Fire & Flesh

by Kerri Carr

  I watched him walk away, his long legs distancing us. I longed to call to him, to tell him I’d stay for him. But I refused to beg him to love me. Still, I couldn’t stop the tears that streamed down my face.

  *****

  The sob that tore from my lips jerked me awake. My heart pounded in my chest and I had to blink several times, not only to clear my eyes but also to focus mentally. Just a dream, I told myself. With a groan, I rolled over onto my back and stared at the ceiling, asking myself the same question I had when I started having these dreams. Since I returned to Pagosa Springs. Why was I dreaming of him all of a sudden? I’d never truly forgotten him but at least I’d buried him along with the hurt and pain I’d suffered from growing up here. How ironic the hurt I’d run from was exactly what I’d ended up with in the big city.

  A part of my decision coming back here had been a wish to see him again. I remembered once, when Stefan and I had visited to look at the house to offer it for sale, we’d run into him. He’d ignored my greeting and walked on by. That had been four years ago and I’d not seen him around since I’d gotten here two weeks ago. I didn’t dare ask anyone after him and no one volunteered the information as though they still sensed the disappointment and hurt of our breakup.

  Most people around, who knew me growing up, gave me the cold shoulder, which I understood. I’d almost let my pride keep me from returning home but nothing was left for me in Denver. And when you were wrung out and left hanging, home was a place you could always come to. The house was there and my business had picked up a bit but it would take a lot more for the people of Pagosa Springs to feel comfortable around me. They saw me as the girl who had thought herself too good to stick around. Too good for their golden boy. If only they’d known I would have stayed had Tucker loved me enough.

  “All that’s water under a bridge that’s long since collapsed,” I muttered and got out of bed, stretching. I was putting my past behind me and starting over fresh. With the money I’d received from the divorce settlement, I’d moved back to Pagosa Springs, bought the old diner next to the fire station and turned it into a confectionary store. I was glad Stefan and I had never settled on selling my mother’s house after all because now I had it at my disposal. I’d sold off the furniture from the house in Denver and bought new pieces for my present home.

  I wanted to forget about my marriage and how gullible I had been in believing Stefan had loved me. All he’d wanted was a wife to be arm candy at social affairs while keeping a mistress on the side—several mistresses. It turned out he’d been truthful about spending all that time he was away from the house with his clients but not going over cases. More like going over their bodies— the attorney sleeping with his female clients.

  Discovering his affairs had made me sick and despite all that, I was strangely relieved. I should have never married Stefan. I’d been chasing love. No way I should have launched myself into another serious relationship as soon as I got to Denver. But he’d said he loved me and I’d believed him, and better than loving someone was being loved. Now I realized, his lips had said the words but there had been little actions. That had made me further realize, Tucker’s lips might not have said the words and despite that one time I heard about him kissing Sarah Gooden, he’d been attentive and faithful to me, almost possessive. Hadn’t he knocked out Reggie Reynolds who had made the mistake of hitting on me our senior year?

  I was feeling a tad depressed. I decided I needed a little cheering up. Although usually a happy person, sometimes I plunged into despair and today was one of those days. I knew once I dwelled in it and entertained the emotion, it would suck me in and put me in a bad mood all day. So, I took a long warm shower, washing my hair before returning to my bedroom to get dressed. I would miss the eight o’clock opening time for the shop, but what was the sense of being the boss if I couldn’t get in late when I felt like it?

  By the time I got dressed and stared at myself in the mirror, I felt a whole lot better. At twenty-six, there was a lot more snap left in these hips and a whole lot of kick left in these legs. I might have been through family crises, heartbreak and divorce, but I was still alive. I wouldn’t let the men in my life crush me. I was taking back my life.

  The hot pink dress I wore, with the flirty hemline which ended mid-thigh, flattered my generous curves. The neckline dipped in a deep ‘V’ which showed a lot of creamy cleavage. The belted waist emphasized my flat tummy and the flare of my hips. I’d blow-dried my red hair which hung down my back in natural curls and wielded my mascara and pink lipstick for the day’s makeup.

