They’d all secretly feared that the relationship wouldn’t work out. It was their number one fear.
Though their fathers had a very nontraditional relationship with their mother, it had never occurred to them that they would follow in the same path. It hadn’t been discussed. No one had ever suggested it. They’d certainly had relationships, flings, whatever the hell you wanted to call them, with other women, and they damn sure hadn’t ever called any of the others up and asked him if he was up for a foursome.
Seth had been the first to make that connection with Lily, but it hadn’t meant that his was any more intense than Michael’s or even Dillon’s own. From the moment Dillon had laid eyes on her, he’d known without a doubt that she was his and that he’d go to any lengths to possess her.
He hadn’t cared that Seth had already staked a claim or that she was in town because she’d come with him. There was no way he could walk away from her and settle for a relationship as her brother-in-law. Oh hell no.
It had taken some discussion between the brothers before they’d realized that they had a huge problem. They were all in love with the same woman and none of them were willing to take a step back.
No one in their family so much as blinked an eye. Hell, no one in the town of Clyde would have been surprised. But Lily?
This wasn’t normal to her. It wasn’t something she’d been exposed to all her life. They’d come at her like fucking bulldozers.
Maybe now she was having some serious second thoughts. Maybe she didn’t like having to juggle three men in a relationship.
It was automatic for Dillon to think back, to try to figure out if he or one of his brothers had been demanding. Expected too much from her. But no, they were always so careful. Because they feared overwhelming her, because they feared pushing her too far.
Fuck it, but this was for the birds. It was time to get their asses home and figure out what the hell was wrong with their woman so they could make it right.
LILY tugged her sweater tighter around her waist as she walked through the small grove of aspens behind the cabin. She loved this trail, especially in fall when the leaves burned gold and were so brilliant to look at that it made her eyes hurt.
She should have taken her heavier coat but she hadn’t planned on going this far. She’d only meant to sit awhile on her bench and stare at the vista through Rose’s memorial.
It had begun to snow, adding another thin layer to the ground cover that crunched beneath her boots. They weren’t due for any heavy snow, at least not today. She hadn’t checked the extended forecast to know what lay beyond.
The last several days had been good because Holly had kept Lily busy with teaching her how to cook. But the downside was that Lily was no closer to knowing how to break the news to her husbands because she hadn’t had time to think.
She was always around someone. She hadn’t had any time alone to just be. To think and consider. To face her fears and resolve to share her secret with the men she loved.
She took her hands out of her pockets and blew on them to warm the tips. She hadn’t brought her gloves either, but she wasn’t so cold that she was compelled to return to the cabin. Not yet.
There was a point she wanted to reach, where she could look out and see forever. Over the valley and down the ridge. The most beautiful country she’d ever seen.
This was her home. She had to constantly remind herself that it was hers. She had a place in the world.
And now so would her child.
She paused, taking that last step, and then rested her hand on the trunk of an aspen as she peered out, taking in the breathtaking view.