Life Changers Ch. 02

"Why? Are you kicking me out?"

"Not at all but I figured we'd scared you away," he confessed. "Did we scare you away, El?"

She realized the men were anxiously waiting to hear her answer as they each turned to look at her. "No. No, you haven't but I can barely think right now. I don't understand everything or anything at all, but I can't even think well enough to ask a question."

"That's fair," Scott commented.

"And smart," Connor added. "You need to ask us about everything that you don't understand. No matter how personal. We have specific expectations that we want you to share with us. We would strive to make you happy but if you don't agree wholeheartedly then this life would be more of a prison to you."

"Well, as far as prisons go, this place isn't too bad," she tried to joke.

"It would be hell and I'm not willing to find out ten years down the line that you've been unhappy."

"Are your expectations more like rules?"

"Everything in life has rules, Ella," Connor explained. "But what we have are more like agreements concerning your safety as well as the safety of our children. Of course, we'd expect you to add some as well."

"And if I break them?"

Connor leaned forward until he was staring into her eyes. "Ten licks for each offense."

Ella reached for her neck to wipe at the sensations gliding over her skin. She noticed Connor grinning as he continued watching her. She should be afraid although she remained in her seat staring at him.

"You should know by now that when Connor says licks, Connor means licks," Scott said beside her. "There are no punishments, spankings and stuff in this."

"And if you break them?" she blurted before thinking.

"Same results," Connor answered with a smile. "So you might not need to have a switch at the ready but you'll definitely need to hone some skills." For the next several minutes, the room was quiet as Connor and Ella surveyed each other. She felt her will being tested although she could not deny that she was possibly the one testing herself.

"I need time," she finally said. "To think. Obviously."

"And more information," Connor grumbled. "You've heard a very brief summary of the deal and I'll admit that it may not have been presented in the best way but this is really our first time presenting such an offer. However, here you still are."

"So you admit you were trying to scare me?"

"No. But I'll admit that if you're not happy here, I'd rather you leave now as opposed to later," he answered as he stood. "Would you like some time alone to think about what we've discussed so far?"

"I would actually like to make a phone call," she answered. "I need to call and cancel my interview for today or should I just reschedule?" When the men remained silent she added, "I should reschedule."

"I'll take her to my office," Scott said as he stood to bring Ella with him. "I don't think she was given a proper tour of this five hundred square foot bungalow."

"It's the door to the left, Scott," Ryan groaned from his seat. "With a great big sofa that we all want to christen with the virgin."

"Shut up," Scott mumbled as he led Ella from the room. "I'm just showing her how to get an outside line."

"Scott," Connor said stopping their exit. "Don't push."

"Wait," Ella said as she turned back to the brothers. "What happened to Greg?"

"He died," Connor answered turning his back to her. "Another reason why this arrangement works. One husband dies and you have two more to take care of you."

"And what happens when Jack dies?" she asked. "Your mom will be alone again, Connor, because death ends everything."

Following Scott into his office, Ella remembered that she had not returned to her bedroom after breakfast so her "pay as you go" cell phone had been left on the nightstand.

"Uh, wait. I left my phone at the house. I need it to find the number."

"Ok, stay here for a few minutes before joining us. Try to clear your mind."

"No offense but from the moment Ryan pulled me from my car, I think my mind has been clear, blank, wiped out, whatever." She said throwing her hands in the air. "But thanks. I'd like a few minutes alone." When he asked if she needed anything, she shook her head and watched him leave her alone. With her elbows on the desk, she dropped her head into her hands and tried to rationalize the events of the last several hours. Did fate bring her to this cross road or did she act foolishly by accepting Ryan's help? Common sense agreed with the later but her instincts said no.

So here she sat, behind a huge desk prepared to request a second chance to interview for an entry-level job that she really did not want. She also felt guilty. Oh, she admitted to herself that the guilt was not for the interview. If they would not grant her request then screw them. She felt guilty for the way she had walked away from her men. They had been kind and generous, even loving, but she had retreated in a panic.

