The American Soldier Collection 11: Mending Hearts (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever)

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  “Of course we do. Gunner is a Texas Ranger, and Jaxon and Geno do some work for the local law enforcement. They train the cadets in the academy,” Jeb said.

  “That’s great.”

  They all fell silent, and Jeb couldn’t help but absorb Alana’s beauty and watch her. She really was sweet. If only this situation with Gabe were different.

  “Can I ask you two something?” Alana looked at both of them and then moved farther into the living room.

  “Sure,” Gator replied.

  “How long have you guys and Gabe lived in Salvation?”

  Jeb’s heart sank a little. He almost felt jealous that she wanted to know about Gabe, yet he understood how difficult of a situation this was. He needed to put aside his attraction to her and just do the right thing.

  “We’ve been here for a little over two years. We have a large ranch about ten minutes from here,” he told her.

  “Ten minutes?” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. Her voice cracked.

  “I don’t want to put the two of you in an awkward situation. It’s just that you live with Gabe, a man I thought died while serving our country. To show up here, of all places, and bump into him, alive and fairly well at an estate sale is…well… pretty freaking crazy.”

  Jeb and Gator nodded.

  “I’m certain it’s been difficult,” Jeb told her.

  “To see an old boyfriend like that is freaky,” Gator added.

  “He was more than that. He left with the intention of us getting married and starting our lives together when he returned. He told me to wait for him, and I did.”

  Jeb swallowed hard.

  “Surely you moved on after he was reported as MIA?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Move on? No. I didn’t.”

  “Not even one guy since he left?” Gator questioned, as if she were lying.

  She immediately got on the defensive. “No, not one guy. I declined any offers. I truly thought he would return to me.”

  They were all quiet a few seconds.

  “Well, things change, Alana. You heard what he said. He doesn’t want anyone to know he’s alive. He’s changed,” Jeb told her.

  “I’ve changed too, but I still care about him. I want to know what’s wrong with him. What happened to him, and why is he shutting me out?”

  “Those are questions we can’t answer. It might be best to move on,” he told her, feeling his gut clench. He had a loyalty to Gabe, but he was also a man.

  “That’s easier said than done, Jeb.” She walked toward the door and opened it, a sure sign she was sending them on their way.

  “Thank you for delivering the furniture.”

  “You’re welcome. Good luck with it and with your new place,” Gator said as he walked out first.

  “Maybe I’ll see you at Casper’s or in town,” Jeb said, and he didn’t know why. He should just let it be.

  “Maybe. Bye,” she said, and he winked before he exited the house with her, closing the door behind them.

  “God damn, she’s beautiful,” Gator whispered through clenched teeth as Jeb started the truck and headed out of her driveway.

  He was grateful to hear that Gator was just as affected by Alana as he was.

  “This situation is fucked up. I like her, too.”

  “Hell, that’s obvious, and what’s not to like? She’s gorgeous, petite, sweet, and damn vulnerable right now.”

  “Some dick could come along and take advantage of that vulnerability. Especially with her working at Casper’s,” Gator told him.

  “I know. She needs protection.”

  “Is that what we’re calling it? The fact that we’re attracted to her, and so is Jaxon, and we don’t want some guys hurting her?” Gator asked.

  “It is what it is.”

  Gator chuckled.

  “This isn’t a smart idea. You know that, right?”

  “I don’t know anything anymore. I just know I’m tired of feeling empty inside. I’m sick of seeing Gabe looking ready to take his own life. Jaxon said that Gabe’s eyes lit up when he first saw Alana. There was something there.”

  “But it isn’t there now. Gabe is all fucked up.”

  “I think we should watch over her.”

  “I think you want to do more than that to her.”

  Jeb gripped the wheel. She did feel good in his arms, all petite and him towering over her, encasing her body. He could just imagine what she would feel like naked against his skin with his dick buried deep in her pussy. But it wasn’t right to have these feelings. She was Gabe’s. Maybe he was attracted to her because the guys were all so close. Hell, he’d give his life for any of them, and they would do the same for him. He knew that. The connection was strong, deeper than blood. But still, Alana was young, an old flame of Gabe’s. She obviously still cared for him. She kept shedding tears. He was being a dick.

