“Me, too. Make your call then. If Ryan can’t find him, maybe we can.”
Travis nodded and stepped away, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He gave Mark a smile.
“I’ll come inside in a minute. Tell the guys to go ahead and start without me.”
* * * *
Zach and Chase’s huge backyard was the perfect place for a wedding or even a wedding rehearsal. The large oak and maple trees provided plenty of shade, and Zach and Chase had set up tables and chairs with bright-red tablecloths loaded with finger food.
Cassie and Jillian were off making last-minute preparations for the wedding tomorrow, and Becca and Ellie had promised to hold down the fort at the rehearsal. The men had the grills going, Mike and Steve had fired up the brand-new karaoke equipment, and Jack was playing bartender. It was Jack who was also playing the clown. He presented both grooms with brand-new running shoes so they could run away from matrimony if they had cold feet. The men were having a good laugh over it.
“You think that’s funny, do you?”
Jack whirled around and turned pale as he faced a very pissed-off-looking Jillian. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was tapping her foot.
“Fuck. Shit. Aw, honey, it was just a joke. I love you, baby.”
Ryan shook his head. “Jack, for fuck’s sake, am I going to spend the rest of my life getting you out of the doghouse?”
Jillian turned and started marching toward the house with Jack at her heels professing love and offering to marry her right this very minute. Becca would have thought Jillian was madder than hell if she hadn’t glimpsed the smile playing around her lips right before she went into the house and slammed the door.
Becca wiped the tears from her eyes and her sides ached from laughing so hard. She really needed this night of fun. It had been a long week since her shop had been vandalized, but Randall the rat hadn’t made any more appearances. Becca would have been surprised if he had, as she had him pegged as a great big pussy who would run from his own shadow. But the week was over and she was determined to put the entire incident behind her. It was Cassie, Zach, and Chase’s weekend.
“Hey, pretty girl, what’s got my little sister all fired up?”
Becca felt her heart flip in her chest as Mark and Travis walked toward her. She wondered if she would ever get over how handsome and sexy they were. Today, Mark was in blue jeans and a button-down shirt. His blond hair was slightly ruffled as if he had run his fingers through it at some point, which he probably had. He had a very stressful job even in a small town like Plenty.
Travis was still dressed in the suit he had worn to work this morning. The conservative dark-blue suit couldn’t hide his muscular shoulders and flat abs. Becca licked her lips as she remembered how she had licked down those abs just this morning. Her tongue had licked a path all the way to his hard and very eager cock. She had sucked Travis’s cock while Mark fucked her from behind, tugging on her hair and smacking her ass. It was just how she liked it—rough, raunchy, and dirty.
“Jack decided to get Zach and Chase a gag gift of running shoes, and let’s just say after their history, Jillian didn’t appreciate the joke.”
Jack had been commitment shy when he first met Jillian, but his love for her was greater than his fear of settling down. They were all now happily engaged and planning a June wedding.
Mark chuckled. “I bet she didn’t. Jack has no sense of self-preservation. Jillian’s going to lead him by the nose for the rest of his life.”
Becca quirked an eyebrow. “Is there anything wrong with that? Are you trying to say something?”
Mark looked surprised and then laughed. “Fuck, no, babe. I’m not trying to say anything. I’m happy to be led around by the nose by you from now to the end of time.”
Travis rolled his eyes. “Nice save, Romeo.”
“Think you would do better?”
“I wouldn’t get myself into the situation in the first place. Think before you speak. You and Jack are more alike than you want to admit.”
Travis was certainly the more cautious of her two men. The men were the perfect balance really. Travis, so careful and thoughtful. Mark, so playful and spontaneous. She had the best of both worlds.
They each took a seat next to her, and Travis lifted her fingers to his lips. She loved looking deeply into his brown eyes, so soft and soulful. She could get lost in them. Today they had sparks of gold in them. Travis was excited about something.
“I have news, babe. After several affidavits and meetings with the judge, the competency hearing for Addie has been dropped. I just got the word and stopped by Addie’s on the way here to let her know.”
Becca hesitated for only a second before letting out a whoop that got the attention of everyone in the backyard and maybe a few of the horses in the barn. She launched herself at Travis, hugging and kissing him and telling him what a stud attorney he was.
“Whoa, babe. I love the enthusiasm, but let’s save it for later when we’re alone.”
Becca giggled as they drew a crowd. Her smile was a mile wide as she made the announcement.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Travis just got word that the competency hearing against Addie has been dropped! Randall the rat loses! Addie wins!”
Everyone started talking and asking questions at once. Travis did his best to answer them all, but it came down to one simple fact—Randall had no case.
Becca cuddled next to Travis. “You are one awesome attorney. I love you.”
Mark gave a heavy sigh. “And I’m just chopped liver, huh, babe?”
Becca laughed at Mark’s hangdog expression.
“I love you, too, you big stud. You’re just as awesome.”
Mark brightened and then ran his hand up her thigh.
“Well, in that case…”
Becca pushed his hand away. “Uh-uh, this is Cassie’s night. We have to rehearse, eat, toast, and be merry. And remember, Jillian, Cassie, and myself are spending the night at Cassie and Jillian’s condo.”
