“When was that?” Miguel asked.
“After Mrs. Hicks had her baby. Apparently, Mrs. Hicks refused to have Momma driving back and forth from town every day. So they persuaded her to stay on permanently.”
“Well, there’s the Treasured Bed Motel just outside of town?” Victor suggested and his brothers groaned.
“I hate motels, Vic, you know that. They are dingy and dirty, and you know they never clean the bed sheets,” Miguel complained.
“Well then, you come up with something, because there isn’t any other option!” Victor shouted.
“There’s the Pleasure Cave?” Julio grinned.
“That’s a BDSM club, not a hotel,” Vic scoffed.
“I know that, dumbass.” Julio sighed. “But we don’t have any other options.”
“Why not head over to Celestial and see if they have something. Besides, while we're there we can see about River,” Miguel suggested.
“Fine,” Julio growled. “But if she isn’t there, we’re staying at the Pleasure Cave, and you two are just going to have to deal with it.”
“Hot sex, domination, whips, and chains,” Miguel said, grinning and sliding into the passenger seat. “It’s going to be a hardship, but I can handle it.”
An hour and a half later, the Sanchez Brothers pulled into the small town of Celestial. Julio parked his truck in front of what he prayed was a real hotel. The Best Lay Hotel was a massive building, standing over five stories high, and took up most of the block. On the outside, it looked like an old courthouse from the fifties, but the hot-pink neon sign above the door stated otherwise.
The town itself didn’t look that different from Treasure Cove. Well, if you ignored the odd business names and some of the people walking around naked. Then there were the hippies who sat on the street corner in front of a place called The Crystal Tumbler, banging away on banjos and tambourines while they handed out flower wreaths. The tree-lined streets were lit with sparkling Christmas lights and had streamers blowing from their limbs. The street lights were honest to God fire lights from the eighteen hundreds. But if that wasn’t weird enough, Julio and his brothers looked around and saw not a single vehicle. Not a one. Oh, they saw plenty of skateboards, bikes, and one unicycle, but no modern cars.
“This can’t be right?” Julio said, getting out of his truck.
“Maybe we’re in the wrong town?” Miguel asked.
“This place is freaking me out, guys,” Victor said. “I want to go back to Treasure Cove.”
“Too late,” Julio said, slamming the driver’s side door. “We’re here, so deal with it. Let’s just go inside and see if they have a room to rent.” Making his way into the Best Lay Hotel, Julio didn’t bother waiting for his brothers. They could follow him or not. With no options left to them, they needed a place to sleep by nightfall, and he prayed this place had a room to rent. They were quickly running out of money, and they needed to find a job soon.
Julio had just stepped through the double doors and stopped dead in his tracks in shock. Just then, his brothers bumped into him and gasped.
“What the hell?” Miguel muttered.
“God help us,” Vic whispered and then asked, “Are those real antlers?”
Julio couldn’t believe what he saw as he surveyed the purple- and yellow-striped walls with orange polka dots splattered here and there. And just for a splash of more color, the lime-green shag carpeting finished off the psychedelic explosion. The furniture was eclectic, to say the least, with a variety of items that could be found at a local garage sale. The only item out of place in this monstrosity was the deer antler chandelier, which held some sort of focal point right above the reception desk.
Shaking off his shock, Julio walked toward the woman with dreadlocked hair behind the counter.
“May the stars align for your inner peace.” She smiled brightly at him.
“What is this place?” Julio asked, uncertain he really wanted to know the answer.
“This is the Best Lay Hotel. Oh, you look lost. You must have been on a long journey, but never fear, I can help you with that. I can tell by your aura that you desperately need a chakra cleansing. I’ll arrange for Pandora to come and visit you. Then you must head over to the Pleasure Fingers and allow Phoebe to work out all you kinks. I am sure you gentlemen would enjoy a good full-body massage. But don’t worry, Phoebe won’t touch you anywhere you don’t want. She charges extra for that service. Now, how may I help you?”
