Three (15 page)

“But on top of that, I’ve worked my ass off since I was eighteen so that I can take care of myself, without the help of a man or the luxury of family. Up until a few days ago, I had every intention of growing into an old virginal spinster. I don’t know what will happen with…this.” Simone said gesturing between herself, Xander and Jackson. “But even if after this trip is over and I never see them again, I’ll be thankful that for once in my life I let go and found passion…found something beautiful even if it was just for a fleeting moment in time. Now if you’ll excuse me, I don’t feel like being social anymore.” Simone said, choking back tears and quickly fleeing the room, not wanting to show Xander’s bitter sister any weakness.

“Excuse me for saying this Beth, but you were just the biggest fucking bitch! You don’t even know her. She’s sweet and innocent and knew absolutely nothing about men, and definitely not enough to manipulate one out of his money. From now on, stay the fuck out of my relationships!” Xander exploded.

“I’m sorry, Xan. I was just looking out for you guys. I don’t want anyone to use you.” Bethany said with her head hanging down in shame.

“We don’t need your help. We’re grown ass men. I know you have some dream of Jackson falling in love with you, but it’s never going to fucking happen. He thinks of you as an annoying little sister. So give it up!” Xander said not caring if he hurt her feelings.

His words struck their target. Tears instantly filled Bethany’s eyes and when Jackson looked up at her in surprise, she looked away unable to make eye contact.

“Go to hell, Xander!” She shouted and ran from the room.

Delanie sat in shock over the heated battle of words that just took place, starting with Simone. She knew that Xander more than likely didn’t want to admit just how much he cared for Simone, but she had never heard him talk to any of his siblings like he just had…ever.

“Wow! That was a low blow, Xan.” Delanie said to the big brother she idolized. “I know she was being a huge bitch. But I don’t know if it was enough to humiliate her in front Jackson like that.” Delanie said sadly, as she got up to leave, knowing that Bethany was waiting for her and needed consoling.

“Fuck! I know, I know. She just pissed me off so bad. I think I wanted to hurt her the way she hurt Simone.” Xander admitted.

“I think you care for Simone more than you let on.” Delanie said, leaning over the table and kissing him on the cheek.

“I like her, but it’s not like I’m ready for marriage or anything.” Xander said in denial.

“Just keep telling yourself that. See ya later, Jax.” Delanie smirked at Xander and waved goodbye to Jackson.

Xander and Jackson sat stunned over the events of the past ten minutes.

“What the fuck was that?!” Jackson exclaimed.

“My sisters are fucking quacks, that’s what! One can’t shut the hell up and one is a down right hateful bitch!” Xander scowled.

“Beth has a crush on
me
, which made her lash out at Simone, really?!” Jackson said, still in shock over the revelation.

“Yep. Haven’t you noticed that she’s more anti-threesome than the rest of my family? She’s loved you since we first started hanging out together. I found her books and notebooks for school that had ‘I heart Jackson’ or ‘Mrs. Bethany Cole’ written all over them. I never said anything because I thought she’d grow out of it, but I couldn’t hold my tongue when she lashed out at Simone like that.” Xander shook his head.

“Speaking of, we need to go check on her. Make sure she’s alright.” Jackson said with concern thickening his voice.

“Yeah, I know. I do need to feed the dogs soon, before they starve to death.” Xander remembered through all of the drama.

“Yeah. Since the storm has passed, I have to head to the mill to make sure everything is fine. It’ll take just a few minutes to see if she’s alright and then we can go and get some work done.” Jackson said, deep in thought before switching gears completely. “Hey, what do you think about having her stay at the cabin with us? Once the next wave of guests arrive we won’t able to have privacy with her, especially not as loud as we get.” Jackson suggested as they headed out of the dining room.

“I don’t know, man. That’s moving a little fast isn’t it?” Xander said hesitantly.

“What are you so afraid of Xan? Why can’t you see that you have more feelings for her than just a passing fling?” Jackson said, looking at his friend in frustration, as they took the main staircase up to the third floor, too impatient to wait for the elevator.

