A Wilde Wedding Night (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  A Wilde Wedding Night

  In 1951—after receiving her college degree, Carol Faxon meets three brothers, Jack, Tom, and Will, who sweep her off her feet with their uncivilized charm.

  Returning from the Korean War, Jack Wilde is met by his two brothers, Tom and Will, and the woman of their dreams. But the curvy dreamboat is an outsider, and the unusual ways of their family will be difficult for her to understand and accept. Difficult or not, the three brothers are determined to win her heart and her hand.

  At a raucous, popular nightclub, the sexy cowboys propose something very strange.

  Will this virgin see past what she’s known to be acceptable in her world and follow the three sexy cowboys all the way to Wilde, Nevada, to the altar, and eventually to their wedding-night bed?

  Genre: Historical, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Western/Cowboys

  Length: 10,338 words

  A WILDE WEDDING NIGHT

  A Siren App Exclusive

  Chloe Lang

  MENAGE EVERLASTING

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

  A WILDE WEDDING NIGHT

  Copyright © 2012 by Chloe Lang

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-483-3

  First E-book Publication: December 2012

  Cover design by Les Byerley

  All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  DEDICATION

  There’s three people that helped me greatly with this visit to the past in Wilde, Nevada.

  Lana LeMore was by my side the entire time. I can’t wait to see you published. No more excuses. You have real talent.

  Sophie Oak kept me from rambling on and on with this one. You are a wonderful friend and mentor.

  Chloe Vale keeps me moving forward. You’re a doll.

  A WILDE WEDDING NIGHT

  CHLOE LANG

  Copyright © 2012

  San Francisco – July 14, 1951

  Carol Faxon took another drink of the cool water. Thankfully, the shot of penicillin the doctor had given her for her sinus infection seemed to be working. She could breathe more clearly, but her ears were still stopped up.

  “Another dance, baby?” Jack Wilde sure knew how to have fun. Wearing his Army uniform, he looked a lot like Gary Cooper.

  She shook her head. “I’m not sure my feet can take another dance, fellows.”

  His brothers, Tom and Will, looked disappointed.

  Tom, who reminded her of Tyrone Power, said, “Doll, it’s only midnight. Rest up a couple of songs, and then I’ll spin you around the dance floor. What do you say?”

  As if on cue, the band fired up another song that made hearing the brothers even harder. Will put his arm around her shoulders. He could’ve almost passed for Cary Grant’s twin.

  Tom said something again, but she wasn’t quite sure what with her ears in their current condition and the music and crowd being so rowdy and loud. Trying to concentrate was becoming a challenge tonight. She’d awoken this morning with her sinuses giving her fits. Knowing this was her last night with the three sexy brothers, she took the only open appointment her doctor had left in the middle of the afternoon. She hadn’t told the guys about it. Three weeks ago, she’d been a little under the weather, and they had made her go to bed and fed her chicken soup until she thought she would never be able to eat it again. She wasn’t about to ruin this evening with a silly infection.

  “Well, let me go first then, Carol.” Jack got down on one knee. He took her hand in his. “My brothers and I may have only known you a short time, but you have captured our hearts.”

  “You have mine, too.” She took a deep breath, hoping the medicine inside her would unstop her ears and fast. Jack said more, but she had missed it. She thought about asking him to repeat himself, but decided not to. One, it might tip him off that she wasn’t feeling well. Two, she didn’t want to spoil the moment. Finally, she wanted to appear strong and capable in front of these amazing men.

  He paused, waiting for her to answer. What had he asked her? To marry him, no doubt. But could she be sure? She was shivering like a schoolgirl. This was no way a woman with a degree in biology from Stanford should be acting. This is nineteen fifty-one and I’m a modern woman.

  She’d worked hard to finish college. Saying yes to a proposal would mean leaving all that behind. In truth, having a career had always been secondary in her heart, though she’d never admitted that to anyone. What she really had dreamed of for her whole life was having a husband and children. Her own family had always been distant and cold, so opposite these warm and loving cowboys.

  “So, what do you say, baby? Will you marry us?”

  She grinned at the irony that her stopped-up ears had twisted his words into an impossible dream, her impossible dream. She wouldn’t have to choose. She’d fallen for all three brothers, but knew she could only have one. Tom’s adventurous spirit, Will’s sense of humor, and Jack’s protective nature made the perfect combination to ensnare her utterly. How had this happened? Didn’t women’s hearts only go for one man? What’s wrong with me that I let this happen?

  Jack was on his knees in front of her, asking her to marry him, not us.

  Stanford was behind her, and she was ready to choose a new path.

  “I will,” she answered, feeling nervous and excited about what was to come.

  Each of the brothers kissed her. Of course, Tom’s and Will’s kisses must’ve been congratulatory in nature, nothing more. But they’d seemed a bit too intimate to her. She chalked it up to fatigue.

  The rest of the evening was a haze. Each of the brothers took her out on the dance floor, one after another, over and over, until the crowd thinned and the band put up their instruments.

