The Marshalls Boxed Set (Texas Heroes: The Marshalls Books 1-3)

by Jean Brashear

  A taxi pulled up to the curb, and he had the pleasure of watching Lorie emerge before she saw him. Long, slender legs encased in black stockings led the way. His gaze slid up as she stepped out onto the curb. Short black skirt, black turtleneck, gold jewelry, all setting off the blonde, nearly shoulder-length curls. His lips curved in a smile when he noted the whimsical touch she’d added with a lime-green sweater vest. Taken together, the look spoke of a woman who understood her beauty but didn’t take it too seriously.

  Josh was one lucky SOB.

  Grant followed her out of the taxi, spotting Quinn as soon as he stepped out of the shadows. The boy shouted a greeting and came running toward him. Before Grant reached him, Quinn caught a look on Lorie’s face that he wished he could interpret. It almost looked like tenderness, directed at him.

  Only wishful thinking on his part.

  His thoughts abruptly shifted when Grant hurtled into him, grabbing hold of his legs. A joy unlike any he’d experienced swept over him. He bent and lifted Grant, tossing him up in the air. Grant giggled, and Quinn couldn’t resist pulling the boy into his chest for a hug.

  Such sweetness, the feel of a child’s arms around you. Quinn closed his eyes and soaked it in.

  “I knew you would come to save us,” Grant whispered. “I knew you’d never let me down.”

  A piercing ache spread through Quinn, a longing so strong it stole his breath. For a moment he couldn’t find the voice to answer. Instead, he wrapped Grant more tightly in his arms. Lorie touched his arm, her pale, slender hand so different in contrast to his tanned flesh. A silent exchange passed between them, a sharing too intimate for words. He tried to communicate to her his vow that nothing would happen to this precious child. He prayed that his determination would be enough to protect them both.

  Grant pulled back his head and looked into Quinn’s eyes. “Quinn?” His forehead wrinkled. “Do you like the Cowboys?”

  “The Dallas Cowboys?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “I do, too.” Grant looked sad. “We should have been in the Super Bowl.”

  “You’re telling me, pal—” Abruptly Quinn realized that Lorie was calling their names.

  “If it’s okay with you two, I’m going inside. Some of us have to work.”

  “Okay, Mom.” Unconcerned, Grant turned back to Quinn. “So what were you going to say about the Super Bowl?”

  Quinn and Lorie both laughed and turned toward the door. Quinn set Grant down to follow her inside, but before he could move, Grant’s hand stole into his grasp. Feeling more light-hearted than he had in ages, Quinn squeezed the smaller hand.

  “I was about to say that I think we’re going to go all the way this year.”

  “Yeah!” Grant held out his hand for a fist-bump.

  Quinn laughed and complied.

  Lorie walked down the hall ahead of them, her head shaking.

  But she was smiling.

  “Josh!” Grant spotted Quinn’s brother in the hallway, already made up and ready to go on the set. Lorie had shown them a place to sit and watch, then she’d excused herself to go to wardrobe and makeup.

  Josh’s face split in a welcoming grin. “What are you doing here, sport? Taking a day off?”

  “Quinn’s spending the day with me!”

  Josh’s face registered surprise at seeing Quinn behind Grant. He looked back down when the boy tugged at his sleeve.

  “Did you know that Quinn likes the Cowboys, too?” Grant skipped alongside Josh as Josh moved toward Quinn.

  “I did. Morning, bro.” Josh arched one eyebrow.

  “Mornin’.”

  Josh grinned. “Babysitting?”

  Quinn shook his head, then scanned his surrounding for Grant, who had wandered over to talk to one of the other actors. He leaned closer, voice low. “Lorie called this morning. I think something else happened last night after we took her home, but she’s trying to gloss over it. It shook her enough, though, that she wanted Grant with her today. Apparently, his condition was that she invite me to be here, too.”

  “Ouch—I’ve lost my place as his number one hero,” Josh clasped his hand over his heart.

  Quinn couldn’t wait for Josh to hear Grant’s name for him. The Super-Cowboy…he’d never live that down.

  “Josh?” A new voice intruded. They both turned. The director’s assistant peeked through the door to the set. “They’re ready for you.”

