Starting Over

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  “Damn, if I know I would have brought some sneakers and joined you.”

  “She’ll be fine. I’m going with her,” Rhett said, and she looked up at him and then at Jordan.

  “Yeah?” Jordan asked, and Rhett nodded very seriously. He hoped he got the message that Adalee was off limits. Holy shit, Rhett was staking a claim, and he hadn’t even kissed the woman or knew if she was even interested. She kept walking but looked over her shoulder at him suspiciously, and he hoped he didn’t just piss her off again. She wouldn’t talk to him for another week.

  “Afternoon, Adalee. I have that cream you were looking for. Just wanted you to know that the PT said to not overuse it and avoid direct sunlight.”

  “Oh okay, so I guess put it on after my walk and shower?” she asked.

  “You can use it before. Just keep it covered, and it has no smell, so it should be fine to apply when needed. How is your hip doing?” he asked her. He was the pharmacist.

  “I feel pretty good. Bailey’s been working me hard.”

  He smiled. “Well, she is great at her job. Let me know if you need anything else,” Taylor said. “Hello, Rhett.”

  “Hi, Taylor.”

  “You showing Adalee around town?”

  “Just getting ready for a tour of the park. Have a good day,” he said and then smiled at her.

  “You don’t need to escort me to the park.”

  “Maybe I want to talk to you and get to know you better,” he snapped at her, holding the door open as they headed outside. He walked with her, and when she got to her car, he wondered what she was doing.

  “I want to put some of this on. Bailey said it works great,” she said and pulled the tube of cream from the box, tossed the box onto her car seat, and then put cream on her finger. She looked at him, then went to turn away as she lifted her shirt slightly, and lowered her shorts to apply the cream to her skin.

  As her shirt started to fall, he reached for the material to help her and stepped closer, not wanting anyone else to see her beautiful skin or how sexy she looked standing here with her flat, tan belly, and then he saw the scar, the bullet wound. “Holy shit,” he whispered as she applied the cream and then stared up at him.

  “I know, it’s ugly,” she said and then pushed his hand off of her and went to lower her top and he pressed closer, had her caged in by the inside of the door to her car with one hand on her hip.

  “You’re beautiful, and the fact that you sustained that injury, were shot twice, and survived while taking out scumbags is impressive. It’s a war wound.” She held his gaze and stared up into his eyes. When she licked her lower lip, he thought of kissing her. Hell, he wanted to kiss her.

  She placed her hand to his chest and narrowed her eyes. “Just because Everett kissed me, it doesn’t mean I’m fair game to you and your brothers.”

  He was shocked as she ducked under his arm, and then he looked at her, closed the door and she locked it.

  She started walking, and he grabbed her hand and walked with her. She tried to make him release it, but they were passing by people as he whispered to her. “Everett kissed you? Are you serious?” he asked, and by her shocked expression, he assumed she thought his brother told them.

  She swallowed hard and looked forward. “Doesn’t matter.”

  “It sure as shit matters. My brother is a prick.”

  She stopped and pulled her hand from his. She narrowed her eyes at him and looked ready to fight.

  “He is not a prick. How dare you talk about your brother like that? He said nothing but good things about you and your—”

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and hauled her up close against him. He ran his hand under her hair and squinted his eyes right back at her. “Goddamn, no wonder he kissed you,” he said and then pressed his mouth to hers.

  She was slightly resistant, but then it changed as she kissed him back, and that kiss got heated fast, until they heard some whistles and he slowly slid his lips from her lips to her jaw and cheek before hugging her close. She was breathing heavily and so was he.

  “Goddamn, woman, where the fuck did you come from?” She felt so good in his arms, and her ass was perfect as he maneuvered a palm along her rear and gave it a squeeze, and she pulled back.

  She tilted her head back to look up at him. “Are these the tactics you and your brothers use to completely throw me off kilter? What is this?” she asked.

  He chuckled and then cupped her cheek and stroked her jaw with his thumb.

  “A miracle. That’s what it is, a damn miracle.”

  Adalee didn’t know what to say or do. Rhett Perkins just kissed her in the middle of town, where everyone could see, and only days before his brother Everett kissed her in the park. Then she thought about Jeb and was shocked at her thought process. She pulled her hand from Rhett’s as they walked along the sidewalk into the park. She had been here for two whole weeks. What in God’s name was happening here?

  “You’re being quiet, and I don’t like it at all. It’s putting me on edge,” he said to her.

