His yell filled the room.
As soon as he took a breath, only their pants sounded. Every muscle in her body either ached or floated in bliss. “I don’t think I can move ever again.”
Somehow, Logan was able to crawl off the bed and bring her a wet towel. With a few careful swipes, she was good to go.
Parker rolled her onto her side. “Stay the night.”
She’d love to snuggle next to the men she loved forever. “Even if I wanted to go, I’m not sure the flesh is willing.”
He kissed her. “We’ll talk tomorrow morning.”
She wanted to ask what about, but no words came out.
* * * *
When someone tapped her on the shoulder, she opened her eyes. Light filled the room.
“Get up, sleepyhead. Logan and I want to show you something.”
She pushed up on her elbows. Her body still vibrated from the wonderful sex from last night. “I hope you’ll take it easy on me today.”
Fully dressed, Parker straddled her, leaned over, and kissed her. “We totally understand. I think we could even use a day to rest ourselves.”
She laughed. “That’ll be the day.” He was just being nice.
He hopped off the bed, and she crawled out. Parker disappeared, and she quickly jumped in the shower to get clean. After she towel dried, she spotted a new toothbrush and a tube of unopened toothpaste wrapped in a ribbon. “Aww.”
They must have figured at some point she’d spend the night. Their consideration was one of the many things she loved about them. After brushing her teeth and getting dressed, she followed her nose to the heavenly smell of bacon and eggs. All they needed were pancakes and she’d have to accuse them of hiding her mom somewhere.
She sat next to Parker. “So what’s the surprise?”
“Eat and we’ll show you.”
Had they repainted the backdrop of the set and wanted to get her opinion? She could ask, but knowing them, they wouldn’t tell her. When they finished eating and Logan had put the plates in the dishwasher, she put on her coat.
“Ready to see your surprise?”
“Yes!”
They drove into town, past the hotel and her shop, and kept going. When they drove by the theater, she became totally confused. On the outskirts of town, they pulled in front of the abandoned button factory and parked.
“This is the place you told me about.” The outside brick had been cleaned and front window freshly washed.
“It’s now ours.”
Ours? His statement did not compute. “I don’t get it.”
Logan smiled. “You will. Come on.”
They went through the front. The downstairs was huge but in complete disarray. Because the building was stand alone, windows from all sides allowed the light to pour in. Dust and construction material littered the floor.
Parker stepped around a large metal machine that was probably used to make buttons. “Careful where you walk.”
“When I asked if you planned to convert this into apartments, you never answered.” Logan had said that he might be interested in renovating an old place.
“Be patient.” She knew that smile meant something else.
He took her hand. “Let’s take the elevator to the next floor.”
Having an elevator was way cool. “Do we need to? I get the idea.” When she got her place, the bottom floor was actually in the best shape of all three floors.
“Trust me. You’ll like it.”
“Is the elevator safe?”
Logan twisted her around and wrapped his arms around her. “Chill. Trust me, okay?”
Things apparently weren’t what they seemed. “Fine.”
The three of them crammed into the elevator that had a sliding metal gate that had to be closed before the outer door locked shut. He pressed the second-floor button. There was no third-floor button despite the building being three stories. When the elevator stopped, he pulled back the accordion gate and the door and stepped out.
“It’s not done yet, but I only purchased this a little while ago.”
She gasped as she looked around. The exposed brick was stunning, and the old hardwood floor had been sanded, stained, and polished to a glorious shine. Light streamed in the old windows. “This is amazing.”
“It’s a blank canvas, but that makes it more fun.”
“I can’t believe you bought this. Why?” Since there were few walls, this would be for a single owner.
Except for a ladder and three folding chairs, the entire space was empty. Parker carried over the chairs and placed them at one end.
“Sit down. We’d like to discuss something with you.”
Her blood pressure shot up and her palms began to sweat despite the cool temperature inside the building. Logan motioned she sit in the middle then dragged his and Parker’s chairs to face her.
He glanced at Parker and inhaled. “We know we messed this up last time, and we’d like you to give us a second chance.”
They’d asked her to move in with them before, but she knew she couldn’t work and live with them at the same time. “I’m listening.”
Logan dipped his head then looked up. “I think you believed we wanted to change you somehow. We don’t. We know that you are passionate about your work and that you, like us, work at odd hours. Parker and I bought this place with you in mind.”
