by Vivian Arend
“And me?” Kate glared at her son.
Trevor didn’t seem to know when to stop. “You’re my sister and mom. You’re not girls.”
Laughter rang from behind them from where Randy was reclining in his chair. “You’re digging yourself a deep, deep hole, son, and no one in this room is going to throw you a rope to save yourself if you keep it up.”
“Hey, I was just pointing out Lee needs to find himself a lady friend. It sure improved Steve’s mood.” Trevor didn’t have time to get out of the way before a spoonful of peas struck him straight on in the face. He blinked in surprise, his mouth opening in shock as he stared at his mother. “What was that for?”
Kate let him have it. “Number one, looks to me like you also don’t have a lady friend, probably because there’s no one willing to put up with your shenanigans full time. Number two, I’m not just your mother, I’m the one who’s cutting the cake for dessert, and if you don’t mind your manners, you’ll find yourself eating the tiniest piece I can cut.”
For once Trevor didn’t open his mouth and continue chatting himself into more trouble. Steve reached under the table and caught Melody’s fingers in his, her low laughter triggering his own.
“Actually, I think Trevor’s the only one in the room without a lady friend,” Anna said sweetly as she helped gather the plates.
“What?” Trevor glanced at Lee. “What’s she talking about?”
Lee and his sister exchanged glances for a moment before his youngest brother broke eye contact, shuffling to his feet and picking up empty dishes. “Just because I like someone doesn’t mean everything is going to go my way.”
“Holy cow, Anna is right? You’re sweet on someone?” Steve demanded.
He was given another one of Lee’s patented younger-brother looks. The one that said “my, aren’t you stupid” and “don’t make me explain this all over again” at the same time.
“Drop it. It’s nothing.”
The temptation to keep poking was there, but so was the warning tug on his fingers from the amazing woman sitting beside him. One look into her eyes, and Steve promptly forgot about tormenting his youngest brother. The cool blue depths were so full of happiness he couldn’t bear to do anything to upset her.
Instead he turned to his troublemaking middle sibling. “Some of your mail delivered to my house by accident,” he announced.
“Yeah?” Trevor paused in the middle of pouring another drink.
“Your subscription with FarmersOnly.com is up for renewal, and they suggested you use a better picture this time. Seems the one you used last time, they weren’t sure if it was you or one of the cows…”
Lee and Mitch were the first to chuckle, his father seconds behind them. All the women rolled their eyes, but Steve’s point had been made as his brother offered him a glare of doom.
It was far more fun to torment Trevor than Lee anyway.
Chapter Sixteen
“Oh my God. What did he do then?”
Jaxi only grinned harder. “What do you think? Exactly what I wanted him to, of course.”
The group of women gathered in Allison’s recently expanded living room laughed, and Melody glanced around with a sense of awe and gratitude.
These women were her contemporaries. Not because they’d gone to school together or spent the last twenty years living in the same place. They all had different levels of education and hugely different backgrounds, but they were united by a love for the land and compassion for each other. Five women working in the middle of a male-centered society.
Allison’s cheeks were rosy, and as she leaned back on the couch, the front of her shirt pressed to the small swell of her belly.
Melody couldn’t resist. “You’re showing.”
Her friend’s grin had become nearly permanent by this point. “It’s the weirdest thing knowing someone’s growing inside me. I can’t wait until I can feel the kid move.”
“It’s very cool,” Jaxi agreed. She held four-month-old Peter in her arms, and he nursed noisily as they visited. “At least until they get big enough to dance on your bladder. And poke knees and elbows into your ribs.”
“Still looking forward to it,” Allison said.
“Definitely.” Jaxi offered her a hug and the two of them chatted for a moment as Melody sat back and relaxed.
Girls’ night out. After the workload she’d been pulling, it was good to take a break. Steve had been…
Well, he’d been amazing. Not only in helping with Charlie, but in calling her when they couldn’t get together. Dropping by for short visits when that’s all the two of them could handle. And the sex?
