“Listen to you! ‘All y’all.’ The Texan soaks in real fast, doesn’t it?” Jackson grinned.
“Especially when you deliberately try it on for effect.” Parker just kept looking at him.
Jackson sighed. “I heard you. Let me tell you a true story. Not long after we met our Ari, we had the sense that she was in danger. She was always looking over her shoulder and was scared, so scared we worried that she might cut and run at any time. We were just really getting to know her, were already falling in love with her, and the last thing Cord or I wanted was for her to rabbit.
“We also came to understand that Jake knew what was going on with her—just as you’ve suspected he knows more about what’s going on in your woman’s life than he’s saying right now.
“So, Cord and I went to see him, to ask him to tell us what the hell was going on with her. He refused. He said if Ari wanted us to know her secrets, she’d tell us. That it was her secret to share.”
“Harsh, but I can understand that.”
“So could we, once we got over being pissed about it.” Jackson grinned, but Parker knew that grin about that particular incident had to have been slow in coming and hard won.
“This situation is different, that’s true. This is something about Jenny that’s being kept from her. All I know is what you’ve already surmised. Grandma Kate said they knew about the first person looking for Jenny, and that search had been going on for a few months. For whatever reason, it wasn’t considered a threat to her. But then, just over a week ago, Jake was alerted that someone else was looking for Jenny. That’s pretty much all I know, except for this. I trust Kate Benedict with my life. She would never knowingly let anything harm any of us.”
“Which is why she insisted in the change of address for Jenny. Because the second party looking for our Jenny could mean her harm.”
“That’s our take, too. If Jenny wants to know more, she should ask Kate.”
“We’ll talk to Jenny about that tonight. In the meantime, I’m hoping you can tell me what all’s being done to keep her safe?” He met Jackson’s gaze. “I’ve heard enough and learned enough to know your protective measures around here wouldn’t end with a few CCT cameras and moving us in together.”
“You’re right. Adam has a plan in place. We were all just giving the three of you a couple of days to find your rhythm.”
“We appreciate that, but we really do want to know what’s being done. Not that we doubt Jake’s word or Adam’s abilities.”
“Of course not. This is your woman who might be in danger. We all get that. Believe it or not, this isn’t our first rodeo. Most of us have helped out a time or two when someone in the families has been in a spot. We can go over that as well at the meeting. We’ll all be there, and we’re all involved.”
“Good. Now let’s get our asses back to work. I’m new on the job. I don’t want the bosses to find out I’m a gossiping George.”
Jackson just laughed and climbed into the saddle. Parker watched him as they headed along the fence line, keeping an eye open for other areas of wear in the wire. Looking at his cousin now he could see there was nothing of the former NFL star about him. Jackson Benedict was a man wedded to his woman and his land and clearly happy to be so.
That was an ambition and a goal Parker shared.
* * * *
“Wine? Beer? Sweet tea? Just name it, sweetheart, and it’s yours.”
Jenny slid her arms around Dale’s neck, free, now that they’d stepped inside their home, to hug him the way she’d wanted to as soon as he and Parker had arrived at the roadhouse. Parker had reached her first and had won the first smooch and cuddle from her.
“Wine, please. Just a half a glass.” She kissed him, a sweet and tender little tasting. That would satisfy her Dale craving for the moment. She needed time to decompress after her shifts, most days. That kiss and the promised wine were part of her decompression.
“I’ll be right back with your wine, sweetheart.” He released her to Parker and headed toward the kitchen.
Parker’s embrace was part two of what she needed to begin to put away her busy day. Twelve hours in a people-rich environment could drain the most die-hard extrovert.
Parker gave her the same kind of kiss she’d just taken from Dale. Then he lifted her into his arms. “Come and relax, baby. We’ll massage your feet, and you can just drift for a while.”
Heaven. Whoever didn’t think having two men as lovers was amazing didn’t consider the benefits. One could fetch wine while the other massaged her feet.
Parker laid her on the sofa. Her head rested on a pillow already in position for just that purpose. She knew they’d returned here after their workday to shower and change. Now she also knew they’d thought of her, thought of bringing her home, before they’d left. Thought enough to place a pillow here for her.
Parker slipped her shoes and socks off her feet. He started working on her left foot, and Jenny melted into the sofa.
Definitely heaven.
Dale came into the living room and set half a glass of wine on the coffee table where she could easily reach it. Jenny took a nice sip, letting the flavor of her favorite Chablis kiss her tongue. The small amount of alcohol slid ever so softly into her bloodstream.
It never took her body long to respond to those first few drops of alcohol, for her elbows and knees to go weak. That was why she never drank it at work. Aside from the fact that Angela preferred her staff didn’t imbibe until officially off the clock, Jenny would rather be someplace private when her body’s “relaxation response” kicked in.
Dale sat down on the coffee table and reached for her right foot. He began to massage, and she thought it was a wonder her eyes didn’t roll back into her head.
“Oh yes! That feels so damn good. I hope your hands don’t get tired anytime soon.”
Their masculine chuckles, deep and indulgent, felt like a warm blanket. “They won’t. Just enjoy, sweet Jenny. Close your eyes and drift.”
