by Becca Van
When she realized where her thoughts were headed, she pushed the defeatist attitude aside and rose, hurrying toward the bathroom. Once she’d scrubbed her body she would feel a lot better. Hopefully she would be able to get a few more hours’ rest before leaving first thing in the morning.
Sallyanne swiped the sweat from her brow and turned the shower on. She didn’t bother to add any hot water. She was currently renting a room in a seedy motel in Lafayette, Louisiana. The heat was oppressive and she longed for cooler climes. As she stood under the cold water and began to scrub her body, she decided to head north. After living in the Bronx with Simon and moving from city to city, she wished for a quieter place to live, if only for a little while.
She’d heard another couple talking about a small town in Colorado as she cleared their table and from the way they’d raved over the place, she’d decided to check it out. She would need to be frugal since she didn’t have a lot of money, but if she was careful and only ate once a day while traveling, she should have enough cash to tide her over until she found another job.
* * * *
Six months previously.
“This town looks great.” Will glanced toward the passenger seat where his brother, Rick, was sitting, before looking into the rearview mirror to meet his brother Frank’s gaze. Then he looked back at the road.
“Yeah,” Rick replied. “I can see why Hank, Barry, and David wanted to come back after serving in the SEALs.”
Frank chuckled. “I can’t wait to meet their woman. She sounds really nice.”
“That she does,” Will agreed as he turned upon reaching the other side of the town. The directions Hank had given him were concise and easy to follow, but he’d expected no less from his team leader.
“Have you thought any more about moving?” Rick asked.
“After seeing the town and the surrounding countryside, I can see the appeal.”
“We’d be leaving nothing behind,” Frank said. “We’d be able to live here without any recriminations or prejudices if we ever found a woman of our own to share.”
“There is that.” Will nodded. It wouldn’t be a hardship to leave the city of Pueblo, Colorado. Since serving their country, the noise and mass of people in the smaller town was getting to him. Sometimes he felt as if he couldn’t breathe, and Pueblo was considered quiet. If that was quiet, then he could do without it, thank you very much.
He and his brothers had kept in touch with Hank and his brothers via email and phone and were great buddies. They’d all jumped at the chance to visit when they’d been invited to the engagement party. Ever since they’d gotten that invite, Hank had been considering transferring to Slick Rock. He was thinking of becoming a deputy and he’d heard through the grapevine that the Slick Rock Sheriff’s Department was looking to hire more officers. Apparently the town was growing quickly and there had been incidents which had followed the women now involved in ménage relationships as they’d fled danger.
He thought about why he really wanted to move and came to the conclusion that it didn’t really matter how busy or loud a town was. He and his brothers had felt as if they didn’t fit in, in Pueblo, and after hearing how happy Hank and his brothers were with their woman and their unusual relationship, he’d been rethinking his life.
Will wondered if it was fate that the women in trouble had all ended up in Slick Rock, or if fate had had a hand in sending them to the small rural town. He sighed when he realized what he was thinking and pushed those ludicrous thoughts aside. He’d never believed in that kind of thing and knew that it had to be all coincidental.
He slowed the truck when he saw the sign over the entrance to the Triple H Ranch. Luckily for him and his brothers, Hank’s house was big and had guest bedrooms so he hadn’t needed to organize staying in the motel or hotel. He was glad about that because the last thing he wanted was to be in a hotel room, hearing blaring music and loud voices as the patrons got drunk.
A few minutes later he was pulling up his truck under the carport at the side of the ranch house. He and his brothers gathered their bags and headed toward the front door, Frank in the lead. Before they made it to the steps of the porch, the front door opened and Hank, Barry, and David exited the house.
“Hi, guys,” Hank greeted. “Glad you could make it.”
Frank mounted the steps lifted his hand to shake Hank’s hand. “Thanks for the invite, sir.”
“None of that sir bullshit.” Hank grinned as he shook first Frank’s, then Rick’s, and finally Will’s hand. “We’re no longer in the military.”
“So where is your woman?” Rick asked with a smirk as he glanced toward the front door.
“Inside, making a fresh pot of coffee.”
“Come on in.” Barry led the way inside. “I’ll show you to your rooms.”
“Are you sure you want us staying here?” Will asked as he glanced about the living room before following Barry down the corridor on the far left.
“Yeah, we have plenty of room.”
“We wouldn’t want to cramp your style.” Rick waggled his eyebrows and grinned.
“No chance of that happening,” David said. “The guestrooms are at the opposite side of the house from us.”
Will sighed with relief. The last thing he needed or wanted was to be kept awake while his commander and friends made love to their fiancée.
After they were shown where they would be staying and they dropped their bags in their rooms, Will and his brothers followed David and Barry back to the living room and toward the kitchen. He could hear the low rumble of Hank’s voice as he spoke, and his curiosity was piqued when he heard a light feminine reply. The moment he stepped into the room, he smiled at finding his team leader hugging a petite woman against his body. He smiled again when her face turned pink and she looked at him and his brothers with a shy glance.
“Will, Rick, Frank, this is Catalina Ball.”
“Cat, meet Frank, Will, and Rick Blanchard.” Hank pointed them out as he introduced them to his fiancée.
