She could only go forward, only look to the future. She was no longer a young woman. She was fifty, now, but that wasn’t old. She shook her head. She had only to look at her friend Kate Benedict to see a woman in her nineties who defied the term “old woman.” Kate was energetic and vibrant, a definite role model for Angela.
She made quick work of putting the paychecks into envelopes and then left her desk to give them out and immerse herself in her busy, successful business.
The lunch crowd was brisk for a Tuesday. Generally, Monday was her best noon to two p.m. business because Kelsey Benedict’s restaurant in town, Lusty Appetites, was closed Mondays. Kelsey herself often took lunch here on those days. In fact, it wasn’t odd to see Patrick take his lunch break and sit with her when she did.
Weekend nights were still her busiest business times, and she never tired of the activity and the fun, the music and the laughter.
Angela closed her office door behind her and inhaled deeply. The air was filled with the scent of Patrick’s taco soup. She could smell hamburgers, as well. His special of the day on Tuesdays was his meatloaf, and it was the best she’d ever tasted.
He also made a mean chili. She’d urged him to enter local competitions, but while the man was a genius in his own domain, he really didn’t care to travel afield for his craft.
She handed out the envelopes to those employees who were present, making sure she finished up at the bar. Laci was behind it at this hour while Bailey and Jenny served.
“So, boss. We have a proposition for you.” Laci’s sparkling eyes were filled with laughter.
“An indecent proposition?”
“No, a personal one.” Laci’s smile stayed in place, but Angela could see her employee—her friend—was quite serious.
“All right, lay it on me.”
“Chase and Brian are planning a bachelor party for Ricoh, to be held at the ranch. They’ve pegged it for Tuesday, June 26, in the evening.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful! He’ll be pleased, I know he will.” Angela knew that neither of them wanted a big to-do, but a celebration among their friends? That was a whole different matter. “I hope Chase and Brian are planning on inviting Julián Alvarez, from over near Divine,” Angela said. “I happen to know he’s one of Ricoh’s oldest and closest friends.”
“I’ll make sure they do. The thing is, the party’s a secret.” Laci leaned forward to whisper that. “You can’t tell him.”
“All right.” Angela grinned. She was pretty certain she could do that.
“That was only part one of the proposition. Here’s part two, and it might be a bit dicey. Your friends want to have a bridal shower for you. And we thought that, if you would agree to close the Roadhouse for one evening, the same Tuesday as Ricoh’s party, we’d have that shower for you then. We were thinking a sexy lingerie shower might be in order.”
“Oh!” It had actually never occurred to Angela that anyone would want to have a shower for her. This being her second marriage of record, she hadn’t expected a thing, really, except to finally be married to the love of her life.
I spent so much time saying not yet because, when I thought of marriage, the only image that came to mind was my near twenty-year imprisonment to Malcolm Wainright.
Being here, so close to Lusty, and seeing first-hand, up close and personal, the marriages in this community—some ménage, some just between two, but all of them good, solid, and happy—well, Angela had finally reconciled her past and understood two very important things.
The first was that Wainright had been a sick son of a bitch who no doubt was, at this very moment, roasting in hell.
And the second was something she should have known all along. Ricoh Stone was damn sure no Malcolm Wainright. He’d told her every single day since they’d made love for the first time again two and a half years ago that he loved her. More, he’d shown her he loved and respected her every single day since.
“A lingerie shower, hmm?” She met Laci’s laughing gaze. “I think that’s perfect. So yes, I have no problem closing the bar for one night. We’ll begin to advertise that fact and have some specials when we re-open again on the day after. And, if Ricoh knows y’all are having a shower for me, then he’ll stay home and not expect to see me until later.”
“Great!” Laci’s grin was huge. “You’re going to love what we have in store for you, my friend.”
Angela grinned right back at one of her best friends. “Well, I already love you, so that’s a sure thing.”
* * * *
“Fair warning, sweetheart,” Noah said as they approached Lusty Appetites. “There’s going to be a lot of people who want to say hello and welcome you to town.”
Brittany tilted her head slightly as she met Noah’s gaze. “Friendly people, I would hope.” She smiled to let him know she was teasing. And she was—mostly. So far, all the people she’d met had been friendly. But they’d also all been a part of Sean and Noah’s family.
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Sean said. “Remember when I told you that we wanted to bring you here because it’s the best place we know?”
“I do, yes. That’s actually been on my mind a great deal today.”
“Well, it’s because here, family is the most important thing,” Noah said. “We’ve never, in all our lives, found another place quite like this one.”
“But I’m not family.” She looked from Sean to Noah.
“Let’s see if you can say that when we walk out of here again.” Sean sounded far more confident than Brittany felt.
Noah opened the door, and Sean escorted her inside. The first thing Brittany noticed, at nearly one in the afternoon, was that the restaurant was about three-quarters full. The second thing made her tummy growl in hunger. The aromas filling the air smelled so good! She actually began to salivate. Brittany didn’t know what was cooking, but whatever it was, she wanted some.
“Hey, guys!” The waitress who approached wore a big grin, her brown eyes smiling in welcome. She was a tad shorter than Brittany, with far lusher curves, and her brown hair was cut in a chic style that framed her pretty face. The waitress looked from Sean to Noah and then nodded to Brittany.
