Acres, Natalie - Sex Addict [Cowboy Addiction 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (16 page)

“Commendable, my ass!” she screamed, waving her hands around her head like a wild woman. “She wants to fuck you!”

“I see you took her to see Dr. Zanati,” Morgan said, descending from the top floor.

Holly took a deep breath and bit her lip. Why did these two have to discuss everything with Morgan? Did they really think Morgan told them everything? Probably not!

“Holly, Dr. Zanati is very good,” Morgan assured her. “She’s actually who I saw when I first moved home.”

“For sex addiction?”

Morgan looked at Kit and then Kemper. Holly slapped her hands over her face. “Oh God, you didn’t tell her!”

“No,” Kit said. “But you just did.”

Holly grunted. “This has turned into a nightmare.”

Morgan raised her brows. “Um, do you two mind if Holly and I talk alone?”

Kit shrugged. “That’s really not up to us.”

“I don’t mind if Holly doesn’t,” Kemper said.

“Holly?” Morgan looped her arm through hers before she had the opportunity to answer her. “Come on, let’s take a walk.”

Once they were outside on the porch, Morgan sat on the swing. Holly took a seat on the rocking chair across from her. They remained silent for a few minutes. Finally, Morgan said, “I love my brothers, but they can be blind when it comes to women.”

Oh boy, Holly thought. Here it was. The moment she’d always dreaded. The little sister was going to tell her to back the hell off and get out of her brothers’ lives. Naturally, she wouldn’t want her big brothers messing around with a crazy woman who admittedly had a sex addiction.

What had she been thinking? She should’ve just tried to handle her own issues privately. Then, she wouldn’t have met Dr. Zanati. Then, her fellows wouldn’t have been impressed with a woman who had more awards on her walls than brains in her head. Then, by God, Dr. Zanati wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet her men!

“The fact is, Blake and Grant were the same way. They wanted to help me, but at the same time, they wanted me to help myself, and at first, they were hell-bent on me seeing someone. This news came after I’d been clean about three months. One day, just out of the blue, Grant asked me if I still craved meth. I told him the truth and off I went seeing one former addict after another.

“That’s the sad thing about addiction, no one understands it unless they’ve had an addiction problem and the doctors you see are typically those who are still battling their own demons. That’s not to say they aren’t the appropriate people to talk to, but in your case? Dr. Zanati isn’t going to help you. Only you can help you.”

Holly started to say something, and Morgan held up her hand. “Can I make a suggestion?”

“As long as you aren’t going to tell me to go back to Dr. Zanati, sure.”

Morgan grinned. “Do you want to know what helped me most? Staying busy. My mother used to say an idle mind is the devil’s workshop, and she was right. A busy mind is often an exhausted one but it’s better than obsessing about the things that can get you in trouble.”

“True.”

“I volunteer. I stay busy here on the farm, too. I’m enrolled in an art class, and of course, I’ve gotten very involved in the lifestyle. Grant and Blake want me to open an alternative living bar, something we may do soon. You could help, too. I’ve already told them I’d like to get to know you.”

“Why? I didn’t think you liked me.”

“Oh come on, Holly. I don’t know you. How could I dislike you? That’s the addiction talking there. We addicts have that in common. We believe the world is against us after spending months or years tearing ourselves down with our hang-ups of choice, we believe everyone else can’t wait to take their best shot, too.”

“You’re probably right.”

“I know I am,” Morgan said. “Tell ya what. Let’s work on getting to know one another by being a support system for each other. If you feel like you’re getting sucked into your sex addiction, come talk to me. If I’m thinking about meth too much, I’ll come find you.”

“But I don’t know anything about meth.”

“No, but you’re a compassionate woman who can bend an ear for a friend, right?”

“I guess,” Holly replied.

“And don’t worry about talking to me about sex. I know everything there is to know about my brothers. They just think I don’t. Besides, you don’t have to give me the torrid details about your life. You can just lean on me when you need a friend.” She pushed away from the swing and started back inside.

“Morgan?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you.”

“That’s what’s sisters are for.” A beat later, she winked. “But don’t tell them I told you that. They’re so whipped I know we’ll soon be family.”

Epilogue

One year later

Cowboy Addiction was in full swing. The club was hopping, and Kit couldn’t remember a time when Holly looked happier. She scurried around the room, greeting their guests as Morgan tended to the behind the scenes, making sure the bar was stocked and giving their guests a good bang for their buck—delicious nonalcoholic beverages and the best food in the South.

“What do you think?” Kemper asked, joining him at the bar. “Place handles a crowd, huh?”

Kit smiled and nodded.

“But you don’t think it will make it past the first year, do you?”

“I don’t know,” Kit replied. “It’s hard to tell. The girls have worked hard on the place. Between hosting group support efforts and a booked entertainment schedule, they may do all right.”

“Then why don’t you sound so sure?” Kemper asked, raising his voice so he could be heard over the music in the background.

“I’m just worried about Holly. That’s all.”

“Why?” Kemper asked, searching her out in the crowd.

“She hasn’t looked well. Her face is an ashen color and her eyes are weak. I don’t know, but I get the feeling she isn’t telling me something.”