Julio tried to ignore Victor as he pulled on the sleeve of his jacket. He was still attempting to figure out what the crazy woman had just said to him. When his brother’s insistent pestering became too much, Julio turned and growled, “What!”
“I wanna go home. I’m scared.”
“You don’t have a home, remember?”
“Oh, you poor dear,” the crazy woman said, gasping, as she came around the counter and took Victor’s hand in hers. “Don’t you worry, little fella. I will take care of you. If you understand me, just nod. You don’t have to say anything.”
Victor shot Julio a look of pure panic. “Ma’am, Victor’s not special. He’s what I like to call a pussy.”
“Very funny, asshole,” Victor muttered, removing his hand from the woman’s. “Just get the damn room and hurry.”
“Oh, we have plenty of rooms available. We have the clown room, the medieval room, they jolly green giant room, the princess room, the slip-n-slide room, the nirvana room.”
“Put them in the Master’s room, Cricket,” a beautiful woman with white hair said, walking over to them. “Please forgive Cricket. She is filling in for Pandora as I am filling in for my granddaughter until she returns from her spiritual journey. I am Raven White, matriarch of Celestial, and welcome. After you three get settled, I will let River know you are here.”
Julio blanched. He must have heard the woman wrong. “How do you know we’re looking for River?”
Ms. Raven smiled. “Why, it was written in the stars, my dear.”
Julio didn’t know how to respond to that. Instead, he just smiled and replied, “We’d be grateful if you could let her know we’re here.”
“Follow me,” the crazy woman said, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ll show you your room.”
After dropping their bags, the Sanchez brothers headed back out in search of River. They didn’t know much about the woman who had eluded them for the last few weeks, but they were in her hometown now, and they planned to learn everything they could about her. But first, they needed to find a job. When they got out of the military, they had some savings, but it wasn’t enough. If they weren’t careful soon it would all be gone. Nope, what they needed was a job. One where they could put their skills to work and make some decent cash. Then they needed to find a place to stay. Living at the hotel was fine for now, but long-term…it wasn’t really cost effective.
“Let’s split up,” Julio suggested. “Find out what we can, and then meet back here for dinner. Oh, and while we’re looking for River, see about getting a job. There has to be something in this town that all of us can do.”
“Sounds good to me,” Miguel replied, and Victor nodded as they all went off in different directions.
* * * *
“River, I am so sorry,” Vanessa said, apologizing profusely. “They’re idiots and don’t have a lick of sense between the three of them. But don’t worry, they shouldn’t be bothering you again.”
River loved her friend. She really did, but sometimes Vanessa could be a little too much. More like a mother hen than a friend. Regardless, River was happier knowing that she had called off her brothers. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the Sanchez brothers, because she did, it was just that they were a little much at times, especially Julio. He was very domineering, with a take-charge attitude. Great traits she admired in a man, but not when she was stubborn and independent.
Needing to change the subject, River asked, “So how are things over at Cove Auto Body?” River would have laughed if she kn
ew it wouldn’t have angered Vanessa more. It was no hidden secret that Vanessa Sanchez was a little miffed at her current situation. Removed from her home thanks to her brothers and living with three hot, hunky mechanics who wanted nothing more than to marry and adore Vanessa for the rest of her life. It was a bit stifling for her independent friend. Yet Vanessa was still dragging her feet where her men were concerned. “I don’t know why you’re looking so damned depressed, Van. If I had three hot men begging to worship at my feet, I would jump at the chance. What’s the hold up?”
“You wouldn’t understand,” Vanessa muttered, looking out the window of Macie’s Diner.
“Explain it so I will,” River persisted. “I’ve got time.”
“I can’t be what they want.”
“You need to clarify that statement. Why?”