“Emily Anne Richardson, meet Brittany Phillips.”
Emily Anne extended her hand. “I’m so pleased to meet you, Brittany. Thank you for your service to our country.”
“Um, thank you.” Brit still hadn’t found a way to respond to that sentiment that fit well. But as she said those words of thanks, she realized they really were perfect.
“Y’all want to sit over there by the window? We have that table for six that would be perfect for you.”
“But there’re only three of us,” Brittany said.
Emily Anne giggled. “There’re only three of you now.” Then her expression sobered. “Folks have been excited to meet you, Brittany. They want you to know how pleased they are you’re here with us, so I imagine you can expect some to come by in the next little while.”
Brittany felt her cheeks heat. She wasn’t used to being at the center of attention. Then a thought occurred to her, and she had to wonder just how much the good people of Lusty knew about her recent past—her very recent past.
Emily Anne waited until they were seated and then handed them menus. “Our special today is beef brisket. You have a choice of fries, mashed potatoes, or Tex-Mex rice, and it comes with fresh corn, and a dessert and drink are included, as well.”
“Is the brisket that amazing aroma I’m smelling right now?” Brittany asked.
“It is, indeed.” Emily Anne grinned. “The aromas in this restaurant are our best advertisements.”
“That’s what I want, then! And if there’s gravy, I’ll have the mashed potatoes with it.”
“Our Kelsey believes there must always be gravy.” Emily Anne winked, made the notation on her order pad, and then looked at the men. “Gentlemen?”
“I am having a serious love affair with the chicken fried steak you serve here,�
�� Noah said.
“Don’t I know it? Your usual choices to go with it, Noah?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m a man of simple tastes,” Sean said. “Burger, fries, and a Coke, please.”
Emily Anne looked at Brittany. “What would you like to drink, Brittany?”
“Sweet tea, please.”
“Perfect. I’ll be back in a few minutes with your drinks.”
Brittany waited until Emily Anne had moved off. Then she looked from Noah, who sat beside her, to Sean, seated across from her. “Um…just how much do the people here know about me? Do they know about…my most recent crisis?”
The brothers Kendall did that thing again, where she became convinced they could communicate telepathically. Then Noah slipped his arm around her while Sean took her hand. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.
“They know that, as far as we’re concerned, you’re ours. They know that you were injured while in service to our country and some people know the extent of that injury. And they know we brought you here so we can focus on helping you to recover and recuperate from your ordeal.”
“We didn’t tell anyone about your recent crisis,” Noah said. “No one else has a need to know that.”
That made her feel better, but what Noah said wasn’t completely true. “Shar knows.”
“Shar has your medical files, as does Robert Jessop and his staff. But not one of those professionals would tell anyone anything.”
“I’m ashamed that I let myself go there, that I had a crisis.”
“The important thing about that moment, baby girl, is that you came to a crossroads and took the right fork. Now you’re on your way back, and we’re going to do everything humanly possible to help you accomplish that.”
“Thank you.” She should have known they wouldn’t have told anyone she’d considered harming herself. She still didn’t want to even think that word. It made her sick to understand how badly she’d hurt everyone who loved her with her selfishness.
Emily Anne approached them, her tray loaded down with several beverages. She deftly lifted their drinks one at a time and delivered them. “Your lunches will be up soon.” Her attention was snagged by something, and Brittany followed her gaze. A couple of good looking, buff men just walked past the window and appeared to be heading for the restaurant.
When Brittany looked at the expression on Emily Anne’s face, she knew she was looking at a woman very much in love.
“Oh! There are my husbands. Now isn’t that a nice surprise?” She walked toward the door, arriving just as it opened, and the two men came in. First one kissed her, and then the other did, as well.
No one in the restaurant even so much as blinked!
“She said husbands. So it’s true, everything I just read and learned at that museum. It’s all true!”
“It is,” Sean said.
“Lusty was established as a sanctuary.”
The soft female voice drew Brittany’s gaze immediately. She’d noticed the woman, sort of, when they’d entered the restaurant. She, along with a middle-aged woman, had been sitting at a table about three away from the window, her back to them. For the first time Brittany got a look at her face. Yes, she had white hair and didn’t appear to have much height to her—but the woman almost glowed. Brittany’s observations took only a heartbeat of time. She blinked as Sean and Noah both got to their feet.
“Grandma Kate!” Sean bent down and kissed her cheek. Noah did the same, and both her men looked very pleased with the interruption.
“Sweetheart, this is Kate Benedict. Grandma Kate, Brittany Phillips.”
“I’m pleased to meet you, Mrs. Benedict.” She extended her hand. Kate Benedict took Brit’s hand in both of hers.
“I hope in time you’ll call me Grandma Kate. We’re all so happy you’re here, Brittany. We’re all very grateful for your service to our country.”
“I…” Brittany couldn’t understand why she felt so at ease in Kate’s presence, but she did. “I never really know what to say to that.”
“This town has more than its share of veterans,” Kate said, “myself included, so it’s a sentiment we hold dear.”
