Is Three A Crowd? (29 page)

“Through and through, sir. You’ll be okay, but it will hurt like a bitch for a while.” The medic continued to put compresses to Nat’s back and chest. “Let’s get you to hospital and cleaned up.”

“What about Blake?” Maris was going to ask but didn’t get the words out quickly enough.

“He’ll need surgery to remove the bullet from his thigh,” the second medic answered, “but we’ll see. Let’s go now.” One man wrapped his arm under Nathan’s good arm and helped him out of the room.

“You go with them, Maris. I’ll take care of things here, and the police can talk to you later.”

“Thank you, Aminta.” She reached up to give his cheek a kiss and paused to look at Robin. “I don’t know what to think or say,”

“Go with the men, I’ll talk to the police.”

Maris decided not to worry about her siblings now. Both her men were injured because of her, because of Nelson’s jealousy. She accepted the medic’s help into the back of the ambulance and moved beside Nathan. She sat watching while his shoulder was dressed. Blake lay on a gurney, strapped in, his leg immobilized as an intravenous was started in his arm.

“Guess we can’t go shopping today.” Blake attempted to tease, but the needle going in his hand made him wince.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Maris didn’t know how long she waited, but it seemed like a lifetime before she was allowed to see Nathan. Against the pale white hospital sheets, his face was drawn.

“Oh, God, Nathan, I was so scared.”

He reached to pull her to his side, wincing when he moved too far. She went to him and wrapped her body around him, her fingers threading through his beard.

“I’m all right, Maris. What about Blake?”

“He’s in surgery. Nobody has told me anything else.”

“He’s a strong bastard. He won’t die just to piss me off.”

“Nathan, don’t talk like that. You took the bullet meant for him.” She watched his cheeks flush pale, then pink.

“Stupid man, he was reaching forward, if he’d been shot in the hand or shoulder, we never would have heard the end of it. He wouldn’t paint again.”

“So you protected him, as you protected me.”

“Maris, this is all embarrassing.”

“In many ways. Especially my ignorance about my family situation. They don’t matter anymore, neither of them. Only you and Blake matter.” She paused and sniffed back a few stray tears. “But when you two are well, we’re going to start living every day instead of waiting in limbo.”

Aminta entered, his tie missing, his hair mussed. His jacket hung just off-kilter.

“What’s happened?” Nathan asked.

“The police have Nelson, his sister went with him. They seem to believe her version of the events today.”

“They won’t let him go until we’ve talked with them, will they?”

“No, they said they’d come talk to you tonight, here.”

“Thank you, Aminta.” Maris left Nathan’s side to go and hug him. He hugged her tight for just for a moment before he released her, shook himself, and stood tall, straightening his jacket, his cheeks heated red with embarrassment over his display of affection. A stranger in green scrubs entered, gaining their attention. His male voice clearing his throat got their attention.

“Blake?” Nathan asked, trying to control the emotion in his voice.

“Will be fine. He’ll be off that leg for a while and probably need some physical therapy, but if he follows orders, he should be fine.”

“Can we see him?” Maris asked anxiously.

“I’ll let you visit him, but only for a few minutes. You should rest, you can visit tomorrow.”

“Can’t I go home tonight? There’s nothing really wrong with me.” Nat looked anxious.

“Tomorrow will be soon enough.”

Maris kissed Nathan and promised to be right back.

Blake was in recovery, high as a kite, when she got to see him. He babbled incessantly for a few minutes, then fell into a drugged sleep. She left him to sleep and went back to Nathan and crawled beside him again. He reached his good arm behind her to draw her close, dropping a kiss on the top of her head.

“Sleep, Maris, we’ll all need some rest.” Nathan dozed beside her while Maris held tight, her mind going over the memories that flooded her earlier. Through the night, she smiled at some memories, and shed tears for others. Mostly she was just relieved to know her history. Her version of her history, not one planned out to make a good impression.

* * * *

Nathan came home the next day, his arm in a sling to aid his recovery and restrict the use of his arm and shoulder. It was a few days longer before Blake was released, using crutches.

Maris entered the solar with a bottle of wine and saw her men split apart from their conversation.

Blake was stretched out on the lounge before the glass wall, his injured leg propped with pillows. Nathan sat across from Blake, accepting the glass she offered with his uninjured arm.

“To personal freedom,” Maris offered. The men lifted their glasses, accepting her toast.

“So, what was the final verdict with the police today?” Blake sipped from his glass. “I could have gone with you, I’m not an invalid.”

“You’re supposed to be resting until Monday when you start therapy.”

“I’m fine, really.”

“Blake, shut up. Just accept your recovery and we’ll all be better for it in the end. If you don’t follow the doctor’s orders, you’ll limp around here for the rest of our days, complaining.” It was only a few seconds before Nathan stared to laugh at his words. “It was a zoo at the police station.”

“But things seem to be settling down.” Maris took her glass and sat at the foot of the lounge, beside Blake’s legs. “First, Nelson is in a mental health facility being evaluated. That will take a while. They’re going to exhume his mother’s body to find out if she was poisoned and with what. Robin has gone back to
Montreal
until Nelson’s hearing. The police there will keep an eye on her. ”

“And her story about covering for her brother?”

