by Myla Jackson
“Seen what?” Luke grabbed Audrey’s arms, spinning her to face him. “What do you know about Libby? What’s she hiding?”
Audrey brushed Luke’s hands from her arms. “I don’t know. She never opened up to me. From all that I’ve gathered, she’s running from something.”
Mark’s heart sank into his chest. He and Luke had suspected the same. “From what?”
“If I knew, I’d have done something about it.” Audrey sighed. “What are we going to do?”
“What about her job application?” Luke asked. “Did she list any previous experience…references…anything?”
“When I hired her eight months ago, I didn’t ask for any. She was able to mix all the drinks, had the figure to wear a tank top, and she looked like she’d just lost her favorite dog. I couldn’t turn her away. Hell, I would have put her to work busing tables rather than let her leave. She looked like she could use a friend.”
“And in eight months you don’t know anything else about her? Does she have family?”
Audrey shook her head. “Not that I know of.”
Mark asked the question that jumped to the forefront of his mind. “Is she married?”
“She isn’t wearing a ring, nor does she show any indication of a past ring. Hell, I thought she was a lesbian for the longest, when she turned down every guy in the joint. Until I saw that she turned down the women as well.”
“She’s afraid of something.” Luke crossed his arms over his chest.
“What can she possibly be afraid of?” Audrey dug her hands into her back pockets. “I don’t know anything about her past, just what I’ve seen since she got here. I don’t want to lose her. She’s not just my best bartender, she’s my friend. I feel responsible for her.”
Mark sat on a box, starring at the bouquet of flowers. “Why would she want to leave now?”
Audrey’s brows knit. “When she told me she was leaving, she said something about staying too long.”
“Eight months?” Luke smacked his cowboy hat against his knee. “We’re just getting to know her. How can eight months be too long?”
“I don’t know. It’s as if she wants to keep moving to keep her past from catching up.” Audrey glanced across at Mark. “It has to be that she’s running from something or someone.”
“Libby might not even be her real name.”
“I don’t care what her real name is. She’s real enough to me.” Mark stood. “We can’t just let her go.”
“How long of a notice did she give you?” Luke asked.
“She wanted to quit after tonight.” Audrey rocked back on her heels. “I made her promise to wait until after the Cowboy Masquerade Ball.”
“That gives us two days to figure this out.” Mark’s gaze connected with Luke’s. “Which also means we don’t have much time to convince her to stay.”
“Anything you can do.” Audrey touched Mark’s arm. “She’s never going to have a life until she stops running and faces whatever has her scared.”
Mark hefted the bouquet of flowers and handed them to Audrey. “Will you give these to her and tell her they are from her secret admirers?”
Audrey smiled. “Daisies. They’re so wild and free, yet delicate and pure.” She nodded. “Nice touch. Are you two staying?”
“Only long enough to say hello to Libby.” Mark opened the door to the storeroom. “We’ll do our best to get her to stay.”
“What about the flowers? When should I give them to her?”
“Wait until after we leave.” Luke strode from the storeroom and entered the bar.
Mark followed on his heels, grateful his stoic twin was back on his game. The thought of losing Libby after just finding her must have shocked him into his usual calm, determined self.
All of the seats at the bar were filled, and Libby’s head was down as she measured whiskey into shot glasses.
Luke headed for the table where their older brother, Jackson, sat alone, nursing a beer.
Mark took the seat on one side of Jackson and Luke dropped into the other.
“What are you two up to tonight?” Jackson waved to Kendall Mason, one of the sexy beauties who waited tables at the Ugly Stick Saloon. “A beer for my brothers.”
The music blared to life and the early patrons filled the dance floor, shuffling along to a raucous Texas two-step.
A brunette Mark had danced with the night before stopped in front of him. “Wanna dance?”
Mark smiled up at her, not wanting to hurt her feelings, but not the least bit interested in any other woman besides Libby now that he and Luke had broken past her initial barriers. “Not tonight, but thanks.”