“Did you know that before I was a store owner, I was in the military? I loved it. I wanted nothing more than to retire at twenty years, knowing that I served my country to the best of my abilities. Oh, I knew I would find someone, get married and have a kid or two, but my passion was the Army. Then Afghanistan happened, and my focus changed. I knew I was no longer fit for duty and that when I was healed I’d get my walking papers, and like clockwork, I did. I was lost after that. All I ever knew and wanted was gone. I came to Treasure Cove to relax and recuperate. Before I knew it I started my own business and I was learning to live again, but one thing was solidified. I wasn’t the woman I used to be.
“I ran, did you know that? I loved getting up before the sun every morning to run. It was my time of day that was all mine. I felt free, like I could do anything. Now, I can’t.”
“Who said you couldn’t?”
“I have a prosthesis, River.”
“And I have a sister with a bad attitude and a mouth that lands her in jail, so what.”
“I can’t run with it.”
“Then get one of those fancy leg contraptions. I’ve seen them, Vanessa. They are out there. Hell, there was this runner in the Olympics that wore one.”
“They cost money, River, and I can’t afford it. Besides, it wouldn’t matter.”
“Why?”
“My whole life I’ve done things the way I wanted. I’ve only had to rely on myself. After the accident, I knew I was never going to have things that ordinary women got. I was content being single, and okay with knowing that I would die an old lady with a bunch of cats. Now, I’ve got three men who would do anything for me and they aren’t afraid that I can’t do the same things most women can.”
“Vanessa, just because you have a missing leg, doesn’t mean you can’t get married, have those kids, and live happily ever after. All you have to do is just say yes when they ask you.”
“Don’t you see, I’m flawed, I can’t be a mother. I can’t run and play with a small child. What happens if it starts crying in the middle of the night, or it’s sick? I can’t just get up out of bed and run to it. I’d have to stop and put on my leg, and that takes time. Time that could hurt that child. I won’t do that, River, I can’t. I can’t be the reason a child of mine gets hurt and I was unable to get to it.”
“Vanessa,” River said softly. “You wouldn’t be the only one there. You have three men who work right outside of the house. Hell, the auto shop is like fifty feet from the damn back door. Trust me, all you’d need to do is yell, and they’d come running.”
“But I shouldn’t have to do that. I should be able to tend to whatever problem there is.”
“Look, I think you are making this situation bigger than it has to be. So, you are an amputee survivor. You served your country honorably and paid a terrible price. But you are still alive, with all the principal working parts. Peter, Carter, and Brice don’t give a shit if you have one leg or four. They love you and just want to live out the rest of their lives making you happy. Is that so hard to accept? Even if you never have children, are you really going to deny them the right to love you forever? We all have issues in our lives, Vanessa, and some have it harder than you, but they are living. If you let your indifference interfere with your happiness and theirs, then you are no better than that idiot who planted that bomb in Afghanistan.”
“River’s right, Vanessa,” a soft voice said. River turned and smiled at Kelly O’Brian-Meyer, Treasure Cove’s local therapist. “If you go through life thinking you can’t, you never will. Those who know they can, do. Don’t let what happened to you in Afghanistan stop you from living your life. Because if you do, then they won. You are a survivor, claim it, accept it, and live.”
“She’s right, honey,” Macie said, walking over. “The only person who can stop you from having everything you want, is you.”
“You see?” River smiled. “I’m not the only one who believes that you can have it all. Now what are you going to do about it?”
Chapter Six
“You low-down stupid piece of shit. I ought to kick your ass from here to the fucking moon, just for being an idiot. If I ever catch you around here again, I will beat you within an inch of your life. Now get the fuck off this site and don’t ever come back!” River heard her sister Delta shouting and sighed. “Whelp, there goes another employee.”
“Delta, you can’t talk to the workers that way,” Lake said softly. “They could sue us or something.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck. That moron was too busy picking his nose to notice that he was standing in a puddle of water about to get electrocuted. Better I fire his dumb ass than have a workman’s comp claim against us, or worse, shut down because the idiot went and got himself killed.”
“You could have just told him to move. Instead, you cost me another worker,” River said, walking over to them.
