Saving Emily (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  She finally remembered to answer Cole, “Thanks, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “What’s not a good idea?” Adam asked as he entered the kitchen.

  “I just suggested Emily eat her meals here with us since her brother is always out,” Cole explained.

  “That’s a great idea. Why not eat with us, baby girl, and save yourself a bit of work?” Adam asked.

  Even though she didn’t want them to find out what was going on, she really liked the idea of eating with them. When Chris took off to God knows where she hardly ever bothered cooking for herself and most of the time just ate a sandwich. She always made more than enough food for the McCade men so she didn’t have to worry about there not being any for her to eat. Plus it would be good to have some company at night. She got so damn lonely. Chris was out more often than not and she hated being alone all the time.

  “Okay, thanks.” She finally relented, looking forward to having someone to talk to other than herself at nighttime. She was going to have to make sure they didn’t figure out that she was attracted to them.

  “Don’t thank us, Em, grab a plate and sit down. You always make more than enough food,” Cole said and smiled at her.

  Emily retrieved a plate and sat at the table with the two McCade brothers. She listened as they talked about the work to be done on the ranch and what they planned to do the next day. It was nice and she hoped she could spend more time with them, getting to know them better. She just hoped that Chris didn’t go into one of his fits if he found out she’d eaten at their place. He could be so damn unreasonable sometimes and she had no idea why he got angry over the stupidest things.

  After they’d all finished eating, she cleaned everything and put the dishwasher on, then set the coffee brewing. When she was done, she walked into the living room.

  “I’m finished for the night, Cole, Adam. I’ll be heading off now. See you in the morning.” Emily waved and turned away.

  “Hold on, Em. I’ll walk you back to your cabin.” Cole pushed to his feet and walked toward her.

  “That’s not necessary. I’m a big girl.”

  “I know how old you are, Emily. I just don’t think it’s right for you to be walking back to your cabin by yourself.”

  Emily rolled her eyes and left through the back door with Cole following close behind. When he caught up to her and walked beside her she could feel his eyes on her, but she kept her gaze straight ahead. A shiver wracked her spine and goose bumps formed over her skin, and the reaction had nothing to do with the cool night air and everything to do with the sexy, handsome man walking so close to her.

  “Emily, is there something bothering you? You haven’t seemed yourself lately.”

  Emily kept her eyes averted. “No, not really.”

  “You know if you have any problems or just wish to talk to someone, Adam and I are here for you.”

  Emily heard the concern in Cole’s voice and tears of emotion burned the back of her eyes, but she couldn’t let anyone know what was going on. She was just too ashamed. Maybe she had done something to warrant Chris’s reaction.

  “Um…yeah. Thanks, Cole, but I’m fine.” Emily met his gaze as she stopped on the porch to her and Chris’s cabin. It put her on eye level with him and she shifted uncomfortably as he scrutinized her face with narrowed eyes. It was really hard to try and keep her face expressionless but she did the best she could. She nearly sighed with relief when he turned away.

  “See you in the morning, Emily.”

  “‘Night, Cole.” She watched him until she could barely see him but didn’t go inside until she saw him walk up the verandah steps of the ranch house and then disappeared inside before she entered the cabin.

  “Where the fuck have you been?” Chris yelled as soon as she entered.

  “I was with Cole and Adam. They asked me to eat with them since you never seem to be around. Where do you go, Chris? What are you doing?”

  Chris stalked toward her, fury emanating from him as he stood practically on top of her.

  “Mind your own fucking business. What I do is no concern of yours.” Chris eyes were blazing with anger.

  Emily slowly backed away from him, wondering why he was so angry but too afraid to ask.

  “Okay, sorry. I’m worried about you. I love you. You’re the only family I have left.” Emily turned away to head for her bedroom but an unexpected punch to her back, between her shoulder blades, nearly sent her flying. She cried out with pain as she stumbled, barely staying on her feet. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked over her shoulder at her brother.

  “If I wanted you to know what I was doing, I would tell you. Go to your fucking room,” Chris yelled.

  Emily sobbed as she slammed her bedroom door behind her. She didn’t stop crying as she took a quick shower and then got into bed. She tossed and turned because her back was throbbing where Chris had punched her. He’d had a crazed look in his eyes.

  What is wrong with him?

  He’d never hit her before, just squeezed her arm hard enough to leave bruises, and more than once.

  Emily cried herself to sleep.

  Her eighteenth birthday dawned on a Saturday. Chris was out again. He hadn’t come home the night before, so she was all alone. Since it was the weekend, she didn’t have to prepare Cole and Adam’s breakfast. After showering and dressing, she made herself a couple of pancakes and sat looking at them with tears streaming down her face. She missed her parents so much.

  It had been just over a year since they had been killed by a drunk driver, and even though there was a huge hole in her heart, she could remember them now without breaking down into tears most days.

  Deciding that being morbid on her birthday was not a good thing, Emily spent the day cleaning the cabin and washing clothes. When nightfall came, she started getting worried when there was still no sign of Chris. She was just about to make herself a sandwich for her dinner, but was interrupted when someone knocked on her door. She was surprised to see Cole and Adam on her doorstep when she opened the door.

