Rosemary detected the barest hint of irritation in Wes’s voice. It sounded like he was still working on the tabletop. “I don’t know, Davina. It depends on how busy we are.”
Still moving, Davina murmured, “I’ll be in the convention center at our booth. You should stop by. We could go clubbing on the Riverwalk afterward. I booked a nice, big suite at the Aurora Suites downtown. Maybe the three of us could get together and have some fun?” she added in a clear invitation.
Rosemary’s heart raced, and her ears perked up, wondering what their response would be to that. She didn’t have to wait long.
“It’s nice of you to offer, Davina, but Evan and I are involved in a committed relationship.”
Rosemary almost snickered Bart Simpson-style, wondering if Wes was playing back in his head what he’d just said to her. Proving she wasn’t one of the sharper crayons in the box, Davina paused then said, “Wait a minute. I thought you were related.”
Rosemary rolled her eyes. This woman obviously didn’t know her men all that well.
When Wes replied, she could hear the smile in his voice, “We are, Davina. We’re brothers, but we’re involved in a relationship. We have a woman in our lives we’re very much in love with. If we went to the trade show and convention, we’d probably be spending every spare minute of it with her.” Rosemary’s heart flew at the happy, free tone he used explaining to Davina. “But we appreciate your offer.”
“Speak for yourself, big boy,” Rosemary mouthed silently to herself. She didn’t appreciate the offer one damn bit, but she sure did appreciate his words. They were turning down an easy lay for her.
“You mean you’re sharing her? As in a ménage?” Davina didn’t sound terribly put off by that notion. Rosemary wasn’t sure it was a good idea to share that information with her, but it did make both her men inaccessible to Davina.
Evan responded, “Yes.”
“Ooh. Lucky girl,” Davina said suggestively.
“We’re the lucky ones.” Evan’s tone held the barest hint of a defensive edge.
Sounding unconcerned, Davina continued, “She sounds like fun. Maybe you’d like to—”
Rosemary couldn’t believe her ears as she fought a full body shudder. Double fucking eww!
Wes quickly cut Davina off before all the words were out of her mouth. “No. Not happening, but thanks for the…thought.” Rosemary cringed and blessed Wes for cutting her off when he did. Now the thought of Rosemary sharing her men with another woman for a weekend was lodged in her brain, making her feel a little nauseous. Rosemary did not consider herself to be prudish at all, but a girl had to draw the line somewhere.
Davina’s tone remained light. “Oh well, you never know…I guess I’ll see myself out, guys. I’ll make sure you get what you need. Appreciate the business and good luck with your…girlfriend. I mean it. She really is a lucky girl.”
“Thanks, Davina.”
Evan’s succinct response said it all for Rosemary. Both her men were prone to use endearments with women they were friendly with. They were waiting for Davina to leave, not encouraging any further banter with her. One of the double doors swung open then shut, and Rosemary heard a growl then a metallic clicking sound.
“I’m calling Papillion,” Wes muttered. “Rosemary would be pissed as hell if she knew the extent of that conversation. I doubt Ed would be too happy, either, to know that his account representatives acted like that toward customers out in the field. I know we’re pretty casual around here, but damn, Davina’s over the top.”
“If that’s who you’re calling, ask if they can start sending Cruz out to visit us from now on,” Evan said with a chuckle. “Rosemary wouldn’t object to a middle-aged, pot-bellied, balding guy, I don’t think.”
Wes laughed before saying, “Hi, Carol, how’re you? That’s good. Could I talk to Ed?”
Rosemary stepped away from the window quietly and made her way back to the gate and slipped inside, smiling. That was a revealing exchange. She felt guilty for spying but was grateful they’d be willing to make a change like that to keep her happy and avoid trouble. It was more confirmation that things would work out between them. She was becoming more hopeful every day.
* * * *
Late August…
Rosemary daydreamed as she went around the store gathering the things she needed for the fall displays. There were four large alcoves used for seasonal displays around the store, one up high on each wall. After Randy was finished lifting and securing the heavy saddles and other items into the tack department display, he brought Rosemary the ladder and reminded her to be careful.
