by Redrae Gunn
Jenna knew that she wasn’t going to move in with her parents either. Not when she had this opportunity. So far they were just talking about stuff. She hadn’t been flirty and neither had they. Friendship. Just three friends talking. Jace hadn’t said anything. Tony had done all the talking. Jace could probably get any woman he wanted with his good looks. Tony could too for that matter. She decided to stop entertaining fantasies of them both taking her. It wasn’t good for her heart.
What two twenty-something-year-olds wanted anything to do with someone over thirty? Especially ones this handsome? Especially with a woman who had added a pound to her weight every year since she had turned eighteen. Yikes! Jenna looked up and saw the way that both Jace and Tony were studying her. She smoothed her face and smiled.
“I don’t think I like that last thought,” Jace said softly. “Matter of fact, I don’t think I like most of those thoughts you were just having.”
“Me either,” Tony said.
“Sorry,” Jenna said. She yawned and then finally confided in both of them. “I’m so exhausted.”
Her head fell forward and she snapped her head back up. She was straddling the gear shift and each of her legs pressed firmly against one thigh of both of the men on either side of her. The low hum of the vehicle made the ringing in her ears stop and she was so tired.
“Rest your head on my shoulder, Jenna,” Tony said as he sat passenger. “It’s almost a two-hour drive. A nap will do you good.”
Tony resisted the urge to laugh at Jace when Jace shot him a look of death and Jenna fell asleep on his shoulder.
Once Jenna was fully asleep Jace picked up her wrist and slid her hand to rest on his thigh. He smirked when Tony looked down at Jenna’s other hand. She had curled it under her own leg and there was no way that Tony could place it on his thigh without waking her.
“You’re a sick bastard,” Tony whispered and then saved his other comments for later because Jenna had stirred and her hand had inched up Jace’s leg.
Jace managed not to laugh. The pain from his cock pressing against his jeans helped him not to laugh. Little Jenna was certainly interesting. Shopping for her was going to be fun. It was something that they had never done before. Most of the hired hands that they’d had already had work clothes, and they were men. The few women they had hired hadn’t been able to keep up with the twelve-hour days or the men’s silence.
Jenna roused as they pulled into Minot.
“The farm pays for the expenses, Jenna,” Jace said seriously when she asked about funding. Jace glanced at Tony and nodded his head.
Tony sighed and pulled out his cell phone. He called the bank and then put the phone on speaker as he punched in the digits.
Jenna listened as the feminine robotic voice advised that the account was over three hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars. Her mouth opened and Tony continued to punch numbers to listen to another account. Two hundred and twenty thousand dollars. Tony punched more numbers. Two hundred and forty thousand dollars. More numbers. Two hundred and ten thousand dollars. More numbers. Two hundred and sixty thousand dollars.
Jenna had stopped adding the numbers in her head. Tony was continuing to punch numbers into the phone. They had well over two million dollars in their accounts by the time she had quit adding.
“Why haven’t you retired yet?” Jenna asked. “And why do you need me?”
“We actually like working, Jenna,” Jace said softly. He wasn’t about to go into the fact that he wasn’t going to let his parents down by not farming and ranching as he had been taught. It didn’t matter that both his parents were dead. He still had loyalty to the parents that had raised him and worked their hands to the bone to keep the land that was now so profitable.
“Oil money,” Tony explained. “A whole lot of it. We have one hundred percent mineral rights on eight wells.”
“Ten in two months,” Jace added.
“They are drilling two more for now,” Tony said softly. “They plan to add four more after that.”
“Kira had mentioned the oil money,” Jenna said. “I just hadn’t realized it was so much. I feel embarrassed to be proud of my investing skills. Looks like land was the way to go.”
“Jenna,” Jace said firmly. “The farm pays for all expenses. Tony, me, you, we all earn a salary. So do not argue, not once, when the farm pays for the clothes and groceries today.”
Jenna nodded her head, unable to form a response.
Tony glanced at Jace and rolled his eyes.
