Their Family of Three [The Men of Space Station Two 2] (Siren Publishing Menage Everlasting) Read online

  Rusty filled her in on the layout of the main building where she’d be working and the warehouse and storage silos. She appreciated the virtual tour since she’d be going over there the next day to get started. The work itself didn’t bother her one bit. She knew she’d be able to handle it. In fact, she’d be able to just about finish her job every day by lunchtime. When the harvest came in though, Jane would be busy logging things coming in and going out as well as helping with the harvest.

  They really needed another family to help with the gardening and putting up the fruits of that garden. Once they became pregnant, it would be hard to do it all. She understood that one of the men was supposed to help when that happened, but seeing Jared try his hand at peeling tomatoes or potatoes so they could be canned or frozen made her cringe. She just couldn’t picture it happening.

  Well, they hadn’t asked her what her thoughts were on the subject and doubted they’d asked any of the others either. They’d all muddle through the best they could and make suggestions when things didn’t quite go as planned.

  When they’d finished eating, the guys surprised her by rinsing their dishes and stacking them in the dishwasher as if they’d always done that. She smiled her thank-you and cleaned the rest of the kitchen, making sure the dishwasher would start while they were in bed, so as not to disturb the men while they talked in the living room.

  When she strode into the room to join them, they stopped talking and stared at her. She looked down to see if she had something stuck to her, but nothing looked out of place.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Nothing. Are you finished in the kitchen?” Rusty asked.

  “Yeah. I thought maybe we could sit and talk. Maybe get to know each other a little bit,” she said.

  “That’s probably a good idea. The six of us were kind of thrown together out here out of the blue,” Jared said.

  “When did you know you were going to be moved out here?” Rusty asked her.

  “Two days ago,” she admitted. “It really shocked me.”

  “I wonder why they didn’t insist we choose our spouses before now,” Jared said.

  “I was kind of wondering the same thing,” Jane said.

  “I think they thought another ship would show up with more people on board so that there were more choices and maybe someone with better skills than what all of us had. I’ve never worked in a warehouse in my life. I was a crop duster back on Earth,” Rusty said.

  “I was an engineer before I got shipped here,” Jared said.

  They both looked at Jane expectantly. “I was an office manager for a produce company. I guess I’m more cut out for my job than anyone.”

  Rusty chuckled. “Sure sounds like it.”

  “Did either of you leave friends or family back on Earth?” she asked.

  Rusty nodded. “Left my sister and her husband and two kids. Mom and Dad past several years back.”

  She looked over to where Jared was focused on his hands. “What about you, Jared?”

  “Nobody. I’m going on up to shower. I’ll see you when you get up there.” He stood and all but stomped out of the room then up the stairs.

  “I didn’t mean to upset him.” Jane clasped and unclasped her hands then rubbed them up and down her pant legs.

  “Don’t mind him. He’s a little aggravated to have been sent out here when he liked it back where we were,” Rusty said. “He’ll get over it.”

  “I think there’s something more than that, Rusty. He clammed up when I asked about leaving people behind. I left my friends but didn’t have any family. Maybe he left someone special back there. He could have been engaged or dating someone who wasn’t able to get pregnant.”

  Rusty shrugged. “I still say give it time. He’ll come around.”

  “Maybe I should sleep in a different room for now,” she suggested.

  “No. We need to get used to each other. There doesn’t have to be any sex or intimacy right away, but we need to start out in the same room regardless,” he said.

  “I guess.” Jane wasn’t so sure about that now. “Why don’t you go on up, and I’ll be up in a little while. It will give Jared time to finish and get into bed. I don’t want to make things worse by being up there waiting on him to get out of the bathroom.”

  “Okay. Don’t be long, Jane. We’ve all got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

  Jane nodded then sighed as he climbed the stairs leading to the bedrooms.

  I have a feeling there’s going to be a lot of long nights to go with the long days.

  Chapter Two

  Jared sighed as he walked over to the main building with Jane and Rusty. He knew he’d screwed up when he’d walked out on them the night before. Rusty had called him on it when he’d gotten out of the shower. It had upset Jane, and that wasn’t acceptable the other man had said.

  “She’s here with two men she knows nothing about, and your stomping off in a huff only makes her more nervous around us. We’ve got to get along and get used to each other, but if you’re going to huff off anytime something bothers you, this isn’t going to go very well.”

  Hell, he knew that. It didn’t make this any easier to deal with. He hadn’t wanted to come to the fucking planet in the first place, but because he had a Ph.D. in electronics and engineering they’d decided he was a good candidate to man their breeding program for humanity. And that was all it really was. A breeding program intent on populating other planets with humans to keep the race going.

  Fuck the human race.

  I don’t really mean that. I’m just pissed off that I had to come, and now I’m going to have to live with and help take care of a woman I want nothing to do with.

  It sucked for him and for her.

  Jared knew he had to straighten up and put everything behind him so that they could make a go of the situation, but it wasn’t going to be easy. He’d fought being a part of the program but had been given an ultimatum to either cooperate or spend whatever time the Earth had left in jail. He’d almost chosen prison over traveling off planet but changed his mind when he’d been told that if there weren’t enough women to go around, he could remain single and just work at the space station.

