They had been out there for a few hours. I didn’t know if I should go out and see if they had all killed each other, or if I should stay here, wait, and pretend that nothing had happened when they got back in.

Instead, my stomach growled, and I decided to hell with it, I was going to cook us all some food. In case by some miracle, they hadn’t actually managed to do each other any fatal damage.

I headed to the kitchen, and I pulled out everything that I needed for a pot of stew. It was one of the few meals that my mother had taught me to cook from scratch. Her great-grandmother had taught her how to do it like they did ‘back home’. Back home being Ireland for my great-grandmother. She had been from a small town outside Shannon in County Clare.

I started my prep work. It would take a while, so if they still had some things to work out, they had the time to do it. I thought about what I had said to Jude. I thought about what he had said to me. Did I really believe that the men who as boys had never been able to share a damn thing, as adults would be able to share me and not want to tear each other limb from limb? And if by some freak happening, they did indeed manage to share me. Where the hell would a relationship like this go? What would my best friend say about it all, would she still be my best friend at the end of it all? I wasn’t sure I was ready to find out. One side was the rejection of the men I had loved almost all my life, and the other side was losing my best friend of nearly all my life.

Rock. Hard place. Hello me.

I busied myself as best I could, trying my damnedest to not think about what might or might not happen. Trying to not over think the living shit out of it like I usually did. I tried to think about my characters. I tried to think about what would happen next now that Nick and Angie had given into their temptation and slept together. I decided not to think about that kiss with Finn in the barn before I slapped him. I tried not to think about the night before with Charlie and his fingers inside me.

An hour later the stew was ready, and still, there was no sign of the brothers. I gave some serious thought to heading out to the barn and checking that there wasn’t actually a bloodbath out there, not that I would have any idea what I could do if they had attempted to murder each other at the time. Just as I was about to grab my coat and boots, the door opened, and in poured three snow-covered shivering forms. I looked over them, making sure that there were no injuries, then I saw Jude’s nose.

“What the fuck happened?” I asked looking at his face.

“Finn’s a wanker.” He smirked, and Charlie rolled his eyes.

I glared at Finn. “You hit him?” I pushed against his chest, shoving him. Jude and Charlie started to laugh behind me, and Finn held his hands up in defeat. “What the fuck is wrong with you.” I shoved him again. “I guess I didn’t slap you hard enough.”

Jude and Charlie stopped laughing behind me, and Finn’s shoulders sagged.

“She slapped you?” Jude asked.

“What did you do to deserve slapped?” Charlie asked, his voice and Jude’s overlapping each other.

Finn stared at me. “I should have said sorry. I really didn’t mean it, I was angry.”

“What did you say?” Charlie asked again. Finn stared at me, his eyes begging me not to say anything, but all the while knowing that his brother wouldn’t be letting go of this.

“He was angry like he said,” I told the eldest brother. “I’ve made a stew if everyone is ready for food and needs to get warmed up.” Charlie was glaring at Finn. The last thing I needed was for them to kick off again. I pressed my hand to his chest to distract him from his brother. “Charlie. Stew?” He broke his glare and looked down at me.

“I’d love some.” He smiled at me. I nodded and moved back to the stove to start dishing out the food.

The tension around the table faded quickly. We ate, we chatted, and Charlie and Jude disappeared off to sort all the fires in the rooms while Finn stayed to help me with the dishes.

“I really am sorry for what I said earlier. It was petty and cruel, and you really didn’t deserve it.”

I nodded at him. He was right on all counts. “I can understand why you might have, though. It was something Jude said earlier.”

Finn moved into my space a little. “Still. I am sorry, can you forgive me?”

“I’ll think about it,” I said, nudging him out of my personal space with my hip.

“Are you sharing my room tonight?” He asked. I could see that he was trying to be coy and chilled about it, but there was a hint of expectation in his voice.

“Maybe.” I grinned. “I’m going to go and have a shower, there’s should be enough hot water, right?”

Finn nodded, and I headed off to the bathroom, leaving him to sort out the last of the dishes.