Chapter Ten

"Are you sure you don't need another set of hands?" Nic asked as Josh pulled the truck up in front of the motel.

"I have no idea how long it's going to take, baby." Grim slid out of the back seat.

He'd insisted she take the front when they'd gotten called out on another bovine emergency. This time Grim had to drive about forty minutes out of town to deal with more of whatever bug seemed to be hitting the cattle population of Willow Fork and its surrounding area.

"But I wish you would stay at our place." Josh had made his preferences clear.

Nic was sure if he'd had time he would have argued further, but Grim insisted on getting out to the Settleman's ranch as soon as possible. Apparently time was of the essence. "All my stuff is here, and I have to go to the mechanic's shop tomorrow morning anyway. I've been fine at this motel for weeks."

"You could be more fine at our place," Josh insisted. "You can grab your things and we'll drive Grim out and then I'll take you home."

She wasn't going to argue with him. It would be hours and hours on the road when he should be helping his brother. "I have to work tomorrow if I'm going to go to Austin with you this weekend. Leaving Christa down a server for the weekend isn't a great look for me. So I better not be late to the shifts I'm actually working. Or do we want to cancel the Austin trip?"

Josh frowned her way, his eyes narrowing. "Oh, we're going to Austin."

That sounded like a threat, but it was one she didn't take too seriously. Josh didn't like having his seemed-reasonable-to-him advice rejected. He would get over it.

Or not. Sometimes it was hard to remember that they had an end date and it was rapidly approaching. The idea of staying with them at their place until she needed to leave had been tempting, but she still had to work. For the week or so it would take to fix her car now that she had the cash, she would have to earn some more. Every dime she had was being spent on the car. She would need money to get out of Willow Fork.

"Hey, maybe you should come with us." Grim opened her car door and held a hand out to help her down.

"Or maybe I should stay with her," Josh offered.

Nic shook her head. "Absolutely not. Grim needs you. I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow. I work the lunch shift, so I get off at 5:30." Wow, she was being presumptive. The night seemed to have gone well with their parents. She'd spent hours talking to Abby and Olivia about books. They'd sat out on the patio and had a couple of glasses of wine while the men watched the evening football game. She'd been ready to explain all the reasons she needed to go back here when they'd rushed in and hustled her out. "I mean if you want to see me. You might not have time tomorrow, which is fine."

"I'll pick you up at 5:30. We'll go to dinner and talk about what we're going to do in Austin," Josh said.

Grim's eyes rolled as he pulled her close. "He'll have us at the diner for lunch. We'll see you soon, baby. And keep your cell charged this time. I want you to call us if anything happens here. I know you've been okay so far, but this is not a safe area. I hate leaving you."

If she didn't move this along, she might find herself tied up in the back of the truck, Grim carrying her around like luggage at his house call. Nope. She wasn't ready for that yet.

She went on her toes and kissed him. "Good night. I had a great time with the family."

"You fit right in," Grim whispered. "I knew you would."

She moved back, though she didn't want to. She wanted to stay wrapped in those strong arms. Grim was a big old teddy bear. Under his brooding exterior there was the sweetest, kindest man. "Have a good night."

"Nic," Josh called out. Josh was opposite his brother. Josh looked like the all-American, happy-go-lucky cowboy. But there was a darkness to him. She couldn't explain it any other way. In this case she didn't view the darkness as dangerous. There wasn't any evil in Josh. There was a deep willingness to take on the bad things of the world, an eagerness, almost. He would slay the dragons and enjoy the process. "You lock the door. I'm not going anywhere until I'm sure you're locked in, and if anything happens and you don't call us…"

"Yeah. My ass will be red. Promises, promises." No, he didn't scare her, and that was the scariest thing of all.

She strode to the door as she heard Grim climb into the seat she'd vacated. She waved as she used her key and let herself in, locking the door firmly behind her.

It was more than a minute before the truck pulled out of the parking lot.

Likely because they'd argued about whether they should go at all. The woman who ended up with those two men would likely be driven crazy by their overprotectiveness.

She would also be loved and coddled and tied up and spanked and given so many orgasms, life made sense for once.

Nic took a long breath. It wouldn't be her, and there was no use in wallowing in that knowledge tonight. She had a spectacular weekend to look forward to.

And she had a new book. Abby had given her a copy of the latest Alexis Ann O'Malley novel. It was something called an ARC. She wasn't sure. All she knew was that this sucker wasn't even supposed to be out for three months, and then she'd have to find a library that had a copy and get on their waiting list.

But no. She got to read it now. Tonight.

