Chapter Eighteen. Holly wiped the palms of her hands on her jeans as they stood in the reception area of the lawyer’s office

Holly wiped the palms of her hands on her jeans as they stood in the reception area of the lawyer’s office. So much was riding on what the guys’ friend would tell them.

Logically, she knew there was nothing Mason could do to prevent the divorce. Make things difficult? Yes. But he could not simply prevent it from happening. She hoped her threat was enough to persuade him not to contest.

Her money was another issue, but her parents had put it in trust, and unless she gave

the money to Mason, he had no claim on it. But it didn’t mean he wouldn’t try.

She closed her eyes and shuddered. Would she ever be free of her horrible mistakes?

Warm, comforting hands squeezed her shoulders. Ethan. Already she could recognize his touch. Distinguish it from Adam’s or Ryan’s.

“You’re worrying too much, doll. We’ll take care of this. I promise.” She turned around and smiled weakly. “I want it to be over with.”

“I know. And it will be.”

A tall, well-dressed man appeared in the waiting room. He crossed to where Adam stood and extended his hand.

“Adam, it’s damn good to see you again.” “Cal,” Adam returned.

Cal turned to shake hands with Ethan and Ryan then settled his gaze on Holly. “You must be Holly.” He smiled warmly at her, and she relaxed some.

She extended her hand and shook Cal’s. “Thank you for seeing us.”

“My pleasure.” He turned and extended a hand toward the hallway. “If you’ll all come this way to my office, we can get started.”

Adam reached for Holly, and she went willingly into his embrace. His hand squeezed her waist comfortingly as they followed Cal into a large, expensively furnished office.

Cal gestured for them to sit down then settled behind his mahogany desk. “Adam has filled me in on most of the details.” He looked up at Holly. “May I call you Holly? Somehow I don’t think you’d like to be called Mrs. Bardwell.”

“No, please, call me Holly,” she said huskily.

He smiled. “Okay, Holly.” He opened a folder and pulled out a sheaf of papers. He slid them along the polished surface of the desk in her direction.

“I’ll have you look over and sign these so I can get the ball rolling. Your case is pretty straightforward. If there aren’t any complications or objections, you’re divorce can be final in as little as ninety days. Obviously if problems arise, it will go longer.”

Holly stared down at the papers in front of her. It sounded so simple. Ninety days.

She could be free in three months.

“What if…what if he doesn’t agree?” she whispered. “I mean what if he won’t sign the papers?”

She looked up at Cal, trying to keep the fear from her expression. She wanted to appear calm and confident, but inside she was a wreck.

“Then we kill him,” Ryan muttered.

Cal chuckled. “As much as I like Ryan’s idea, we’ll leave it in the hands of the legal system. Once your husband is served, he can do one of three things. He can sign the papers, he can ignore them or he can hire a lawyer and show up in court to contest.”

He leaned forward and put a hand over Holly’s. “No matter what he does, though, he can’t prevent you from divorcing him. All he can do is delay the inevitable. Remember that.”

Holly blew out her breath. “Thank you.” It was all she could manage without betraying how badly she was shaking. She felt like standing up and yelling. Finally she was taking a proactive stance in deciding the course of her life. And it felt damn good.

She glanced sideways at Adam, Ethan and Ryan, unable to keep the small smile from tugging at her lips. Then she looked back at Cal. “Is that all? I don’t have to do anything else?”

“No,” Cal said.

She paused for a moment and took in several steadying breaths. “Will I…will I have to face him in court?”

“No.”

The answer came from at least three different sources and she turned in all directions.

Cal chuckled. “No. If he opts to go to court that is his prerogative, but you aren’t asking him for anything. There’s nothing to dispute, so I doubt he’ll want to appear, and if so, I will appear on your behalf as your counsel.”

She smiled, felt her entire face relax. The more she tried to contain her joy, the wider she felt her face split. Adam slipped a hand up and down her back then rested his palm on her shoulder and squeezed.

Cal looked intently at her. “This will end soon, Holly. You have my assurances.”

A tear slipped down her cheek. She wiped it away impatiently, not at all sure why

she was crying. She was thrilled. She was relieved. “Thank you,” she said again.

Adam stood beside her and reached across the desk to shake Cal’s hand. “We appreciate everything, Cal.”

