by Leah Brooke
Chapter Six
Cursing his own stupidity in misjudging Kendra, Barrett left the bedroom and started down the hall to the stairs.
It hadn’t taken long for him to realize that she wouldn’t have been the type to do anything sneaky.
Kendra had been honest about the problem with her sister and brother-in-law, and seemed really disturbed that her boss had lied to her. She’d also been amazingly open about her need for them, and even though she had some concerns, and would need time to get used to the situation—as they all would—she seemed genuinely fond of all of them.
The affection she had for them made her beautiful eyes shine, and showed in her smile, a smile that made his chest swell.
She trusted them, and had allowed herself to be vulnerable with them—opening up to them in ways they hadn’t with her.
Now, they just had to find a way to tell her the truth, the lies they’d told her like a chasm between them.
The knock at the front door interrupted his thoughts just as he got to the bottom of the stairs, and with a glance toward the kitchen, he went to answer it.
Flinging the door open, he snapped, not in the mood to put up with anyone. “What?” When he realized it was the sheriff, he scrubbed a hand over his face, opening the door wider as he glanced back toward the stairs. “Hello, Sid. You’re early.”
“Barrett.” Stepping inside he removed his hat. “How’s she doing? Where is she?”
Inordinately possessive of Kendra, Barrett gritted his teeth at the demand in Sid’s tone, leading him to the kitchen.
“She’s taking a shower. She’ll be down in a minute.” Once in the kitchen, he turned and got a good look at the sheriff, who looked haggard and exhausted. Having known that feeling more times than he wanted to think about, he forced a smile, some of his anger fading. “Want some coffee?”
The sheriff smiled gratefully, greeting the others and dropping into one of the kitchen chairs. “Sure. That would be great. It’s damned cold out and I’ve been spending most of my time up at the crash site.”
Barrett’s jaw clenched. “Thank God Kendra survived it.”
“Yeah.” The sheriff looked toward the doorway, irritating Barrett even more. “I had to call the police in Bowman so they could notify the pilot’s next of kin. Did Miss Stevenson call hers?”
Barrett shared a look with his friends, thinking about her sister and brother-in-law, who probably had no idea she’d been involved in a plane crash. “No.”
He had no intention of betraying Kendra’s confidence by telling the sheriff about her estrangement with her family. “She said she wanted to call her boss, but wanted to wait.”
Grant glanced toward the doorway as if anxious for Kendra to appear. “She didn’t feel up to calling him yet. She thought he might be upset.”
Sid accepted the cup of hot coffee from Quinn. “What the hell is she doing here? Was she visiting someone I need to notify?”
Quinn shared a look with the others before going back to his fish, still saying nothing.
Barrett sipped from his cup to hide a smile.
Quinn had never been the social type.
Mason sighed and joined the sheriff at the table, staring down into his cup. “She was coming here. Her boss sent her out to talk us into selling.”
Sid blinked, frowning at each of them. “I thought you told me you didn’t want to sell.”
Barrett grimaced, imagining Kendra’s reaction when she learned the truth. “We don’t, but her boss doesn’t seem to want to take no for an answer. He sent her out here to try to convince us.”
Sitting back in his chair, the sheriff looked at each of them again, clearly confused. “Did you tell her you don’t want to sell?”
A long silence followed. Quinn turned to Grant, who stood beside him stirring the mashed potatoes.
Mason went to the coffeepot, his jaw clenched. “She doesn’t even know she’s on the Jagged Rock. We didn’t tell her.”
Barrett sighed, the knots in his stomach tightening. “We figured she knew and had planned to try to convince us to sell. We didn’t trust her.”
Although he’d told the others he believed her, there had still been a small measure of doubt, which made him feel guilty as hell. “When she asked about it, we let her believe that the Jagged Rock was one of our neighbors.”
A gasp of feminine outrage had Barrett spinning toward the doorway, his heart in his throat.