Maybe Allison wasn’t the only one with a perma-grin these days.
But tonight the call had been issued to spend time with the ladies, and Melody was glad to accept. Of course, as it turned out she was once again surrounded by the Coleman clan, but by now, she was used to it.
Along with Jaxi and Allison, Vicki and Ashley had joined them. Vicki wasn’t as well known to Melody, but the young woman had a snappy way of responding that made everyone in the room smile. Ashley…
Ashley defied definition.
The blonde-haired woman returned from the kitchen with two pitchers of the icy-pink concoction she’d poured the instant Melody had arrived. One was plain lemonade, and the other lemonade with a serious attitude. “Who’s ready for another round?”
Vicki pulled a face. “One is usually my limit. Plus, I have an online test I have to study for tomorrow. I don’t know if I should drink any more of the spiked one.”
“You’re okay, honey,” Jaxi assured her. “You know damn well you’re not going to get out of bed until noon anyway. I’ll give you my hangover recipe, and you’ll feel fine by the time you get up.”
Allison frowned. “How do you know she doesn’t get up until noon?”
Vicki’s cheeks shot past a blush to bright red, and she refused to meet Melody’s eyes, leaning instead toward her sister-in-law. “You said you weren’t going to tell anyone about that,” she complained.
“Oops.” Jaxi muttered, holding out her hand for a refill of the virgin lemonade that Ashley cheerfully offered.
Secrets. Anytime a gathering occurred, there were bound to be some, but at the same time the gentle teasing and familiarity added an intimacy to their get-together.
And sometimes secrets were meant to be shared. Vicki folded her arms over her chest as if she was going to be stubborn before spilling the beans. “Jaxi stopped over the morning Joel had decided to go a little…bossy on me.”
“A little?” Jaxi exclaimed. “Honey, he had you tied to the bed posts.”
“Are you telling me you and Blake never play with ropes?” Vicki retorted. “Because if you are, I call Bull. Fucking. Shit.”
“I never said that. I just think if you’re going to play kidnapped by the wicked cowboy you should time it better so your poor sister-in-law-to-be doesn’t get traumatized when she stops by to drop off a load of baking.”
“Ha. The day you’re traumatized by something the clan does, the national news will report it.”
Ashley offered a top-up from the pitcher with no alcohol to Allison then plopped onto the couch next to Melody. “Okay, time for the most current gossip. I nominate Melody to start.”
Melody hesitated. “Who, me?”
“Of course, you,” Allison teased. “We’re dying to know. You broke up with Steve, then went away for nearly a year. Now you’re back, and I’ve never seen the man smile so much in his life.”
“We know who’s putting that smile there,” Vicki agreed.
“But…exactly what is what we want to know.” Jaxi waggled her brows suggestively before rearranging the baby against her shoulder to burp him.
“You want a play-by-play of our sex life?” Melody hesitated. “Is everyone going to share, because I don’t know that’s fair if it’s only Vicki and I who end up on the hot seat.”
“Sure, we’ll share.” Vicki snorted. “Everyone
but Ashley, that is, because if she tells us what goes on at her place on a regular basis? We’ll spend the rest of the evening with our jaws on the floor and a bad case of penis envy.”
“I think that phrase is supposed to mean we wish we had penises,” Allison pointed out.
Vicki shook her head. “You don’t think Ashley has penises at her beck and call? Penees. Penises. Penii? Whatever.”
Once the laughter faded, Ashley gloated. “I’ll admit it, my cup runneth over.”
Vicki only laughed harder, covering her mouth with her hand.
Ashley shook her head and a finger at the young woman. “I swear, you’ve got the dirtiest mind of anyone I’ve ever met.”
“Why? You’re the one who said it.”
Melody sat back, sipping the fruity drink Ashley had put together for them. She popped another one of Vicki’s jalapeno bites into her mouth and chewed happily, soaking in the atmosphere.