How wonderful to be with two men who put her in the middle, who focused on her needs and her desires. She really was in heaven.
Jenny sipped a little more wine and allowed herself to, as both Parker and Dale had suggested, drift.
Sometime later, when her feet were feeling very pampered, and with the heat of their hands still working their magic on those poor appendages, she sighed, opened her eyes, and smiled.
“Y’all make me feel so special.”
“You are special.” Parker kissed the arch of her left foot. Jenny giggled.
“Very special.” Dale kissed the arch of her right foot, and Jenny’s giggle blossomed into a soft laugh.
“I feel like I should be taking care of you right back. Y’all were out in the heat all day. At least I had A/C.”
“Don’t worry, baby. You’ll be pampering us soon enough,” Parker said.
“It’s like that old joke?” Dale grinned. “To please a woman, a man just has to be a friend, a companion, a lover, be tender and understanding, be a good listener, sympathetic, give massages when needed, see to her comfort and security, feed her, cater to her, give her little gifts, kill spiders and scorpions, and clean up any disgusting animal messes…” He let his voice trail off.
Parker picked up the joke. “And to please a man, a woman needs to show up naked and bring beer.”
Jenny burst out laughing. Parker and Dale both laughed. Then Parker held up his longneck. “We’ve got the beer, and part two of that winning formula will happen, by and by. So, baby, don’t you worry. We’re on our way to being pampered, too.”
Parker set down his beer and reached for her. In short order she was snuggled with her butt on his lap and her legs across Dale’s lap. Dale scooped the crocheted blanket resting on the back of the sofa and used it to cover her legs, tucking her feet in to keep them warm.
It was a little thing, she knew. She’d mentioned not long after they met that her feet sometimes got chilled even when it was summer-hot out. The fact they
remembered that and saw to it her feet stayed warm? That was huge.
Jenny sighed. Dale handed her wine over, and she indulged in another sip. “How was your day, guys?”
They’d shown up at the roadhouse, as promised, had eaten supper with her, and stayed until Jenny was done her shift. But it had been too noisy to really talk there.
“Good,” Dale said. “Fence line duty today. Not nearly as onerous at task here in Texas as it used to be in Montana because, mile-wise, we’re talking a lot less ground to cover.”
“Then we finished off the day with a planning meeting at Chase’s place.” Parker ran his hand down her arm. “We did learn some interesting things that affect us.”
“Us, as in the two of you?”
“No, baby. Us, as in all three of us.”
“To begin with, you were right,” Dale said. “It was the second party who’s looking for you that got Grandma Kate and Jake worried.”
“Turns out, while I was working with Jackson and Dale was with Cord, we both asked the same questions and got the same answers. They don’t know what it’s all about. But they both think Grandma Kate does.”
“Maybe I should ask her, then.” Jenny felt no qualms doing that, except for one thing. Did she really want to know the answer? Clearly, whoever was looking for her had some connection to her past—that time in her young life before she’d been adopted.
Of course, she had no memories to draw on. She had often wondered about her background. She’d been curious about the young woman who’d borne her and birthed her. Who had she been? Were her parents gone, or had she simply pretended they were? And if that had been the case, why had she said her family would destroy Jenny?
After her parents’ revelations, Jenny only had more questions. Had her birth mother really been threatened by her own family? Had they really meant her harm?
“Let it go for now, sweetheart.” Dale leaned closer and kissed her. When he sat back, Parker turned her face up to receive his kiss.
Relaxed, rejuvenated, Jenny felt her libido spark to life. With these two men, it sure didn’t take much.
“You don’t have to make a decision tonight. Let it go. Your heart will tell you what to do, when it’s ready.”
Jenny sighed. She didn’t know if she would ever be able to put into words how it felt that these two men got her. Likely, that was her biggest blessing with these Montanans. They were getting to know her, warts and all, and still they made her their center.
“You’re right. I don’t need to decide anything right this minute.” Especially not when there was a more immediate and very pressing concern. Or, rather, two of them. Parker’s erection, under her hip, and Dale’s erection, under her leg, both called to her. So, she used her leg to stroke one lover, wiggled her hips to stroke the other, and sighed with pleasure when they proceeded to let her begin to pamper them, too.
Chapter Thirteen
Marc stepped into the roadhouse, one part curious and two parts hungry. For food, yes, but also for something he couldn’t even completely identify.
Situated just outside of Lusty, the place looked new and busy, despite the fact that the standard lunchtime of twelve to one-thirty had already passed. New this establishment surely was because he’d never seen it before.
Of course, it had been more than a few years since he’d been back.
Marc let his gaze wander the dining room, automatically cataloguing his surroundings. There were tables, booths, and stools at the bar. There was a door leading to the kitchen on his left at about ten o’clock and an open door frame with washrooms and exit signs hanging above it at half past eleven. That doorway was easily accessible from the back of the room. A cursory glance at the current patrons assured him there were no obvious enemies lying in wait. A couple of the diners looked familiar to him, but that was only to be expected, all things considered. They represented a danger of a different sort, one that was a part of normal, everyday life. One he’d avoided for the last decade.
