The woman made note then turned to Marc.
“I’ll have the taco soup and the pulled pork sandwich.”
“Do you want fries with that?”
“Sure. I’ll live life on the edge for a change.” He thought Jeremy was going to choke. Marc hadn’t intentionally timed his quip with Jeremy’s first sip of his coffee. It just worked out that way.
Their waitress smiled, even if she didn’t understand the joke. She scooped up the menu and headed off, likely to put in their orders.
“So, how long do you think we have to wait?” Marc sat back, actually feeling relaxed, and waited for his friend to answer. This might be his hometown, but Jeremy had been here most recently.
“Did you notice the cameras?” Jeremy asked.
“I did. Two up high at each entrance to the parking lot. They looked high tech, and that’s no surprise. Likely feed into a computer recognition program, probably installed in the sheriff’s office.”
Jeremy nodded. “My assessment as well. I would say, since we’re both driving our own personal vehicles, that we will probably be interrupted before we’ve finished our lunch.”
Minutes. Mere minutes until the next step would be taken. Before Marc could internalize that, before he could even begin to figure out what his reaction was going to be, or wonder who’d come to meet them, the waiting ended.
The door to the roadhouse was pulled open, and two men entered. A couple of formidable looking alpha-dogs whipped off their sunglasses and began to scan the crowd.
They spotted Marc and headed straight for him. The man in uniform was accompanied by another man, one Marc hadn’t seen in years. When he’d taken off, first to Waco, and then for parts not reported, this man, this oldest brother, had been in Chicago. And since he didn’t do anything without his next oldest brother, Marc took his presence in Lusty for a good sign.
Looks like I’m not the only one of Pamela Jessop’s chicks to come home to roost.
Marc got to his feet because his brother had just stopped walking, leaving a few feet between them.
“Son of a bitch.” That was all Dr. Robert Jessop said, but it was the tone and the smile and the slight misting of his eyes that mattered.
“Hey, big brother. Long time no see.”
“Jerk.” And then Marcus Jessop was yanked into his brother’s arms for a hug that was long overdue. It lasted more than a few seconds, and Marc felt his own eyes sting.
“Why am I not surprised to see the two of you together?” Sheriff Adam Kendall asked. He moved out of the way as their waitress arrived with a platter of food.
“Oh, hey, Adam. Dr. Robert.” The young woman sounded surprised to see them and likely surprised by the way Robbie still had his arm around Marc’s shoulders. She’d probably seen that hug, too. That stuff doesn’t matter. I’m home.
“Hey, Bailey. Robbie and I will have some sweet tea, please.”
“Sure thing. Just let me set these lunch plates out.” Marc noticed that she gave him and Jeremy a more thorough looking over. Curiosity fairly shimmered in her gaze, but she didn’t ask who they were.
She set down their meals, and Robert signalled Marc to slide in and get eating. “You’re damn skinny, little brother.”
Marc shook his head. “The man hasn’t seen me in ten years, and it’s like we’ve never been apart.” Then he turned his attention to the sheriff. “Good to see you again, cousin.”
Adam smiled and extended his arm. “Marcus, it has been a hell of a long time.” They shook hands, and then Marc introduced Jeremy to his brother. He held Jeremy’s gaze for a long moment then turned his attention back the sheriff. “I hear you’ve already met my boyfriend.”
Jeremy’s eyes widened slightly, but Marc looked at him straight on. His lover would have to learn that he couldn’t have things both ways. Marc had told him about Lusty, and even though he’d been here a couple of times himself, visiting his sister who was in a ménage marriage, he still hadn’t believed Marc—that Lusty was a safe place for them to live as they wanted to live. Regardless of his lack of belief, Jeremy had decided that this was where he wanted to come and settle down. Marc had warned him they’d live open and honest here—and promised that they’d be accepted, without question.
He could understand Jeremy’s reluctance, of course. While still a child, Jeremy had been wounded, betrayed, and violated by one of the two people in the world who should have protected him above all else.
