Dee's Second Chance Times Two (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Marla Monroe

  “I hope you’re right. It would kill me for someone to hurt her or make her cry.”

  “Me, too, Amos. Me, too.”

  Andy settled next to Dee and wrapped one arm around her waist just a little lower than the one his brother had on her. The last thought that snuck in before he fell asleep was that they still didn’t know why Carol had wanted to break them up.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “No. Absolutely not, guys. It’s way too big. I’d snag it on something all the time. I could break my finger or cut it if I’m not careful. I want something smaller if I’m going to be the one to wear it.” Dee was about to strangle her men.

  “Honey, if it’s the money, we have it. It’s not going to break us or even dent our savings,” Andy told her.

  “It’s not the money. I’m sure you and Amos are solid financially. It really is the size. You don’t understand how difficult it would be to get dressed with it on and work with it all day. I swear I’d end up with a pulled muscle in my finger just trying to hold it up.” She couldn’t believe the size of the diamond they’d picked out. She didn’t even realize the shop carried anything that large.

  “We want everyone to know you’re our girl, baby.” Amos brought her hand to his lips and kissed each fingertip.

  The gesture was so romantic, she felt tears burning her eyes. Looking back at where the shop owner was staring at them, a look of nostalgia seemed to cross his face before it was replaced by amusement.

  “Perhaps if she doesn’t want something big that will get in the way, we can go for something unique and eye-catching instead,” the shop owner suggested.

  “I like that idea,” she quickly agreed.

  “Diamonds are significant with engagement rings,” Amos said with what could only be described as a pout.

  “Here are a few rings you might be able to compromise on,” the jeweler said, placing several amazing rings on the velvet cloth on top of the display case.

  Dee’s eyes were instantly drawn to a gorgeous emerald with diamonds and opals surrounding it. The diamonds sparkled, reflecting the emerald, and the opals glowed in the light reflected off the emerald. The green stone was a princess cut of about one and a half to two carats with what appeared to be half-carat diamonds and similarly sized opals around it. That was the ring she wanted. It was perfect.

  “This one.” She picked it up and tried it on. “Shoot, it will have to be sized. My finger is too large for it.”

  “That won’t be a problem at all. I’ll do it myself and have it ready for you Monday morning,” the shop owner said, looking hopefully at the two men standing behind her.

  Dee turned around to show the ring to them with it lodged just above her knuckle. “It’s perfect. I love it, guys. This is the one I want.”

  Both men studied the ring with speculative expressions, but in the end they both nodded. Dee’s heart sang. Not only had she avoided the monstrosity of the massive diamond that looked like a twenty-carat boulder, but she’d picked out her own ring and loved it.

  “We’ll pick it up Monday as soon as you open up,” Amos said. “Then we’ll bring it to you and get down on our knees in your office and officially ask you to be our wife.”

  Dee beamed up at the two men. Both were smiling and the thought of both of them on their knees thrilled her though she didn’t really need that gesture.

  “Come on, baby girl. Let’s go next door while Andy takes care of business. There’s something there I want to get you,” Amos said, winking at her.

  Dee frowned. On one side of the building was a hardware store and on the other side was an intimates shop. There was no way he’d take her to an establishment with hammers and pipes. Thoughts of what he’d seen in the lingerie shop scared her.

  “Maybe we should stay and wait for Andy,” she suggested.

  “Naw. He doesn’t need us to wait on him. We can go on ahead.” Amos took her elbow and gently led her from the shop and next door to the boutique that had silky bits of lacy nothings displayed in the window.

  “Um, I don’t think they carry anything in my size, Amos. We can order online. That’s what I usually do,” she told him.

  Amos didn’t realize that he was embarrassing her. The moment the sales lady looked at her, she’d shake her head and tell them that they didn’t have anything big enough for her. That would hurt and Amos would feel bad about it. She could pretty much see it unfold.

  Dee let him lead or, in all honesty, almost drag her toward the back counter where a tiny, dark-haired woman was checking out someone Dee didn’t know. The woman picked up her bag and smiled at them before she walked away.

  “Can I help you?” she asked with a broad smile.

  Dee waited for it, but the woman never said the usual lines. Nor did she wrinkle her nose in Dee’s direction. Had Amos already said something to the lady? It didn’t really matter. They wouldn’t have anything for her to look at anyway.

  “That lacy black-and-white negligée in the window. We want to look at it in her size,” Amos said, bringing her around to stand in front of him.

  The warmth of his hands on her shoulders might give her the courage she needed to withstand the saleslady’s “sorry we don’t carry her size.” Maybe. It didn’t really bother her about her size. She was healthy and walked most days to keep in shape, but she could still get her feelings hurt when others made fun of her.

  “Right this way,” the lady said with a broad smile as she turned to lead them deeper into the store. “That one has been hard to keep in stock. If we don’t have your size, ma’am, I’ll order it for you.”

  Dee instantly liked the woman despite the twinge of hurt she felt at having to listen to her pretend she didn’t have her size but would order it. She had to admit, it was the nicest anyone had been to her in a situation like this. She’d stopped going into stores a long time ago and just order her clothes off the Internet.

