by Marla Monroe
“Figured the sun would make you hungry.”
She gave a half smile and shook her head. “I’m really not very hungry.”
The growling of her stomach had both him and his brother chuckling. He enjoyed watching the faint blush stain her cheeks.
“I guess I could maybe eat something,” she muttered.
Justin hid his grin and handed her a sandwich and a bag of chips. They ate in a surprisingly comfortable silence despite their earlier argument. He felt sure they could work things out if she wouldn’t immediately take things the wrong way and Paul wouldn’t act so aggressive.
It always fell on his shoulders to be the peacemaker in their relationships, whether personal or business. He didn’t mind for the most part, but sometimes, he wanted the luxury of getting angry about something and expressing how he felt. Now wasn’t the time to press it, though. Lana might be in danger, and he wouldn’t risk her life for anything.
“Do you like working at the school?” Paul’s question came out of the blue.
She smiled and nodded. “I enjoy keeping things running smoothly. I wish I could use more of my business management studies, but for now it’s a good job.”
“So you majored in business management?” Justin wanted to keep her talking about herself.
“Actually I have a double major, one in that and one in marketing. I had planned to get a job in Dallas or Houston someday.”
Justin’s eyes met Paul’s. It was perfect. They needed a manager for their company who could direct and promote the business while they handled the office work. They would have to use caution, though, in getting her to come to work for them. She would balk at the direct offer of a job, believing that they had manufactured it to get her closer to them. Even if they had, it wouldn’t matter. She was all that mattered.
“I really should be getting home now, guys. I’ve got work tomorrow.” She began gathering up the wrappers from the sandwiches and stuffing them in the empty chip bags.
Justin helped her, and they stuffed everything back in his box. Paul folded the blanket with her help then picked up the cooler and the three of them walked back toward the truck. He hoped that everything had smoothed out so there wouldn’t be any problem with them coming around more often.
Once they had reached the truck, Justin helped Lana into the cab then swung up next to her. Paul drove them back to her apartment. They all got out despite her frown. When they reached her apartment, Paul took her key from her and unlocked the door before giving back her key. She gave him a small smile. It was a start.
“Thanks for taking me to the park and for the picnic.”
“We need to talk about when you’re working at night again.” Paul placed a hand on the door when she started to close it.
She stared at him for a few seconds but finally sighed and backed into the room, holding the door open wide. They walked in and waited while she walked over to the small kitchen area and pulled a piece of paper off the fridge.
“I work tomorrow night, and Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights this week.”
“Do you work at all this weekend?” Paul asked.
“Um, no. I’m off Saturday and Sunday.”
“Good. We’re going to a party Saturday afternoon.”
Justin rolled his eyes at his brother’s method of asking for a date. Evidently Lana was getting used to his directness because she smiled and shook her head.
“I guess that means you’re asking me to go with you.”
Paul’s lips twitched, obviously trying to keep from smiling. It was the first crack in his brother’s armor. He hoped it would be the first of many.
* * * *
Lana couldn’t believe that she was flirting with Paul now after his comment from earlier. What was wrong with her? She placed her schedule back on the fridge and walked over to the door in hopes that they would take the hint. She really needed them to leave so she could regain her composure. Being around them was keeping her on edge.
“It’s a barbeque and pool party, Lana. It will be fun.” Justin seemed eager that she want to attend with them.
“It’s going to be at the Tidwells’. You’ll enjoy yourself.” Paul reached out and fingered a strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail.
She sighed, giving in to Justin’s pleading look and maybe to Paul’s attempt at acting like he wasn’t pleading. It suddenly occurred to her that he demanded things because he didn’t expect for anyone to give in to him if he merely asked.
“Okay. What time do I need to be ready?”
“We’ll pick you up about two. Wear a bathing suit under your clothes.” Justin grinned.
“We’ll be waiting on you tomorrow night when you get off at The Burger Hop.” Paul’s eyes bored into hers.
She was sure he expected her to balk, but she decided that having an escort home wasn’t really that bad of an idea right now. She wasn’t going to cut off her nose to spite her face. She valued her life even if it did suck sometimes. Right now it didn’t suck all that much. She couldn’t stop the smile from forming on her face as she looked up at Paul. His eyes registered surprise then suspicion.
“I’m not sure what time I’ll get off on a Monday night. We aren’t usually that busy, so sometimes I get to go home early.”
“Where is your cell phone?” Paul held out his hand.
She frowned but dug in her purse and pulled out her phone. Handing it to him, she watched as he messed with it for a few seconds then handed it back to her.
“I programmed mine and Justin’s phone numbers in it for you. Call us if you get to leave early.”
“Sure. That way you don’t have to come out there if you don’t need to.”
“No, call us before you leave so we can come on and see you home. I don’t care how early it is. We don’t want you out alone.”
She started to argue but caught a pleading glimpse from Justin and decided to back off. It actually felt good for someone to worry about her for a change. She had never really had anyone do that for her. She had been independent almost from the time that she started school as a six-year-old. Her mom had pretty much left her on her own, though she had always shown her plenty of love. She was just so caught up in trying to make a living that she didn’t always have the time or the energy to do more than that. Lana had been proud to be able to take care of herself. At some point, her mom had begun to depend on her more and more as she had grown up.