“Hi,” Cat greeted in a soft voice. “It’s so nice to meet you all. Please call me Cat.”
“Hey, Cat.” Will gently shook her hand and then moved aside so his brothers could greet her. He could tell by the way Hank, Barry, and David looked at and doted on her that they were deeply in love with her. A pang of envy shot to his heart, but he pushed it aside.
Maybe one day he and his brothers would be lucky enough to find a woman to hold and love, but he wasn’t about to count his chickens before they hatched. First he, Rick and Frank needed to get their life in order. It had been a battle to survive civilian life after fighting for their country, but he had a feeling they would be moving to Slick Rock, Colorado, very, very soon.
* * * *
Present Day
Six days and more than a thousand miles later, Sallyanne exited the bus that stopped in Slick Rock, Colorado. She was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. Each and every night the bus had stopped, she had gone straight to the local pub and asked to work for tips and food. The next morning, she stepped onto another bus and napped until she felt herself drifting into a deeper sleep.
While she was on the move she’d programmed herself into wakefulness as soon as she felt herself drifting into a deep sleep. That was something she couldn’t allow, because she hadn’t wanted to bring attention to herself. The last thing she needed was people looking at her strangely if she woke up screaming, reliving what Angelo had done to her in her dreams.
She was so tired her eyes felt gritty, as if they had sand in them, and her body felt heavier than lead, but she was finally at her destination. She looked about, squinting as the bright summer sun hurt her eyes and wishing she had the money to buy a cheap pair of sunglasses, but that was a luxury she couldn’t afford. She slung the small bag in her hand over her shoulder and began to walk. There were people out and about, and it looked busy for such a small town but from what she could see they looked happy and carefree. A few people smile
d at her as they passed by and though she smiled back, she knew her lips had lifted into more of a grimace.
The town was clean and the shop fronts all looked immaculate, as if they’d recently been painted. She moved closer to the clothing shop front and leaned against the brick wall as she perused the town. Diagonally across the road was a large park where kids played happily under the diligent watchful eyes of parents. It was only as she turned to look up and down the street that she realized that the women walking along the pavements were surrounded by two or more men. Her gaze stopped on a group about to enter the diner a little down the street and she sucked in a surprised breath when she saw the lady was holding the hands of two men, one each side of her, and a third man was leaning down to kiss her.
She quickly glanced away from the intimacy and spotted another group of men surrounding a small brunette. She was laughing at something one of the men said, and then she reached up and cupped his cheek before grabbing hold of one of the other men’s hands and walking down the street, away from Sallyanne.
She pushed the peculiarity of seeing what had to be polyandrous relationships from her mind, and concentrated on finding what she was looking for.
The moment she spotted the pub, she inhaled deeply before releasing the breath slowly, and began to head toward the building. When she reached the doorway, she took another deep calming breath and entered. Deep masculine laughter sent a shiver of apprehension up her spine, but she pushed her fear down deep and made a beeline for the bar.
After climbing onto the stool, she turned side on to the bar so she could see if anyone approached her from the corner of her eye. She’d learned from experience to keep her wits about her when men and alcohol mixed. Alcohol tended to lower inhibitions and in some people—men—that wasn’t a good thing.
“What can I get you?”
Sallyanne startled at the deep voice so close to her. Usually she would hear a man coming toward her but she hadn’t heard the bartender as he moved. She eyed him warily but her gaze drifted to his left hand when he picked up a clean towel and began to polish a glass. She relaxed slightly when she saw the wedding band on the third finger of his left hand. However, just because he was married didn’t mean he was faithful to his wife.
“Miss?”
Sallyanne blinked and pushed her thoughts aside. “Coke, please.”
“Tyson, we’ve run out of vodka.” A woman appeared in the open doorway at the top of a set of stairs.
“There’s a box in the kitchen beside the door, baby. Just grab a couple of bottles. I’ll carry the carton in later.”
“Okay.” The woman hurried away and was back a few seconds later with a bottle of vodka in each hand. She stopped when she moved behind the bar at Tyson’s side. “Love you.”
“I love you, too, baby.” Tyson bent over and kissed the woman on the cheek. She patted his ass, giggled, and went back to serving the customer she had taken the order from.
“How much?” Sallyanne asked when Tyson placed the full glass of Coke on the bar in front of her.
“It’s on the house.”
“Oh but …”
Tyson swept his hand out to where the patrons were sitting and to the door as it opened and more people entered. “They’ll be buying all night. Giving a Coke away isn’t going to break the bank.”
Sallyanne nodded and gave him what she hoped was a smile. “Thank you.” She took a couple of sips of her drink and then decided to go for broke. “You wouldn’t happen to have any cash-paying jobs, would you?”
Tyson glanced at her from the corner of his eye before turning his gaze back to the beer he was pulling until the glass was full. “As a matter of fact, I do.” He handed the beer to the elderly man and after giving change, locked his gaze on her. “One of my waitstaff quit last week and I haven’t had a chance to replace her. My wife doesn’t usually work at the bar, but my brothers had other things to do and couldn’t come in. Do you have any experience?”