Both men looked crestfallen. She was a little disappointed herself. She has gotten used to falling asleep between their warm, muscular bodies. She would have to console herself tonight with some fun with her girlfriends.
“It’s just one night. I’ll miss you both, too. But look at the bright side. You’ll get to spend some time with each other. Don’t you miss being alone?”
Becca held her breath as she waited for the answer. She shouldn’t want them to say no, but she did. Her men looked confused, and then Travis grabbed her hand with a determined expression.
“Mark and I have been alone for fifteen years. Hell, we were alone in the car on the way over here. We can be alone pretty much anytime, if you want to know the truth. We want to be with you, Becca. We love being with you. There will be times when we’ll be alone with each other and when you’ll be alone with Mark or me. But the reason we want to be in this relationship is so we can all be together. I want to be very clear here. We don’t miss or have nostalgic feelings for our time before you. We think being with you is better.”
Becca sniffled, tears welling in her eyes. They couldn’t be any more clear, and she hadn’t even realized she needed to hear it.
“I think being with you is better, too. I wish I could go home with you tonight, but I promised Cassie. It’s her last night as a single woman, and we have to give her a proper send-off.”
Mark gave her a big grin. “As long as we get every other night, we can give up this one.”
Becca hugged her men, breathing in their heady scents.
“All the other nights. Promise.”
Chapter 16
“I guess we could order some pay-per-view porn.”
Jillian rolled her eyes. It was obvious she found the idea distasteful. The three of them were relaxing in the living room of Cassie and Jillian’s condo for Cassie’s last night as a single woman. They were trying to decide how to spend the evening.
Cassie made a face. “Ick. It’s so clinical.
It’s almost like a recipe. Take one big cock and shove it in. Pan camera to crotch shot. Thrust vigorously until female fakes orgasm. Male pulls out and shoots all over female. Female pretends to like it. Rinse and repeat.”
Becca giggled. “Don’t forget the cheesy music in the background. That’s always very important.”
“And the men are never very good looking. Can’t they find a good-looking man who’s well hung, too?” Jillian asked.
Cassie smiled. “Nope. Because the three of us cornered the market.”
They all fell into peals of laughter. Jillian shook her head sadly.
“Let’s face it. We’ve become boring and settled. We all might as well get married and have six kids.”
Becca’s eyebrows shot up. “Six kids? I don’t want six kids. Two, maybe three would be okay.”
Cassie sighed. “We’re going to try and have a baby right away. There’s no need to wait.”
“You don’t want to wait and have some time as newlyweds?” Becca asked.
Cassie shook her head. “We’ll have time while I’m pregnant. Chances are I won’t get pregnant right away anyhow.”
Becca looked doubtful. “You don’t know that. You could get pregnant right away. You could get pregnant when you least expect it.”
“I wouldn’t mind. What about you, Jillian? Are you, Ryan, and Jack going to try for a baby right away?”
Jillian shook her head. “We’ve decided to wait at least six months, maybe a year. Ryan wants to be able to get his schedule under control first. It will take that long to hire a couple more deputies and train them.”
Jillian turned to Becca. “What about you? Do you want kids right away?”
Becca felt her face get warm. “I’m not even engaged yet. Why are you asking me about kids?”
Jillian grinned. “The way my brother and Travis look at you, you won’t be single for long. You’ll be married before the year’s out.”
Becca fiddled with the television remote. “I hope they want to marry me. I mean, I want to marry them. But they’ve never mentioned marriage. If they were marriage minded, wouldn’t they have already married each other? There are states that would marry them.”
Jillian looked thoughtful. “They’ve always been married in their hearts, I know that. Maybe they just never got around to it. But I can tell they’re crazy about you. I can tell they’re serious.”
“I don’t need to be married to be committed to them. It would just be nice. I guess I’m old fashioned that way.”
Cassie smiled. “I’m old-fashioned, too. I like the idea of marriage. The permanency of it.”
Becca slapped her forehead. “Oh shit! I forgot. I have a wedding present for you. Okay, not really a wedding present, more like a honeymoon present. I left it at my condo.”
Cassie whistled. “Hot damn, a honeymoon present. I hope it’s raunchy and debauched.”
Becca headed for the door with a grin. “You can count on it. Be right back.”
* * * *
“I think we made it clear to Becca that we want to be with her and that we don’t miss being alone with each other.”
Mark and Travis were headed back to their house after the rehearsal dinner. Mark wanted to talk to Travis about something serious.
Travis nodded. “I think she’s convinced. She knows we love her. She just needed to hear that we love her as much as we love each other. She knows that now and can feel secure.”
“I was thinking of another way that might make her feel secure.”
Travis held up his hand. “I know what you’re going to say. It’s too soon to ask her to marry us. We can’t rush her. This is a serious thing, and we need to give her serious time.”
Mark exhaled impatiently. “How much time will be enough? We love her and she loves us. We already talk about the future. Forever. Why are we waiting to be happy? Will she be more sure in a month or two? Will you?”
“This isn’t about me.”