  That had sure been a lie. There were more than enough women for every two men. In fact, there had actually been two extra women who’d each gotten their own man since they were working and living at the space station where things were relatively safe from the outside forces. Namely mantises and the other dangerous creatures the planet held.

  The families living outside the space station had to deal with the dangers of living on planet Alpha. Those actually living in the space station didn’t have nearly as much trouble.

  Guess I should be thankful for small miracles. At least I have another man to help with the slack of taking care of Jane.

  He really thought she was a cute woman and liked that she had curves and wasn’t thin and bony like so many women were. His Tessa had been curvy with generous breasts and a sweet personality. Fuck he missed her.

  Jane’s pretty strawberry-red hair and bright blue eyes gave her a sharp contrast to her name. She was anything but plain. She had a spark of energy about her, but there was a hint of sadness, as well. Was he the reason for that look? It pissed him off that he’d already possibly hurt her feelings. Hell, he knew he’d done it with his stunt from the night before.

  When she’d finished up in the bathroom, she’d made a point to climb up from the bottom of the bed and scoot between the covers instead of asking him to let her in when his side of the bed was next to the bathroom. She’d been stiff lying next to him until she’d finally fallen asleep sometime after midnight. Then she’d relaxed, and her cooler body had scooted next to his as if drawn by his body heat.

  I’m a bastard for acting like I did.

  The question was, what was he going to do about it?

  * * * *

  Jane finished entering the initial setup of all the supplies that were in the storefront. She’d a
lready entered most of the bins but still had all of the warehouse to set up. She was waiting on the guys to finish inventory to give her the numbers. They’d sat with her for thirty minutes when they’d first arrived that morning to figure out the best way to go about doing the inventory and what she needed in order to set up the entries.

  To her surprise, Jared had been less prickly and had actually seemed to be trying to make amends for his behavior the night before. She had to give it to him. He was trying. Still, she could sense a reserve in him. He was still holding back some part of himself. Well, maybe she was, too. She wanted them to be happy with her but wasn’t willing to risk her heart this soon in the relationship.

  Ha. What relationship? We aren’t even friends yet.

  Still, she vowed to do her best to make them happy with her. They had a lifetime together, and that was far too long to exist as acquaintances or, even worse, enemies. It wasn’t like she could walk away and get a divorce. Those weren’t options on Alpha.

  “Here are the numbers for the warehouse. I didn’t think we’d ever finish putting all of this together.” Rusty, followed by Jared, walked into her office with a stack of forms.

  She took them with a smile. “Thanks. You won’t have to do that again for three months. If the numbers stay the same after three months, we can go to every six months for inventory.”

  “Fuck, do this again in three months? That sucks,” Jared said.

  “We’re going to take a break. Want to join us?” Rusti asked.

  “Sure. I could use something to drink.” Jane followed the two men out of the office toward the storefront.

  Felicity looked up as they walked in. She was sitting on the floor loading shelves. She grinned at them.

  “Hey, guys. How’s it going?” she asked.

  “Great now that we finally finished inventory for the warehouse,” Rusty told her.

  “We’re going to get something to drink. Do you want anything?” Jane asked.

  “No thanks. I just took a break. You know where everything is. Help yourself,” Felicity told them.

  “Aaron and Marcus out on a delivery?” Jared asked.

  “Yeah, they took a load of supplies out to one of the families,” Felicity said.

  Jane poured three glasses of tea for them then sat at the little break table waiting on the guys to join her. Jared seemed to be making an effort today. He gave her a smile as a thank-you and drank deep from the glass. He didn’t sit at the table but walked around the room some.

  “Want some more?” she asked as she stood.

  “Yeah, thanks. Got thirsty out there. It’s hot when you’re pulling pallets and counting what’s on them,” he said.

  “Damn straight,” Rusty agreed. “We probably should have taken a break before now. It will be time to go home in another hour.”

  “Can’t wait. I want a shower and the recliner,” Jared said.

  “Any preferences for dinner tonight?” she asked.

  “Anything will be fine. I like your cooking,” Jared said.

  Jane beamed up at him. “Thanks. I like to cook. Ask me once everything’s put up after the harvest and I might have a different story though.”

  Rusty chuckled. “I think all of us will have a different viewpoint by then.”

  Jared finished his second glass of tea and walked over to the sink and rinsed it out before putting it in the compact dishwasher. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he seemed to wait on Rusty to finish.

  Finally, he spoke again. “Are you liking what you’re doing in the office, Jane?”

  “Yeah. I am. It’s different from the place I worked back on Earth, but interesting. It will get a little boring after a while, but I’ll have more to do once everyone has things to be shipped or moved, like hay and the grains and such.”

  “I have a feeling that none of us will be very bored come fall,” Rusty said.

  “Jared, what all did you do as a lineman back on Earth?” Jane asked, hoping to learn more about the man.

