Holly's Awakening (3 page)

“Boss, I grew up with a man who weighed more than
you did with bad breath and a real bad attitude. Considering he was drunk so
much, his aim was always on the mark. Back off before I forget you’re my boss.”

Without realising it, John had answered at least one
of his questions.

“So your dad put the bruise on her face,”
Kade
said. “That’s progress.”

John bit his lip and looked up at the sky. He was a
muscular man who clearly worked out.
Kade
wasn’t
attracted to him, but he saw the determination on the man’s face. John couldn’t
hide his emotions towards protection.

“I work for you. I don’t have to take this shit.”
John stormed off.
Kade
caught up to him.

“No, but Steven and I are thinking of claiming her
for our own.”

Her brother stopped. “What?”

“You heard me.”

Kade
waited for John to speak. Her brother looked at the offices and then back at
the array of fields they owned.

“You better not hurt her,” John said.

“I wouldn’t dream of hurting her, John. Steven and I
care about her.”

“Are you wanting what Gavin and a couple of guys
have found in town?” John asked.

“Yes.”
Kade
wouldn’t lie
or try to fight him.

John let out a sigh. “Finally.”

“What?”
Kade
asked. It was
his time to frown.

“I knew you and Steven had feelings for Holly. If
anyone can get her out of that shit-hole, it’s you guys,” John said.

“I think it’s time you started talking.”
Kade
waited with hands on hips.

“Holly won’t leave that fucking trailer. She takes
care of our brothers and sisters. Our parents are a waste of space. Dad—I can’t
believe I still call him that—he fucking takes her money. She has enough for
food and sorting out our siblings.” John shook his head. “I can’t get her to
live with me.”

“What about teaching your dad a lesson?”
Kade
asked.

“I tried that. It lasts for a couple of days, and
then he lays into my family harder. I can’t always been there, and I won’t make
it worse.”

“What about letting them all live with you?”

“I can’t do it. My apartment is not big enough, and
my parents have raised hell when I tried. They threatened to have me put away
for good for kidnapping and even worse for Holly. I can’t hurt them, Boss.”

Kade
saw
the guilt in the other man’s face.

“What about the sheriff? He’s a good guy, and he’ll
take care of you.”

“I know, but without proof he can’t do anything.
Holly will never report our dad and risk the chance of putting our brothers and
sisters into care.”

He understood what John was saying. It didn’t make
it easier to bear.
Kade
wondered how long Holly had
been responsible for her family. The more he thought about it the more hurt
Kade
became. She was so small and tiny. Holly shouldn’t
have to deal with that kind of man.

“If you and Steven are serious about claiming Holly
then you’ve got my blessing, but she will never leave the others behind. You’ve
got a lot to deal with.”

“Come on, let’s go and get your sister,”
Kade
said, patting the man on the back. Together they
walked back to where Steven and Holly stood waiting at the door.

“How is everything?” Steven asked.

“Everything is good. We’ll talk later.”

Holly nodded toward her brother. “See you tomorrow
at work.”

Kade
stood next to his lover and waited for the other two to leave.

“What were you talking with John about?”

Steven turned to walk into the house.
Kade
followed close behind him. “We’re talking about Holly.
He gave us his blessing, and he also warned me about her not leaving the
others.”

“I never thought Holly would leave her brothers and
sisters. I’m talking to our lawyer about possible guardianship,” Steven said,
sitting down on the long sofa.

“You’re serious about this? Guardianship for five
kids?”
Kade
asked.

“Not all of them are kids, and they’re good people.
I’ve seen them, and they deserve some happiness as well.” Steven grabbed
Kade’s
legs and placed them over his lap. “Did you get
everything you wanted from the pleasure house?”

“Yeah. Callie appreciated our custom.” He’d
purchased some new dildos, clamps, and cuffs.
Kade
already owned a selection of whips and chains that he couldn’t wait to try out
on their new bed partner.

“I bet she did.”

“The Elliot twins were bugging her again. I think
she was just happy to get them out of her hair.”
Kade
chuckled as he remembered the look on Bronson’s and Andrew’s faces when he
asked for assistance. Callie was never going to do it for him. The pleasure
shop owner may know what the difference was between a butt plug and a vibrator,
but
Kade
wasn’t attracted to Callie at all.

****

The following day Steven waited for Holly to get
into work.
Kade
started working on the ranch early,
and he’d decided to get into the office in order to complete everything for
Friday. When five came on Friday, Steven didn’t want to have to worry about
working late.
Kade
had promised Steven he’d be back
home and ready to take care of Holly.

Steven had already decided he wouldn’t partake in
any of the initial activities. He was going to sit and watch.
Kade
held the experience on taking care of a sub. Steven
was a dominant man, but he wasn’t a Dom. He liked to be in charge and maybe tie
his woman up a couple of times, but he wasn’t trained like
Kade
was. The only way to bring Holly to them was through
Kade’s
guidance and training.

He and
Kade
had been good
friends for a long time. They were friends through high-school and college.
Once they were back in Creek Valley they’d become business partners and taken
over their parents’ ranches. The Edwards and Clark ranches used to be small and
work side by side. Together they’d torn down the barriers between their ranches
and invested a lot of time and money to bring them up to date.

