered something unintelligible under his breath. Ethan and Adam exchanged knowing glances.

“What? What are you looking like that for?” she demanded.

“Just how much money are we talking about in your trust fund?” Adam asked. She shrugged. “I don’t really know.”

“Take a guess,” he said. “Fifty? Sixty million?” “Jesus,” Ethan muttered.

“How sure are you of Mason’s financial stability?” Adam asked quietly.

She opened her mouth but her reply stuttered and halted in her throat. Buzzing began in her head, and she felt incredibly, incredibly stupid. Her cheeks burned, and her throat constricted painfully.

Without another word, she got up and walked out of the kitchen. “Holly!”

She heard Ethan call out to her, but she didn’t stop. She wanted to bear her current humiliation alone, thank you very much.

She stopped at the front door long enough to yank her coat off the coat rack then she opened the door and stepped onto the front porch. Cold air assaulted her, and she hurriedly pulled on her coat.

She walked to the railing and leaned out, staring at the rising moon over the snow.

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply in. She needed the cold to cool her hot face.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. She’d never even considered Mason had an ulterior motive for singling her out. He’d stepped in when her parents died and acted as her protector and confidante. He’d pressured her to marry him when she turned twenty-one. Now she knew why. But she hadn’t wanted to marry right away. The only semblance of common sense she’d shown in the whole fiasco.

She propped her elbows on the porch railing and buried her face in her palms. He had only wanted her money.

It didn’t hurt that he didn’t love her, or that he had married her for other reasons. She knew he hadn’t been capable of loving her when he’d struck her, when he’d killed another person in cold blood. But what stung was her utter naiveté.

Of course he wanted her money. It all made perfect sense now. His preoccupation with “protecting” her, his endless questions about how she was managing her money. All in the guise of wanting to make sure she was taken care of. Thank God she hadn’t stayed around long enough to turn everything over to him as they had planned once they were married.

“Jesus, how stupid can I get?” she whispered. She’d been prepared to give him everything. He probably would’ve found a way to get rid of her inside of six months.

She heard the door open behind her, and she squeezed her eyes harder shut. “Holly.”

Adam walked to stand beside her. She opened one eye to see him rest his hands on the railing beside her.

“I’m a complete idiot,” she choked out.

He sighed and gently pulled her into his arms. “You’re not an idiot, baby. I’d say you’re an amazing woman.”

She shook her head in denial. “I’m pathetic. Pathetic!”

She clenched his coat lapels in her hands and buried her face in his chest. Then she laughed. It sounded harsh even to her.

Adam’s strong arms wrapped around her and held her tightly against him. A tear leaked down her cheek, quickly absorbed by Adam’s shirt.

“I wanted to belong to someone,” she whispered. “I wanted someone to care about me and not my money or who my parents were. I was so very lonely.”

Adam rubbed a hand up and down her back. “You do belong to someone, baby. And we don’t give a damn about your money.”

For some reason, his declaration opened the floodgate of tears she’d been holding at

bay.

She hadn’t realized how truly lonely she’d been or how desperate she was for

someone to love her. Desperate. That about summed her up in a nutshell. And now she’d latched onto the brothers. Maybe they weren’t the same caliber as Mason but she hadn’t given her commitment to them any more thought than she had given her marriage to Mason. And that scared the hell out of her.

They wanted forever. She wanted forever. But. There was always a but. If only she hadn’t made so many bad decisions. Then she might be able to trust the decision to stay with Adam, Ethan and Ryan.

Adam continued to hold her, stroking her hair. The sound of a ringing cell phone jarred her senses. Adam cursed softly, and she felt him fumble for his pocket. She drew away to give him easier access, and he pulled his phone out to answer it.

“Adam here,” he said shortly.

There was a long pause then he turned away. Holly stood shivering lightly. She wanted back into the warmth of his arms.

“All right, I’ll be right there,” he said as he turned back around.

He clicked the phone shut and shoved it back into his jacket. “I’ve got to run into town. Lacey needs my help.”

A sharp pang twisted in Holly’s chest. She was surprised at its ferocity.

“Come back inside where it’s warm,” he said. He took her arm and led her back in the door.

In the living room, Ryan and Ethan both looked up.

“I’ve got to run into town. Lacey’s got a problem, and her deputies are out on calls.” “Do you need us to go with you?” Ethan asked.

Ryan snorted in disgust.

