“I basically told them they needed to man-up and help out their little sister, because you’ve spent much of your life taking care of them.”
Her heart melted the tiniest bit.
“They agreed with me,” Dale said. “It was the next part that nearly caused a brawl to break out.”
Nyree eyed him wearily. “What happened?”
He shrugged. “I told them that they needed to get over the fact that you’re with me, because I like what the two of us have going, and I plan on being with you for however long you’ll have me.”
Well, there went the rest of her heart, melting like a snow cone within her chest.
He stared into her eyes, his gaze intense. “Look, Nyree, I know you can do better than me—”
“Don’t,” she said. “Don’t ever say those words. Don’t even think them.” She pressed a fierce kiss to his lips. “You are so much more than I could have ever hoped for, Dale. How can you not see that?”
“You still think so? Even after what I told you about what I did in college?”
“And as I told you, you were young and impressionable. You tell me what college kid wouldn’t have done the same thing if they’d been in your position? Our mistakes don’t make us who we are, Dale. What we learn from them, how we grow from them—that’s what’s important.”
Nyree’s shoulders slumped with a resigned sigh. “That’s why I’ll have to suck it up and apologize to those brothers of mine for behaving like a bratty little sister instead of an adult these past couple of months.”
“Nah.” Dale shook his head. “The youngest reserves the right to be a brat sometimes.”
“Spoken like someone who knows a thing or two about being the youngest,” she said with a laugh. She kissed him again, because she couldn’t help herself. “How could you possibly think you were ever in danger of losing me?” she asked. “I’m the luckiest person I know, finding a man as funny and kind and giving as you are.” Her mouth tipped up in a smile. “And did I mention sexy?”
“Sexy is important,” Dale said.
“Very important.”
She caressed his jaw. “Thank you,” Nyree said.
“You already thanked me.”
“I’m thanking you again.”
“For what?”
“For being who you are. For believing in my dream and going out of your way to help make it come true. For everything.”
“It’s my pleasure,” he said, placing the gentlest kiss upon her lips. He touched his forehead to hers and stared into her eyes. “So, are we good?” Dale asked.
She nodded. “We’re more than good. We’re perf—” Dale’s brow rose. “We’re great,” she amended.
Although, in her mind, it was absolutely perfect.
He kissed her again. “That’s good enough for me.”
“So, will we have to see this shit whenever you two are around now?” came Desmond’s disgusted voice.
Nyree turned to find her brothers standing a couple of feet away, their arms crossed over their chests.
“Get used to it,” Dale said, tightening his hold on her.
“I really hate this, you know?” Desmond said as he walked over to them. “But I love you, so I’ll deal with it.”
“Not as if you had a choice,” Nyree said, disengaging from Dale’s hold and wrapping her arms around her brother. “But I love your big meathead, too. Thanks for coming over,” she said. She turned to Lance and hugged him. “I’m sorry I was too stubborn to accept your help sooner.”
“We should have been here from the beginning,” Lance said. He gestured toward Desmond. “Blame him.”
“No more blaming anyone. There’s too much work to do to waste any more time on that kind of nonsense,” Nyree said as she grabbed Dale’s hand.
Desmond looked at their clasped hands and frowned. He brought his eyes back up to Dale. “You’re still an asshole who made a bitch move in that game.” Then he turned and started for the house.
Lance just shook his head, but before following Desmond, he put his hand out for Dale, who clasped it in a firm handshake.
Once her brothers had left, Dale peered down at her and said, “Well, family gatherings will be fun.”
Nyree burst out laughing.
A cute vintage VW Beetle pulled up to the curb, and the guy who’d been pressure washing the columns jogged over to it. “Oh, hell yeah,” he called out. “Ladies and gents, it’s time to refuel.”
“That’s my friend, Ian,” Dale explained. “And the knockout carrying the tray of cupcakes is his wife, Sonny.”
“Can she bake?”
