Charles narrowed his gaze and thought back to the events of the past several hours. Reese shuffled in the dirt next to him, his own imagined chagrin just as palpable as Charles’.
“Dad, I… Well, what are you talking about?”
His father’s eyebrows rose toward the roof. “Does the name Alyssa ring a bell to anyone?” He didn’t give them a chance to speak, which was a blessing since Charles couldn’t have known what to say yet. Where the hell was he going with this interrogation? “You two came waltzing in here yesterday, after six months of playing around. You bring a woman with you, whom I had to assume you had honorable intentions toward. And then,” he was nearly shouting now, “you traipse off this morning and don’t return for hours. Does that about sum it up?”
Silence. “Oh, he’s pissed.”
“Do you blame him?” Reese returned without moving an inch.
“You’ve been gone six hours. Six. What the hell were you doing?”
“We had to pick up Miranda from school, and—”
“All day? That was this morning. Half an hour, tops.”
Reese stepped forward, but Charles stopped him by clearing his throat. “It’s complicated.”
“It’s complicated?” his father mocked. “What the dickens is that supposed to mean?”
What should he say? How could he possibly explain this situation?
He couldn’t. They’d made a promise to Alyssa, and they needed to keep it. If that was even possible now. Wasn’t there some sort of natural law demanding an actual mate trump a potential mate?
Charles’ father glared back and forth between them, probably wondering at such odd behavior from two grown men. “That’s it? Neither of you has a word to say for yourselves?” He paused and then whipped his hat off his head to slap it across his leg.
Charles flinched. Rarely in his life had his father lost his temper. And the man had raised six children, five of whom were wild boys.
“Look here. I can smell a rat from a mile away. I wasn’t born yesterday. Whatever the hell you two are keeping mum about better damn well be good. Your mother is beside herself in there entertaining your date the entire day. Even your brother Michael stepped in to entertain your date for a while.
“Now, I know damn good and well this sweet woman who came home with you, Alyssa, is not mated to you two. She isn’t even mated to one of you. But the woman does have feelings, and if you have intentions toward her that extend beyond some sort of romp in the hay, then you’d better improve your bizarre behavior. If not, then I’m not sure why on earth you brought her home with you. None of you have ever brought a woman here who wasn’t your mate.”
“Dad, I—”
“Let me finish. We have opened our home to you three.” He glared hard at both of them, making Charles take a step back from his father and the look of disappointment on his face. “We are not opposed to your lifestyle. You know that. Hell, both of your older brothers are in committed relationships of three. Don’t think you surprised me when the two of you went gallivanting off to Texas. I knew what was up. I’m your father.” He stared at Charles and then turned his gaze toward Reese. “And I might as well be yours too, son.”
Charles swallowed hard. He hated keeping anything from his dad. And even worse was disappointing the man. His stomach clenched, threatening to toss his lunch.
“Dad, plenty of our kind meet someone they really like and are attracted to whom they later mate as time goes by.”
“Of course they do. I’m not refuting that. And if that is your hope and desire here, your mother and I will stand by you. Alyssa’s a nice girl. If you are waiting and hoping everything will click into place and you’ll claim her, we don’t have anything against that. But, if not…” His pointed gaze was poking holes in Charles. By now he didn’t just feel twelve, or ten, or eight, but more like six years old. And it made his head pound to think of the mess he was in. He and Reese.
“I suggest you think about this, pull yourselves together, and make your way to the house ASAP. Whatever’s going on, figure it out and figure it out fast, capisce?”
“Yes, sir,” both Charles and Reese stated at once, standing to their full heights and nodding their contrite heads.
Richard Masters marched out of the barn, his head shaking back and forth, his chin ducked toward his chest. He didn’t look back.
*
Reese looked at Charles before Richard was even out of earshot. “Now what do we do?”
Charles said nothing. He paced the barn, incoherent babble the only sound.