Now, looking back, she realized that, except for when she’d been seriously ill at fifteen, her mom had depended on her to take care of herself. She never questioned her choices or criticized her decisions. When her mom had moved to Riverbend while she was in college, Lana had looked at it as her mom’s way of backing away from depending on her as much. Lana had been happy, believing that she would find a dream job in a big city after school.
Unfortunately, not long after she had graduated college, her mom had been diagnosed with cancer. She had moved to Riverbend to take care of her and spend as much time as possible with her before she was gone. Now she was alone, and the idea of someone worrying over her actually sounded nice for a change.
“Okay. I’ll call you as soon as I know.”
“What time do you go to work in the mornings?” Justin’s voice startled her. She’d been so absorbed with Paul that she’d nearly forgotten about him.
“Um, I go in at eight.”
“Good. Plenty of daylight then. You still need to be aware of everything around you, though.”
“I will. I’m not taking any chances.” She looked at both of them. “Thank you for watching out for me.”
“That’s what friends do, Lana. They take care of each other. We plan to take real good care of you, babe.” Paul’s voice dipped lower with the last sentence.
“We’ll let you get ready for work tomorrow. Get some sleep, sweetheart.” Justin turned and walked over to the door.
Paul followed him, but they didn’t immediately open the door. Instead, Paul pulled her into his ar
ms so fast she didn’t have time to even squeak. His head lowered toward hers slowly enough that she could have protested, but for some reason, she didn’t. Then his mouth touched hers, moving against her lips until she opened for him and his tongue sank in. He held her head between his hands and tilted her head the way he wanted so that he could devour her mouth. His tongue teased and tussled with hers until she could no longer think.
The touch of another set of hands at her waist and the feel of Justin’s hard body at her back jerked her back to reality better than a cold glass of water poured over her head. She pushed against Paul. In the process, it moved her closer to Justin. She could feel his erection in the small of her back and stilled.
“Easy, sweetheart.” Justin’s grip on her waist tightened then he turned her around to face him.
He didn’t give her a chance to pull away as Paul had. Instead, Justin took her mouth in a wash of need that sang through his body into hers. His lips devoured hers as his tongue slipped inside to drive her insane with a tenacious aim to make her his. His and Paul’s. When he finally pulled back, Lana could barely stand, much less think straight. Her panties were soaked, and her nipples hard pebbles that begged for attention. She realized that while Justin had dominated her thoughts with his kiss, Paul’s hands had remained on her as well.
“We’ll see you tomorrow night. Don’t forget to call us if you can leave early.” Paul let go of her and walked through the door.
“Lock up, Lana.” Justin snuck in another quick kiss to her cheek before he, too, walked out.
She quickly closed and locked the door before turning and leaning against it, her breath coming in quick pants. What had just happened? Paul’s kiss had just about melted her insides. Then Justin’s heat at her back had her stomach doing somersaults. And that kiss.
Lana had never felt anything like how she felt around them. When they touched her she couldn’t think straight. Paul’s kiss had just about turned her inside out while Justin’s had pretty much finished the job. Being caught between them, shocks of arousal had flared deep inside her. She couldn’t afford to let them get to her. She wasn’t strong enough to handle them. They would use her and then move on. She wasn’t going to allow that to happen.
Hands shaking, Lana turned and headed straight to the bathroom. She needed a shower, preferably a cold one. Paul and Justin were nice men, but they were out of her league. The sooner she got that through her head, the better off she would be.
Hot prickles of heat helped soothe her frazzled nerves and relax her taut muscles. Lana dressed in clean clothes and began gathering her things for work the next day. After making sure she had her uniform for The Burger Hop hanging by the door so she wouldn’t forget it on her way out, it dawned on her that she didn’t have a bathing suit for the party the next weekend. Shrugging, she decided to think about it later. If she had time she would try and find one to fit that she could afford. If not, she just wouldn’t go swimming.
By nine o’clock, she was tired and ready for bed. Everything was set up for the week ahead, so when she finally settled under the light sheet, Lana was surprised that she had trouble immediately falling asleep. Instead, thoughts of two very handsome men kept circling in her head. Once she finally did drift off, it was no wonder that her dreams included them.
Chapter Five
The week passed quickly for Lana. Between working at the school and her nights at The Burger Hop, she was totally worn out by the time Saturday wound around. She’d been so busy that week that she hadn’t had time to locate a cheap bathing suit, so she would have to go without one.
There hadn’t been a repeat of the kiss from the previous Sunday, so Lana felt like it had just been a spur-of-the-moment type thing and they hadn’t really meant anything by it. She wasn’t sure why that disappointed her when she knew she didn’t need to get involved with them. She chalked it up to being in a long dry spell for sex and left it at that.
By the time the men showed up at two Saturday afternoon, she had managed to get a little housework done before she showered and dressed for the party. She wore navy-blue Capri pants and a red blouse. She had pulled her hair back into a ponytail and was just stuffing her driver’s license and some money in her pocket when she heard knocking at her door.