"Yeah," she admitted silently. "They're my men."

Although Connor had stressed a trial period, he had made it clear that it would be for her adjustment. They could still decide they would prefer to wait for another candidate. No matter how successful they were at matching buyers and sellers, how certain could they be about choosing her as a wife? Would she be surprised to discover they had already started background checks on her? It would explain why her purse appeared in her room after she had been in the bathroom.

Remembering Connor's graphic description of their proposed future, she cringed when she thought how ignorant she must appear to them. Honestly, she was ignorant.

"One has your mouth, another has your pussy and the third has your ass." She recalled him saying. Did they understand how unseemly that prospect was for her? Was there any misunderstanding that her experience was no experience at all? Even the kisses Ryan had halted were far more than she had ever enjoyed. Little pecks hardly counted and the tongue thrusters of drunk, one time dates were the reasons she had envied life in a convent.

"Are you still with us?" Connor had asked. Yes. She was still with them.

"Did we lose you?" Scott had asked. No. However, she was not sure she would not lose them. For ten years, they had enjoyed a relationship with a woman similar to the one they were proposing to her but she had left these men and her sons to be with a woman who satisfied her needs. Maybe that was Ella's problem. She had yet to define her needs.

She groaned as she dropped her head to the desk. The cool surface provided little relief and no answers. Connor had told her to seek them for answers and that is exactly what she would do. Standing, she stretched her arms over her head until she felt the tension pop in her spine. With determined steps, she walked out of the office to find the brothers just as she had left them except they seemed more anxious.

"Which one would I marry?" she asked as she looked from one brother to the next.

"Me," Scott answered quickly, "Legally."

"And nobody gets jealous?"

"Jealousy is an emotion of a weak man," Connor said. "Would we get jealous over the attention our mother gives to another brother? Or would we be jealous when one of our sons chose to give his affection to one daddy over another for a while? It happens with kids. Why would I resent the child or his other father?"

Ella nodded and then decided to push forward. "I'm not on any birth control and I really don't know enough about it to choose. Obviously, I would need a doctor."

The brothers watched her and then looked to each other. "Is that what you'd want?" Connor asked. "If it's your preference, we can ask Jack to refer you to a gynecologist."

"Preference over what?"

"Over having a baby."

Ella spun on her heels to break the connection between her and the brothers. She walked toward the window facing the bay and searched for anything that would help her focus. Where in the hell were the boats and birds?

A baby. It sounded so simple. With their help, she could have a family again, with them as her partners, their sons as her children and the unborn ones who she would nurture from the day of conception. She moved her hand across her abdomen and smiled. Rescheduling that interview seemed less appealing every minute.

"You should know that I don't understand how it works," she said, as she remained turned away from them. "How it all works with...it seems..." She quit as she realized her hands were grabbing towards the air for the words that failed her.

"Painful? Dirty?" Ryan said as he stood and walked to her. When he placed his hands on her waist, Ella leaned back allowing him to pull her against his chest and wrap his arms around her body. "Not if it's done the right way," he said as he kissed her hair.

"And you do it the right way?" she said with a smirk.

"Ella," he started as he turned her so she was facing him and able to see his brothers sitting behind him, "Don't you know by now that your pleasure means more to us than our own? If we had been trying to seduce you just to have sex, not one of us would have stopped when we did."

"I want to say yes," she whispered as she dropped her head against his chest. "But I'm afraid."

"That's very wise of you," Connor added. "If you really want to reschedule your interview, then them it will take you a week to drive back to DC. Give us that week to decide about this."

"Would that be the trial period?"

"No," he explained quickly. "We decided, and hope you agree, that we should live together as we would when you marry Scott for at least thirty days. If all goes well, we can take care of the requirements for a marriage in the state of Virginia."

When she responded with a nod, Connor continued, "If we hit some speed bumps but nothing that would be considered a deal breaker, we could extend the trial period."