“No. At least I don’t think so. Looks to be a runaway. If I need trackers, I’ll call you.

I’d rather you stay here and look after Holly.”

Holly gritted her teeth. She didn’t need looking after, damn it, and she sure as hell didn’t want Adam off with a woman who very clearly wanted him.

Jealous? Oh, hell yeah, she was jealous. And it pissed her off. She hadn’t thought she could feel more miserable than before, but she was wrong.

“There isn’t anyone else she could call?” Holly asked.

Adam looked strangely at her for a moment. “We’ve helped track missing persons before for her.”

Holly bit her lip to keep from saying anything further. There was nothing more unattractive than a shrew.

“I’ll call if I’m going to be too late.”

Adam bent and gave her a quick kiss then turned to the door. He put his Stetson on and walked outside.

Holly watched him go, hating the way it made her feel. She glanced at Ryan and Ethan and winced. It was obvious they could see right through her. She seemed to have a knack for humiliation lately.

Her shoulders sagged, and she turned to head down the hallway toward the bedrooms. She stopped in the middle. Hysterical laughter bubbled from her. Whose room would she take refuge in?

She opted for the bathroom instead. She ran cool water in the sink and splashed her face. When she raised her head up, she saw Ryan’s reflection in the mirror. He stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame.

“Wanna play Monopoly with me and Ethan?”

She managed a shaky smile and nodded. At least he wasn’t trying to dissect her emotions.

She waited a second then headed back to the living room. Ethan was setting up the Monopoly board on the coffee table, and Ryan was carrying in three mugs from the kitchen.

“Want some hot chocolate?” Ryan asked. “Sounds yummy,” she replied.

She took position on the couch while Ethan and Ryan both sat on the floor at either ends of the coffee table. She cupped the mug in her palms and sipped at the cocoa. Anything not to think of where Adam was and who he was with.

“I hate to see you so upset,” Ethan said in a low voice.

She jerked her glance sideways, startled from her own thoughts. Her jealous thoughts.

She sighed and set her mug down. She rubbed tiredly at her temple. “I’m being unreasonable.”

Ryan muttered something under his breath.

She turned to him, sensing an ally. “Why don’t you like her?” “She’s a manipulative bitch.”

Holly laughed. “Thanks. I needed that, I think. She doesn’t seem to like me, that’s for sure.”

Ryan grunted. “She’s pissed because she set her sights on Adam, and he never took the bait.”

“Never?” she asked softly. “It seemed to me that you and Ethan were all that stood between Adam seeking a deeper relationship with her.”

Ethan fixed Ryan with a hard stare. “Is he sleeping with her?”

She meant the question to sound casual, but instead it came across as fearful.

Ethan swore. “Look, sweetheart, I don’t know if he ever slept with her. I know that he isn’t now. Not after you.”

Somehow the idea that Adam had slept with Lacey didn’t make her feel any better. It wasn’t as though Holly had been here any length of time.

“We’re not saints, Holly. We’ve had our share of women, but we’re not faithless jerks. Adam wouldn’t screw around with another woman. Not after committing himself to you.”

Ryan nodded in agreement.

“Then why is he going to her?” Holly strained out.

“He can’t stand the idea of not helping a woman in need,” Ryan said. “He has a weakness for damsels in distress.”

Holly felt the blood drain from her face. Was that what she was? God, she certainly fit the mold. Tears swam in her vision, and she blinked hard to keep them back. She didn’t want to make an ass of herself. More than she already had.

Ethan threw one of the dice at Ryan, hitting him in the head. “You’re not the brightest bulb are you?”

Holly got up. She wasn’t going to bother keeping the pretense up any longer. She was far too upset to act like nothing was wrong.

“I’d like to go to bed,” she said. “Is there a room I can use?” She hoped her meaning came across. She wanted a room to herself.

“Use Adam’s,” Ethan said. “He can take the couch when he comes in.” “Thanks,” she mumbled as she headed toward the hall.

As soon as she was out of sight, she bolted toward Adam’s bedroom. When she was inside, she locked the door and leaned against it.

The tears she’d tried so hard to hold back spilled down her cheeks. All the pent-up emotion from the last several years came roaring to the surface. The disappointment and the sense of betrayal, her humiliation over the horrible lack of judgment she’d demonstrated. It was enough to make her cringe.

She didn’t bother undressing. She jerked back the covers and crawled underneath, pulling them tightly around her as she curled into a ball.

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