“Yes. I’ve worked in lots of bars, cafes, and diners over the last four years.”
Tyson nodded. “I’ll give you a week trial, and if we’re both happy after that, you’ll get the prerequisite three-month probationary period.”
“Thank you.” Sallyanne blinked so the tears burning the back of her eyes didn’t form, and drew in a deep breath. She hadn’t realized how tense she was until that moment and she felt the tautness in her neck and shoulders waning.
“Have you found somewhere to stay yet?”
She shook her head. “Can you recommend somewhere?”
“There are rooms upstairs. Two of them are currently being leased, but the men renting them shouldn’t be a bother. They’re elderly and are only here for a few days, doing some sightseeing and such. When they leave you’ll have the whole top floor to yourself. Will that bother you?”
“No,” Sallyanne replied and hoped the men would leave earlier than Tyson said. The nightmares were a regular occurrence and she didn’t want to disturb anyone if she woke up screaming and crying. Hopefully the elderly men were old enough to be losing their hearing and wouldn’t hear her if she dreamed about that soul-destroying night.
“If you give me a moment I’ll get my wife Rachel to show you to your room.”
“How much?”
Tyson quirked an eyebrow.
“The room. How much do you charge a night?”
Tyson squinted his eyes as he scrutinized her face and then shook his head. “We can talk about that later. Don’t worry. I don’t charge much.”
Sallyanne nodded before draining her glass of Coke. Her stomach growled with hunger and when she saw and smelled the food being carried out to whoever had ordered it, her mouth filled with saliva. The steak looked as if it had been cooked to perfection and the veggies on the side looked just as delicious. She watched, mesmerized, as the waitress carried the plates to a table in the back of the room, and when she saw the six men and one woman sitting around the table, she sucked air into her lungs. What was it about this place? The men were all handsome and muscular and their confidence seemed to create auras of power around their bodies.
Was that one small pretty woman involved with all of those men?
The idea of having to cater to such big men sent a shiver of fear skating up Sallyanne’s spine. Her heart rate increased and she began to pant. Sweat broke out over her forehead and under her arms, and trickled between her breasts.
Would she ever be able to look at men without reacting so fearfully?
Sallyanne shook her head as dark spots burst before her eyes. She clutched at the edge of the bar and held her breath as she tried to control her breathing and racing heart. When her lungs began to burn, she exhaled slowly and counted to three slowly as she drew in another breath. The dark spots receded and she opened her eyes to find the woman behind the bar staring at her with concern.
“Are you okay?”
Sallyanne swallowed, licked her dry lips, and nodded.
“I’m Rachel Osborn.” Rachel reached across the bar.
Sallyanne clasped her hand and though she didn’t want to give her real name, experience had taught her that using her first name was a must. She’d gone by other aliases and when called by the name she’d chosen, she hadn’t reacted. While her excuses had been lame and the other people had looked at her as if she was loopy when she’d told them she’d been lost in thought, she’d known they hadn’t believed her.
“Sallyanne.”
“That’s a pretty name. I like it.” Rachel smiled and released her hand. “You ready to go upstairs?”
Goose bumps broke out over her body and she quivered when she felt eyes on her. The hair at the back of her neck stood on end, but the sensation wasn’t a creepy feeling. Since being raped and stabbed by Angelo, she’d learned to listen to her senses and her gut. Most of the time she kept away from the opposite sex, but that wasn’t possible when working. She’d trained herself to read people and her own feelings and knew now that she was being checked out. Though
the urge to look and see who was watching her was strong, she ignored it and got off the stool to follow Rachel down the hallway near the end of the bar and up the stairs.
Now that she had a cash-paying job and somewhere to stay, she felt a little better, but exhaustion was weighing her down.
“So what do you think?” Rachel asked as Sallyanne followed her into the room.
“Nice,” she said.
“You have your own bathroom through that door.” Rachel pointed. “There’s plenty of closet space and no one’s slept in here since it was renovated.”
“Really?” Sallyanne was surprised and pleased.
“Yes,” Rachel said. “Don’t get me wrong, Tyson gets plenty of guests but we wanted at least of couple of the rooms to have en-suites. This was finished last week.”
“Are there other rooms still being fixed up?” She held her breath as she awaited Rachel’s reply. She didn’t want to have to deal with construction workers and the like. The only time she wanted to deal with men was when she was working.
“No, they’re all done and since the summer’s nearly over and we are into fall, tourists are visiting less frequently. Of course when winter and snow hits, we’ll be inundated again.” Rachel bit her lip as she met Sallyanne’s gaze.
Sallyanne had a feeling that Rachel and her husband Tyson knew she was in trouble. Hopefully they wouldn’t ask too many questions because she hated lying. So far these two people had been nothing but kind to her and she didn’t want to betray their trust by being deceitful. Rachel and Tyson had looked so happy together and although she was glad for the other woman, she was also a little envious.
She had a good feeling about this town. She didn’t care about how the people here lived, and how many were involved in relationships. As long as they left her alone to do her job, she’d be happy.
Sallyanne gave a mental snort at that thought because she wasn’t sure that she would ever be happy again.