Giddy Up (12 page)

The Big W project had become a
group effort the day they’d all stood in a field with some of the
other cowboys and brainstormed a solution for calves with
subjective coloring. It had been exciting—no two days were alike.
She liked how they were a team, professionally as well as
personally. It was the latter relationship she wanted to settle
once and for all.

The way her fingers danced across
the table showed her nerves. She’d called her father to give them
the good news. Besides the good, there was the complicated. It was
time to update them on her other plans as well, and that was not
going to be easy.

“Yes, Papa, I am pleased with how
well Molly and I implemented the program in a new to us
environment. There were a few challenges that could only happen
under small ranch conditions that I’ve noted in my report. I’ll
finish it in the next couple of days and email it to you.” Sakura
was glad the conversation was going well, although she expected it
to change with the news she still had to pass over.

If only she knew how to lie, it
would definitely make things easier. However, not telling the truth
would never sit well with her and besides, it was her life’s path
she wanted to share with them.

“You sound pleased with your
efforts and you should be. Your mother and I are proud of your
accomplishments. Have you thought anymore about setting up a
consultancy business? The software program is copyrighted and
equipment patented by Nakamura Enterprises, but it’s all in your
name and yours to do with as you want.”

“Thank you, Papa. It is quite an
honor you’ve given me.” She was surprised he’d included her name on
the official paperwork. It would’ve been more like him to leave it
all Nakamura.

“We can easily expand the
department staffing levels and put more money into promoting the
program. What do you think about us putting a team together to
attend conferences across America? It would be a good platform
where we could spread the word about how best to ensure clear
import channels into Japan.”

“Actually I have, but I was
thinking it would work better to open an office here in Montana.
Canada is another market where we could do some work. Bozeman, the
nearest big city which is within a half-hour drive, is close to the
Canadian border as well as within the majority of U.S. ranch belt.
It also has an airport with good links to the rest of the country.”
She tried to point out the benefits of staying for business
purposes, but none of that mattered.

Matt and Ted were here and
therefore where she wanted to be, consultancy firm or
not.

“Mmmm,” he murmured, and said
nothing more. She hoped he was thinking it through rather than
hearing more of what she wasn’t saying.

The silence was driving her crazy.
She was on the verge of bursting out with the truth making her
heart sing. She was thrilled the project had gone well and was
excited to take the next step, but it was the two men she would
meet up with later who made her happy.

“I’ve been taking notes as we
worked and have a plan worked out, which Matt and Ted—”

“Ted? Matt mentioned there was a
brother back at the ranch who was the more hands on to his business
knowledge. Is he pleased with how the project has gone?”

“Yes, Papa, yes he is.” She hemmed
and hawed to stall for a moment in taking the conversation to the
next level. It was going to be difficult and she could delay things
further, but for her peace of mind and the future, she had to tell
him. “There’s something else I have to tell you and, well, please
hear me out before you say anything.”

Sakura waited a few seconds at most
for him to agree, but it was all she could manage.

“I’m also staying in Montana
because I’m in love and I believe loved in return,” she said in one
breath. She was halfway through and he jumped in.

“Is it Matt Wilson?”

“Yes, but—” Before she could tell
him about Ted, he gave his approval of sorts.

“I liked him from the moment I met
him. He’s a good man, although I would have preferred if he’d come
to me to discuss the change in your relationship.” Her father was
forward thinking when it came to business, but not when it came to
male/female relationships or family structure.

It was her life and choice, and her
father had to be told. The conversation had to come from her
heart.

“Papa, it’s my life, my heart that
belongs to both Matt and Ted Wilson. I needed to be the one telling
you I was staying in Montana to be with them. Both of them.” She
could tell him the consultancy mattered more, only it wasn’t true.
Business ran a distant second to the men in her life.

“What!?!” Her father had never
shouted around her before. She pulled the phone from her ear. Molly
came to sit beside her and held her hand. When she looked at her
friend, stunned by the rapid fire Japanese spewing down the line,
the other woman smiled her support. Sakura needed the boost of
strength.

Firming her shoulders, she put the
phone back to her ear and tried to calm him down before he had a
heart attack. He wasn’t young anymore and needed to be careful.
There was anger and confusion, both with a note of
disappointment.

When he couldn’t understand why she
wanted both, why she couldn’t choose one, she offered him her last
words of explanation on the matter.

“There’s no rhyme or reason to what
makes me happy, but they do.”

“Try,” her father
growled.

“They care about me, Papa. The two
of them put me and my needs above all else. As your child, my being
in a good place should please you and Mama. I hope you find a way
to see that and are happy for me. If not, then I’m sorry for your
loss. I will always love and respect you both, but Ted and Matt
fulfill me and my every dream. The life I’m choosing is exactly
that, my choice.”

Oddly, tears weren’t flowing down
her face. She was minutes away from taking love by the balls and
almost laughed at the picture popping up in her head of the image.
No, she needed to finish this talk with her father then she could
move on with her life.

“You’re our daughter, Saki, our
only child. Of course we’re upset and need time to figure a few
things out. This was totally unexpected, but we’re family and
that’s more important than disappointment. Good or bad, we’ll
always love you.”

“That’s good to hear,” she
murmured. It sounded like the line between them was frazzled but
not entirely disconnected.

“We’ll talk again later,
okay?”

“I’ll call you at home next
weekend. Is that all right?”

“Yes, yes, fine,” he said with a
stiff tone to the words.

