Becca planted her forehead on the cool surface of the kitchen table and groaned. Finally, Becca looked up with a grin. “TMI, Addie.”
Addie leaned back in her chair with a laugh. “I know that means Too Much Information. I thought you liked my stories.”
“I do. Especially when we stick to people I don’t know and will never meet.”
“Right now, we’re talking about you, Becca Parks. What happened?”
Addie wasn’t going to give up. Besides, she trusted Addie and valued her advice. Becca told her about Mark, Travis, and their request to start dating her and sharing their lives.
Addie looked thoughtful as Becca finished her story.
“Sounds like those boys have some strong feelings for you, Becca. Of course, you are the sweetest girl I know. They seem like good men. What’s next?”
“I’m not sure. They said they wanted to court me. I don’t think I’ve ever been courted before. At least not formally. Heck, most guys in Plenty were afraid to ask me out. Between my dad, Ryan, and Jack, they’d get the third degree so bad I’d be lucky to ever see them again. Let’s face it, everyone in town knows Ryan and Jack’s reputation. And, of course, mine as their innocent little sister. That’s a reputation I love—the afterthought.”
Addie patted her hand. “I know you’ve lived in the shadow of your brothers for a long time. They’re good, hardworking men. It’s easy for people to pay attention to the sheriff or a firefighter. You do good work for Plenty, too, Becca. You never call attention to the charity work you do for the city. And I happen to know you do loads for this town. Relationships are different. If you’re truly open and honest with them, they’ll see all the ways you shine. You won’t need to fight for their attention or love.”
“Truly open and honest, huh?”
Addie smiled. “It’s the secret to a lasting ménage. All the good relationships in Plenty had that one thing in common.” Addie picked up her fork and picked at her asparagus with a grimace. “And hot monkey sex, too, of course.”
Becca groaned. “TMI, Addie. TMI.”
* * * *
“Come on in, guys, and help yourself to a beer. We’ll start the game in a few minutes. Ryan’s not here yet.”
Jack slapped Mark on the back and waved him toward the kitchen. Zach was already there drinking a longneck and munching on hot wings. Mark and Travis were hanging out with Zach, Chase, Jack, and Ryan for a Monday-night game of poker. Becca was at her regular Monday-night dinner with the girls.
“I’m glad we decided to have our own Monday-night ritual, since the women have theirs.”
Chase’s eyebrows almost went up to his hairline as the heat from the wings singed his tongue. He quickly drank a big gulp of beer. Zach shook his head and laughed.
“Careful, bro, those wings are hot. We sure are glad you and Travis moved here, Mark. We didn’t have enough for a game before. Are you settling into the new house?”
He and Travis had purchased a home in the historic district just down the street from Ryan, Jack, and soon to be Jillian. It needed a lot of work, but they were both looking forward to making it a real home. Hopefully, a real home with Becca.
Travis nodded. “Yes, although we’d forgotten how much work moving and renovating can be. We love the house, but it does need work. We’re really glad you and Chase are going to be available to help us with some of the heavier stuff.”
Zach grinned. “We wouldn’t have it any other way. We’re almost done with the renovations on Charlie’s pizza parlor. They’re planning a big grand reopening as soon as we’ve finished. Shouldn’t be more than a week or two.”
Travis popped a few chips in his mouth. “I can’t wait. She had fantastic pizza the one time we were there, just before the fire. What ever happened to Jenny, the young girl who set the fire?”
Zach turned toward the front door. “That question is better directed at Ryan, who looks like he’s finally arrived.”
Sheriff Ryan Parks headed into the kitchen and accepted a beer with a grin. Still in his uniform, he must have just got off work.
Chase shook his head with a wry smile. “About damn time you got here. I thought we’d have to call nine-one-one and report a crime.”
Ryan took a long draw from his beer. “Damn, that hits the spot. It’s been a long fucking day. I think everyone in Plenty reported a crime today.”
Jack chuckled. “Was it Tom again? Is the missus on the warpath?”
When Tom’s wife wasn’t speaking to him, he liked to commit petty crimes so he could argue with Ryan or the judge.