Kemper shrugged. “You’re on your own there. She whispers sweet nothings in my ear all the time.”

“Remind me to catch her alone and spank her ass raw.”

“I will,” Kemper said, slapping him on the back. “Hey, is that Dr. Zanati over there?”

Kit glared across the room at the woman who’d made separate plays for him and Kemper. She hadn’t even waited a full week to do it. Soon after they’d met, she’d called them in to discuss something bothersome about Holly, and like a gullible man would, they’d each gone to their individual appointments and had to fight her off like they were in the last battle for their lives. They would’ve been if Holly had ever found out about it.

“Wonder what she’s doing here?” Kit asked, narrowing his gaze on Holly when she excitedly went to greet her.

“I don’t know, but Holly wouldn’t be so friendly with the doctor if she knew where the woman tried to put her hands.”

Holly embraced Dr. Zanati like they were best friends. Then, she waved, blew them a kiss, and took center stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?” She tapped the microphone. “I want to thank you all for coming out tonight. I’m Holly Hamlin, one of the club owners. My friend, Morgan Keesling, had a dream, a dream that you’re seeing materialize right before your very eyes.

“She wanted to bring this community a club they could be proud of, a center that offered folks from all walks of life somewhere to hang out and mingle with old friends while opening up their arms to new ones.

“Tonight, we’re proud to open up Cowboy Addiction. We’ll be here every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from noon until midnight. We’ll offer the best Southern meals this side of the Wyoming.”

“Mississippi!”

“That, too,” Holly said, grinning wider. “And we’re also proud to announce that some very big names in entertainment will be dropping in on us later this year. Always check the community center at the back of the club for details about those play dates.

“Additionally, since Cowboy Addiction was founded on the belief that no addiction is too strong to overcome, we’re pleased to announce that support groups have been formed and a posted meeting schedule is located on every exit and your bar napkin,” she said, holding up one of the blue-and-white samples.

“Finally, I have an announcement to make.”

“Oh Lord, I hope this isn’t one of those times when she decides to embarrass us all.”

“I am a sex addict…”

“Nay, she’s just gonna tell her life story to strangers,” Kemper said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I’m also in love.”

Everyone clapped.

“And I’m pregnant.” The crowd went wild, clapping and cheering again.

“What’d she say?” Kemper asked, nearly choking on his drink.

“I think she said she’s pregnant,” Kit said, processing.

“Best of all, I don’t know who the daddy is,” she said. An astonished crowd immediately going silent.

“I’m gonna kill her,” Kit said. “If she cheated on us and…”

She swung her arm behind her back and pointed toward them. “But I can tell you, this pretty little boy or girl will certainly have the last name Keesling! Put your hands together folks and congratulate my men and your neighbors, Kit and Kemper Keesling!”

“I’m still gonna kill her,” Kit said, clapping wildly, too.

“Me, too,” Kemper said. “After I marry her.”

“You’ll have to wait your turn.”

“Dream on, brother,” Kemper said, his expression softening as he studied Holly.

“I’m marrying her first,” Kit stated flatly.

“We’ll see about that,” Kemper remarked dryly. “I’m just glad the little vixen took time out of her day to propose.”

“Come to think of it, she did just propose marriage, didn’t she?” Kit asked, a wider smile tugging at his lips.

“She never does anything by the book.”

“That’s for sure,” Kit agreed.

They shared a laugh until Holly cleared her voice. They gave her their full attention.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I also want to add one other tidbit,” Holly said, her voice dropping a dramatic octave.

Kit stared straight ahead and caught a glimpse of Dr. Zanati. She was making eyes at them, fluttering her eyelashes and all that nonsense.

“I was told by a very reputable doctor in town that in order to beat my sex addiction, I needed to follow her treatment plan which apparently included her ability to hit on my men while I stayed out of their beds. But hey, I don’t hold a grudge. Part of her program included waiting for my partners to initiate sex.

“As any sex addict will tell you, that’s a surefire way to failure. We want sex all the time. If I had to wait for someone to come to me for a good bootie call, well, I won’t embarrass my guys by telling you where they might find me. Anyway, after I thought about the treatment plan Dr. Zanati proposed, I put one together myself, one designed to help me and my situation.

“What I came up with was pretty simple. Love the ones you’re with, the ones who’ve chosen to love you in return. Put your faith in yourself, not in other people. And just because you fail at something today, doesn’t mean you won’t find greatness tomorrow.”

Everyone gave her a round of applause, and Holly slipped away from the limelight. She ran into their arms, bypassing Dr. Zanati on her way.

“You little wench,” Kit said, spinning her around. “You invited her so you could rub it in that you were carrying our child, didn’t you?”

She shrugged. “I can blame it on hormones.”

Kemper winked. “You knew the whole time about her making a play for us, didn’t you?”

“Oh you mean about the two of you going to her office and being attacked by her scratching cat?”

“Morgan told you,” Kemper said, shaking his head. “There’s no loyalty in this family anymore.”

“Maybe not,” Holly said, kissing their cheeks. “But there sure is a lot of love.”

THE END

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