  “Okay, Lily, I’m on my way.” Turning back to Quinn, he clapped his brother on the shoulder, his expression concerned. “Are you doing okay this morning?”

  “Oh, hell, don’t molly-coddle me.”

  “I’m serious, Quinn. You know I’m here, right? Whenever you need to talk?”

  “I know. Thanks.”

  Josh turned to leave, then swiveled back. “Grant looks like he’s headed for makeup—third door down on the left. See you later. Maybe for lunch?”

  Quinn nodded. “I may take Grant over to the zoo. Or maybe the Museum of Natural History.”

  “Great day for it. Well, my public calls.” With a jaunty wave, Josh disappeared.

  Quinn followed Grant’s trail. It wasn’t too hard. He could hear the boy’s excited voice. As he got closer, he heard Lorie’s voice as well and despite his best intentions, he found himself lengthening his strides to cover the ground more swiftly.

  When he entered the room, her eyes met his in the mirror, her lips turning up and her eyes warming. Grant stood beside her chair, chattering a mile a minute. She quickly turned her attention back to her son. The hairdresser competed for space around her, but he showed remarkable restraint with the little boy who stood very much in the way.

  Quinn’s gaze returned to Lorie. It seemed a shame to cover that porcelain skin. Her dark eyebrows and thick lashes needed no artificial enhancement. He knew that the camera required makeup, but in her case, he wondered if they weren’t gilding the lily.

  The hairdresser brushed her curls into a tight French twist which emphasized her delicate bone structure and made those blue eyes even more arresting. The woman emerging from the treatments seemed sleeker, more sophisticated—more like he’d expected her to be when they’d first met. She looked every inch the star that she was.

  Quinn wanted to wipe away all the makeup and pull the pins from her hair. He didn’t know this woman, the star.

  He wanted the soft, tender creature he’d found underneath.

  But he couldn’t have either one. He straightened abruptly from the wall where he’d been leaning.

  Grant spotted him. “Quinn! Mom, Quinn and I think the Cowboys are going to win the Super Bowl this year.”

  Lorie caught Quinn’s gaze in the mirror. “Your stock keeps climbing. What do you do for an encore?” She smiled, but beneath her breezy tone, he heard the distress.

  Quinn wished they were alone so he could press her for answers about last night’s events, but he didn’t know the other people in this room. Their talk would have to wait for privacy.

  The bustle around her ceased, and the styling cape was removed. Lorie arose from the chair and turned to face him.

  He’d once kicked by a horse, and it had felt a little like this.

  The short kimono barely covered her legs halfway down. When she moved, he swore he saw the tops of stockings. Stockings, for God’s sake. That meant a garter belt.

  Oh, hell. He gulped and turned, almost hitting the wall in his haste to leave the room. “Come on, Grant,” he threw over his shoulder. “Let’s go see what Josh is doing.”

  Lorie entered the studio a few minutes later clad in a short, beaded red cocktail dress, paste diamonds at her ears and throat. She immediately sought out Grant’s location. And okay, she admitted to herself, she wanted to see Quinn, too.

  She could barely repress a smile of satisfaction when she found them. Grant sat quietly at Quinn’s side, making no fuss at all. Quinn was staring at her, the growing heat in his stare melting right through all her defenses. She shivered slightly. No man ha
d ever stirred her up as Quinn did.

  Her conscience protested. She’d loved Tom. How could she be so attracted to Quinn?

  Tom was dead.

  Quinn was very, very alive.

  “Hey, what’s a pretty girl like you doing in a joint like this?”

  She jolted at Josh’s voice and faced him, smiling broadly. He looked quite handsome in the dark suit he wore for the party scene coming up. She reached up to straighten his tie, then brushed back an errant lock.

  “Quinn and Grant seem to be surviving nicely over there,” he remarked casually.

  She clamped a lid on the heat that spread through her at the mention of Quinn’s name.

  She wasn’t too sure she fooled Josh.

  “He’s a good man, Lorie.” His gaze intensified. “A good man who’s been handed some tough assignments in his life. Don’t be misled if he acts like a cop sometimes. He has his reasons for being worried.”

