“Lindsey was five foot seven and filled out a lot more than Lucia. If I were to lose it one night in bed with her lying next to me, a half a second of a squeeze of my hand against her small, delicate throat could kill her. Then what? No. I can’t be part of this. I can’t chance it.”
“The hell you can’t. You’re not going to lose it because one of us will always be there with you. Can’t you see that this is the best type of relationship for all of us? We need one another. Always have. That’s why we live here together. We’ve helped one another get through some really tough times because our bond can’t be broken,” Lucifer told Salvatore.
Maxwell felt the same way. Suddenly it was all clicking into place.
“He’s right. A ménage relationship like this is special, and unique. It will take a lot of giving and understanding to share the same woman. But we’re close. We all feel safest around one another. That’s the difference with her for you, Salvatore. If by some chance you lose control and get caught in a nightmare, one of us, if not all of us, will be right there with you to calm you down, to keep Lucia safe, and to overcome any barriers because we’re together,” Maxwell told Salvatore.
Salvatore gulped.
“You doing this for me?” he asked, looking pissed.
“Hell no, we’re doing this for all of us. There’s never been a woman, a person out there who has affected all four of us instantly and in this way. Hell, I’ll admit it. I’ve fucked around a little. I’ve noticed a lot of single women in town eyeing me, eyeing all of us, but none of them do to me what Lucia does. It was instant. It happened to all of us, and that’s what is different and what is special.”
“But she looked scared last night, Lucifer. When we mentioned the capabilities of a man with bad intentions she mentioned knowing firsthand about that,” Salvatore reminded Lucifer.
“What?” Maxwell asked.
“What do you mean?” Gabriele added.
“She said that to us last night before she closed the door to go inside. I thought about it a lot last night. I think maybe she’s been hurt by a man before, and that’s what her comment meant.”
“Leaves us with a lot of questions. Questions we’re going to have to get answers to as we proceed with this,” Maxwell replied.
“As I said, I’m not sure I’m capable of this. I don’t trust easy. Hell, I don’t do emotions and I tend to resist feeling anything that makes me vulnerable or weak,” Salvatore told them.
“Hell, Salvatore, we all have trust issues, but if what you say is true about Lucia, it might turn out that she has those same trust issues as well. Things could work out for all of us. Isn’t it better to take the chance and see, rather than just do nothing and always wonder what if?” Gabriele said.
“Then we all agree? We’re going to get to know Lucia better and then let Wyatt know we want to be her appointed guardians,” Lucifer said to them.
Just then Maxwell’s cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and then to his brothers.
“Looks like maybe Wyatt already knows.”
* * * *
Wyatt received a phone call at the department from Shay Anders this morning. He expressed concern over some strangers hiking along the backwoods of Pearl and appearing up to no good. He also told him about Lucia walking alone day and night through those woods, and how last night Lucifer and Salvatore Walters walked her home from the O’Brians’ when they found out she went all the way there on her own and was traveling back alone. He found the information quite interesting and wondered if the four brothers were going to request guardianship of Lucia.
“Good morning, Maxwell. Sorry to bother you, but I got a call from Shay Anders this morning with concern over a couple of things. First off, being a detective in Turbank, have you heard anything about these hikers coming through towns and stirring up trouble?” Wyatt asked him.
“No. I just heard about those hikers last night from Salvatore and Lucifer after they saw Shay.”
“Let me know if you catch wind of anything. I’m not sure if I need to step up some patrols or not, as of yet.”
“No problem, Wyatt. I go into work Monday. I’ll ask around.”
“Great. Shay also expressed concern over Lucia. Seems walking is her form of transportation. I’ve got a few men from town asking about watching over her.”
“Well, tell those men we’ve got her safety covered. My brothers and I were going to call you Wyatt.”
“You were?” Wyatt asked as a small smile crept to his lips. He was glad they were having this discussion over the phone. The Walters brothers didn’t seem like the type of men to take a liking to any form of teasing.
“We’re taking some time to get to know her better. Gabriele and I just met her last night. Lucifer and Salvatore are working with her on a project at Mrs. Higgins’s place.”
“Yeah, I heard Lucia was looking for a job and that Mary hired her. That’s great news. Seems to me none of us know a real lot about Lucia. I was concerned when I saw her the other day wearing a light sweater and no jacket.”
“She was wearing one last night,” Maxwell replied.
“I heard. Seems getting that job with Mary Higgins was exactly what Lucia needed. You let me know when you and your brothers make a concrete decision. In the meantime, I’ll try to keep the other interested parties at bay. But winter is coming. I don’t expect to see Lucia having to walk.”