“Damn straight, you’re the whore,” Melissa shot back. “Everyone knows it.”
There was a charge of electricity running through the bar. Everyone was watching them. This could get bad. Christa winked, letting her know she had Abby’s back. A strange sense of excitement thrilled through Abby. Her life had been relatively calm for the last couple of years. Christa was right. This was the time to reclaim a little of her crazy youth, and it was definitely time to put the young girls in their place.
“Keep your hands off my man.” She wasn’t going to back down. “This one’s mine, too. I don’t know what he did to make you think he wants you, but he doesn’t. He’s very sorry to have led you on…”
“I didn’t…” Sam started, and then smartly shut his mouth at the look on her face.
“…but he is very committed to our relationship,” Abby explained firmly. “There will be no more drunken hookups. He’s going to curb his drinking so he can make more appropriate choices in the future. Sam is limited to three beers from now on.”
“What?” Sam looked around for help from some corner. There was none forthcoming. “Damn it.”
“So go find some other man to bother.” Abby dismissed the woman with a curt nod of her head.
Melissa Paul obviously wasn’t used to being dismissed. She leaned over and shoved a hand into Abby’s chest. “Listen here, bitch. I am not letting some old cougar push me around. You can have Jack. I think he’s a pervert, anyway, and I’m going to tell everyone in town that he’s forcing Sam to sleep with you. Everyone knows Sam depends on Jack for money. I’m going to ruin all of you if I don’t get Sam.”
Christa gasped. The whole bar seemed to hold its collective breath.
Abby had had far more than enough. Her hand curled into a fist. “You forgot one thing about us cougars. We have claws.”
She reared her fist back and punched the younger woman straight in the face.
* * *
“What the hell are we supposed to do, Jack?” Sam couldn’t keep his eyes off the two women.
Abby got Melissa in a chokehold. Leslie had tried to jump into the fray to help her friend, but Christa had given a loud rebel yell and leapt on the smaller woman. They were wrestling on the floor of the bar, tangles of limbs and hair and vicious nails.
It probably shouldn’t arouse him, but it did. Well, his Abby taking on Melissa Paul did.
“Watch out for her nails, Abigail!” Sam yelled. He knew how deep they could sink. Not that he was going to mention that to Abby.
Abby and Christa taking on the women who’d come for him and Jack had caused a chain reaction. Many of the women in the bar seemed to think a taboo had been broken and had thrown themselves into the new norm with a malicious glee. Three other girl fights had broken out, and it was hair-pulling, nail-scratching chaos.
“We do nothing.” Jack took a long drink. “That woman is defending your honor and you’re going to let her. Besides, Abigail’s winning. Our little honey is downright mean. You had best follow that three-beer dictate of hers or she’ll pile drive you. Where the hell did she learn that move?”
Melissa pulled out of the hold and reached out to snatch at Abby’s hair. Abby yelped, but then kicked out perfectly with her heel and Melissa went flying.
Sam watched his future wife pull another female up by her hair. A warmth flooded him. She was really pretty when she was fighting.
“And think about it, Sam,” Jack continued. He was watching Abby with a content grin. “She’s doing all of it with a plug up her ass.”
Sam’s breath caught. Jack was right. “She is one hell of a woman.”
“And she’s all ours,” Jack said with a satisfaction Sam couldn’t mistake.
He turned to the man sitting next to him, pointing toward where Abby had Melissa down for the count. “We’re going to marry her.”
The cowboy’s eyes widened. “Brave man.”
In the distance, Sam heard a familiar noise. He quickly calculated the distance and figured they didn’t have long.
Jack hopped off his barstool. He looked back at David Sandberg, who stared at the proceedings with complete shock on his face. The Barn had seen its share of bar fights, but nothing like this.
Sam clapped him on the back. “It’s going to be okay. From now on Sunday night can be girl fight night.”
“Tally up the damage and send me the bill, Dave,” Jack said with a wink. “The cops are coming. I’ll collect Abby. You tell Mike he needs to get Christa out of here or we’ll be posting bail.”
