“Knox never really loved Sharon.”
“That’s not true,” Knox snapped instantly. “Sharon was a good woman and would have made any man a good wife.”
“But you didn’t love her,” Cody pressed.
Giving him a dirty look, Knox’s gaze slunk back to Amanda’s. It hesitated there for a long moment before Knox sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Look, Amanda, I ain’t never going to be good at these things and Sharon needed them. It’s real hard to feel close to a person you are always afraid of breaking.”
Mr. Sensitive, Cody could have hit Knox when Amanda sniffed. “You’re not worried I might break?”
Knox scowled. “No, darlin’, I’m worried you’re going to break me. God damn, you had me driving all over the damn county, having guns pointed at me, everybody threatening all sorts of things and not giving any shits about it because I can’t seem to breathe thanks to fear of worrying over your ass. You almost made me cry, and I don’t know how much more broken a man could get.”
“You cried?” Amanda smiled. “Over me?”
“No!” Knox spat.
Before Knox could ruin the moment with his surly attitude, Cody commanded Amanda’s attention by turning her chin back to him. Her smile faded under his look and Cody could see the guilt returning to her gaze. Cody understood.
“The point is, Sharon didn’t love Knox or Jace or even me enough to stay. She hoped I would love her enough to leave with her…”
“But you didn’t,” Amanda whispered the words Cody still couldn’t find it in himself to speak aloud to her. “Then she died.”
“No. Then I got mad at her, told her she didn’t really love me, accused her of all sorts of stuff and finally told her to leave. I put her on the road, driving all upset to get killed.”
Amanda frowned, considering what he said for a moment. “You blame yourself?”
“I did.” Cody nodded. “Probably always will in some part of my heart, but I think Jace is right on this one.”
“I am?” Jace sounded shocked, but Cody didn’t release Amanda’s face to turn toward his brother.
“The world doesn’t revolve around you, Amanda. Your brother’s decision to get behind the wheel drunk was his, just as it was Will’s choice to shoot those people and Sharon’s decision to leave me. We can’t control what other people do and maybe we share some of the blame, but it isn’t all on us.”
“It isn’t on you at all,” Knox grunted. “Sharon made her choice, Cody. She was upset and you told her to get out, but she didn’t have to leave. You like to forget Jace and I tried to stop her.”
“I don’t forget,” Cody snapped. “It doesn’t help remembering the two of you tried to right my wrong.”
“It wasn’t a wrong,” Knox snarled. “Sharon already had her bags packed and in the car. She was leaving no matter whether you went with her or not. I thank God every day you didn’t, otherwise I might have had to bury you after that tire popped.”
“It wouldn’t have ended the same.”
“You don’t know that,” Jace shook his head. “Neither does Amanda. None of it matters in the end anyway. Part of living is accepting dying and for my money, I want to enjoy my life.”
Jace tugged Amanda across the bed to settle her back into his chest. “I can’t do that without you, baby. Now I want you tell us what you told Cody last night.”
Amanda snuggled her face into Jace’s shoulder and murmured very softly, “I love you.”
“Just me?” Jace prodded.
Cody smirked when her head shook. It was still a little too soon for Amanda, but she’d get there.
“Now I want you to promise me you’re going to let us take care of you.” Jace pulled back slightly, giving Amanda a hard, straight look. “That you’ll do what Mr. Daniels says.”
Amanda’s nose wrinkled and Cody braced for some vigorous disagreement. Amanda might have been through hell, even been shot in the process, but her spirit remained untamed. It was one of the many things Cody would always love about her.
Thankfully, though, he didn’t have to bear her stubborn nature right then because Cody was more than worn out by all the recent events. His savior came in the form of a doctor, pushing into the room with his nose buried in a chart. He started talking before he realized he’d interrupted.
“Well, Miss Johnson, can’t say I’m glad to see you again. My condolences on graduating from car accidents to bullet wounds. What should I expect next, fire?”
The doctor almost walked right into Knox, who stepped out of his path, drawing the man’s gaze up. “Oh, pardon me. Didn’t realize you had company.”
Amanda straightened off Jace’s chest to smirk at the older man. “Knox, Jace and Cody, let me introduce you to Dr. Little.”