  I’d made mistakes but I wasn’t going to be burdened by them for the rest of my life.

  I grabbed my pink and white polka dot handbag which I’d bought as a matching set with the wedges I also wore. With one last look and satisfied with my appearance, I decided to leave my car keys and walk the short distance through the town to the confectionary store—Roz’s Sweet Delight.

  The morning was sunny with a light breeze and was already working to improve my mood. As was customary in these parts, I called to the persons I passed on the streets, something I didn’t have to do in the city and which no one gave a second thought to. Here it would be considered ill-mannered or worse being called hoity-toity if I forgot my greetings.

  A group of construction workers I passed and greeted, whistled as I walked by, a few shouting out their numbers.

  A wolf whistle. “Do you have a second to spare baby?”

  “Looking good today Rozanne,” from someone who must have recognized me from when I lived here before.

  “Damn Miss Rozanne, can’t wait to get a taste of your famous pie.” His suggestive tone told me he was referring to more than the pies I baked which were winning over the population of Pagosa Springs.

  By the time I got to the fire station, which was located next to the store, I determined I possibly made a colossal mistake by wearing this dress to the shop today. While it wouldn’t have caused a bat of the eye in Denver, it seemed to be catching a whole lot of attention here. When a street cleaner started waxing poetic about the shape of my legs, I concluded I had definitely made too much of an effort today.

  I tried to ignore the firemen who crowded at the door, trying to look casual as I walked by but I wasn’t buying it. At least they were having a silent admiration but knowing men as soon as they got back inside they would get crude. As if not sensing how embarrassed I already was, a gust of wind came from nowhere and blew the skirt of my dress up! I batted at the dress at the front and the back blew up. An image of myself only in a hot red thong beneath my dress came to mind at the same time I felt the breeze on my bare ass.

  And then the firemen, too, lost control and started to imitate a blowing motion with their mouths as if commanding the wind to blow again. Blasted men! Not daring to stick around and give the wind another chance, I ran precariously in my heels toward the shop, my bare ass, leaving a trail of horny men in my wake.

  *****

  “Thanks, Miss Roz. I look forward to eating more from you.”

  My mouth fell open at the sixty-year-old man who winked at me and walked out the store. I didn’t know men that age knew anything about casting innuendos, but Mr. Greer sure had been inspired by something this morning.

  “Wow, you should wear dresses like that more often,” my assistant Sophia mentioned when we were alone, the first time since I’d opened the shop. News of my plight must have circulated Pagosa Springs pretty fast because the confectionary shop had seen a steady stream of people, the most I’d seen since I set up shop. They were mostly sexually deprived men who no doubt had heard about my public display this morning and a few women coming by to look me over and assess their newest competition.

  I’d figured as much after two women occupied one of the tables laid out for those who wanted to dine-in and had commented aloud that they’d eaten apple pie way better than this and didn’t see what the whole hoopla was about. I had simply smiled at them and advised them when they did find t
hat recipe, if they could kindly share the same with me. Old hags! I was over the competing for a man’s attention if he was sniffing elsewhere.

  I was cutting an apple pie into six slices when the bell rang, announcing another person had entered the shop. Ignoring who it was so I could concentrate on the pie, I knew Sophia would take care of them.

  “Nice tongue, you better put it away or someone will think it’s one of your desserts for sale.”

  Startled, I looked up from the pie and saw the twin brothers from the fire station standing at the counter. I withdrew my tongue which had been peeking from the corner of my mouth as it usually did when I was in concentration. The brothers were frequent visitors at the shop and their faces had been among those at the fire station who had ogled my naked butt.

  “It’s not for sale, is it?” the other brother added.

