The Merry Widow of Tanner's Ford (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  The Merry Widow of Tanner’s Ford

  Marci Meshevski moves to Tanner's Ford, Montana, after losing everything, including her odious husband, in a fire. A few dozen orgasms with a hot cowboy is the prescription for erasing memories of lousy sex.

  Simon MacDougal is desperate for a son, as without one ownership of the ranch reverts to cousins in Texas. When Simon gets a cast from toes to thigh the doc insists he have help at home, so he agrees to Marci moving in temporarily. She's just as eager for hot sex. His cast makes them be creative.

  The sex is dynamite but it's Marci's sunny personality, ability with children, and enjoyment of the historic ranch that catches the hearts of Simon, then Lance.

  But though she loves Simon's wicked ideas and Lance's calm power, she wasn't truthful about her husband's death. Terrified of jail, she won't drag the men she loves down with her. Can she trust them with the truth?

  Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among siblings.

  Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Western/Cowboys

  Length: 88,336 words

  THE MERRY WIDOW OF TANNER’S FORD

  Reece Butler

  MENAGE EVERLASTING

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

  THE MERRY WIDOW OF TANNER’S FORD

  Copyright © 2013 by Reece Butler

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-012-1

  First E-book Publication: May 2013

  Cover design by Les Byerley

  All art and logo copyright © 2013 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

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of The Merry Widow of Tanner’s Ford by Reece Butler from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Reece Butler’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Butler’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  DEDICATION

  This book is for those who welcomed me as I spent the winter of 2013 writing in Port Aransas, on the Texas Gulf Coast. I’d never lived in a small town and needed to understand the dynamics before writing about Climax, Montana, the small town which continues the Tanner’s Ford saga.

  All winter I walked the wonderful beaches of Mustang Island as I plotted my next ten books, wrote this one, and began its companion. I talked to people, both locals and Winter Texans, about anything and everything. Thank you for touching, and enriching, my life.

  And as always, this is for my family, friends, and the wonderful fans who support and encourage me.

  THE MERRY WIDOW OF TANNER’S FORD

  REECE BUTLER

  Copyright © 2013

  Chapter One

  Climax, Montana, spring of 1988

  “You need a Montana cowboy to give you orgasms, Marci. Lots and lots of orgasms. That’ll make you forget all about Ted.”

  Marci Meshevski Grant hastily set down the large dill pickle she was about to bite into. The thought of her dead husband always brought a sour taste into her mouth. She didn’t need a lewd vegetable to make it worse.

  “No way!” She rapidly shook her head at her older sister, making her rickety stool rock. “I don’t want another boring marriage.”

  Actually, Marci did, and they both knew it. Or, she wanted the children that came from a marriage. Nikki, sitting across from her in an equally decrepit chair, crunched down on her grilled cheese sandwich. Busy chewing, she gave her a look instead of answering.

  “I want to enjoy my freedom for a while first,” insisted Marci. “I’ll have lots of fun as soon as I replace my, um…”

  She hesitated at saying the word out loud. For all she knew, battery-operated massage tools were illegal in Montana. Even in a place called Climax. Gad, she was so horny even thinking of the town name made her pussy tingle. She might be hesitant to say things out loud, but she had a vivid imagination. That, and the small piece of equipment she’d hid for years between her mattress and box spring, had kept her sane while married to Ted. But it, along with everything else, had gone up in flames.

  “One vibrator can’t do near as much as a talented man,” declared Nikki.

  Marci narrowed her eyes. “How do you know? You said you’ve never had sex.”

  Nikki’s pale skin went well with her blonde hair. It couldn’t hide the wave of red that rose above her light-blue scrubs.

  “I am a medical doctor specializing in family medicine. I studied sex in class and did additional literary research on my own. And I mean monographs and technical articles, not explicit magazines.”

  “I put up having sex for ten minutes almost every Friday night for twelve long years,” said Marci bitterly. “And now I’m happy to be a widow.”

  “You never told me Ted scheduled sex.”

  “Ted scheduled everything to meet his priorities.” Marci licked her finger to pick up crumbs that had fallen onto the Formica table. Heat, this time from embarrassment, tinged her ears. “The timing for sex depended on the sport and commercial breaks. He liked the half-time shows but not the commentary.”

  “That’s not sex, it’s—God!” Nikki grimaced, shaking her head. “That makes me even more determined to make you into a merry widow.”