Jack walked over to their future wife and tossed an arm around her waist, hauling her off her screaming blonde opponent.
“Hey, I wasn’t done with her!” Abby yelled as she was carted out like a piece of luggage.
Jack laughed. “You’re done for now, warrior princess. Sam’s honor has been avenged. It’s time to call it a night.”
Sam ran ahead. He helped Mike pull his wife off a crying Leslie. Christa laughed when Jack caught up to them. Even though they hustled, Sam noticed Abby and Christa seemed satisfied with the chaos they had wrought.
“Abby Moore’s back.” Christa made the pronouncement with a hearty fist pump.
Sam opened the door.
Even from her position over Jack’s shoulder, she replied with an arrogant grin. “You tell this town they ain’t seen nothing yet!”
Sam couldn’t wait to see what she’d come up with next.
12
“I’m sorry, Jack, but I have to do this.”
Abby sat up in the backseat of the Jeep as Jack turned onto the two-lane highway where her mother’s trailer park was located. Jack had tried his hardest, but she hadn’t been swayed by his arguments that she should stay the night with them. If she was going to change her whole life and make the attempt to stay here and build something, she needed to talk to her mom about it. Her mother would be impacted by this decision.
They’d been arguing for fifteen minutes, and all the while Sam had been trying to seduce her in the back of the Jeep. Sam didn’t seem to be following the conversation she was having with Jack. He was intently concentrating on rubbing her nipples and nibbling on her ear.
“You’re putting off the inevitable,” Jack claimed.
She sighed when Sam kissed a very sensitive spot behind her earlobe. “I can’t leave her alone, and I can’t uproot her without any warning. It’s not going to change anything. I don’t think it will. She was very clear that she approved of the two of you, so it might not be as hard as I think to convince her to move.”
“Looks like something’s going on,” Jack said, easing off the gas.
Even in the dark, she could see the smoke pouring out from somewhere up ahead. She rolled the window down and was assaulted by the acrid smell of burning wood and plastic. Up ahead, she could see a police barricade across the road. The fog of the smoke made the red and blue lights appear eerie, and Jack slowed down the car.
Abby got a horrible feeling in her gut.
“Stop, Sam. Something’s wrong.” Abby pushed him away.
The minute the Jeep rolled to a stop in front of the barricade, she opened the door.
Sam called out behind her, but she ran toward the lights. The rest of her neighbors were out of their homes, clutching robes around their necks and passing coffee around. She ran past them because it was obvious now where the fire was.
She hit the police line just in time to watch the volunteer fire department putting out the last of her mother’s smoldering home. Fire had gutted the small trailer, and there was almost nothing left.
A cry came from her mouth. It hadn’t been much, but she’d grown up in that trailer. Pure panic raced through her. What time was it? Bingo ended early in the evening. She looked around wildly for her mother. Had she been in the trailer?
Sam’s firm hands came around her, holding her. He pointed to a spot a few feet away. “Baby, your mother is right there, talking to the fire chief.”
Real physical relief flooded
her body when she caught sight of her mother shakily talking to the fire chief. Her mother’s eyes were swollen from crying, and she could see the strain on her face. Her mom looked up and held out her arms as she saw Abby walking toward her.
Sam let Abby go, and she ran the last few feet into her mother’s arms.
“What happened?” Abby hugged her frail body. It struck her exactly how much her recent illness had taken out of her mother.
“I don’t know.” Her mom’s voice was shaky. “It was already on fire when I got here. Juan and his wife kindly took me out for a late cup of coffee at the café. Oh, Abby, if they hadn’t…”
The fire chief, who Abby remembered was named Eric Thompson, looked on the women with compassion. “Hello, Abigail. I’m sorry about this. Obviously, it’s a total loss. Mrs. Moore, do you have insurance?”
Abby heard her mother’s quiet no. She felt tears start to fall. Everything her mother had was in that trailer. It was all gone now. She shook at the thought of having to start all over again at her mother’s age.
