by Marla Monroe
Riverbend, Texas Heat 3
Counting Her Blessings
Caitlyn hadn’t planned on jumping out of one disaster of a relationship into one that included two hunky men intent on making her theirs. She needs to get her life in order first, and that doesn’t include jumping into another relationship that is probably more than she can handle.
Brody and Lamar are certain that Caitlyn is the woman of their dreams. How can they convince her to give their kind of love a chance? She is set on moving to Austin and setting up house there. They want her in Riverbend and in their bed.
When an outside business decides to put pressure on the brothers by using Caitlyn, how will they manage to keep her safe when she’s insistent that they would never work as a family? Will they be able to convince her to let them watch over her, or will she end up the pawn used against them?
Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among siblings.
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Western/Cowboys
Length: 66,809 words
COUNTING HER BLESSINGS
Riverbend, Texas Heat 3
Marla Monroe
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
COUNTING HER BLESSINGS
Copyright © 2012 by Marla Monroe
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-236-5
First E-book Publication: August 2012
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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COUNTING HER BLESSINGS
Riverbend, Texas Heat 3
MARLA MONROE
Copyright © 2012
Chapter One
Caitlyn drove past the sign that said Welcome to Riverbend, Texas, population 345, and continued into town. It was close to 9:00 p.m., and she was about done in. Her brother promised to meet her at the diner to show her how to get out to his house. Her navigation package didn’t include newly built roads. She pulled into the diner right where he said it would be and climbed out of her Pathfinder. Her legs were stiff from the long drive from Jackson, Mississippi. He would have a fit when he found out she had left her house at eight the night before and driven straight through. Twenty-four hours without stopping except for gas and bathroom breaks took a toll on a person.
She walked into the diner, dead on her feet, and found a booth where she could watch for his truck. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed his number. It went to voice mail. She left a message and had just punched off when the waitress, a sweet-looking young woman, walked up to take her order.
“What can I get for you?”
“Diet Coke and a grilled cheese sandwich, if you don’t mind.”
“Want fries with it?”
“No, thanks.”
The waitress smiled and walked off to fill her drink order. She couldn’t see much of the place in the dark, but Brian seemed real happy with the town. Considering his predilection for a ménage relationship, she supposed he was lucky to have found somewhere that would accept him and his family. Not many places would.
She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She needed a bed and soon. She didn’t think she could stay awake much longer.
“Here’s your drink, ma’am. You passing through?”
“Oh, um, thanks. No. I’m visiting my brother. He’s supposed to meet me here.”
“Who’s your brother?”
“Brian Southworth.”
“Sure, I know him. He and Tish and Andy are getting married next week. Welcome to Riverbend.”
“Thanks.”
“Your grilled cheese will be out in just a few minutes.”
By the time she had finished her grilled cheese, she was seriously fighting sleep. She tried calling her brother, but once again, it went straight to voice mail. She sighed and waved the waitress over.
“Look, I know you are getting ready to close. Do you know the way out to his house? He’s not answering the phone and I need to get to bed soon.”
“Sure. They just built a house out on the new road. There are only three houses out there now. Let me get something to write on. I’ll be right back.” The waitress hurried over to the register and grabbed a pad. She returned and began to draw a simple map.
Fifteen minutes later, Caitlyn was on her way with the map and a Diet Coke to go. She made it to the new road with no problems at all, but no sooner had she turned off on it, than she began having a seriously hard time keeping her eyes open. She kept her speed slow since there was no other traffic on the road. Before long, she closed her eyes and didn’t open them again until she ran off the road. It jarred her enough that she hit her head on the side window. She tried to open her eyes again, but all she could see was darkness. She needed to rest. Just for a minute. She closed her eyes once again and fell asleep.
* * * *
Brody turned the truck down the newly paved road toward their equally new house. I
t was finally finished. Now all they had to do was find a wife. Lamar stretched his legs out in the passenger side of the truck and yawned.