Marc slid onto the bench, making room for Robbie to sit next to him.
“I have, indeed. Did Jeremy tell you that we more or less roughed him up a little on first sight, during that very first visit?”
Marc nodded. “He did, and he also told me you were in protection mode at the time and the person y’all were trying to protect was his sister, Ari.”
Robbie sat beside him, and Adam took the chair next to Jeremy. “Does Ari know you were coming to visit?” Adam asked Jeremy.
“I haven’t told her, no. The thing is we’re not here just to visit.”
“You’re here to stay?” Robert looked pleased by that news.
Marc felt a bit of his tension ease, and that was a welcome feeling. “We are,” he said.
“Then you best get eating,” Adam said. “We’ll go bug my little brother and see about getting y’all situated. I presume you’d prefer a house over an apartment? One with a two-car garage?”
Marc met Jeremy’s gaze. He liked the hope he saw there. When he raised one eyebrow, Jeremy turned to Adam. “We would, yes.”
“Welcome home, guys.” Robert’s announcement lifted the rest of the tension Marc had been feeling.
“Mom and the dads will be back tomorrow from their cruise. They’ll be happy as hell you’re home.” Robert grinned. “In the meantime, don’t make plans for supper tonight. We want y’all to be our guests.” He then put his gaze on Jeremy. “I’m looking forward to introducing you to our brother David.” Then he grinned. “And introducing you both to David’s and my wife, Jillian, and our daughter, Colleen.”
Marc could see that Jeremy had relaxed considerably. “I look forward to meeting them.”
Marc met Jeremy’s gaze. His nod was slight, but a good sign.
“And hell, I’d better call the firefighters too.” Robbie grinned.
“So, Grant and Andrew came home as well?” That was something he hadn’t known.
Robbie nodded. “And Becca, too. We’re all home now. And it looks like we’re all settled, as well. Grant and Andrew are married to Chloe, and Becca finally figured things out with Greg Benedict.”
“Shut up! I thought those two would never get together. I knew they were hot for each other, but…”
Robert grinned. “Yeah, I know. She came back from Seattle and was staying out at the cabin. Greg came back from Turkey with his lover, Cody Harper, in tow.” Robbie grinned. “I might have led him to believe the cabin was available for them to use at the time. They needed some R & R.” He laughed, a short bark of a laugh. “Actually, what they really needed was some R & R & R.”
Rest, relaxation, and Rebecca. From the way Robbie had said all that, Marc knew that Cody, like Greg and himself and Jeremy, was bisexual. “Glad to hear I’m not the only one you want to take care of, big brother.”
“It’s the curse of the firstborn in this town,” Adam said.
“And Grandma Kate made Greg the head of Maria’s Quest, which took care of his wanderlust and his need to give back. The three of them have traveled some. But they came back to Lusty so Rebecca could give birth to their son. Kyle Gene Benedict was born at the beginning of June. They plan to stay for the next couple of years and only travel very occasionally.”
“Good. So, then, we’re all home.”
Robbie looked from Marc to Jeremy. “Yeah. Now we’re all home.”
Chapter Fourteen
Jenny knew she’d never get back to sleep, even if that was what her lovers expected her to do. It was five thirty in the morning, another new day. The sun
wouldn’t even be up for another hour and a bit. Out the window, it looked like nighttime. It looked the same as it had before she’d gone to sleep last night.
Parker and Dale had just left for work, but Jenny didn’t have to be at the roadhouse for another five hours yet. She only worked until seven tonight, which was fortunate. Jenny yawned, coming wider awake. Unless she was careful, she’d be spent before her shift was over.
Jenny tossed off the blankets and headed for the shower. In the hotter months, she liked two showers a day—morning and night. The enormous enclosure seemed both empty and lonely without her men. She made quick work of getting clean. Despite her hair being long, it was fairly easy to dry. Comfortable in her skin, she wandered, naked, back into the bedroom and searched the closet. No sense getting ready for work this soon. She chose an olive-green tee and a pair of tan capris.