“I don’t know. Why do you care so much? I like her okay. Isn’t that enough for now?” Xander argued back, as they came to the landing of the third floor.

“Just don’t fuck it up, Xan.” Jackson warned as they walked down the hall.

Once at her door, Jackson and Xander stopped and pressed their ears to it. At first they heard nothing and then the sound of a sniffle reached their ears. They both looked at each other before Jackson grabbed the key out of his pocket and opened the door.

Stepping into the room, they saw Simone lying on the bed facedown, her body wracked with sobs. As soon as they heard her heartbreaking sobs and saw her trembling back, they strode quickly over to the bed. Both gently climbed onto the bed lying on either side of her trying not to startle her, Jackson on her left and Xander on the right. Jackson rubbed at her back soothingly with his large hand that almost spanned the entire width of her back.

“Shh…it’s okay beautiful. Don’t cry.” Jackson cooed at her, which of course only made her cry harder.

Jackson brushed back a tendril of hair that had escaped her bun and gently kissed her temple. He looked over at Xander, silently imploring him to use his humor to stop her tears. Xander nodded his head in understanding.

“Hey, hey…stop all these tears, gorgeous.” Xander said turning Simone to face him.

Silent tears continued to slip down her face as she looked at him. Leaning in, Xander kissed her lips softly, then her cheeks, nose, and forehead. Each kiss gained speed until he was giving her soft quick pecks all over her face like a madman, until her sobs turned to giggles.

“You don’t have to worry anymore. The wicked witch of the east is gone. I threw a house on top of her.” Xander grinned at Simone as she burst out laughing. “Now we just have to worry about her sister the wicked witch of the west, with all her incessant questions. She’d make a great CIA agent. Her specialty would be in interrogations. I’m surprised she didn’t try water-boarding you. God my sisters are bat-shit crazy!” Xander finished on a frustrated sigh.

“I like Delanie. She’s sweet. I just don’t get why it felt like Bethany had it in for me.” Simone ended sadly.

“That’s because she’s been in love with Jackson since we were little. And she’s always held out hope that he would stop sharing with me and realize that he loves her too, which is a pipe dream.” Xander explained.

“Oh.” Simone said, understanding dawning. With the feelings she had for both men, she didn’t think she’d act any better if someone threatened her territory.
I’d have to cut a bitch.

“I had no idea until today, of her feelings for me. I’ve thought of her as nothing but my little bratty sister all these years. I don’t wanna hurt her, but I’ve already gotten a little attached to this beautiful shy girl that turns into a complete wanton lioness in bed…or on a bearskin rug…or in the shower…or-” Jackson teased, before Simone cut him off.

“Okay, okay…I get it. Apparently I have a personality disorder.” Simone said giggling, before quickly sobering up. “I’m really sorry that I was the cause of so much drama with your family Xander. And I swear to you both, that I would never use you for your money.”

“Aw Si, we know that. It never even crossed our minds. And you didn’t cause the drama they did, especially Beth. Lanie was just being her normal annoying little kid sister self.” Xander soothed. “And I’m so sorry that your feelings were hurt. It won’t happen again. I promise you that.” Xander said with certainty.

“Si, what do you think about checking out of the lodge and coming to stay with us at our cabin for the rest of your stay?” Jackson broached the subject.

“What? Really?! You’d want me to stay with you? What about when Amber gets here?” Simone asked in shock.

“Yes, really. When the new guests arrive, it’ll be hard for us to have alone time. And it would be unprofessional for Xander to have loud crazy sex that would cause the other guests to complain, don’t you think? Also, we have plenty of room for Amber when she gets here. So what do ya say?” Jackson asked getting more excited, seeing that she was on the verge of accepting.

“O…okay, sure.” Simone said shyly.