Ryan blew out a breath. “Tom was only one of my problems today. Although he sure as hell didn’t help matters. Damn fool backed his car into the gate of the drive-in as a protest against the movies Max has been showing lately. Says he wants the Creature Features back on Saturday nights instead of the chick flicks. Max was pissed as hell about his gate, and when I got there he was cussin’ a blue streak threatening to back into Tom’s garage door. Fuck. Sometimes they don’t pay me enough to do this job.”
Jack slapped his brother on the back. “Just have another beer, bro. Your long day is over, and lady luck is on, well, my side anyway.”
Mark laughed. “You know what they say, Jack. Lucky in love, and all that.”
Jack’s gaze traveled to the fireplace mantle and the picture of Ryan, Jack, and Jillian from the Christmas party in the park just a few months ago.
“Hell yeah, I’m lucky in love. I’m marrying the most beautiful woman in Plenty.”
Zach and Chase both shook their heads. “Nope. We are, and soon, too.”
Mark wouldn’t be outdone. “Becca’s the most beautiful woman in Plenty. Not that Jillian and Cassie aren’t gorgeous. They are.”
Four heads whipped toward him in unison.
Ryan gave him a speculative look. “Is there something you want to tell me about my baby sister and you, Mark? Are you seeing her? If you are, you need to state your intentions now, like a man.”
Mark pulled Travis to his side. “We will state our intentions. They’re honorable, Ryan. We care about Becca. We’ve asked her to date us with the intention to make something permanent. We wouldn’t offer her anything less.”
Ryan turned to Travis. “Are you in agreement with this?”
Travis nodded. “Absolutely. We have feelings for Becca. We just want the chance to get to know her and for her to get to know us. We want this to be a forever thing. We’re not fucking around with her. I promise.”
Ryan gave them a hard stare. It was clear why he was the sheriff.
“If either of you break my little sister’s heart, I will cheerfully kick your asses from here to Chicago and back. Do I make myself clear?”
Jack stepped in. “Pardon my brother, he can be a caveman at times. What he means to say is, don’t fucking play with her emotions. If she sheds one fucking tear over you two, there isn’t a corner of this earth far enough to escape our wrath.”
Zach rolled his eyes. “That was less caveman? Knock that shit off, right now. Becca is a grown woman. I didn’t see Mark getting all up in your business when you were dating his sister. Especially you, Jack. Did you make Jillian cry with your stupid antics?”
Jack had the grace to look ashamed. “Aw shit, Zach, I didn’t mean to. You know Jillian’s the only woman in the world to me. Sorry, man. I guess we’re so used to taking care of Becca we got carried away.”
Jack pushed Ryan’s shoulder. “Didn’t we get carried away?”
Ryan’s mouth twisted. “Fuck. We got carried away. Since Mom died, I guess we’ve gone into superprotective mode. We know you’re good guys. Shit, I’m sorry. You never gave us any hell about dating Jillian.”
Mark and Travis glanced at each other and then back at Jack and Ryan. Travis shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I think it’s great Becca has two brothers who love her this much. We won’t disrespect her. You have our word.”
The men shook hands while Zach set up the cards and poker chips.<
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“Ryan, Travis asked me about Jenny. He wanted to know what happened to her after she confessed to setting those fires. I said you probably had the latest.”
The men sat down, and Zach started dealing the first hand.
“Jenny pled out. She’ll get intense psychiatric treatment in a state hospital for the next few years. What was surprising was to find out that she’s done this before dear old Jack here. Apparently, when she was at the University of Florida she did some minor vandalism to get attention from another guy she was obsessed with. Poor bastard. She stalked him for an entire year before getting kicked out of school for bad grades. She returned to Plenty and got odd jobs before getting the waitress job at the coffee shop. ”
Jack picked up his cards. “She almost got Leah and Jillian killed. Seems like she should get more than psychiatric treatment.”
Ryan shrugged. “Be realistic, Jack. I doubt the facility she’s going to be living in is a country club. She’s paying for her crimes.”