"What if I get pregnant during the trial period and we decide this doesn't work for us? Do I keep the baby?"

Ella held her breath as she watched Connor's expression harden. She was tempted to apologize but quickly pushed away her cowardice. Before she would give one more minute considering this plan, she needed to hear the answer to this question.

"Children stay with the family, Ella," he finally said. "No matter who leaves, the children stay with the majority in this house."

"But what if I do something you don't like or what if you three decide you don't like me?"

"It goes both ways," Scott said as he joined his brothers. "You could decide that there are things you don't enjoy but they are causes for discussion, not a divorce."

"To put it bluntly," Ryan finally added. "If anyone would leave, it would be only because he or she just wanted out. Do you understand, Ella? If you were pissed at me for a week, you could be mad and avoid me but you wouldn't walk away from the rest of them, would you? And if one of us disagreed with something you wanted or said, we would hardly vote you off the island."

"Is that a promise?" she asked looking into his eyes.

"It's actually a legal clause," Connor said as he approached her. She could now see that he had a box in his hands. "You'll have questions but maybe you should take the time to read the pre-nup and the expectations, which is not a legal document by the way, and try to get a better understanding of what we want. And Ella?"

"Yes?"

"This is also the time for you to decide what you want," he added. "If you want to stay, then we would be very happy. If you woke up day two, three, ten or next year, with no idea of what Ella wants, then we would not be happy. We need a wife, not a robot."

"You'll find everything in the box," Ryan said as he took it from Connor. "I'll take you back to the house so you can snoop through everything and find a comfortable seat to read the paperwork. And before you argue with me, we expect you to get use to the house and everything in it. Connor's rooms are on the third floor. Scott and I have both ends of the second with the boys on the same at the top of the stairs. You can keep you room or choose another."

"There's also a few other things in there," Scott added. "A smartphone that we'd prefer you to start using. Not to scare you but it helps us find you quickly on this hundred thirty-acre estate and its several buildings. There's also a laptop, which is already connected to our network and a credit card."

"For what?"

"For shopping."

"I don't need anything."

"I swear if I hadn't seen the proof myself, I would question if you were really a woman. Buy clothes, Ella!" Scott explained.

"What, you don't like my clothes?" she asked with a smirk.

"I like you naked," he answered. "So with that in mind, feel free to buy anything that would tempt me to get you there."

"You need to be tempted," Connor scoffed as he turned around. "Ok, Ella, it's time for you to start deciding what you want and for us get to work so we can provide it. By the way, our numbers are in the Contacts of your phone. Call or text any questions. Whichever method you prefer, do it. Don't wait or talk yourself out of it."

She smiled and nodded as Ryan began ushering her toward the door. Before they reached it, she turned and walked back to Connor and Scott. Lifting to her tiptoes, she kissed Connor first and then Scott. The kisses were quick and not returned but both men grinned at her with approval. She nearly ran back to Ryan and gave him the same.

After a playful slap to her ass, he looped his arm over her shoulder and helped her back into the SUV. With the sun shining against the snow, the reflection was blinding Ella. She turned in her seat to look at Ryan and submitted to the feeling of déjà vu. Here they were, back in the same vehicle making their way to his house.

"Hell of a day, huh baby?" he asked when he caught her looking at him.

Ella could not have explained the reason but she suddenly felt happy and submitted to the smile tugging at her lips. "It's been...amazing," she answered.

"Amazing?" he repeated. "Amazing. Ah, baby, I was ready to see you jump and run so many times that I nearly had a heart attack from the wait. Scott thought we should bring your suitcase just in case you freaked out and demanded to leave."

"Nah," she answered as she faced the windshield but closed her eyes against the glare of the sun. "I'm gonna go home and unpack. Walk through the house. Probably get lost. Find a chair that I like and open my gift box."

"You are surprising the hell out of me right now, but please don't misunderstand. I'm loving it."

