by Sam Crescent
Groaning, Darla leaned back, nibbling on her lip.
“Now I know,” he said.
“Now you know what?”
“What it’s like to kiss you. I’ve spent a long time dreaming about tasting you.”
Dropping her gaze down, she saw it was a mistake when she spotted the bulge in his jeans. He was rock-hard and it looked a little painful.
“Erm, are you okay?” she asked.
“You make me hard.” He kissed the top of her head, chuckling. “Don’t worry, baby. There will be time for all of that. Come on, let’s get out of here before someone calls the cops.”
He tugged on her hand. She followed him down the bleachers and out of the schoolyard. They walked all the way back into town and he stopped at a pharmacy.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I think you should find out the truth. No fear and no pressure. I’ll always be here for you.” He stroked her cheek, leaning down to kiss her lips.
“I’m not ready to know,” she said. The nerves started to build up.
“Then we’ll wait.” He didn’t force her inside. Ryan took her hand, leading her back to her old home. Jon and Luke sat in one of the trucks, playing with Nathan. For several seconds, she stood in Ryan’s arms as they watched the scene in front of them.
“Hey, Darla, how are you doing?” Ruby asked. The other woman owned the local shoe-and-bag shop and was currently dating two English guys who’d moved to Stone Valley.
“I’m fine. You?”
“I’m heading to the shop to pick up some cookie dough. Troy and Chris have a sweet tooth and I don’t have time to bake fresh cookies.” Ruby smiled. “Hey, Ryan, you and your brothers better take care of Darla. She’s our girl and we’ll be checking in regularly.”
“I certainly will.”
Ruby slapped his arm and headed in the other direction.
“She’s a hard cookie,” Ryan said.
“Yeah, she is. Come on, we better get settled in before it’s too late for Nathan.” Darla left the comfort of his arms and interrupted the other two men. Luke looked at her with concern while Jon appeared to be guarded.
“Is everything ready?” she asked, tucking some hair behind her ears. She wasn’t allowed to work. Luke had made sure Bessie fired her. Around this time, she’d be leaving Nathan with her mom and heading into the diner. Right now, she was going to a new home and her life was going to change.
* * * *
Jon settled Darla and Nathan into his truck and pulled out of the space, following behind his two brothers. Whatever Ryan had said to Darla seemed to have worked. She looked happier than she had a few hours ago. Her hands were no longer shaking and she was smiling.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her playing thumb wars with her son. He turned on the radio, listening to them sing and giggle.
“Thank you for keeping enough space in your truck. I was starting to think I’d have to ride in the back of the truck,” she said, laughing.
“I’d have strapped you down and tried to avoid all the bumps.”
Darla started laughing.
He loved hearing the sound of her laughter. Chancing a quick glance in her direction, he saw the smile beaming back at him.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said.
Her cheeks turned a rosy color as she looked at him.
Chuckling to himself, Jon kept his gaze on the road. He heard the other two start to play once again.
Jon listened to them all the way home. Ryan and Luke were already unloading the truck when he arrived. Turning off the engine, Jon climbed out, ready to help.
Before he got chance to help Darla out of the truck, she was out and helping Nathan out as well.
“We can help,” Darla said, approaching the far truck.
Luke glanced up and down her body. “Should you be lifting heavy stuff?” Luke asked.
Ryan shook his head over her shoulder, trying to tell his older brother not to mention anything.
“Why wouldn’t I be able to lift my own stuff?” she asked, folding her arms.
Jon saw her defenses spring up. Nathan grabbed his ball from the back of the truck and started to play. Keeping an eye on him, Jon listened to the standoff about to happen.
“You wouldn’t want to hurt the baby, would you?” Luke walked around the truck, folding his arms.
“Dude, don’t,” Ryan said.
“No, Ryan. Your brother has something to say, let him say it.” Darla took a step closer. Her spine was straight as she faced his older brother.
Jon admired her spirit. Luke was not the easiest guy to have to face. Out of all of them, Luke was the tallest and strongest. Jon didn’t feel threatened by his older brother. He had his own skills. Plus, he’d not pissed Darla off.
“You could be pregnant. We’ve discussed this, and Jeremy Norris wants you to book an appointment as soon as possible.”
Her arms dropped to her sides. “What?” Darla took another step closer. “When are you talking to Jeremy Norris about me? Since when has the good doctor been talking to you?” Her voice rose with every word.
“Darla—”
“No, don’t ‘Darla’ me. I may be pregnant but until I confirm it, I’m going to do whatever the hell I like and if that means I have to lift heavy bags, then I’ll lift heavy bags.” Darla shoved at Luke, grabbing two cases and heaving them over the side. “Nathan, come on. Get the hell out of my way.”
Luke stepped aside for Darla to pass.
“You’ve pissed her off,” Jon said. “I wonder how you’re going to make it up to her.”
“She didn’t know we all wanted her,” Ryan said, joining them as they all started to unload the truck.
“What?” Jon looked at his younger brother. He’d always been a little jealous of Ryan’s easy way with Darla. She seemed to be out of his reach whenever Jon tried.