Tingles tripped up her spine. “How’s that?”
“You said you liked to work in the middle of the night. We thought if we moved in here, you could have the whole bottom floor for your studio.”
Her heart dropped to her stomach. The bottom floor was about ten times the size of her current place. “Seriously?” Her heart beat so fast that blood pounded in her ears.
“Seriously. We’ve left it as you see it because we thought you could design it anyway you want.”
Her hand raced to her chest. “I’ve always wanted a space to do large outdoor sculptures.”
They both smiled. “Now you can.”
Reality snuck in. “What about my factory? I’d hate to sell it since my heart and soul is there.”
“We figured you could rent it out.”
Parker leaned forward. “I’m betting if Dakota were given a chance she could have an art studio and gallery. There are a lot of artists who I bet would love a place to display their work.”
Her best friend would be so thrilled. She’d been talking about moving out of her dad’s home anyway. “This is all so new.”
Logan nodded at Parker, and both men dropped to one knee. The implication stole her breath. “We’re not perfect,” Logan said, “but we do love you and want you to be happy.” He pulled a box from the inside of his jacket and flipped open the lid.
A brilliant diamond solitaire, larger than any gem she’d ever seen, glistened in the morning light. “It’s so beautiful.” Words couldn’t describe the overwhelming sensations hitting her from all sides.
Parker removed the box from Logan’s hands, extracted the ring, and lifted her left hand. He slid the ring over her finger. “Will you, Jade Callen, marry us?”
She didn’t have to think twice. “Yes.”
Chapter Sixteen
Six weeks later
Now that play was over, Jade needed to catch up on her orders. She had to admit that she loved every minute of watching Logan act. Even though she was only on stage for a few minutes, every second was magic. Sure, she got to kiss Logan, but excitement drenched every inch of her body when she was on stage.
Even more exciting was how well the audience responded to the play. They got standing ovations every night. Seeing Logan’s eyes shine made all the sacrifices worthwhile.
During the run, her cousin’s company, Callen Construction, along with another renovation firm, worked all day long to get the place inhabitable in the next two weeks.
She desperately wanted to stay at Logan’s house until the factory renovation was complete, but if she did, she’d never get any work completed. As a result, she
alternated nights. One night she’d stay with the men and the next night she remained at her place. The whole concept of living in a building three times the size of her home boggled her mind.
She’d spent hours making layouts of the new downstairs. On the days she spent with Logan and Parker, they’d gone shopping for furniture, appliances, and everything else that went into a new house. Parker had decided that he’d forgo a play for the next six weeks so he could concentrate on the new factory.
They were at their new place measuring the bedroom when Logan waltzed in, waving a magazine. “You won’t believe this. Or maybe you will.”
She and Parker slipped next to him. “What is it?” Given the fact it was the top architectural magazine, she hoped Logan’s new development had received some recognition.
He opened it to the centerfold. There sat three pictures of his model home. The middle picture was of her staircase with a seal that looked like a gold ribbon on the bottom.
He grinned. “I found out last week about this honor but wanted to wait until I had the magazine in my hands to tell you.”
“What?”
“Your staircase won the top architectural design element in a house for this year.”
She jumped up and down. The validation overwhelmed her. “I can’t believe it.”
They both hugged her. After she kissed both, Parker lifted her up and swung her around. “You are going to be in such high demand. We need to get your workplace up and running soon. We’ll put a seal on the window stating you are a nationally recognized artist.”
Logan closed the magazine. “I’m going to have this article framed. We’ll proudly display it in the front.”
Nothing could make her happier. “I can’t tell you how excited I am.”
“We’re more excited for you!” Logan handed the magazine to Parker as he kissed her.
Her cell rang. “It’s probably Dakota.” She lifted the phone from her pocket and frowned. “It’s Dad. He never calls me.”
“I called him first about the award. Maybe he wants to congratulate you.”
“That’ll be the day. Why did you bother to tell him?”
He shrugged. “He’s always busting your chops about your job only being a hobby. Not that I don’t like your dad, but he needs an attitude adjustment.”
She laughed. “That’s why I love you two. You get where I’m coming from.”
She pushed the green button on her phone to answer. “Hey. Something wrong?”
“No, no. I wondered if you could come to the ranch. I want to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
He hesitated. “Can you just come?”