Removing wrappings from the boots, she smiled to herself because tonight was a special night. Rosemary had a special outfit planned for their dinner date and had stopped off at their house to put something sexy in her walk-in closet to change into later that night.
The three of them had been back together for almost two months. That feeling Rosemary had for a while, worrying about the next big blowup, had eased considerably.
They seemed to be handling differences of opinion, even arguments, well. Rosemary noticed the day of the string bikini incident, and on other occasions since then, that she could no longer go to Wes for sympathy when she got upset at Evan. She’d made a habit of doing that over the years, and she saw now that doing so set Wes and Evan at odds.
Luckily for Rosemary, she had Grace to talk to. Grace gave good advice and provided a listening ear but didn’t always give her sympathy, helping her see that sometimes she created her own difficulties.
Once Rosemary had climbed into the alcove, Bernadette and another employee handed the boots up to her until they were all in the loft with her. This display contained a small bale of hay, which Randy had lifted into it earlier for her. She scattered some of the layers from the bale, and strewed loose hay around for affect then arranged each pair of boots. She held on carefully and climbed out onto the ladder, sitting on the top step to put the finishing touches on the display.
Reaching into the display to straighten a boot, Rosemary was startled when an angry voice from fifteen feet below bellowed up at her, “Get your ass down from there before you lose your balance and fall!”
Evan startled her so much she knocked the snakeskin boot from the display. She heard several gasps from customers and co-workers alike as she looked down at Wes and Evan. She stood and turned to face the ladder and clutched the sides, breaking out in a cold sweat as the adrenaline rushed through her system.
“Come on down carefully, baby,” Wes said, raising his palms to her and speaking in a voice meant to calm her. “Good going, Evan.”
She made her way down the ladder until her feet were back on the sales floor.
Evan’s eyebrows were drawn over brown eyes so dark they could’ve been black. “Rosemary, what the hell were you thinking climbing into and out of that display? Do you know how high that is? What were you doing sitting on the top step?” Evan asked in a low, incensed tone.
Rosemary bristled at the tone he was taking with her in front of others. “I’m always very careful.” She hated that she sounded like she was making excuses. This was part of her job, after all.
Evan invaded her space with a growl. His big, callused hand grabbed hold of one of her ass cheeks and squeezed hard. “If I see you up that ladder, putting yourself in danger like that again, or hear about it, I’m turning this little ass bright pink, you understand? You were warned about stuff like this.”
Rosemary’s cheeks blossomed with heat when she heard a feminine gasp from the dressing room a few feet away. Yep, her day was now complete. Pride reared its ugly head.
Rosemary shoved against his broad chest. “You don’t get to tell me what I can or cannot do, you big, dumb jerk. No wonder you’re divorced, if this is how you treat women.”
Stupid, stupid, stupid…
Rosemary knew her mistake the second the words flew out of her mouth. Instead of apologizing, she kept talking, like that was a good idea.
<
br /> “I’ve been doing this job a long time, and I don’t need you to be my keeper. I’ve been patient with your bossiness, up until now. If I’d fallen from that ladder, it’d be your fault for scaring the hell out of me. I’m suddenly not hungry. I think you need to leave,” she ground out, cancelling their lunch date.
Damn it, why did she let her pride and her mouth sabotage her like this? Why did she always let Evan’s hot temper spark her own?
Never one to back down from a confrontation, Evan leaned in to her, his eyes glittering angrily. “You’re the same spoiled-rotten little brat you always were, Rosemary Piper. Just like Rita, you have to have your own way in everything. You haven’t changed one damned bit,” he snapped at her then turned on his heel and stalked from the store.
Rosemary bit her lip at his harsh words, knowing she’d pushed him too far. She looked into Wes’s eyes and saw his frustration at being caught in the middle, before he turned and walked away, too.
Bernadette sidled up to her, and led Rosemary from the sales floor back to her office. She collapsed into her chair and proceeded to bawl her eyes out. In a small town like Divine, this would be all over the gossip grapevine and probably already was.