“Good.” Jackson leaned in and kissed her gently against the lips. “Now, that the storm has cleared, literally and figuratively, I need to go to the mill to make sure everything’s fine. So I’ll see you later tonight, alright?”

“Alright.” Simone smiled at him.

Jackson kissed her on the lips once more, then got up from the bed and headed to the door. He looked back before leaving the room to see her staring after him. He winked at her and then closed the door.

~~~

Xander watched his friend leave, still unsure if it was a good idea to have Simone stay with them. But since Jackson had already said it and Simone seemed happy about it, Xander wasn’t going to ruin it.

Plus, throughout the years he and Jackson had only gotten into a couple of fights that had come to blows. And though Xander felt he could hold his own, being fast and nibble, he was still no match for Jackson’s size and strength. And he wasn’t in the mood for a beat down in the near future. He knew Jackson would kill him if he ruined things with Simone.

“So do you want to help me feed the pups? They’re probably pissed at me right now.” Xander said, brushing a tendril of jet black hair behind Simone’s ear.

“Yeah, I’d love too!” Simone said sitting up quickly.

“Okay, let’s roll.” Xander stood up and reached out to help Simone off of the bed.

He grabbed her coat and helped her put it on. He snatched up her wool hat and tried placing it on her head, but her thick bun made it stick up high on her head. Simone looked up at him with downturned bedroom eyes, and a little smile playing at her full wide mouth and Xander’s heart clenched. The sudden feeling scared the crap out of him.

“You look like one of the seven dwarfs with your hat sticking up like that.” Xander chuckled, trying to make a joke to shake off the feelings creeping up on him.

“And which dwarf would that be?” Simone asked, as Xander took the hat off and unwound her hair.

Xander watched as her hair cascaded down her shoulders and back, framing her face in a seductive veil, making him nearly swallow his tongue.

“Hmm…I think maybe Sleepy. With those sexy as hell bedroom eyes you have, it looks like you just woke up from having a naughty dream about me.” Xander smirked down at her, one dimple deepening, as Simone blushed deeply. “Huh…or maybe Bashful? You’re always blushing.” Xander changed his mind as he ran a finger over the flush on her cheek.

Xander pulled the hat back down on her head, playfully bringing it down over her eyes. She flirtatiously swatted at his hands and pushed the hat back on her head, smiling up at him brightly.

Swallowing hard past his tightened dry throat, Xander reached down to slowly zip up Simone’s coat with shaking fingers.

“Okay gorgeous, let’s getting moving.” Xander said trying to distract himself, as fear and other unwanted emotions sped through his veins.

Xander opened the door for Simone and they headed downstairs. Xander stopped to put on his full snowsuit and grabbed a fifty pound bag of dog food and threw it on his shoulder as if it weighed nothing.

Simone noticed more than ever, without Jackson around that Xander was pretty formidable in his own right. He was tall, broad shouldered and muscular too, and would make most of the guys back in Washington look puny. It was just that he was always around Jackson who made absolutely everyone look like a midget.

Simone stared at his tight ass as she followed Xander outside.
What the hell is wrong with me? Since when did I start caring more about how nice a man’s ass looks than trying to find my mom’s family? And since when did this trip become a time for sexual self-discovery and not about discovering were half of me comes from?

While beating herself up, Simone almost didn’t notice how the landscape was more of a winter wonderland after the storm than it was when she had first arrived.

“Oh wow, it’s beautiful!” Simone gasped.

“It is, isn’t it? It’s easy to take things for granted when you see them every day. That’s why I enjoy having new guests come in, because you get to see it through their eyes, like it’s the first time all over again.” Xander said looking out at the snowy terrain.

“Hmm…that was pretty poetic, Xander.” Simone smiled up at him.

“I have my moments.” He grinned down at her.

Xander brought out a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the gate surrounding the Huskies. Simone noticed several lumps in the snow and as soon as the keys jingled about thirty heads popped up out of the snow. Seeing Xander with food, they jumped up and shook off the remaining snow from their coats and barked and wagged their tails happily.