by Lynn Stark
Cherry personally believed the truck would be gotten rid of. It had simply been a tool and would be easily discarded. The shooting was another matter altogether. The sheriff had taken her up to the spot where he found evidence left behind by the shooter. Whoever it was probably didn’t expect the place to be found. The trees were thick and the ground cover was heavy enough to deter all but the most determined investigator.
She had to give the man credit. Gray was quite single-minded in what he had to do to solve the mystery. He was also a very unhappy man. He didn’t like the idea of his friends and neighbors, the people he was sworn to protect, getting hurt. He believed, as she did, that the same person was responsible for the slashing of the tires, the hit and run, and the shooting.
Cherry had stood there on the tree-covered slope, looking across the wide, flat meadow to where she could just see the lane leading up to the ranch. Someone with a hunting rifle and a scope could have easily struck their target. Hunting was a way of life for many in the area. Nearly everyone owned a rifle. Narrowing it down would be somewhat tricky, though they could certainly rule out friends and neighbors with whom the Preston family had no quarrel with. It was the unknowns which were really bothering the sheriff.
But they were only interested in one person. Figuring out who and why was going to be a real problem, despite the few clues left behind, which included a surprisingly clear boot print in the mud beside a creek, a shell casing, and two cigarette butts. They would be sent off to a lab for testing, the results of which wouldn’t happen overnight.
The sheriff only hoped, as they all did, that there was enough DNA present in the butts to identify a shooter. That was, of course, if the suspect’s DNA had ever been put into any law enforcement database. If they hadn’t ever committed a crime, a felony in particular, it was unlikely. Then their chances of catching the shooter would be reduced significantly.
Knowing it was a wait-and-see game, Cherry was able to temper hope with the cold reality of what law enforcement was and was not capable of doing. It was a reality which rarely mirrored what took place on TV in crime dramas.
Jake and Collin had both survived. That was all that mattered. Keeping everyone else safe was a priority. They also needed to figure out just who the real target was. Gracie? The brothers? It could have been any one of them driving the truck. Or was it the five of them? This was a definite possibility, since Gracie and the brothers had finally gotten together as lovers. Someone was obviously angry about it.
No one went into town alone. Mick had taken Gracie and her into town twice. The first time all had gone smoothly. The second trip he had dropped them off in the center of the town so Cherry could pick up her prescriptions, while he went to finish other errands. Gracie had been with her, chatting away happily as she always did. They were about to leave the store when a tall woman came in. It was the same one she had seen at the pizzeria. Sheila was even taller than she was, probably six feet, and about thirty pounds heavier. The look she gave the both of them wasn’t a pleasant one. If Cherry had been asked to give her opinion on what it was, she would say it was hate. She just couldn’t begin to understand why. Gracie was absolutely the sweetest person she had ever met. And she didn’t even know the woman.
“Why are you chasing those brothers, Gracie? Don’t you know they’re just using you?” she asked nastily, looking over the tiny woman at her side. “You need to go find yourself someone else.”
Gracie’s hand trembled in hers. “I’m happy where I am. Mind your own business, Sheila.”
Broad shoulders shrugged. “I’m just trying to save you some pain. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Then she was giving Cherry a measuring look, obviously trying to determine something. Cherry waited. It wasn’t long in coming. “I don’t know what it is about you that kept those guys waiting for you, but now that they’ve had you, it won’t last long.”
So the woman was jealous. Interesting.
“Like Gracie said, mind your own business. If you think you can intimidate me the way you do her, think again. I don’t scare.”
The woman gave them both a scathing look, including a glance at the 9mm handgun holstered on Cherry’s thigh, before she left them standing there in the shampoo aisle. They exchanged a confused glance and headed outside to meet Mick.
Jake came into the kitchen just then, bringing Cherry out of her grim thoughts. One feeling didn’t leave her immediately, however. It was the fact that she was falling back into a place where she had been all those years ago when she had been a cop. It wasn’t adrenaline, exactly. It was more like a craving, a need to know. She had enjoyed working in law enforcement and knew if she hadn’t been attacked and injured so badly, she would have transferred into a job in Silver’s office. It had been a done deal at one point. She had liked working with people, investigating crimes, helping track down criminals. Sure, detectives in vice, homicide, and other departments had been the ones in charge of investigations, but the street cop’s contributions couldn’t be discounted by anyone.
Cherry stilled as she watched the two lovers caress one another in front of the stove, Jake looking contrite for all his bad behavior as he softly apologized and Gracie looking up at him with all the adoration and love a woman could feel for a man.
She saw them, yet she didn’t as an idea began forming in her brain. She wasn’t really considering it, was she? Oh, the men would be so against it. But, yet…
Someone was calling her out of her haze of disbelief and introspection. Cherry blinked, lifting her head to see Gracie waving her hand in front of her face. She shook her head and smiled. “You need something, baby?”
Gracie blushed at the endearment they had all seemed to come to an agreement on. Her eyes sparkled with pleasure. “I was wondering where you went there for a moment.”