  “Happy birthday, Emily,” Cole said as he leaned down and kissed her cheek.

  “Happy birthday, baby girl,” Adam said and kissed her other cheek.

  Emily felt a blush rise to her cheeks. “Thanks, guys.”

  “Where’s Chris?” Cole asked.

  “Um... ah. He went out.”

  “He left you alone on your eighteenth birthday? That’s not very nice,” Cole said as he scrutinized her face.

  “He had plans already, I guess.”

  “Well, we don’t want you to miss out celebrating your birthday so grab a jacket, sweetheart. Adam and I are taking you out.”

  “I probably should stay here in case Chris comes back.”

  “Why don’t you leave a note for him, baby? That way if he does come back, he’ll know not to worry,” Adam suggested.

  Emily smiled as excitement filled her belly. She really, really wanted to go out with them. “Are you sure you want to do this? You don’t have to take me out.”

  “We want to, Emily.” Cole gently gripped her shoulders, turned her around and gave her a gentle slap on the ass. “Go grab a jacket, sweetheart. We have a table booked for dinner.”

  Emily had a great time that night. It was the best time of her life, sharing a meal with two handsome cowboys.

  * * * *

  Six years later

  Emily reflected back to the night of her eighteenth birthday.

  When Cole had asked her to dance with him, he’d pulled her against his body. Emily had felt as if she were floating on a cloud. Adam had danced with her, too, and that night so long ago was when she realized that she had fallen in love with the two McCade men. The night had ended way too soon, but she had spent the last six years looking back and remembering what a great time she’d had. The McCade men had made it sort of a tradition spending each and every birthday with her. They were very special men and she loved them so much.

  Emily just w
ished that they would see her as more than their cook and friend, but she didn’t see that happening any time soon, and it broke her heart. But at least she got to see and spend every day with them.

  She didn’t think she could survive if she never got to see them at all.

  She just wished she knew what was making Chris so angry all the time. He’d become more and more violent each year, and now she was scared to be alone with him, but there was no way in hell she was going to tell anyone about her brother’s problems. He could end up getting fired and she was scared she would, too.

  Just that morning he’d had another of his fits. He’d come up behind her as she was closing the stall door after she’d finished grooming one of the horses, but she hadn’t known he was there until he’d slammed the door against her arm. She been in too much pain to even cry out and had just stared at him with bewildered horror and tears running down her face. When she’d met his angry gaze, she’d noticed that his eyes looked glazed over and his pupils were dilated.

  Emily really wished she could talk to someone and ask for help but she was scared of her brother’s reaction if he found out she’d been talking about him, so she kept her mouth shut and just got on with her work.

  Maybe one day soon he would wake up and realize what he was doing and she’d have her loving, caring older brother back.

  Chapter Two

  Emily had just placed a tray of lasagna on the stove to cool slightly when she felt warm, muscular arms wrap around her waist. Jumping in fright, she let out a squeal.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, baby,” Adam said as he plastered his body against her back. It was really hard to not lean back against him and savor being in his arms, or the warmth emanating from his body, but she held herself straight and looked at him over her shoulder. “That sure smells good, Em.”

  She had to clear her throat before she could speak. Adam was driving her crazy with lust by touching her at every opportunity. She couldn’t work out if he was just being friendly or if he was flirting with her. When he moved away she sighed quietly and relaxed a little.

  “Thanks, Adam. Why don’t you take a seat while I finish up the salad? Then you can eat,” she said without looking at him. Her heart was pounding so hard it was a wonder Adam couldn’t hear it. Feeling liquid warmth pool in her lower abdomen, she breathed deeply trying to quell the desire coursing through her as she concentrated on what she was doing.

  Cole entered the kitchen and took his place at the table. He seemed to be watching her like a hawk. She just hoped he didn’t have an inkling about what was going on in her life outside of work, because she had a feeling that if he did, then the shit would definitely hit the fan. She brought the food over and sat down but as she stared at the lasagna her stomach roiled. She squirmed in her seat and then looked up to meet Cole’s gaze.

  “What?”

  “You’re not eating much lately, Em, and you’re too quiet. What’s wrong?” Cole asked.

  “Nothing.” Emily kept her eyes lowered as she stared at the table.

  “You know you can talk to us about anything don’t you, baby?” Adam asked.

  “Yeah. Thanks guys. I guess I’m just a little tired. It’s been a long week.”

  “Where does your brother head off to all the time?” Cole asked.

  Emily didn’t know so she couldn’t answer, and ended up shrugging her shoulders.

  “Doesn’t he talk to you, Em?” Adam asked.

  “Not much. He says he’s too busy. Always off doing something.”

  “Do you have any idea what?” Cole asked.

  “No,” Emily replied with a sigh. She kept her head down and to her horror, her eyes filled with tears. She should have known that they would notice.

  “Come here, sweetheart,” Cole said holding a hand out to her.

