Healing Hearts 8: Teach Me What Love Is

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  “Yes. We’ll take two. Well, Rocky, did you get yours yet?” Paulie asked.

  “I’ll buy it from Faith when we’re all done here,” he said and eased his hands from her shoulders and stood beside her. He locked gazes with Paulie and Paulie squinted as Hendrick paid her. That’s when someone came up behind them and slammed into Faith. She fell against the table, and Rocky looked and saw it was a little kid. She turned to look and he was about to yell when he saw the boy was holding his throat and unable to talk.

  “Johnny, are you choking?” she yelled at him and he nodded. She turned him around, wrapped her arms around his midsection and did the Heimlich maneuver. He heard a woman screaming and then who he thought were the parents coming over when the piece of chicken dislodged from his throat. The little boy was crying, Faith was on her knees on the ground as he hugged her and sobbed.

  “Oh my God, Miss Coleman. Thank you so much. Oh God, he ran right to you. He saw you and he was choking and ran so fast to you,” the mother carried on and was caressing his hair.

  Faith pulled back and smoothed the boy’s hair from his cheeks as some paramedics who were there today in case of an emergency approached.

  “Are you okay now, Johnny?” Tears streamed down his cheeks, and he rubbed snot on her shirt from his nose and she didn’t even care. Rocky couldn’t believe it and when he looked at Paulie and Hendrick it seemed they were thinking the same thing.

  “Let the nice paramedics check you out as a precaution, okay, Johnny? You’re all right,” Faith said and the paramedics walked with him as his mom hugged Faith and then his dad, too.

  “You are above and beyond just a teacher, Faith. Thank you,” he said and walked away.

  She closed her eyes and exhaled and Rocky placed his hand on her shoulder and Paulie placed his hand on her hip.

  “Are you okay?” they both asked and her eyes popped open.

  She started to move away when Paulie stopped her. “I think you need to change your blouse,” he said and she looked down and then made a funny face, before she pulled it off. Rocky’s eyes zeroed in on her voluptuous figure as Caden approached.

  “You are something else, Faith. Thank God you were here. I was heading over to tell you your replacements are here,” he said and there were Casey, Ranger, and Roman.

  Casey hugged Faith hello and then she said she was going to try and rinse off her blouse.

  “Take a lunch break and enjoy the festivities. We’re all good from here on out,” Caden said and then gave her a wink.

  She smiled.

  “Why don’t we walk with you? We just finished up at the booth we were working at and were going to grab some lunch. Come along with us,” Paulie said.

  She shyly pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing tiny diamond stud earrings. Feminine and petite like her.

  “Come on, it will be fun and there’s no need to walk around alone,” Paulie added and she nodded and they started walking.

  “I need to find a restroom so I can clean this,” she said to them.

  “It’s getting pretty hot out, I doubt you’ll need it but we can find one,” Rocky said.

  She stared up at him and then looked at Hendrick and Paulie. “You guys are very tall, very big men. How tall are you actually?” she asked as they walked.

  “Six feet four,” Rocky told her, but then placed his hand on her hip as if guiding her.

  She tightened up immediately. She was definitely on edge around them. It was different than most women. They threw themselves at him and his brothers. Hung on their arms and complimented their muscles. Damn, when he thought about the women he wasted time with he suddenly felt like he wasn’t good enough for someone as classy, sophisticated and beautiful as Faith. She was shy, prim and proper yet sexy at the same time. He could only imagine how submissive of a lover she was. Maybe even inexperienced. He felt jealous of any other man that got to see her naked. Got to explore her with his mouth and make her come.

  “Rocky.” She said his name and he hadn’t even realized that they were already by the building where the restrooms were.

  He released his hold on her hip and gave her a smile. “We’ll wait for you.”

  She gulped then looked at his brothers, who weren’t so close.

  “There’s no need to. I think I’ll just walk around a little and then head home.”