The doctor shot Amanda a smile as he extended his hand in Cody’s direction. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“I can’t say likewise,” Cody grunted. “Not unless you have good news.”
“Oh, just the best,” the doctor assured him before turning to shake Jace and Knox’s hands.
Knox held on, probably squeezing a little. “What was that good news, doctor?”
“Well,” the little red-headed man tugged his hand free. “Just that Miss Johnson here is set to be released with no anticipated complications. You’ll need to schedule a visit with your regular doctor to have the stitches removed in about eight or ten days, but other than that, we have a very healthy patient.”
“Well then I think it is pleasure, doctor.” Cody nodded at him.
“That’s just the news, the good part came as kind of surprise,” Dr. Little turned his gaze right on Amanda, beaming his biggest smile. “You’re still pregnant. We checked the heart rate last night, and it was strong as ever and the blood work came back….”
The doctor’s voice faded out as Cody’s mind locked on the word—pregnant? Amanda was pregnant with a baby and it had a heart they could hear…a real heart, a real baby, a real pregnancy…Cody’s gaze fell to Amanda who was slinking back in the bed, looking scared again. It gave him pause from the joy filling his soul, enough of a second for his mind to slip a thought in.
Still pregnant, the doctor had said ‘still’.
* * * *
Amanda didn’t have time for an explanation and she knew one was needed. Before Dr. Little could finish prattling on about how she needed to go see a gynecologist, Daniels returned, holding the door for a nurse to wheel in her cart.
The intrusion had Dr. Little retreating and leaving Amanda no time to defend herself against the three dark looks leveling her way. The consequences she’d soon have to face made her see the wisdom in at least temporarily submitting to Jack Daniels’ obnoxious authority.
He’d obviously read the book on how to be a criminal. It probably would have been too tedious and boring for Amanda. As it went, she became quickly frustrated with all his orders. Swapping clothes with a nurse who apparently was part of the ‘team’, he then led her on a maze-like journey just to get out of the hospital.
No wheel chair and helpful hands getting in the car. This time she got shoved in and pressed down. Worse, Knox, Jace and Cody went their own way, leaving her completely at Daniels’ mercy. Of which, Amanda learned he had none.
By the time she got hustled into the house at the ranch, her temper had flared enough for her to be ready for the Reese brothers. Expecting a full on battle, she all but dismissed Daniels at the door and went storming off to find her men. She found men, none of whom she knew, all of which she assumed worked for Daniels’ ‘team’.
Ignoring them, Amanda methodically searched the house for the brothers. She knew they were there. She’d seen all three trucks parked in the carport. They might have escaped out onto the ranch or… Amanda paused in front of the last door she’d yet to look behind.
They wouldn’t. Then again, she’d never thought Knox would cry over her. Biting down on her lower lip and calling herself every kind of stupid, Amanda opened the door to Sharon’s room. Instant
ly she bit back a sob at the sight that greeted her.
It wasn’t Sharon’s room anymore, but hers. They’d redone the whole room. Now her furniture sat along the freshly painted walls. Amanda could see Jace’s hand in the colors. He knew her well enough to know what would lure her right in, welcoming her home.
Knox was there too. His handiwork showed in the new bed, large enough to accommodate more than a couple of bodies. Running her hand over the graceful curves of the canopy’s posts, Amanda’s eyes skipped over the bed linens to get caught on the slatted side of a crib.
The sight drew her to it with no memory of taking a step. Knox had made it with his own hands, but he couldn’t have known about her pregnancy. It had been a message.
“I’m gonna love you forever, Amanda Johnson.”
She whirled around at the sound of his voice, her hand clutching at the crib as she took in the sight of her three men striding into the room. Knox led the pack, talking as he walked.
“Jace had this whole lovey-dovey moment planned, but Cody and I voted to skip that, given recent revelations.”
Amanda swallowed, her eyes darting to Cody as he kicked the door closed. Looking across the bed, Knox’s comment had her noticing Cody’s contribution to her new room. Rings on the posts and velvet ties strapped to the boards, Amanda bet the new armoire next to the bed didn’t house any clothes.