She turned and stopped because something wasn't right. She'd closed the bathroom door. She was sure of it. She remembered doing it.

Housekeeping was once a week. This wasn't some fancy hotel. Most people stayed either by the hour or the week. If she wanted towels, she went to the office and someone gave them to her.

So if the bathroom door was open it was because someone had been in here.

Someone had been in her room.

Had she closed the door?

Yes. She'd turned off the lights and closed the door because she wanted to deal with as little space as she needed to. She didn't want to walk in and worry about someone rushing out of the bathroom. At least with the door closed, she might hear it opening. It was why she ensured all the closet doors were closed as well. Why she checked the windows to make sure they were locked and placed a chair under the door handle every night except the previous one.

When Josh and Grim had been here she'd felt perfectly safe.

She didn't feel that way now.

A cold streak of anxiety rushed across her spine. Was someone in the bathroom? Were they waiting in there for her to investigate so they could catch her?

It had been years, and she'd almost decided that the Holloway family had forgotten about her. She hadn't searched for them online or tried to keep up with what was happening in Childswood. It felt like if she did that, she was opening herself to trouble.

The cops wouldn't be hiding in a bathroom.

But the men her husband had owed money to might.

Or she was being paranoid and she'd only thought she'd left the bathroom door closed.

A knock caused her to jump, barely stifling a scream by clasping her hand over her mouth.

"Nicole? You in there?" a feminine voice asked.

Relief flooded through her. She wasn't alone. She threw open the door and Heather stood there looking solid and secure. There was something about the woman that screamed competence. "Hey."

Heather's blue eyes widened. "Honey, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost. Please tell me this place isn't haunted because I could believe that."

Nic glanced back. "I thought I closed the bathroom door. I guess I'm being paranoid."

"I'll go check it for you." Heather walked in and strode to the bathroom door.

"You don't have to," Nic began.

"It's okay. I check my room every time I walk in," Heather assured her. "It's not paranoia. It's smart when you're staying in a place like this. Anywhere, really. It's not like women at the Hilton are immune to attackers."

Heather disappeared behind the door, the light coming on. It was only a few seconds before she reappeared. "Nothing. No one lurking behind the shower curtain. I always check there. Always. Too many horror movies."

"I'm sorry. I was sure I'd closed it."

"I saw maintenance walking around earlier," Heather offered. "Well, I saw a dude in overalls with a toolkit. And I overheard the manager complaining about the fire marshal coming out next week to check that they're up to code. It could have been that. They have the right to come into the room for maintenance."

She didn't like the thought, but it explained the situation. "That makes sense."

"You okay? You were gone all day. I wanted to make sure that cowboy didn't break you."

"Break me?"

"In the best of ways," she replied with a grin. "He reminds me of a lot of the guys I know. I hang out with a lot of cowboys and ex-military men. They can be awfully possessive, if you know what I mean."

"Well, he did toss me over his shoulder when I didn't come with him."

"I got the feeling you didn't mind that. Should I have protested?"

"No. That's kind of Josh's love language." And Grim's was tying her up and feeding her treats. "I'm sorry for freaking out. I've been in bad positions before."

"It's okay." Heather put a hand on her shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it? Sometimes that helps. When I was younger, I had this guy who decided he owned me. I thought we were friends. He wanted something more and wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Yeah, I know the type. He ever hit you?"

Heather nodded. "Yep. He shot me once."

Nic felt her jaw drop. "He shot you?"

Heather dropped the left shoulder of the robe she wore, revealing a tank top and the beginnings of an old scar right above her breast. "Well, he didn't do it himself, but I totally blamed him for it. When he was stalking me, I assure you I checked every bathroom. All I'm saying is I know what a bad relationship looks like, and I would say you've had one in the past."

Nic sniffled, the events of the day coming down on her. Would it be so terrible to talk to someone? Heather seemed nice, and it wasn't like she would see her after she left Willow Fork. "I was married to a man who enjoyed hurting me. Now I'm dating a couple of guys who are into spanking and I like it. Is that perverse? Shouldn't I be afraid of them?"

Abby wouldn't be able to give her an outsider's opinion. Neither would Olivia. They were both too invested in the lifestyle. She definitely wouldn't talk about this with her boss. It would be too weird. But maybe she could open up to Heather.

"What you are describing is two completely different things." Heather sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I don't know. I've heard the word control used a lot. That's what Micah was trying to do," Nic said quietly, admitting her fears. That Josh and Grim's sweetness was a front, and they would turn into something else. Something hard, something that would drain her until she was a husk of her former self.