  She looked over at Quinn, thinking that this morning he didn’t seem so remote or detached. Seeing him with Grant showed a side of the man she would never have expected, but then, he was turning out to have all sorts of surprising facets.

  “Quinn is concerned that you’re not taking this seriously enough, Lorie.”

  “Believe me, I do.” And I’m terrified by what it could mean.

  “Then you need to tell us what happened last night. Quinn knows you’re hiding something. That’s what Clarissa did. She never told Quinn about the problems she was having with the guy who murdered her.”

  “I’m not hiding—” Her protest stilled when she realized what he’d said. Her eyes grew moist, understanding that within this story lay the seeds of the pain she’d seen in Quinn’s eyes. “Oh, God, Josh. Was he there?”

  Josh nodded. “She called him for help, but he couldn’t get there soon enough to save her. But instead of blaming her for not filling him in sooner, he blames himself. He’s never forgiven himself for failing her.”

  Pieces fell into place. No wonder he was so savage in his determination to know every detail. No wonder he insisted that she give Colello a chance.

  “Places, people,” the director’s voice rang out.

  Lorie straightened and took a deep breath to push back the disturbing present, then walked to the stage with Josh to bring fantasy to life.

  “Hey, Quinn?” Grant’s voice sliced into Quinn’s mental struggle.

  “Hmm?” He looked over at the boy, grateful for respite from longing for a woman he couldn’t have.

  “How come your hair’s so long?”

  Quinn smiled at the random paths Grant’s mind traversed at lightning speed. “Oh, I don’t know. I had it long back when I worked undercover, and I guess I just got used to it.”

  Grant’s fingers moved over Quinn’s hair. “What’s undercover?” he asked, his forehead wrinkling.

  “It’s when you’re trying to catch the bad guys by looking like one of them. You know, wearing a disguise.”

  This clearly disturbed Grant. “But you don’t look like a bad guy,” he protested. Then a thought seemed to strike him. “You mean you’re a policeman? Wow!”

  “Used to be,” Quinn corrected. “I’m not anymore.”

  “So what are you now?” Grant wanted to know, in the innocent way children have of asking pithy questions.

  I wish I knew. “Well, I live at the edge of a canyon in Texas now. Sometimes I guide hunting parties, and sometimes I lead rock-climbing expeditions. I also raise horses.”

  “Wow! Do you ride your horse a lot?”

  “Quiet on the set!”

  Grant leaned over and whispered in his ear. “We have to be real quiet, or they’ll make us leave.”

  He nodded his understanding and settled back to watch.

  Lorie’s entrance on the set grabbed his attention completely. God, she was a knockout in that short red dress, shimmering and sparkling under the lights. He tried once again to push away the attraction. He forced himself to remember her straightening Josh’s tie and brushing back the lock of his hair.

  The best thing he could do was head home as soon as possible.

  Grant snuggled into his side. As Quinn wrapped one arm around the boy, he knew going home was not an option yet. He’d just have to suffer through the attraction until it waned. No way he could leave this child—or the child’s mother—to face the threat alone.

  They watched the action for over two hours, as scene after scene unfolded, talking little between takes. Quinn hadn’t had the opportunity to watch Josh perform in a long time, and his brother’s skill impressed him. All too often, though, his focus turned to Lorie.

  Finally the director called the lunch break, and Grant leapt up to head for his mother. Quinn hung back to let Grant be with Lorie, reluctant to spend any more time near her than was necessary.

  Josh, who had left the set earlier, returned, looking for Quinn. Beside him walked one of the younger women on the show. As they neared, Josh placed his arm around the brunette beauty’s waist, whispering something in her ear that brought a blush.

  Quinn frowned. What the hell was Josh doing, flirting with this one right under Lorie’s nose? He reminded himself that he wasn’t Josh’s keeper. Josh could make his own decisions, even if they were damnably stupid.

  “Hey, Quinn, meet Juliette. Juliette Sanders, this is my brother.”

  The young woman fluttered her eyelashes. “Ooh, Josh, you never told me you had a cowboy for a brother,” she said, her dimple appearing.

  “Ms. Sanders.” Quinn nodded.

  “Goodness, are all the men in Texas as gorgeous as you two?” She turned her body into Josh’s, squeezing her breasts against him. Quinn couldn’t help but notice them all but spilling over the bodice of her dress.