“We talked, and she didn’t want to stop me and Jon from finding the perfect woman. She didn’t think we wanted her after everything that happened with Nathan and Luke. I told her we all want her. This is not only about her and Luke, but about all of us.” Ryan leaned against the truck, looking up at the house.
Jon followed his gaze in time to see Darla staring out of the window. She was nibbling her lip.
“We’re doing the right thing,” Luke said.
“I never doubted it.”
He didn’t stay around to listen to his two brothers. Grabbing three cases, Jon made his way inside the house.
“Mommy, why are we staying here?” Nathan asked.
Stopping on the stairs, he saw Darla had found the little guy’s room. Hesitating, he tried to listen to his brothers arguing and Darla.
“We’re here because this is our family.”
“Does my dad live here?” Nathan asked.
Darla was silent for several minutes. “Yes, he does.”
“I don’t want to know who my father is,” Nathan said, giggling.
Jon smiled and took a step in their direction.
“Why not?” Darla asked. From his position, he could see her putting away some clothes.
“Because I’ve got three dads. It’s so totally awesome. I’ve gone from having no dads to three.”
It lifted his heart to hear the boy say that. Clearing his throat, Jon made his presence known. Darla turned toward him, giving him her beautiful smile.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey.” He dropped the three cases to the floor of Nathan’s room. Focusing his attention on Darla, he opened them up, seeing toys.
“He can set these all up. I’ve checked, and the room is safe for him to work,” Darla said.
“Good.”
Jon waited as she gave Nathan some instructions before heading out of the room.
“He won’t leave the room. Nathan’s always been a good boy.”
The door was left open and Jon took her hand, leading her toward her room. It was the one across the hall from Nathan’s room. Opening the door, he tugged
In all the years he’d known her, Jon had rarely found an excuse to touch her. “Ryan told me what you think and I thought it was best to show you my own feelings.” He pressed against her, loving the way her curves molded to him. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he used the other to caress her cheek. “There’s no other woman I’d ever want to be with. The only person I care about is you, Darla.”
“No other family plans?” she asked.
“No other plans besides loving you and taking care of you. You’ve always been our woman, Darla, but you’ve kept us away. You’re not keeping us away anymore.”
He slammed his lips down on hers, letting her know what he wanted from her.
* * * *
Luke leaned against the wall, watching his son play. He’d heard Jon’s conversation and the subsequent kissing that followed. After everything he’d put his brothers through, he wasn’t going to ruin the moment. He didn’t feel jealous, but he did feel calm. Jon was right. Darla had always been their woman, but Jon was wrong about one thing. Darla hadn’t kept them at arm’s length. Luke was the one responsible for Darla keeping back. She didn’t know how they all felt about her and then he’d fucked her, taking her virginity and giving her a baby in return.
He hadn’t stuck around, either. Touring Europe hadn’t been right for him. The only fun he ever had was meeting Troy and Chris in England. Other than that, the rest of the touring had been spent earning money to send back to his brothers. If he’d known the truth about Darla, he’d have come back to claim her in a heartbeat. Leaving Nathan to play, he headed downstairs in time to see Ryan rearranging the fridge.
“She packed her food as well. I’m just trying to store it for her,” he said.
“Okay.” Taking a seat, Luke looked down at his hands. He felt so utterly guilty for putting Darla in this position. His own brothers didn’t even get their chance to date Darla. All of this was because of his own stupidity, and the one time he’d made mistake. Being with Darla wasn’t the mistake. Forgetting about it and leaving had been the mistake. Fucking a woman when he was intoxicated was damn stupid of him.
“You look like you’re beating yourself up,” Ryan said.
Ryan would be turning twenty-three in a matter of weeks. Darla would be turning the same age as well.
“I can’t help it. I fucked up big time and there’s nothing I can do to make up for it.” Luke ran fingers through his hair, trying to do something that would stop the way he was feeling.
“Darla doesn’t hate you,” Ryan said.
Grunting, Luke got up to grab himself a beer.
“Drinking is not going to help you.” Ryan took the beer away from him, putting it back in the fridge. “This will.” A coffee was placed in front of him. Glaring at his younger, brother, Luke took a sip and enjoyed the burn as the hot liquid went down his throat. He deserved the pain for his treatment of Darla.
Not only had he been the one to make Darla pregnant, he’d been so jealous about the man who’d put it there that he’d been a total bastard to her when he got home. His brothers hadn’t gone near her because he’d begged them not to until he could handle the thought of another man touching her. All along, it had been him.
“Stop it,” Ryan said.
“They’re upstairs kissing. Do you realize Jon has never kissed Darla?” Luke asked, taking another sip of his coffee.
“I hadn’t kissed her until I took her to the football field,” Ryan said. “I’m not bitter about it. I love Darla and always have. I got to spend most of high school with her.”
“You should be pissed at me. I knocked her up and then I didn’t even remember being with her. I’m such a horrible shit.”
Ryan slapped him around the back of the head.
“Ouch, why did you do that?” Luke asked.
