Deliverance [Slick Rock 17] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  “Permanently,” Nash answered with a smile.

  “‘Bout fucking time.” Major chuckled. “I’m glad you all decided it was time to get out of the military.”

  “Yeah,” Wilder sighed. “We’ve done our duty and decided it was high time to settle down.”

  “We discussed moving away from Denver a few years back, but we weren’t ready then,” Cree explained.

  “And you are now?” Major quirked an eyebrow.

  “We are,” the Sheffield men answered simultaneously.

  “When you told us how protective the men were of the women and kids here, that just made sense to us,” Wilder said.

  “And being able to have one woman to share between us was the clincher.” Cree shrugged.

  Nash nodded. “When we heard about the polyamorous relationships and how accepting the locals were…”

  “Yeah, I hear ya.” Major grinned. “Have you decided what you want to do now that you’re retired Marines?”

  Wilder cleared his throat. “We were hoping that you’d hire us on, cousin.”

  “You were, were you?” Major sank back into his chair and shook his head. “I can’t see you three being happy ranching. I think you’d be more suited to law enforcement.”

  Wilder glanced at Cree and Nash with a frown. When his identical brothers nodded, he sighed.

  Major sat forward and leaned his elbows on his desk, waiting patiently for his cousins to answer.

  “Major’s right,” Cree said.

  Nash nodded. “I agree.”

  “Hold on a second.” Wilder held up his hand and turned his gaze back to Major. “Have you been checking up on us?”

  “No. Why the hell would you ask that?” Major frowned.

  “Because we just happened to have sat the written and physical tests required to become deputies.” Nash grinned.

  “You did?”

  “We did,” Cree answered.

  “Well, well, well. What a coincidence.” Major said.

  “There’s only one problem.” Wilder bent forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

  “What’s that?” Major asked.

  “We don’t even know if there’s any need for more deputies in Slick Rock.” Nash scrubbed a hand down his face.

  “If I remember rightly, Sheriff Luke Sun-Walker was bitching about how fast this town was growing and his need for more men.” Major tapped his chin. “I could set up a meeting with him if you’d like.”

  “We don’t need to you hold our hands, cousin.” Wilder scowled.

  “I know that.” Major smirked. “How about I take you into town so you can talk to the sheriff.”

  Wilder stood, nodded, and glanced at his watch. “No time like the present, but we’ll follow you. It’s almost lunch time, and after hearing you, Rocco, and Ace rave over what a wonderful chef your woman is, I think we should see if you’re right.”

  “Asshole,” Major said good-naturedly. “You just want to get a look at my woman.”

  Nash chuckled as he followed Wilder toward the office door. “You have us pegged, cousin. We can meet you at the diner after we’ve finished with the sheriff. Save us a seat.”

  “Will do,” Major said. “Rocco and Ace were going to meet me there for lunch anyway.”

  Cree paused on the verandah of the ranch house to meet Major’s gaze. “You’d better make sure you get us a big table then.”

  “I’ll get a booth. We should fit okay since they’re supposed to fit about ten people.”

  “It’ll be a squeeze, but we’ll make do.” Wilder opened the driver’s door to the truck and got in. Cree sat in the front passenger seat and Nash got in the back.

  Major hopped into his truck and headed to town. He was eager to see the love of his life.

  * * * *

  “So you’re Major’s, Rocco’s, and Ace’s cousins?” Sheriff Luke Sun-Walker asked.

  “We are,” Wilder answered. “We retired from the Marines about a month ago, and since we want to stay in Slick Rock permanently we need jobs. We asked Major to hire us on as ranch hands, and while we have nothing against hard farm work and would probably enjoy a change, being in law enforcement would suit us better.”

  “Why is that?”

  “We hate seeing injustice.” Cree shifted in his seat. “We like protecting the innocent. We joined up as soon as we had our high school diplomas and served ten years in the Marines. However, if you don’t have a need for more deputies that’s okay.”