  “That’s a piece of lingerie, not a way of life.”

  “It can be both.” Nikki flicked her eyes over Marci�
�s secondhand clothing. “We should get you some nice lingerie. It’ll make you feel beautiful inside.”

  Marci pressed her fingers over the fresh scar running from her right jaw up to her cheek. She’d told the police she couldn’t remember how it got there, perhaps a piece of flying glass from the explosion. The paramedics said it looked more like a knife and she was lucky her throat wasn’t cut. They pushed, but she kept to her story, the one that would keep her out of jail.

  “I can feel as beautiful as I want, Nikki. It doesn’t mean a man would think so.”

  “Not if you keep wearing those baggy jeans. They make you look old and frumpy. There has to be something in that bag from the church donation box that would fit better. Why don’t you put on something more presentable?”

  Marci made a big deal of looking around. They sat by the short kitchen section of the living portion of the tiny apartment. There was a wall within eight feet no matter which way she turned.

  “Gee, Nikki, who’s going to see me here? And why don’t you move to someplace more acceptable? You live over an old two-car garage in a tiny apartment.” She stopped herself before she went too far. Nikki had taken what the town offered. She softened her tone. “You’re not in pre-med anymore. You’re the town doctor and yet you can’t even wash your hair without banging your elbows on the walls of that tiny shower.”

  “The town of Climax, courtesy of Harry Perkins and his maiden aunt, provides this apartment at no cost.” Nikki looked around. “I spend all my time at the clinic anyway.” She narrowed her eyes at Marci. “But we’re talking about you. It’s a good thing your dresses with puffy shoulders and beads were burned to ashes. Out here people dress the same way their grandparents did, though women wear jeans now.” She pointed to Marci. “Ones that fit. Why don’t you let me take you to Dillon to shop?”

  “You know why,” replied Marci. Ted had insisted she dress in style. She’d hated having to look as if she could walk on the set of Dynasty or Dallas and fit right in. What she wore was comfortable, unlike the tight gowns, spike heels, and other excessive fashions required to be accepted in the circles Ted wanted to move in. “And anyway, who’s going to see me except you?”

  “You’ve been here weeks and as far as I know, you’ve never gone out except at night, well covered up.” Nikki pressed her lips together, and then sighed. “Yes, you’re going to have a visible scar for the rest of your life. But you can erase the one on your heart. You survived that fire. That piece of filth you married didn’t. Grab some life and kick up your heels, Marci. Don’t let Ted win. Move on to a better future.”

  Nikki touched Marci’s arm, a gesture of caring she’d been doing since they were small.

  “Now that Ted’s gone,” continued Nikki, “the only way to break free of his controlling influence is to do something totally wild and selfish, against everything he believed in.” She nodded her head briskly. “You’re right about avoiding marriage. You, sister dear, need a short-term lover.”

  Marci’s heart went into overdrive. She’d endured Ted’s weekly sessions because it was part of being a wife. She’d made a vow and, unlike the two men who’d proposed to her mother and then walked out on their responsibilities, she kept her promises. But a lover didn’t require her to do anything but enjoy.

  “You want me to use a man for sex?”

  “I don’t see anything wrong with that as long as he’s willing and medically fit. And,” Nikki added, “has two sets of magic fingers, a mobile tongue, and a long, hard cock. You need to find a man, sister!”

  “But this scar—”

  “Will never disappear. You can’t change that.” Nikki was in doctor mode, which meant blunt. “Just like I can’t change my size. Bad enough that I’m six foot tall. Add that I’m the town doctor, and my chances of finding a husband are slim to none. I’ve accepted that.” She looked away. “We both want children, but since I won’t be having any, I’m trusting that you’ll make me an aunt.”

  Children. The one thing that might have made her marriage tolerable. But they would take attention away from Ted, so were not to be.

  “Marci, Climax is a friendly town. People here care about each other. This is a great place for both of us to start living again.” She took Marci’s hand in a firm grip. “I’m your sister. I want you to be happy, and that won’t happen unless you have a home and children. A husband is optional. Isn’t that what you want? To live your life on your terms, surrounded by love?”

  Marci let Nikki’s love flow into her heart. If she had a child to love, one who would fill the empty places in her soul, she’d not need a man. She wanted one, but he wouldn’t be necessary.

  “More than anything in the world.”