She shrugged and turned to Luke. “How about you?”
Luke shook his head, craning his neck to see around her. “Not dancing tonight.” He glanced toward a table full of rednecks. “Why not ask RJ? He’s the best dancer in this bar.”
“If I wanted to dance with RJ, I’d have asked him first.” The woman flipped her hair over her shoulder and stalked away.
Jackson’s brows rose up into the hair hanging down over his forehead. “Why aren’t you two up dancing?”
Mark tipped his head toward the bar.
About that time, Libby looked up, her gaze connecting with his.
Mark’s groin tightened, his stomach flipping over. He pressed a hand to his belly.
“Did you feel that?” Luke asked, pressing his palm to his own gut.
“Felt like a punch to the gut,” Mark acknowledged.
“You two are pathetic.” Jackson chuckled and took a deep swallow of his beer. “If you like her that much, tell her.”
Mark sighed. “It’s not that easy.”
“She says she’s leaving town,” Luke added.
Jackson stared from Mark to Luke and back again. “What did you do to the girl?”
“Get Audrey to fill you in on the details. Right now we need to check into a few things.”
“Like?” Jackson set his mug on the table.
“We need you to call in a favor from your buddy in the sheriff’s department.”
Their brother’s brows furrowed. “Dusty Cramer?”
“Yeah, Cramer.” Luke leaned forward. “We need him to search through the missing persons database and see if he finds Libby Jones, or someone fitting her description.”
“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” Jackson asked.
Luke poked a finger at Mark. “He’s never forgiven Romeo here for stealing his prom date.”
“Hell, that was a long time ago, you’d think he’d have forgotten all about that,” Mark groused.
“Point is,” Luke continued, “he hasn’t.”
Jackson swallowed another gulp of beer before responding to their request. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Could you make it fast? Libby’s leaving soon. We need to know why she’s running.”
“What if you find out something you don’t like?” Jackson pulled out his phone and thumbed through his contacts. “What if there’s a warrant out for her arrest?”
Mark glanced across at Libby. “Then I’ll be leaving with her.”
“And me,” Luke added.
“Crazy, stupid love.” Jackson glanced down at his phone and shook his head. “No reception.” He stood and headed for the office at the back of the bar, calling back over his shoulder. “Can’t say as I blame you. I’d take a bullet for Audrey.”
After their brother walked out, the waitress arrived with a tray, bearing two mugs of beer.
Mark downed half of his before he set the mug on the table.
Luke left his untouched. “What now?”
“We remind her of our date to go riding tomorrow. It’s our last chance to woo her.”
His fingers drumming against the table, Luke stared across at the woman foremost in their minds. “What about tonight?”
Mark wanted nothing more than to beat off every man crowded around the bar and snatch Libby away from the noise. “She has to be exhausted after
staying up last night, and shouting over the music won’t help get our message across.”
Luke nodded. “We can’t even get close to her, not with that pack of yahoos sniffing around her.”
“Then we wait for her to go on break.” Mark downed the rest of his beer and headed for the door.
Luke followed. “That could take a long time.”
Mark cocked a smile at his brother. “She’s worth the wait.”
“Absolutely.” Luke led the way outside to their pickup, dropping the tailgate. “Have a seat.”
Mark sat beside his brother. “What do you think?”
“About Libby leaving?” Luke removed his cowboy hat and ran a hand through his hair. “It blows.”
“No kidding.” Mark leaned back and stared up at the stars. “I’ve gone over and over everything she said, everything we did.”
“Same.” Luke leaned back on his hands. “Were we too pushy? Did we overwhelm her? Was she ready for the two of us at once?”
Mark sighed. “At the time it all felt…”
“Right,” Luke finished.
“She’s running from something.”
“God, I hope it’s not a husband.”
“You and me both.” Mark sat forward, slapping his hat against his leg. “Can you picture her at our place?”
Luke straightened, cramming his cowboy hat on his head. “I’ve done nothing but envision her at Skyview.”