“You see,” Knox drew to a stop right at her toes, liking to loom over her. “We were going to pledge our love and go down on our knees and do whatever dumbass thing you demanded to make up for the mess we made of everything the night of the ball.”
Amanda knew what came next. It was there not only in Knox’s gaze, but Jace’s and Cody’s as well. They flanked Knox on either side, caging her in with a surrounding wall of muscle.
“Now, though, we know you didn’t just risk your life, but our child’s as well, and that…” Knox shook his head.
“That can’t be allowed, darlin’,” Cody finished.
“So, you’re going to have to be punished,” Jace concluded, getting that sexy snarl in his voice. Her sweet man still had a wild side.
Amanda lifted her chin and met Knox’s heated look. “You can’t punish what doesn’t belong to you, Knox Reese, and I don’t see anything on these fingers,” she waved her left hand in front of his nose, “laying any kind of claim.”
“I got your ring right here.” Knox smirked as he patted his pocket. “But before we get to that, you’re going to have to giddy up, darlin’.”
They stepped back, clearing a path to the bed and leaving her no doubt of what they expected her to do to earn their ring. For the moment, it suited Amanda to give in. Bowing her head, she passed under the three Reese brothers’ noses fully confident for the rest of her life this would be her home.
“And better have them clothes off before you crawl onto that bed.”
Epilogue
Jack Daniels grunted, stretching out his arms as he flipped off the headset. The sounds coming through the bugs in Amanda’s bedroom didn’t do him any good. Actually, it did a little harm, making it awfully uncomfortable to sit.
From what Jack gathered, they’d be at it for a while. Rising up out of his seat, he nodded at Jackson, who took over manning the surveillance station.
It had taken no small amount of effort to convince Amos to let him lead the team. Amos had his grudge against the agency, and for sure he didn’t like crossing his clients. Only Jack’s personal relationship with the old man had bought him a ticket onto the Reese Ranch.
That and promising Amanda Johnson wouldn’t be prosecuted for anything. Getting that assurance from Jack’s bosses hadn’t been hard. They didn’t care about Amanda beyond getting to the money. Wherever Will McKinney had stashed it, Amanda had to know.
Soon enough, Jack would know. Stepping out of the little trailer the Reese brothers had let them set up shop in, Jack gazed up at the ranch. Whatever it took, he’d find the money. Amanda Johnson wouldn’t be standing in his way.
THE END
http://www.jennypenn.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I live near Charleston, SC with my two biggies, my dogs. I have had a slightly unconventional life. Moving almost every three years, I’ve had a range of day jobs that included everything from working for one of the world’s largest banks as an auditor to turning wrenches as an outboard repair mechanic. I’ve always regretted that we only get one life and have tried to cram as much as I can into this one.
Throughout it all, I’ve always read books, feeding my need to dream and fantasize about what could be. An avid reader since childhood, and as a latchkey kid, I’d spend hours at the library earning those shiny stars the librarian would paste up on the board after my name.
I credit my grandmother’s yearly visits as the beginning of my obsession with romances. When she’d come, she’d bring stacks of romance books, the old fashion kind that didn’t have sex in them. Imagine my shock when I went to the used bookstore and found out what really could be in a romance novel.
I’ve worked on my own stories for years and have found a particular love of erotic romances. In this genre, women are no longer confined to a stereotype and plots are no longer constrained to the rational. I love the ‘anything goes’ mentality and letting my imagination run wild.
I hope you enjoyed running with me and will consider picking up another book and coming along for another adventure.
Also by Jenny Penn
Cattleman’s Club 1: Patton’s Way
Cattleman’s Club 2: Hailey’s Game
Cattleman’s Club: Tasty Treats Volume 1: Rachel’s Seduction
Cowboy’s Curse: Sweet Dreams
Sea Island Wolves 1: Mating Claire
Sea Island Wolves 2: Taming Samantha
Sea Island Wolves 3: Tasty Treats Volume 3: Claiming Kristen
Deception
Siren Ménage Everlasting: Tanner’s Angel
Siren Ménage Everlasting: Jamie’s Revenge
Available at
BOOKSTRAND.COM
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Kansas Heat Page 53