  I stood still trying to figure out who was who. It was difficult when they both looked the same—devilishly handsome guys. They were multiplication of hotness times alpha male times two. Blond with clear blue eyes and hard bodies honed by their profession which required them to stay fit. Both men were built like walls, hard all over. One was enough to make a girl swoon. Two were enough for a girl to find herself flat on her back, legs hoisted in the air wondering how the hell she got there in the throes of a climax.

  As much as the thought was intriguing, I didn’t plan on being the one with my skirts over my head. Once in a day was enough.

  “Ryan, Adrian, whoever is who,” I answered them. “You two behave right now or I’ll charge you a dollar extra for whatever you’re ordering.”

  Ryan, I believed because he was just an inch or so taller than his brother, took his wallet from his pocket and upended it on the counter. Several twenties spilled out and loose change bounced off the glass and rolled somewhere onto the floor.

  “Sweet Miss Roz, you can have it all because there’s no way in hell I’m going to stop after that wonderful display this morning.”

  Adrian joined his brother in upending his wallet on the counter as well. “I just wanted you to know that after careful deliberation at the fire station, the votes were unanimous. That has got to be one of the finest ‘assets’ we’ve come across in a long time. So fine indeed, we would be honored if we could both study it in greater detail.”

  “You guys are incorrigible,” I scolded although deep inside I was preening like a peacock. Or would I be a peahen? “Now tell me what is it that you want?”

  “You,” they both agreed unanimously.

  I rolled my eyes at their antics. “How would you like that then? Giftwrapped with a bow or should I just hand it over just like that?”

  “Hand it over.”

  “Giftwrapped.”

  The brothers glared at each other for their disagreement and I couldn’t help laughing.

  “When you guys figure it out, let me know. Now seriously. What can I get you? I have pies in the oven, and I don’t want them to get burned.”

  “No, we can’t have you burning your pies,” Adrian agreed. “We should be the only ones doing the burning around here.”

  I furrowed my brows at them. “Is that so? Because I could have sworn your job description entails putting out the flames, not stirring them.”

  “Touché,” Ryan grinned. “We’ll take two dozen luscious vanilla cupcakes. The firemen of Pagosa Springs want to ensure you’re always in business to hopefully catch further glances like this morning.”

  “Somehow I thought you guys were better than the other men here,” I reprimanded, sliding back the glass case to retrieve the cupcakes they ordered.

  “When it all boils down to it, Miss. Roz,” Adrian announced. “We’re all just hot-blooded men who appreciate the assets of a beautiful woman such as yourself.”

  “That’ll be eighty-four dollars,” I quoted and took the hundred dollar note Adrian offered me as they started to reach for the bills they had placed on the counter.

  “Not so fast gentlemen,” I interrupted them and plucked the money from their grasp to drop it in the Salvations Army jar next to the side of the counter. I handed Adrian his change from the sale of the cupcakes and gave them both a smile. “Nice doing business with you two gentlemen. Please come again.”

  They stared at me in disbelief, giving the donation jar a longing look before turning on their heels.

  “You are one tough cookie, Miss Roz,” Ryan stated on his way out. “But one I’d like to sink my teeth into nevertheless.”

  I wasn’t going to lie. I almost creamed my thong at his voice and the way he looked at me and bit his lip. Good God, these men were made from hazardous materials. They should walk around with a flammable sign hanging from their necks.

  “Those brothers are trouble,” Sophia said, walking from the kitchen.

  I scowled at her. “Now you show your face. Where were you when they launched their sexiness combo on me?”

  “Hiding of course,” she chuckled. “I’ve seen the way women fall in bed with them with just a crooked smile.”

  “Surely not the same bed,” I stated.

  “Maybe.”

  I placed the apple pie into the glass case and stared at her. “You’re joking, right? I know they seem close but they can’t be that close.”

  “Well, there are rumors, you know.”

  I fanned her away. I just wanted to hear the word “rumor” to not believe anything after that. I sniffed the air.

  “Do you smell something?” I asked before it hit. “Hot damn! The pies in the oven!”