Before heading downstairs, she made the bed and tidied the bathroom. On impulse, Jenny pulled Parker’s pillow into her arms, pressed her nose to the cotton, and inhaled deeply. Because she was an equal opportunity snuggler, she repeated the gesture with Dale’s pillow.
Just taking in their scents made her feel as if they were right there with her. She guessed she was pretty far-gone on them. She felt her silly grin and acknowledged that suited her just fine.
As she made a cup of coffee and poured out her cereal, Jenny’s thoughts tumbled around the information Adam had shared with her and her guys the night before. Apparently, there was a “plan” in place—a plan to keep her safe. Aside from the camera surveillance discussed at the “war council” held the day they moved into this house, Adam had drawn up a schedule of deputies to keep an eye on things around the town—and the roadhouse.
Jenny was trying to figure out why she didn’t feel as if she was in any danger.
Do you think just because you escaped a drunk driver when you were a few weeks old, and then ended up adopted instead of being tossed into the system, that nothing can touch you now?
The question from her own inner imp shocked her down to the bone.
She’d taken a sip from her coffee but set it aside. It didn’t taste good anymore. She shook her head, a negative response to that damned imp, even as she got up and paced. She sure as hell did not think she was some Teflon-coated woman who could thumb her nose at fate.
I’ve never thought that. I’ve never believed I’m entitled. Is that how others see me? Have they always seen me like that?
All her life, she’d worked hard, kept her head down, and done what had been expected of her. She’d gone to school and helped out at home. She’d behaved, and she’d never made waves. She’d always been grateful for the life she had, for the parents she had.
She never asked for much and rarely demanded anything. She’d been respectful, kind, generous, adaptable.
Adaptability is a positive personality trait?
Wasn’t it? She heard all the time about how it was best to just go with the flow, to get along, to…become invisible.
She wasn’t invisible, was she? Those two Benedicts certainly saw her. Jennifer paced some more. She felt…itchy. As if something was nagging at her, something that she needed to remember. Something she needed to understand.
Hells bells. This is one heck of a time to decide to have some sort of teenage angst episode. She’d never had one in all her growing years—not when she’d been a teen with hormones that set her off and certainly not when she’d been in grade school.
She’d seen what could happen when you let angst get the better of you. She recalled very well how her classmate, Petra, had been. She’d upset her folks and generally become a giant pain in the ass to everyone else who knew her. Convinced her adoptive parents had stolen her from a bright and shining future, she’d earned the nickname Petra the Pain. What Jenny remembered about her the most was how she was always getting into trouble at school. Petra had been convinced that her real family was looking for her, and when they found her, they’d lavish her with every single luxury her parents told her she couldn’t have.
That girl is just begging for a bad ending, if you ask me. She ought to just be grateful for the good life she has, for the probable heartache her parents saved her from.
Amen to that! She keeps that attitude up, I wouldn’t be surprised if her parents sent her back to where she came from. I sure as hell would.
Jennifer blinked. Where had those words come from? She closed her eyes…and the memory arose. She’d been…she couldn’t remember which grade she’d been in. The two women huddled together had been the classroom volunteers, two women she knew on sight but didn’t particularly care for. Since she’d been proficient in reading, she’d never needed assistance or attention from either one of them.
She recalled now they’d been talking about Petra, after she’d earned another time-out during recess. Mom had said Petra was feeling insecure and acted out as a way of asking for help. And then Mom had asked her if she felt insecure. Like Petra. But of course, she hadn’t. Everything was good. Everything was perfect. Jenny was happy. Jenny was nothing like Petra.
An internal light bulb lit up, and the shock of her personal epiphany reverberated throughout her body. Jenny was staring at a truth that had been living inside her all these years, a truth she’d never even guessed existed.
Everything had always been good, and she had always been happy. Always. And she’d never made waves, not a single one—because, deep down inside, still lived the little girl who had been terrified she would be sent back.
