Red Zone: Boys of Fall (8 page)

She was right. During the week, Pitchers shut down around ten or eleven depending on the crowd. Even getting an early start, it was nearly three a.m. before he and Joel got back to the bunkhouse. Three hours’ sleep was an ass-kicker, but they both agreed it was worth it. So much so they had been willing to pull an all-nighter tonight.

“Maybe we should just pack it in on this evening. Try to hook up another time.”

Oakley knew Sadie’s suggestion made sense. So many hours of lost sleep was catching up to him. But he didn’t like the idea of not seeing her.

“I guess.”

“I’m off Wednesday night. What if you guys come by my place? We can order pizza, drink body shots off each other and get silly between the sheets.”

Oakley laughed, even as her invitation had his cock twitching hungrily. “Damn. That sounds like my ideal night. Not crazy about having to wait so long though. Woody misses you.”

She laughed. “Anticipation makes it better.”

She was right, but he wasn’t at a place where he was willing to put that theory to the test. If Oakley had his way, he’d be buried deep inside her every single night of the week. “Wednesday it is,” he said at last. “I’ll let Joel know.”

“Cool. I’ll call you later about a time. I gotta run. I’m late for work. See you Wednesday.”

As they hung up, Oakley did some quick math in his head. Five days until he saw her. One hundred and twenty hours.

Jesus. He’d never make it.

Sadie looked around the bar and sighed. She had told Oakley Friday was typically a busy night, but part of her had hoped it would be a slow evening, so she could bounce out early. Luck was not on her side. It was starting to get crowded. Her dad was clearly happy with all the business, but she was struggling. Her head was not in the game. In fact, it was approximately twenty-five miles out of town…on a ranch…with two panty-melting cowboys.

She was hard-pressed to recall drink recipes when every damn order made her remember the guys and what she
wasn’t
going to be doing tonight. A group of rowdy women were enjoying round after round of Blow Job shots.
Bitches.
Some frou-frou chick out on a first date kept requesting Sex on the Beach drinks, giggling whenever she said the name. In addition to that, she’d made one Screwdriver, one Buttery Nipple and two Alabama Slammers. What the hell was wrong with these people?

“You need a refill yet?” Sadie asked.

At least Paige was just drinking a beer. “No, I’m good for right now, thanks.”

“Yeah, you’re nursing that one good.” Sadie swished her rag over the bar debating whether or not she should start the conversation that had been niggling at the back of her mind ever since Paige walked into the bar alone and set up camp at the end of the counter.

Rumors spread through Quinn quicker than the flu and, in addition to Sadie’s taxi departure with Oakley and Joel, there was an interesting one floating around about Paige’s after-wedding escapades. Ordinarily, Sadie didn’t pay much heed to the wagging tongues, but this story caught her attention.

To hell with it,
she decided as she leaned closer. She needed to talk to someone and if the rumor was true, Paige was the perfect person to fill that role. “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

Paige nodded. “Sure thing.”

“Is it true?” At Paige’s blank look, Sadie lifted her brows. “You know, about you and Colt and Drake possibly being in a compromising position. Post-wedding shenanigans. That kind of deal.”

From the guilty expression on Paige’s face, Sadie had her answer. When the silence drifted a bit too long, Sadie tried to lighten the moment. “Yoohoo, Paige, you in there?”

Paige smiled. “Yeah. Sorry. Just trying to come up with a politically correct way to say that I—”

“That you banged two sinfully sexy cowboys?” At Paige’s silence, Sadie grinned. She’d found a confidante. “Just an FYI, I might know something about that too.”

Paige reared back on her barstool, nearly toppling off the thing. She mumbled something that sounded like “You’ve been with them?”

She’d only served Paige a couple of beers, not nearly enough for her to be tipsy, but the woman looked slightly off-balance. “Hey there, you okay?” Sadie peered closer at her face. “You didn’t have a few before you got here, did you?”

“No, no, of course not. I’m not drunk. Did you…” Paige was flushed and struggling to catch her breath. “Did you sleep with Colt and Drake too?”

Sadie’s lips twitched. “Too? That sounds like an admission of guilt. To which I say, you go, girl.” Paige’s blush bloomed even brighter, but she grinned when Sadie held her hand up for a high five.