Like her sister-in-law had been.

Heather seemed to think about the situation for a moment. "Control is the object of the abuser. Your husband used pain and terror to control you. In the case of that cowboy, I would bet control is a tool for him. Control is a way to enhance… Are we talking about sex?"

Nic felt herself flush. "We don't have to."

Heather seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "I'm more than happy to. I only wanted to make sure we're on the same page. So they like to play games?"

Nic nodded. "But what if the games are to set me up for something else?"

"What if they're just there to enhance your pleasure? To explore the relationship in a way a lot of couples never do?"

"Micah was sweet in the beginning," Nic admitted. "He didn't hit me until after we got married. I didn't have anyone to talk to back then. I was scared, and I believed him the first time when he said he was sorry and wouldn't do it again."

Heather patted the place beside her. "How old were you when you got married?"

"Twenty-one," Nic replied, sitting down. Heather was easy to talk to, and she wasn't as worried about screwing up like she had earlier when she'd mentioned Childswood. Heather was just the woman next door. She wouldn't think about delving into Nic's history. "My parents weren't around, so I suppose I was desperate for a family. They had money, so it felt like security. I still don't know why he picked me."

"Picked you? To marry?"

"Yeah. There were so many other women, and if he didn't love me, I don't know why he would pick me." It was something she thought about a lot. Why out of all the women he'd known had he picked her?

"Maybe it was because he knew you didn't have anyone else," Heather pointed out. "Did you have any friends at the time?"

She thought about her friends from time to time. Not that there had been many. "Yes, but I kind of lost touch with them after we started dating."

Heather nodded as though she knew what came next. "Because he wanted you in his world. He was a predator, and he was looking for the perfect prey. So he did what he needed to do to separate you from your support systems."

"Not that I had much of one, but yes, I had a few friends. And I didn't call them when things went bad because it had been too long. And I was ashamed." She hadn't been able to pick up the phone and admit how wrong she'd been, how she'd let Micah take over her entire life. "He did a great job of isolating me."

"Watch the new guys," Heather advised. "I would bet they won't do anything to keep you away from friends. I would bet they would be as protective of your friends as they are of you. At least that's what I heard. I might have asked around about them."

They were great guys, but the truth was she'd screwed up so long ago. "It doesn't matter. I'm not staying."

"You going to explore more of the world?" Heather asked.

"Something like that." She should stick to what she'd told the rest of Willow Fork. "I have a job coming up. I won't have much time for socializing. That's why I shouldn't worry about falling into some trap they're laying. I think I'm going to get all the good stuff and escape before anything bad can happen."

She said the words with a jaunty smile, but it was easy to see Heather wasn't buying it.

"Or you could understand that the past isn't a road map of the future. You could give it a shot. Like I said, I asked around about Josh after this morning. He seems like a good man to know. His family is influential."

She'd been down that road. "So was Micah's."

"All right, Josh's family seems beloved," Heather corrected. "I heard a lot of crap about their lifestyle, but almost everyone had something nice to say about them. They have helped this community a lot. I heard something about one of the kids in town getting into legal trouble and Josh bailing them out and helping his family find the resources he needed. And apparently his brother is some kind of grumpy saint who heals all animals. They don't sound like bad guys."

"They're not. His family is great." She'd started the evening intimidated by Jack Barnes, but he was nothing more than an older version of Josh. Calm. In control. Ready to protect his family.

Would he protect his family from her?

"All I'm saying is it seems like a relationship you might want to pursue," Heather said.

Nic shook her head. "No. I'm having fun. Nothing more." She wasn't, but she had to start wrapping her head around this fact. She was leaving. She wasn't the magical one for them. "I don't think I could handle two men long term. How can any woman?"

"Happens more often than you would think," Heather murmured. "There are whole towns of trios. Or so I've heard. Anyway, I wanted to check on you. I don't suppose you want some company. I know it's late, but…"

"I would love some." She didn't want to be alone. It didn't matter that there was a decent explanation for why the door had been open. She was still anxious. She still felt like someone was watching her.

"Cool, because something is going on in the room next to mine and while I have decided that it's consensual, I don't need to hear it." Heather made herself comfortable.

Nic went and locked the door. It was nice to have some company.

* * * *

Grim glanced down at the clock and was happy he hadn't done what he'd wanted to and tied up Nic and brought her along. Maybe not tied her up but made her stay close. It was three in the morning, and he was exhausted. And covered in stuff she would not find sexy. Nope. Maybe he needed to keep some parts of his job hidden from her. To maintain a certain mystique. Let her think he sat around giving puppies vaccinations rather than spending most of his time with his hand in some part of a cow it shouldn't have to go in. Doctors wore delicate gloves that covered their hands. Vets ended up with a full-on sleeve to protect them because they were almost always more than elbow deep.

