Maizy the Bear Charmer [Divine Creek Ranch 16] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Heather Rainier

  Lucy snorted and nodded.

  “Anyway, I cried like a big baby and hugged and thanked him, and told him he was the most considerate man ever. After that, he got pretty good at watching out for that time of the month and he’d replace the bottle when he saw that I was getting low, without saying a single word about it. So I always had them when I needed them. I thought it was one of the sweetest things he did for me.”

  “Crap,” Lucy muttered, “now I understand why he looked at me like a lunatic when I saw what was in the bag and started cussing at him.” She laughed again and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “I’m never yelling at him ever, ever again.”

  “Riiiight,” Jayne said as she reached for the bottle of tequila and Grace held it out of her reach. “I’m gonna remind you of that the next time he pisses you off.”

  They all laughed and Lucy said, “Who am I kidding? I love both of those men so much.”

  “It’s probably a good thing y’all got that worked out before he and Patrick had a chance to get nose deep in nekkid titties this evening,” Charity said with a snicker.

  Camilla giggled and said, “Don’t worry about that, Lucy. I’ve still got friends at the Dollhouse. Rachel and I have already seen to his and Patrick’s entertainment.”

  Rachel nodded confidently. “Damn straight. They’re getting the ‘Cami and Charlotta Special.’” She leaned forward and high-fived with Charity.

  “What’s that?” Maizy asked as she passed the tequila bottle without pouring another shot.

  Charity provided the answer. “Y’all may not know this but our Rachel here is a bit on the possessive side. She wanted Eli to have fun at his bachelor party but didn’t want anyone touching him. Well,” she said with a shrug. “You can imagine how hard that was going to be when he was surrounded by strippers. I went with the guys to the Dollhouse, and I could see that Eli wasn’t really getting into the whole stripper thing, even though they tried. Rachel and I got on the phone and I acted on his behalf and hired Camilla, known then by her stage name, Cami, and her best friend, Charlotta, to entertain Eli for the evening.”

  Several of the girls got quiet when Charity said that and she was quick to continue. “I filled Camilla and Charlotta in on the problem and asked them to make sure he had a good time but gave them boundaries they couldn’t cross. They took good care of him. Over at Rachel’s party, Adam did the same for her. As a matter of fact, Camilla’s boyfriend at the time, Brandon, and one of his friends, Jacob, were the ones who entertained her. Everyone had a good time.”

  Emily Anne leaned forward with wide eyes and looked from Rachel to Camilla and then back at Rachel. “And you two are friends? You didn’t want to hate her for stripping for your man?”

  Rachel giggled. “No, she and Charlotta abided by the boundaries Charity set that night to not touch his hair or his groin. I contacted her afterward for pole dancing lessons and Grace and I talked her into giving striptease lessons. Lemme tell you, those paid off. I trusted Eli completely, and I trusted Charity to handle it for me.”

  Camilla shrugged and said, “It wasn’t just Eli I was stripping for, girls. A bunch of the guys saw me that night. They were all perfect gentlemen and have been ever since.”

  Dr. Emma Rivers raised her shot glass and said, “Camilla even gave me poise lessons so I could walk in high heels without busting my ass.”

  Juliana Peterson chuckled and leaned over to take the tequila away from Emma and said, “I love the striptease lessons. Firmed up my ass a little and Ash is really diggin’ the striptease.”

  Maizy still had all sorts of conflicting thoughts about Camilla, even though she knew that she was happily married to two great men and had two precious sons at home. Cody, Heath, and Spencer had worked with her, had seen her strip nightly, and had been in love with her.

  She supposed it didn’t really matter how she felt, since her relationship with the bears was a thing of the past. She’d refused to get her hopes up the day before, when she’d run into Heath outside Lucy’s place of business. She hadn’t heard from them that night. The emptiness in her heart had been painful and she’d been unable to sleep.

  Several of the girls shifted seats in the back of the limo and Camilla settled next to Maizy and leaned close.

  “How are you doing, Maizy?”