“To answer your other question…” Sadie propped her forearms on the bar and lowered her voice. “Hell no, I haven’t slept with them. Either of them. Never mind both. Do you really think I’d be asking you about it if I had?”

“I don’t know.”

While Sadie was thrilled to have someone to talk to about the rather unorthodox path they were on, Paige didn’t seem as comfortable with the discussion. She watched the other woman pick up her glass and chug the rest of her beer. “Gimme another, please.”

“You got it.” Sadie took her glass and pulled the tap. Despite Paige’s embarrassment, Sadie wasn’t about to let the subject drop after finally finding someone with whom she could confide her secret. “I said I knew something about sleeping with two hot cowboys. Just not those particular two.”

“Really?” Finally Paige appeared to relax a bit. “Is that like a…thing ’round here, and no one ever told me because I’m too new in town?”

Sadie laughed. “Girl, you aren’t that new anymore. Besides, you’re practically from one of the founding families of Quinn. Your people have roots here that go back eons.”

Paige sat up a little straighter. “That they do.”

“And no, I don’t think it’s a thing. People in Quinn can be a bit conservative sometimes, though I think that overall, they’re pretty understanding and decent when it comes right down to it. They’re just easily shocked by some of the goings-on is all.” Sadie flicked her ponytail back over her shoulder. “Like the things done by wild women such as you and me.”

“Having a threesome makes me a wild woman?” Paige whispered.

Sadie forced herself not to laugh at Paige’s earnest tone. “Well, it sure doesn’t make you an old fuddy-duddy.”

“Good point.” Paige took another sip of beer. “So, um, who were yours? Your cowboys, I mean.”

Sadie glanced around, realizing belatedly that starting this conversation at the bar—with her father roaming the premises—was probably a bad idea.

However, before she could answer, Paige shocked her by guessing. “Not Joel and Oakley?”

“What makes you mention them?”

“Other than y’all been attached at the hip lately? I don’t know. I guess I’ve always seen sparks between you guys. Actually, more like flames. Forget sparks.”

Sadie couldn’t fault that observation. “Let’s just say one is great, but two is spectacular.”

Paige sighed. “You’re telling me.”

“I
am
telling you because it’s nice to have someone to talk to. We’re kind of a rare breed ’round here. I mean, I’m sure a few others have had affairs with more than one guy, but no one will admit to them. Although probably no one in our group of friends. I can’t imagine Lorelie, AJ or Char—” She stopped talking when she realized why Paige was probably fretting over her threesome adventure. Paige’s best friend was Charlene. And Colt was Charlene’s ex-husband. “Well, now, that’s rather awkward.”

“Yeah. Part of why I’m destined to only have that one night in my fantasies.”

“You don’t want to hurt Charlene.”

“No. I’d rather cut off my toes than do that.” Then Paige glanced down at her feet. “Actually, I’d rather lose a couple fingers. My toes look great right now.”

Sadie laughed. “I gotta say, it’s hard to figure Char being that hurt, considering she’s newly married and all. She and Wade have been making moon eyes at each other since high school.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Paige said softly.

“Take my word for it. Char and Wade were meant for each other. Added to that, she’s a pretty reasonable lady, all in all. I can’t see her begrudging you some happiness if you found it.”

“No, she wouldn’t, but she reminded me of the score last week.”

Sadie held up a finger when another customer summoned her at the other end of the bar. “One minute there, Teddy.” She turned back to Paige. “What score is that?”

Paige wiped up the condensation left by her beer on the bar with her finger. “The one that says Colt and Drake are the love-’em-and-leave-’em types.”

“Well, honey, I can’t say if that’s so or not. Drake has had a few relationships since he’s been in town that I know of, and they weren’t real short. A couple of women, and there was that one guy, Robbie, I think was his name—”

“Wait. He was in a relationship with a guy?”

“Yeah, rumor has it. Was some years back.”

“Sadie, I’m dying over here,” Teddy called out.

“I’m coming.” Sadie winked at Paige. “Be right back.”

Sadie set Teddy up with another beer, then took care of a couple other patrons along the way, hoping it would buy her a few more minutes to talk to Paige without interruption.

“Sorry about that. Can’t keep a thirsty man—or woman—waiting long.”

“True enough.”