"She seems stable," Josh said, yawning behind his hand.

"Yes, she does." Gail Settleman wore jeans and a sweater, her hair piled high on her head. "She looks like she's been seen by a proper vet who knows what he's doing and not some weird psycho who wants to pray over her." That bit was said toward her father. She turned back to Josh and Grim. "Not that I don't believe the Lord can work miracles. But I think he also expects us to be sensible enough to use the tools we've been given."

It had taken him some time to piece together the fact that he wasn't entirely welcome here. Which was odd. When he and Josh had finally made it out to the ranch, Gail had been waiting with her father, Tom, hanging around in the background, watching him like a hawk. One of their hands had been there waiting to help out along with Gail, but Tom hung back. Usually he was a hands-on kind of guy and they seemed to get along.

"She does seem better," Tom allowed.

"Is there something wrong?" Josh crossed his arms over his chest, frowning Tom's way. "You know you can always find another vet if you don't like how he works."

Grim closed the big leather medical bag his par…Jack and Sam and Abby had given him during his last year in school. It was expensive and well crafted. Made to last. He would be hauling this thing around when he was eighty. Of course if Josh did too much of the protective big-brother routine, he might not have a job at all. "It's fine. It's late and we're all tired."

Gail paled, ignoring him completely and making her plea to Josh. "No. I adore Grim. He's the best. Don't mind my father. There's not another large animal vet for miles. We're so grateful to have Grim." She finally turned his way, a pleading look in her eyes. "We wouldn't know what to do without you."

"And I'm grateful to have the work." He still wasn't sure what was going on.

There was a subtext he was missing. Maybe it was because he was so damn tired.

Maybe it was because now that he'd gotten through the crisis, all he cared about was Nicole. If it wasn't so late, he would stop back by her room and make her pack up for the night. But he suspected he would definitely be the asshole if he woke her up and made her drive twenty minutes to get to their place, and then she would have to get up early to work her shift and he would have to drive her twenty minutes back.

She should move in and they could find her a job with the company. Then he didn't have to worry about her being in that rattrap motel. If he could get her a good enough job, he might not have to worry about her leaving Willow Fork at all.

And he'd proven his point because he'd meant to try to figure out why Tom seemed so distant with him.

Josh's eyes narrowed, proving he was still working on the problem. "Tom, you been listening to rumors? I thought you left that church of Ezekiel's."

Damn it. He should have known. His stepfather was busy at work trying to undermine him in any way he could.

Sometimes he wondered what the hell he'd done to the man beyond wanting to have his own life, besides thinking for himself. "What's he saying about me now?"

Gail looked toward her father, her mouth a flat line. "You want to tell him what all you old men are talking about down at the senior center? Want to admit the nasty rumors you told me? Go on, Dad. You always told me I should never say something about a person if I wasn't willing to say it to their face."

Tom's whole body went tight.

"Yeah, I'd like to hear it." Josh's tone was glacial.

Someone needed to dial the tension back. He knew how his stepfather worked, and Tom was of a mind-set that certain rumors could worry him. His daughter, while religious, wasn't superstitious and didn't believe Satan was around every corner. But there was a harder, more old-school bedrock to Tom's faith that hadn't been instilled in him by the Willow Fork Presbyterian Church. "Tom, what did he tell you? Did he say that the cattle getting sick is God's judgment on us? Particularly you, for being too tolerant of sin?"

Gail's head fell back and she groaned as she looked her father's way. "Your prejudice is going to cost us the best big animal vet we've ever had. Grim, I…"

"Gail, it's okay. Let me talk to him." He gentled his voice, the same way he would around an anxious animal. "I know you don't agree with my lifestyle or the way the Barnes-Fleetwood family chooses to live, but do you honestly think God is punishing you for not… What exactly do you think he's punishing you for?"

Tom's expression went mulish. "Your stepdaddy was pointing out that God has rules and when we don't follow them, he punishes us. Like in the Bible."

"He sent his only begotten son to earth so he wouldn't have to punish us anymore." If there was one book Grim knew backward and forward it was the Bible. It had been the only book he'd been allowed to read from the ages of twelve to sixteen. "Our sins are forgiven through him. No need for the Almighty to hurt some cows to make a point. This was a problem with the alfalfa. We all get ours from the same place, and that's why we're all having this problem. It was contaminated with blister beetles."