  “Here we are. I believe we have it. You’re a fourteen, right?” she asked, pulling out the exact copy of the one on the mannequin in the window.

  “Um, sometimes. I usually wear a sixteen though.” Dee couldn’t believe she actually had the lacy gown in stock.

  While the woman pulled out both the fourteen and the sixteen, Dee looked at the rack to see if they really did carry other garments in her size or if Amos or Andy had already set this up somehow. To her astonishment, there were several lines of plus-sized gowns and underwear in her size and even larger. Tears burned her eyes as she followed the woman into the dressing room.

  “This is going to look amazing on you with your fiery hair and soft pale skin,” the woman said a she hooked the hangers on the knobs on the door. “I will be more than happy to assist you if you’d like.”

  Dee looked at the delicate-looking woman and smiled, shaking her head. “Not thank you. I’ll call if I need help.”

  “I’ll be just outside the door if you need me.” She nodded and slipped out, closing the door firmly behind her.

  It took Dee a full minute to pull herself together. The woman was so nice and not sickly sweet or putting on about taking care of her. She hadn’t made eyes at Amos, so Dee thought she was completely genuine.

  Once she tried on both gowns, she put the first one back on. Even though she could fit into the fourteen, she felt better in the sixteen. Dee sighed and opened the door a little to ask the sales lady her opinion.

  “Need some help?” she asked.

  “I wanted your opinion if you don’t mind.”

  “Of course. Step out. There’s no one out here but me.” She backed up so Dee could join her.

  “Oh my. That is lovely on you. I was right, it really accents you hair and your skin.” The saleslady walked around her.

  “I can wear the fourteen but this one feels better. Is it just because I prefer my clothes a little loose or do you think this one fits okay?” she asked.

  The lady smiled and stepped closer to adjust the material and pull on it some. When she stepped back, Dee could see that
her eyes where shiny with tears.

  “Is something wrong?” she asked.

  “No! No. Sorry. I really think the larger size looks more natural than a smaller size would. It flows over your body but accents your butt and small waist,” she said, smiling a little too widely.

  “Thank you. Um, are you sure there isn’t anything wrong? Did I say something?” Dee asked.

  “Oh, goodness no. I was just being shallow. I hate being skinny like a beanpole. I wish I could gain weight and look healthy like you do. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” the woman said then brushed away a tear. “Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”

  Dee watched as she hurried away behind the back curtain. She wanted to go back there and comfort her but since she didn’t know the woman, she didn’t feel comfortable doing that. Instead, she returned to the dressing room and change back to her outfit. When she carried the two garments back to where she’d left Amos, Andy was there as well.

  “There you are. I was beginning to worry that you were buying out the store,” Amos teased.

  “No, but I do love this nightgown.” She held out the size sixteen with a smile.

  “Wow! I love that. We’re getting it, right?” Andy asked, taking it from her hand.

  “We sure are,” Amos said, nodding to where the saleslady walked toward them.

  Dee could see no evidence that the woman had been upset. She felt bad that she’d misjudged her when she first walked in. It reminded her that it was how she felt when people treated her differently.

  “Did you decide?” she asked smiling at Dee.

  “The sixteen. You’re right. I feel more relaxed and comfortable in that one. Thank you,” she said with a smile.

  “I can’t wait to see it on you,” Andy said.

  “I’ll wrap this up for you,” the lady said, and while Andy pulled her over to another display, Amos took care of the bill.

  When he returned with the package, Dee turned and waved at the woman. “Thank you so much for helping me. I’ll be back.”

  The woman’s warm smile gave Dee a little skip in her gait. She wanted to introduce her to Hazel. She could just see some of Hazel’s designs there. Plus, Hazel had a way of making anyone comfortable with their body. Until that moment, it had never occurred to her that thin women might not be happy with their bodies either.

  “You’re looking thoughtful,” Andy observed. “What do you have brewing in that devious mind of yours?”

  “Nothing. Just thinking. Nothing serious or anything.” She smiled and snuggled between the two men as they strode across the street to where Andy had parked the truck.

  “Am I seeing things?” a familiar voice asked from behind them.

  Both men stiffened around her then continued walking.

  “I’m not. Dee Hancock. Are you really back with them after they cheated on you with me? I never thought you would be that desperate.”

  Dee jerked her arms free of Amos and Andy’s clasp to turn around and face Carol, her once best friend and confidant. Even as angry as she was, Dee refused to give in and slap the smile off of the bitch’s face.

  “Well, hello, Carol. I haven’t seen you in a while. Now turn around and make my day better by jumping back into whatever whole in the ground you crawled out of.” Dee smiled then turned back around to continue toward the truck.

  “Easy, hon,” Andy said. “She’s not worth getting upset over.”

  “I’m fine. It just pissed me off that she’d be that forward about her involvement. That’s all.” Dee let Amos help her into the truck. When he climbed in next to her and made sure she’d fastened her seat belt, he nodded at his brother and Andy started the truck.

  As they pulled from the curb, Dee saw Carol still standing where they’d left her. The woman looked thoughtful and that, more than anything else, worried her. What did she want from Dee? Obviously it was something or she wouldn’t have sought them out to confront them. Maybe Dee should have put the entire ordeal behind her sooner and dug into the reason behind the woman’s betrayal.