  The last thing she remembered was the three hunky cowboys at her door, promising to be back early to pick her up and take her to their new home, her new home, in Wilde, Nevada. Just before her exhaustion pushed her into unconsciousness, she thought about what tomorrow would bring. She would be Mrs. Jack Wilde, which thrilled her. But God help me, I love all three of them.

  * * * *

  Wilde, Nevada – July 15, 1951

  Carol shivered, not from cold but from the gravity of the life-changing moment that was happening to her.

  “Do you, Carol, take these men to be your husbands of heart, to love…”

  Had she heard the justice of the peace correctly? These men? The trip from San Francisco had been long, but she’d slept almost the entire way. Thankfully, her sinuses and ears had cleared before the three Wilde brothers had shown up at her place to get her. So why was her hearing off? Must’ve been impacted by her nerves.

  “…in sickness and in health, so long as you all shall live?”

  “I do,” she whispered.

  “And do you, Jack, take this woman…”

  Her fiancé of less than twenty-four hours, who was seconds away from being her husband, listened intently to the minister’s long-winded question. He wore his Army dress uniform, khaki jacket, trousers, shirt, and black tie. He was stunning.

  Wearing dark b
lue suits, crisp white shirts, and red ties, Tom and Will stood beside her and Jack.

  She’d met the three brothers only a month ago. It had been a whirlwind romance, nights of dancing, delicious dinners, flowers, drinks, making out—God, could the men make a girl’s toes curl—and so much more.

  They’d become quite the foursome around town. Not surprising, since the Wilde brothers had leading-man good looks, though they were more cowboy than anything else. The silver screen would’ve loved them, but they were clearly meant for the saddle, which drew quite a lot of stares and invites from the San Francisco elite. Novelty could definitely open doors in the city, though those doors would close quickly once the movers and shakers moved on to the next oddity that captured their attention.

  Glad to be done with college, Carol was ready for a new start, a new life. When Jack had asked her to marry him, she’d jumped at the chance. Sure, it had only been a month, but she was already in love with him. The way he, Tom, and Will talked about Wilde with such awe and devotion made her decision that much easier. God, those brothers had brought hope and light into her uncertain and gray life.

  “I do,” Jack vowed in his deep, rumbling tone. He had piercing blue eyes that had mesmerized her the first time she’d seen them. They still gave her a sweet shiver whenever he gazed at her.

  “And do you, Tom, take this…”

  God, what’s wrong with me? There’s no way I’m hearing the minister correctly. But Carol listened more closely to the man, realizing that she was hearing him just fine. What the hell was going on? A couple of weeks ago, she would’ve bet that Tom would’ve been the one to ask her to marry him, but he hadn’t.

  “I do,” Tom answered.

  Her heart jumped into overdrive in her chest.

  “And do you, Will…”

  Was this some kind of rural part of the ceremony where siblings had to make a vow to their brother’s new bride? Who else would be vowing to love her? Their parents? Aunts and uncles? Her home state of Maine had its own set of odd customs, and she knew small-town quirkiness quite well growing up in Banksfield, population five hundred and ten. She would adjust just fine to Wilde and whatever traditions and superstitions it had. In for a penny, in for a pound.

  “I do,” Will said.

  “Vows of love and commitment have been given here and witnessed by all gathered in this place. By the powers vested in me in the city of Wilde, Nevada, I now pronounce you married. Gentlemen, you may now kiss your bride.”

  Her mind spun like a child’s top as Jack pulled her in close and kissed her. Every inch of her melted into her new husband, forgetting the odd way the minister had conducted the service. Things would be fine. She’d signed the marriage license, which only had one other name on it—Jack’s. He was her husband, not Tom, not Will. Part of her was relieved as logic finally made clear what had actually occurred. But another part, a secret part, was disappointed. The truth was she would’ve said yes to a proposal from either Tom or Will, too.

  “I love you, Carol.” Jack’s fixed stare made her weak in the knees.

  Then he stepped aside, and Tom moved directly in front of her. “I love you, too, sweetheart.” He put his hands at the back of her neck and at the small of her waist and drew her body in close, placing his thick, manly lips on hers. Oh God! She closed her eyes as his kiss made her wonderfully woozy.

  Am I still asleep in the back of Will’s Cadillac Fleetwood, headed to Wilde, having a wicked dream? The choice had been made. She was marrying Jack, and yet she was kissing Tom like there was no tomorrow. Shit!

  She opened her eyes and saw from their corners all the people in the chapel looking at them. They didn’t seem shocked or appalled. In fact, many women were dotting their own eyes with hankies and those that weren’t were smiling broadly. The men, too, seemed okay with this whole strange wedding.

  When Tom ended their kiss, Will grabbed her and planted one helluva kiss on her. The spinning top in her mind went faster and faster until it broke out into a major storm, a hurricane with winds so strong everything in its path was flattened or blown away. She learned that things out west were much different than they’d been for her growing up in Maine, but Wilde made everything she’d seen in San Francisco tame.