  “Ran cables, troubleshooting problems on the lines, and things like that.” He shrugged. “Nothing special. I can work on the electrical parts of anything though. I have a degree in electrical engineering.”

  “Wow. That’s more than I can say,” Rusty said. “I didn’t realize that you’d even gone to college.”

  “No big deal. It’s not like it helps much here.” Jared walked over to the door. “I’m heading back out to the warehouse to figure out the system, so it won’t take so long to locate stuff when we need it.”

  “I’m right behind you,” Rusty said.

  Jared left the two of them in the little break area. Well, she’d learned something else about the man, but it had been like pulling teeth. Something she’d realized was that he’d been a little embarrassed about telling them that he had a degree. He knew she had one but seemed to have not wanted to tell them.

  Then why had he? Was it that he wanted to make them closer like she did? Was he truly trying to make things work between them? Jane sure hoped so.

  “Don’t let his gruffness put you off, Jane. He’s trying. I don’t think he was happy about coming to Alpha. From what he’s told me he refused at first. Not sure what changed his mind,” Rusty told her.

  “I’m worried that he isn’t happy with me. Did he want one of the other girls instead of me?” Jane spoke the one question that had plagued her since they’d arrived.

  “No. He didn’t. He seemed perfectly fine with you, Jane. He’s just bummed about being here, I think. Give him time.”

  “I will. It’s hard to know where I stand with him. I want him to like me. I’m taking for granted that you like me.” She smiled at him.

  “I sure do, Jane. You’re perfect for us. You’re sweet, a hard worker, and easy to talk to. The rest will come with time. Don’t try too hard. Be yourself around both of us, hon. That’s all any of us need to do.” Rusty kissed her on the cheek then waved as he walked out the door.

  Jane walked back to her office and busied herself working on the newest papers the guys had left her. She wouldn’t be able to get all of the sheets entered that afternoon, but she’d knock out as many as she could.

  Thoughts of Jared spiked in and out of her mind as she pecked away on the keyboard. The man was hot to look at. So was Rusty for that matter. They were as different as cat and mouse in looks, but equally good looking. It would be so easy to fall for them, especially Rusty with his fun-loving, outgoing personality. She just wished Jared would relax more around her. What could she do to take away some of the tension between them?

  Maybe if they had sex he would come around. But Jane wasn’t sure they were ready for that yet. They didn’t know each other very well. And that was why she wondered if sex would help him to open up more. Sex was intimate. Well, it was for a woman. Not so much for the man.

  Though she’d seen them in passing at the space station before they’d been shipped out to the new space station, there had been at least thirty other men there.

  And she was back to where she’d started and already behind on her work after so much thinking instead of working. Jane sighed and buried her head in the paperwork, vowing to put thoughts of winning Jared’s friendship behind her.

  But it wouldn’t go away.

  Chapter Three

  Jared shoved the shift knob on the hover lift to reverse the craft out from under the pallet.

  “Why, man? Why wouldn’t you want a family of your own?” Rusty asked.

  “Because I had a family and lost them with the fucking solar flares. She got Shears Disease and was pregnant and died with our son. I didn’t want another woman. She’d only been gone six months when they drafted me to come here.”

  “I’m sorry. I really am, but you can’t take that out on Jane. She doesn’t deserve that,” Rusty said.

  “Don’t you think I know that? Hell. I’m trying to get used to the idea of having a wife and being in a family unit. It’s not easy. I’ll get there, but until then, both of you
have to give me some space.” Jared jerked the hover lift over to the next pallet that needed moving.

  “That’s going to be pretty damn hard since we all live in the same house and share the same bed.”

  “Maybe I should move into one of the other rooms for a while.”

  “The fuck you will. That will just make Jane all the more upset. She already thinks you didn’t want her and might have wanted one of the other women instead. Everything stays like it is. In fact, I think we should consummate our marriage sooner rather than later.” Rusty watched as the other man’s face paled at the idea.

  “That’s wrong, man. You want me to have sex with her when you know I’m not all into this yet?”

  “Yeah. I think it will go a long way to making her feel more secure in this and might even help you to accept her more,” Rusty said.

  He really thought it was a good idea. If Jared were part of taking care of her, he’d grow closer to her. They had to do something because doing nothing wasn’t going to cut it. Jane deserved two men who cared for her and took care of her.

  “I’m not sure I can pull off sex,” Jared said.

  “So, you can’t get it up for her? That’s pretty damn lame, man.”

  “I’m not saying that. I don’t have a problem getting a hard-on. I’m saying that it’s going to be pretty damn obvious that I’m not all into it.”

  “Fake it, man. You can do that. You can’t tell me that you haven’t slept with women you barely knew back on Earth. All men do that at least once. You know, a one-night stand.”

  “So how is treating Jane like a one-night stand supposed to help out the situation?” Jared asked.

  “It will create some intimacy between the three of us. It will give her something to hold on to until you can get your head out of your ass and get with the program.” Rusty felt like a heel for seeming to dismiss the man’s loss, but life moved on. They’d all lost someone.

  “I miss her, Rusty. Every day, I think about her and our little boy. It isn’t easy to forget just like that.”