by Jane Jamison
Melissa acted like she’d asked an incredibly stupid question. “Because you’re so pretty. I’d think you’d have as many lovers as you wanted.”
Daisy made a face and squirmed in her seat. “It’s nice of you to say so and I’ve had my fair share of boyfriends. But no one special has come along yet.”
No one special man. That alone would be great, but her dreams consisted of more than one man. If she had her way about it, she’d love to have two or more men to love. Three men would be perfection so that one man would be on her left, one on her right and one between her legs while in bed.
Dream on, Daisy.
She snapped out of it, not letting her fantasy run away with her. They’d had a great time together, but it was getting late and time to meet the men. “If you’re ready, we should get going.”
The brightness that had filled Melissa’s face all day was gone in a flash. Back came the worried expression that seemed to add five years to her age. Daisy hated to see that happen to her new friend, but she was determined that, once everything was sorted out, the happiness would return to Melissa’s face.
She gathered the sacks as Melissa rose. Together, they headed for her car.
Ten feet outside the diner, all hell broke loose.
Chapter Three
“Mel, I’m so angry I could spit bullets.”
The brown-haired woman Daisy had seen outside the diner earlier planted her feet apart and glared at Melissa. She lunged for Melissa’s arm, but missed when Melissa ducked her body behind Daisy’s.
“Charlie, no! Leave me alone!”
Daisy hadn’t seen that coming. Charlie wasn’t a man after all. Instead, she was a tall, hefty woman who, from the look of her, wanted to make Melissa pay and pay good.
Daisy dropped the sacks and thrust up her arms, blocking Charlie’s next attempt to grab Melissa. “Hold up. I don’t know what this is all about, but if Melissa doesn’t want to go with you, then she’s not going.”
“Who are you?” Charlie scowled at Daisy. Her eyes grew wide as she darted her gaze between Melissa and Daisy. “Are you kidding me? Are you fooling around on me again?”
“No, no. That’s not what this is. We’re just friends.” Daisy hated having to explain herself, but if it would calm Charlie down, then it was worth it. “In fact, we just met today.”
“Really?” Charlie wasn’t getting any calmer. “You’ve already found a sugar momma to take care of you? Wow, you really are a slut.”
Daisy’s temper flared to life. She could only take so much. “Now look here. That’s not what this is at all. We’re friends and I’m trying to help her out. That’s all. Nothing else. And from what I can see, she needs the help.”
“Fuck off.”
“Sorry, Charlie. That’s not going to happen.” Charlie was much larger than Daisy, but then again, most people were. She wouldn’t let the woman’s size intimidate her. “Melissa told me that she wants to get away from you, to have time to think. So that’s what’s going to happen.”
She held on to her anger, hoping that it would keep the fear at bay. Still, she wished Troy, Wade and Paul were around.
“She needs time to think, huh? Or is the truth more that she needs time to hook up with my brother?”
Daisy took a quick look at Melissa. Apparently, Melissa liked both genders. Not that she cared. She wouldn’t judge anyone for their lifestyle choices. As far as she was concerned, love was too hard to find to worry about the package it came in.
“I don’t know anything about that, but it doesn’t change anything.” She took Melissa’s arm, as much to steady her nerves as to show her support. “Please respect her wishes and stay out of the way.”
But Charlie wasn’t stepping out of the way as she’d hoped. Instead, the woman crossed her arms over her chest and sneered. “Did she tell you that she’s carrying my brother’s kid?”
Yet another twist. “No, but again, that doesn’t—”
“She wants me to get an abortion.”
Daisy felt like a bug caught between the ground and a heavy boot. “Is that what you want, Melissa?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know.” She moaned, her face scrunching up. “I just want to be left alone so I can think.”
Daisy had her own ideas about abortion, but she wasn’t about to get in the middle of that argument. Instead, she snatched up their purchases, strengthened her hold on Melissa’s arm and stepped quickly around the angry Charlie.
She was surprised when they made it past her. Charlie, however, wasn’t about to let them go without having the last word.