“Papa, I love you, both of you,”
she offered with those tears sitting in the back of her throat.
Nothing was resolved, but they were talking. She would hold onto
the fact the lines remained open.

“Love you, too. Be safe,” he said
softly before hanging up.

Releasing a sigh of relief, the
hardest conversation she’d ever had to make was done, and she’d
survived. From this point on, she was going to live as she wanted.
The best was about to happen.

There was only one thing she had to
tell the two men, and that was where she was headed next. She was
ready to move on from someone being taken care of to a woman in
control of her own destiny. Her needs were important and she
wouldn’t worry ever again what others thought about her
choices.

Being in a relationship with two
men wasn’t the main issue. Being in love and loved was what truly
mattered.

“Enough of the hard stuff, it’s all
good from here on out. Would you help me finish getting ready for
my men?”

“Of course I would. I’m getting
good at the geisha thing,” Molly laughed as she picked up the black
eyeliner and finished outlining her eyes. The only other makeup she
wore was a bright red dot centered over her lips and more
decorating her nipples.

Sakura was excited about what the
future would bring.

“Putting your hair up in a simple
bun with chopsticks holding it together looks much nicer than the
stiff and structured hairdo we constructed last time. They’ll be
able to run their fingers through your hair whenever they
want.”

“We had to do it before, but
thankfully there’s no need to hide who I am this time. Instead of
thinking I have only one night with them, I’m looking forward to a
lifetime with my cowboys. Speaking of, are you still going to Jon’s
for dinner?”

“Yes, he wants to make me his
version of the Sunday roast I cooked a couple of weeks ago. He said
something about barbecuing buffalo and later he’ll show me a teepee
he’s built. I’m sure it’ll be a fun evening.”

“You like him, don’t you?” Sakura
was sure she did, but wanted to hear her friend say it. There’d
been plenty of late nights the couple had spent alone together,
although she still wasn’t positive about how “together” they’d
actually been.

“I do. There’s something about him
that makes me feel safe and secure.”

“And wanted?” The other things were
important, but to feel desired was something she hoped her friend
could experience. The first time she and her men had been intimate
together was almost a month ago. She still remembered how their
interlude in the emergency shack had empowered her, boosting her
confidence in the choices she was making.

“Yes,” Molly confided with a
growing grin.

“Have you told him you’re planning
to stay in Montana?”

“No, if an opportunity pops up,
I’ll tell him tonight.” Molly smiled big as she helped Sakura
settle onto the floor and fussed with the kimono until it was laid
out just right.

“Who knows, maybe you’ll get more
than a goodnight kiss.” It was a joke between them.

Jon Black oozed raw sex appeal and
yet he hadn’t attempted anything further than a kiss to her
forehead while holding her hand. The man hadn’t said a word about
wanting more. According to her friend, he seemed perfectly content
to sit next to her while holding her hand.

Apparently there’d been a few
heated kisses, but only after Molly had kissed him first. She
smiled while remembering their friend Sunny’s advice their first
day in Gardiner. Nothing would happen until they took what they
wanted.

“It’s been nice not to rush into
things, but yes, I’d like something more from him.”

“I wonder if he’s more like Matt
and Ted than we know. Actually, if he is, then hinting will
accomplish nothing. Even a taste of intimacy won’t get you what
you’re looking for—a seductive roll in the hay. What you have to do
is tell him exactly what you want. Remember? Physically, you took
your kisses, and that’s all you’ve ever shared. Actually, I bet
he’ll give you only as much as you take.”

Sakura understood the tact very
well. She’d originally believed the time they’d spent together at
the emergency shelter had opened the door to everything. They may
not have had intercourse, but she’d believed what they’d done had
shown both men how she wanted to spend more intimate time with
them. Problem was, they took the interlude as a green light to have
oral sex, but nothing more.

Frustration was her middle
name.

Well, she’d learned her lesson the
hard way, and was prepared to play the game their way tonight. The
project she’d come to Montana to do was officially finished, which
left her with only one objective. She was free to push on to the
next stage of their relationship.

Dressed as a geisha, she was
prepared to tell them exactly what she wanted. She was ready to
submit to their passion and hers, and bring them all together as
one.

“They’re most likely not prepared
for something like this to happen, and I say that only because of
the shelter incident. However, you must be prepared. Condoms are in
your purse. Unless you’re ready to be a mom, use them. End of
lecture. I’m on my way out. I’ll let them know they can come
up.”

“Thank you, Molly. Oh, wait,”
Sakura called out from where she kneeled on the floor. “Don’t you
forget to take some protection tonight. Who knows, Jon might hit
the end of his rope. Hopefully all the lust I see in his dark eyes
for you will be released like a raging wildfire.”

“See you sometime tomorrow at the
guest house.”

“Okay, be safe, and
enjoy.”

“I will, and you as well,” Molly
stated softly as she closed the door behind her.

Much like the last time she’d
dressed up as a geisha to seduce her man, she was excited to do the
same tonight, for both her men. They had no idea what to expect
other than she had a surprise for them.

Sakura smiled at the sound of them
making their way up the wooden steps. She was looking right at the
double door as they opened it and came to a stop. The surprise on
their faces was exactly what she’d wanted to see. Well, that and
the hard-ons they sported. Those were the best of all
greetings.

“Fucking hell!”

“Shit!”

“Konnichiwa, cowboys.” It had been
naughty the first time she’d said it to Matt, but saying it to the
two of them turned her on further. It solidified in her mind what
they were to her. They were going to be a mated trio, a family, and
the only part left was for her to tell them about the future she
wanted with them both.