  He scrunched his eyes together. “Head home? Why? It’s a nice day out, and there’s a bunch to see. You don’t like to socialize or something?” he asked and gave her the once-over. Could this be an act? He’d seen all different kinds of angles by women in his forty years of life.

  She worried her bottom lip and glanced up at them again. “I socialize plenty, I just don’t know you or your brothers and I don’t make it a habit of just hanging out with men I don’t know.”

  “Are you serious?” Paulie asked her. Now he looked at her like she was up to something.

  “Your friends know us. We’ll probably head over to where they are hanging out. I heard that Brook was going to be here. You’re good friends with her, aren’t you?” he asked and wondered why he felt like he was preying on the weak with her. She was incredibly gorgeous. The way she stood there, her head tilted back and trying to look up at him. Those baby blue eyes so telling, and that hairstyle was perfect for her, it also made her neck accessible and he would love to take a little taste. Holy fuck. He was losing his mind. He never looked at a woman and thought about her neck, and what she would taste like and smell like. What the fuck?

  “Just do what you need to do and we’ll wait here,” he ordered. Her eyes widened and she quickly headed into the building.

  “Jesus, Rocky, you losing your fucking touch or what?” Paulie asked him.

  “Why are you even bothering? She’s scared shitless of you, and us, and she’s good friends with Brook. You don’t need that kind of heat,” Hendrick said to him.

  He had an angry look on his face and he knew it. He could feel his body tighten and his mind go into a thousand directions but kept coming back to wanting to get to know Faith.

  “Look at her. Don’t fucking tell me that you feel nothing. The both of you immediately zeroed in on her when you came to the ticket table.”

  “She’s a looker, but not typical,” Paulie stated.

  “Not an easy lay. That is a woman with class. A fucking school teacher. Why the fuck would she be interested in three hardcore soldiers, two currently active in SWAT?” Hendrick said to them.

  “I’m not sure she is interested but I think I want to make her interested.” Paulie gave a nod toward the door and as they all looked over she was coming out, and a guy held the door open for her, smiled, winked and then stared at her ass as she walked. The three of them must have had scowls on their faces because the poor woman stopped, eyes wide and held on to her blouse tight. Paulie cleared his throat.

  “I saw Kinchley earlier and he said his brothers and Brook would be near the pavilion at lunch time. Why don’t we head that way and see if they’re there,” he said to her.

  She stared at him and Rocky watched as Paulie reached out and stroked her jaw.

  “Sweetie, please stop looking at me like I’m a serial killer. I swear, you’re safe with us,” he said to her.

  She pursed her lips and exhaled. “I don’t think you’re serial killers.”

  “Could have fooled me,” Hendrick said as they started walking.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to insult you. I…I just prefer to do things alone.”

  “What fun is that?” Rocky asked her, taking position on one side of her as Paulie took position on her other side and Hendrick remained behind her.

  She didn’t respond and they remained quiet until they got to the pavilion and she saw Brook. Brook’s eyes widened and then she scrunched them together and gave Rocky the stare down. He knew in that moment that he and his brothers needed to decide what their intentions were with Faith. He didn’t think he was commitment material, yet he wanted Faith all to himself
and his brothers. Kind of not the way a commitment worked. He was older, too. Perhaps he needed to push this attraction aside. Faith deserved better. Hendrick was right.

  * * * *

  “What are you doing hanging out with Rocky, Paulie, and Hendrick?” Brook asked her as they sat by the picnic tables waiting for the guys to bring back food for them.

  She explained about Rocky teasing her and then helping at the table too and then about little Johnny choking.

  “Oh my God, that is crazy. Thank God you were there.”

  “I think he saw me and just ran to me to help him.”

  “Because he knew you would. Your kids love you.”

  “I love the kids. I truly love being a teacher,” Faith said and smiled as she looked around at all the families enjoying the day.

  “Apparently you have gained the attention of three pretty intense men. I’m not sure how I feel about this,” Brook said.

  “How you feel? I don’t know what to think. Maybe they’re just being nice, or worse, maybe they think I’m gullible.”