  Emily pushed back from the table and grabbed onto his outstretched hand. Cole pulled her down on to his lap, hugging her into his body. He was running his hands up and down her back and she couldn’t contain a flinch at the pain. Cole nudged her chin up and even though she didn’t want to look into his gorgeous blue eyes, she couldn’t seem to help herself.

  * * * *

  It nearly broke Cole’s heart to see tears on her cheeks and the sadness in her eyes. He wanted to know what was going on with her, but every time he or Adam asked, she clammed up or changed the subject. But he was sick of her avoidance and he wasn’t going to let her continue to ignore them.

  “Emily, are you hurt? I noticed you flinched when I touched your back,” Cole asked with concern.

  “No. I’m okay.” Emily glanced away before meeting his gaze again and he knew she was lying, but he couldn’t work out why. “I pulled a muscle in my back as I pulled the lasagna from the oven. I’m fine, Cole.”

  “If you’re sure, Em.” Cole didn’t want to push too hard since he didn’t want her walking out of the house again. She’d done it before, especially when she was younger. Now that she was older, he and Adam wanted to have a relationship with her, but she was skittish around them and the other ranch hands, so they were going to have to be really careful with her. She was a timid little thing and never even left the ranch except when he or Adam took her shopping for food.

  It felt so right to have her in his arms. He wanted to be able to hold her each and every night and he wanted to be able to make love with her, but she had no idea how he and Adam felt about her.

  When she and her lazy-assed brother had come to live on their ranch she’d looked so sad and lonely but after her grief at losing her parents had lessened, she’d started to smile and laugh more. But a few years back she’d begun to change again. She became quieter and more introverted and hardly spoke at all. Of course he and his brother had tried to talk to her and get her to talk with them but she’d always said that she was fine. If he hadn’t seen the frightened look in her eyes he would have pushed harder, but the last thing he wanted was to scare her more.

  He really wanted to know what she was afraid of and help her get over her fear, but he couldn’t do that unless she opened up with him, with them. He and Adam had begun watching her more to make sure that none of the ranch hands had been bothering her, but he’d never seen any of them treating her with anything other than respect.

  Cole was still a little wary of Chad though. His ranch foreman had asked Emily out before she’d even turned eighteen, but he’d put a stop to that right quick. There had been no way in hell he would let one of his men date Emily, especially when she had been underage. He had told himself back then that it had nothing to do with him being jealous, but eventually he and Adam had both admitted to their attraction to her. It had been really hard to keep their distance emotionally as well as physically while she was growing up, but they would never have approached her while she was underage. As far as he was concerned now that she was over twenty-two all bets were off. He just hoped that Emily liked them as much as he and Adam liked her.

  He had often caught her eying him and Adam when she hadn’t been aware he was watching her and had seen hunger in her eyes, but he wanted more than physical attraction with her. Cole wanted marriage and kids but before they could make a move they needed to let her know what they wanted.

  Sometimes he wondered if she would think they were too old for her. Cole was eight years older than Em and Adam was six years older. Emily had turned twenty-five three months ago and was a grown woman.

  She was so damn gorgeous with her blonde hair, blue eyes, and curvy little body. He was walking around with a boner half the time and he was sure he had a case of blue balls. Cole wasn’t sure if he could hold off with her any longer. Not that he really wanted to, but she was innocent.

  The only date that she’d been on was with him and Adam. They took her out to dinner on her birthday every year and spent hours holding her in their arms and dancing with her. He just wished he could do that every day. Hopefully soon they would be able to.

  Emily had a heart of gold and never had a bad word to say
against anyone. Not even her asshole of a brother.

  That didn’t mean she didn’t have a temper though. Cole loved watching her when she had her dander up. Her eyes glittered when she was angry and she was so damn passionate, but that seemed to be the only time there was fire in her eyes.

  More often than not lately her eyes had a sad lackluster sheen to them and she was as skittish as hell. He wanted to know what had changed to cause her to react that way.

  Cole pulled himself back to the present as Emily pushed off his lap and went back to her own seat. “Are you okay now, Em?”

  “I’m fine. Thanks, Cole.”

  After dinner Cole decided he didn’t want her leave her just yet, not without talking to her some more, so he started to help clear the table. She gave him a sideways glance and frowned. He’d never helped her before and he had probably surprised her. Cole decided that he and Adam had been very unfair to her since she put in a full day’s work, just like they did, and needed to treat her better. If he had his way he would treat her like a princess but Emily was independent and he could hear her giving him what for if he did.

  “You don’t have to help me, Cole. This is my job. It’s what I get paid to do.”

  “I know that, sweetheart, but it doesn’t hurt to have some help now and then.”

  Cole needed to touch her, the urge too strong to ignore. He stepped up behind her, trapping her between the sink and his body. His hands moved as if of their own accord and landed on the edge of the counter on either side of her. He leaned into her and groaned when his aching cock pressed against her lower back.

  Emily gasped and shifted as she met his gaze in the window above the sink. It was hard to see her properly but her cheeks looked flushed with desire and just before she stiffened, she rubbed her ass against his erection.