“Driving to Austin to go out is a pisser if you ask me.” Lamar rubbed his hands over his face. He’d had a couple more beers than Brody had. Being the designated driver meant Brody had cut off early and drank coffee the last couple of hours.
“Next time, we’ll get a hotel room and drive home the next day,” Brody told him.
“Still sucks to have to go all the way to Austin to find someone to date.”
“There’s no one in town we’re interested in, what do you suggest we do? Place an ad in the Lonely Hearts section of the newspaper?”
“Hey! What’s that?” Lamar pointed off to the left of the road. “Looks like a car.”
“Hell, someone’s gone and run off the road into the ditch. Grab a flashlight.” He pulled over and set his emergency blinkers. “Let’s see if there’s anyone still in the car.”
“Looks like they just drove into it,” Lamar said.
They climbed out of the truck and walked over to where the Pathfinder sat just as pretty as you please off the side of the road. Lamar shined the light inside the vehicle and cursed.
“There’s a woman in there. She’s not moving.”
Brody peered in through the passenger side window. He walked around to the driver’s side and knocked on the window.
“Ma’am? Can you hear me?”
She didn’t answer and she didn’t move.
He tried the door and found that it was unlocked. When he opened the door, she moaned.
“Ma’am. Can you hear me?”
She opened her eyes and fear leapt from them. She tried scooting over, but the seat belt had her caught.
“Easy, lady. No one’s going to hurt you. What happened?”
“I–I think I fell asleep. Where am I?”
“You’re on Wayfill Road. Where are you trying to go?”
“My brother’s house. He lives out here.” She ran her hand over her face where she’d hit her head. It was tender but came away without any blood.
“Are you hurt?” He immediately grabbed a flashlight from Lamar and shined it on her face.
“Hey! That hurts.”
“Sorry. You’ve got a bruise. Do you remember hitting your head?”
“Yeah, when I ran off the road. Look, do you know my brother? Brian Southworth.”
“Yeah, you’re Brian’s sister? He said you were coming to the wedding. He’s going to be pretty upset that you got hurt.”
“Can you get me to his house? I’m really sorry to be a problem. I’ve been driving all night and I’m really tired.”
“Where did you drive from?” Brody asked as he unbuckled her seat belt.
“Jackson, Mississippi.”
Brody stopped what he was doing. He heard Lamar curse behind him.
“You drove all the way from Mississippi by yourself? When the hell did you leave?”
“Last night around eight. I had to leave. It was time to leave.”
She closed her eyes and nodded off again.
“Fuck! Brian isn’t here this weekend. What are we going to do with her?” Lamar asked.
“We’ll have to take her to our place tonight. She’s totally washed out. I’ll leave a message on his voice mail about where she is. I bet he has several from her already telling him she was on her way.”
“We could take her over to Tish’s place,” Lamar suggested.
“Tish doesn’t have a spare room for her to sleep in either. She’ll be fine with us. Besides, I feel responsible for her since she doesn’t have anyone looking out for her. Brian is going to be pretty upset with her when he gets home.”
“Hell, can you blame him? She drove all the way from Mississippi, and it sounds like she’s been driving for twenty-four straight hours.”
“Yeah, that was my take on it, too. Grab her gear from the back. I’ll carry her to the truck.”
They quickly loaded all her gear and climbed up in the cab with her in the middle sound asleep.
Lamar touched her face then shook his head. “She’s awfully pretty.”
“Yeah. I can see the resemblance, but she has auburn hair where Brian’s is browner.” Brody winced at the small bruise on her temple. He wondered if that was another reason she was so out of it. How hard did she hit her head?
He pulled into their driveway that wound a good half mile before dead-ending into their garage. He quickly unlocked the house before picking her up and carrying her into the master suite.
“You’re putting her in here?” Lamar asked.
“Yeah, she’s Brian’s sister, and the other bedrooms don’t have a private bathroom.”
“If you say so.” Lamar carried in her luggage and sat it at the foot of the bed.