Ryan took another draw from his longneck.
“You’re lucky. You won’t have any of the arson drama with Becca that we did with Jillian or the stalker drama that Zach and Chase had with Cassie. Becca is a quiet, homebody, no-drama kind of girl. Your relationship should be smooth sailing.”
Mark gave Travis a smile. Now they were here in Plenty, everything was going to go exactly as they had planned.
* * * *
Becca and Jillian were on the coffee table in Becca’s living room dancing to “We Got the Beat” by the Go-Go’s. Becca twirled around and did a shimmy shake just as Jillian hopped off the table laughing. She collapsed on the couch next to Cassie, who was laughing so hard she was holding her stomach.
“You guys are crazy! Jillian, get back up there and dance with Becca!”
Becca laughed, breathless and giddy from their Monday girls’-night fun.
“I just love these eighties tunes. I was born twenty years too late.”
Becca landed in a heap on the couch and took a gulp of her fuzzy navel. The girls were having an eighties-themed evening after their Monday-night dinner tradition. Their hair was teased high and streaked with some fun punk-pink streaks. Jillian munched on a nacho and pulled a face.
“I’m not so sure about that. Can you imagine trying to have big hair every single day? The infrastructure alone must have taken forever. And I have a lot of hair!”
Becca shrugged. “I’m a hairdresser. I do hair all day long.”
Cassie grinned. “And for that, we are most grateful. Enough about big hair, already. What happened with Mark and Travis at the reception?”
Becca took another gulp of her drink. “We’ve decided to date.”
Cassie and Jillian exchanged a look. Jillian grabbed Becca’s glass and set it at the far end of the coffee table. “You’re not getting that drink back until we get some damn details. Spill it.”
Becca rolled her eyes. “I was almost done with it anyway. So, I asked them some questions and we decided to date. You know, see if we like each other.”
It was Cassie’s turn to roll her eyes. “Like each other? You guys were about to hump each others’ legs at the wedding. The air was positively thick with sexual tension. Did you, um, release any of that tension? Before we so rudely interrupted, that is.”
“It was rude, wasn’t it? And no, not really. We kissed. It was…hot. Very hot. If you hadn’t interrupted, well, things would have gotten interesting. But I’m actually kind of glad you did interrupt. I was okay with sleeping with them that day, but now I’m even more sure.”
Jillian pounced. “Ooooo, the first-time sex is always so hot. Your brothers about singed my panties off. So you’re ready now?”
Becca felt her face get warm. “Definitely. It’s not like I haven’t gotten to know them these last months. We’ve spent a lot of time together during their visits. If you count both Thanksgiving and Christmas, I’ve actually gone out on several dates with them. I just wasn’t alone with them very often. All of us were there—shopping, biking, playing bingo, hanging out at the diner or the coffee shop. Let’s not forget the night at your condo when we all played Monopoly and Travis kicked everyone’s ass.”
Jillian chuckled. “Travis always wins. You might as well get used to it. I don’t know how he does it, but he does. You don’t have to justify your feelings for Mark and Travis. Sometimes, you just know.”
Cassie handed Becca her drink. “You don’t have to justify it to me, either. You have spent quite a bit of time with them when they were here. It’s no shame to want to sleep with them. If they weren’t like brothers to me, and I wasn’t engaged to two of the hottest men in the world, I’d be all over Mark and Travis. Go for it. We’re cheering you on.”
Becca groaned. “That’s a picture I don’t need. You and Jillian sitting next to the bed with pom-poms doing cheers. Spare me the visual.”
Cassie and Jillian fell into peals of laughter. Jillian wiped the tears from her eyes. “No worries, Becca. The last place I want to be is watching my brothers have sex. We’ll cheer you on virtually.”
Cassie nudged Becca. “Just do something kinky and dirty, okay? You’re representing the three of us. We’re not the fucking girls next door.”
Becca smiled. The boys were going to learn just how not the girl next door she was.
* * * *
Becca rang the doorbell at Mark and Travis’s house bright and early Saturday morning. They planned to take her for dinner tonight, but she had offered to help them paint their living room and dining room today. By the time they finished painting, they would be ready for an evening out.