Tom's eyes went wide with understanding. "Oh, no. I'm glad I didn't give that to the horses."

Because the toxins associated with the beetles was almost always deadly to horses, but cattle and sheep handled it better. "We're going to help you dispose of any leftover alfalfa, and I'll file all the forms so the feed store will replace the feed, and they'll handle my bills since this was their responsibility. But I don't want you to worry about anything but taking care of your herd. I'll work with Gail to make sure everything gets done."

Tom sighed, and his hands found his pockets. "I'm sorry, Grim. Your stepdaddy is a powerful preacher."

"Of hate," Gail said under her breath.

"I didn't know about the beetles," Tom admitted. "And one of your brothers mentioned that you might…well…you might be trying to wrangle up some business."

Josh cursed but Grim stayed calm. Of course they had. If he wondered what he'd done to his stepfather, he definitely wasn't sure what he'd done to his brothers.

Josh was his brother now. Olivia was his sister. He'd love to see someone try to tell Olivia they were kicking one of her brothers out of their home.

But then Olivia had been raised in love. Maybe that was the difference. His brothers hadn't been strong enough to withstand the constant wear down their stepfather had given them. They'd been torn down to their basic forms and rebuilt into something Ezekiel Smith wanted them to be. Grim hadn't. He'd been stronger—and it was strength, he realized now. It wasn't stubbornness or stupidity. It was strength. It was the will his biological dad had wanted him to have, had gifted to him.

"Tom," Josh began.

But this battle wouldn't be won with intimidation. This was a battle that could only be won with kindness. He gestured for Josh to let him handle it. "Tom, I promise on the soul of my father—my real father—that I would never harm an animal or put one in danger for any amount of money. I believe in what I do. I'm sorry if they said those things about me, but they are not true. All I can ask you to do is look back at my actions and watch what I do going forward."

"Like you'll come back around," Tom said with a defeated shake of his head.

"I'll be back by tomorrow to check on your herd," Grim promised. "And if you need anything at all, I'm a phone call away. If you're worried I'm harming your herd in any way, I'll find another vet to come out here for you."

"Why would you do that?" Tom asked.

"Because he's a freaking saint," Josh grumbled.

Poor Josh. He wanted to kick some ass in defense of his family, and no one let him do it. "Because I'm a vet and I won't let my clients down. No matter what Ezekiel says. What I've figured out recently is that my time with that man was an aberration. I had a great dad. He taught me a lot, but he died. And then I found two other dads who loved me for no other reason than the fact that I needed love. They taught me I'm capable of anything, including caring about people who don't care about me."

Tom's eyes came up, and there was a sheen to them. "Damn, Grim. I'm sorry. You should know they're talking about you."

"No one else believes them," Gail said, her eyes rolling.

But there would be others. At least he seemed to have fixed things with Tom. He would have done that for Gail's sake alone. Gail had always supported him, had helped him ease into the community after he graduated and finished his internship. "It doesn't matter. I'm going to clean up, and I'll get that paperwork done in the morning, if you don't mind."

"We appreciate everything you've done," Gail said quietly. "You come clean up in the big house when you're ready. I've got a batch of cookies and a bottle of rum I brought back from my cruise last week for such an occasion. I'll make a basket for you boys. And I'll throw in a sampler of that hand lotion I was telling your momma about on Sunday."

Gail started up the long walk to the big house.

"Sorry, Grim." Tom tipped his hat. "We do thank you."

He followed his daughter.

Josh stared after them. "Your stepfather is heading for trouble."

Grim started to pack up. "It's nothing he hasn't tried before and nothing I can't handle. You do not have to bring the dads into this."

Josh turned slightly his way. "You're no fun. You know Dad hasn't recently eviscerated anyone in a metaphorical fashion. He's getting antsy."

"He can stay antsy." He wasn't putting Jack Barnes in the line of fire. "Ignore them and they'll find someone else to hate on."

Not for long, but he'd had respites when Ezekiel decided Taylor Swift was in league with Satan and needed to be brought down with a carefully thought-out social media post. Or a completely unhinged one that should get him on a couple of watch lists.

"At some point the man's going to push this too far, and you need to understand I won't let you get hurt," Josh vowed.

But it wasn't tonight. "If he ever gets dangerous again, I'll let you and the dads handle him. For now, let's get cleaned up. I've got a mountain of paperwork to do, and I have to get it all ready because I'm not working while we're in Austin with our sub."

In a few days, he wouldn't have to think about anything except her.

He was looking forward to some peace.