“Think we should wake her up every couple of hours since she has that bruise on her temple?”
Lamar shrugged. “It couldn’t hurt. She’ll probably get mad, but we have a reason to do it.”
“Ma’am, can you wake up for me for a minute? What’s your name?” Brody shook her slightly.
She blinked then opened her eyes. “Caitlyn. Where am I?”
“You’re at our house. Brian is out of town until tomorrow night. What’s your name?”
“He’s not home? But he said he would be.” Panic widened her eyes. She struggled to sit up then held her hand over the bruise on her head.
“Easy. You have a bump there. Do you need something for pain?”
“I—I don’t know what to do. He said he would be here.”
“Easy, you’re fine where you are. We live down the road from him. You’re safe here. Do you want something for your head?”
“Yes, please.” She lowered her eyes.
“Lamar.”
“I’m on it. I’ll be right back.”
She finally looked directly into his eyes. Hers were the brightest green he had ever seen. They were mesmerizing. No doubt Lamar had seen them before he had.
“Here is a glass of water and some Tylenol.” Lamar held both out.
“I’ll help her sit up. You help her with the pills.” Brody slipped behind her and held her in a sitting position while Lamar helped her swallow the pills.
“Thanks. I’m sorry I’m so much trouble.”
“It’s not a problem,” Lamar said.
Brody smiled. His brother was smitten.
“What where you doing driving that far all by yourself?” Brody asked.
“Who else was going to come with me?” She frowned.
“I got the impression you were married or living with someone.” Brody was sure Brian said she was married.
“Ah, no, I’ve been living with a friend, but she’s getting married and needed to start getting ready for the baby. I thought I better go ahead and move out. Brian was supposed to be here.”
“He didn’t know you were coming, evidently. He decided at the last minute to make one more run before the wedding.”
“I thought he was going to stop truck driving.”
“He did, or is. He was doing a favor for someone and wanted the extra money for their honeymoon.”
“I was going to house-sit for them while they were gone and start the books on their business for them.”
“Brian told us you were an accountant. It’s really nice of you to set up his books and help him get started. They’ve been working hard at the store getting it ready.”
“I can’t wait to see the store. He’s told me so much about it.” She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. “I’m sorry. I think I need another nap.”
“Go ahead and sleep, Caitlyn. I’ll wake you up again in a little while to check on you.”
He might as well have been talking to the wall. She was already sound asleep. Anger boiled inside him. Brian should have made sure she had someone driving out with her. She had no business being alone and certainly not driving at night. He was going to have some words with Brian when he got home.
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“Uh-oh. Someone is in for it.” Lamar looked up when Brody walked into the living room.
“Brian should have made sure she was taken care of before he left. She drove all the way from Mississippi alone, and did it without stopping to rest. She needs her ass paddled.”
“That’s Brian’s call,” Lamar pointed out.
“Hell, I know that.” Brody walked over to the kitchen and pulled out a beer. “You might as well go on and get some sleep. I’ll stay up and wake her up every two hours.”
“I like her, Brody. She’s special.”
“Yeah, I can agree with you there, but we have Brian to deal with, and he may not like that we want to claim her.”
“He doesn’t know that she’s separated or divorced, does he?”
“Nope, I don’t think so. He sure gave me the impression that she was taken.”
“Think that was just to scare off potential suitors?” Lamar asked.
“Somehow, I don’t think so. I didn’t think he was too happy with her husband.”
“Wake me up if something is wrong. I’ll be up early in the morning and then you can get some sleep if you want a nap.”
“Sounds good.”
Lamar left him to go upstairs to his room. All the spare bedrooms were upstairs. The master suite was downstairs on the other side of the kitchen. They had designed it that way to keep it separate from the rest of the house.
He relaxed in the recliner and sipped his beer. She was a dream come true as far as he was concerned. Between her heavenly shaped body and her beautiful eyes and hair, he would have fallen for her even without having talked to her. But listening to her soft Southern accent and the fact that she seemed so lost, he was in over his head.