  She crossed her arms in front of her chest and inhaled and exhaled. “This can’t be happening. Not to me. No, this isn’t even normal. I mean I don’t even know how I feel about this. I’m confused.” She turned to look up at him, and he was just listening and watching calmly. “You’re confusing me.”

  “It’s the ménage thing, I get it. It was a process to get used to for us, too.”

  “Oh great, and how many women have you explored this option with? I mean, seriously, once again it’s a man who is in control and gets the benefits of such a relationship and the woman is left sobbing at the curb when the relationship falls to shit because she was the only one truly on board. Christ!” She threw up her hands. “I’m losing my mind. I should have thought this move through with clearer eyes. This should have been disclosed to me. You, as the mayor, need a fucking disclosure on that sign that says welcome to Cherry Hill!” She raised her voice, and he chuckled.

  She turned around to face him, ready to give him a bigger piece of her mind, but that look, that grin she hadn’t seen since meeting him, shocked her. He was the one with the attitude. The one known in town as a hard-ass. His brothers had reputations, too, and she saw that in Everett. He was a hard shell to crack.

  “Please calm down, you’re driving me wild. You look so sexy all fired up,” he said, and her jaw dropped, her face went flush, and once again, he snagged her around the waist, pulled her flush against his chest, tugged on her hair, and pressed his mouth to hers.

  This time they were deeper along the trail out of sight of other people, and he took full advantage of that. When he slid his palm up under her shirt against her back and then down over her ass, squeezing it, she felt her pussy spasm, and she moaned into his mouth. He growled into hers, then pressed his palm back up and cupped her breast. She gasped and pulled from his mouth, and he didn’t remove his hand.

  “This is real, no bullshit, and you know it,” he said and caressed along her nipple with his thumb. She leaned back and pushed her shirt down, looked around them, but it was all clear.

  He reached up, cupped her neck and cheek, and drew her back against him. “I wouldn’t expose you to anyone else’s view but my brothers. You’re going to be ours.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think—”

  “No thinking, only feeling. Follow your gut, those cop instincts you have, and you’ll see this is real. That we’re sincere. You think you’re the only one shocked here? We all are. You show up in that antique Mustang looking hotter than a woman has the right to look with this jet-black hair, royal-blue eyes that draw everyone in, and this sexy body you hide so well, and you knock us into left field. My brothers and I aren’t exactly nice men. We’re demanding, controlling, commanding, and hard-core. We don’t do pansy shit, not any of us, and you got us walking on eggshells, taking our time trying to get to know you when we feel so wild, so needy to possess you and protect you that what we really want to do is bring y
ou to bed. Make love to you, mark you, claim you, get lost inside of you and never let go. So don’t think for one goddamn minute that you’re the only one in shock, taking a risk, or overwhelmed.”

  She was stunned at his words, his expression, the strong hold he had on her and how he caressed her ass and held her neck so dominantly. “Okay,” she whispered, and he squinted.

  “Okay? What does that mean?”

  “It means okay. I agree that you’re obviously as shocked as I am in all of this. So, let’s slow down, regroup, and figure out a plan to attack this accordingly with respect for all individuals involved.”

  He chuckled. “Great plan. Attack it accordingly, got it,” he said, holding her gaze and lowering his mouth to hers again, drawing Adalee under his spell and making her fall for brother number two, as well.

  “Do you remember Miller Smith?” Felix Fords asked Jeb at the police department. He was a Texas Ranger like Jeb was.

  “Hell yeah, I remember him. He brutally beat his girlfriend and then raped her and her sister. Sick asshole.”

  “Yeah, well, he’s out. Been out for over a year, and look, he’s wanted for questioning in a breakin and rape of a young woman in Coldsberry.”

  “Coldsberry? That’s only a few towns over from Central Valley.”

  “Exactly, Jeb, and the cops around there are trying to locate him. They believe he’s their guy.”

  “How do they know?”

  “Someone reported a man walking in the neighborhood who matches his description, plus he had rented a room at Gerby’s motel outside of Coldsberry and was seen wearing those same clothes by the manager of the place and two other guests there.”

  “Jesus, is the woman okay?”

  “She’s recovering in the hospital, but the rapist got away with five thousand dollars in cash. The woman was paying off some work on her car at a mechanic’s shop down the road,” Felix told him.

  Jeb ran his hand along his jaw. “I say we put some men on this.”

  “I agree and I’m in,” Felix said.

  “Let me get more details, and since I was part of getting him off the streets years ago, I want to be actively involved with the investigation and hunt. I’ll talk to the commanders and get things rolling.”