Kendra stood just inside the kitchen, her eyes wide with anger, and if he wasn’t mistaken—hurt. “You bastards! This is the Jagged Rock?” She pushed her thick, tousled hair back from her face, braced her hands on her hips and glared at each of them. “What did you assholes think—that I was planning to screw all of you to get a listing? Is that what all the innuendos have been about?”
Barrett clenched his jaw, trying not to feel guilty that she’d accurately guessed what they’d been thinking.
It didn’t work. He felt guilty as hell for thinking such a thing about her, even for a little while, and for not telling her the truth. Biting back a groan when he saw that the top button of the shirt he’d given her to wear had come undone, he rushed to her, wishing he’d laid out something for her to wear to cover her shapely legs.
He crossed the room to her, reaching out to catch her against him when she sidestepped Mason, positioning himself between her and the sheriff. Avoiding her attempt to slap his hands away, he buttoned her top, keeping his voice at a furious whisper. “Be still. You trying to show your breasts to everyone?”
Regretting his words as soon as they’d left his mouth, and for the hurt in her eyes at his harsh tone, he ran his hand over her hair, and started to apologize, but she slapped his hands away, glaring at him.
Kendra’s eyes darkened with fury, her temper making his cock throb. “Kiss my ass.”
She challenged and excited him, and he couldn’t resist using the extra material of the shirt he’d loaned her to pull her closer.
Aware that the others watched, he blocked the sheriff’s view of her, while surreptitiously sliding a finger between a gap between her buttons and stroked her nipple, delighted that it beaded under his touch. “Anytime, honey. I’d love to get my mouth on you.”
Smiling at her gasp, he released her, turning back to see the others all watching them and hiding smiles.
Delighted with her response and hard with need, Barrett led her to the table to hide Sid’s view of her legs, smiling faintly when she trembled and turned to frown at him, her eyes slightly unfocused with desire.
It was a look he knew he’d never get tired of seeing.
“Sit down before you fall down.” Firming his hold when she tried to shrug him off, he gritted his teeth. “Stop it before you hurt yourself.” He pulled out the chair and stood over her, crowding her and not giving her room to do anything but sit.
After she lowered herself to the seat, she glared at him over her shoulder. “Bastard.”
“Vixen.” He ran a hand over her shoulder before stepping away to stand directly in her line of sight, not about to let her ignore him.
She seemed unsettled, which pleased him immensely. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”
Grant leaned forward, reaching for her hand, whipping his hand out to catch hers when she would have pulled away. “Because we didn’t want another damned sales pitch.”
Mason dropped into the seat beside her, crowding her. “And we wanted to find out why your boss wants us to sell so badly—and if you really knew more about it than you told us.” He introduced her to the sheriff, who sat back, apparently content to watch them interact.
With a sigh, Kendra pulled her hand from Grant’s grasp, flattening both of them on the table. “I don’t know what’s going on. I’m new to this business, but I’ve never heard of anyone trying to pressure someone to sell. He and Rick had a big fight in the office when Rick didn’t get a contract. He told me that the owners of the Jagged Rock wanted someone else to come in his place, preferably a woma
n.”
She met Quinn’s eyes as he placed a full plate in front of her, blushing as he ran a hand over her hair and scowled at the sheriff.
Quinn headed back to the stove. “He was an ass.”
Shaking her head, she accepted the slice of bread Mason offered as he got one for himself, doing it as naturally as if she’d lived with them for years. “It doesn’t make sense. Rick is his highest grossing agent. If you didn’t want to sell, he should have accepted that. I don’t understand why they want to build a luxury resort out here anyway.”
Sid’s brows went up. “A resort? What the hell would we do with a resort around here?”
Quinn came back to the table, placing a plate filled with fish, mashed potatoes, and green beans in front of the sheriff before sitting down with his own plate. “It doesn’t matter. We’re not selling.”
