Cassidy shook her head.
“Nope. I work for Shane and Liam. I’ve got a full-time job at the ranch.”
“Same here. I work for the Walker boys.
Actually, I might have to start looking for work. Being in a relationship and working for them is a little strange. I’ll get back to you on that.” Cassidy knew she would need time away from her men. They took so much of her attention that she’d need to have some space to still feel independent.
“And I work at the station handling the desk. I’m not waitress material.”
Edith made a growling sound and took their orders.
“I moved in with Gary, Scott, Roy, and Jesse. Michael has moved in as well. We’re going to see if we can make this a relationship. Wow, that was one long explanation. Everything has been moving too fast for me.”
Claire laughed. “Well, I for one, think it’s great. I know this was really getting to you. It’s nice to see you taking those steps to get your men,” Claire said.
“Like I had much of a choice. Five men to one woman doesn’t make for an easy fight.” Cassidy glanced down at her hands resting on the table.
“Don’t you two think it is weird?” Stephanie asked after some time.
“What?” Cassidy and Claire asked in unison.
“Two or more men wanting you? I think it’s a little weird. How can you love more than one guy?”
“I don’t find it a problem. Liam and Shane are wonderful and loving. I’ve not regretted my decision for a single second. I think it helped the fact we were friends beforehand,” Claire said.
“I couldn’t pick between five men. The Walkers made their sharing known to me straight away. They had more than one daddy, and they came from a happy home. We’ve not done anything yet. We’re just trying to get to know each other in a relationship capacity rather than the one we had before.”
Stephanie shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know how you two do it. I’ve got a son, and he takes up all of my time when I’m not working. I don’t think I could spend any more time away from him. He’s at my mother’s today. After lunch I’m going to go over there.”
Cassidy remembered that Stephanie had still been in high school when she got pregnant. No one knew who the father was. The other woman never said anything about who he was.
“I could never have done what you did, Stephanie. I admire you for it.”
“I’m just plain fucking stupid. That’s all.”
The women went silent as Edith got their coffees. “Your food will be here shortly.” She left, leaving the women in silence.
“I’m such a party pooper.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Cassidy said. “Do you know who the father is?”
Stephanie nodded. “I know who he is. I know where he is, but he doesn’t know he’s a dad. Can we talk about something else?”
They changed the subject and talked about the different recipes they tried. Their food came, and they talked about the town and the locals. Louise walked in with Mr. Smith and his son once the lunchtime rush was over. Ryan, Mr. Smith’s son and Lou’s charge, ran up to Cassidy and tapped her leg. Mr. Smith took a seat with a frown.
“I didn’t know you’d be here this afternoon, Cassidy.” Lou embraced her sister.
“Ryan, sit down,” Mr. Smith said. Her sister, charge, and boss sat down in the seat across from them.
“I’m having lunch. Are we still on for Friday?”
Lou looked at Mr. Smith before turning back to her sister. “I can’t make it this week. I’m needed.”
Cassidy gazed at Mr. Smith. She knew his name, but he always demanded to be called Mr. Smith. He glared back at her with his dark, penetrating eyes. She didn’t like him, and furthermore, she didn’t like the control he had over her sister.
“I’m sure we can phone and keep up with each other then.”
“Sounds great.”
Liam and Shane walked in. Stephanie excused herself, and Cassidy got a ride home with Claire.
When she got back to the ranch, she put her new purchases away and prepared the afternoon meal. She’d tell her men she could go dancing with all of them at dinner. She pulled out some steaks from the fridge. Cassidy seasoned the steaks so they would be ready for the barbeque.
She went out to where they’d planted her a vegetable garden. Her mother used to grow her own vegetables and passed the teaching onto her two daughters. She picked some cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and salad leaves. Standing up, she saw Jesse pulling up in his truck.
“Where you been?” she asked, putting her basket on her hip.
“I had to go to the feed store. We ran out, and two people decided arguing was more helpful than replacing it.” Jesse rubbed the sweat from his forehead.
“Scott and Gary are still fighting?”
“Still fighting? They never fucking stop. It is infuriating. I can’t keep doing this.” Jesse lifted some feed and placed it on the pavement.
“I’ll make you some food. Maybe we need to try and rectify the problem between them?” she suggested.
“I’m not even going to go there. Either they’ll ignore each other or kill each other. Anyway, I’ve got to get this sorted. I look forward to eating with you.” He kissed her and finished unloading the feed he’d gotten. She glanced out over the fields but couldn’t see any signs of her other men.
Sighing, she carried her fresh vegetables into the kitchen and began working on the salad.
She didn’t like the tension between Gary and Scott, but she had no clue how to end the problem, either. She finished off the salad and placed it in the fridge to dress later.
Her mind wandered over the change in her life. She couldn’t believe how fast everything was moving, and yet a part of her wanted it to move faster. She wanted to be with them.
Closing her eyes, her mind filled with images of all five men naked and at her beck and call. The thought was a heady one.
The sound of the door opening alerted her to her men coming home. She preheated the grill and waited for it to get hot.
She couldn’t wait to tell them about Friday. The moment she thought about her sister, she felt a deep heat fill her. There was something not right about Mr.-fucking-Smith. She didn’t like him.
The week went by without any problems. Scott and Gary argued all the time, and Cassidy found it exhausting. She took Jesse’s advice and tried to stay out of the way. It hurt every time when she heard them yelling at each other.
She found herself walking back to her own house a few times to get away from their tempers. The call she’d been waiting on from Lou came on Wednesday.