  “I figured you would want to. I know you’re about ready to retire soon, but things like this, hunting criminals like this scumbag, keep you going and holding on.”

  “Yeah, one more criminal, one more arrest, one more save, that’s exactly how I’m thinking,” Jeb replied.

  “Well, I’ll gather what I can and start figuring out where he might be headed.”

  “Our town and Central Valley. You know that, right?” Jeb said to Felix.

  Felix nodded with his teeth clenched. “I’ll also call Kane and make him aware, too.”

  As Felix walked out of the office, Jeb thought about Miller Smith. He was a six-foot-three white male, over two hundred and seventy-five pounds of fat and muscle, and a sick mentality. He had no respect for women, for the law, or for anything for that matter, and Jeb wondered how he got out of jail. He was a danger to society and specifically to women who he sought after as prey. He went onto his computer and started gathering things he needed and to do some research before he called the commanders and got them on board. As he contacted the detectives in charge of the case in Coldsberry, he wasn’t sure he wanted to see the pictures of the victim and learn all the details, but knew he needed to. It would be more motivation to catch this guy and put him away for a long time.

  Chapter 3

  Coda Perkins felt his jaw drop and his heart begin to race the moment he caught sight of Adalee Scope. Holy shit, no wonder his brothers were head over heels for her and acting all crazy. The woman was drop-dead gorgeous, sexy with a super perfect body, and that long black hair drew your eyes to her immediately. She wore a black camisole and a blue sheer, loose-fitting top over it along with a tan skirt and low heels. She looked classy, sexy, and mature, and as she scanned the place like a cop, he felt an odd sensation in his gut. Layla and Adalee were greeted quickly by John and Keith and then escorted to the bar where they introduced Adalee to him. When his eyes locked onto her royal-blue eyes, he could hardly speak.

  Keith and John chuckled, but as they said his name and her eyes widened and then squinted, she blushed.

  “Brother number four I didn’t know about,” she said and reached her hand out for him to shake.

  “I heard you met my brothers and made quite the impression.”

  “We’re going to grab a table. Come on over whenever you want,” Layla said to her.

  “Oh, I’ll come over now.”

  Layla pressed her hand over her arm. “Don’t be silly. I have something to discuss with John and Keith anyway,” her mom said, and then as Adalee turned back, her mom gave him a wink. He figured her mom was all for her daughter getting to know him and his brothers.

  “What are you drinking?” he asked her.

  “As much as I feel like something strong, I think I’ll just take a beer. Murphy’s?” she asked.

  “You got it.”

  He started to pour the beer as a few guys walked by and said hello to her. She smiled cordially, and his gut tightened with jealousy. That was odd—he didn’t really know her, just knew that his brothers were interested in her. He placed her beer down and then had to get a few orders but talked to her as he did them.

  “So how do you like Cherry Hill so far?” he asked. It was difficult to look away from her and those blue eyes that were so unique. Plus she wore a small heart pendant that lay right between deep cleavage slightly covered by the sheer blue blouse she wore.

  “It’s different,” she replied and glanced around them.

  “Different? What does that mean?” he asked her.

  She looked at him and then around the place. “Just very friendly, very clean, small town, different lifestyle I guess from where I grew up and lived.”

  “You mean New York City?” he asked and then crossed his arms in front of his chest.

  “You’ve been to New York?”

  “Years ago a bunch of us took a weekend long trip between tours.”

  “You were in the military like Jeb and Everett?”

  “Rhett was, too.”

  “Rhett? Really? I didn’t know that.”

  “Yeah, he was in the Army, retired as an officer with a business degree. When Everett left and took a job in law enforcement, Jeb retired around the same time and had an in with the Texas Rangers.”

  “And what about you? No other career paths after being a Ranger?”

  He stuck out his arms as if encasing the whole place. “You mean bartending isn’t a second career?” He added sarcastically.

  She laughed.

  He placed his hands down on the bar and flexed his muscles as he squinted at her, and she held his gaze. He could feel the attraction, and oh boy, he totally understood his brothers’ chaotic conversations and possessive talk. “I wanted something calming, yet still could socialize a bit, and I only do this a couple of nights, and then take care of the ranch and things the rest of the time.”

  She took a sip from her beer. “Ranch?” she asked.

  “Yeah, we have about fifty acres of land, a nice big house, some livestock.”

  “Wait. Livestock, as in chickens and cows and stuff?”

  He laughed. “Horses, chickens, just some basics to get the fresh eggs and things.