I wonder how long it’s going to take me to get my head out of company business? He’d only resigned a month and a half ago. He’d immediately been taken into debriefing for three weeks, and then he’d rented a series of cars as he’d made his meandering way west from Virginia.
When he got to Oklahoma, he’d turned in his last rental car and picked up his own vehicle, which he’d just now parked and locked in the parking lot. He called his car the Silver Bullet. The agency had arranged to have him pick up his own car at one of their infamous “undisclosed locations.”
One of the first things he did once he was behind the wheel was to drive it around the block and remove the “extras” Langley had ordered installed.
Listed as one of the fastest cars in the world, the Tesla Roadster was sleek, sexy, and moved like stink. He’d paid cash for it and arranged to have it waiting for him just before he went into debrief. He wanted to drive into his home state for the first time in over a decade in his own car, as himself.
Marc was officially out of the spy business, but it might be awhile before the spy business was out of him. He didn’t think there would ever come a time when he would be lax about security. His thoughts touched on where he was going, of who all would be or could be in his future, and he realized that, no, he’d never be lax about security again. Marc could never go back to being the same idealistic and naïve young man he’d been ten years ago when he’d left Lusty for the wider and, yes, much wickeder world.
He was who he was, period. He’d done what he’d done in service to his country, and he had no regrets.
Marc knew it was exactly thirty seconds since he’d stepped into the roadhouse and begun casing the joint. Unwilling to draw any more attention to himself, he headed to the back of the dining room. No one was sitting at the table for four in the very back, on his far right. So he picked that one and took a seat on the bench that spanned the width of the room. He slid into place, back to the wall, and doubted that instinct would end anytime soon, either.
He hoped he didn’t have to wait too long.
“Welcome to Angel’s Roadhouse.” The pretty brunette practically bounced over to his table. She’d actually moved to the beat of the music he heard softly playing in the background. “Would you like to see our menu, sir?”
“Yes, please. Do y’all have any sweet tea?” And what a pleasure it was to use his own natural voice, instead of any of the many accents he’d mastered over the years.
“We do, indeed. While you have a look at our menu, I’ll go get you some.”
“Thank you.” He perused the offerings, pleased to see some selections that reminded him of suppers when he was a kid—Tex-Mex dishes like queso and cheese enchiladas, as well as pulled pork, brisket, and, of course, steak.
Marc thought his stomach could almost handle every one of those dishes. In one sitting. I’ve been hungry for home for a long time.
He looked up as the roadhouse door opened and another hungry customer entered the place. The man didn’t immediately remove his aviator shades. Instead, he stood for a moment, lethally still, taking the few seconds necessary for his eyes to adjust to the darker interior lighting. The newcomer scanned the diners present. His blond hair looked windblown, as if he’d just gotten off a motorcycle after riding like the wind without his helmet—or ridden a short distance at a hundred miles an hour with all the windows down.
The memory brought a smile to his thoughts. Marc was going to miss the Autobahn.
Then the newcomer moved and, taking unhurried steps, walked a straight and deliberate line toward him. He came to a stop at the chair facing Marc.
“That little silver orgasm-inducer on four wheels out in the parking lot yours?”
“Yes. Is it working?”
The man pulled off his sunglasses and met his gaze. “Almost. Damn, Marc, that is one hell of a sweet ride.” He tossed his shades on the table and then sat.
He tilted his head, and Marc realized he’d sensed the waitress approaching.
&nbs
p; Marc spun the menu around so his companion could have a look.
“Oh, hey. There’re two of you.” She set the sweet tea down in front of Marc and turned to the newcomer. “What can I get you to drink, sir?”
“Do you have any coffee?”
The brunette gave them both a big smile. Out of habit, Marc checked her finger. The sight of two slim gold bands on her left ring finger nearly made him grin. It was good to know that some things about home truly hadn’t changed.
“Yes, sir, I made some about five minutes ago. I’ll be right back with a mug for you. Should I bring another menu?” She turned her attention back to Marc.
He shook his head. “No, that’s fine, thanks. I’ve already decided what I want.” He doubted the taco soup would be as good as his mother’s, but the aromas in here were appetizing, so it could be possible.
As soon as they were alone, his friend leaned forward. “How are you? I heard they kept you in debrief for a few weeks.”
“I’m okay, Jeremy. Standard operating procedure. It hasn’t fully hit me yet that I’m done with that life.” He shrugged. “How are you? Any trouble kicking free from your employer?”
“Not really. As you say, S.O.P. You know the stats as well as I do. There are only so many years one can go under, play that game, and stay alive. Or stay sane.”
“Who the fuck says either one of us is sane?”
Jeremy met his gaze. The man’s green eyes fairly laughed. “You’ve got me there.”
A few seconds later, the waitress returned and set a cup of coffee and a small basket with creamers in front of Jeremy. “Here you are, sir. Do y’all need more time to decide what you’ll have?”
“I’m ready. Jeremy?”
Jeremy nodded. “I’m going to have a hamburger with bacon and cheese and fries, please.”
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