Sophie Oak - Two to Love

Callie fell forward into his arms. He hugged her, not minding when he felt Nate’s hand on her back. Callie was happy. She snuggled close. She didn’t seem to mind that he was still tucked inside her body.

Zane looked at Nate over her shoulder and wondered if he sported the same look of slightly afraid wonder on his own face. They were all in trouble.

* * *

 Nate looked down at the girl sleeping in the big bed they had shared for the last two nights. He had never really thought about the whole marriage thing. He was twenty-five years old, and settling down seemed worlds away, but he wondered how his parents would take meeting Callie. Probably as well as they took Zane. They had never thought Zane was a proper friend. He was forever doomed to care about people who didn’t fit into his world. Callie Sheppard wouldn’t be comfortable in his father’s high society any more than Zane was. Any more than Nate was in the end, or he would be starting a job in his father’s company rather than what he was about to do.

It scared the crap out of him. Just looking at her sleeping made him feel like crawling back in with her and wrapping his body around hers. He wouldn’t wake her. She needed the rest but just holding her made him feel good. Callie Sheppard was the funniest, sexiest, sweetest little bundle of femininity he’d ever met. There was only one problem with it. Zane.

Nate shook his head and walked out of the bedroom. It had been the best weekend of his life, but it was hours away from ending. He hadn’t thought about it for the whole weekend, but he had a job to do.

Zane stood in the sitting room of the suite. He had a far-off look on his face. “I need to know something. Why are you doing this? I know why I’m going in, but you have money, man. You don’t need a job. Why would you deliberately risk your life?”

How did he make Zane understand? All of his life he’d been on a path. He’d been bred to wealth. In his parents’ world, a man’s worth was marked by how much money he had and his potential to make more. His parents never saw him, just the potential to carry on the family name and company.

“I want to make a difference.” Nate wanted to prove he could be more than a rich kid, to his parents, to Zane, to himself. He was going to make a name for himself.

Zane was quiet for a moment. “I don’t want to leave her.”

Damn it. That wasn’t what Nate wanted to hear. He wanted Zane to smile and slap him on the back and tease him about sharing the woman Nate thought he might be able to love. Instead, Zane looked haunted.

They had shared women before but only as fun, wild nights. Nate was under no illusions that anybody lived that way. He wasn’t going to hop into bed with his friend and their shared lover on a nightly basis. But Zane…Zane was the only friend he had in the world. Zane was the one who understood. Zane was the one who had his back no matter what. Zane didn’t give a shit whether he had money or connections. “What are we going to do?”

Zane shrugged. His misery was evident in the slump of his shoulders. Nate felt a kinship. His own heart was heavier than he could ever remember it feeling.

“Leave,” Zane said. “This was a weekend thing. I guess we could both date her, but damn it, I don’t see how this works. Are we supposed to just tell everyone we share a girlfriend?”

Nate said nothing but felt the involuntary tightening of his jaw. He didn’t like it, but the thought of Zane escorting little Callie around without him made him want to beat his friend’s head in. The idea of sharing her hummed through his brain. He liked it. He also knew it wouldn’t work. No one would accept it. Society didn’t work that way. Callie would be called all sorts of names. And Nate had watched how being on the outside of society hurt Zane. He wouldn’t willingly put either of them there.

Zane sighed. “She deserves better than either of us can give her. For god’s sake, Nate, do you remember what we’re doing in a couple of days?”

He didn’t really want to think about it. In a few weeks, they would be in deep cover. Their identities would be gone. Their lives would be put on hold. It wasn’t fair to start something with Callie only to leave her. And she could be in danger if she was close to them. What was he thinking?

“I’ll go wake her up.” It wasn’t a conversation Nate was looking forward to. Either they broke Callie’s heart, or she wouldn’t care, and that might break his.

Zane’s eyes flared. “And tell her what? Hey, we had a good time? No, we head out. It’s better for her. She wasn’t expecting anything. It was a wild weekend. I’ll write her a note. She’s better off without us.”

Thirty minutes later, Nate felt something break inside as he closed the bedroom door. She lay asleep on her side, her arm reaching out. Her palm was up and open. For two nights she’d slept between them. She’d moved from one to the other, always cuddling.

He knew he would miss her for the rest of his life.

“Are you ready?” Zane’s eyes were rimmed with red. He looked toward the door as though he wanted to bust it down.

Nate grabbed his bag. “Yeah.”

The sun was coming up as they drove off. Nate rolled down the window and stared back at the elegant building where he’d learned his capacity to care about a woman was far greater than he’d ever dreamed. Callie had gotten to him, but he couldn’t drag her into the new life he was about to start.

Zane was right. She deserved better.

* * *

Callie called out for them. She sat up in bed and stretched. Throwing back the covers, she walked through the suite looking for her men. She thought of them as hers now after two days in bed with them. Nate and Zane. She loved the way it felt to snuggle down in between their big bodies. She had never felt as safe and cared for as she did when she slept between them. Her body was sore, but it was a nice thing. She would snag whichever one she found first and have her way with him in the shower.

She walked into the living room and was surprised to find it quiet. Zane usually had the television on ESPN if they weren’t doing something. Nate was the quieter one. Zane was the one who needed something to do.

The little envelope caught her eye, and her heart sank.

Her name was written in masculine writing on the front. With trembling hands, she opened it. Thanks for the weekend. Have a good life.