Mark pushed off the end of the tailgate and stood. “It’s the perfect place for her…for the three of us.”
“She’s a special woman.”
“Are you still okay with sharing a woman between the two of us?” Mark asked.
Luke’s lips quirked upward in a smile. “As long as it’s Libby.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.” Mark rocked back on his heels, his thumbs hooked into his belt loops, images of Libby lying naked under the stars. “Do you think she’d be willing to be with both of us for the long run?”
Luke’s gaze met Mark’s. “She was with both of us last night. Like I told Audrey, I didn’t hear any complaints.”
Mark’s lips twisted, a sinking feeling filling his gut. “And look where that went.”
“Right.” Luke’s shoulders sagged. “Turned in her notice.”
One of Libby’s remarks from the previous night slipped into Mark’s thoughts. “Remember, even before we touched her, she’d said she wanted us to make love to her like there’s no tomorrow.”
“Yes, she did.” Luke stared across at his brother. “More than once.”
A lonely, sad feeling squeezed Mark’s chest until it hurt. He pressed a hand to the soreness. “Reckon she knew she’d be quitting the saloon?”
“I reckon so.” Luke shook his head. “Might even be why she decided to have a fling with us.”
“We can’t let it end.” Mark slammed a palm to his thigh. “Not now that we’ve found her.”
“She’s got a right to leave,” Luke reminded him.
“But we could be so much more than a tumble in the hay.”
“Not if she has her way and skips out of town.”
“We can’t let her go.” Mark clenched both hands into fists. “Think she’ll come riding with us tomorrow? Might be our only shot at changing her mind.”
“I don’t know. Why don’t we ask her?” Luke nodded toward the back door of the saloon.
Libby exited, closing the door behind her before leaning against it, pushing a hand through her hair. The yellow light over the back door glanced off her coppery curls, forming a kind of halo around her.
Mark’s breath lodged in his throat. “God, she’s beautiful,” he whispered, stepping out.
Luke slid off the tailgate and laid a hand on Mark’s shoulder, bringing him to a halt. “Play it cool, man. We don’t want her to run.”
“I got this.”
Chapter Five
Libby had fought back tears since Mark and Luke had dropped her off in the wee hours of the morning. She knew what she had to do and staying any longer would only make it harder.
Sleep had been impossible. As soon as the garage in Temptation had opened, she’d called Nick McBride, the owner and chief mechanic, asking him to collect her bike and make the necessary repairs. For the trip ahead, she also asked him to change the oil filter and give the machine a once-over for good measure.
Nick called two hours later, informing her that he’d replaced the cut fuel line and performed all the maintenance. The bike was ready to go.
Trouble was, Libby wasn’t ready to leave Temptation. Not by a long shot. But she had to, or risk being found by her father and forced to return to a life she hated. The last place she’d stayed more than six months, her father had located her, his bodyguards surrounding her apartment building. If it had just been her father, she’d have risked seeing him. Maybe he’d listen this time to why she couldn’t live with him anymore. It wasn’t really her father that had made her run. It was the lifestyle he insisted she live.
Hell, sometimes she missed her father so much, it hurt. But she couldn’t live in his ivory tower ever again. To avoid being trapped in that life, she’d had to leave without going back to collect her stuff. All she’d had when she’d arrived in Temptation was her bike and the clothes on her back.
Libby had walked the few blocks to the garage.
When she didn’t find Nick in the office, she stepped into the open bay, inhaling the strong scent of oil and grease, a strangely comforting smell reminding her of hard work and honest men.
Nick stood under a raised pickup, working a bolt loose with a wrench. Dressed in a grease-stained jumpsuit, he brushed at the sweat on his forehead, leaving a dark smear behind. Despite the sweat and grease, Nick was a handsome man and as friendly as the rest of the inhabitants of Temptation. She’d miss him. She hadn’t trusted anyone with her beloved Beast as much as she trusted Nick. She’d miss a lot of people in the small town she’d called home for the past eight months.