“Better than anyone I know.”
“Well, let’s go and get us some cupcakes. Then we’re getting this house done. Any Way You Want It will be open for business by this weekend.”
~ ~ ~
Carrying two mugs of coffee from the kitchen, Dale couldn’t help the satisfied smile that traveled across his lips as he stepped over the trail of forgotten clothes he and Nyree had left on his bedroom floor. He shoved his steel-toe boots under the bed, but left Nyree’s black lace panties and red bra right where she’d tossed them.
“Two sugars and one cream,” he said, handing her the mug.
“Thank you.” She shoved the hair from her face. Her sleepy smile was one of the sexiest sights he’d ever laid eyes on. He’d worn her out last night, and he didn’t regret a single second of it.
He settled back against the headboard, and with his free hand, hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. He couldn’t get enough of the feel of her warm skin against him.
“It’s too bad you have to use so much of your vacation time getting things ready for the grand opening this weekend,” Dale said. “I’d love to keep you in bed until Monday.”
“That would be nice, wouldn’t it?” she said with a laugh. She sipped her coffee. “Oh, this is good.”
Her sexy moan drizzled down his spine like warm honey.
“However, as much as I’d love to spend the weekend in bed with you, I don’t want to miss a minute of Any Way You Want It’s grand opening. And not because I want to control everything,” she added quickly. “My girls and I have all wanted this for so long. I just want to be there to celebrate with them.”
“You deserve to enjoy it,” Dale said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“You, sir, deserve some enjoyment yourself for all you did to make this happen. Which is why I’m going to give you another of my special massages as soon as I’m done with this coffee.”
Dale promptly grabbed the mug from her hand and placed both his and hers on the side table next to the bed. Nyree squealed as he picked her up and twisted her around, until she lay flat on her back. Just as he zeroed in on her neck, there was a knock on the front door.
He looked at the time on the alarm clock next to his bed. “Who in the hell would be here this early in the morning?”
“Well, go see who it is.” Nyree shoved at his chest.
“Shit.” He pushed himself up from the bed and pulled on the jeans he’d left at the foot of it last night. Due to his body’s overly excited anticipation of what the knock at the door had interrupted, he had the hardest time tugging the zipper up.
Dale cursed all the way to his front door, but when he opened it he stopped short.
“Kendrick?”
“Hey,” the teen murmured, then immediately dropped his eyes to his feet, which he shuffled from side to side. “I’m, umm, sorry it’s so early. I wanted to stop by before school.”
Dale thought about inviting him in, then remembered the naked woman in his bed. Instead, he stepped outside onto the small porch, leaving the door slightly ajar behind him.
“What’s up?” Dale asked.
“I, uh, was thinking about what you said during our final session. About how people used to take your tests for you and stuff?”
Dale crossed his arms over his bare chest. “Yeah. What about it?”
“You never got in trouble,
right?”
“Depends on what you mean by trouble. If you’re asking if I ever got caught, the answer is no. But it still spelled trouble for me in the long run.”
“I can see how it would.” Kendrick pulled his bottom lip between his teeth. “I don’t want the guy my dad paid to take that test for me. I want to do it on my own. I mean, what if I get to Mississippi State, or LSU, or wherever I end up, and can’t keep up in my classes?” He gestured to Dale. “Or what if I get hurt, like you did?”
“Both are very real possibilities,” Dale said. “If I had it to do over again, I’d choose differently.” Dale pulled in a deep breath. “Are you okay telling this to your father, or do you want me to be there with you to back you up?”
A smile pulled at Kendrick’s lips. “Nah, I can do it. I’m bigger than he is.”
Dale huffed out a laugh. “You’re a good kid, Kendrick.”
“Thanks.” His gaze darted to the side before coming back to Dale. “I’m sorry we won’t get to work together anymore. I learned a lot from you. You’re a good teacher.”
Dale’s chest tightened. Emotion clogged his throat. “I’m still willing to teach you.”