  Luke shook his head. “Slick Rock is growing so fast. I can’t believe how my hometown is booming. You probably saw all the new housing estates close to town. More shops have opened, and the population has more than doubled in the last five years. The surrounding towns and county have exploded, too.”

  “So, what are you saying?” Wilder asked.

  “I need more men. You’ll need to sit the written exam, and while I know y’all are more than up to the task physically, you’ll have to go through the process,” Luke explained.

  Wilder nodded, bent down, and opened the small duffle bag he’d brought with him and dug into it. He pulled out a large yellow envelope, stood, and then moved closer to the desk. “We have everything you need right here.”

  Luke opened the envelope and pulled the papers out. He read over each page before meeting each of their gazes again. “You’ve already passed the tests.”

  “We have.” Cree grinned.

  “We’ve also taken out a short-term lease on a house in one of the new estates.” Nash crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Did you tell Major this? He, Rocco, and Ace are going to be over the moon that you’ll be staying.”

  Wilder shook his head and then nodded. “We told him we wanted to move here permanently, but we haven’t had the chance to tell him we’ve already leased a place.”

  “I’ll need to run a background check on y’all, but I don’t think there’ll be any problems. When can you start?”

  “Today’s Thursday. If you can give us the weekend to finish unpacking and setting things up, we’ll be ready to start on Monday.” Cree glance at his brothers and they nodded.

  “I’ll do the check and let you know within half an hour.” Luke rose.

  “We’re meeting the others at the diner for lunch,” Wilder explained as he shook Luke’s hand.

  “I’ll be over as soon as I have the results.” Luke shook Cree’s and then Nash’s hands. “If everything checks out, are you all okay with starting on the afternoon shift?”

  “We are,” Nash replied.

  “Good. I’ll see you at the diner then.”

  “Thanks for everything, Luke,” Wilder said as he and his brothers headed toward the door.

  “It should be me thanking you.” Luke grinned. “I didn’t really want to go to all the trouble of advertising and interviewing. I don’t have enough time.”

  “So it’s a win-win all round.” Nash nodded.

  “It is,” Luke said. “Be here at 1300 Monday. I’ll have your badges and weapons ready. After y’all fill in the necessary paperwork you can start patrolling.”

  “We’re looking forward to it, boss.” Cree smirked.

  “Me, too,” Luke replied and then waved as Wilder, Cree, and Nash headed out.

  “I can’t wait for lunch”—Nash patted his stomach—“I’m starving.”

  “What happened to the last diner owner?” Wilder asked as he and his identical brothers followed Luke out of the office.

  “She wanted to retire and decided to sell up,” Luke said just before he entered Damon’s office and waved before closing the door.

  * * * *

  “I can’t believe how busy this place is,” Cree said as he glanced about the diner. When he spied Major, Rocco, and Ace in a booth at the far end, he wended his way toward their cousins and scooted along the bench seat. “This place is hopping.”

  “It was always one of the places to be in town,” Major said.

  Rocco nodded. “The diner and the hotel.�
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  Cree reached across to the table to shake Rocco’s and Ace’s hands. “Good to see your ugly mugs again.”

  “Yours, too.” Ace offered his hand to Nash and then Major.

  “What I can’t believe,” Cree began, “is how much Slick Rock has changed. We passed through here a few years back on the way home to Denver.”

  “It hasn’t changed so much. It’s just become bigger and busier.” Rocco leaned back in the booth seat.

  “Here you go,” a young woman said as she placed mugs of coffee in front of Wilder, Cree, and Nash.

  “Thanks, honey,” Nash said.

  “There’s so much atmosphere here now.” Wilder took a sip of coffee as he glanced around. “There is so much happiness and love, it’s almost sickening.”

  “That’s jealousy talking, Bro. We know you want what Major, Rocco, and Ace have just like Cree and I do.” Nash frowned. “Or have you changed your mind?”

  “Hell no!”

  “Welcome to The Diner. My name is Cindy, and I’ll be your server for the day. Are you ready to order?”

  “What would you recommend, Cindy?” Cree winked and smiled at the young waitress.