Cal also stood. “I’m glad to do whatever I can. You know that. I’ll be in touch.”

Holly followed the men out of the office. Ryan hung back in the hallway and immediately pulled her into his arms. She hugged him back, feeling just as relieved as he seemed to be.

“Want to find a salon now?” Adam asked as they stepped out into the cold air.

She bobbed her head enthusiastically. They walked over to the Land Rover and Holly slid into the front seat. She let out a long whoosh of air and briefly closed her eyes.

“Feel better?” Ethan asked from the back.

She opened her eyes and swiveled her head to look at him. “You don’t even know,” she said softly.

“I know I feel better,” Ryan muttered. “The sooner she no longer bears that bastard’s last name, the better.”

Holly wrinkled her brow. She hadn’t considered the issue of last name. Once she was divorced, would she resort to her maiden name? She didn’t see how she could take Colter

since it wasn’t exactly legal to marry more than one man. But at the same time, she wanted to belong to them, didn’t want to be viewed as merely a lover or a girlfriend.

“What are you thinking about, baby?” Adam murmured as he started the engine.

She paused not wanting to admit exactly what had crossed her mind. It seemed presumptuous at best. She hated the insecurity that crept in despite her best efforts to keep it at bay.

She opened her mouth to respond, but couldn’t make the words come out. “Nothing,” she said with a slight stammer.

Adam braked and shoved it into park halfway out of the parking place. “What are you afraid of? What is it you won’t say? You have to know you can tell us anything.”

She swallowed. “It’s ridiculous.”

Adam cupped her chin, rubbing his thumb gently over her jaw. “I hate that you worry so much around us. Now tell me.”

“The whole name thing,” she mumbled. “I just wondered.” “Wondered what?” Ethan asked leaning forward in his seat.

“I kind of liked the idea of being a Colter,” she said, her cheeks flaming. “But I know it isn’t possible.”

“What?” Ryan demanded. He grasped the back of her headrest and pulled himself forward until he met her gaze. “Why isn’t it possible?”

Ethan and Adam also wore questioning expressions.

“I can’t exactly marry all of you. Legally. That is if you’d even want marriage. Oh hell, I’m making a mess of this,” she muttered, closing her eyes.

“Baby, do you doubt how much we want you?”

She hesitated for the briefest of moments then finally shook her head.

“As soon as possible you will have our name,” Adam continued. “Call me old- fashioned, but you belong to us. We want you to be a Colter.”

“But how?”

He smiled at her. “You’re over thinking this, baby. It’s quite simple. You’ll marry one of us in a legal ceremony.”

Her mouth rounded to an O. How stupid of her. That idea had never occurred to her and yet it made perfect sense.

“Hell, I like the idea that she’s finally talking about us in a permanent sense,” Ethan said.

She glanced back at him to see his eyes twinkling. Truth be known, she’d surprised herself. Was she a masochist to jump into another relationship on the heels of extricating herself from her first big disaster?

This wasn’t a mistake. Couldn’t be a mistake. She wouldn’t allow herself to think it.

Adam pulled out of the parking lot and drove off down the street. A few minutes later, he pulled into the lot of a sleek-looking hair salon.

Holly looked over at him in surprise.

He smiled back. “I asked for recommendations. This place came up several times.” She leaned over and kissed him full on the lips then quickly piled out of the Land

Rover.

“Hey, it was my idea to ask,” Ethan grumbled as he slammed the back door.

Holly grinned and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. She walked ahead of them into the salon and was greeted by a cheerful lady who looked to be in her forties.

“I don’t have an appointment,” Holly began. “What’s your name, honey?” the woman asked. “Holly Bar…just Holly,” she said.

The woman jotted down something on a pad of paper then beamed up at Holly. “Well, you’re in luck, Holly. I can take you right now. My name’s Jolene. Come on around and let me get you settled in. Then we’ll talk about what you need done, though I can tell you definitely need some color.”

Holly blinked as the woman herded her around the counter, chattering brightly the entire way. She glanced back at the men who had taken seats in the small waiting area. Adam smiled back at her then winked.