A smiling Travis answered the door. “Hey, sweetie, you’re here early. Come on in and join us for breakfast.”
“You said early, so I’m here early.”
Travis waved to a barstool pulled up to the kitchen counter.
“Relax, and let me get you some coffee. I know we said early, and then I wondered what you considered early. I know you work a lot of late nights at the salon, so you might sleep in.”
Becca hopped up on the barstool, avoiding a stack of flooring samples towering near her chair. Partially unpacked boxes, furniture covered in sheets, and a wall torn down to the studs gave the house a decidedly chaotic feel.
“I wish I could sleep in. I’m one of those annoying early birds.”
Travis laughed. “You can keep Mark company then. He’s always up with the birds.”
Becca looked around.
“Where is Mark? He’s not stuck under one of these boxes, is he?”
Travis pulled a face. “It’s awful, isn’t it? I can hardly stand to live here. We need to get moving on all these renovations before I lose my mind. And Mark ran to the hardware store to pick up the paint. He should be here any minute. In the meantime, have some bacon and toast. I can fix you some eggs if you like.”
Becca shook her head. “I had some cereal this morning, but I never turn down bacon.”
“A girl after my own heart. Don’t let Dr. Health Nut talk you out of eating bacon once in a while. The way he acts, you would think bacon was responsible for the bubonic plague.”
“Dr. Steve is the same way. He makes sure the meals I deliver are always healthy and balanced. Some of the patients get so frustrated. Sometimes you just need a cookie, you know?”
“I agree. I know you deliver meals to those who have health issues. That must be very rewarding, sweetheart. It just goes to show what a big heart you have.”
“I love doing it. There’s one woman I deliver to who’s my favorite. I know I shouldn’t have a favorite, but I do. Her name is Addie. She tells great stories about the history of Plenty. I don’t know if any of them are true of course, but they’re great stories.”
Travis refilled her coffee with a smile. “She sounds like a great old lady. I’d love to meet her sometime.”
Becca smiled back. Addie would love to have a couple of handsome men visit her. “She’d love that, too. She doesn’t get much compan
y. Her nephew visits now and again, but he’s…”
“He’s what?”
Becca exhaled slowly. She didn’t like speaking ill of someone, especially someone she barely knew.
“He’s…creepy. Kind of. Well, he gave me the creeps the one time I met him. I think he was kind of coming on to me. And hello, so not my type. He was talking to her about a guaranteed investment. I don’t think they really have those, do they?”
Travis frowned. “Well, there are bonds and things that return a fixed rate. I’m sure that’s what he meant. You wouldn’t want an elderly woman to take any sort of risks with her money.”
Becca nodded slowly. She wasn’t feeling the trust when it came to Randall.
“And he better not be your type. Hopefully, Mark and I are the only two men who fit your type.”
Travis hooked his arm around Becca’s waist and pulled her closer. She could smell the clean spice from his morning shower. She let her hands slide up his chest and around his neck. She gave him her best pout.
“What’s a girl to do when only two men in the world are her type? And they live in Chicago, too.”
Travis leaned forward so his lips were a hairsbreadth from hers.
“Be so wonderful and amazing they move to a small town in Florida, that’s what.”
Becca laughed. “I’m not the real reason you moved to Plenty, but I’ll pretend that I am.”
Travis gave her a teasing smile. “Well, that’s true, but you’ve certainly turned out to be the best reason.”
His hand drifted up her back to tangle in her long blonde hair and his lips fused with hers, sending her blood pressure soaring and her nipples spiking against the lace of her bra. He lifted his head and gave her a cocky smile.
“You’re the only woman who fits our type, too, sweetheart. We’ve been waiting for you.”
Chapter 6
Mark threw down the paintbrush with a tired sigh. The walls were finally done. The soft green color was perfect with the dark wood and red accents. Becca really had an eye for color. It was a good thing, too. Mark had returned from the hardware store with four gallons of paint that had obviously disturbed Becca.
Plenty of Love Page 5