“Oh boohoo,” Delta replied. “I can find you more workers. Besides, we have more pressing matters. The bricks we need to do this job are gone. I mean, there aren’t any within a five fucking state radius. I’ve called all of our distributors, and they are all sold out. Apparently some Yankee jackass has bought everything, including our second choice.”
“Delta, I need those bricks,” River said gravely. “I can’t finish the build without them. The Treasure Cove historical society was crystal clear. The library has to conform to the previous build. Without them, we’re screwed.”
“Gotcha covered, sis.” Delta grinned, and for some reason River feared what was about to come out of her sister’s mouth. “I did some digging, and found out who this skank is. Apparently he’s in the area. I got his location from Bill Williams over in Oregon. You know Bill? He helped us with the materials for Moon Goddess’s hotel. Well, he told me that the Yankee bastard buying up all of the materials is some fancied fart named Tristan Wallace Summerfield and he’s in Montana. So, I’m gonna locate this son of a bitch, put a real hurt on him, and get him to sell us the bricks we need to finish our project.”
“Tristan Summerfield? Is that the name I heard you say?” River asked.
“Yeah,” Delta exclaimed. “I spoke clear English, River. You need to get your hearing checked.”
“No, I was filtering your foul mouth and heard only half of what you said.”
“River’s right, Delta,” Lake added kindly. “Your choice in terminology is reprehensible. How our distributors grasp the linguistic obstruction is unimaginable, let alone reproachful. It makes our business look less than appropriate. You need to consider revamping your etymological skills.”
“What the fuck is she talking about?” Delta asked, looking at River.
River sighed and said, “She said you have a potty mouth, so curb it.”
“Like that’s new.” Delta grinned wickedly as she wiggled her eyebrows. River just smiled, shaking her head, as Lake huffed, “You’re useless,” before heading back toward the trailer.
“But you still love me!” Delta shouted.
When Lake was securely behind closed doors, River let out a boisterous laugh. Damn, she loved her sisters, but Delta took the cake. There wasn’t anything her big sis wouldn’t say or
do, and River loved her for it. When the laughing subsided, River sobered and said, “Del, you can’t just go up to Tristen Summerfield and start demanding things. That man is worth billions upon billions. He’s been buying up a shitload of property between here and Celestial. You know that big spread right next to the McDaniel’s place? Well, word has it, Mr. Summerfield is going to use that property as his home base. He’s going to build a big building and housing community out there for his employees.”
“I don’t give a shit if the man squats there and sings Kumbaya, he’s got the supplies we need to finish this job. It’s my job to make sure you have them, and I’ve never let you down yet, and I’m not going to start now. I will be civil to Mr. Yankee Bucks.”
“Do you even know what the word civil means?” River asked as her sister started walking away.
“Yep!” Delta shouted as she climbed into her big red dually pick-up. “It means that the fucker is going to give me what I want, or I’m going to kick his ass!”
River was exhausted after talking with Delta. Looking at her watch, she sighed. She’d lost too many hours sitting with Vanessa and then talking with her sisters to start another project. After giving the crew the rest of the day off, she let Lake know to expect some new workers whenever Delta found them, and then headed home. She was tired…too tired to care about anything anymore. That was, until her phone rang.
* * * *
The sun had started to set and Victor hadn’t found any more information regarding River. Oh, he did know her last name, but that was it. What he did learn was that the town of Celestial was bat shit crazy. If he thought the scary Goth chick at their hotel scared him, he about flipped the fuck out when a naked man wearing a white cowboy hat and nothing else walked over to him and started jabbering away about how it wasn’t legal to jaywalk in town. Of course, Victor looked everywhere except at the naked man. He just nodded, apologized, and promised he’d never do it again, then got as far away as possible. That was how he ended up back at the Best Lay Hotel, waiting for his brothers. He’d been waiting for close to three hours, and neither of them had returned. He was hungry, tired, and his butt was starting to kill him, but he was afraid if he moved, that the scary chick would make him do something. It was bad enough she kept eyeing him from time to time.
Her Dirty Doms [The Men of Treasure Cove 13] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 6