Theirs (10 page)

Alex clutched her forehead. “Yeah, tell me about it.
This is a lot to take i
n. I think I need to sit down.”
She walked to the sofa and plopped down unceremoni
ously. “If you knew where I was, why didn’t you c
ome see me
to explain
in person?
At the very leas
t you could have found a way
to let me know that I wasn’t completely alone in the world.”

Cash
took the empty space next to her
,
sitting close enough for their thighs to brush, while
Rusty
occupied her other side. It was a good sign when Alex didn’t seem to mind how close they were to
her
. They were getting through to her, but there
was
so much more she still needed to know.
But for now
,
there
was hope, and
Cash
was determined to use it to achieve his ultimate goal. Having Alex back with them always.

It was on the tip of his tongue to answer all her
questions
when Alex leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes. He then remembered how tired she’d said she was.

“Alex if you want to continue this discussion tomorrow so you can get some rest, we can come back when you get off work.”

Cash’s suggestion was met with a light snore.

Chapter
Nine

The sound of her alarm
going o
f
f
brought Alex out of a restful slumber. She let out a big yawn as she stretched her arms above her head. Glancing at the clock on her nightstand it read that it was six-thirty. She didn’t have to be at work until eight-thirty so she lay in bed for
at least another half hour. On
the verge of hitting the snooze
button
,
Alex sat
up abruptly as she suddenly remembered the events from the
night before.
She
didn’t remember falling asleep nor did she recall getting into bed the night before.
Tossing off the covers, she noticed she was only in her bra and panties which meant, either Cash, Rusty or both of them had undressed her and put her to bed.

She threw her legs over the bed and slid off before grabbing her robe. When she went out to the living room, there was no sign that they were there.
The
dining room table had been cleared and it looked as if they’d cleaned the place up before they left. Her last coherent memory
of the night before was sitting on the couch with Cash and Rusty on either side of her. How tired must she have been to just pass out the way she did? That was the last time she stayed up for 24 hours straight if she could help it.

With a yawn, she walked into her kitchen and noticed a note by the coffee maker.

We realized how exhausted you were so put you to bed. The leftovers are in the fridge. We really need to continue our conversation. We’ll be back tonight when you get home from work. Cash and Rusty.

There was so much she still needed to unwrap from last night and a lot of unanswered questions. Alex felt somewhat better knowing that they had been looking out for her in the beginning but she couldn’t help but wonder why they’d never visited. Did she dare believe that they actually abstained from dating other women and that she was the only one they’d thought about since they’d been apart? Eight years was a long time. Part
of her wanted to believe Cash and Rusty
but her cynical half wouldn’t allow her to completely trust them.

Even if they did somehow have a plausible explanation for their
eight
-
year
absence, how could they possibly make something like what they suggested work?
When they were last together, they were all practically kids. They were all adults now with their own lives. What made them think that they wouldn’t eventually get tired of their arrangement? Maybe one day they would get tired of sharing her and decide they each wanted their own individual woman. On top of that, they wanted her to move back to Bradfordville. She never wanted to see that town again, if she were being completely honest. Alex fully understood they couldn’t leave because of the factory and therein lay the problem.

Thankfully she was well-rested so by the time she made it to work, Alex was able to concentrate on her tasks. Georgia was waiting for her at their spot in the cafeteria. The redhead smiled as Alex approached. “You’re looking much better today. You must have slept the night away.”

Alex took the seat across from her friend.
“Not exactly, at least not at first.”

“What happened? Don’t tell me your mystery men showed up.” Georgia popped a french fry into her mouth.

“That’s exactly what happened. All I wante
d to do when I got home was take a
long hot bath and go to bed. But Cash and Rusty were waiting for me.”

“Oh, so that’s their names? Now I can stop calling them your mystery men. They sound sexy?”

“You got that all from the names?”

“They just
sound
like hot guy names and I figured they have to be good-l
ooking considering all the men
you’ve turned down over the years. I mean you’ve passed on some serious hunks.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “That’s not true. You keep saying how all these men are after me but I’ve seen no evidence.”

“Are you kidding me? That cute Oncologist on the eighth floor keeps asking about you and that guy is seriously hot. I swear if he showed the least bit of interest in me, I’d be all over that.
You’re so oblivious when it comes to male attention.”

Alex pulled an apple out of her lunch bag. “I still think you’re exaggerating but the truth is, what happened between me Cash and Rusty did quite a number on me.”

“Are you ready to talk about it?”

“It’s long story. Do you have the time?”

Georgia glanced at her watch. “I got about forty minutes.”

“Okay, the condensed version it is.”

Alex took a deep breath before telling Georgia everything from how she’d grown up with Cash and Rusty, what it had been like to be friends with them in a town that judged her and how her grandmother had treated her. Except for sharing graphic details of her encounters with the Bradford men, she tried to be as forthcoming as possible. By the time Alex was finished with her tale, Georgia was caught up to the previous night. “And that’s basically it.”

The redhead stared
back at Alex open-mouthed.

Alex raised a brow. “Are you going to say something?”

“Whoa.”

“That’s it?”

“I mean what else can I say? That sounds like something out of a movie. I didn’t even know things like that happened in real life. That’s certainly a lot to process. It’s no wonder you’ve been a wreck these past few days.”

“Yeah, you’ve only heard my story, imagine living it.”

Georgia reached across the table and took Alex’s hand. “You poor thing. What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen them in eight years and they just expect me to come home with them as if all this time hasn’t passed. I really like the life I
have
he
re
. I love my job, I like being in a big city where no one knows
who I am and people don’t turn their nose down at me because they think they’re better than me.”