He seemed a bit testy and off kilter. “Sure. I’ll be right over.”
She stashed the phone back in her pocket. “That was odd. He wants to see me.”
“You go ahead then. Parker and I need a few hours to finish measuring.”
“You sure?”
“Family needs to come first.”
She kissed them good-bye and headed out. She didn’t remember her dad ever requesting she come over, especially in the middle of the day. If someone had been injured, he surely would have told her.
When she got there, her dad was waiting for her at the entrance. She checked the sign to see if maybe it had fallen. Nope. It looked good to her. She cut the engine and got out. The sun beat down on her, and she slipped off her jacket.
“What’s up?”
Her dad glanced to the ground, an action she’d rarely seen. “I’ve been thinking.”
“Thinking is always a good thing. About what?”
“The sign.” He glanced up at her artwork.
“You don’t like it?”
He held up his palm to forestall an argument. “I like it just fine, but it’s not quite right. I want to change the name of the ranch.”
Huh? “It’s been the Spencer Callen ranch for thirty years.”
“That’s the problem. I didn’t build the ranch myself, so it shouldn’t just be named after me. Your mom probably had more influence over how this place got run than anyone.”
That was true, but to him, she was just the mother of his children. “I agree.”
“I’d like to give her the due she deserves. Do you think you could add another letter and have the both an S and an L inside the C?”
The L stood for Lisa, which was her mom’s name. “You going to rename the ranch?”
“Yes. It’ll be the S and L ranch.”
Today was full of wonders. “I can do that.”
He grinned. “I’ll ask Morgan and Clint to deliver the sign to your place then.”
“Perfect.”
When he didn’t say anything more, she turned to go to her car.
“There’s one other thing.”
She spun around. “Yes.”
“I heard about your award, and I wanted to say I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry I won an award?”
He took his hat off his head and slapped it against his thigh. “No. I’m proud that you won that award. Hell, I never won anything. Look, I’m not good with words from the heart, but I realize that I’ve treated you badly when you were growing up.”
Never in her life would she have expected her dad to see the light. “How so?” She knew, but she wanted to hear from his lips.
“I pushed Morgan and Clint to go to college but never you.”
“I didn’t really want to go.”
“I know, but I should have given you the opportunity.” He glanced to the mountains in the distance. “I treated your career as a hobby, and now I know that you’re real good at it. It would be a shame to give that up for kids.”
She didn’t believe in aliens, but maybe one of them had inhabited his body. “Dad, I do plan on having kids. Maybe even a lot of them but only when I’m ready. In fact, there is something I need to show you.” She held out her left hand and flashed her ring.
He lifted her hand and grinned. “Hot damn, girl. Your fellow called me up this morning and asked my permission. Of course, I said yes.”
Not only had he shocked her twice today by giving credit to her mom and then by recognizing that he’d treated her differently because she was a girl, but he stepped over to her, picked her up, and spun her around.
“Okay, okay. I’m just getting married.”
“We’re gonna have the biggest and best wedding this side of Cheyenne.” He put her down and sobered. “That is if you’ll let me walk you down the aisle. I know I haven’t always been there for you, but I’d be honored if you gave me a second chance.”
“You’re wrong about something.”
“What?”
“You’ve given me a lot. You made me strong and independent. For that, I will always be thankful.”
His face colored. “Well, I won’t keep you.”
All that mushy stuff probably overwhelmed him. “I’ll have the new sign made as soon as I can.”
She grinned and got back in the car. Tonight, she, Logan, and Parker had a lot to celebrate.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Unlike most other authors, I started writing late in life. Writing stories in high school and college was not for me. Only after I graduated did I fall in love with romance novels. For the next twenty years, I read voraciously. It got to a point where my book-buying habits cost as much as my groceries. At that point, my husband suggested I write a book. Hey, it looked easy, right? All the stories started in the same spot (hero and heroine at odds) and ended the same way (happily ever after). Only it was anything but easy. Eleven years and fifteen completed romantic suspenses later, I finally published. I never would have gotten that far had it not been for two local chapters whose generous members shared their amazing wealth of knowledge.
For all titles by Melody Snow Monroe, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/melody-snow-monroe
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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Melody Snow Monroe, Love of Steel [The Callens 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)
Love of Steel [The Callens 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 14
