Page 36 of Auctioned to the Lumberjacks (Auctioned)

But we’re going to have to decide what to do next.

Skye needs us.

I know what it’s like to lose people; first, my mom to a sudden illness, then my sister to adoption. I was older and left in foster care until the home became dangerous, and I decided I’d be safer on my own.

Jack and West know the pain of loss in their own ways. West carries guilt over Harold but also unspoken horrors from his service. Jack’s home life was terrible. It’s part of why he finds it so hard to trust women and the fuel behind his rage.

We tread carefully around each other when we need to. We tolerate each other’s crap, and all is forgiven when it goes wrong.

But like brothers, there is an urge to protect, to look out for each other, and to keep our business between these four walls despite the things that cause friction.

Skye coming into our lives has given us a shared purpose. She’s ours to protect. Ours to care for. This cabin, this forest; this is home.

What will it take to heal our wounds and right all the wrongs?

Maybe more than any of us can achieve.

But we can try.

For Skye, we can try.

14

JACK

A SEED OF A PLAN

As Skye rests in Finn’s arms, I’m suddenly taken aback by a wave of protectiveness towards this woman who has come into our lives. The moment I saw her, I had a feeling in my gut. I thought that feeling meant trouble, and maybe it still does, or maybe it was a sense that she was destined to become something bigger in our lives.

I know West and Finn feel the same way.

It’s as if we’ve been given this woman who needs our help, and now we have to look outside of our own lives and rise up like her knights in shining armor.

I remember the night I saw Finn huddled on the sidewalk outside Rangos. I could have walked past him, but something told me to talk to him. The rest is history. Sitting here tonight, I have the same urge to help Skye, and as much as I try to push the sensation away and lock it up with a heavy-duty padlock, I can’t deny the anger that has gripped me hearing what that man has done to her.

The heat from the fire I hastily stoked is dying, and the light in the room is fading along with it. It won’t be long until the sun begins its ascent. Skye looks exhausted as she disentanglesherself from Finn and moves onto the couch. He rises, too, stretching his arms above his head as he follows Skye and wraps her in a blanket. West guzzles water as if it’s the height of summer and he’s decimated half the forest with his ax.

“Thirsty work. I thought Skye was here to ease the strain, not make us bust a gut!” We both stifle laughter, even though no one’s sleeping yet.

“We’re getting old,” I joke.

“Speak for yourself. I’m in the prime of my fucking life.” West rubs his abs, unconscious of the jut of his cock, proving his sentiment right now. The man’s ready to go again, although it’s doubtful Skye could face more of our brand of sex right now.

I pull on my shorts and toss West’s his. He tugs them up his thick legs, adjusting his cock so the waistband holds it in place.

We both sit at the table, even though it’s the middle of the night, and we all need to sleep. I lean in, keeping my voice low so Skye won’t hear.

“It’s fucked up what she said, though, right?”

“Yep.”

I know that this will be something West wants to put right. He has too many stories from his days in the military, where justice and retribution were distant or impossible. Our simmering frustrations could be put to good use.

“We’re gonna need to do something about it.”

“Yep.”

Our eyes meet and silent confirmation passes between us. Whatever it takes is what we both communicate.

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