  Wilder hid his smirk when their server blushed. She was pretty but way too young for him and his brothers. Not that he was attracted to the young woman in any way.

  “Today’s specials are clam chowder with tuna melt mustard toasted sandwiches, tenderloin club sandwich, roast beef and vegetables, chicken parmesan, pulled pork sliders, as well as BBQ and Tennessee ribs, sirloin steak, as well as what’s on the menu.”

  “I’ll have the steak with fries and salad,” Cree said.

  “The chowder sounds good to me.” Wilder smiled.

  “I’ll have the BBQ ribs with fries and salad, thanks,” Nash ordered.

  Major, Rocco, and Ace ordered the steak with peppercorn gravy.

  “Do you want anything else to drink, or would you like more coffee?” Cindy asked.

  “Coffee, thanks, hon,” Wilder replied and everyone else nodded.

  “Coming right up.” Cindy hurried away with their order.

  Luke and the other sheriff, Damon Osborn, entered the diner and added to the order before coming to sit with Cree, his brothers, and his cousins.

  “What did you all order?” Luke asked as he sat across from Cree, Wilder, and Nash. It was a tight fit with eight tall, muscular men, but they managed to squeeze in. Damon sat at Luke’s side and reached across to shake all their hands in greeting.

  After they all replied, Cree asked the question uppermost in his mind. “So, did we check out?”

  “You did.” Luke grinned. “Welcome aboard the Slick Rock Sheriff’s Department.”

  “You’re starting work already?” Major grinned. “Do you have somewhere to stay? You can stay at the ranch if you want.”

  “We’ve already leased and moved into a place,” Nash explained. “We still have a few boxes to unpack and set the place up how we want it, but we’re here to stay.”

  “Fucking A.” Ace nodded. “What made y’all want to move here?”

  Wilder shifted in his seat. “We could hear how happy y’all were when we spoke on the phone last. We’d just completed our last tour and decided it was time to retire. It took us a month to get everything cleared away and sorted, as well as sit the tests, but here we are.”

  Nash leaned forward and said quietly, “We’ve shared a woman between us a time or two, as well, and couldn’t believe how exciting and right it felt. We’re closer than normal siblings since we’re triplets, and we’ve always been attracted to the same women.”

  Cree set his coffee cup down. “We talked about finding a woman to share but didn’t think it was possible since it wasn’t the norm. When you called and told us you were all engaged to the same woman, we couldn’t stay away.”

  “Just make sure you three are in this for the right reasons.” Luke pointed at them. “We don’t take kindly to guys stringing a female on and breaking her heart.”

  Wilder scowled at Luke. “We would never do such a thing. We’re ready to settle down and have kids. The women we were with knew the score. They just wanted a night of fun so they could tell their friends they’d fucked a Marine.”

  Luke held his hands up in a placating gesture. “I didn’t mean to offend. I just wanted to know you were here for the right reasons.”

  “We are,” Nash said.

  “Good. I’m glad that’s settled.” Luke smirked.

  Cree sucked in a ragged breath when he noticed a beautiful white-blonde-haired woman come out from the back of the diner. He held his breath when she walked around the other side of the serving counter and took a seat on one of the stools. His heart flipped in his chest and his cock twitched in his pants. When his lungs began to burn, he released the air and sucked in another breath. “Who is that?”

  “Who?” Damon asked as he glanced over his shoulder.

  “The gorgeous blonde,” Cree answered.

  “Which one?” Damon turned to meet Cree’s gaze, but Cree couldn’t take his eyes off the sexy woman.

  “What do you mean, which one?” He finally managed to drag his gaze from the blonde to look at Damon.

  Luke chuckled. “If you haven’t noticed, Cree, there is more than one blonde in here right now.”

  “The one with the white hair sitting at the counter.”

  “That’s one of the owners. Her name is Lilac Primrose.” Damon smirked.

  “Are you yanking my chain?” Cree asked incredulously.