Jolene whipped a cape out and secured it around Holly’s neck then ran her fingers through Holly’s shoulder length hair. “Honey, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you need to fire your stylist. This is one of the worst dye jobs I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

Holly smiled. “I’m afraid I did it. I was in a hurry. Messed it up. Can you fix it?” “Do you want to go blonde?”

“No, I’d like my natural color back.”

Jolene studied the strands of hair in her hands for a minute. “Sure, I can fix it, honey.

Don’t you worry about a thing. Come over to the sink and let me wash it for you.” Several minutes later, Holly sat back in the chair, her hair damp from the washing.

Jolene began combing her hair out and Holly relaxed.

Jolene leaned forward and in a loud whisper said, “Now, honey, I’m not one to pry, but you have to tell me which one of those gorgeous hunks is yours.”

Holly froze, a smile hovering on her lips. For a brief moment, she considered just pointing out one of them, but why should she care what this woman thought of her?

“They all are,” Holly said softly.

Jolene’s brows shot up. “All? Oh honey, tell me you’re joking. Surely no woman is that lucky!” She shot Holly an exaggerated wink in the mirror.

Holly chuckled then blushed. “You’re serious, aren’t you?” Holly nodded.

Jolene shook her head. “Lordy. You have to tell me how you do it. I’d give my eyeteeth for two, much less three men who looked like that.”

Holly stared at her in amazement. There was no shock or outrage in the woman’s voice.

“Well, never mind, honey, you’re obviously telling the truth. Would you look at the way they’re looking at you? Like they could eat you up for lunch.” Jolene sighed wistfully. “There was once a time when a man looked at me like that.”

“What happened?” Holly asked, curious at the longing in the other woman’s voice.

“Oh, we wanted different things. Or at least I thought I did. I just couldn’t accept what was staring me in the face. Lean back, honey, let me get this cotton around your forehead.”

Holly dutifully leaned back and waited for her to continue.

“He finally got tired of waiting, I guess. Took off on his Harley and I never saw him again.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Holly said. “You don’t know how to find him?”

Jolene looked startled. “Well, I never considered trying to find him. Of course, that was years ago. He’s probably married with a passel of kids by now.”

“Maybe,” Holly murmured.

Two hours later, Jolene whirled Holly around in her chair to face the mirror. “There you go, honey. What do you think?”

Holly stared back at her reflection. “It’s me,” she whispered. No streaks of blonde shone in her light brown hair. The ends had been trimmed and the tresses gleamed in the soft light.

Jolene beamed back at her. “I thought you’d like it.”

Holly stood and impulsively hugged the older woman. “Thank you.”

Jolene steered her toward the waiting room. “Go see how your young men like it.” Holly walked over to where the brothers sat. Adam stood and reached for his wallet. “You look beautiful, baby.”

She smiled and ducked her head. She glanced over at Ethan and Ryan who also nodded their approval.

“Want to hit the shops and buy you some clothes?” Ethan asked. “There’s several down this street.”

“I’d like that,” she replied.

She’d also noticed a boutique specializing in lingerie. A small smile curved her lips and she bit the inside of her cheek so as not to betray her thoughts. She’d love to buy a sexy new outfit and surprise them.

Ryan held out her coat for her and she slipped it on. As they walked out, Holly caught Jolene’s eyes, and the hairdresser threw her a saucy wink and a thumbs up.

At first, Holly hurried through the shops, sure that the men would be bored silly watching her clothes shop, but she soon realized they enjoyed seeing her try on new things.

Her last stop was the lingerie store, and she made the excuse that she needed bras. Inside, she picked out two sexy outfits and grinned in delight at the idea of surprising them when they returned home.

When she stepped back out, Ryan and Ethan reached for her bags.

“Adam’s gone over to warm up the Rover,” Ethan explained as they stepped out to cross the street.

They hurried forward. Out of the corner of Holly’s eye, she saw a sedan pull out from where it had been parallel-parked. She blinked in surprise when it barreled out into the street. Straight for them.

Ryan and Ethan were a step in front of her, and she threw all of her weight into their backs, desperate to shove them out of the way. In the distance, she heard Adam shout.

Ryan and Ethan stumbled forward just as the car careened by. Pain exploded in her hip as she felt the hard bumper glance off her leg. She went sprawling, her hands out to brace her fall.

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