Chapter Four

“Hmm, it’s nearly six o’clock.” Miss Lily sighed, checking the grandfather clock ticking solemnly in a corner. “Those girls are cutting it close… as usual.”

The dining room was a grand affair, with wood-trimmed everything and a stone fireplace crackling merrily at one end. Liam was seated in the place of honor at the end of an antique walnut table large enough to seat a party of twelve, and the heat from the nearby fire baked his back.

Fine china and silverware were set out before him in ranks on a frilly tablecloth, arranged in a puzzle he couldn’t decipher. Was the tiny two-pronged fork for salad or for fish? It seemed important. Obscure remembrances about proper manners and etiquette flitted through his racing mind.

Gabriella had claimed the chair kitty-corner from his left side, scooting it closer enough to slip a soft hand over his thigh. This left several empty seats between them and her mother at the head of the table. Tureens of steaming soup, baskets of oven-fresh bread, platters of flame-grilled red meat, and roasted vegetables filled the room with gut-rumbling aromas.

Liam nearly drooled at the sight of a nearby gravy boat filled with rich brown goodness.

“Please excuse the humble fare.” Miss Lily waved dismissively at the mouth-watering spread. “My predecessors swore by home cooking and we try to be self-sufficient out here, far from modern conveniences.”

“It all smells amazing.” He wanted to inhale the feast. Hunger clawed at his belly. “I’m truly thankful for everything you’ve done for me today. I won’t soon forget your hospitality.”

“Oh, you are too kind,” The matronly belle tittered, toying with a lock of her glossy caramel hair. “I’m just an old widow doing the best I can to raise my family and keep this farm afloat. Times are tough, but we get by.”

“About that.” Liam covertly batted Gabriella’s groping fingers away from his crotch. “The sign over the gate and the video you showed me called this place a ranch? Do you keep livestock? I only saw wheat fields on the journey here.”

“It was originally a ranch,“ Miss Lily conceded, pursing her plump lips in thought. “And we keep some legacy breeds in distant pastures, but wheat is the lifeblood of this region. The government subsidizes our crops, offering payouts for bumper yields. Much of the beef production has migrated to neighboring states like Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas. When the market changes, so must we.”

“That is very admirable…”

“We’re here! Right on time, ma’am!” A duet of high-pitched calls preceded two of the most outrageously proportioned girls Liam had ever seen bustling energetically into the room.

Pretty heart-shaped faces framed by flowing curtains of dark chocolate hair capped their extravagantly curvaceous young figures. Lush hips and astoundingly bountiful bosoms, that would have made a Kardashian blush, bounced hypnotically within clingy jeggings and straining red bikini tops. The rest of their bodies were toned and lean like swimsuit models with bone-deep tans bronzing all that exposed flesh.

Lima had only ever seen their like on the boardwalks of Venice Beach; silicone-stuffed caricatures of **** womanhood in designer swimwear and sunglasses, flashing chemically brightened smiles and hair while teetering by in ungainly stripper heels.

These girls were somehow the homegrown, organic ideal those surgically enhanced bimbos aspired to be. Natural and glorious in their femininity.

“With two minutes to spare.” Miss Lily noted with maternal affection, not at all put out by their scanty attire. “Where’s your older sister? It’s not like her to be late for mealtimes.”

“I’m here. Just finished feeding the bulls.” A raven-haired stunner strutted in like a supermodel behind them–an achingly thin beauty with a fair complexion wearing skin-tight hipster jeans and a fashionable black halter top stretched taut across her jaw-dropping chest. “The meatheads were restless tonight, and it took a while to get them settled.”

“Mind that loose tongue, girl!” Miss Lily snapped, and Liam would have sworn the temperature dropped ten degrees from the icy steel in her voice. The motherly kindness vanished from her expression. “We have company.”

Everyone froze for an instant before three curious pairs of eyes found him sitting beside Gabriella. The heat from the fire returned under all the ass-clenching attention.

“Please pardon my unruly children and my rude outburst.” The mature beauty asked sweetly, the country charm returning. “I simply meant that we don’t often entertain polite company, and they forget their manners."

As if a spell had been broken, the tension in the air dissipated, and the three sisters relaxed. The identically breasty brunettes hurriedly stole seats closest to Liam, opposite Gabriella, who pouted cutely in irritation.

“Hey there, mister. I’m Trixie, and this is Dixie.” Trixie said, practically vibrating with excitement. “We’re twins, in case you couldn’t tell. It’s a pleasure to meet ya!”

“Little Miss Perfect sitting up there with Ma is called Ruby,” Dixie whispered conspiratorially, loud enough for the whole room to hear. “She acts like she runs the place already, but don’t pay her any mind. What’s your name, good-looking?”

She batted thick lashes at him, angling forward to rest her elbows on the table and couching her massive melons between them. She nearly knocked the carefully arranged china and cutlery askew.

“I’m… I’m Liam. Pleased to meet both of you.”

Gabriella’s grip on Liam’s leg grew almost painful as the twins bombarded him with questions. It remained there until Miss Lily called for silence and said grace, thanking the almighty for the meal and, strangely, for Liam’s presence.

Then, dishes were passed around, and heaping helpings of food were piled upon his plate at the various girls' insistence. Friendly conversation resumed between appetizing mouthfuls, several of which Gabriella tried to feed him by hand.

Liam dodged her dogged attempts while questioning Miss Lily about getting a message to Detroit.

“I’m terribly sorry, dear, but we don’t own a phone. The county never laid a line this far out from any population center, and no telecom company could ever justify the expense. There’s not even cell coverage. It’s dreadfully inconvenient. ” She shook her head sadly, then tapped her chin in thought. “We can probably do something about your car, though.

