“Do you know what you want?” Zoey asked Kylie, and she looked so hopeful, she didn’t even want to take the time to look at the menu.

“Do you have a house salad?” she asked the woman standing at the end of the table.

“Yup,” was the one word answer.

“I’ll take that. With Ranch dressing, please.”

“And let me guess, you want chicken strips, French fries, and a salad with Ranch dressing?” the woman asked as she glared at Zoey.

“Hmm, I was kind of thinking about the chicken fried steak.” There was a lengthy pause as Zoey appeared to be thinking. “Nah, you’re right. I’ll have that. And iced tea. Thanks.”

“Just water for me,” Kylie added when the woman’s steely glare transferred her way.

Once the waitress was out of earshot, Zoey grinned. “Sorry about that. I don’t think Rachel’s all that fond of me because I’m bedding one of the Walker brothers.”

Kylie chuckled. “By the ring on your finger, I’d say it’s a little more than that.”

Zoey giggled in turn and then leaned forward, lowering her voice, “Just wait. The second she finds out you’ve snagged one too, steam’s going to come out of her ears. I mean, it’s glacier cold in here when V and I come together.”

The waitress, Rachel Talbott was her name according to Zoey, was about as friendly as a rogue wasp, but the meal progressed anyway. They received their drinks while they chatted about the progress being made on Gage’s house. When Kylie wasn’t answering various questions about the house, Zoey was going on and on about V and Zane, who were apparently blissfully happy these days.

Who knows how long they had been talking when Zoey’s salad arrived. While she ate, Kylie asked about some of the details of her own house. Zoey was more than happy to ramble on and on. Apparently, the woman was starving for attention.

The chatter continued while they ate, but it wasn’t until their meals arrived that the real conversation took place. With her nerves fluttering, Kylie tossed the lettuce in her salad around with her fork as she said, “So, I’ve got a question for you.”

“Shoot,” Zoey said as she wiped her mouth with her napkin before picking up her plastic fork again. “I’m an open book.”

That’s what Kylie feared.

She took a bite, using a full mouth as an excuse to gather a little more of her courage. When Zoey continued to stare at her, she knew she had to ask.

“What’s your relationship with Gage? Did the two of you date previously or something?”

Zoey put her fork down on her plate and leaned back in her chair. “Gage hasn’t talked to you?”

“Should he?”

“No,” Zoey shook her head back and forth and leaned forward once again. She seemed a little more fidgety than she had before. “Not necessarily. I just thought…”

“Thought what?”

“I don’t know, I just thought he’d say something.” Zoey glanced down at her plate and then back, nothing but warmth shining in her eyes. “Gage and I didn’t date, but we have had what could probably be defined as a relationship. Ever since Kaleb and I started… well, you know.” Zoey’s hand waved around like she was hoping Kylie would know what she was referring to.

She simply shook her head, wanting Zoey to continue.

That’s when Zoey sucked in a deep breath, looked her right in the eyes and said, “Ever since Kaleb and I started having sex, we’ve had some threesomes with Gage.”

Kylie was pretty sure she stopped breathing, and it was possible the Ranch dressing she’d eaten was curdling in her stomach. She leaned forward, fighting the unexpected tears that threatened. “Are you still sleeping with him?”

Zoey’s head jerked up, her hair falling behind her shoulder. “No, oh my God, no. I’m sorry, that’s not how I meant it.” There was an awkward pause and then Zoey continued, “Gage hasn’t joined us for a long time. Well, I guess not since my bachelorette party in Vegas back in December.”

A tingle of relief overshadowed the sudden nausea, but Kylie still didn’t like what she heard. Remembering how Zoey and Gage were so touchy feely with one another had her stomach churning violently.

“Kaleb and I decided to try and get pregnant earlier this year after we got married,” Zoey explained. “We chose not to have any more threesomes at that point.”

Kylie wasn’t even sure how she was supposed to respond, although she wanted to thank Zoey for answering her question, even if it wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

“Gage hasn’t said anything,” Kylie managed to choke out. “I’ve just seen how close the two of you seem when you’re around each other, and I thought, maybe…”

Zoey reached over and surprised Kylie when she touched the back of her hand. “Look, what happened between us is in the past. If it’s any consolation, I’ve never seen Gage act the way he does when he’s with you. That goes for Travis too.”

