Page 11 of Single Mom’s Undoing (Lucky Lady Reverse Harems #1)

CLARA

A week goes by, and my life finds a strange kind of balance.

Matty spends his days in the Vanguard daycare while I begin drafting my first proposals for the six new training bases.

I visit him as often as I can, and I make sure we have lunch together every day out in the garden, where we can watch the new recruits train.

He loves it, and I love to see him happy and settled.

The urgency of his heart condition lingers, but he soldiers through every episode like the fighter that he is.

I’ve spent a few of my nights with Carter, Damon, and Jace. They take turns, and I welcome each of them. Different touches, different experiences, yet all three capable of healing and bringing out the woman in me. It’s addictive, and I know it will break me when it’s over.

“Gosh, I haven’t been to one of these in a long time,” I say as we walk through the gates of the Blackthorn Falls Summer Fair .

It’s the seven of us—me and the guys—with Jodie keeping Shiloh and Matty close behind.

I’m nervous. It’s my first official public outing, and it took the guys a while to talk me into coming.

Jodie ultimately convinced me to go, mostly for Matty.

My son shouldn’t pay for my fear of Bill Lockwood, and neither should Carter, Damon, or Jace, for that matter.

“You’re nervous,” Carter notes. “You shouldn’t be.”

“It’s been a while,” I reply. “And I didn’t exactly leave on the best of terms with this town. Don’t think I didn’t hear the rumors.”

“People talk, and then people forget,” Damon says before briefly glancing back at his daughter. “Shy-Shy, Jodie can take you and Matty to the cotton candy guy. How does that sound?”

I look around, suddenly overwhelmed by the ensemble of food stalls flanking both sides of the main fairway.

Everything is green and sunny, with a plethora of summer-themed spaces situated on manicured fields, the mingling smells of deliciously deep-fried goodies filling my nostrils, making my stomach growl.

“Cotton candy guy?” I ask.

“It’s just Axel,” Jodie laughs, pointing to the right. “The kids love him.”

“I can see why,” I say as I follow her gaze.

Axel is in his early sixties, a joyful man with a long, braided beard. He’s wearing a colorful Hawaiian shirt with jean shorts, and he makes cotton candy seem like an art as he adds different shades of fruity food coloring to the pot .

There are at least a half dozen kids gathered around him, along with their parents, watching and giggling as he spins out a rainbow-colored ball and hands it to a little girl. Matty and Shiloh are immediately excited.

“Momma, please?” Matty asks. “Can I have some? Please?”

“Of course, baby. Go with Shy-Shy and Jodie. We’ll be right here,” I reply with a soft smile, then give Jodie a wink.

She winks back and guides the little ones over to Axel’s cotton candy stall, while I shift my focus to the crowd.

“Gosh, there are so many people here today,” I mumble, suddenly nervous.

I feel like I’m about to present an essay in front of an auditorium full of people. Carter and Damon stand to my left, Jace to my right, yet I still feel nervous.

“You’re going to be okay. Most people don’t even remember,” Jace says, resting a hand on the small of my back.

“I really want to believe that, but we all know the whole town made noise after Stephan died.”

“It was poorly timed,” Damon says. “But it’s been five years, Clara. Nobody’s judging you for your decision to walk away. They understand the pain that his passing caused you.”

“See? All good,” Jace says as we casually move forward up the main fairway. He glances to our left, where a couple of food stalls offer Southern specialties—deep-fried with a variety of sauces. “I think we could all do with some chicken and bacon fries right about now. What do you say?”

“That doesn’t sound bad at all,” I reply with a soft smile .

We stop at the first stall and admire the food displays. It doesn’t take long for me to find my favorite combination, but the vendor gives me a creepy look that makes me step back.

“I know you,” he says, narrowing his gaze.

He’s a middle-aged man with a scrawny frame and greying hair, his beady eyes measuring me from head to toe in a manner that makes me feel uncomfortable.

“No, I don’t think so,” I cordially reply.

As if he can sense my anxiety rising, Jace moves closer to my side.

“I’ll have the Buffalo chicken wings,” he tells the vendor, “with a side of cheddar fries, and the Mardi Gras sauce, while you’re at it. Thanks.”

“No, I definitely know you,” the guy insists, ignoring Jace, not taking his eyes off me. “You’re the sister of that guy who drove his car off the Samwell Bridge, the chubby little troublemaker.”

“Excuse me?” I gasp.

He chuckles dryly. “Yeah, my kids told me about you. You ran off the night your brother offed himself.”

“You might want to watch your fucking mouth,” Carter harshly interjects.