“Isn’t it? You’re the cautious one. Are you sure you don’t want us to wait because you don’t want change?”
“Fuck, no. I’ve been full speed ahead on this, and you know that. Shit, I was the first one to say ‘I love you.’”
“Then why wait? Let’s ask her tomorrow.”
The silence in the car grew. Mark wasn’t sure why Travis was hesitating if it wasn’t his natural caution. Finally, Travis spoke.
“What if she says no?”
Mark reached over and grabbed Travis’s hand. “Babe, she loves us. She’ll say yes. You have to believe. I have to believe. She wants to be with us as much as we want to be with her. What do you say? We have the ring already. Let’s ask her tomorrow. We can pull her aside during the reception and propose.”
Mark could see Travis struggle and then relax. “Okay, let’s go for it. We bought her a hell of a ring. If she hesitates, maybe the ring will put us over the top.”
Mark laughed. “Way to think positive, babe.”
Raindrops started to fall on the windshield. Mark reached in the backseat for the umbrella.
“Shit, Becca left her shoes for the wedding tomorrow in the backseat. We have to take them to her.”
“Can’t we take them tomorrow? I don’t think the women are going to be too happy if we horn in on their girls’ night.”
“Aren’t you just a little bit curious what the girls are doing tonight? What if they hired a stripper or something? Remember they went to see that Magic Mike movie.”
Travis scowled and turned at the next corner. “We’ll take the shoes tonight.”
* * * *
Becca hummed an eighties tune as she pushed her front door open. She just needed to grab Cassie’s gift, then she could get back to the festivities. They had decided to watch a double feature of Flashdance and Footloose.
She flipped on the light and froze as she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She gasped in surprise and fear and tried to back out of the door, but his hand reached out and grabbed her arm and threw her on the couch, slamming the front door shut. She finally caught a glimpse of the intruder’s face, and she knew who it was in an instant. Randall.
An extremely agitated Randall who was breathing hard, red faced, and brandishing a knife as he paced in the small space in front of her living room couch. One look around the room let her know he had been there for a little while before she showed up. Drapes were cut into shreds, along with the upholstery on her couch and chairs. Anything that had been sitting on a flat surface was now strewn around the floor, and a can of spray paint sat on the end table. Apparently, she had interrupted him before he had a chance to deface her walls. Thank God for small favors.
Now she needed to calm him down, so she could talk her way out of here. She used her softest, calmest voice.
“Randall, you need to calm down and get out of here. You don’t want to be here when my brother shows up. He’s the sheriff, you know.”
Randall stopped his pacing and scowled. “I know that. You and your family think you’re so special. Always sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. I came here tonight to teach you a lesson about keeping out of things that don’t involve you. You weren’t supposed to be here! Now what am I supposed to do with you?”
The last words were almost yelled, and his face was an unbecoming shade of reddish purple.
“You need to leave. Just leave. My brother is on his way here, and you can’t be here when he shows up.”
Becca didn’t feel bad about lying, but she was worried if too much time went by Jillian and Cassie would come looking for her. They didn’t need all three of them being held at knifepoint.
Randall’s eyes narrowed and his lips thinned, making him a lot less of a pretty boy than the first day she met him.
“Bullshit. Everyone is out getting ready for your sicko multiple wedding. What kind of slut marries two men?”
Becca wanted to point out it was probably better to be a slut than a criminal, but it didn’t seem the right moment.
/> “Yes, he will be by. He’s coming to pick up his fiancée. You need to get out of here right now. I’m his little sister. He’ll kill you if he finds you here.”
“Shut up! I need to think. I need to think about what I am going to do.”
Randall started to pace back and forth again, muttering to himself and turning redder with every minute. Becca’s gaze darted around the room looking for a weapon or a way to get his attention from her for just a second. She knew if she could just distract him, she could kick the knife out of his hands. This was just what she had been taught in self-defense class. Maybe if she got him talking, she could distract him.
“Was it you who vandalized my shop? And did you knock down the mailboxes here? Why did you knock them all down?”
Randall stopped and gave her an exasperated look. “Of course it was me. And I knocked down all the mailboxes because I didn’t know which one was yours. I’m the one who was trying to spread rumors about your business, too. I wanted to teach you a lesson.”
That explained Justin’s words at The Party about not listening to anything bad about her.
“What did you hope to accomplish?”
“You were supposed to leave Addie alone. Do you know what my life is like? Do you have any idea? I’ve lost everything. I’ve lost my house, my business. I just needed a new start. But you had to interfere, didn’t you?”
“It was Addie’s money. You were trying to steal it away from her. That’s wrong.”
Randall’s face twisted. “Addie didn’t need all that money. I would have given it back when I got my business back, anyway. She was being stubborn about giving it to me. It will be mine anyway when she dies. What’s wrong with getting some now?”
Becca barely controlled her anger. Randall was a coldhearted asshole who obviously didn’t care about the well-being of a lovely old woman.
“It’s wrong because it still belongs to her,” she said with gritted teeth.
It was like arguing with a four-year-old.
“So, Randall, are you going to leave now? I think I’ve learned my lesson about interfering.”
Plenty of Love Page 15