DuBois, Edith - Rugged Glimpse [Rugged Savage Valley, Colorado 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)
Page 17
“Thanks,” Elena said warmly, feeling suddenly emotional.
“Excuse me.” A small voice sounded from behind, and Elena noticed the oddest look cross Thomas’s features before she turned to see who had spoken. A woman, taller than herself, with dark brown, almost black, hair pulled into a ponytail approached them tentatively. “Is this the Ashley residence?” She glanced at the magnificent structure tucked into the landscape with skepticism. “I think my sister and I may have gotten lost.”
“Well, if it’s the Ashley residence you’re looking for, then I am happy to inform you that you have been met with success. This is, indeed, the Ashley residence. Thomas Ashley, at your service.” He held out his hand to the woman.
“Michelle Andrews,” she said shyly, holding her hand to him, but glancing nervously around at all the people.
“Oh.” Thomas snapped his fingers. “You’re with Agnes Bird! You’re her niece. Yes, she told me you were in town. Is your sister here, too? Is she going to play for us?”
Elena saw sadness cross Michelle’s features, but she couldn’t figure out what Thomas said that could have caused her features to fall so suddenly. Then, behind Michelle, she saw another woman approaching them. Or tearing a dust-raising path toward them was more like it. She wore the shortest pair of cut-off shorts, a button-up dark blue plaid shirt studded with little jewels that glittered in the sunlight, and a pair of well-worn white cowboy boots. She stopped in her tracks, smashed one hand onto her hip, and jutted her hip out in annoyance.
“Michelle,” she barked at the woman in front of Elena, flicking a long, dark braid over her shoulder. “What the hell are you doing? I can’t carry all this crap by myself. Get over here.”
Michelle hesitated for a moment. “I’d better go help her. Umm…where do you want us to…?”
“Now, Michelle,” the bossy woman called out but then caught sight of the three attractive men at hand. “Oh, hello,” she suddenly purred. “Say, could one of you strapping fellas come give me a hand with all this gear?”
Elena suppressed a giggle when Caleb and Joseph’s eyebrows both shot up at the same time. “Here let me take that for you. I’ll find us a nice shady spot,” Caleb said, snatching her plate from her hand.
“Umm…” Joseph said, looking around. “Tea!” He turned on his heel and quickly headed back toward the food.
Elena rolled her eyes. “It was nice to meet you, Dr. Ashley.”
“Please call me Thomas.”
“I will. Thank you, and I’ll see you both around.” She offered a warm smile to the timid Michelle. The woman nodded but then scurried off to her sassy sister who kept casting coy glances at Thomas over her shoulder. Despite the woman’s blatant flirtation, Elena could have sworn that something had sparked in Thomas the moment he’d laid eyes on Michelle. With a mental shrug, she headed toward Caleb, who had found an empty picnic table for them.
Elena sat down on the old wood, placing a kiss on Caleb’s cheek as she did so. His cheek was all she could get to as he had already tucked in to his food. “Couldn’t even wait for your brother,” she said, clucking. Her words lacked true conviction, however, because she couldn’t resist spearing a big bite of brisket, dipping it into the Savage Valley Homemade Honey-BBQ sauce, and then placing that delectable bite right in her mouth.
“Mmm,” she said, grabbing the edge of the table and leaning back in exaggerated ecstasy. “So good,” she crooned. “I want to cram all of this straight down my gullet.”
Caleb chuckled as she bounced like a child in her seat.
“What is this?” Joseph said from behind her, sitting across from the two of them. “Couldn’t even wait half a minute for me. I see just how I rate with you two.”
“Like two hound dogs waitin’ on another,” Caleb said, grinning at his older brother.
Elena laughed. “I’ve not heard that one yet. That’s good.”
“Really? Grandma Kat taught us that one. She had a whole slew of odd expressions. How about ‘happy as a monkey on a mile of grapevine?’” Joseph asked. “That was Grandma Kat’s favorite one. She used to always mutter that one to us.”
“You know, I think I heard Jeremiah say that actually. Yes, I did, at Savage Convenience. Some little toddler had gotten into the chocolate. Had it all over his face and even up his nose.” Elena laughed at the memory, happily cramming in more food. “Another one I like,” she said after swallowing, “is ‘heavens to hamburgers.’ Rita always says that at Savage Hunger when one of the cooks doesn’t get an order right or when she’s arguing with Phil. ‘Heavens to hamburgers, Phil, I don’t care if this is supposed to be served with bleu cheese. The customer doesn’t want the damn bleu cheese, so give me the Pope special sans bleu cheese.’”
“You sound just like her,” Joseph said, amazed.
“She does.”
Joseph’s smile slowly dimmed from his face.
“What is it?” she asked, and Caleb took her hand.
“Elena,” Caleb said softly. “You belong here.”
She looked between her two men, took a deep breath of the painfully fresh forest air, and glanced around at all the people gathered at the barbecue. Most of them were friends. She saw the three old geezers—Larry and Bobby Nichols and Jim Bob Pritchett—arguing with Agnes Bird and her two friends, Susan Pope, who owned Savage Hunger, and Rita Copely from the Woodland Den, which Elena had moved out of about two weeks prior.
Even though she hadn’t met all of them yet, she could easily pick out the bear-shifters. The Greenwoods caught her looking and gave her a few friendly waves. She noticed that Thomas had been joined by his brothers in helping the two young, recently-arrived ladies set up an amp and a mic for some music. There were a few strangers, but that number got smaller every day.
She grinned at her two sexy men. “I do, don’t I? I belong here.” She said it with conviction because she felt it, deep in her bones. “I belong here,” she said again, “and I belong with you.”
Holding both of their hands in hers, she smiled. They smiled back.
“Let’s get married, little darlin’.”
“And have lots of kids.”
Elena squeezed their hands, gazing into their deep black eyes, her grin growing wider. “Yes. Let’s.”
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Although she grew up in small-town Texas, Edith has lived and traveled in both France and the UK. She currently resides in Austin, Texas but wouldn’t mind a gallivant or two across the Australian Outback, the Highlands of Scotland, or any other foreign land that happens to interest her.
She’s been writing since she was eight or nine, but she never thought about writing as a career until she handed in her first short story to her high school English teacher. She had so much fun writing it and spending time with her characters and actually finishing it that she started another, and she hasn’t stopped since. Edith enjoys writing in all sorts of genres, including song-writing and script-writing, but no matter what, love is always at the center of her stories.
Edith’s idea of passing a perfect hour would be to cuddle up with her blind miniature Schnauzer, Gretchen, next to the window with one of her favorite books, a big ol’ mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon in her hand, and Patsy Cline softly crooning from her record player in the background. A big, hunky man feeding her orange slices would be nice, too.
You can e-mail Edith at edithduboisauthor@gmail.com or find her on Twitter and Tumblr with EdithDWrites.
Also by Edith DuBois
Ménage Everlasting: The Male Order, Texas Collection:
A Bride for Two Babes
Ménage Everlasting: The Male Order, Texas Collection:
A Bride for Two Renegades
Available at
BOOKSTRAND.COM
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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