“Jenna?” Jace said more firmly. “Are we clear?”
“Yes,” Jenna replied, reacting to Jace’s tone without even thinking.
The truck pulled to a stop at the Dakota Square Mall. Tony grinned at Jace and mouthed a ‘thank you’ as he helped Jenna jump down from the passenger side, and the trio headed to the entrance of the mall.
At lunch Jenna insisted that she pay. Jace and Tony both nodded. She wanted to keep her dignity and she didn’t want to feel used. She smiled at both of them and relaxed. The men said that they had to go to an auto parts store and they would meet her at the clock in the center of the mall in one hour.
Jenna smiled at both of them as they asked if she would be okay. She shopped in downtown Manhattan and they wondered if she would be okay? She had made both of the men laugh and promised she would call them if she had problems. She wandered around a book store and picked up nearly a dozen books before she left.
A sporting goods store caught her eye and she looked at the insulated sweat suits they offered. She picked up a black set just in case Jace and Tony extended her employment past the four months. Then she went full bore with comfortable hiking boots that would double as work boots and two more sets of tennis shoes. One for mud and one for grass. Just in case.
Jenna was sitting at the clock, as ordered, when Jace spotted her. She could almost hear his grunt when he looked at the bags surrounding her feet. Tony grinned at her. She smiled at both of them. She had also found a shop that had flavored coffee and she had hooked them up for well over a year. Orange chocolate coffee sounded delicious.
Jenna noticed the appreciative glances that women gave to the two men as they started toward her. It was one of the things she hated about wanting two men. There was always temptation for the men. Women always wanted the experience of having two men, just to say that they had done it. It was different for Jenna because it wasn’t something she just wanted to experience, it was something that she needed.
To their credit, neither of the men looked at the women. They ignored the giggling girls who actually whistled. Jenna had to admit, their chiseled asses looked good in the faded jeans. She went to grab some of the bags but the look Jace gave her told her that she wasn’t allowed to carry anything.
The men gathered up the bags and headed to the exit with her in between them. They were talking about the parts that they had found and had ordered a few others. They explained that UPS did come out to their neck of the woods so to not be alarmed when someone strange knocked on the door.
Jenna laughed and reminded them that the brown uniform was probably another reason not to call the cops on a stranger.
Grocery store next and then they were headed back to the farm. Jenna felt tired as soon as they were on the road. Tony again offered his shoulder. She fell asleep quickly.
Jace picked up Jenna’s wrist and placed it on his thigh. Tony looked down at Jenna’s hand and sighed as he saw that it was again tucked under her leg.
“You suck,” Tony whispered to Jace.
“So do you,” Jace said as he saw that Jenna had snuggled deeper into Tony’s shoulder.
“Well?” Tony asked as he looked from Jace to Jenna. He wanted Jace to be the Dominant and get Jenna to at least give them a chance in the bedroom.
“Well what?” Jace asked, knowing exactly what Tony wanted. Getting Jenna in bed was only half of the challenge. Then he had to rely on Tony’s ability to get her ready and get her in that moment.
“Wi
ll you?” Tony whispered as Jenna sighed.
Jenna rubbed her cheek on Tony’s shoulder and patted Jace’s thigh. Through her sleep she murmured, “Jace will, Tony, and so will you. It’s okay.” Then she was silent.
Chapter 3
Jenna gathered some of the packages from the truck. She took the tags off of her clothes, then she started a load of laundry. The men had thankfully left her alone. She felt out of sorts. She wanted them both but wasn’t sure about their intentions.
Jenna shook her head. These were employers, and not her men. She didn’t need to be thinking about their intentions. They needed help on the farm and that was it. But there had been a couple of times when she had seen the lust in Tony’s darker blue eyes and sparks in the glacial ice from Jace’s eyes. She went to use the bathroom and screamed as an older man she had never seen before came out of the door.
Jace and Tony rushed into the house at the sound of Jenna’s scream.
The man held his hands in the air. It looked to Jenna like he was waiting for the others to arrive as he backed into the bathroom with his hands held high.