  “Don’t feel like a dick. I felt it, too. Made me reconsider the whole ménage thing we once discussed,” Gator confessed, and Jeb shot a look at him, nearly going off the road from Gator’s statement. Gator was the least into commitments.

  “We’ve fucked the same woman before, Gator. What are you talking about?”

  “Pursuing this instant attraction to Alana. With Alana, it would be different. I know it would be. Besides, the others we screwed were meaningless. We were needy, so were they, and it worked out the few times we did it. I didn’t feel an inkling of the…interest I feel around Alana, and we just met her. How the fuck is that even possible?”

  Jeb shook his head. “You’re fucking older than me. How the hell am I supposed to know?”

  Gator grunted. “We’re so fucked, you know that?”

  “Yeah, I know. But like I said, it is what it is. We’ll deal with it.”

  * * * *

  Alana considered calling Marcy and Mike, Gabe’s parents, numerous times. But then Deanna talked her out of it, and they were her blood relatives, not Alana’s. She had three restless nights, and work seemed to go by too quickly. She was actually excited that Casper’s was so crowded on Friday night. But then one waitress called in sick, and they were short a bartender. The McCallisters were furious. But then Gia, Gunny, Garrett, and Wes’s wife showed up to help waitress, along with another friend, so Alana was asked to bartend.

  She was a little rusty at first, but it was so crowded that she got the hang of things very quickly.

  “Darling, you get that sexy little ass on over here and get me and my buddies another round. There’s no need to help any other customers but us tonight,” one cowboy called to her. He was feeling pretty good already and appeared to be swaying on the stool. His buddies chuckled, but the one guy kept those dark eyes glued to Alana, giving her the creeps.

  Before she could say a word, Gator appeared. He slapped the guy on the shoulder way harder than a friendly hello between men would warrant.

  “I think you’re cut off, Sawyer. That’s no way to speak to a beautiful lady,” Gator said, and the guy shot him a look.

  Gator squeezed in, knocking Sawyer nearly off the stool. Jeb and another guy joined him. Gator gave her a wink and a smile and then licked his lower lip as he took in the sight of her.

  “Bartending now, huh? Be careful, they might make you a manager,” he teased.

  “Hi, Gator. Hello, Jeb.”

  “This is Geno. You didn’t really get a chance to meet him last week.” Gator introduced them, and Geno stuck out his hand as he leaned closer to the bar.

  She locked gazes with his deep mocha-colored eyes and felt her heart begin to race. Seemed these men around here were mighty fine indeed.

  “Nice to meet you. What can I get you guys?” she asked.

  “We’re still waiting on our beers, sugar,” Sawyer said, interrupting them. “Why don’t you make those first then come on over here and deliver them to me? If ya sit on my lap, maybe you’ll get a nice tip.”

  Sawyer’s buddies laughed, but Gator got pissed off. He grabbed the guy by his colla
r and pulled him up off the stool.

  “You owe her an apology.”

  “For what? She’s the bartender. She’s going to serve me.” He smirked then ran a hand along his crotch. Again his buddies laughed, but Gator, Jeb, and Geno got angry.

  She was shocked when Gator lifted the guy by his collar and threatened him.

  “It’s time for you and your crew of shit to leave. This is a respectable place. She deserves respect and not your vulgar attitude.”

  “Fuck you, Gator,” Sawyer said, and then he pulled back and went to swing.

  Alana gasped. “Gator, it’s okay.”

  “Take him out, Gator,” someone called out.

  “Knock him on his ass,” another guy yelled.

  In a flash, Gator, Jeb, and Geno, along with the McCallisters, were tossing Sawyer and his buddies out of the bar.

  “Are you okay, Alana?” John Luke, one of Garrett’s dads, asked her as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

  She was shaking a little, worried that the guys were going to get into some kind of trouble over helping her. That guy Sawyer was just drunk. She wasn’t worried about him. She was worried about Gator, Geno, and Jeb.

