Free Espino, Stacey - Midlife Ménage [Ride 'em Hard 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Stacey Espino

made a poor team with him being so much taller, but she was all he had.
    As they inched their way closer to the house, her thoughts were free to wander. Jackson was a drifter, no relation to her, yet he took it upon himself to try and help her. He’d watered her trees until he literally dropped down from exhaustion and dehydration. He did care about her concerns, and acted on making a difference. She saw him in a new light, a light of possibilities. How could she not have stronger feelings for the younger man after such a selfless act?
    They nearly fell through the back door. She kept her arms around his bare waist. His skin was so warm despite the evening chill. Wendy sighed in relief when she finally got him onto his bed. He dropped heavily onto the mattress. She reached over and turned on the bedside lamp. Was it wrong that she savored every ridge of muscle from his shoulders to arms, chest, and abs? He needed her to be a caregiver with thoughts of medical concoctions and natural remedies, not erotic images of what awaited just below his silver buckle.
    “I’m going to get you some water. I’ll be right back.” As she attempted to rise to her feet, Jackson’s hand jerked out and grabbed her arm.
    “Did I do good?”
    She smiled. “You did good, cowboy.” A wave of unexpected emotion rolled up within her. She needed out of the room before she fell apart. It meant a lot to have another person care about the same things as her.
    Wendy added an ice cube to a tall glass of water. She stood in front of the kitchen sink, looking out in to the dark fields, the partial moon watching her from its perch in the heavens. For the first time in a long time, she worried more about something other than her crops.
    The phone rang. “Hello?”
    “What are you doing answering the phone? You should be resting.” Wade’s voice was a comfort, a deep caress in uncertain times. He was a rock, always there to pick her off the ground if only she said the word. She was getting close to that place, the edge where she knew it was better to ask for help than jump the cliff. Now Jackson had made himself sick to keep her legacy going. There had to be a better way.
    “I’ve been resting all day. I just woke up and found Jackson worked to the bone in my orchard. He’s not even coherent.”
    “You’ve got to be kidding me. I thought that boy had some sense in him, but I guess I was wrong.”
    “He’s not a boy, Wade. In fact, I think he proved himself to be very much a man tonight.” Part of her wanted the men to bond. Wade had no son, and Jackson no father. It would be good for them to form a friendship with her in the center. Foolish thoughts. A piece of her cared for each man, wanted to build something stronger. For the first time in her life she was willing to take a chance on a new relationship. Now that she’d seen what she was missing in her life, that it was possible to love again, she didn’t want to turn back time and live in denial.
    “I’ll come over. You should be resting, not taking care of him.”
    “I’m doing fine. In fact, I’m thankful that at least one other person understood my plight. We’re not all wealthy cattle ranchers, Wade. Some of us rely on their crops in order to eat.”
    “Darlin’, I don’t want to see your orchard turn to ash, but you’ve got to pick your battles. Are you willing to sacrifice your health, your life, your soul?”
    “Maybe. Yes. What else do I have?”
    “Me, damn it. I want to help you, but you won’t let me.”
    “No, you want the woman you think I am. I’m nothing, Wade.”
    “I can change that, show you what it is to love again.”
    Her defenses rose, and she wasn’t even sure why. “I’ve never known love. That’s the problem. I’m incapable of it, so you best spend your energy on another woman.” She hung up the phone and collapsed in a kitchen chair. Her emotions were spent. The carefully erected shield she’d created decades ago was cracking and chipping in