Chapter Six
Evan Garner fished his keys from the pocket of his jeans as he pushed open the front door of The Dancing Pony and stepped out into the lingering late August heat. The sun had set hours before, but heat still emanated from the concrete sidewalk. Climbing in the four-door truck, he pulled around to the front entrance then dropped his head to the steering wheel.
Somehow, he had to make this right with Rosemary. Why could he not leave well enough alone? Things were going so well, and he could tell Rosemary was gradually beginning to drop her defenses with them. He’d had a feeling tonight might’ve been the night she stayed with them and allowed them to make love to her. Then he’d gone and screwed it up, going all alpha male on her, again. He prayed for wisdom and the right words to say.
As he prayed, the past came to mind. A past that was pervaded with Rosemary Piper, the same way the typical fall heat still permeated the air inside the truck. He had few memories growing up that were not inhabited by the fierce, little ebony-haired beauty. Wes was hopefully speaking with her right now and convincing her to come home with them. Memories came rushing back.
* * * *
“Mama says I’m a real good cooker,” Rosemary chirped as she used a stick to mix the blades of green grass Evan had brought her into the mud pie then sprinkled gravel on top.
“What are you gonna cook for us, then?” Evan asked as he scooped up another handful of mud for her so her hands wouldn’t get so dirty. She took it in both of her chubby, little six-year-old hands and placed it on top.
“How about beef stew?” his brother Wes said, filling the bucket from the water hose for her.
“No, how about chili? I want some chili!” Evan said.
“No, beef stew!” Wes crowed, laughing as he sprayed Evan’s bare feet with the water hose.
“No, chili! And cornbread!” Evan hollered back, standing in front of Rosemary so she wouldn’t get wet or splashed with mud.
“No beef—” Wes was about to say more when Rosemary interrupted.
She was hunkered down, resting her cheeks in the palms of her hands as she looked at them and grinned. “I have a better idea. When you can’t decide what you want for me to cook for you, that’s when you take me out to eat. That’s how it’s going to be when we’re married,” she said with a shrug, reaching over to sprinkle more sand on top of her mud pie.
“Which one of us you gonna marry?” Evan asked. He wanted Rosemary to say him. He’d take her out to eat all the time if that’s what she wanted, and he’d eat whatever she cooked.
“Both of you, silly!” she said with a giggle as she reached in the bucket that Wes put beside her with one of her mom’s measuring spoons and sprinkled water on the mud pie.
The boys snickered, and Evan said, “You can’t marry both of us, Rosie Posie.”
“Sure I can.”
Wes gave her a double handful of mud and replied, “How come you want to marry both of us?”
“’Cause I could never choose between the two of you. I’m in love with both of you!” she said dramatically and giggled.
Like two red-blooded six- and seven-year-old American boys will do, they croaked and made gagging sounds in the back of their throats, which made her cackle while she poured more water on the pie until it overflowed onto the grass.
“Yeah? And how are we supposed to share you if you’re our wife?”
“Just like how you do now. I’ll cook for you and do your laundry and maybe even kiss you if you’re sweet to me!” She grinned as they did more croaking and gagging. “And you’ll take me out to eat all the time, and let me go shopping and put gas in my car for me. That’s how it works, and that’s what I want,” Rosemary said like she was stating the obvious.
Wes looked over at his six-year-old brother and said, “Well, I guess we could both marry you, then. Deal?”
“Deal!” Evan replied.
Rosemary giggled and said, “Deal!”
Wes kissed her on one cheek and Evan kissed her on the other, and they all three ran to the swing set in her backyard.
* * * *
Rosemary’s heart lurched as Wes approached her and Mr. Webster on the dance floor. When Wes tapped Ace on the shoulder, he immediately stopped waltzing with her and turned to Wes, eyebrow raised.
“May I cut in, sir?” Wes asked politely, obviously not looking for a fight. Ace turned to Rosemary, waiting for her acceptance or refusal. His hold on her was solicitous, not territorial, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that he noted her tension.
Her eyes welled with tears as she said, “No.” She felt tired. Tired from work, certainly, but mostly tired from the emotional overload earlier in the day.