  “I’m fine. I’m so sorry that happened.”

  “Sorry? It wasn’t your fault. Sometimes these guys get a little rowdy, and sometimes they even get hauled off by the police. They’re just letting off some steam. But it seems you’ve got your own security team there. Good men. They’re heroes, those three. Their whole team is,” John told her, and she wondered what he meant, but before she could ask, Gator, Geno, and Jeb returned.

  Men were shaking their hands and smiling and joking with them as they complimented their work, and Alana poured three beers from the tap and placed them down on the counter. She felt a bit strange right now. She didn’t need people thinking she was involved with these men in a romantic way. That sudden thought did something to her as she quickly breathed through the instant tightness in her chest and that feeling of anxiety.

  “It’s all good, right, darling?” Geno asked her and gave her a wink.

  “You guys didn’t need to do that. I’m sure Sawyer and his buddies were harmless,” she said, and they reached for the beers.

  “I think we’re better judges of that, Alana,” Gator said in a very hard tone.

  “What’s that supposed to mean? I can take care of myself. I don’t need some jarheads to protect me,” she snapped, and he raised one eyebrow at her as Jeb and Geno just stared at her and smirked.

  She wiped down the counter and looked away until she felt the large hand over her wrist and hand, and Gator’s eyes locked onto hers.

  “Darling, no need to get pissed. They were being assholes. Any of us would love the opportunity to teach them a lesson.”

  “Well, I could have handled that. It’s all I’m saying,” she told him, and he released her wrist and hand and gently glided a finger along her jaw.

  “He was out of line and three times your size. At least he’ll reconsider being disrespectful to you the next time,” Gator told her and then leaned back onto the stool.

  “If there is a next time, I get to throw him out on his ass,” Geno said and chuckled, and then Jeb did too, lightening up the confrontation she had with Gator.

  He sure was a big man. He displayed intimidation well.

  * * * *

  Gator was furious. He couldn’t believe how pissed off he got hearing Sawyer talk to Alana like that. She was a classy young woman who deserved respect. Even in the black V-neck T-shirt with the Casper’s logo on it and her tight blue jeans, she looked amazing. As she turned away and went toward another group of guys to take their drink orders, he watched her ass and the way she filled out those blue jeans. He caught the eyes of the other men roaming over her abundant breasts and then to her gorgeous face. It fueled his anger, and he realized he was fucking jealous.

  He took a deep breath and cursed as he turned away. He couldn’t look. He couldn’t watch more men undress her with their eyes and hear their flirty comments.

  “This is going to be a long fucking night,” Jeb stated with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

  Geno took a sip from his beer and kept his eyes on Alana. His expression was calm. How the fuck could he be so calm?

  “Just relax. We’re here and keeping an eye on things. Men are going to flirt with her. Look at her. She's fucking hot, and she smells incredible,” Geno whispered, his eyes never leaving Alana’s body.

  “Are Jaxon and Gabe coming here too? Maybe it’s not such a good idea,” Jeb told Gator.

  “Hell if I know. Gabe was in a shit-ass mood. Jaxon talked with him, or at least tried to, and got nowhere. Gabe won’t discuss his relationship with Alana and why he doesn’t even want to talk with her,” Gator told Jeb.

  “It’s all part of his recovery process. The life, the things he did and had before the war don’t exist. They were another time, another place, when he was a different man,” Geno told them, and Gator turned around to face him.

  “What?”

  “Don’t look at me like you don’t get it. We’ve all been where Gabe is. Maybe not to the extent because the rest of us haven’t sustained any permanent physical injuries, just psychological. Gabe’s got a chuck of flesh out of his leg, remnants of the shrapnel imbedded in his body, and he can’t walk without the cane. Any of you think that maybe he feels less of a man?”

  Gator ran his hand over his mouth.