  “Gullible? Are we back to this again? I thought you were starting to gain more self-confidence? What happened to the self-defense classes you were starting?”

  “Nothing works with my schedule.”

  “Bullshit. I don’t know why you can’t take the classes with the instructors I recommended. Corey said he would work around your schedule and even do nights.”

  “I don’t feel comfortable with it. I’m not an aggressive person. That’s why I wound up in the trouble I did.”

  “That isn’t true. Andrew was an asshole and he took advantage of your timidness and used his muscles and his demands to force you to remain involved with him. He was abusive and if he didn’t strike that night it would have happened another night instead.”

  “I know that, and it’s something I need to live with.”

  “Well, don’t let it hold you back from gaining more self-confidence. You haven’t gone out with any guys since and that’s over a year now. Maybe hanging out with Rocky and his brothers as friends first could be a positive thing.”

  “Brook, are you nuts?” she asked, eyes wide and then glanced behind her to make sure the men weren’t coming back yet. “They are huge and like six feet four. I’m five feet three. They could toss me around with one arm and without even trying, and that isn’t even touching their other capabilities as soldiers, and SWAT.”

  “They are good men and not batterers. I think it’s kind of sexy that you’re so petite and they are so big. You would definitely be protected between them.”

  “Controlled is more like it,” Faith said and exhaled as she stared at her fingers on her lap.

  “Controlled?”

  Faith looked at her and whispered, “Rocky orders when he speaks. He scares me. Paulie does too with all those muscles and the way I felt so much when he touched my jaw and accused me of thinking he was a serial killer.”

  Brook laughed.

  “Not funny. And Hendrick? Look at him. He is fierce, doesn’t smile and he barely spoke to me since we met up with you guys.”

  “Well, I get the feeling that you aren’t the only one who is shocked at the attraction between the four of you.”

  “I don’t know. I think they’re perfect, and I’m not. I’m just not a good judge of character, Brook. Plus I’m embarrassed about what Andrew did to me. I’m not over the fear of him and that’s not fair to any man I would consider even having an interest in. Besides that, I don’t know how to act. I don’t know what a girlfriend is supposed to do or be like.”

  Brook sighed. “I think you’re overthinking and the best thing to do would be to just go with the flow.”

  “I’m a school teacher. We don’t go with the flow. I’m organized, everything has a time and a place to avoid chaos.”

  “Well, honey, take it from me, sometimes chaos is good. Sometimes it’s hot,” she said and winked.

  “Oh God,” Faith said and then Brook chuckled as the men appeared and were heading toward them.

  As they all gathered around and set up their lunch to eat, the conversation flowed nicely. Faith just listened as the men talked about some upcoming events and then they mentioned some guy they all knew who was joining the Y in Mercy and teaching a combination of self-defense and kickboxing. She listened to them talk about the importance of having some form of self-defense and training. Faith totally felt uncomfortable. Everyone there was involved in the military or law enforcement or both. It made her feel like she was lame and weak to not even be able to defend herself if there were a situation.

  “Do you take any classes, Faith?” Conan asked her. She shook her head. Immediately she noticed the expressions on Rocky, Paulie, and Hendrick’s faces change. They seemed disappointed and angry.

  “I can’t believe you haven’t taken any. Not even one?” Paulie asked.

  “I was taking a self-defense class with Brook’s friend Corey, but it really didn’t work around my schedule,” she said, feeling like she needed to defend herself.

  “Listen, some people aren’t that comfortable with the entire way self-defense classes are run,” Brook said in her defense and Faith cleared her throat.

  “I have a very busy schedule and my friends all have their own private training now. I just haven’t found a place I’m comfortable with,” she said.

  She looked at Brook when the men basically went on to a different conversation, making it obvious that her excuse was lame. Now Faith felt like she needed to try and fit in some kind of self-defense class. Maybe she would. These guys thought she was weak and unable to handle things on her own. Well, they didn’t know what she went through.