“Hi, the whole town is running rampant with the news that Cassidy Jocks has finally given in and given herself to the good sheriff of Long Mead as well as the four Walker brothers. I’m so proud of you.”
Cassidy didn’t speak for several moments, glaring out the office window as Scott and Gary fought some more. They’d been so busy fighting she hadn’t gotten round to telling them about her free Friday.
“Cassidy? You there?”
“I’m here. I’m just watching two brothers trying not to kill each other. I might get a large plastic pool, smear them with oil, and tell them to fight it out.”
Lou burst out laughing on the other end.
“They’d never go for it, but if you do, let me know. I’ll get some popcorn, and that would be fun.”
Cassidy bit her lip to stop herself from saying something she’d regret. Ever since Lou had gone to work for Mr. Smith, Cassidy had seen a change in her sister. She stared outside at the men but her mind was on her sister and the man she couldn’t stand. Cassidy tapped her hand on the window counter. She needed to learn to keep her opinion to herself about Lou. The last thing she needed was to start an argument about a man Lou clearly respected.
Lou is a lot younger than you. You need to protect her. Mr. Smith is in his forties with an ex-wife and a child.
“What is Mr. Smith to you?” she asked. She smacked her forehead against the glass for not keeping her mouth shut.
Lou, on the other end of the phone, went silent.
Her instincts had been right. There was something wrong about him.
“Why do you ask?” Lou said after some time.
“Come on, Lou. Don’t give me that trash. I know you, and something doesn’t seem right with him.”
“He’s a lawyer, Cassidy. He deals every day with someone lying to him. He’s fine, and I…care about him.”
She knew her sister, and she didn’t care about him. “Do you love him?”
“Cassidy. I’m not comfortable talking about this with you. You don’t know him. Mr. Smith is a great guy. Please, stop worrying about me.”
She saw Scott storming up to the house, and she cut the call short. Cassidy met him coming out of the kitchen. He slammed the kitchen door shut with his boot.
“Fucking fucker!” he yelled. When he turned, he froze in place the moment he saw her.
Seconds later, Gary came charging through the kitchen door. “What the fuck did you call me?”
Jesse and Roy followed behind them. All of the brothers stopped the moment they saw her. She folded her arms under her breasts, staring at her men. Scott looked ready to kill, Gary much the same, while the younger two looked fed up with the whole situation.
She stared at them, tapping her foot. Eventually, Scott and Gary looked down at the floor. She would have laughed at their guilty expression when they faced her if the situation had been different. The situation wasn’t comical.
“What is going on with you two?” she asked.
Scott looked up first, ready to begin arguing.
“I don’t want you blaming someone. Do you two have any idea what you’re doing to the people around you?” She looked at Roy and Jesse.
Gary glared at his younger brothers, but she went up to him and grabbed his chin, firmly. “Don’t even think about using your superiority as the older brother to get your way. We’re supposed to be in this relationship together. I can’t do this with you two if you’re fighting each other at every turn. What you’re doing is making life uncomfortable. Not just for your brothers and Michael but for me as well.”
She let him go and took a step back.
“I’ve got to get dinner ready. Please, sort this out.” Cassidy brushed past them going into the kitchen. She ran her fingers through her hair and moaned in frustration. Lou was holding something back, and Scott and Gary had serious brother issues. She wanted to go dancing and take the next step with her men, and it felt like she was getting further away from going over that step.
* * * *
Scott was embarrassed that Cassidy had witnessed his temper. He couldn’t help it. Gary wound him up so easily, and he hadn’t been able to control himself.
“I’m going to the gym.” His fathers had built a gym in the basement for him to lose his temper without fear of him getting into trouble.
“Is that what you’re going to do? Run and hide?” Gary asked.
“I’m not fucking running from you.” Scott pushed him away and went down to the gym. He opened the door, turned the light on, and pulled off his shirt.
The punching bag in the corner looked good. He didn’t bother with the proper care. He just needed to let off steam and quickly. Taking a deep breath, he punched the bag in the center.
He heard someone behind him and didn’t bother to check who it was. All he saw in his mind was Cassidy and the look of disappointment on her face. A few more punches and he was building up a sweat.
“You know you’re going to hurt yourself and piss Cassidy off more,” Roy said.
Scott turned round and looked at his younger brother. He was leaning back on the workout bench looking as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“So? She’s already pissed at me. I don’t see what hurting myself will achieve.”
“You know, considering you’re my older brother, you’re incredibly stupid at times.” Roy stood up and walked over to him.
Scott was panting for breath from his vigorous punching.
Roy held the bag in his hands. “Let at it. We’ll see what happens.”
He looked at the bag then at his brother. Scott gave the bag his all, never letting up. The sweat poured off his body. His anger dissipated with every punch. Roy stood holding the bag while he unleashed his anger. He saw Gary stood before him, and Scott didn’t know why he felt so much rage. Gary was his older brother. He was the man who protected him at school when the bullies came at him.
His thoughts were suddenly filled with everything that Gary had done for him over the years and his anger left him. How could he hate his big brother? His anger made no sense to him. He raised his fist to hit the bag and stopped. In all the years he’d known his brother, Gary had never once raised his fist at him. Scott lowered his fist and stood staring at the bag. His rapid breathing was the only sound filling the silence of the room.
“I’m sorry,” he said to Roy.
“If I didn’t know who you had a problem with, I’d say watching you pummel that bag was really hot,” Cassidy said from behind him.
Scott spun round to face her. He felt the heat of embarrassment fill his cheeks. The woman he loved had witnessed his temper. “I’m sorry.”