  All the girls had found out about the breakup in the last few weeks and they’d been casting her sympathetic glances all evening. She felt like the lone wallflower in the group. Every other woman there was married or involved in a couple or a ménage, even Chloe and Emily Anne. She’d struggled to not feel sorry for herself, surrounded by so many happy women. Even Lucy, with her comic woes with Beck, was obviously happy with him and Patrick. She wouldn’t wish her any less, she just wished that it’d had been possible for her to find happiness with her bears, too.

  “Hon?” Camilla murmured, patting her arm.

  “Sorry. I’m…I’m fine.”

  “Heath and the guys were so sure they’d find you. That kind of faith is rewarded. At least that’s what I believe. I don’t think they’ve given up on you.”

  “Heath told me that when I ran into him yesterday.”

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure.” The wound is already ripped open anyway.

  “What would you do if for some reason you couldn’t teach at Divine Elementary?”

  Maizy didn’t hesitate in replying. “I’d find another way to teach or to help young children learn to read and write.”

  “What will you do if the bears are gone from your life for good?”

  The pain took Maizy by surprise and her eyes teared up. “I would miss them for the rest of my life.”

  Camilla winked and said, “I don’t think you’ve given up either, Maizy. Seems pretty simple to me.”

  If she had truly given up, the pain wouldn’t have caught her by surprise like that. She turned to Camilla and said, “Thank you.” She smiled a real smile for the first time in weeks.

  “The guys invited the bears to come along with them to the Dollhouse tonight,” Camilla said nonchalantly. When Maizy growled, Camilla giggled. “I heard that. You’re so perfect for them. Rachel isn’t the only possessive one in this group. Can I ask you about something unrelated?”

  “Sure.”

  “I was working the night of the Halloween party at the Dancing Pony last year and I got to see you dance firsthand. The place was so crowded I couldn’t see you unless I stood on the bar but I could see you’ve got a real talent for belly dancing. I wondered if you’d come to one of the striptease classes at the Twisted Bull sometime, to teach a few techniques and give the ladies some pointers.”

  She recalled Lucy mentioning something about that a few weeks back. “I think I’d like that.”

  “I know you’re really busy at the moment with Lucy’s wedding coming up, and with all the other upheaval you probably need some time. How about I get in touch with you later and we can look at the calendar?”

  “Is there any way it could be a private class? I’m a little concerned since I’m a kindergarten teacher. Members of the school board would probably be put out with me. Maybe I could do that during the summer?”

  “Of course. And Cody, Heath, and Spencer always work the front during our classes, to keep people who shouldn’t be there from bothering us. I could make an announcement that there was going to be a special, private class, for established members only if that would help you.”

  “That would be perfect. Cody, Heath, and Spencer would be there?” The thought made her heart ache. She wished she’d been able to dance for them, really belly dance, clad in her costume, before…No. The breakup would’ve been even more painful.

  Camilla nodded. “For the protection of the group, yes. Since that front entry stays unlocked for the Steakhouse patrons. But don’t worry, they don’t sit down to watch the classes. They are very dedicated to their jobs. We can talk more about it later.”

  Maizy nodded, feeling torn. Part of h
er was dying to get back to dancing but her heart still ached when she thought of it, because she would forever associate belly dancing with how she’d found the men she’d loved…and lost.

  The party arrived at the Booty Parlor and the ladies climbed out of the stretch limo. Thanks to Camilla’s friendship with the owner and several of the dancers, they had the best tables in the club and the night began without a hitch and with quite a few laughs at Lucy’s expense.

  The girls were all having a good time when one of the dancers approached Camilla. Maizy watched as Camilla squealed and gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. He looked genuinely happy to see her. After a few words she pulled out her cell phone and evidently thumbed through her pictures to show him a picture of her sons, and he smiled and hugged her again. He was a beautiful man.

  Lucy nudged her and discreetly pointed at him while he continued chatting with Camilla and said, “Is that my stripper? Tell me that’s my stripper, Maizy. I want that to be my stripper. Would you look at those legs? Oh my gawd, look at his ass. I want to bite him.” Lucy clenched her hands as though she’d like to be squeezing his buns in them.