“I just had a thought surprise me. I’ll tell you about it later.” Her gaze shifted to Jake. His face really was a mess. She felt bad for him, but was glad he was up and out of the bed. “You better sit down and eat lunch, tough guy. Gracie’s chicken soup will fix you right up.”
Jake moved toward her, wrapping his strong arms around her, though he was favoring his left arm. She saw him wince before his smile returned. “Thanks for kicking me in the ass, Cherry. I guess I was getting a little obnoxious.”
“That’s what I’m here for. And obnoxious is your middle name.”
“Actually it’s Harold,” Jake confessed, bending a little so he could press a kiss to her mouth.
“Harold? Really?” He nodded, grimacing. “It’s, uh, interesting.”
“I was named for my maternal grandfather. Mommy Lois’s father. You’ll be meeting him in September. He always comes for a quick visit before the snow starts. Then he’ll come back at Thanksgiving and won’t leave until after the beginning of the New Year.”
“My middle name is Agnes,” Gracie volunteered. She made a face. “There’s nothing wrong with it, as a name goes, but Gracie Agnes Harper just doesn’t flow very smoothly. And even saying it myself makes me feel like I’m in some deep shit.”
Cherry laughed softly, reaching out to stroke the side of their little love’s face. “It’s a beautiful name, baby.” The woman was so soft and sweet. Cherry believed she was already in love with her. How could she not be? She was not only beautiful on the outside, she was beautiful on the inside. “Want to hear a name that doesn’t flow well? How about Cherry Margaret Belinda Malloy? I was given both my grandmothers’ names.”
Before either could comment she moved them toward the table. They sat down while she went to fill bowls with Gracie’s chicken soup. After placing them in front of the pair she went for the biscuits Gracie had made, as well as the homemade butter her parents had sent over along with a couple dozen jars of homemade canned goods. She opened a jar of the peaches and scooped the halves out into small dishes, spooning a bit of the syrupy liquid over them before setting them on the table.
She was just pouring out glasses of milk when the door into the mudr
oom opened and the men came in. They left their hats on the pegs before walking into the kitchen. Most men might have just seated themselves at the table and waited for her to serve them. Cherry was pleased when they each got a bowl and filled it with chicken soup before carrying them to the table.
“That’s Gracie’s family recipe,” Cherry told them, knowing that their lover wouldn’t blow her own horn. “I got to sample while she was cooking it. It’s some of the best chicken soup I’ve ever had.”
Gracie sat there blushing as the men tasted the soup then complimented her. “You’re a very good cook,” Collin told her. Then he smiled a smile which reminded Cherry of a wolf’s predatory grin. “We missed you while we were out working. Did Nurse Gracie take care of her patient while we were gone?”
The dark head shook vigorously as her blush increased. “No. Nurse Gracie didn’t have a chance to get to visit the patient.” She frowned as she glanced at the man seated beside her. “He’s been very difficult all day.”
“Ahhh, Gracie,” Jake moaned piteously, “I apologized for being a pain in the ass. What more can I do to make it up to my princess?”
“I’ll think of something,” she told him, gently spooning up pieces of chicken, carrot, and celery. “But it won’t involve sex.”
Everyone laughed at Jake’s crestfallen expression. They finished their lunch in relative silence. Mick, Cody, and Collin went back out to work, leaving the three of them alone. They went to the game room to watch a movie. Sitting together with Gracie between them, they spent a quiet afternoon together, not moving until it was time to start supper. She smiled as she left the pair napping on the couch.
While alone in the kitchen Cherry had plenty of time to give some thought to the wild idea which had come to her earlier in the day. Was she really considering going back into law enforcement? She still wasn’t up to par physically. She had a ways to go before she could even be considered seriously for a job as a deputy. But what did she have to lose? Nothing, she told herself. If she couldn’t get physically fit to where she could perform her job without limitations, then she would forget about a patrol job.
Maybe it had been the decision to accept the brothers back into her life, or spending time with the rowdy Jake, but her panic attacks were virtually nonexistent. It was another thing she would have to work through completely, with more talks with Tad, her therapist, which would help her evaluate possibilities. She would ask his opinion about going back to work as a cop. His opinion couldn’t be ignored. She would take whatever he said into consideration. It was all part of the process. Then there was the physical aspect. She was getting better every day. Better and stronger. But could she get back to her old self? The one strong enough to go over tall fences, run down suspects, and wrestle an uncooperative person to the ground to handcuff them. It was true there wasn’t a lot of crime in Silver, but she would have to be ready for those rare occasions when a fully functioning police officer was required. If she wasn’t physically fit she would be a liability and could put others in danger.
It was a lot to think about. There was also what her lovers, her future husbands, would have to say about her becoming a police officer again. Gnawing on her lip she spread the potatoes she had quartered into the pan with twin beef roasts and other vegetables she had cut into large pieces. The men did love their meat. Though she loved a good steak as much as the next person, she ate very little red meat these days, concentrating on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, chicken, and fish.