“I wasn’t angry with you for knocking her up. Darla was our woman. What I’m angry about is the fact you left, and when I told you she was pregnant, you didn’t even come back because you didn’t think it was yours, you selfish bastard.” Ryan glanced toward the door. “I was with her all the way. I came back from college to keep an eye on her. Never once did she give away your identity as the father when she could have done. All she needed to do was say your name and her world would have changed. You can’t give up now.”
Luke shook his head. “I didn’t even think about it.”
“She’s been through a lot and you need to stop smothering her. For a long time, you were not around. You don’t have the right to question her. Back off.”
“Ryan, she’s pregnant and I don’t want anything to happen to her.”
“I understand that. We’ve got her home with us. The rest we can figure out as we go. We don’t want to send her away by not giving her space.” Ryan squeezed his brother’s shoulder. “I get it. You want to protect her and make up for everything. Darla is everything to all of us. We’ve got to know when to back away.”
Luke nodded.
“I found the play area in the sitting room and Nathan’s watching a movie. Would you like me to cook dinner?” Darla asked, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Jon was just behind her. Luke saw his brother’s arm was wrapped around her waist.
“Dinner would be good,” Jon said, kissing her neck.
She giggled.
It was the first time that day that Luke had seen her without a jacket. Her curves were on display in a pair of tight jeans and shirt that molded to her body. She possessed a pair of generous breasts and supple hips.
He was getting hard just by looking at her. Her gaze was on his.
“When do you need to be at the Dancin’ Donkey?” she asked.
“We don’t have to open today,” Luke said, hoping she’d turn that smile on him.
She shook her head, pulling out of Jon’s arms. “No, I’m not having you ruin your business because of me. Now, I quit work when you asked. When Nathan’s in school, I’ll be working again.”
Darla stood before him with her hands on hips. “Let me make you something to eat. I mean, am I guest here, or is this my house as well now?”
She looked between all three of them. Luke couldn’t resist touching her anymore. Reaching out, he stroked her waist.
“This is your house as much as it’s ours,” he said.
“Good. Then I say I’ll cook dinner and you three relax before work.” She cupped his cheek. “Stop stressing about everything. I’m not a total bitch.”
Holding her hand, he brought it to his lips, kissing her palm.
“Thank you,” he said.
She leaned down, brushing her nose against his. “Thank you. Please, stop making so many demands.”
Darla made her way toward the fridge and Luke admired the curves of her ass as she did. She really did have a nice ass.
“What time should I expect you home tonight?” she asked, opening the fridge and leaning forward.
Glancing at his other two brothers, he saw Ryan and Jon were both admiring her rounded ass.
“We’ll be late,” Luke said, watching her work and feeling content for the first time in his life.
Chapter Three
Darla sat down later that night and stared at the blank television in front of her. Ryan, Luke, and Jon had gone to the bar and were probably working and being admired by many women. She’d taken a shower and sat looking down at her feet. They were bare with no nail polish. Usually she’d be working the late shift at the diner and coming home to put her mother to bed, then settling down for a hot chocolate before reading.
Getting off the sofa, she headed into the kitchen to set everything on the counter for her drink. When it was laid out, she went upstairs to check on her son. Nathan was curled around his favorite Teddy bear, sound asleep. He loved his room and the excitement had exhausted him. Leaning her head against the doorframe she stared at him, wishing there was something more she could do. Closing the door, she went into her room to grab a book from the bookcase.
Putting her meager belongings away hadn’t taken very long.
She made her way back to the kitchen to make her hot chocolate. Once that was made and the saucepan was soaking in the sink, she went back into the front room.
The phone sat there, blinking at her. Who could she call? She was so bored. Opening her book, she sipped at her chocolate while thinking about calling someone. The house was old and she wasn’t used to the creaking.
Tapping her fingers on her knee, she put the cup down and picked up the phone. Without thinking, she dialed Tate’s number.
She listened to the phone ringing, wishing she’d not called.
“Hello?” Tate asked, rubbing at her eyes.
“Hey, it’s me,” Darla said.
“I’m going to need a bit more information than that,” Tate said. “It’s late and I’ve got the eight o’clock shift in the morning.”
“It’s Darla.” She rubbed her hand down her thighs.
“Darla, how’s domestic life?” Tate sounded perkier with every passing second.
“Boring. They’re at work and Nathan’s asleep. I don’t know what to do. I feel like a guest here, even though I cooked,” Darla said. “How’s the two carpenters?”
“Okay, first of all, you don’t get to ring me late, tell me some stuff and then direct everything at me. You feel like a guest and yet you cooked?” Tate asked.
“Yeah, I was hungry and I’d been kissed by Jon and Ryan.”
“How did they kiss?”
Darla fanned her face. “Awesome. They made my toes curl.”
Tate whistled. “Sounds hot. Toe curling is always great. So you were hungry?”
“Yeah, Luke was being an ass, telling me I couldn’t be lifting heavy stuff because of the risk of me being pregnant. He wasn’t being fair at all. I don’t know, I just feel like a sore thumb between them,” Darla said.
“And you rang me?”
“You’re the number I thought of. Tessie and Ruby have their men to deal with.”
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