  Maizy laughed until she had tears in her eyes. Lucy’s enthusiasm lifted her spirits and she let herself be taken over by the lusty fun of the moment. No, her situation wasn’t perfect, but she was out with friends who cared about her. She chose to believe Camilla knew what she was talking about. It’d all work out.

  They were busy watching the floor dancers when Camilla’s friend waded into the group in his black spandex bikini underwear and announced, “Hello, ladies! I’m Jacob! I heard there’s a bride-to-be among you tonight! Where is she?” He gleefully rubbed his hands together.

  Lucy practically erupted from her seat. “Me! Me! Me! She’s me! All me!”

  The girls burst into laughter at her eagerness and the dancer laughed with them and drew her out and led her up to the stage. The intro to Maroon 5’s “Harder To Breathe” began and he seated her in a straight-back chair on the stage.

  Lucy played along with him as he danced for her, responding to his gyrations with moves of her own. Rather than just sitting there, she engaged with him until he laughed along with her and pulled her out of the chair to groove with him, allowing her to make use of Camilla’s striptease lessons.

  Lucy bit her lip when Jacob took her hands and put them on his hips and ripped off his black spandex undies to reveal a white G-string that glowed against his deeply tanned skin. He did indeed have a certifiably gorgeous ass.

  Lucy called out to the girls, “I’m ordering some of those undies for Patrick and Beck!”

  Maizy was horrified at the mental image of her brother dressed—and undressed—like that. Camilla burst into laughter when she told her as much.

  Camilla cheered along with the other girls until the song ended and Jacob returned Lucy to the group. To Camilla, he said, “One of your students, I presume?”

  Camilla giggled and nodded. “Almost all of these ladies are. They’ll give you and the guys a run for your money tonight if you let them.”

  “How are the bears doing? I’m surprised that they aren’t here guarding you tonight.”

  Camilla grinned at Maizy and pulled her close. “Ben and Quinten wanted the bears to come with us but I threatened them with bodily harm if they tried it. They’re at the grooms’ bachelor party tonight at the other club. But this is their girlfriend, Maizy. You remember hearing them talk about their belly dancer, right?”

  Jacob’s eyes went round and he said, “Hell, yeah! This is her?” When Camilla nodded, he turned to her and gave her a friendly smile and reached out to take her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Maizy. I’m glad they found you.”

  “Uh…” she said, suddenly at a loss for words. She couldn’t believe Camilla had said that. If it got back to the guys…Damn it. “I’m…happy to meet you too, Jacob.”

  He gave Camilla a kiss on the top of her head and then winked cheekily at Maizy and kissed her temple before moving through the group and paying attention to all of the girls. Some of the women were shy, barely able to even look at him while others were downright brazen and got up out of their chairs to grind with him. All of it was in good fun.

  She wasn’t with the men she wanted, but she was with her friends, and tonight she could smile for a change. It felt good. Tomorrow was soon enough to dwell on what Camilla had told her. Was she willing to give up one dream if it meant gaining the men she loved?

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Sunday morning, Spencer pulled up in his truck and parked next to Gertrude the VW Bug in the short row of parking spaces near the entrance to the Memorial Rose Garden. He knew Maizy might be surprised to see him, given that his promise to come today had been made before they’d broken up. If he hadn’t showed, he doubted she’d hold it against him.

  He agreed with Heath’s assertion that things were far from over. Regardless of the eventual outcome, he didn’t want what had been growing between them to end. Cody had felt justified, not wanting her to sacrifice a career she’d worked for years to achieve, but Cody could be wrong sometimes. He had acted without giving her a choice, to protect her.

  Spencer saw movement down the walkway which was lined with rosebushes and led down to the Divine Creek. After cutting the ignition, he jumped down from the big truck, opened his tailgate, and removed his garden tool bucket. The afternoon heat and humidity hung in the air, which was sweet with the scent of roses. He grinned as he passed under the gigantic yellow Lady Banks rose that was trained on to the wrought iron arched entry and headed in the direction of the workers.