Wes implored her, “Rosemary, please, let me apologize. I’m so sorry.” Her tears overflowed at the pain in his beseeching gaze. He had done nothing to apologize for. Evan should be the one begging for forgiveness.
“No.” Her voice quavered, and her chin trembled. “How much longer am I supposed to suffer?” Her cheeks tingled as she recalled she’d dealt out her fair share of suffering to others today. There was a small voice whispering to her that she had little right to complain.
“The lady told you no. It sounds like she means it,” Ace added quietly, evidently aware all eyes in the vicinity were on them.
Wes gazed levelly at Ace. “Sir, I don’t mean any harm. I’d do anything to make this woman happy again.” Looking at his handsome face, Rosemary knew he was telling the truth, at least for his part. His dumbass brother was another story. She still wanted to punch him in the face for comparing her to Rita. Evan couldn’t possibly know how much that had hurt her.
Rosemary turned to Ace and smiled up at him. “Thank you, Ace. I’ll come back to the table soon.”
Ace patted her lower back and leaned in. “I’ll back off, but I’m not leaving you alone with him. If he gives you trouble, I’ll be nearby watching,” he murmured, gesturing to the table their group had been sitting at.
“Oh, it’s not like that, Ace. I’ve known him a long time. He’d never hurt me,” she reassured him.
A tear picked that moment to overflow, and Ace whispered, “Tell your eyes that, darlin’.” He stepped away from her, looking at Wes with warning in his eyes.
Rosemary stepped up to Wes on the edge of the dance floor. “You want to make me happy, Wes? You tell that fool of a brother of yours to bite my ass!” she muttered angrily. The memory of his hand coming down on her ass and squeezing hard would’ve been a happy memory under different circumstances. He was seriously messing up her spanking fantasies by going there.
“He was worried about you, baby.”
“If that’s how Evan shows me that he cares, I’m going to have to take out extra disability insurance. I was perfectly fine doing my job, and he had no bus
iness interfering. I climb that ladder all the time. It’s a part of what I do at the store. He can’t go sneaking up on me like that.”
Wes didn’t sound angry at her, but she could tell he was becoming frustrated. “You scared the hell out of him.”
“I? I scared the hell out of him? You were there, Wes. I was perfectly safe. He embarrassed me in front of the whole store. I’ll never live this afternoon down. And you’re defending him, aren’t you? Tell you what, both of you can bite my ass!” She spun on her high cowgirl boot heel and sashayed away from him.
Rosemary heard Wes mutter, “Damn it.” He pulled her back to him, causing her to collide with his chest, the impact clouding her senses with his clean, slightly spicy scent. Her lips pressed together in a firm, thin line to keep them from trembling. She was angry, but she still wanted him, if the moist ache between her legs was a good indicator. She glanced up and was held captive by the pleading in his green eyes.
“Baby, all three of us have been in love since kindergarten. I’ve loved you practically my whole life.” Her heart wrenched at his earnest tone and her tears finally overflowed. “Evan never meant to embarrass you. Yeah, his mouth got away from him, but let him explain and apologize. Things were looking so good. Don’t let it all go down the drain over a misunderstanding, baby. Please come home with us for a little while so we can talk it out. It’s killing us seeing you dancing with another man.”
That was what set all this off? Rosemary wanted to scoff but didn’t think Wes would appreciate it. Back at the table, Kathleen had mentioned to Ace that Rosemary loved to waltz when a good waltz number played. Ace was being a gentleman by asking her to dance.
“It was just a dance. It didn’t mean anything,” she whispered. It weighed on her heart that jealousy had prompted them to action rather than guilt. As usual, Wes was the peacekeeper.
Wes stroked her upper arms, still holding her to him. “Come with me so we can talk. Then I’ll take you home if that’s what you want.”
Box Set: The Divine Creek Ranch Collection, Volume 2 [Book 4 - Rosemary's Double Delight (MFM), Book 5 - Spurs and Heels (MF)] (Siren Publishing Romance Collection) Page 6