What helped their cause was the fact Steven was a
wealthy man, and it wasn’t down to working the ranch. Back in college he’d had
a keen eye in the stock markets and made plenty of money back then. He still
dabbled in the stock markets, and his wealth was solid.

The only thing Steven was missing was a family. He
loved
Kade
with his whole heart. Being with him was
like floating in a swimming pool. Steven felt relaxed and comforted with him
around. His love for
Kade
would never diminish or
disappear. They were destined to be together. All they missed was a woman.

When they first slept together they both agreed that
even though they loved each other, they needed a woman to complete them. Steven
wanted to be a father. He wanted a warm feminine body to curl around or to be
curled up to, and he needed
Kade
in his life. From
their conversation last night, it was what
Kade
wanted as well.

He heard Holly walk into the office. His door was
open, and he was able to watch her without Holly being aware of it. She placed
her large bag on the counter, rubbed her eyes, and her shoulders slumped.
Wearing a large sweater, again, she looked so lost.

Looking at her, Steven was sure Holly was on the
verge of breaking apart. She appeared so fragile. After a few seconds she took
some deep breaths. He saw her close her eyes, mutter, and then turn away to put
her purse away.

Going to the doorway he caught her gaze as she
lifted the coffee pot.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” he asked.

“Nothing. I’m fine. I’m just thinking about what
we’ve got to do today.” Her hands shook as she poured some coffee into a cup.
The shaking was too bad, and she spilt some hot coffee over her hand. She
gasped out, hissing and dropping the cup.

Steven went to her instantly.

“I’m so sorry. I’m such a klutz.” Holly tried to
clean the mess.

“Leave it.” He made sure his words came out as an
order.

She stopped and stood. He lifted her hand to assess
the damage. There was a red patch on her hand but nothing serious.

“Why are you so nervous? What’s happened today?” he
asked.

Holly nibbled her lip.

“You’ve got to tell me.”

“One of my brothers got suspended for fighting. He’s
at home, but he won’t tell me why he started a fight. Eric is usually a good
boy. He’s fourteen and behaves like he’s older. I need John to talk to him, but
there wasn’t any time. We’d have been late otherwise.”

“He at home now?” Steven asked

“Yeah.” Her gaze moved to the telephone.

“He’s a guy. I’m sure he’d prefer talking to his big
brother than his sister.” Steven needed to talk with
Kade
about getting them out of there.

“Yeah, but my dad’s there, and if he finds Eric then
I don’t know what will happen,” she said.

“Why don’t you go to the sheriff?”

“I can’t. If I go and tell them the truth about Mom and
Dad then they’ll take the others away. I wouldn’t go anywhere because I’m over
eighteen. The others, they’re not so lucky. I don’t want them to go to care.
John and I are all they’ve got. I’m not going to do that to them.”

Steven cupped her checks, forcing her to look at
him. “You’re too kind for your own good.” He brushed his lips against hers
wanting desperately to deepen the kiss. Instead, he pulled back.

“Everything will be fine, and next time you can
bring your brother here.”

“Really?” she asked, shocked.

“Really. He can do homework or something. I won’t
have a problem providing you get your work done.”

She went on her toes and kissed him. “Thank you so
much,
Mr.
Clark.”

“Steven. You call me Steven.”

Holly smiled.

Stepping back, Steven gave her the space to make
another coffee. He went back to his office and glanced at the email on his
desk. The lawyer he and
Kade
had hired was looking
into the potential guardianship of her siblings.

Steven figured if he threw enough money at her father
and mother, they’d back off. When he got the time he’d look into seeing how
much it would cost him to get Holly in his life and that bastard out of hers.

****

The rest of the week flew by. Holly took all of her
siblings to school and took Eric to the office with her. He sat at one of the
desks in the corner working through homework. When he finished, he took his
work to Steven to look over. She was shocked when Steven sent Eric back to his
desk to make the work clearer to read. No one had ever tried to get the best
out of Eric before. She was thankful to Steven for putting in the extra effort.

Even
Kade
talked with Eric
when he came by for lunch or whenever the mood struck him. Neither of them
ignored her little brother, and in the few days he’d been with her at work,
Eric looked to be flourishing.

He ate with her and John underneath their tree.

“So tonight we’re going home alone. I’m picking up
the rest of the gang from school, and you’re spending the night with me,” John
said.

Holly took a bite of her paste sandwich and winced.
She really hated the taste of paste, but it was cheap and served them for a
good few days.

“How come?” Eric asked.

“
Kade
and Steven want some
alone time with her, and we’re going to give it to them.”

“I don’t think I should stay behind. I think I
should come home with you guys,” Holly said. Steven and
Kade
both scared her during working hours. Their presence made her body hum with
sexual awareness, and she didn’t know what she was going to do if they were
alone for a prolonged length of time.

She noticed her two brothers shared a look.

“What?” she asked.

“I think
Kade
and Steven
are cool. They’ll treat you right. They’re good people, unlike Dad. They’ll
never treat you how Dad treats us and Mom.”

Holly couldn’t argue with Eric’s assessment. Steven
and
Kade
were nothing like her parents. Their mother might
not hit out, but she certainly knew what to say to Holly and the others when
she was having a bad day.

“Nothing will come of it. They probably want to fire
me or something.”

It was Steven who’d given her a better paying job.
She looked at John hoping he’d get the message and drop the conversation.