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Authors: Avery Gale
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when he’d been sixteen was still burned in his memory. He and his cousins had been racing dirt bikes up the mountain trails behind their home when Ryan rounded a corner ahead of Kip to find a couple of hikers directly in front of him. Despite the fact he knew they were trespassing, his instinct to protect the young couple kicked in making him jerk the bike sharply to the left. The move sent him tumbling end over end down the rocky embankment.
His injuries had been serious enough the first responders on the scene hadn’t wanted to take a chance transporting him to a larger hospital in Missoula or Billings, taking him instead to the much smaller facility in Pine Creek. The medical center would more accurately be described as an elaborate clinic. Their equipment had been dated, but the elderly physician who’d treated him had been top notch. The old man hadn’t missed a thing, he’d even properly diagnosed Ryan’s lacerated liver. And, rather than following the old standard treatment recommendation for emergency surgery, the well-read physician opted to stall and monitor Ryan’s lab tests vigilantly giving his body time to heal the wound on its own. The move had saved Ryan weeks of recovery time and impressed the specialists he’d seen after returning home to Texas.
Doc had stayed at his bedside for thirty-six hours straight, not trusting anyone else to notice the subtle changes he’d assured Dean and Patsy Morgan he was watching for. His dedication to a teenager who’d been driving recklessly and over-reacted causing the fall had been a turning point in Ryan’s young life. Late one night after Doc had finally agreed to release him the next morning, Ryan tried to thank the physician for all he’d done. “Sir, I don’t know how to thank you, well, for everything. But mostly for assuring my mom and dad I’m going to be okay. I didn’t want them coming home from their trip—they’d been looking forward to this for a long time.”
The old guy hadn’t responded, he’d just looked at Ryan over the top of his glasses for long seconds. He’d finally folded the half-moon spectacles and slid them into his pocket before leaning back against the small sink in the corner of the room. “The best way to repay someone for a kindness is to pass it along three-fold. It’s just another take on the Rule of Three, which says everything—both good and bad, that you do comes back to you times three. So if you repeat my kindness three times and each of those people do the same—the world becomes a better place in a real big hurry.” It had been a defining moment and from that point forward, Ryan’s life had changed direction. He’d always assumed he’d join his father in the energy industry, but everything had been different after that summer.
Bringing his thoughts back to the moment, Ryan glanced over his shoulder, he smiled. “She captivates me. She did the first time I met her, but work kept me from following up after we were introduced.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way—but I’m damned glad. If that hadn’t happened, I might not have ever met her.” The sincerity in Brandt’s expression only served to reinforce what Ryan had already seen—if his cousin wasn’t already in love with Joelle, he was definitely moving in that direction. The next time Brandt spoke, his words were much quieter, as if he didn’t want to wake the woman sleeping quietly behind him. “Both of us have chosen careers that will keep us away from home more than we’d like. And, we’ve already discussed sharing. I know it was a long time ago, but…”
“Yes.” He let the one word response sit between them for several seconds before continuing. “If you’re asking if I’m still interested in a polyamorous relationship, the answer is an unequivocal, resounding yes . I don’t know how Joelle will feel about it, but I’m damned anxious to find out. I’m sure you feel the same way I do about her safety. I’d like to see this
His injuries had been serious enough the first responders on the scene hadn’t wanted to take a chance transporting him to a larger hospital in Missoula or Billings, taking him instead to the much smaller facility in Pine Creek. The medical center would more accurately be described as an elaborate clinic. Their equipment had been dated, but the elderly physician who’d treated him had been top notch. The old man hadn’t missed a thing, he’d even properly diagnosed Ryan’s lacerated liver. And, rather than following the old standard treatment recommendation for emergency surgery, the well-read physician opted to stall and monitor Ryan’s lab tests vigilantly giving his body time to heal the wound on its own. The move had saved Ryan weeks of recovery time and impressed the specialists he’d seen after returning home to Texas.
Doc had stayed at his bedside for thirty-six hours straight, not trusting anyone else to notice the subtle changes he’d assured Dean and Patsy Morgan he was watching for. His dedication to a teenager who’d been driving recklessly and over-reacted causing the fall had been a turning point in Ryan’s young life. Late one night after Doc had finally agreed to release him the next morning, Ryan tried to thank the physician for all he’d done. “Sir, I don’t know how to thank you, well, for everything. But mostly for assuring my mom and dad I’m going to be okay. I didn’t want them coming home from their trip—they’d been looking forward to this for a long time.”
The old guy hadn’t responded, he’d just looked at Ryan over the top of his glasses for long seconds. He’d finally folded the half-moon spectacles and slid them into his pocket before leaning back against the small sink in the corner of the room. “The best way to repay someone for a kindness is to pass it along three-fold. It’s just another take on the Rule of Three, which says everything—both good and bad, that you do comes back to you times three. So if you repeat my kindness three times and each of those people do the same—the world becomes a better place in a real big hurry.” It had been a defining moment and from that point forward, Ryan’s life had changed direction. He’d always assumed he’d join his father in the energy industry, but everything had been different after that summer.
Bringing his thoughts back to the moment, Ryan glanced over his shoulder, he smiled. “She captivates me. She did the first time I met her, but work kept me from following up after we were introduced.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way—but I’m damned glad. If that hadn’t happened, I might not have ever met her.” The sincerity in Brandt’s expression only served to reinforce what Ryan had already seen—if his cousin wasn’t already in love with Joelle, he was definitely moving in that direction. The next time Brandt spoke, his words were much quieter, as if he didn’t want to wake the woman sleeping quietly behind him. “Both of us have chosen careers that will keep us away from home more than we’d like. And, we’ve already discussed sharing. I know it was a long time ago, but…”
“Yes.” He let the one word response sit between them for several seconds before continuing. “If you’re asking if I’m still interested in a polyamorous relationship, the answer is an unequivocal, resounding yes . I don’t know how Joelle will feel about it, but I’m damned anxious to find out. I’m sure you feel the same way I do about her safety. I’d like to see this
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