Pushing her plate aside, Kendra dropped her head in her hands, her sigh like a fist closing over Barrett’s heart. “If I’d known any of this, I never would have come here.” She rose to her feet, and even standing across the room from her, Barrett could see that she trembled. “Sheriff, I’ll answer whatever questions you have, but not here. I’ll go up and get dressed.”
Barrett frowned, not liking the dazed look in her eyes, or the dejection in her husky voice.
In the process of filling his own plate, Mason paused, turning from the stove. “Excuse me?”
Kendra avoided their sharp looks as she made her way around the table. “I appreciate what all of you have done for me. I’m sorry to put you to so much trouble.”
Stunned at the distance in her tone and body language, Barrett started toward her, unsurprised when Grant and Mason did the same. Each of them looked as if they’d been kicked in the gut, including Quinn, who sat stone-faced at the table.
Barrett hurried forward, cutting her off before she reached the stairs. “You can’t leave. You’ve got stitches that need to be looked after.”
Mason gripped her arm. “You’re black and blue all over.”
She blushed at that, glancing toward the sheriff before looking away again. “I’m fine.”
Grant ran a hand down her back, and looked at the sheriff. “She’s too weak. She’s not going anywhere until she’s ready.”
Sid looked both stunned and highly amused.
Barrett couldn’t blame him. In the five years since they’d lived here, none of them had shown such interest in any woman, and now all four of them hovered protectively over Kendra.
Sid paused with a forkful of food halfway to his mouth, and shared a look with Kendra that set Barrett’s teeth on edge. “I’ll make sure she gets checked over at the clinic in town. I’m surprised you didn’t take her there yourselves once the roads were plowed.”
“The roads are clear?” She looked like she wanted to say something, but appeared to change her mind. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll get my things.” She pushed past Barrett in a rush, moving faster than he’d seen her move before.
Standing with the others, he watched her go up the stairs, knowing that he had no right to stop her, and that she had every right to be mad at them.
He’d let her cool down a little before dragging her back, using force if necessary.
Furious that she hadn’t eaten a bite, he turned to the sheriff. “She was half frozen and bleeding. You know the area. We had to go in on horseback. It took forever to get her back here. She was unconscious and we didn’t want to take the chance of jostling her even more if we didn’t have to, at least until we knew her injuries. She needed immediate medical attention and we gave it to her.”
The sheriff smiled. “Once you got her settled, why didn’t you take her? The roads have been clear since yesterday.”
Barrett eyed him coldly, his stomach in knots as he glanced toward the stairs. “I could look after her better here. She was warm and dry. I stitched her up and checked for any breaks. I woke her up through the night to make sure she was okay. She ate and slept. She had better care here than she could have had at the clinic. Does she look like we didn’t take care of her?”
Smiling, Sid held up his hands in surrender. “Not at all.” Still smiling, he took a sip of his coffee. “Feisty thing, isn’t she? Even hurt and probably still shaken from the crash, she stood up to all of you. Never thought I’d see the day.” He studied each of them thoughtfully before smiling faintly. “I’ve never seen any of you act this way before. I think the way you watch her and hover over her is fascinating. I’ve never seen any of you give a shit about anything. You’re good men, but you’re getting harder and colder the longer you’re all here alone. She brings out something in you. It’s good to see that you’re starting to live again.”
Quinn whipped around to glare at him. “What the hell does that mean?”
Sid shrugged. “It was pretty obvious that the four of you came here to get away from something. I did some checking back then, just to make sure you weren’t wanted.”
Shaking his head, Quinn shared a look with the others. “We’re not wanted, and our lives aren’t anyone else’s business.”
Sid shrugged. “Whether you like it or not, the people in town care about all of you. You’ve done a lot of good since you came here.” Chuckling softly, he took another sip of coffee. “I know for a fact that the women have been vying for your attention. It’s good to see you interested in a woman. I’m just a little concerned because you’re all interested in the same one.”
Irritated that he’d been worried about the same thing, Barrett dropped into a seat and pushed his plate away, all appetite gone. “It’s none of your business or anyone else’s.”