“Even though my dad won’t pay for it?”
“I don’t care about the money.” Dale said. “Go on to school. We’ll figure it all out.”
As the teen turned to leave, Dale caught him by the shoulder. “I’m proud of you, Kendrick. I know this wasn’t an easy decision.”
“It’s the right one, though,” the teen said.
“Damn right it is.”
He stood on the porch and watched as Kendrick walked to the curb and climbed into his pickup truck. Dale leaned his elbows on the porch’s railing, ignoring the chipped paint digging into his skin. He covered his face in his hands and pulled in several deep breaths.
“That was interesting.”
He whipped around to find Nyree standing in his doorway, wrapped in the dark blue sheet from his bed.
“How much of it did you hear?”
“Enough to know that you are one amazing man,” she said. “Offering to continue tutoring him for free? That’s incredibly generous.”
“Kendrick shouldn’t suffer because his dad’s an asshole. Besides, I liked it.” He shook his head. “No, I loved it. I loved it so much more than working on any construction site, Nyree.”
She walked up to him and caressed his jaw. “Then do it,” she said. “If you love it this much, then coaching is what you should be doing. Who cares that you’ll have to go back to school to earn a second degree, Dale. People do it all the time. At least you’ll know that you’ve earned this one.”
“It scares the hell out of me, but I think you’re right.”
“From now on let’s just take that as a given. It will make things so much easier.”
Dale threw his head back with a laugh. “God, I love it when you’re being a sassy know-it-all. It’s sexy.”
“I’ll remember to be that way more often,” she said with a wink.
“Do you remember what you promised me before that knock at the door?” He tugged at the sheet she clutched to her breasts. “Time to pay up.
Epilogue
Nyree stood on the sidewalk across Silver Maple Drive, staring at the stately white house with lights blazing in the mullioned windows and music streaming in from the opened door. The grand opening party was in full swing, but she’d needed a minute to just take it all in.
Artfully constructed pink and gold balloon bouquets lined the walkway leading up to the front doors of the Whitmer House, now officially known as Any Way You Want It Salon and Spa—not Anyway You Want It, which is what the sign she’d ordered for the front lawn read when the installer had come to set it up yesterday. Compared to the other problems they’d faced, not having a sign was nothing.
She reached over and captured Dale’s hand, tucking it against her stomach as she continued to marvel at what they’d managed to pull off.
“You know, I’m pretty unstoppable when I put it in my mind to do something, but I have to be honest, for a while there I wasn’t sure this would actually happen.”
Dale looked at her with mock affront. “How dare you doubt yourself,” he said.
She laughed, bringing his hand up and placing a kiss on his fingers. “Silly of me, I know.”
A dark blue Volvo pulled up to the curb in front of the house. Vanessa Chauvin got out on the driver’s side while a blonde with a short pixie cut climbed out of the passenger seat.
“What are you two doing out here?” Vanessa called to them.
“Just checking out the view,” Dale said.
“Go in,” Nyree said. “There’s plenty of food and free samples of Naturally Nyree beauty products.”
“It’s a good thing I brought my big purse,” Vanessa said. “By the way, this is Tammy. I hope it’s okay that I have a plus-one.”
“Absolutely,” Nyree said.
“We’ll see you both inside,” Vanessa said with a wave.
Dale looked at his sister’s retreating form, his brow arched.
“So?” Nyree asked. “Do you think her plus-one is her—”
“New girlfriend?” Dale asked. “God, I hope so. Maybe she’ll keep her nose out of my love life if she finally has one of her own.”
“But your love life is so very interesting,” she said with a grin.
“It is now,” Dale replied, placing a kiss on her lips.
“Come on, Nyree,” Reesa called from the front doorway. “It’s time to christen the house.”
She and Dale made their way across the street and into the house. Reesa, Cheyenne and Amara were standing in the vestibule, lined up in front of her Aunt Hazel’s old counter. In Amara’s arm was a crystal candy jar filled with bright pink lollipops.