When she checked the peephole, it proved to be Justin. She quickly unlocked the door and opened it.
“Hi.”
“You look great!” Justin’s appreciative look did wonders for her self-esteem.
She smiled and grabbed her keys before pulling the door shut behind her. He followed her out to the truck with a guiding hand at her back. After helping her up into the cab to sit next to Paul, he jumped up after her. Both men watched as she fastened the safety belt before Paul pulled out of the parking lot.
“Mac, Mason, and Beth live outside of Riverbend. It’s a really pretty place.” Justin filled her in on who all would be there.
“Did you and Paul do the landscaping?” she asked.
“Yep. We keep it nice for them. With Mac being the sheriff and Mason handling a busy law career, neither of them have time to deal with it.”
“What about Beth?”
Justin chuckled after exchanging a look with Paul. “She’s an editor, and there is no way those men would ever let her get her hands dirty outside. They treat her like a princess, like a woman’s supposed to be treated.”
Lana couldn’t imagine a relationship like that at all. She would feel smothered if she couldn’t do what she wanted to do. Maybe Beth liked it, though. She started to ask what Beth thought about that, but Justin continued telling her about some of the people who would be there.
“Jared and Quade and their wife, Lexie, will be there. They own a ranch outside of town. I think Lamar, Brody, and Caitlyn will be there as well. They run a machine shop in town. Caitlyn’s brother, Brian, his partner, Andy, and their wife, Tish, should be there as well. They own a shop in town.”
“I’ll never keep all of them straight.” The names all started running together in her head.
“You’ve lived here for several years now, Lana. I can’t believe you don’t know some of them.” Paul glanced her way before returning his attention to the road.
“I spent most of that time with Mom and taking her back and forth to Dallas to her appointments.” Not wanting to think about losing her mom, she quickly asked a question about who else would be there.
“I’m not sure if Travis and his brother, Randy, will be there or not. They’ve been really busy with their ranch lately.” Justin named a few other people she didn’t know.
By the time they arrived at the Tidwells’ place, she was convinced she would be miserable among so many strangers but was determined not to show it. Being nobody with nothing to her name in the midst of that many well-off people didn’t help her relax much, either.
When Paul parked behind another truck and climbed out of the cab, Lana stiffened her spine and let Justin help her down and lead her toward the house. It was impressive and had to have at least four bedrooms. The yard around it was meticulously groomed with grass and several trees. There were even flowers in the bed beneath one of the windows.
As they headed around to the back where the sound of music and laughing voices could be heard, Paul took her other hand in his. She couldn’t stop the small shiver from the tingles that spread from her hands up both arms from their grips.
A gate was open at the side of the house, and Paul walked through pulling her and Justin behind him. A crowd of about fifteen people milled around the patio and pool area in the back. Three men manned the grill while everyone else was either sitting around one of the tables or swinging their feet in the pool while sitting on the side.
“Hey, Paul, Justin. Come on in and introduce us to that lovely lady.” One of the men at the grill walked forward and stuck out his hand.
“Lana, this is Mason Tidwell. His brother, Mac, is the sheriff. I don’t see him.” Justin squeezed her hand.
“He’s inside. He�
��ll be out in a minute.” Mason turned to Lana and held out his hand to her. “Hi, Lana. Great to meet you.”
“We’re going to introduce her around,” Justin said.
“Great idea. What can I get you to drink?”
“Beer is fine.” Paul turned to her. “What would you like, babe?”
“Um, nothing for me right now. Thanks.”
Justin wrapped an arm around her waist and urged her toward one of the tables. She watched as Paul followed Mason over to a cooler near the grill.
“Hey, Justin.” A pretty woman with shiny hazel eyes smiled up at them.
“Hi, Beth. This is Lana. She works at the high school. Lana, this is Beth.” He pointed toward the other two women sitting at the table. “That’s Lexie and Caitlyn.”
They all said hi and Beth scooted over on the bench to make room for her. Their smiles all seemed genuine and friendly. She soon found herself immersed in conversation with the three women.
“Where are you from, Lana?” Caitlyn asked her.
“Originally I’m from a little town in east Texas called Redwater. It’s near the Arkansas border.”
“Are you a teacher at the school?” Beth spoke up this time.
“No. I’m an administrative assistant.” She noticed that Lexie kept looking at her with an odd look on her face.
“I know where I’ve seen you before. You work at The Burger Hop, too.” Lexie grinned.
“Um, yeah. I work there part time.” She felt her face heat up.
“Goodness, I don’t know how you do it. I don’t think I could possibly hold up for two jobs. My hat’s off to you.” Lexie shook her head.
She didn’t know what to say, so she didn’t say anything. Thankfully, Caitlyn changed the subject.
“Have you girls read the latest Harley James book? It is hot!”
Lexie waved her hand in front of her face as if she were fanning herself. Beth’s face actually turned pink. Lana hadn’t heard of the author before. She listened as they described some of the scenes in the book. It wasn’t long before her face felt hot.