  Just then she saw the guys from earlier in the day, the ones Caden told her about after they came to the table to flirt with her. They supposedly helped out with some sort of self-defense program as subs at the Y and were having an open house tomorrow.

  “Excuse me a moment,” she said and stood up. She walked over to the three men and stopped them. They of course smiled wide and she knew they would think she was flirting so she made sure they understood she meant business.

  They looked past her and she didn’t want to look, too, having a feeling that the men with Brook would think she was out of her mind.

  “That open house is tomorrow, right?” she asked and the one blond smiled wide. He looked her over.

  “You interested?” he asked.

  “In learning self-defense,” she said firmly.

  “Of course. That’s what we’ll be teaching. Get there a little early and we can start some moves,” the other guy said.

  She had an uneasy feeling. Why was she over here? How come Paulie, Rocky, and Hendrick’s response to her never taking self-defense got under her skin and made her react? She nibbled her bottom lip. The blond placed his hand on her shoulder and lowered slightly to look her in the eyes.

  “Don’t worry, sweetie, we’ll go slow with you and teach you step-by-step instruction. Just show up so we know how serious you are in learning,” he added.

  She nodded, said thank you then walked back to the table.

  “What was that all about?” Rocky asked her with attitude.

  “Nothing,” she said and went to sit down, which was basically right next to him.

  “Nothing, my ass. What did you say to them?” he pushed.

  “I just remembered what they said about teaching an open house tomorrow at the Y when they came by our table earlier. They invited me but I declined. Since you all looked at me like I was nuts for not having some form of self-defense training, I decided I would take them up on their offer.”

  “What?” Paulie asked, teeth clenched.

  “They said they would take their time and go slow. Maybe that’s what I need,” she said and then took a sip of her iced tea.

  “You’re not going,” Paulie stated.

  Brook chuckled and Faith didn’t know why. She looked at Paulie. “What are you talking about?”

  “You aren’t
going,” Hendrick stated but didn’t look at her. Faith glanced at Brook’s men, who looked half ready to reprimand her too and half about to smile.

  Rocky turned in his seat and grabbed her by her shoulders.

  “You are not going. It isn’t happening,” he stated firmly.

  “Says who?” she asked.

  “Me.” Before she could ask Rocky what he was talking about, he kissed her. Right there, right in front of everyone he kissed her. She couldn’t believe the instant attraction she had and how turned on she was that this extra large, older man just basically shut her up by kissing her, and it didn’t seem like he wanted to stop either. Neither did she as she grabbed on to his shoulders, ran her hand up into his hair as he dipped her slightly and moaned into her mouth.

  When they heard some hoots and hollers it brought them both back to the present and he pulled her back up and slowly released her lips. He stared into her face, which had to be flushed and he narrowed his eyes at her.

  “Tomorrow morning Hendrick will be teaching you some self-defense skills. Not those guys and not at the Y. Understood?” he asked firmly.

  “Not exactly,” she whispered and the guys all started to laugh.

  Rocky gripped her chin and cheek. “My brothers and I will explain. Thoroughly so you get it.” He gave her a wink and then turned back around and started to finish eating his sandwich. She looked at Hendrick, who somehow seemed more serious than earlier and then to Paulie, who licked his lips and gave her body the once over, making her nipples harden and her pussy actually clench. Holy shit. She liked the three of them. Rocky was staking some sort of claim. Was this a ménage? The start of one? They wanted sex?

  “Oh God,” she said and exhaled.

  “Easy, Faith. Take your time and don’t let those three hard asses freak you out. It will work out fine,” Brook said but Faith wasn’t sure about that at all.

  Chapter 3

  “I need to wrap things up. I want to get to my life, to fixing everything,” Andrew said to Greg over the phone.

  “Well, you can’t yet. There’s been a change of plans. Some guys of Leonard’s were asking some questions about you and where you were staying. Apparently your little gift to his wife has sent him into a frenzy. I told you that was a bad fucking idea.”