“Do it, Mel. Have the abortion.”
“Just keep walking, Melissa.” Daisy couldn’t get them to her car fast enough.
“This isn’t the last of this, Mel. I’m not taking this shit any longer.”
Daisy didn’t look back. Instead, she hurried Melissa into the passenger seat then rushed and got behind the wheel. She was still trying hard not to glance at Charlie when she sped off down the road.
She was just about to breathe a little easier when Melissa’s phone rang. Mouthing the words “is it Charlie?” she waited for Melissa to answer. She hadn’t expected for Charlie to give up, but she hadn’t expected her to call so fast either. She mouthed the words again and finally, Melissa shook her head. But the girl didn’t appear relieved.
“No, John. I told you. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Daisy wished she could tell Melissa to put the call on speaker, but she didn’t. That would be a little too pushy. Instead, she tried to listen harder. She caught only parts of their conversation.
“Mel, I’m telling you. If you don’t listen…going to get…up.”
“And what about Charlie? She’s never going to leave us alone.” Melissa’s voice cracked. “This is awful. You didn’t see her. She’s so mad.”
“We’re…to be together. It…matter…Charlie…”
“If we keep the baby, she’s going to go crazy. She wants me to get an abortion so I can go back to her. Like we can ever go back to how we were before.”
“Do you…to?”
“No, John, you know I don’t.”
She glanced at Daisy, obviously seeking some kind of support. Daisy shot her a look that told her to hold firm on what she wanted, then took her hand and squeezed.
Melissa closed her eyes and when she opened them, there was determination in them. “John, I’m sorry, but I’m not sure that we should be together, either.”
John’s voice went softer but Daisy got the impression that he’d also gotten angry. She couldn’t hear a thing now. It was wrong to eavesdrop, but then again, she was already involved in their situation and needed to know what was going on. Melissa began to cry, answering John in bursts of sobs, and asking him to give her time to think.
“What? No, I don’t want to meet you. Not at our restaurant or anywhere else.”
Melissa sniffed and wiped away the tears as she listened. John must’ve gotten desperate and the volume of his voice grew louder again.
“Baby, please. Meet…Mamma’s…place. Be…”
“No, I can’t.” She kept shaking her head as though he could see her.
“Damn it, Mel.”
He said more, but the words were too garbled. Still, the fury in his voice came through loud and clear.
“Please, John. Just leave me alone. Both of you just leave me alone.” Melissa threw the phone down and let loose with another long, tortured round of crying.
Daisy drove for a while longer, giving Melissa a chance to calm down. But her curiosity was too strong to wait too long. “Are you all right?”
“No.” Melissa sniffed then wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “I’m never going to be all right ever again.”
“Sure you will. This is a rough time, but you’ll get through it.” She turned, taking the car down the road leading to the rental house. “Listen, Melissa, I don’t want to push—you’ve got enough people pushing you already—but if I’m going t
o help you, I need to know everything.”
Melissa nodded then let out another soft sob. “You’re right. You do. And you’ve been so nice to me. I don’t know what I would’ve done if it weren’t for you.”
“Then tell me what’s going on. Did John want you to meet him to talk?”
“Y–yes. He wanted me to go to Mamma’s Bakery and Grill. It’s kind of our place.”
“But you’re not going, are you?” Daisy wasn’t sure she’d take her there if Melissa asked her to.
She tried to deflect the conversation away from doing what John wanted. “How did you two get together? And how did you end up with Charlie first?”
She needed answers, but hoped she wasn’t asking too many questions too fast. She couldn’t have Melissa shutting down on her.
“Charlie and I have been partners for a long time. I was eighteen when we met and I fell in love with her.” She slumped down in the seat. “Or at least, I thought I was in love. But for the past year, I’ve been having these…urges, feelings for men.”
“Okay. I understand. Is that when you and John got together?”
“Yes. He was so sweet and funny. And then one night, it just happened.”
“You had sex.”