  She’d heard the minister correctly, and insane or not, she had jumped down the rabbit hole and just married three men.

  * * * *

  Jack kept his arm around his new bride. Carol was wide-eyed and so very quiet. Though he’d known her only a month, this was the most tight-lipped she’d ever been. She had an opinion about every subject and freely shared them with him and his brothers whenever possible. Her fire and intellect were just a couple of the things that challenged him and what he loved about her. Her long blonde hair, lush lips, and perfect curves were icing on the cake. She was a knockout, and he was so proud to bring her back to Wilde.

  “Son, why don’t you introduce us to our new daughter-in-law?” Dad Bill grinned broadly. Mom stood between him and Dad Abe.

  Jack took Carol’s hand and placed it in his mother’s. “Sweetheart, this is my mother, Ida Wilde, and these are my dads, her husbands, Bill and Abe.”

  Her mouth gaped open, then slammed shut. She shook his mother’s hand. “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Wilde.”

  “Call me ‘mom,’ child. We’re family now.” His mom’s eyes sparkled with happy tears. “You’ve got your hands full with my boys. I can tell you that for sure. You need me to take the switch to their backsides, just let me know, hun.”

  Dad Bill kissed Carol’s cheek. “The same goes for me, young lady.”

  “I think you’ll handle them just fine, by the looks of you.” Dad Abe kissed her other cheek. “But we are only a hop, skip, and a jump from any of their houses.”

  “Houses?” Carol asked.

  “Yep. Our boys each built their own houses.” Dad Abe winked. “Your boys will do the same, and so will your grandsons.”

  “Abe, hush up. Let the girl settle in to being married first before you start pressuring her for grandchildren.” His mother put her arm around Carol’s shoulder. “Come with me. I think we women need a moment alone.”

  “Why?” Jack asked, not wanting to be away from his new bride a single second.

  “Jack Wilde, you behave. I’ve finally gotten the daughter I always wanted. Let me have a few minutes with her. She might have some questions.” Without another word, his mom led Carol to the secret, holy place the gentler gender enjoyed away from their men—the ladies’ room.

  * * * *

  Carol faced the mirror in the ladies’ room of the Wilde Community Center. She looked at her reflection and was stunned by how beautiful the bridal gown that she wore was.

  How had the Wilde brothers put together an extravagant wedding in such short notice? And who really cared? After a month of the brothers sweeping her off her feet, had she just landed on her ass?

  Mrs. Wilde stood behind her, grinning. “Hun, how you holding up?”

  She blurted out, “Is everyone in Wilde crazy?”

  Her new mother-in-law tilted her head to one side. “What do you mean?”

  “You have two husbands.”

  The woman grinned. “And you have three.”

  “I’m so confused. I thought I was marrying Jack.”

  “Mmm. I’m sure there’s a story about why you thought that, but let’s delve into that later. First, do you love Jack?”

  “Yes.”

  “And Tom?”

  “I do,” she confessed.

  “Finally, what about Will? You love him, too?”

  “Of course, but that doesn’t change anything. What have I got myself into? I don’t have a clue how to handle this. This kind of thing just isn’t done.”

  Mrs. Wilde hugged her and whispered softly. “It is in Wilde. A woman can have it all. Lucky for you, child, you have three men that adore you.”

  Unable to hold back her emotions, Carol felt tears stream down her cheeks. “But I’m still a virgin.”


  “Sweet girl, you’re just nervous.” Mrs. Wilde nodded. “I understand now. You really are the daughter I always wanted. I know my boys, and they love you. I can see it in their eyes every time they look at you. They will be tender with you, trust me. You have nothing to fear, Carol.”

  * * * *

  Jack watched his mother and his new wife come out of the ladies’ room together. They were holding each other and smiling, which pleased him but also worried him a bit.

  His brothers were standing next to him by the gift table. Most folks were leaving since this was the middle of the week and many of the husbands would be headed down the mine at seven in the morning.

  “What do you think they were talking about alone?” Will asked.

  Tom patted Jack and Will on the back. “I bet we’re about to find out. Look at Mom. She’s staring at us.”

  He was right about that. Jack had seen that look in his mother’s eyes before, and it usually meant there was a lecture about to happen.

  Sure enough, his mother led Carol to their dads, Bill and Abe, not Jack and his brothers. Then his mom turned around and headed straight for them alone.

  “Brace yourself, brothers. She’s about to let us have it.” Tom shook his head.

  “What for?” Will asked.

  “I guess we’re about to find out,” Jack stated.

  Surprisingly, his mother didn’t blast them, but instead said softly, “I’m so proud of you boys. I never doubted you would pick the right girl, but she is beyond my expectations as my new daughter-in-law.”

  Jack knew this was the calm before the storm. Mom always was tender before the big explosions. His commanders in Korea would’ve definitely benefited from sitting in her class about how to conduct a sneak attack.