Once she was finished getting supper ready Cherry went outside. There was a nice patio area with comfortable furniture. It wasn’t as big and as flashy as what Peaches and her family enjoyed, but it was a good foundation for future improvements. She sat down on the love seat and looked out over the large area of lawn. She couldn’t see the men’s parents’ house from where she was seated. It was about five hundred feet away and situated further up along the lane. Close, but not too close. Each of the men had had the option to build their own house, but had chosen to build the one together.
They had not faltered in their plans to marry her. They had remained steadfast from the moment they had first texted one another. It still amazed Cherry to think about how they had all clicked instantly. Texts, phone calls, chats online, it had all been used to form the first bonds of their relationship.
Then she had been attacked, critically injured, and had had less than a fifty percent chance to survive. When the men had arrived at the hospital within hours, they then spent almost a year and a half giving her every kind of support there was. Waking up that first time to see blurry forms standing anxiously around her hospital bed was one of her best memories. She would never forget the emotion which had welled up inside her as recognition finally came to her. Her men had come to her. Just the knowledge had given her a surge of strength.
During the next few weeks Cherry had needed it. The pain had been incredible. Looking over her body at the time, which was now filled with steel rods, synthetic joints, and covered in countless staples, she had looked something like the Frankenstein monster’s bride. Even as she shied away from looking at herself, Mick, Jake, Collin, and Cody never did. They took the place of nurses and aides, seeing to her care. Once they knew how something was done, they saw to it. Short of giving her injections, checking her vitals, or drawing blood, the brothers took care of her every need. When the time came to begin her rehabilitation she knew for certain that these were the men for her, the men a woman could count on for anything. They wouldn’t run or hide. They would step up no matter how difficult a situation was.
Then Cherry had to blow it all during a time when depression, and an overwhelming frustration over her slowly recuperating body, was getting the better of her. They had seen it. They had recognized it. When there was no reasoning with her, when she only seemed to get angrier and more frustrated, they had finally left her to herself.
Only when she had come back to Silver did she realize they hadn’t really left her. They had called Peaches, or her parents, every single day. They hadn’t missed one. Sometimes they even called several times a day, depending upon what she was going through at the time, whether it was a difficult day with her therapy, or if she upset with life in general.
No, the Preston brothers had given her the time and space she needed to find herself again without giving up the contact which could so easily have led to them simply letting go. Many would have. She certainly hadn’t given them any reason personally to believe she still wanted them. And if they had let her go, finding someone else to love, she couldn’t have blamed them.
Cherry was so grateful that they hadn’t. Peaches had told her over and over, even when she begged her sister not to tell her, that those four fantastic men still loved her. She hadn’t believed it, even though she wanted to. She had been such a total fucking bitch, saying terrible things to them as she struck out in frustration.
As the sun slid down toward the horizon, a movement out the corner of her eye caught Cherry’s attention. She turned her head to see her men coming toward her, walking along the whiteboard fence which kept the cattle from reclaiming the yard as their pasture. She smiled at them, rising so she could meet them halfway.
Mick caught Cherry to him, hugging her tightly, as Cody and Collin pressed in close. She wrinkled her nose at their very manly scent, which caused them to laugh.
Firm lips brushed across hers. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Don’t appreciate the smell of hard work?”
Cherry laughed. “I would, if you worked in a chocolate factory. How much cow shit did you roll in today?”
“Not much. We got up the first section of the new fence. It’ll be good for the winter, when we get the rest of it up.”
They walked toward the house, Mick’s arm around her. “How was your afternoon? Jake give you and Gracie anymore trouble?”
“No. Not a bit. Those two fell asleep on the couch while we watched a movie. I honestly don’t know if they’ve woken up or not. I finished putting supp
er in the oven and came out here to enjoy the weather.” She grimaced. “I know it won’t be that long before there’s snow up to my ass.”
Collin laughed at her. “Well, maybe you should have looked for Arizonan cowboys, hon.”
Shaking her head, Cherry told them emphatically, “I can’t think of anything better than snuggling up with my men on a cold winter’s night. Actually, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Don’t forget Gracie,” Cody interjected. “She’ll be snuggled in there, too.”
“Gracie doesn’t need us. She told me she wears fuzzy footie jammies in the winter.”
“We’ll burn them!” Collin cried. “Where’s that woman at? I’m going to forbid her to wear such horrible clothing.”
They were all laughing as they walked into the kitchen to find Jake and Gracie working at finishing supper. Gracie was rolling and cutting rolls. Jake was in the middle of scraping cottage cheese out of a container and into a pretty blue serving dish.
“Gracie, is it true?” Collin demanded, knowing full well the woman wouldn’t know what he was talking about.
Confusion settled on her pretty features. She stared at Collin for a moment, before looking at his brothers and Cherry. “Is what true?” she asked weakly.
“Do you really plan on wearing fuzzy footie jammies this winter?”
Her little chin went up. “Yep. That’s the plan.”
“You’ll do no such thing. I forbid it.”
“And who are you to forbid me to do anything?”
“I’m one of your future husbands, that’s who. There will be no wearing of fuzzy footie jammies in bed. You’ve got us to keep you warm now.”
There was a definite sparkle of defiance in the soft, moss green eyes. “And what will you do if I decide to wear them?”