“Uh-huh. And oh, Daisy, it was so wonderful. Charlie never treated me like that. She could never do…well, you know. I’d never had that before and I loved it. I felt like a princess whenever I was around John.” She paused and added, “I hope I’m not being too graphic.”
“Don’t worry about it. I understand what you’re saying.” She wanted to be there for the girl and that meant finding out as much as she could. “And you’ve kept your time with John a secret from Charlie for the past year?”
That couldn’t have been easy. But then again, seeing how Charlie had reacted, she understood why John and Melissa hadn’t wanted to say anything.
“Then I found out I was pregnant and when Charlie found the pregnancy test, she went nuts. She forced me to tell her that it was John and that made her even angrier.”
In one respect, Daisy couldn’t blame Charlie for getting upset. She’d been betrayed by both her lover and her brother. She didn’t, however, need to tell Melissa what she thought. Nonetheless, it didn’t excuse Charlie’s aggressive behavior.
“So why didn’t you run to John when that happened?” She pulled the car into the driveway of the rental house, but stayed in the driver’s seat.
“John changed during the last few months. He’s gotten mean like Charlie. He’s never liked that I still had sex with Charlie so she wouldn’t get suspicious, and he called me all kinds of names and he even hit me once. Then he left and wouldn’t have anything to do with me until I told him that I was pregnant.”
Poor Melissa.
She’d been wrong to fool around on Charlie, especially with her brother, but Daisy couldn’t shake the impression that Charlie had taken advantage of a young and naïve girl. She’d been eighteen and inexperienced when Charlie, who was older, had gotten involved with her.
Daisy drew in a breath then pushed open her door. “We’re here. Let’s get you inside and let you rest up. I’m sure you’re dog tired after the day you’ve had.”
She’d already taken the bags out of the back seat by the time Melissa got out of the car. “Aren’t you going to tell me how horrible I am? I cheated on Charlie and got knocked up by a man I don’t think I love. By her brother. I realize what I did was wrong, but—”
“Lord, girl, stop right there. If I went around judging others for their actions, I’d have no time to reflect on my own mistakes. Besides, there’s a reason I don’t live in a glass house.” She chuckled, handed a bag to Melissa, then entwined her arm with hers. “Come on. The men who are going to help you will be here soon. Let’s get ready for them.”
* * * *
“Hey, you found me.”
Paul stood behind Troy and Wade as Daisy held open the front door for them. She’d changed into a dress that accentuated all the right parts. His cock twitched, daring to grow, as she gave Troy and Wade a quick hug like old friends. Then came his turn and there was an awkward pause before she finally leaned in and gave him an even quicker hug.
The Chambliss brothers led the way into the small home. The living room flowed into the kitchen and a flight of stairs directly in line with the front door led up to the bedrooms. It was a modest home with simple neutral-tone furnishings and only a few non-descript landscape paintings for wall decorations.
“Where should I put the food?” Wade held up two plastic bags. One contained five large pizzas and the other had a pan of lasagna along with breadsticks and additional marinara sauce in it.
“Wow. You brought dinner. That was very nice of you and good thinking. The only thing I have in the house is leftover Chinese. I was going to make a grocery run today but then I ran into Melissa. We picked up some fast food on the way back here.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Troy held up his own sack filled with three bottles of wine and a large bottle of sparkling water. “If you need us to, we can always fetch more food. Until then, how about we pop a cork? I brought water for Melissa since she can’t drink.”
“Good thinking.” Daisy took a peek into the sacks then let out a whistle. “Who are you guys trying to feed? An army? It’s just going to be the five of us, right? Or are more of the team members showing up?”
Paul sauntered past her to the sliding glass doors that overlooked the backyard. Other than a fence that had seen better days, there wasn’t much in the way of protection. “Just us.”
“Yeah, but we eat a lot.” Troy set the sacks down on the table. “Did you think we got these bodies by eating like birds?”
“Actually, birds eat their weight in food, but I get your meaning. Okay, then, let’s chow down.”
