Page 14 of Eye of Her Storm

“Okay,” Seth agreed.

“Another thing,” River chimed in quickly.

Both men looked at her.

“Don’t ever, ever lay out my clothes again. I’ll walk right out the front door and not come back. And you need to let me help out around here, especially starting next week. You both work the ranch fulltime and I won’t be working at all once I’m done training Madison.”

“I told you laying out her clothes was weird.” Tai covered River’s hand with his and squeezed her fingers. “Let’s talk about the routine and what you can do later on, after work. I’m sure we can come up with some sort of an agreement. And don’t worry about Seth—what did you call it? Coddling you? He’s just excited that you’re here. We both are.” He pushed back his chair then pulled her over onto his lap. His arms locked around her, and he kissed her temple. “Now…that said, you will let us drive you to work.” His finger pressed over her lips when she started to protest. “This morning, I saw you’re taking some pretty hefty pain meds, babe. You shouldn’t be driving on them. It was one thing when you were hiking downstairs from your apartment to the Doc’s office. It’s a whole different thing when you’re traveling forty-five minutes into town.”

River sighed. Tai was right. She looked back and forth between the men…her men, now. She’d always seen the differences in them, but this morning, it was clearer than ever. Seth was softer, somehow. Not weak by any means. He just had more of a nurturing, hands-on side. And Tai. Tai was the bedrock. The quieter of the two…and the doer. She’d bet that Seth was the duo’s idea man while Tai was the implementer. She’d lucked into the whole package here.

She just hoped that, one day, they’d have a woman who could complement their unit.

God, that thought hurt! She pressed her face into Tai’s shoulder as tears threatened. Her arms locked around his neck. She didn’t want the guys to see how emotional she was. Lately, it was like being on an over-sensitive rollercoaster. A shudder and a sniffle gave her away.

“Baby, what is it?” Tai asked, running his hand up and down her back roughly, as if he wanted to soothe her but had just stumbled upon something way outside his comfort zone.

She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I’m fine. I’m fine, really. I’m just—ugh! So freaking weepy.” She sniffled and dragged her wrist over her eyes, not that they’d stopped leaking. It was as if her whole body was bent on betraying her. She let out a disgusted sigh. “I’m fine.”

Seth brushed her hair back from her face. “Do you feel okay? I’m not coddling, promise!” he added quickly when River frowned.

“I feel okay.” Really, she felt fucking embarrassed right about now, but that was a whole different matter. She tried to smile and attempted to redirect. “If I don’t argue about being driven, can I have more of that not-bacon?”

Both men froze.

“Yeah…” Seth wasn’t buying it. “But…what got you upset?”

Tai’s hand started up and down her back again, but he’d managed to find a soothing rhythm this time. She rested her head back on his shoulder, her fingers fiddling with the breast pocket of his plaid shirt.

“Don’t be sad or mad…okay? I was just thinking about after. About you two after. I don’t want… Well, damn it! You’re mine. But I want you to be happy and whole, but I don’t want to think of you with someone else, but you need to promise that you will find someone else. You two deserve to be so happy.”

“Love,” Seth groaned. He sank to his knees beside her and Tai then wrapped his arms around their waists. “We just got you. Don’t think about that. Let’s make the best of all the time we have. I’m not making any promises until it’s time to make promises. And now is not that time.”

Tai cupped her cheek with his large hand. “Agreed. Now is not the time.” He tipped his forehead to hers then dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “You know what it is time for?”

“What?”

“It’s time to get your ass in gear so I can take you to work.”

Chapter Four

The rest of the week passed quickly, and it became more and more apparent that Madison didn’t need River to help her in the office. By Friday, quite a few cowboys from the area had discovered the new nurse at Doc Walker’s, as well.

“I should be insulted,” River laughed, as yet another pair sauntered into the office to see her friend. These two bore wildflowers and chocolate.

“It’s so sweet,” Madison whispered, sounding a bit overcome by it all.

“Aw, Miss River,” one of the guys said, having overheard her comment. “You know we’re all sweet on you, and we’re right tore up over…” He paused, apparently unsure whether he should mention her sickness. “Over you leaving Doc’s,” he finished. “But we all know you belong to those assholes—excuse my language—Cauldwell and Danielson. They slapped ‘claimed’ on you as soon as you stepped into town.”

“Um-hmm,” she muttered, unsure she liked that assessment.

“Is that so?” Madison tapped her fingers on the desk, pinning the men with a stare. “Nobody better be marking me claimed.”

“Aw, Miss Madison,” the same one placated—apparently, he was the talker of the pair. “It ain’t like that. We all knew Miss River was into them, too. No one just says claimed.”

“I don’t know about that,” a new voice interrupted. River looked up to see four men entering. The Quist brothers from the ranch to the east of town. The group devoured Madison with their eyes as they stood behind the two boys who’d come in before them. He leaned forward and said to them, “Claimed.”

“Well, fuck,” the quiet one said.

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