“The Red Cross has a shelter in Tyler that can take you in,” Eric said.
“Don’t worry about the Moore women.” Jack strode up, his shoulders broad against the lights from the fire truck. “I’ll take care of them. You want to explain to me what happened here?”
The fire chief looked relieved at having an unemotional man to talk to. While Jack dealt with the realities of the situation, Abby felt Sam’s presence at her back. His hands found their way around her waist.
“It’s going to be all right,” Sam promised. “Jack will take care of the formalities. Let him take care of you. It’s what he does. Don’t worry about a thing. This setback just moves up our plans.”
Her mother looked up at Sam. “What plans?”
Sam smiled down. He released Abby’s waist and reached out to take her mother’s hands in his. Abby was grateful for his abundance of charm because Sam was able to calm her mother down. “Abby agreed to marry Jack tonight. She’s moving in with us, and we’re moving you into the guest house. Now, we were planning on doing that before we found out about this fire, so don’t you worry about it. You’ll have everything you need, Mrs. Moore. We’re going to make sure of it. I know we can’t replace pictures or memories, but don’t you worry a bit that you won’t have a roof over your head. You have a home with your daughter. We will always take care of her and the people she loves.”
“You’re a good man, Sam Fleetwood.” Her mother sniffled into a tissue. “I would be very proud to stay in the guest house.”
Jack walked back over, his expression grim. “They think it was faulty wiring. We won’t know for certain until the report is finished. It could be a week or so.” Jack cupped Abby’s face in his hands. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”
She nodded and threw her arms around Jack’s waist, loving his quiet strength. She would always be able to depend on him. “I’m fine. Can we go home now?”
He kissed the top of her head, and Sam began to help her mom toward the Jeep. “Yes, there’s nothing we can do here. Let’s get you home and get your mama settled in. It’s going to be all right, Abigail.”
She nodded, even though she wasn’t so sure of that. Faulty wiring seemed too coincidental. She had a feeling there was nothing accidental about her mother’s home burning to the ground.
She allowed Jack to slowly walk her toward the car, hoping all along that she was wrong.
* * *
The next morning dawned and with it a quiet sense that, even though something terrible had happened, all was finally right with her world. Abby woke up warm and safe in bed.
The previous night, Jack had done his thing and before Sam had even gotten them all home, had made arrangements for a nurse to join Diane full time until she was completely done with therapy. Abby had been able to go to sleep knowing her mother was safe and well taken care of. She’d fallen asleep with her head on Jack’s chest and Sam pressed against her back.
Sometime in the night, she came to the conclusion that she was being crazy. No one would go so far as to torch her childhood home. That would be the work of an insane person. It had to be coincidence. Or maybe, she thought as she woke up cuddled between two gorgeous men, it was just fate.
After hopping over to check in on her mom, Abby joined her fiancés for breakfast in the dining room. There was a small breakfast table in the kitchen, but Jack had been explicit in his instructions. They would use the large dining room. She wasn’t sure why they went so formal for breakfast when she was dressed in one of Sam’s shirts and his robe, but she went with it.
“How is your mom?” Jack asked as she walked in.
Abby walked over and kissed him soundly. “She’s great, thanks to you.” She walked around the table to Sam. “And you.”
After giving him a kiss, she took her seat and a small, older woman walked in carrying a pot of coffee, a ready smile on her face.
“Abigail,” Jack began, “this is our housekeeper, Benita Wells. You would have met her earlier if you hadn’t stolen my truck and run away.”
Abby wrinkled her nose in dismay at Jack before turning to the sixty-something woman with steel gray hair and kind eyes. She shook her head indulgently at the men, and Abby got the feeling Benita viewed herself as a mother figure.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Wells,” Abby said.
