Katlyn (M/F/M red-hot menage shifter romance) Standalone (Shadow Creek Shifters Book 1) by Madison Johns

walked outside, she enjoyed the fresh air. The fragrance of the pine cleaner had begun to really bother her, though, and her stomach was doing flip flops.
    “Join us under the silver maple. It’s about the only shade there is around here,” Brendan said. “You look peaked.”
    Katlyn’s stomach rumbled, her heart racing. “I feel it, too. I really hoped opening the windows would help with the chemical smell.”
    “Not as dry as it is here.”
    Brendan put a hand on Katlyn’s back to help support her as she walked to the tree and collapsed on the ground. “Take a drink,” Chase suggested, handing her a jug of water.
    Katlyn drank a little too fast until Brendan yanked it away. “Not so fast, or you’ll be upchucking it all.”
    She rubbed her stomach and jumped up, retreating ten feet and lost her breakfast. Brendan and Chase came over and handed her a moist towel to wet her lips with, helping her back under the shade of the tree.
    “Lean back,” Chase said, applying a damp cloth to her brow. “It will pass.”
    “It will take a while for you to get used to the heat here,” Brendan added.
    Instead of convincing herself that she needed to stay far away from these two, Katlyn was glad they were near. She’d never experienced men taking care of her, certainly not her last boyfriend, Bobby. He was a few years younger than she was and way more immature. She got sick of cooking and cleaning while he never lifted a finger for her and he never had a job, either. It was real nice to meet real men for a change. It was the same thing she had been looking for back at the club— two reasonably attractive men that would take care of her for the night. The thing was that Katlyn had no idea why two hot men like Brendan and Chase would actually be interested in her. She never considered herself all that sexy or hot, just average. The only thing she had going for her was that she was able to maintain her weight for the most part, even though she had a few rolls here and there. But nobody was perfect.
    “Are you okay now, Katlyn?” Brendan asked.
    Katlyn gazed up into his gray eyes and melted. It wasn’t the animal attraction she had for him, or Chase, for that matter. It was that he genuinely seemed concerned. “I am, thanks.”
    Brendan eased himself back against the tree. “I’m glad. I’d hate for you to get sick. I’ll have one of the other ranch hands finish up the inside. We can’t have our new teacher sick now.”
    “I appreciate your concern, but I’d really like to finish what I started.”
    “I know what you mean,” Chase said. “But sometimes, it’s better to do that when you’re stronger. We’re not going anywhere, you know.”
    Katlyn’s heart began to thump against her chest like a dull ache. She clamored to her feet and practically ran away. He wasn’t exactly being forward, but the implied, We’re not going anywhere part was plain as day. She felt his desire for her, but she just wasn’t feeling well enough to deal with it today.
    “What happened?” Tessa asked as she joined Katlyn inside.
    “Besides that I made a complete fool of myself, nothing.”
    “How? What did you do?”
    “I threw up for one, and they—”
    “Laughed at you?”
    “No, they seemed concerned and even applied a cool cloth to my brow. I guess it just felt so weird to me that I guess it freaked me out. I know they want me, but can I really see it through now?”
    “What’s scaring you, that Brendan and Chase might not be your average dip shit men? Not all men are like that. Some can be very caring.”
    Tessa made perfect sense. She was allowing herself to be scared away just because of how other men had treated her. “You’re right. Let’s get this place cleaned up. They suggested that they could get someone else to finish up for us, but the last thing I want is for them to think I’m weak.”
    “Getting sick from chemicals doesn’t make you weak, Katlyn. It was getting to me, too, but I understand.