Tony smiled and both he and Jace looked into the bathroom.
“Jenna, meet Miles,” Jace said calmly. “He did today’s chores for us, so we could take you shopping. Miles lives not far from here on Antelope Bay.”
“Hi.” Jenna offered her hand to Miles. “Sorry.”
“Stranger danger is good,” Miles said as he shook Jenna’s hand. “But I have an old heart, girl. Don’t do that again.” Miles shook his head.
“I’m so sorry,” Jenna said as she led Miles into the kitchen. “Do you want coffee, hot chocolate, something to drink?”
Jace watched as Tony left through the back door, readjusting his pants the entire way. Jace smirked. Jenna’s scream had been one that had probably rocked Tony to his core. Throaty yet high pitched. He was sure that Tony was devising ways to hear that sound again. For some reason, Jace couldn’t wait either.
Jace followed Miles and Jenna into the kitchen. She was busy putting things away and he noticed that little lists had been placed on the insides of the cupboard doors. He looked at them and saw that the lists were of the foods stored inside.
“I didn’t want to rearrange the way that you had it,” Jenna said. “But if I ended up getting more stuff I wanted you guys to know where it was as well. I didn’t want to just come in and take over your kitchen.”
Jace nodded his head and grabbed a beer from the fridge. Jenna scooted past him and her hip brushed against his leg in the small space. He sat at the table and let Miles talk about the fishing, the weather, and the animals. He was barely listening. Jenna had pulled out a mixing bowl and was adding ingredients. Her hips shook as she stirred whatever was in the bowl.
By the time that Jenna started kneading the dough on the floured board he was completely mesmerized. She had hamburger, bacon, and chicken breasts cooking in separate pans on the stove. Other ingredients were in smaller bowls on the counter and she was spreading three pans of dough with sauce.
“Jace, you like pizza, right?” Jenna asked as she noticed him staring at the messy counter.
“I’ve only had those boxed pizzas that you wouldn’t allow us to buy today.” Jace shrugged his shoulders and Miles told him that those boxed pizzas have no nutritional value.
“So I was going to make a hamburger pizza for you and whoever.” Jenna looked at Jace and he nodded his head slowly. “Miles you are joining us for dinner right?”
“I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to share a home-cooked meal with such a lovely young lady,” Miles said as he lowered his eyes and bowed his head.
Jenna’s laughter echoed, throaty and full, through the kitchen. Tony came in and sniffed the pans as he headed to the fridge. He cracked a beer and sat at the kitchen table as Miles started in again about the weather.
“What’s that?” Jace asked as he looked at the green-looking pineapple that Jenna had started to cut up with surprising expertise.
“An artichoke,” Jenna said as she added the yellow and white pieces to the pan that had held the bacon. She pulled off the chicken breasts, chunked them and put them into the pan with the artichoke.
“If my cooking is going to cause you anxiety I have a load of clothes in the washer that needs to be hung on the clothes line,” Jenna said as she smiled. She reached out and rubbed the top of his head and then pulled her hand back quickly. “Sorry.”
“You’re fine,” Jace said as he saw Tony’s eyes narrow.
“Tony, if you are just going to glare at Jace all night,” Jenna said as she patted his head, too, “that laundry is in there, waiting.”
“I’m fine right where I am,” Tony said as he smiled happily at Jenna’s touch.
“Since we are talking about chores,” Miles said softly. “If you guys need some extra help I got some property taxes that need to be paid.”
Jenna shoved the pizzas in the oven and politely excused herself from the kitchen. She knew that it took a lot of swallowing pride to admit that someone needed help. If Miles needed help and was willing to work for it Jenna was not going to be in the room adding to his embarrassment for having to ask the men for work. She grabbed her clothes and hung them on the clothes line.
When she came back inside Miles was in a considerably better mood and so were Jace and Tony. Jenna pulled the pizzas out of the oven and Miles commented on the amazing smell. Tony got up and looked at the pizza with artichokes, bacon, and chicken. Jenna seemed very proud of it as she had used a garlic pesto sauce instead of pizza sauce.