“Cousin June maintains our trucks and heavy equipment; she’s a bonafide grease monkey who works miracles when it comes to repairing engines. I’ll dispatch her in the morning with a farmhand to retrieve it, and she’ll have you on the road again in no time. A few days at most.”

Liam wasn’t sure about that–he’d basically wrapped his second-hand Prius around the damn tree–and said as much.

“Everything will be fine, dear. You’ll see.” She waved away the objection airily. “In the meantime, you can relax and enjoy all the simple pleasures farm living has to offer. We don’t often host such well-educated and courteous guests.”

“You can stay with me in my room!” Gabriella blurted, clapping excitedly and causing Liam to **** on a bite of steak. “I’ll show you around in the morning.”

“Absolutely not,” Ruby stated emphatically. Those were the first words she had spoken throughout dinner. “No men in the big house. You know the rules.”

The two sisters shared angry looks while Trixie thumped him on the back. Oxygen returned after a short coughing fit, and Miss Lily grinned with coquettish amusement.

“Goodness, my youngest seems quite smitten with you, Liam,” she said, eyeing him smokily over the rim of a teacup. “We country ladies do lack for genteel, civilized bachelors way out here. The farmhands are all so brash and uncouth. Even I find myself desirous of a cultured, refined man to… converse with on occasion.”

“Us too!” Dixie wrapped Trixie in a hug and pushed her twin towards Liam. Their gratuitous curves jiggled enticingly. Gabriella’s deathray glare recentered on them. “We share a bed, but there’s room for–”

“No men in the house!” Ruby was on her feet, fists planted on the table, spitting through gritted teeth. “Those are the rules.”

“He’s suffered a head injury.” Gabriella hissed back. Her fingernails burrowed into his thigh possessively. “Someone needs to watch over him until morning.”

Liam didn’t know what to do and felt trapped in an untenable situation he was ill-equipped to handle.

Not once in his insignificant life had he been the subject of contention for gorgeous women like these. Back in Los Angeles–a Mecca for aspiring starlets and would-be models–he was background noise at best, a social footnote to be ignored by his betters.

Fortunately, heavy footsteps in the hallway, followed by a large, shaggy head peeking around the door, abruptly ended the squabble.

“Umm... Miss Lily? Sorry to disturb you during mealtime, ma’am,” A gigantic man built like a cliffside stuffed into dirty bib overalls shuffled nervously in place, wringing a trucker’s cap between ham-sized mitts. “I just… there’s something I need your help with.”

He had to be pushing seven feet tall and almost as broad across the shoulders—hewn from hardwood with no shirt to cover his slab-like pecs or tree-trunk arms. Heavily tanned from working outdoors, his sun-bleached hair was short and uncombed, sticking out everywhere like a bog brush.

He was a literal brute, completely out of place amid the fine trappings of the home, hunching in on himself as though he knew that fact well.

“Thaddius, what are you doing here?” Miss Lily asked cooly, arching an eyebrow at her eldest daughter. “I was informed that you were… retiring for the night. You should be in bed sleeping. We’ve got another busy day tomorrow.”

Ruby looked mortified like her pet poodle had taken a crap on the carpet. The twins snickered quietly and even Gabriella appeared smug for some reason.

“I know, ma’am, I really do, but Randorph pulled alpha and took April for his–”

“Enough! You are intruding on a family dinner.” Miss Lily barked in a commanding tone. Thaddius flinched as she rose from the table and clicked her fingers at him. “Follow me; we will resolve this matter in private.”

She strode out of the room without giving the skittish giant a second glance, and he trailed meekly in her wake. It wasn’t until he turned to do so that Liam noticed the tremendous bulge in the crotch of his overalls hidden behind the corkscrewed cap.

“Oooh, did our perfect older sister have a whoopsie?” Dixie tittered, smothering her mirth behind a linen napkin. “Don’t worry. Ma will take care of it for you.”

“Won’t do her any favors in the rankings, though.” Trixie agreed with a shit-eating grin. “Maybe we can take some of that heavy load she bears. Share the burden like good siblings should.”

“Shut your pie holes, sluts.” Ruby growled, plonking down into her chair. “I can handle my business. You should mind your own.”

The twins laughed uproariously, hanging off each other in a fit of giggles that squashed their stupendous, bikini-clad breasts together. In all the hubbub and snark, Liam could feel his migraine returning.

“What… what’s going on?” He clutched his aching skull in both hands. “Who was that man? Where did she take him?”

“He’s nobody, Daddy.” Gabriella crooned into his ear. Her small hand slid over his groin, latching on like a leech. “Don’t worry about him. He’s not important; you are. You’re the most important man in the world to me. Is your head hurting again? Here, take some more medicine.”

Dainty fingers pushed a pill between his lips, followed by a glass of water. Liam gulped them down, eager for relief. The heat from the fireplace was suddenly sweltering, and the room began to spin. The sounds of the girls bickering echoed as though in a cave or tunnel.

“That’s the man you’re pinning your hopes on, Gabby?” Ruby’s voice was distant and fading. “You may as well give up now. A shrimp like him won’t last a week in the stables, and that’s only if I don’t steal him from you. It wouldn’t be much of a challenge.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

Those were the last words Liam heard before the world slipped away.

A big shout-out to supporter VoidGolem for suggesting this sexy tale and brainstorming smutty ideas with me. Advanced chapters—in fact, all 10k words of part one of this story—are available on my BuyMeACoffee page for the low price of a hot cuppa. Cheers, and happy reading!