  “Nope. Just me and Quinn,” Josh teased. He leaned closer, his lips nearing her cheek, “That’s why I had to come to New York. Texas is only big enough for one of us.” He placed a quick kiss, then broke into a grin.

  She giggled, letting her hand roam over Josh’s chest. She turned back toward Quinn. “Would you like to join us for lunch?”

  Quinn leveled a look on his brother that should have singed his hide.

  Josh looked confused.

  “No, thanks. I think I’ll check on Grant.” Quinn turned on his heel and walked away, his fists clenched. Stardom had changed his little brother.

  As he stalked down the hall toward Lorie’s dressing room, he heard Grant giggle, followed by Lorie’s husky laugh. He paused outside her door and leaned against the wall, struggling with unwelcome emotions.

  What in the hell could Josh be thinking?

  If she were his, no way would anyone else catch his eye. Vowing to have it out with Josh at the first opportunity, Quinn knocked on the door.

  It wasn’t quite closed. When he heard Lorie call, “Come on in!” the uproar within him found an outlet. “Why the hell don’t you lock your door and check first to see who it is?”

  Her eyes widened. “Excuse me?” She rose from her chair, regal even in a simple shift. She walked right past him. “Come on, Grant, let’s go eat.”

  Quinn wished, not for the first time, that they’d met under different circumstances. Wished, too, that it were possible to explain why he’d been so abrupt, but then he’d have to expose Josh’s callous behavior and hurt her.

  Grant hung back, forehead wrinkled. “Come on, Quinn. You, me, and Mom can sit together.”

  “You and your mom go ahead. I’ll catch up later.”

  Grant looked between the two of them, clearly picking up on the tension. “I’ll save you a place.” He followed Lorie.

  Quinn stayed behind, breathing in her perfume, reminding himself what mattered was her survival and that of the boy. He needed to stop reacting to her in inappropriate ways and concentrate on making sure that she and Grant were safe.

  Period. The end.

  He left her dressing room and found his way to the catering area. Scanning the room, he spotted Josh with Juliette on
one side and a beautiful redhead on the other, both of them hanging on Josh’s every word. Quinn was hard-pressed not to confront his brother right then and there.

  Grant and Lorie moved in Josh’s direction. Quinn groaned inwardly, despising his brother for the pain he would cause her. As she walked by their table, she flashed Josh a smile and stopped to visit, looking for all the world as though she had no worries. Quinn’s respect for her poise increased as rapidly as his brother’s stock fell. When she waved goodbye to Josh and turned to find a seat, Quinn moved toward the line to order his lunch.

  Josh called out to him. Quinn shot him a furious glance that had Josh lifting his eyebrows.

  Grant called his name. “Quinn! Over here!”

  Lorie’s expression was cool and distant.

  Quinn cleared his throat as he sat down. “Look, I didn’t mean to—oh, hell.”

  Grant leaned toward him. “Mom puts me in timeout if I say words like that, Quinn.” His eyes cut nervously toward his mother as he whispered.

  The corners of her mouth twitched. His own lips curved as he bent to Grant and stage-whispered back. “She’s pretty mean, huh? Wanna run away with me and join the circus?”

  Grant was clearly torn. “Would your horse go with us?”

  All tension dissipated as Lorie and Quinn burst out laughing.

  “I guess so. He gets pretty mad if I’m gone too long.”

  Mischief danced in Lorie’s eyes. “So you’re the kind of cowboy who’s in love with his horse?”

  “Oh, yeah. I’ve even been known to kiss him when we’ve been apart a long time.” When she giggled, he thought he’d be willing to forego a great deal of dignity to make her laugh like that more often.

  A tug on his sleeve tore his attention away. “Quinn?”

  Quinn heard the worry in Grant’s tone. “Yes?”

  “Do I have to… uh, can we take Mom with us? She’s been awful sad, and I couldn’t leave her alone.”

  Quinn found it hard to speak. He noticed Lorie’s eyes shimmering with tears. They exchanged a glance full of meanings he hungered to explore. He squeezed Grant’s hand. “Then maybe it would be better to stay here and take care of her.”