  Maybe she still should.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “What did you find out?” Amos asked when Andy walked through the door of his office.

  “Nothing good,” Andy said with a sigh.

  It had been three months since they’d convinced Dee to give them another chance. Three short, amazing months of making love and having fun. So far, most of the townsfolk were either okay with their relationship or ignoring it. No one had stomped into either office and issued an ultimatum that either they stop seeing each other or they would move their business elsewhere. He knew it might still happen, but so far they’d lucked out.

  But in the back of his mind, Amos worried. Carol had to have planned everything out before, but for what? They weren’t the prize, and nothing they had been able to find out about her had suggested a reason to want to hurt Dee.

  Until they figured it out and made sure nothing would jump out at them in the future, Amos couldn’t relax. He had no idea how his uptight brother was holding on at the moment. This was killing him.

  “What then?” he asked again.

  “She’s still living in the same house and hasn’t left as far as I can find out. She was gone for a couple of weeks right after the big screwup but returned and hasn’t left again as far as anyone knows,” Andy said.

  “What about her job?” Amos asked. “Didn’t she work at the bank?”

  “Yeah, but she quit the day before she set us up. I didn’t even know that. Now she works from home as some company’s girl Friday online. She’s like a virtual assistant or something.”

  “Is she making enough to pay her bills?” Amos asked. He didn’t see why someone would pay another person to work from home as a virtual assistant. It seemed like it would be better to have personal access to them when they needed them.

  “Yeah. From what I can piece together, she makes about five thousand a month before taxes. I’m not sure why we’ve never noticed her around town before the other day. I mean the town isn’t that large. We should have run into her at the grocery store or something.”

  Amos shrugged. “Maybe she has everything delivered. We can check on that. A lot of people do that nowadays. People who don’t like crowds or shut-ins who can’t drive.”

  “Yeah, I’ll look into it.” Andy perched on the corner of his desk. “Hey, did you know she’s related to Gideon Snow? She’s like a distant cousin or something. I found that out by accident.”

  “Wow. Didn’t know he had any relatives alive. That was the entire reason he wanted to set up a trust in the first place. Does he know about her?” Amos asked, leaning back in his chair.

  “Yeah. That’s how I found out. Gideon was visiting old man Harvey at the retirement home. I’d stopped by to give Mrs. Bobbie a sno-cone. She loves it when we do that. I still can’t believe she’s gotten so feeble. She was always ready with a sno-cone for all the kids in town, and now she’s hardly able to feed herself.” He smiled then waved his hand. “Anyway, he saw me getting into my truck and walked over to talk to me.”

  “You know, I really like him,” Amos said. “We gained a good friend when Dee referred him to us about his taxes. What did he want to talk about?”

  “He had heard we were engaged to Dee and wanted to congratulate us and make sure he was invited to the wedding. I told him if we didn’t abduct her and elope we’d make sure he had an invitation,” Andy said.

  “So how did the conversation turn to Carol?”

  “I asked if all the paperwork had finally made it back to him from the state concerning his trust. He said it had but no thanks to his aunt’s bastard grandson. It seemed the boy got some underage girl pregnant and paid the woman to have an abortion. Instead, she took off with the money and had the child anyway. That child turned out to be none other than Carol.” Andy stood up and strode over to the door to the bathroom that connected their offices. “Evidently, Carol’s mother drilled it into her head that she was an heir to some bi
g inheritance and needed to find out who all were relatives of her daddy and squeeze them for money to convince her not to challenge the will.”

  “Looks like Carol was a little smarter than her mom and snuck in under their radar,” Amos said. “But why? How did she plan to get that money if there wasn’t anyone left for her to squeeze? It wouldn’t do her any good to squeeze Gideon. If he didn’t like her, he wasn’t going to give her anything.”

  “I don’t know,” Andy said. “That’s the mystery. He said if she hadn’t slipped up and made the mistake of admitting who her father was, he might have gotten close to her and left her the money. Once he figured out she was after the money, he stopped spending time with her and started figuring out how to stop her from contesting his will when he died.”

  “I guess he could always give everything away before he died, but then he wouldn’t be able to enjoy much for however long he has left,” Amos said.

  Something nagged him about the entire mess, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He shook his head. They’d spent a lot of time worrying about it the last few weeks. He wanted to plan for a surprise weekend get away with Dee instead.

  “So did you get the keys?” he asked his brother.

  “Of course. We’ve got the place to ourselves for the entire long weekend. Jason and Christy said everything had just been checked and serviced. All we need to do is e-mail a list of groceries we want delivered the day before and the place would be ready when we got there.” Andy pulled out the keys and tossed them to him.

  “Excellent! So how are we going to get her to agree to take Friday off?” Amos asked.

  “I’ve got her assistant working on that. Hazel said to leave it to her. She was going to rearrange her schedule so that she wouldn’t have any clients for that day and then convince her to take the long weekend off. I don’t doubt the woman can do it either,” Andy said. “She’s almost scary.”