She should have known. For them, she had just been a good time. They hadn’t said a word about the future. Of course they hadn’t. It was just sex.

And she was in love with two men who didn’t want her anymore.

Callie sat on the sofa and cried. She let out her worry and all of her fears, holding back nothing. After long minutes, she dried her tears, took a shower, and packed her things. Stef would be by to take her home, where she was needed so desperately.

She dressed and sat down to wait. Callie couldn’t blame Nate and Zane for not loving her. Who, besides someone with her lack of experience, fell in love in a weekend? A person couldn’t force themselves to feel something that wasn’t there. They had been kind, and that was all she’d asked for. They wouldn’t know that she would dream about them forever.

When Stefan knocked, she put on a brave face and got on with her life.

Six Years Later

Nate took a deep breath. He was still getting used to the elevation, but he couldn’t argue with the fact that Bliss, Colorado, was a beautiful place. He looked out at the little town nestled in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Everywhere he looked there was a stunning view. Stefan hadn’t lied about that. Nate straightened his tie as he got out of the truck. His boots crunched into the gravel that covered the parking lot of the Bliss County Sheriff’s Office. It was a small building just off Main Street. It was his workplace now.

Shit, why was he so nervous? This was a huge step down, and he was practically shaking at the thought of meeting his staff.

What staff? According to former sheriff Rye Harper, he had an administrative assistant and one deputy. Rye Harper. He had been Bliss’s sheriff for years, but now he was quitting to train horses and spend time with his new wife. Callie had been in love with Rye Harper, but she wasn’t the new wife. Damn, when was he going to forget that girl? He wondered where she was, if she ever came back to Bliss. Would he be sitting in his office one day and have her wander by? What would he do?

He let the thought go. She probably wouldn’t remember them anyway. Callie Sheppard was probably married by now with a couple of kids. She would be thirty-one, and she would have gotten on with her life. She was probably still so pretty it would hurt to look at her.

If he did run into her, he would be respectful. God knew if he hadn’t been good for her back then, he would be poisonous now. He didn’t even know what to call Zane. The thought of Zane back at the cabin sent a weary sigh through him. This plan had better work. If Zane didn’t start getting better, he wasn’t sure what he would try. This was his last shot as far as Nate could see.

It was all gone. His money, their careers, possibly Zane’s future. He had to make this work. There wasn’t another choice. Guilt gnawed at his gut, and he wondered if the sleepless nights were finally catching up with him. He was so tired he just wanted to sleep.

The door to the station house opened, and he was greeted by a tall man with reddish-brown hair and a friendly smile. “Sheriff Wright?”

He nodded. That was his name now. He was the sheriff of a podunk town, and he was grateful for the job. “Yes, you Harper?”

Rye Harper held out his hand, and Nate shook it quickly. So this was the man Callie had loved. What kind of idiot couldn’t love that girl back?

“Welcome to Bliss, Sheriff Wright. We’re really happy you were willing to take the job.” Harper grinned broadly. “Me, especially. If Stef hadn’t convinced you to work out the rest of my term, those bastards were going to hold me to my contract. Can you imagine that? I didn’t know the people here knew what a contract was. Anyway, I’m sure you’ll like it here. It’s pretty quiet. Come on inside, and I’ll introduce you.”

Nate wasn’t so sure he’d like it anywhere. He might have passed the point in his life where he could have been happy. Still, he followed, his feet moving out of habit. It had been like this for months, ever since the day Zane’s cover had been blown and their world went to hell. He forced himself to move through his days.

Rye Harper was talking as he walked through the door. “I’ll be around if you need anything, but Callie can run this place with one hand tied behind her back, so I don’t expect you’ll have any trouble.”

“What?” He heard the words come out of his mouth, but his attention was focused on one thing and one thing only.

“Nate?” Callie stood by the front desk. She was slightly older, but more beautiful than he remembered her. She was wearing a prim little skirt and a sweater that hid her curves, but he knew they were there. He dreamed about them at night. Every woman he’d slept with since couldn’t measure up. Just like that, he could feel her hips under his hands, tracing her skin while she moved over him. Nate was stopped completely in his tracks. The world seemed to narrow down to that one face. A little bit of panic threatened to take over. Callie was here. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

“You two know each other?” Rye was looking between them.

“Stef introduced us a long time ago,” Callie said softly. She was wearing glasses. She hadn’t worn them before. He wanted to strip them off, along with that shapeless sweater.

“A long time ago.” Nate tried to recover. It would look bad to break down in front of his staff on his first day on the job. His mental breakdown could surely wait a week or two. He nodded briskly and put on a purely professional front. “Hello, Callie. It’s good to see you again. I hope you’re well.”

Her face flushed. He could plainly see that it wasn’t the greeting she expected. Her voice was strained when she replied. “I’m fine, Sheriff. Nice to see you.”

Rye Harper slapped his hands together. “Well, then, I leave you in good hands, Sheriff.” He was at the door in a shot as though he couldn’t wait to get the hell out. “You call me if you need anything, Callie. And be sure to explain about the nudists. There’s a science fair the Farley twins are planning to enter. Some idiot relative bought them a chemistry set. We’ll be lucky if they don’t blow up their barn. Oh, and we’re coming up on Nell and Henry’s annual protest. I think they’re planning on chaining themselves to a tree or something.” The former sheriff looked damn happy he wouldn’t be dealing with those problems. He grinned and was gone in a second.