“Sounds like your biggest issue is with the town and not with Cash and Rusty. Maybe you’re looking for excuses instead of taking another chance with them.”

“Of course I’m scared. When I had to leave town abruptly I was devastated. And when they didn’t come after me, I was doubly crushed.”

“But it sounds like they had a pretty good explanation to me for why didn’t get in contact with you and had you not fallen asleep, maybe they would have told you why they hadn’t been in contact with you these past eight years.”

Alex shrugged. “Maybe so but
what good would that do now. We’re not kids anymore.”

“You keep telling yourself that but would you be so torn up if the feelings weren’t there. I can’t say I understand how this relationship would work with three people involved but I know that love comes in
all forms. If your heart is telling you it’s right then maybe you owe it to yourself to see what can happen. I mean, it’s not like you’re currently dating anyone and every time I’ve ever tried to set you up you find some fault with the guy. Now I understand why. You’ve never gotten over Cash and Rusty. Why don’t you at least hear them out and go from there.”

Georgia’s words certainly held wisdom and at the very least she owed herself the chance for closure that she’s been
denied. “I guess you’re right. But let’s just say by some miracle we decide to make a go at it? They lived seven hours away and I’m not interested in moving down there. And I couldn’t expect them to move up here especially when they have the huge responsibility of running the factory.”

“Well, hon, if it’s meant to be, I’m sure you’ll find a way to work it out. And never say never about going back. Who knows, things might be different. You may want to go for a visit to see your grandmother.” Georgia raised her hand. “And before you say anything, she’s a big part of this thing as well. You’re going to have to resolve your issues with her, even if it’s to tell her to go to hell. You’re not going to be able to move on unless you confront all of your demons.”

“Why do you have to be so sensible?” Alex asked before biting into her apple.

Georgia
flip
ped
a lock hair over her shoulder in a dramatic gesture. “I guess I was just born fabulous.”

Alex laughed for the first time in days. It was time to stop being so scared and facing her fears head on. Whenever Cash and Rusty showed up, she’d be ready for them.

<><><><><>

Alex took off a little early so that she could get things ready for Cash and Rusty’s arrival. She took a quick shower and changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. There were so many leftovers from the night before she heated them up and set the table. Just when she finished setting everything up, the bell went off signaling that they were downstairs.

She took a deep breath before buzzing them in. When she stuck her head out the door as she waited for them to get to her apartment, she noticed Mr. Harrison was also looking out his door.

“Hi, Mr. Harrison.”

The older man opened his door slightly to step into the hallway. “Saw those boys who came by the other night outside. Are they on their way up?”

Even though it was none of his damn business, Alex felt compelled to answer for the sake of being polite.
“Yes, they are.”

“I
’ve
never
seen
them around before that night. In my day, decent young ladies didn’t entertain gentlemen callers without a chaperone.”

What the hell? Were they in the 50’s? She was very close to losing her cool but instead she did a mental countdown before speaking. “Well, thank goodness for progress right?” She made sure to tack a smile on her face to let him know she wasn’t here for his bullshit.

He snorted. “Well, I thought you were a decent young lady is all and I was just trying to be a good neighbor.”

She didn’t care that this man was old enough to be her grandfather. She wasn’t going to let him shame her in her own home. It had happened to her when she was younger, she’d be damned if she didn’t stand up for herself now. “Mr. Harrison, it’s been a while since your children have come to visit. According to you they only come around when they want something. Maybe they don’t visit a lot because you’re always in their business because you certainly seem to like being in mine.”

The old man turned a deep shade of red before shooting a glare in her direction. He then retreated back into his apartment and slammed his door with a force that reverberated throughout the entire hallway.

“What was that all about?” Rusty frowned as he approached her.

Alex rolled her eyes annoyed that she’d ever paid attention to that old busybody. “Mr. Harrison was being nosey as usual,” she said louder than necessary hoping that he was still listening at his door. She didn’t care if she hurt the old man’s feelings, he had no right to comment on who she could and couldn’t invite into a place where she paid her rent on time every month.
She exh
aled to calm herself down. She’d
probably taken things a little too far by bringing up the hurtful topic of his
children
, but it wasn’t the first time he’d said something slick to her. Tonight was just the final straw.

“Come on in. I hope you guys haven’t eaten because we have plenty of leftovers.” She held the door and allowing them inside. The first thing she noticed as they walked by her was how good they smelled. Cash still wore the same cologne he did in high school. Whenever he would hug her, he’d leave his scent all over her and she’d curl up in bed using the shirt she’d worn as a pillow. Rusty had his own natural scent mixed with whatever soap he used was just as intoxicating. She hoped she could make it through the night without doing anything stupid.

Once they were all seated at her dining room table, with Cash and Rusty sitting across from her, grabbed the carton of fried rice. “Help yourselves. There’s still plenty here. I don’t know what you two were thinking when you bought all this yesterday. I wouldn’t be able to finish all this by myself in a week.”

Cash picked up the tray of wings and placed a few on his plate. “We just wanted to get your favorites.”

“Yeah, but if we eat all this I’m going to need to take a couple extra Zumba classes.
”

“You’d look beautiful regardless.” Rusty’s intense stare sent
a shiver
up and down her spine.

“Uh, how about we eat first and then we can have our talk
afterward
?” She said before shoving a forkful of rice into her mouth.”

The brother’s shared a meaningful look Alex didn’t quite understand. She knew they were aware that she was stalling. Before their arrival, she had a long speech prepared about why trying for a relationship wouldn’t be a good idea but now she couldn’t remember a single word.

Cash smirked. “Trying to avoid the subject? I get it. We’ve waited this long for you. We can wait another hour t
o finish our dinner. But there’s no reason we can’t talk about other things while we enjoy our meal.”