“Hey, I’m just saying what I’ve heard,” the man foolishly insists.

My stomach knots and my blood runs cold as I see the darkness creep over Carter’s expression. Before Damon or Jace can stop him, he storms into the stall through the side door and drags the vendor out by the back of his neck .

Gasps and murmurs erupt around us as I glance around to see quite a crowd has gathered.

“Carter don’t—” I try to intervene, but Jace’s hand firmly locks around my wrist.

“Apologize to the lady,” Carter says, pushing the man until he stumbles and falls at my feet, whimpering and quivering like the coward he truly is.

“Listen, man, I didn’t mean to—” the vendor stutters but Carter keeps him down on the ground.

“I could do a hell of a lot worse to get that apology out of you.”

“Carter, please,” I whisper, but he’s not listening.

He’s laser-focused on this man, and Damon and Jace aren’t intervening. Instead, they cast dark warning gazes at the crowd to keep anyone from stepping in. It doesn’t take long for me to realize that the people of this town fear and respect them enough to keep their distance.

What this guy said was just stupid. Judging by the look on his face, he ran his mouth without considering the consequences, not expecting Carter to react the way he did. But Carter isn’t a forgiving man, not where my honor and dignity are concerned.

“Apologize,” he orders the vendor once more.

“Alright, alright!” the man replies and gives me a pleading look. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I really am.”

“That’s more like it,” Carter says and briskly pulls him back to his feet. “Now, get back in your stall and do your fucking job. Keep your half-assed opinions and filthy rumors to yourself. ”

“Yes, sir.”

“Move on, folks,” Damon tells the curious onlookers. “Nothing to see here.”

Slowly, the crowd scatters, and people go back to enjoying the fair. But the fleeting looks and the rushed whispers linger. We’ve made quite the impression, yet I can’t fault Carter for reacting the way he did. If anything, I feel vindicated, protected, honored by these men.

“Oh, gosh. Matty,” I gasp and turn around.

Luckily, Matty and Shiloh are still within my line of sight but far enough away that they didn’t hear any of it. They’re too busy watching Axel spin their colorful cotton candy under Jodie’s watchful eye.

“The kids are okay,” Damon says. “Are you?”

I look up at him, then at Carter and Jace. “Yes. Carter, thank you,” I manage. “You didn’t have to?—”

“Of course I had to,” he says, cutting me off. “Now, I think I saw a churro stand farther up ahead,” he adds, his demeanor softening slightly.

Damon nods in agreement, giving the roughed-up vendor a dirty side look. “Sounds about right. I’m not going to eat where I don’t feel like me and my people are respected.”

“I really am sorry,” the vendor says. “Can I give you a discount or something, Mr. Lockwood?”

“You can shove that discount up your ass,” Carter growls.

I smile as I stick to his side, walking up the fairway. It was a silly thing, something I normally would’ve let slide, but it feels nice to know that I’m protected by these men. Leaning into his shoulder, I look up to find him watching me.

“I guess it’s as close to a knight in shining armor as a girl’s going to get, right?” I giggle softly.

“Except you get three of them,” he replies.

Damon rests a hand on my hip as Jace scans the crowd around us. He’s always assessing. Always watching and analyzing. Damon once told me how important that characteristic was to their SEAL team; the precise and cautious way he approaches every situation and every angle.

Safe.

That’s the keyword. For the first time in a long time, I feel safe.

Slowly but surely, I ease into the day.

The atmosphere is nice, particularly on the eastern side of the fair.

We sit at one of the picnic tables on the lawn, watching Jodie as she chases the kids around.

They’ve got a bubble machine and the sun to enjoy, while I dip a fry into a pod of hot sauce and wonder if maybe, just maybe, things will turn out alright in the end.

The four of us have spent the past couple of hours talking—mostly about the old days, about Stephan and their time in the military. It’s been quiet for a few minutes.

“What’s on your mind?” Carter asks.

“Not much,” I tell him. “Just how strange this whole thing is.”

“You mean us?” Damon replies with a raised eyebrow .

“Yes.”

“It’s strange, but it works,” Jace says. “There’s no denying that.”

“How will it work in the long term, though? We can’t be together in public, not really. I mean, rumors aside…”

Carter covers my hand with his. “One of us would have to be the official boyfriend, I guess.”

“You want to be my boyfriend?” I laugh lightly.

“Yes, Clara. And so do they,” he says, nodding to Damon and Jace. “And you’re our woman. What people see while we’re in public, that’s just a headline, a ruse, nothing important. Because at the end of the day, what we are to each other when nobody’s watching is what matters.”