  “No. That’s her name. Lilac is a part owner of the diner with Delta and Enya,” Major explained.

  Cree wondered if her parents had been hippies or high on drugs when they’d named their baby girl, but as he stared at her, he thought the name fit. He’d seen her pale violet-colored eyes when she’d walked around the counter and figured her folks had named her after the color of her eyes.

  “That is one beautiful piece of womanhood,” Nash whispered.

  “She’s the sexiest fucking woman I’ve ever seen.” Wilder sighed.

  Cree turned his gaze to his brother and quirked an eyebrow in question. He rubbed his hands together with anticipated excitement. Moving closer to their cousins after getting out of the military had been a big decision, but now that he and his brothers were here, he knew their decision had been the right one.

  They’d spent the last ten years serving their country and fighting wars. Now it was time to settle down and start a family. Cree had a feeling that Lilac was the woman he and his brothers had been waiting for.

  Chapter Two

  Lilac shivered when the hair on her nape stood on end. She froze with the spoon halfway to her mouth, trying to decide whether she should turn around and see who was watching her.

  She’d been enjoying the clam chowder, but she dropped the spoon back into the bowl when her stomach began to churn. She was scared to look around and find out who was watching her just in case it was one of the monsters she’d spent ten years of her life with.

  “Are you all right, Lilac?” Enya asked as she restocked the dessert display case.

  “Yes. Just a little tired.”

  “I know how you feel,” Enya said and sighed with tiredness after closing the glass sliding doors on the refrigerated case.

  “Oh. Sorry. I shouldn’t be whining when I know you’ve been up since four making all those delicious-looking muffins, cakes, and pies.”

  “You work just as hard as Delta and I do.” Enya smiled. “You did the late shift last night and you’re back here already. Plus, you’re often up with me helping with the baking. I don’t know how keep going.”

  Lilac shrugged. She didn’t mind the long hours because she loved what she did. However, not being able to sleep through the night without nightmares plaguing her was getting a bit much.

  “Are you having trouble sleeping?” Enya asked.

  Lilac nodded. “A bit.”

  “If you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here. Okay?
”

  “Thank you.” Lilac lowered her gaze back to her lunch, and though she tried to ignore that “being watched” feeling, she was too scared not to know who was staring at her. She turned sideways on her stool as she sipped her unsweetened iced tea and glanced about the room.

  Her heart skipped a beat and her breath backed up in her lungs when she spotted three big men gazing at her. Her heart flipped in her chest and then slammed against her sternum. They all looked identical with black hair and green eyes, and they looked big all over. Even while they were sitting down, she could tell they were tall and their shoulders were so broad they were all touching. They were very muscular, too, and she wondered if they were gym junkies, but it was their handsome faces—the scruff on their jaws—that had her squirming in her seat. She quickly looked away, turned back to her lunch, and stirred the chowder with the spoon.

  “You need to eat that.” Enya pointed to her bowl. “I’ll bet you didn’t even take any time to eat breakfast. Did you?”

  “No.”

  “You’re paler than normal, Lilac. You need to eat more so you don’t get sick. You don’t want to pass out like Delta did, do you?”

  “No.” Lilac sighed and lifted the spoon to her mouth. She’d been enjoying her lunch until she felt eyes on her. Now, because she was so aware of those three handsome, identical men, the chowder tasted like cardboard. Nonetheless, she knew Enya was right. She needed to keep up her strength.

  Food had been the only constant in her life, and while she could have turned away from cooking after having to cook for those horrible people all the time, it was all she knew. And she liked being able to make up delicious dishes for others to enjoy.

  Even though she’d been free and virtually on her own since she was fifteen years old, she liked that she was finally making friends again. When she’d first landed in Slick Rock, she’d thought she’d ended up in another living nightmare. If it hadn’t been for the fact that she’d signed a three-month lease, Lilac would have hightailed it out of town as soon as she saw the unusual relationships. Thankfully, she’d had a binding contract and she’d been able to see that the people in this growing rural town weren’t anything like the monsters she’d lived with.