Kendall replaced his hat on his head and guided the truck slowly down the driveway. He pulled into the cleared area where a ranch house had obviously once stood, judging by the broken foundational piers jutting from the ground. The broken and splintered wood and debris had been bulldozed into a pile.
He parked and then turned to face her, twining his fingers through hers and squeezing gently. Her lips trembled when he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
“I love you, Maya. I don’t want you to leave, ever. I want your input on the house because we want it to be your house, too.”
He sounded awfully self-assured when he used the word we. “I love you, too, Kendall. You know that. Do you speak for Boone and Richard on this?”
“We’re ready to settle down, Maya. This is what we want, our best-case scenario. For you to love it here, love us, and want to stay.”
“Thanks for being open about it.”
“Thanks for not expecting me to pussyfoot around the issue all week. I love that about you.”
“There’s a lot to love about me,” Maya said with good humor, feeling relieved to get the elephant in the truck cab out in the open.
“You’re open to the possibility?”
“I’d be a liar and a hypocrite if I didn’t admit I was also attracted to Boone and Richard. How long have they wanted this?”
“We’ve been observing Grace with her men and Teresa with hers for a couple of years now, and I think it started rattling around in our heads about that long ago. I’ll admit our fascination in the beginning was more along the line of one-night stands and no attachments, but we’ve grown some and want more than that now.
“Boone and Richard mentioned the possibility to me about the time you started dating again. Richard is still dealing with his issues, but they both asked if I would talk with you. Kind of break the ice on the subject. That’s not because they’re shy, by any means. They don’t want to make you uncomfortable if you don’t want a relationship with them as well. Boone said they didn’t want to mess up what was happening between the two of us.”
“I wanted a ménage so much with you and Morgan. I regret never asking for it. I wanted to tell you last night on the phone, but I didn’t see any point in saying so, since we couldn’t change the past. Now here I am, presented with that opportunity. Morgan dared me in his letter to go after what I wanted. After missing the first opportunity, I’m going to fully explore it this time. I’m open to the idea, Kendall, but I’m going to need time to get to know them on a deeper level.”
Kendall was relieved, judging by his happy sigh. “Take all the time you need.”
“Time alone with each of you. One-on-one. Is that going to be a problem?”
“One-on-one, huh?” Kendall said with a smirk. It was so like him to tease her about that. He’d probably pictured her having sex with them when she meant talking and getting to know each other, the horn dog.
Maya giggled and said, “You heard me right.”
“I can guarantee we’ll be fighting for a chance to spend time alone with you.”
“Kendall, we’re not talking about a fling. Right? I won’t go anywhere near them if that’s all they want.”
“No, Maya. That’s not what they want, and you know it’s not what I want. I’d never allow it if they did. You can trust them, babydoll. Judging by the looks in their eyes this morning they’re already half in love with you.”
Maya doubted that after one rushed, early morning encounter, but trusted Kendall to know his brothers’ minds on the subject. He’d always been protective of her. Maya looked out the windshield at the remnants of the old ranch house. “Sorry about your home again.”
Kendall chuckled quietly and said, “It was a shit hole. Really rundown and in need of a lot of work. We’re actually relieved to be building new because the farther we got in renovations the more problems we found. It was over one hundred years old.”
Maya shaded her eyes from the harsh afternoon sun and walked around the truck, getting a better look at the place. The remains of the house and the small outbuildings were surrounded by fenced areas. A large nearby field contained more tall grass ready for mowing and baling, and other cross-fenced sections contained grazing white-faced Hereford cattle. Here and there calves cavorted around the hooves of their mamas or lay nestled in the shorter grass. Patches of Indian blanket and small yellow Engelmann’s daisies proliferated in the area near the remains of the house foundation.
“Damn. It’s beautiful, Kendall,” Maya said, not hiding the catch in her throat. She sensed his warm presence behind her, and she turned to him. He smiled as he looked around at his family’s place. Then he gazed down at her, his sweet, brown eyes shaded from the sun by his straw cowboy hat.