Jace looked at the hamburger one and then the final pizza.
“It’s a breakfast pizza for tomorrow morning,” Jenna explained when Jace crossed his arms and rested his weight on one leg while looking at it. “It had sausage gravy for sauce, then eggs, bacon, and sausage for toppings. It’s basically an omelet on dough.”
“I’ll try that.” Jace smiled warmly at Jenna. “I’ll try all of them. I saw how hard you worked on them. It’s the least I can do.”
Jenna grinned and clapped her hands.
“I can’t promise I will like them,” Jace warned her.
“I know I will,” Miles said. “Can I get some of the breakfast one to go, for my morning breakfast as well?”
Jenna nodded her head. “They just have to cool for a couple of minutes.”
“Jesus Christ,” Tony whispered as he glanced outside the kitchen window. He had gone to get another beer from the fridge and the clothing hanging on the clothes line had him gasping for air.
Jace looked out the window and laughed. Several thongs and laced panties with matching bras were on the clothes line. So were the rest of the clothes that Jenna had purchased.
Miles looked out the window once the other men had cleared out of the way.
“Thanks for drawing attention to my laundry,” Jenna scolded Tony.
“Tony, I didn’t think that you would have an aversion to women’s undergarments,” Miles added as he smiled and winked at Jenna.
Jace’s deep laugh shook the cupboards and Jenna couldn’t help but laugh with him.
“There isn’t a dry cleaner’s in miles,” Jenna explained. “So I called Kira to ask how she handled her delicate items and I am following her instructions.”
“I like that Kira,” Miles said as he looked at Jenna. Then he looked at Tony and Jace as he pointed a thumb at Jenna. “I like this one, too.”
* * * *
Jenna had stored the food, cleaned up the kitchen and finished the laundry for the day. She was relieved. These guys started at six in the morning and went until way after six at night. She was glad that she only needed about six to seven hours of sleep a night because otherwise she would’ve burnt out her first day.
It didn’t help that several people used the driveway as a point to turn around when they realized they were on the wrong road, adding to her nervousness.
Jenna had been particularly creeped out by two white vans. She figured that they h
ad turned into the drive twice in the past week. Once when the men were gone and once when the men were home. She’d hidden from sight when the men had been gone. She happily watched the vans leave, from the protection of the house, when they spotted Jace and Tony.
But now, it was about sleep.
The thought of sleep made Jenna nervous. She had yet to get a good night of sleep. Her ears had been ringing too badly. She hoped that the final plan would work.
Jenna glanced out the screened door at the three men as they sat on the logs that surrounded the fire pit. She quickly ran the bathwater, soaked, scrubbed, and then crawled into bed. She waited as the ringing in her ears returned and then she lit the wooden wick candle that was supposed to crackle as it burned. It just wasn’t enough noise. The ringing was still driving her crazy.
Jenna powered up her laptop and downloaded the sound bite that she had recorded during her restless night of sleep the night prior. With a couple of edits she had it so that it looped perfectly. It had been a last-resort effort to find sleep as suggested by the Internet. She clung to it with hope as she finally passed out.
* * * *
Tony walked into the house followed by Jace. Miles had left and they were headed to bed. When Tony passed by Jenna’s room he stalled and then stopped. He turned and looked at Jace, who had halted right in front of her door.
“There is someone in there with her?” Jace asked.
“Sounds like you snoring,” Tony said.
“Sounds like you, too,” Jace said as he opened the door and flipped on the light.
Jenna had a pillow under her head and a pillow on each side of her. Her face was mashed into her pillow and her calm breathing told them both that she was asleep.
Jace pointed to her laptop and Tony took a seat at the desk. After a couple of clicks he pointed to the screen. “She recorded us snoring last night,” Tony whispered. “And by the looks of this notepad”—he held up a piece of paper with other suggestions crossed off—“this was a last attempt to get some sleep.” Tony clicked the computer to silence.