* * * *
All Parker had ever wanted to be was a rancher. And as the day wore on, he lost himself in the work.
Together with his brother, a couple of his cousins, and the two ranch hands Chase and Brian had hired years before—Alan Wilson and Duncan Moore—two men who were more like family than employees, they moved the small herd of Texas Longhorn to another section of pasture land. The sun beat down, the cattle lowed, and the horses nickered. There was heat and a bit of dust—which was why they were moving the heifers in the first place—and sweat trickled between his shoulder blades and down his back.
He loved every minute of it.
Right then, there was no difference between here and Montana. Cows were cows, horses were horses, and it was even the same damn sun.
The difference—the only difference—was in the attitude of his coworkers and bosses. Of course, he missed Apollo. He had to believe his brothers would treat the horse well. He’d raised that gelding from a colt. You couldn’t do that, work with an animal every day for a couple of years, and not get attached.
And wasn’t it a sad statement on the family that he missed his damn horse more than he missed them?
Dale practically flew past on the back of Sam, chasing a single critter that decided to split from the herd. Parker caught a glimpse of his brother’s smile. Chase was right. That gelding knows his stuff.
By the time they got the last cow inside the new pasture and the gate closed, it was nearly two in the afternoon.
There were now seventy head grazing in this area of the ranch. There was another similar-sized herd on a section of Cord and Jackson’s pasture land, only they weren’t Texas Longhorn. No, that heard was comprised of Santa Gertrudis, a breed that had been developed right here in Texas. He and Dale hadn’t known much about either breed, but they were learning. Together, the two herds made up the entirety of the company’s beef operation. The cattle were rotated on a regular basis, between five distinct pastures. This allowed the cattle fresh grazing space and for the recovery of the pasture to its natural state during the between rotations.
Their goal was to raise cattle free of chemicals. The land that wasn’t used as pasture for the cattle and horses was used to grow the corn and grain that supplemented the livestock’s diet of natural roughage.
The guys weren’t looking for quick profits, but long-term growth.
The cattle weren’t the only creatures that were to be rotated in this operation. Soon, he and Dale would be takin
g a hand at working with the horses, learning not just the equine breeding side of the operation but also what was required to train the quarter horses for use on ranches and as rodeo stock, to the standards his cousins had set.
Their cousins’ business plan would be very ambitious if there was just one ranch involved. But there were three, and there was just enough busy to go around.
“They’re looking good.” Cord joined him astride his horse. His gaze scanned the herd—small by Montana standards.
And yet the pride on his cousin’s face was deeper, richer, than any he’d seen on his father or brothers, whose herds were into the thousands. To them the cattle were simply a means to an end, a commodity. They took no pleasure in the day to day, in the doing and the achieving and the being. It was, for them, all about the bottom line.
He’d speak to Dale tonight, but he was pretty sure he’d just made up his mind about Lusty. This would be a good place to stay, to sink down roots, to build a life and a lifetime of memories. He recalled that fateful lunch they’d shared in Billings, he and Dale, just before Norah had come into the restaurant and changed everything. Dale had asked him what he would wish for if he could have anything in the world. Parker recalled his words as if he’d said them yesterday.
What would I wish for if I could have anything in the world? It would be to have a home, a family, a place to live where people are decent to each other, where there’s no such thing as alternative facts, and those around you want to build you up instead of tear you down all the damn time.
Here in Lusty, where he was up to his ass in family, he could honestly say he’d found that place. Finding the woman we love is a spectacular bonus.
Dale rode toward him, and the decision was made to head back to Cord and Jackson’s and take a late lunch break. Parker held back, meeting his brother’s gaze.
“You’ve been thinking what I’ve been thinking?” Dale asked.
“I want to stay. I want to set down roots.”
“Yeah.” He nodded once. “Funny how we so often get to the same page at about the same time, isn’t it?”
Love Under Two Montanans Page 14