  “Fuck, no. Gabe’s always been such a gung ho hard-ass fuck. He never gave up, always had the drive, the determination to overcome obstacles and not be defeated. Hell, he was top of our training group on Special Teams. I watched him complete some of those crazy obstacle courses. Hell, I watched him locate and destroy potential terrorist operatives before they could strike and kill unknowing US soldiers. The man was meant to be a soldier, a Marine.”

  “Exactly,” Geno said then glanced back down toward the end of the bar.

  “Look who’s talking to Alana now,” Jeb interrupted as he slid off his seat and moved closer to the bar.

  Gator turned to look and nearly bit the inside of his cheek.

  “Haslow Walker and his three buddies. Special Forces and so damn arrogant since they claimed the title of best team marksmen in the fall shooting competition,” Gator whispered.

  “We could take them. Easily,” Geno replied.

  “But we wouldn’t enter without Gabe. It wouldn’t be right,” Jeb added.

  Gator clenched his teeth as Haslow leaned over the bar to whisper to Alana. The place was getting louder, and it was obvious she couldn’t hear him as she leaned closer and closed her eyes. Gator watched her eyes pop open, and her face turned a nice shade of red. She shook her head and laughed.

  “I don’t think we’re serving that here,” she told him, and he chuckled and continued to try and talk with her. She listened as his buddies joined in. Jake, Vincent, and even Tito flirted with her.

  She walked away after making their drinks and headed back toward Gator and his friends. Gator locked gazes with Haslow as his and his team’s eyes watched Alana’s ass.

  As soon as Haslow’s eyes landed on Gator’s, his expression changed. He lifted his mug of beer and gave a smirk. Gator disliked that asshole. So did the others.

  “Need some refills, gentlemen?” Alana asked, and before he could reply Geno was curling his finger toward Alana, asking her to come closer.

  She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as she leaned forward, her body language different than when Haslow was close to her and whispering into her ear.

  Geno reached up and tugged on her hair, letting his hand move along the back of her neck under her hair. He said something to her, and her face instantly reddened. Then she turned slightly and locked gazes with Gator. Gator was still angry over Haslow’s flirtatious moves that he didn’t break his expression, and before he thought to give Alana a nicer expression, she began to move back.

  Her breasts looked incredible in the top sh
e wore, and he could see the blotchiness on her chest. Geno got to her.

  “Let me refill those beers for you,” Alana told Geno, who lifted the almost empty beer glass to his lips, never letting his eyes leave Alana’s.

  Gator watched Alana as she filled each new mug with cold beer from the tap. The muscles in her arms flexed, and he could see the definition in her shoulders and along her neck. She handed Geno a mug first then him and then Jeb.

  Then she moved on to serve some more drinks.

  “What the hell did you say to her?” Jeb asked Geno before Gator could.

  “Just warning her about those assholes at the end of the bar.”

  “It looked like you told her something else,” Gator replied.

  “I might have mentioned that we’re the jealous types, and that if she let any other man whisper into her ear, that you were going to toss them out on their asses, just like you did the first set of guys.”

  Gator cracked a smile. “And she didn’t tell you to fuck off?”

  Geno held his steady expression, his eyes still on Alana.

  “I think she completely understood what I was implying.”

  * * * *

  Alana was practically shaking. She was trying to act unaffected by Geno, Jeb, and Gator, but it seemed she was totally attracted to the three men, and they felt the same way. How fucking complicated was this situation? She couldn’t flirt back or accept their advances. They were Gabe’s team members. Besides that, she wasn’t over Gabe. She still loved him and thought constantly about how she could get through to him.

  But this wasn’t right. They probably flirted with her, and Geno had said what he did to make her think they cared and were interested, because really they felt obligated to watch over her. But why? Gabe had made his position clear. He wants to be dead to me.

  “Hey, beautiful, you ought to stay down here where the real men are. Come on over here and talk to us,” the guy who’d introduced himself earlier as Haslow told her.

  She raised one eyebrow and gave him the once-over.

  “I think the place is filled with real men. Maybe even a few jerks,” she replied.