Libby would miss Helen Roberts, the ancient cook at the Sweet Temptation Diner who always had a smile for her. And Calvin Northcutt, the old man who sat on the porch outside the General Store, greeting everyone who happened to walk by. She considered Kendall, Charli and Lacey, the waitresses at the saloon, her friends. They’d always included her on excursions to the malls in Austin, pizza parties, and even boating at the nearby lake. Libby always felt welcome, like one of the gals.
One of the hardest goodbyes, besides the Gray Wolf men, would be Audrey, the woman who’d offered her a job when Libby had been flat broke. She’d run out of gas on the county line at the end of the road where the Ugly Stick Saloon sat. Libby had stumbled into the saloon, looking for enough work to pay for a tank of gas and a sandwich. Audrey must have seen the desperation in Libby’s eyes. She’d sat her down in the storeroom and brought her one of the sandwiches the saloon offered their customers. By the end of that night, Audrey had taken Libby under her wing and into her home, helping her get back on her feet. She’d been the sister Libby never had, the only family she claimed since she’d left New York City two years ago.
When she’d told Audrey she was leaving, her boss and friend had argued for an hour, trying to convince her to stay, to make Temptation her permanent home. Audrey had said she couldn’t get along without Libby as the bartender, especially with the Cowboy Masquerade Ball coming up. But more than that, she couldn’t imagine not having Libby around as a friend.
They’d ended up hugging. Libby had almost caved and told Audrey she’d stay forever. Especially now that she’d discovered what she’d pretty much known all along, and that was how wonderful Mark and Luke were.
But Libby couldn’t stay and risk her father and his bodyguards catching up to her. She had to move on, or possibly lose the freedom and anonymity she treasured more than anything. Libby stood firm, telling Audrey she had to go, making one concession, promising to stay until after the Cowboy Masquerade Ball.
Audrey reluctantly agreed, promising not to say
a word to the rest of the staff.
Now Libby stood outside the back door of the Ugly Stick Saloon, swallowing hard on the sobs rising up her throat. Mark and Luke had been there and left without so much as saying a word to her. She’d felt as if she’d been stabbed in the chest with a very sharp knife. It was all she could do to serve the men at the bar. Audrey had slipped up behind her with a bouquet of flowers, claiming the twins had left them for her and that she’d bet they were waiting outside, if Libby wanted to thank them. Audrey even offered to fill in for her behind the bar.
Glad to escape the noise and laughter inside, but nervous at the same time, Libby had dragged her feet on her way out the back door. Standing in the circle of light from the security lamp over the back door, she’d peered out into the darkness, unable to make out anyone. Perhaps Audrey had been wrong, and Mark and Luke had already left.
Libby sucked in a deep breath of the warm Texas air and stepped off the back stoop into the darkness, afraid they wouldn’t be there, and even more afraid they would.
She hadn’t taken ten steps, her eyes adjusting to the limited lighting, when two tall hulks loomed in front of her. Libby pressed a hand to her mouth, muffling a scream.
“Libby, it’s us.” Luke Gray Wolf touched her arm, his fingers warm and gentle against her skin.
She drew in a shaky breath. “You took a year off my life.”
Mark smiled at her with a grin that melted Libby’s knees. “Sorry. We thought you saw us.”
Libby blinked up at him, her pulse leaping. “My eyes hadn’t adjusted yet.”
“You shouldn’t walk out here alone.” Luke’s frown made her body warm. Obviously he cared about her safety.
But she didn’t want him to care. She was leaving. Libby opened her mouth to say she could take care of herself.
Mark raised a hand to forestall her protest. “We know. You’re a big girl. We just worry about you.”
They wouldn’t have to worry long. Once she was gone, they could move on with their lives, without Libby. Some lovely girls would snatch them up so fast, they’d never know what hit them. The thought of Mark and Luke with someone else made her stomach clench into a knot. She backed toward the door.