“Call me Benita, and it’s good to meet you as well.” Benita smoothed down her white apron. “My husband works as the foreman here on the ranch. We live in a small house out beyond the swimming pool. I think you’re going to love it here. I’ve waited a very long time for these two to bring me a lovely woman to work with. I can’t wait to show you around. It’s a beautiful place, though it needs a woman’s touch.”
Sam was busy shoveling scrambled eggs on his plate. “Benita has been bugging us to redecorate for years.”
Benita shook her head sadly as she gestured to the room around her. “I remember the seventies. They should go away.”
Jack winked at his housekeeper. “I’ll call a decorator. Abigail, I’m sure, will get busy shoving the age of disco right out of this house.”
A light gleamed in Benita’s eyes. “We should also discuss updating the kitchen. Much progress has been made in appliances in the last forty years. Were you aware, Miss Abigail, that they now have machines that wash dishes?”
She schooled herself to look properly impressed. Bringing this place into the modern age would be fun, and it looked like Benita was going to be an excellent design partner. “I had not heard. We should look into that.”
Benita nodded and walked to the door that led to the kitchen. “Excellent. I’m off, then. I have some grocery shopping to do. I sent some muffins and coffee over to the guest house and asked Mrs. Moore to join us for lunch at twelve-thirty. I’ll lock up as I leave.”
“Set the alarm as well.” Jack took a sip of his coffee. “Thank you.”
Abby poured herself some coffee and decided she might be able to get used to the idea of having a housekeeper. It was rather nice to have breakfast she hadn’t prepared for herself. She did have a few questions though.
“Why are we turning on the alarm in the middle of the day? And why are all the blinds closed?”
The overhead light was on, but outside was a bright, beautiful day. She’d been happy with the gorgeous blue sky overhead as she walked the short distance from the big house to her mother’s place. It was a perfect fall day in Texas. In the distance, she’d been able to see the hands already hard at work. The ranch was bustling and full of life.
“I thought you would prefer the privacy, sweetheart,” Jack murmured. “I know I don’t particularly want my employees to see my future wife naked. Take off the clothes, Abigail.”
She looked between Jack and Sam, but neither gave any appearance that Jack had been joking. Sam was contentedly eating his breakfast and watching her with pointed fascination. Jack’s long fingers drummed against the table, a sure sign of his
burgeoning impatience.
“Abigail, when I give you a direct order, I expect you to comply.”
“You said you were only really in charge in the bedroom.” Abby repeated his words from the previous night. She was a little shocked at the idea, but it wasn’t offending her, per se. The idea of eating breakfast in the buff hadn’t occurred to her before.
Jack put down his coffee, and the paper beside him was forgotten. “Then let me rephrase. I’m in charge of our private life. When we’re alone, I want you naked. I’ve done everything I can to ensure our privacy, and now I expect you to keep the promise you made to me last night.”
“He’s serious,” Sam offered with a sigh. “You should really drop the clothes or he’ll take them off you himself.”
It wasn’t anything they hadn’t seen before and he really had made sure they were totally alone. She decided to go with it. In for a penny…in for a whole lot of naked. Her hands went to the tie of the robe, easily shrugging out of it. “I wonder how this is going to work when I’m eighty.”
Jack looked at her with a very serious expression on his face. “Maybe you should think about this. I know we’re demanding a lot from you. You need to understand this isn’t some phase that’s going to pass for me. When you’re eighty, I will still think you’re beautiful. I will still consider your body mine, and I will still want you naked.”
Abby pulled the shirt over her head and blinked back tears. She wondered if he knew he’d said the precise thing to make her comfortable. For a man who didn’t talk a lot, he always knew what to say to her. She sat back in her chair, enjoying the way both men’s eyes had gone slightly glassy at the sight of her naked body.
“So when we’re alone at night watching television or I’m reading a book…?”
“I’ll want you naked and cuddled up with me.” Jack leaned forward, touching his hand to hers. “We’ll sit on the couch and you’ll be between me and Sam.”
Sam had his chin propped on his hand, watching her with a happy grin. “You’re better than TV. I think you’re really pretty naked.”
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