  Running back into the kitchen with Sophia at my heels, I grabbed oven mitts, slipping them on quickly as she turned off the industrial oven for me. I opened the glass enclosure and removed first one then a second blackened apple pie and rested them on the counter in the kitchen.

  “Oh God Roz, I was just in here and didn’t smell a thing!” Sophia exclaimed. “I’m so sorry. What are we going to do to them now? We can’t sell them.”

  A mischievous smile played on my lips. “We need two boxes and two ribbons. These are perfect for a delivery.”

  Sophia looked from the pies to me dubiously.

  “Trust me,” I grinned at her. “Don’t ask.”

  *****

  Following the turnoff on a dirt road leading to the house where the twins presumably lived, I slowed down and parked, reaching for my phone in my bag. I did a quick once over of the group chat messages we had been exchanging three-way.

  Adrian: We got your little gifts and would like you to know, we enjoyed them, burned and all.

  Me: I knew you guys would find use for them.

  Adrian: What we could find use for is a sexy baker who works next to us.

  Me: I wonder who could that be

  Adrian: I wouldn’t want to call names but that Rozanne is one mighty fine looking lady

  Ryan: Bro, you forgot, with an ass a man would love to tap.

  I scrolled passed the messages, my cheeks burning at their sexual words. I’d been surprised when I’d gotten their first text before I remembered my cellphone number was on the shop’s boxes, for special orders of cakes for birthdays, weddings and other functions. They’d texted me for a few days before inviting me Sunday evening for a barbecue they were having. At first I thought about not going, but then I realized there was no harm in it. After all, several people were usually at a barbecue. So what could happen?

  I found the message again with the address, 409 Hills Circle. Yes, I was at the right place. I continued up the dirt road and found the house, a beautifully designed single story home with a backdrop of trees and view of the lake. I frowned at the lack of cars that I would have expected to be parked in the yard. Was I early?

  It hit me then that the brothers might have misled me to get me to come over. Well, the joke was on them. I would drop off the coconut cream pie—a new recipe I had tried today—and head on home.

  I parked close to the porch and killed the engine. I had the pies in hand and was walking up the steps of the fron
t porch when the door was thrown open and Adrian walked out, bare-chested. My mouth went dry. Was there a firefighter in the house because I was burning up! His chest was rock solid, his arms bulging with muscles and his stomach taut into a six pack. His jeans rode low on his hips, showing the hint of underwear and the thin line of hair in the center of his chest disappeared into the waistband. His feet were bare. Bare and big. What was that a size twelve? It was ridiculous but my eyes flashed to his hands next, assessing. If it was true what they said about the size of a man’s hands and feet…

  “Rozanne, welcome to our humble abode,” he greeted me.

  “You slime ball!” I grunted at him. “You knew damn well you were not having a barbecue.”

  “Of course we are,” he answered.

  “But I don’t see anybody else around.”

  “That’s because nobody else was invited. Now come on. We’ve been waiting on you to eat.”

  The way he said it made me hot and bothered. Was he talking about actual food? It didn’t seem like it for a minute there.

  “I’m going home,” I announced. “Will you please take these pies from me?”

  “Why don’t you come and put it down yourself,” he said with a grin. “Okay, I’ll take them but only if you promise to stay. Come on Roz, you’ve been flirting with us as much as we’ve been flirting with you so I know this insane attraction isn’t lopsided.”

  He was right but he kept saying “we” and not “I.” That thought was scary that what Sophia said about them might actually be true.

  “It’s not you,” I told him. “Maybe if it was just one of you but you both want to—”

  He nodded, the grin I was used to, disappearing and revealing a serious look. “Yes, we’ve been doing this since high school, Roz, sharing women, even the ones we care about and not once has a woman complained. Trust me, you won’t dislike anything we’ll do to you and if you feel uncomfortable and want us to stop, we will.”

  I swallowed hard and stared at him. He seemed sincere. And there was this crackling electricity between us. All three of us. I’d never done anything like this before in all my life and it seemed strange but something about it also seemed very naughty. And naughty got me intrigued.