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“You've met Frank before?”
“Yes.”
“He's my other dad.”
“You're other… He ran your ranch. I… I thought he was the foreman.” I remembered Cara's parents and the foreman, vaguely, and from the perspective of a twelve year old. I never saw Cara’s three parents together, that I could think of, but that didn't mean anything. My parents were only together for work functions and charity dinners, at least until recently. They’d begun to travel together when I was in high school. Cruising the Mediterranean, wine tours in Burgundy, African safaris. Without me. I’d always felt like the afterthought, hell, the mistake. They’d ignored my existence as much as possible, making time in their busy schedules to sit in the crowd during my prep school, and then college graduations. When I’d graduated from law school, they’d been on a cruise in the Bahamas, but sent an email congratulating me. I’d never seen them touch, or cuddle, or, frankly, act like they liked each other at all. Cara and her husbands were making me extremely uncomfortable, and, if I were completely honest, a bit envious.
Cara nodded. “Frank does run the ranch. But it’s their ranch.”
“But you—” I pointed between the three of them who seemed very comfortable with this topic. They weren't joking, they weren't anything but blatantly in love.
“If you look around, you'll see it. Not just the bar. The town, too.”
I glanced at the other tables again, looking at the women, half expecting to see each of them with a flashing neon sign over their heads that said I have two husbands!
“It's illegal,” I added, then felt bad. Shook my head. “Sorry, but this is all so crazy.”
The waitress brought the drinks then and I was glad for the refill. I could feel the effects of the first drink, and welcomed the heat that spread through my stomach.
After taking Tyler's order, the waitress left and all three of them watched me expectantly. And they weren’t wrong. I had questions.
“Does every woman in Bridgewater marry two men?”
All three of them shook their heads. Mike lifted his arm and placed it along the back of the booth behind Cara. He was at ease, comfortable. “Not everyone. Some women only marry one man, some marry three. It's not that it's unusual, it's just… normal for us.”
I wasn't sure how polyamory was normal, but the way Mike and Tyler looked at Cara, I could see they were happy.
“Yeah, but…” I fiddled with my fingers, thinking about sex and how that worked.
“The sex?” Cara asked, as if reading my mind. She grinned, then glanced at one man, then the other.
“Watch it, babe,” Tyler said, putting his hand on top of hers.
“I was going to say—” She glanced slyly up at him. “—that it's awesome. What woman wouldn't want two men to take care of her? You should try it!”
Cara wiggled in her seat, her cheeks pink with a blush of excitement.
“It's not for everyone,” Tyler murmured.
I laughed. “I think I need to work on one man first. Two? That's a bit of a stretch for me.”
“There's a guy at the bar eyeing you,” Cara said, tilting her chin in that direction.
Without any subtlety, we all turned to look.
I recognized him immediately, then sighed. “That's not a man, that's your brother,” I grumbled.
Cara laughed. “Still, he's waving to you and wants to say hi.”
I sighed, slid across the seat. “Wait, do he and another man share a wife?”
“Single,” Cara replied.
“I'll go and talk with him and get the next round.”
Mike held up his glass, almost full. “Take your time. If Declan's not the guy for you, just wait. You're going to be like a flower to the bees, sweetheart.”
I gave Mike a doubtful look.