She held the jar out to Nyree. “You do the honors.”
Emotion welled in Nyree’s throat as she took the candy jar from her friend and held it up in the air—a toast to her aunt.
“To Hazel Elizabeth Mitchell, for making this all possible.”
“To Hazel,” Reesa said.
“To Hazel,” the rest of the crowd chimed in.
With Dale standing behind her, his hands resting gently on her waist, Nyree set the candy jar down on the counter, where it would sit, ready and waiting to satisfy the sweet tooth of Any Way You Want It’s guests for years to come.
More From Farrah
Thank you so much for purchasing and reading Any Way You Want It. I hope you enjoyed Dale and Nyree’s story. Be sure to read the previous stories in the Moments in Maplesville series, including Ian and Sonny’s love story in All You Can Handle.
A Perfect Holiday Fling
Moments in Maplesville – Book One
It’s no mystery why veterinarian Callie Webber is having a hard time getting into the holiday spirit. When the residents of her small hometown aren’t pitying her because of her ex-husband’s very public departure, they’re attempting to hook her up with a man…any man. Fed up with being everyone’s favorite charity case, Callie considers closing her animal clinic and moving to the big city. But, before she goes, she decides to give herself a Christmas treat to remember: a romantic holiday fling. And who better to have a fling with than the gorgeous newcomer who is turning heads around Maplesville?
When injured Navy pilot Stefan Sutherland reluctantly rescues a gutter cat for the sake of his five-year-old nephew, he never imagined it would lead to him discovering Maplesville’s most fascinating attraction…its smoking hot vet. Getting involved with a woman was the last thing Stefan anticipated when he agreed to care for his nephew during his Army nurse sister’s deployment, but if he’s going to spend the holidays in this sleepy Southern town, why not make the most of it with the perfect holiday fling.
Get your copy of A Perfect Holiday Fling!
~ ~ ~
A Little Bit Naughty
Moments in Maplesville – Book Two
Sometimes a girl can't help being a little bit na
ughty...
Jada Dangerfield was living her fairy tale—married to her high school sweetheart and working in her dream job—until it all came crashing down. Struggling to make ends meet, the unemployed divorcée stumbles upon a decidedly naughty new income stream, selling erotic toys to the women of her small hometown. And when Jada gets the chance to host a "Naughty Nights" party at the home of her uptight life-long nemesis Mason Coleman, she realizes it’s the perfect way to get under the skin of the one person who has always made her feel as if she wasn’t good enough.
Mason Coleman relishes his career as a high-powered tax attorney, but his most important job is keeping the promise he made to his father to watch out for his baby sister...even though she hasn't been a "baby" in thirty years. When he learns that his sister may be in trouble, Mason is forced to call on the one person he's never been able to abide, her brash and sexy friend, Jada Dangerfield. There's just one problem...how does he stop Jada from corrupting his sister with her kinky new business?
When this unlikely pair is forced to work together, things get a little bit naughty.
Get your copy of A Little Bit Naughty!
~ ~ ~
Just A Little Taste
Moments in Maplesville – Book Three
After a lifetime of depending on others, Kiera Coleman is ready to control her own fate. The small-town caterer has big plans for her new food truck venture, and this time she’ll be the one in the driver’s seat. There’s just one problem…the best food truck renovator in the business is the guy who years ago broke her young heart.
Trey Watson has gone from being a hell-raising risk taker to a successful entrepreneur, so when Kiera hires him to renovate her food truck, he jumps at the chance to return to his small hometown and show people just what he’s made of himself. Nothing could have prepared him for the rekindled feelings that emerge when he comes face to face with the girl who once owned his heart. As familiar passion ignites between them, Trey is determined to show Kiera that the love they once shared deserves a second chance. But Kiera has no intention of losing her heart to Trey again.
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