“So as I was saying, let’s say they are love-’em-and-leave-’em types, as you said. You’re not really looking for more than that, are you?”

Sadie didn’t understand how Paige
could
hope for more. One of the reasons she’d agreed to the threesome was because Sadie had believed it would keep her safe. From getting too close. From feeling too much. But the hard truth was they were only a week in and Sadie was deeper than she’d ever been in her life.

“No,” Paige said quietly, gripping the handle of her mug. “But I’m not sure one night is enough either. Is there a middle point between a full-blown relationship and a hookup?”

“Sure there is.” Sadie knew that fact all too well. “That’s where I am right now.” She hoped that if she said the words aloud to Paige, it would help her reinforce the beliefs she’d always held on to with the tenacity of a bulldog. “Not all of us want to settle down and get married with a houseful of kids. For some of us, it’s just not what we’re made for.”

“You’re not?”

Sadie slowly shook her head. She needed to say this, to get the words out. “No. I have enough issues as it is. I don’t need to inflict them on some offspring of mine, or set up house with a husband when I know he’ll only end up disappointed down the line.”

“Just
one
husband? Maybe that’s your problem right there.”

Sadie knew Paige was teasing, but she didn’t smile. “Nah. It’s not a problem. It’s a philosophy. And it’s practical.”

Paige nodded. “I think I’m growing allergic to becoming practical. All I’ve ever focused on was business, business, business. I wanted to grow the store and make my granddaddy proud.”

“How’s that working for you?”

“As far as the store goes, incredible. Profits are up, customers are happy, word is spreading. Charli and I have talked about expanding, and it’s a real possibility if things keep up as they are. But personally…I’m not going to say how long it was since I did the deed before last weekend. Let’s just say our president was in his first term in office.”

“Oh. Ouch.” Sadie winced in sympathy. “No wonder you went big when you finally went.”

“Big? Try huge.”

Sadie snorted a laugh at Paige’s risqué joke.

Paige rolled her eyes. “Jeez, pervert, that’s not what I meant. Though if we’re dishing, they are both really well-endowed—”

Sadie made a slashing gesture with her hand when she noticed Drake standing directly behind Paige.

His big-ass grin told Sadie he’d clearly heard what they had been talking about as he claimed the stool next to Paige.

“What’s your poison?” Sadie asked.

“PBR’s fine. Thanks, Sadie.”

“Pleasure’s all mine.” Sadie moved away to fill his mug, then set it in front of him. “Let me know if you need anything else. Like, say, another
huge
drink.”

She laughed as she walked away, but the good humor was short-lived. Talking to Paige had forced Sadie to face facts she’d been trying to ignore the last few nights.

Every time she fell back into Joel and Oakley’s arms, she lost a little bit more of her heart. She was an idiot to keep going back to them, knowing things couldn’t end the way they wanted.

However, there was no doubt in her mind, she was going to keep paying the fool. She couldn’t give them up. Not yet.

* * *

Sadie stood outside the bunkhouse and cursed herself for being a fool. And a nympho-fucking-maniac. She’d told Oakley that bullshit about anticipation making sex better just this afternoon. The conversation with Paige a few hours earlier had stirred up all kinds of confusing thoughts in her head making it impossible for her to concentrate. In the end, she’d gotten so hot and bothered and frustrated that she’d messed up at least a dozen drink orders and broken three glasses.  She’d been so fucked-up her dad had told her to go home for fear she’d do some real damage. His exact words had been, “Get the fuck outta here before you burn the place down.”

So she’d hopped on her bike, traveled two blocks toward her apartment, then turned around and headed here. She glanced at her cell phone. It was just after midnight. The lights in the ranch house and the bunkhouse were off. The entire spread was pitch black. Not that she was surprised. Days started early at a place like this. The polar opposite of her sleep-until-early-afternoon, then-stay-up-half-the-night lifestyle. She was the vampire in Oakley and Joel’s early bird world.

She considered leaving them to their sleep for all of two seconds, and then she lifted her hand and knocked on the door.

Sadie only had a couple of minutes to second-guess her actions before the door opened. Joel stood before her in nothing but a pair of boxers. His hair was slightly mussed up and she suspected he’d actually been in bed for a while. Which made her feel really stupid for showing up unannounced.