For some reason, that news didn’t make her feel any better. She was hurt that Gage wouldn’t have thought to share that sort of thing with her. She was angry at herself for asking. And worst, she was so confused because she’d never done anything like this before, hadn’t even considered that this might be a frequent occurrence with Gage.

Or that she would have to interact with women who had been with him.

“Were Kaleb and Gage…?” Kylie let the words die off, but she met Zoey’s eyes.

She must’ve known what Kylie was thinking because Zoey shook her head. “No, things between Kaleb and Gage weren’t like that. Kaleb isn’t…” Zoey seemed to be trying to find the words. “Kaleb isn’t interested in men, and honestly, I never got the impression Gage was interested in Kaleb that way. In fact, until recently, I didn’t know Gage was into men at all.”

Kylie picked up her water and took a sip. Put it down. Stared at it as though it held all the answers.

“Kylie,” Zoey said, waiting until she looked up to continue. “What Travis and Gage have done in their pasts doesn’t have to define your relationship with them. They’ve had some very untraditional interactions from what I’ve heard, but what they’ve found with you and each other has never happened to them. At least not that I know of.”

Kylie hadn’t even considered that Travis had spent the better part of his life in relationships such as this one. He must’ve been with other women and men together, maybe alone as well. And here she was thinking this was special, and the three of them together had just clicked into place.

Her stomach cramped up as she stared down at the salad she’d hardly touched.

God, she was so naïve.

And the pain in her chest was not a good sign. She was pretty sure her heart was breaking all over again.

♂♀

“Hey, Travis. Do you know where my sister is?”

Travis looked up from his computer screen to see Jessie standing in his office. Glancing behind her, he automatically sought out the twins, but it appeared she was alone.

Glancing down at his watch, then back up at her. “She’s having lunch with Zoey right now. Why? Everything ok?”

Jessie took a tentative step forward, and he motioned for her to take a seat. Funny, she didn’t seem like the nervous type, but there was clearly something bothering her now.

“It’s, ummm…”

Travis waited, thinking she’d continue, but when she didn’t he lifted an eyebrow, wondering if the scrutiny of his gaze would have the same impact on her as it did most people. He was impressed when she didn’t squirm, however, she didn’t speak up either. “What’s up, Jessie?”

He was about ten seconds from storming out of the office and heading right to the twins’ house and laying into them. If they broke this girl’s heart already, which he fully expected they were going to do, he was going to beat them to a pulp.

“It’s… Well, it’s my dad,” she muttered, making eye contact on the last word.

That got Travis’ attention, and he sat up straight. “Is he ok?”

“Well, that depends.”

Travis never had done well with half ass sentences, but he bit his tongue and waited as patiently as he could for her to finish. “On?”

“Well, he’s kinda coming here,” she told him in a rush.

“Here? As in Coyote Ridge? Or here as in my office?” Travis suddenly wasn’t sure he was ready to meet Kylie’s father although he’d been giving it some thought over the last few days.

“He said he was making a surprise visit. He knew Kylie was working on a house here, and he just called to tell me he was on the way.”

“So why didn’t you call Kylie?” he asked.

“I did. She’s not answering her phone.”

As though she’d magically answer just because he called, Travis grabbed his cell phone and dialed. The phone didn’t even ring, just went straight to voicemail, which meant Kylie had turned it off. Probably so she could have lunch with Zoey without interruption. She’d seemed so excited about meeting with Kaleb’s wife, had talked about it for the last couple of days.

“If you’ll tell me where they are, I’ll try to track her down,” Jessie said, her voice regaining some of its original conviction.

“She’s at the little diner in town,” he told her.

“What’s the name? Or will I just know.”

Travis smiled. They didn’t call the diner by its given name since it was the only one in town. “Ma’s Diner,” he answered, thinking that the name sounded strange on his lips.

“Thanks,” Jessie said as she jumped to her feet and turned toward the door. “Oh, and, Travis?”

He met her gaze from across the small space. “Yeah?”

“I kinda accidentally let it slip that Kylie was married. Yeah… So… Well, I just wanted you to know.” With that, Jessie took off out of the office, the screen door slamming behind her.