Daisy floated across the floor to take charge of the food. Or at least it seemed like she’d floated. She’d changed clothes since he’d last seen her. Instead of the black skinny jeans from earlier that had made her legs look long and slender, she had on a baby blue sun dress that accentuated all her curves. Her breasts weren’t large, but they were perky and the sight of her nipples told him that she wasn’t wearing any bra. He had to wonder if she had any panties on.
The thought of her pussy, uncovered and so easily accessible, gave him a churning in his gut that was all lust. A lot of women made him sit up and notice, but Daisy was the first one that had taken his breath away. Not even Amber had done that.
She’s a client.
He had to remember that. And yet he sensed that she could be so much more.
But it didn’t matter. Mixing business with pleasure was a bad idea. He’d learned that the hard way when he’d fallen for Amber, a fellow firefighter. He’d thought he’d loved her. At least until he found her in the arms of another man. He’d stormed away, only to return later and end up in an all-out shouting match with her. Amber had left, leaving him hurt and angry.
He’d resolved then that he’d never get involved with another woman that had anything to do with either the station or the Firemen for Hire team. Hours later, the rest of his world had crumbled in on him when Amber had had fallen in the line of duty. Losing her twice in the same day had steeled his heart against taking any more chances with love.
He forced his mind back on business. “Where is she?”
Daisy blinked. “So much for small talk and getting to know each other.” Her gaze darted to Troy and Wade. “Or should I say getting to know each other again? Anyway, Melissa was very tired and wanted to take a long, hot bubble bath. I think she’s already out like a light in the guest bedroom.”
She arched an eyebrow when Wade let out a whistle. “Down, boy. She’s got enough problems in her life without you adding to the mix.”
“Hey, I wasn’t…I didn’t…okay, so maybe I did, but just for a second,” admitted Wade. “You mention a woman in a bubble bath and a man’s mind is going to go there. Of course, if you’d like to stir up some bubbles, the
n I’m more than willing to start the bath water.”
“Ignore him, Daisy. He’s an animal.”
“Um, okay. I’ll take a pass on the bubbles. For now anyway.”
Paul would’ve sworn that her cheeks turned a little pink. “We need to get down to business.”
“I don’t know about any of you, but I’m starved. We can talk while we eat.” Troy started pulling out pizza boxes and paper plates, along with napkins.
“Like I said, Melissa and I already ate a bit, but I’m happy to try a piece or two.” She set the wine bottles out then took the water bottle and put it inside the refrigerator. “I’ll save this for Melissa, if that’s okay.”
“Fine with me. I’m not drinking water when I can have wine instead,” quipped Troy.
Paul watched and grew uneasy. Although they hadn’t seen each other in years, the three of them blended together, joking and laughing as though they’d been fast friends back then and still were. He couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.
Once again, he warned himself to keep his mind on business. He pulled out a chair, grabbed a couple of pieces of pizza and gave everyone the “steely eye”—as his last girlfriend had called it—and waited for them to take a seat. “Tell us everything you know.”
Daisy accepted the glass of wine that Troy poured her, then focused her dark eyes on Paul. The feisty glint he saw there had him wishing he could challenge her to a wrestling match. A match that would end up with them in her bed. He took the glass of wine Troy offered him and dragged in a long, slow swig.
“From what Melissa’s told me, she was in a relationship with a woman named Charlie.” She gave him a rueful smile. “Yeah, that’s right. Charlie, the abusive boyfriend, is actually an abusive, or at least an aggressive female. I don’t know if she’s physically hurt her, but she’s damn well trying to bully her. Still, I really thought Charlie was a man. It just shows you what can happen when you assume shit.”
He almost smiled at the curse word. Some people might think it wasn’t ladylike, but he thought it was sexy as hell. “Go on.”
As they had on their previous mission, Troy and Wade sat back and let him take the lead. They might ask a question or two, but they primarily kept quiet and took mental notes. He’d found out before that they’d sometimes remember a piece of information that he’d glossed over since he was busy thinking ahead to the next question.