She remained quiet for a moment before saying, "I've tried all of my life to do what I was told to do. When my family died, we were leaving a Christmas concert at our church. I had ridden with my friend's family. I was at their house waiting for them when the police arrived. Then I lived with my dad's younger sister and tried to do what I was told. I lived with her mom for my junior year in high school but she died and then it was a foster home. Even in college, I struggled to do everything I was told to do. This is the first time I've been asked to find what I want. This doesn't seem real."

"It's real," he stated. "It became real for me when I called you Elsa and you got a little bitchy."

"I wasn't being bitchy!" she defended with a

laugh.

"Hey I said a little bitchy and for the record, I like a little bitchy, unless I'm between your thighs and then I want sweet Ella."

Ryan watched her blink as she blushed at his words. She never turned away but opened her mouth to say something before snapping it shut as her blush deepened.

"What is it, Ella?" he asked gently. "You've got to get comfortable enough to ask or we'll spin in circles for too long.

"When will that part start?" she asked with a voice so low that he strained to hear her.

"You mean the sex?" he asked and waited until she nodded. "It could start as soon as we get in there," he said motioning to the house in front of them. "Don't worry, Ella, I'd have to rush so I could get back to work and your first time will not be rushed. It's why I hate this fucking trip tonight! Damn Armstrong and damn Connor for opening that fucking email!" he exclaimed as the volume of his voice increased with each word.

"So when you get back?" she asked quietly.

"Are you scared about that part, Ella?"

"Well, yeah, I still don't understand how I can...with the three of you...it's just different."

"Oh. Oh! God, no! Shit, we did fuck this up," he said as he pulled the car into the garage and turned towards her. "Baby we would start much, much easier than that. That would be in the future and I promise you that you will be willing to try it. We would never push you to do something you didn't want."

"So what happens in the meantime?"

"This is where you decide what you want," he answered. "Your lack of experience is not important because we are each willing to be your guide into the unknown, but what you need to decide what you want and how you will let us know. C'mon and let's get you inside."

Ryan carried the box and led Ella into the house and through a new hallway. She tried to look into the rooms they passed but struggled to keep up with his long stride.

"This is the library," he explained as he walked into a two-story room with cedar walls, ceiling, and bookshelves that traveled the full height. He opened the box and removed an expandable document folder with an elastic band secured around its width.

Next, Ryan pulled out the small white box that held the phone Connor had described. Ella had envied the students who had flashed theirs around campus as they talked, texted, emailed, and did whatever else the little thing could do. Finally, Ryan removed a slim box which was labeled as the laptop she anticipated using. The computer was the slimmest and most lightweight on the market today. Ella had to refrain from clapping her hands and giggling with excitement.

"Here is your card," he said as he handed her an envelope. "The pre-nup and stuff are in the folder. Fix yourself a cup of tea or a shot of whiskey before you take on that challenge. There's a notebook and pen for you too. Although I recommend using the Notes app on your phone so you can jot down questions and text or email to us. If you want to grab that tea now, I'll just get this set up so you can start."

As she left the room, Ella took the time to walk through the first floor of the house that could become her home. She stopped in front of the wall art, statues and grand piano hoping that she could learn to appreciate the real value of each piece. When she found the kitchen, she reveled in the small victory until she remembered that she would need to find her way back to the library. Maybe the brothers would allow breadcrumbs or rose petals to be used as a trail marker for a few days. Maybe she should have brought the phone with her so they could find her. At least she would not starve if she remained in the kitchen.

Turning in a circle, she looked for the best place to start searching for tea and then she spotted the espresso machine. The unit was wall mounted and appeared simple enough. Tea was tolerable but coffee was the stuff in her veins. From the moment she had discovered the hot brew, she had been an addict.

As she moved her cup in place and pushed the button, she remembered the first cup she had ever drunk. Yeah, it was a memorable experience. The funerals for her parents and baby sister had been held together at one of the local funeral homes. No one had asked her opinion on the location but she probably would not have argued with the aunts and uncles anyway. The entire episode had become a circus with aunts and church ladies attempting to outperform each other in the drama.