Across from her, the baby stared sleepily around the room for a moment, blinking his bright blue eyes hard before an enormous yawn stretched his little mouth. Allison cooed at him, then Jaxi laid him in the bassinet beside the couch, and suddenly four pairs of eyes were turned in Melody’s direction and there was nowhere she could go to hide.
“You were serious? You want me to tell you how things are going?”
Four heads nodded like a dashboard of bobble heads on a bumpy road.
This time it was Melody’s turn to laugh. “Bunch of snoopy old women.”
Allison slid forward on her chair “You don’t have to tell us specifics. But is it getting serious?”
Melody paused and considered. “Maybe? I don’t know. It hasn’t been long enough yet.”
Jaxi was giving her one of those looks. The one that said the woman was older than her years. “It doesn’t take long to figure out whether a guy’s right for you or not.”
“I agree with part of that—I like him a lot, and I’ll say he’s a different man than he was last year when I left. He’s fun to be around, he seems a lot more responsible, and I find that sexy in a guy.”
“Notice she’s still not telling us what else she finds sexy,” Allison said loudly enough to be overheard as she leaned across the couch to pretend to whisper to Ashley.
“I think the only way we’re going to get some real answers is to play a game.” Jaxi looked far too pleased with her own suggestion as she refilled her glass, settling in with a smile.
Ashley’s hand flew up. “I’m game. I mean I’m game for any game.”
Jaxi swirled the liquid in her glass. “All right, then, truth or dare.”
“Good idea. I haven’t played that since I was twelve,” Vicki said.
“So, that means, like last year?” Ashley ducked the pillow Vicki threw at her head.
“I’ll go first. Truth or dare—Jaxi,” Vicki demanded.
Jaxi crooked one blonde eyebrow higher as she accepted the challenge. “Truth.”
Vicki leaned forward. “In which room of your house have you not had sex?”
A ripple of laughter started low, progressing to full-out mirth the longer Jaxi hesitated, especially since it was clear she was trying hard to answer the question.
She gave up. “I don’t think we’ve left anywhere untouched, to be honest.”
“This is why you have four children,” Allison said.
Jaxi nodded. “Probably, so it’s a good thing making babies is a lot of fun.”
Jaxi turned on Ashley. “What’s the absolute—?”
“Hey,” Ashley complained as she shot upright. “You’re supposed to ask me to pick between sharing a truth or doing a dare.”
“She figured you’d instantly take the dare. This is more fun,” Vicki teased.
Ashley laid a hand over her chest. “I’m so misunderstood.” But her eyes sparkled as she smiled at Jaxi. “Go on, what’s your question?
“What’s the dirtiest—?”
“I can see this being impossible for her to answer,” Vicki muttered.
Jaxi put on her most innocent face. “What’s the dirtiest…you’ve ever gotten…while painting?”
They laughed again, and Ashley stuck out her tongue in response before confessing, “I’ve done body painting.”
Melody tried to picture it. “How did that get you dirty, painting a body?”
“Well, you use your body to do the painting,” Ashley explained. “It tends to involve accidentally getting paint stuck places that take a long time to clean.”
Ashley turned to Melody, her smile twisting as she posed the question, “Truth or dare?”
It was time to mix it up. “Dare.”
Ashley clapped her hands with excitement, lifting her chin in challenge. “You’re gonna make a prank phone call.”
Oops.
“Don’t get her into much trouble,” Vicki warned.
Ashley shook her head. “I know, I know. We’re models of discretion and pillars of the community. Yada, yada, yada.”
Four gazes pinned Melody in place. “Be nice,” she warned.
“Don’t worry, I’m not telling you to phone the mayor or something.”
Melody could guess where this was going. “I’m supposed to call who?”
As if they’d rehearsed it ahead of time, four voices went off in unison. “Steve.”
“And you’ve gotta talk dirty to him,” Ashley added. “Not just some ‘hi honey how was your day?’ bullshit.”
Melody rolled her eyes. “You’re so bad.”
The longer she hesitated, the more expectation rose on the faces of her friends.