“Grandma Kate, won’t you join us?” Sean offered her his own seat, and when she sat, he took the one next to her.
“Grandma Kate served during the Second World War,” Sean said. “She was in the Army Nurse Corps.”
“I did, indeed. I was sent here in 1942 to be the administrator of a convalescent home the good people of Lusty had offered to the Army, free of charge. They built it and supplied it and helped out so much in those days.” Kate leaned forward. “Two very charming and too handsome for their own good majors—fly boys, they were—whom I’d met in Virginia just before being transferred here just happened to call Lusty home. I, too, was quite surprised when I realized so many women had two or more husbands.”
“We just came from the museum. There was something written there, too, about this town being a sanctuary,” Brittany felt her face color. “I don’t recall all of what I read. There was a lot of information to take in!”
“It will take time, but you have plenty of that. This town—this family—is a sanctuary, for any and all who need her. Our nation’s Declaration of Independence—the very justification of our existence as a nation—states that we’ve been endowed with certain unalienable rights and specifies life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Lusty was founded on the belief that people had the right to choose who to love and how to live—and how to define the happiness they pursued.”
“That’s some legacy,” Brittany said.
Kate Benedict grinned. “Isn’t it just? Now, I’ll leave you to your lunch and the others who will stop by to say hello. And I look forward to visiting with you in the days to come.”
The elderly woman waved her hands, telling Sean and Noah without words that they didn’t need to stand as she got to her feet again. Of course, they did, anyway. Sean escorted her back to her table and held her chair while she sat. The other woman who sat with Mrs. Benedict nodded to Brittany. Then Sean was back, a smile on his face.
“Grandma Kate said she has a surprise for us, and that she’ll call us later.”
Brittany shook her head. She looked around the restaurant and noticed that more than a few threesomes took up space here.
“Back in Windhoek, we pretended that only you were my boyfriend,” she said, looking at Sean.
He grinned. “We don’t have to pretend anything here in Lusty.”
Brittany wasn’t sure what came next, but knowing there’d be no pretence going forward, she figured, had to be a very good thing.
Chapter Eleven
Brittany discovered what Kate Benedict’s secret was two days later. She’d actually forgotten all about it and hadn’t been aware that her men had received any calls from Grandma Kate in the interim. In fact, she was oblivious until they walked into the restaurant at seven p.m. in the evening and the entire place erupted into applause.
Over the buffet bar was a banner that read, “Welcome home, Brittany!” Brittany felt her jaw drop and guessed, in that moment, she resembled a fish.
“What…” She turned to her men, and they just grinned. Then Sean kissed her, followed quickly by Noah.
“It’s a welcome to Lusty party,” Noel said. “And it says welcome ‘home’ because you’ve come to Lusty to be with us, and we belong to each other. That means you’re automatically recognized as family.”
She turned back to the people who were standing, all looking at her. “I don’t know what to say. I’m…I’m honored.”
Samantha Kendall stepped forward. “We’re honored.” She looked around her then faced Brittany again, this time taking her hands. “You’ve already met a few of the town’s folk who are military veterans, including two of my own sons. We all want to be a part of helping you heal. In other words, Lieutenant, we’ve all got your back.”
Everyone clapped, and then Grandma Kate stepped forwar
d. “There’s lots of food, so everyone dig in!”
Brittany felt a little overwhelmed by the generosity of this small town. She was beginning to understand why it was to here that Sean and Noah had returned time and again as they told her they had since they’d been teens. And why it was to here that they’d brought her.
The day before, the three of them had traveled an hour or so east to the G&P Wellness Center in Waco, where she’d met a prosthetist by the name of John Roberts. This time, she hadn’t minded her guys staying with her as the man asked her questions and examined her device and her stump.
After that appointment she felt more at ease, knowing there was a professional she felt comfortable with close at hand who could help her navigate the next several months in this unexpected journey she was on.
Brittany turned to Grandma Kate. Still feeling that same connection she’d experienced those few days before, she bent down and gave the older woman a hug. “Thank you, Grandma Kate. What a wonderful surprise!”
Kate grinned, and her eyes twinkled in pleasure—likely because Brittany had used the familiar title. “This gathering is only part one of the surprise I was talking about.” The nonagenarian’s gaze strayed to the window, and her smile beamed wider. “Here comes the second part, now.”
Brittany turned to see what Kate meant. A couple entered the restaurant, and Brittany’s jaw dropped again. “Oh, my God, I don’t believe it!”
The couple who entered scanned the crowd. They saw Kate first and smiled, nodding to her. Then they saw Brittany and headed straight for her.
“Lieutenant Phillips. You look good, ma’am.” Gunnery Sergeant Christopher Williams gave her a salute, his left hand linked with his wife’s right.
Brittany returned the salute, her gesture unconscious. “Gunny! Rosemary!” Brittany didn’t stand on ceremony. She hugged her former peer counselor first and then his wife.
“I’d heard how difficult it can be to find a good peer counselor,” Kate said. “So, the town trust arranged for Gunnery Sergeant and Mrs. Williams to visit us for a while, an all expenses-paid visit to Lusty.”
Love Under Two Prospectors [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Menage Everlasting) Page 11