  “I’m not the homemaker type, but you are. And if you end up with a baby and no husband, you could live with me. My salary would cover everything we need.” Nikki’s voice, and enthusiasm, grew with every word. “In return, you’d give me someone to come home to, and a child to enjoy. It would be nothing like when we grew up. Your child would never go hungry, or be scared and alone in the night, or be insulted at school for wearing hand-me-downs.”

  They’d gotten out of that trailer park existence as fast as they could. Nikki used her brain and got scholarships. Marci thought she’d fallen in love with a wonderful man who happened to be wealthy. Now Nikki was a lonely doctor in a small mountain town, and Marci was a lonely widow visiting her. A widow with a raging libido and no power tools. There were a number of sex shops where she used to live, but Nikki said vibrators were not sold openly in Montana.

  “You’ve been here a while,” said Marci. “How are single mothers treated?”

  “Most of the people in Climax are descendents of ranchers and townsfolk from Tanner’s Ford. They love kids and still have the old pioneer values, where people care for each other. I can’t see them treating the child of a single mother badly when so many women have two husbands. I couldn’t do it, as I’m supposed to be a good example. But I could take in my little sister and her baby, and we would be a family.”

  “I forgot about them having two husbands.” Marci shifted on the hard stool. “I found it difficult enough putting up with one,” she said, shuddering. “I’d rather not have a husband like Ted cluttering up my life again.”

  “Few men are as bad as Ted, so forget about him. Are you going to find yourself a man to enjoy?”

  Marci’s heart skipped a beat before pounding against her ribs. Her pussy throbbed with need, swelling and releasing fluid to help a hot cock slide deep inside her.

  Could she? Oh, God, she wanted to.

  Marrying Ted, her first boyfriend, right out of high school meant she’d never been touched by a man who wanted to please her. Ted said he loved her, but on their wedding night she learned his love of himself left little room for her, children, or even a goldfish.

  “Men have recreational sex, why not you?” urged Nikki. “After all this town must be named Climax for a reason. It’s full of ranches, and that means cowboys.” She paused, tilting her head and arching an eyebrow. “Didn’t you have a thing about cowboys?”

  “I was fourteen!”

  “Fantasies don’t change that much over time.” Nikki held up her hand as if she knew what she was talking about and Marci shouldn’t interrupt. “Cowboys tend to be dominant men, which means they’re perfect for lovers. They’re strong enough to do whatever they want with the women in their lives, and confident enough to make sure the lady enjoys it. The good ones want a woman with just as much grit, to stand beside them.”

  “If I had grit, I’d never have married Ted, or let him walk over me.”

  “At seventeen you were a lonely girl desperate for affection. But you’re thirty now. Time to release the strong woman inside you. The one that craves a powerful man.”

  Did she want a powerful man? Ted was a petty tyrant who counted on her to do everything menial. Anything that might gain praise, was his responsibility. Unless it failed. Then it was her fault.

  S
he wanted a man she could count on. One she didn’t have to prop up. An assertive man who could cuddle a crying baby, wrestle a steer or a burglar to the ground, and make her scream in multiple orgasms. If they really did exist.

  Nikki was right. It was time she broke free of her past. Refusing to break her wedding vows hadn’t stopped her from fantasizing about hot sex. Her body throbbed with anticipation and lust. Could she fulfill her fantasy of writhing on a bed while male fingers and mouths danced over her eager body until she demanded a thick cock fill her and bring her to screaming orgasm? Face heating, she crossed her arms to hide her rising nipples.

  “Climax is filled with hot cowboys who work hard and play harder,” said Nikki. “I bet you could find an eager stud to show you what you’ve been missing.”

  “What about you?”

  They’d made a vow when they were young, that they would not end up like their mother, raising children on their own because men who promised marriage, lied. Marci solved the problem by marrying just after her eighteenth birthday. With Marci and their mother’s full support, Nikki had put all her energy into school.

  Their vow not to have sex outside marriage was made mostly for financial reasons. Times had changed. There were a lot more single mothers now. Since Nikki had an income of her own, and wanted Marci to live with her, they could be a family of three. Their vow was not longer relevant.

  “I don’t need a husband,” said Nikki. “I have a very full life caring for my patients. You, on the other hand, need a hot stud to rock your world. And don’t try to deny it. I can see those nipples poking out of your shirt.”