Fine. Like Vicki had said, this was just good clean fun.
Or maybe not quite so clean. There was a challenge in her friends’ eyes as she grabbed her cell phone out of her pocket and hit Steve’s number. Maybe they thought she couldn’t talk dirty?
Time to rise to the occasion.
Only she sat back in her chair and focused on a spot near the ceiling as the call went through, because no way she could do this if she was watching their faces.
Since Melody had declined his date, heading out to spend time with the girls, Steve sucked up his disappointment and drove over to the rental house to visit with Lee instead.
What he found was the semimonthly dishwashing expedition about to take place.
Lee held an armful of plates and bowls as he paused in the front hall. “Perfect timing,” he said in greeting.
“If you think I’m washing anything, you’ve got another think coming. You made the mess, you clean up.” Steve kicked off his boots, though, and grabbed the dishes teetering on the edge of the coffee table.
“You don’t need to wash,” Lee assured him. “But you do want to see this.”
He tilted his head toward the kitchen, his grin widening, and Steve followed, curious to see what was going on.
The small room was filled with broad-shouldered men. Stacks of dirty pots, pans, glasses and everything else covered the side counter and spilled onto the table.
Jesse, Rafe and Lee were there, but so was Trevor, his sleeves rolled up and a look of disgust on his face as he eyed the sink full of soapy water.
Perfect.
“Dishpan hands look good on you,” Steve taunted.
“Fuck off. They threatened to block my dinner privileges if I don’t help.” Trevor stuck his hands into the water to begin the herculean task, adjusting his expression to look like a long-suffering hero. “But, really, I agreed to help because I know it’s the right thing to do.”
Jesse snorted in disbelief. “Bullshit. It’s because you heard my mom gave me a pile of steaks for us to barbeque tonight, and you can’t stand the thought of missing out and having to eat ramen instead.”
“Same thing.”
“We should give up and buy paper plates,” Lee grumbled as Rafe left the room.
Jesse shrugged. “Fine by me, but you know Rafe would give you hell. It’s not environmentally friendly or some crap.”
A call went out from the liv
ing room. “Hey, Steve? While you’re here, can I get your help?”
“Hey, assholes,” Trevor complained when they all turned to leave. “Someone needs to dry. Or at least make room for me to put the clean stuff.”
Lee rolled his eyes as he picked up a hand towel. “Yes, Mom.”
The joy of living with other guys. Steve was so glad those days were behind him, but they were entertaining to watch. He was still chuckling when he entered the living room. “What’s up?”
Rafe pointed at the ceiling. “The light is out. We’ve changed the bulb, but the damned thing won’t work. Did I remember right, and you fixed that before?”
“Yeah, the wiring is old and needs to be jimmied every now and then.” Steve shoved the sturdy coffee table under the light then emptied his pockets looking for his knife. “Jesse? Turn off the power at the breaker.”
Jesse spun on his heel and left for the basement. “Got it.”
Steve gestured to Rafe. “You’ll have to help hold the cover while I deal with the wiring. It’s one of those stupid setups where the wires are too short to let you put things down.”
They waited until Jesse’s shout rang from the basement. “It’s off. You’re safe.”
The two of them crawled on the table, arms extended awkwardly overhead as Steve removed the central screw that held the glass in place. “Hold this, but keep it close to the ceiling,” he ordered.
Rafe shifted his weight to one side, balancing the large glass globe on his fingertips. No matter how much he tried, the cover created an obstacle for Steve to work around.
He’d disconnected the wires from the base and had the protective plastic covers between his fingers and three wires held in order when his phone went off on the table below him.
Melody’s ringtone. He breathed out a low curse, but figured he’d call her back when he was done.
Jesse proved far too helpful. “Don’t worry. I got it.” His cousin not only answered the phone, he switched it to speaker and laid it back on the table.
Jeez. He supposed Jesse meant well.
“Hi, Melody,” Steve spoke loudly as he worked to line up the wires. “I thought you were partying with the girls.”