“She’s convincing. She claims she took the blame for Nelson, knowing he was claustrophobic all his life. Her story is, she didn’t know about his poisoning their mother until a few years later, when their father brought home Margo. She claims that was when Nelson really started to go insane.” Nathan shrugged his good shoulder and winced at the movement. “She claims after she’d been arrested, Nelson visited her and begged her not to tell anyone about what he’d done to their mother. That was when she finally accepted he’d been the one who pushed Maris. She said she took the blame because she felt bad she hadn’t sheltered him more when they were kids. Said he told her he used fake fingernails and a wig to throw suspicion off him.”

“But to go away for years for something you didn’t do to protect your brother. I wouldn’t have had the courage.” Maris mused and Blake shook his head at the concept.

“The courts will have to decide if they believe her story. For now, they accept Nelson has been the one stalking Maris these last months. Robin claims when she was released from the sanitarium, she realized he’d gone over the edge, completely.” Nathan paused and sipped from his glass. “The police in
Montreal
have gone through Nelson’s home and found evidence. They’re still sorting through it. But there were photos and other items found in a basement storage room. They said it looked like a shrine to their mother, and Maris was the target of his anger.”

Maris’s whole body shook at his words.

“Enough for now. Both of them are out of here and being watched. Whatever happens, Nelson will do time for his actions here. Whether they charge him with the initial incident remains to be seen.” Nathan put his glass aside and stood, walking to the back door and letting Shin into the room. She trotted to the fireplace and sprawled before its flames.

“I think we all just need to relax for a few days and find what’s normal for us now.” Maris broke out in tears, sobbing, unable to stem the outbreak. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m crying now.” Blake reached a hand to her, and Nathan sat behind her, careful not to nudge Blake’s leg.

“Maybe you’re just exhausted and relieved.” Nathan offered her his handkerchief.

“I suppose so, it all seems so overwhelming.”

“You’ve been through a lot in the last months.”

“We all have in our own ways,” Blake added.

“I’m so sorry for all of this. Your time lost, your being injured. You’ve put you lives on hold for me for five years.”

Blake sat forward. “Maris, what are you saying? That now you know everything you don’t want to be here?” His voice cracked when he spoke.

“
No
.” She reached for his hand. “I’m just so stunned at all of this. That the two of you loved me enough to put up with all of this.”

“We still love you, my sweet.” Blake flashed his sex-oriented smile and relaxed back.

“Maris, the conversation you interrupted was us agreeing that we are a permanent threesome. Neither of us will walk away. Even if you wanted us to, we can’t.”

“Those are the nicest words I’ve ever heard. I never could have chosen between you. You both understand that, right?”

“We understand, and we accept our strange family unit.”

“None of us was conventional to start with. You, my dear, just made us accept it and act on it.” Nathan squeezed her shoulder.

“Are you both sure, really sure, because I don’t think I could deal with having to leave either of you.”

“Nobody’s leaving,” Nathan reinforced. “But you do have to do something about that monstrosity of a master bedroom upstairs. We’re both sick of going back to the stone house every night to sleep with you.”

“I’m stuck here for a while,” Blake said, nodding to his leg. “And I don’t want to sleep alone, even if sex isn’t a reality for a few more days.”

Maris dried her tears and squared her shoulders. “No sex, why would you think that? I’ll just have to take the top for a while.” She moved her hand to his good thigh, letting it stroke his skin. His erection became apparent and she reached higher, clasping it. “You’ll just have to relax and let me do all the work.” She squeezed him under her palm.

“What about me? I’m injured, too,” Nathan added, his good arm reaching around her, palming her breast.

“I suppose I’ll have to nurse you both back to health.” She smiled, and Blake’s body shuddered under her hand. “This might be fun. Sponge baths, temperature taking the old fashioned way, examinations, etcetera”

“Look at the seed you’ve planted now,” Nathan said to Blake.

“I’ll take whatever my nurse can think of.” Blake smiled and settled back on the cushions.

Epilogue

Two months later

Maris scanned the newly decorated master bedroom to make sure it was perfect. She enjoyed the process, shopping for fabrics and choosing paint colors. Now that it was completed, she was very proud of the result.

She couldn’t get rid of the antique bed in the room, but had it stripped and refinished to its original mahogany stain. A smoky blue covered the walls, with accents of gray and taupe. She’d used the original paisley swirl and stripe fabric she’d found for the drapes and a complimenting pattern for the bed linens. Everything else in the room was designed to coordinate.

She’d folded back the duvet and laid out her new toy collection, along with several other items. She wondered what her men would say when they realized some of the toys were for her to use on them. Maris checked her appearance in the mirror over the bureau and liked what she saw. She’d kept her new short hairstyle. Tonight, she wore a long gown in an off-white silk, the material hugging every curve of her body.

She went to the window overlooking the back gardens, now covered in layers of snow and ice. The last months had been difficult in many ways, but not how she’d imagined. Once she realized both her men accepted her choice, they had settled into a symbiotic pattern.

Nathan still ran the chateau businesses, and Blake still painted. His latest works were scheduled for a show in the spring. She was spending her time reorganizing and cataloging the library. Both her men seemed happy with the arrangements. They always slept together at night. She chose which man, where and when she wanted to make love to them individually. The jealousy she’d thought might ruin everything never came.