“I’m ready.” Hearing the anger and hurt in Kendra’s voice, Barrett wanted to kick himself in the ass. They all spun, almost as one, to see her standing in the doorway wearing a wool dress and the boots he’d placed on the steps. “I’ll get out of here so you can get back to work.”
Barrett didn’t like the way she moved, as if the trip up and down the stairs had cost her the last of her energy.
Barrett got to his feet and started toward her. “You shouldn’t be leaving. You belong here.”
She’d probably be shocked if she knew just how much he meant that.
“If you want to go to the clinic, I’ll take you.”
“We’ll take you.” Grant touched her arm, his concern evident.
Kendra’s smile fell as if even that cost her too much effort. “I think this has all been a little much. It’s time for me to go. I don’t know how to thank you all for saving my life. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. As soon as I get to town and find a place to stay, I’ll call my boss and make it clear that you’re not interested in selling.”
Mason jumped up and went to her, running a hand over her back. “Don’t be ridiculous. You can stay here. You don’t need to be in some motel room all alone.”
Moving away from them, she shrugged off Grant’s touch. “I’m fine.”
Barrett frowned. “You haven’t even eaten.”
With a sad smile and a hint of lingering anger in her eyes, Kendra went to the hooks where they’d hung her freshly laundered coat. “I’ve been looking out for myself for a long time now. I’m no longer your responsibility.” She avoided Mason’s attempt to help her, and turned to the sheriff. “Are you ready to leave?”
Getting to his feet, Sid rushed forward to take her suitcase before she could lift it again. Turning to meet each of their gazes, he nodded once. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of her.”
Turning at the doorway, Kendra let her gaze touch on each of them, a sadness in her eyes that made Barrett’s stomach clench. “Thank you again.”
He wanted to call her back, but he knew enough about women to know that she wouldn’t be receptive to his apology until she had a chance to calm down.
He hated the sadness in her eyes, and made up his mind that he’d do everything in his power to make sure she never looked that way again.
Mason cursed beside him while Barrett and G
rant went to the window to watch her leave.
Grant fisted his hands at his sides. “We can’t let her go. I’m going after her, damn it.”
Furious with himself, Barrett deliberately turned away and went back to the table. “It won’t help. She’d just be even more pissed off. You know damned well a woman can’t be reasoned with in that mood.”
Bracing his hand on the doorway, Mason sighed. “We should have stopped her.”
Grant turned to him. “Barrett’s right. We’d better figure out what the hell we’re going to say to make it up to her before we mess it up even more.”
Barrett sipped his coffee. “Let her talk to the authorities and get checked out. She’ll be tired and miss us. We’ll go get her in an hour or two and bring her back here.”
In the process of throwing away his uneaten dinner, Quinn paused and straightened, turning to look at each of them. “We’re going to share her. Incredible.”
Barrett, Mason, and Grant stilled, looking at each other and then back at him.
Barrett nodded once and moved back to the table, picking up his spoon. “It makes sense. We can take better care of her if each of us is looking out for her.” Grinning, he leaned back, anxiously anticipating getting Kendra back under their roof again.
And in his bed.
“It doesn’t look like we have much choice.”
Grant shrugged and went back to his own chair, his eyes lit with amusement. “It beats the hell out of fighting over her. Christ, she’s incredible, isn’t she?”
Mason waited until the sheriff’s truck pulled out of the driveway and closed the door. Leaning back against it, he eyed the others. “This is crazy, and all of you know it.”
Barrett refilled his plate, suddenly ravenous. “You got a better idea?”
“No.” Mason went back to the table and started eating again. “Hurry up. I want to get to town.”
Barrett lifted his head, gesturing toward the window. “It shouldn’t take long to question her after they stop at the clinic—a couple of hours at best. We’ll have her back where she belongs in no time.”
He knew the knot in his stomach wouldn’t loosen until they did.