  His last foster mother, Jean Goodman, had taught him what he knew about plants and landscaping, and the first antique rosebush she’d helped him grow from a cutting had been a yellow Lady Banks. It was now dominating the side of her little house on the south side of San Antonio.

  “Are you here to volunteer, sir?” a softly accented voice asked.

  He put down his bucket as he turned to greet the pretty dark-skinned woman who had spoken to him. She smiled at him as he put his hand out to shake hers and he said, “Yes, I’d like to help. Maizy Owen invited me to come today. I’m Spencer Ketchum.”

  The woman smiled. “Ah, Spencer. I think I’ve heard your name before. I’m Lola. Maizy is at the end of this walkway, working in the original rose beds near the creek.” She pointed down the sloping walkway. “Today we’re just doing light maintenance on the bushes. She can show you where to get started.”

  He thanked her, grabbed his tool bucket, and followed the path. He nodded at a couple of women who gave him big-eyed looks and a wide berth as he passed them. He noticed the lovingly tended rosebushes and wondered at the cracked walkway and the age-stained concrete retaining wall.

  He turned in a circle and could envision how it could look and started figuring the cost of concrete and labor hours in his head.

  He found Maizy at the end of the walkway, kneeling in front of a Souvenir rosebush. Lifting a hand to touch a bloom, she looked serene as she leaned forward to catch its scent. But her appreciative smile faded as she moved on and clipped and dropped a deadhead in her bucket and then kept clipping spent blooms. His heart lurched at the shift in her demeanor.

  She’d pulled her silky black hair off of her shoulders with a clip and errant curls brushed her temples and forehead as she moved. Her faded jeans and T-shirt framed her beautiful shape and he enjoyed the view as she rose to her knees, sticking her heart-shaped tush in the air, and crawled to the next bush and kept working. He noticed then that she had earbuds in her ears.

  Not wanting to startle her, he approached and set his bucket within her line of sight. A brief smiled flicked across her lips until she looked over and saw his work boots. Her eyebrows furrowed for a second as she looked up.

  He knelt down beside her, grabbed his pruners, pointed at the rosebush in front of him, and said, “I wonder how old these rosebushes are.”

  She pulled the earbuds from her ears. “What?
”

  “I said I wonder how old these rosebushes are.”

  She tilted her head and looked at him. “You’re here.”

  He grinned as he braced his hands on his knees. “I am.”

  “Heath said he wasn’t giving up. But then I didn’t hear from him. Does Cody know you’re here?” Her nose scrunched the tiniest bit as she spoke the last words and her brown eyes flared.

  That stung a little. “No. Cody doesn’t dictate my actions. He did what he thought was best for you. We all did.”

  Maizy snipped a deadhead and dropped it in the bucket. “I wish he’d consulted with me, that all of you had, before he made that choice.”

  “We didn’t want you to be hurt, baby.”

  Maizy grabbed her bucket and moved to the next bush in the row on his other side and kept working. “It didn’t work. This has been a hundred times worse than when Chaz broke up with me. And then Heath tells me he’s not giving up, which gets my hopes up, but then I don’t hear from any of you so I’m thinking I’m an idiot for getting my hopes up. And here you are, and…I’m not your baby.” She smacked his biceps with her fist and then grimaced and cradled her hand. “Why didn’t you say something, Spencer?”

  Fresh guilt swamped him as he thought of how many times he’d asked himself that question. He stopped working and tried to take her hand to check it for injury but she fought him until he grabbed her wrists so she’d look at him. “They’d shred you to pieces, baby. That was all I could think when we realized that it wasn’t going to end well for you at the school.”

  “Do you remember that book you gave me? Shakespeare’s Sonnets.”

  “Of course.” The way she looked up at him with reddened eyes made his heart ache.

  “‘Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove: O no! It is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken.’ That’s how I felt about what we had, Spencer. That was a choice I should’ve been allowed to make for myself. I’m not a child.”