by Lara Jones
Isabel smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Collins.” He was about the same size as Royce and Clay, short cropped hair, and very handsome but several years older. His eyes were extremely dark, almost black, but gentle. That and his easy smile made her comfortable with him at once.
“Please call me Grant. I’m sorry to interrupt you, but Carol told me you clean homes?” He was glad he got to meet her. He’d heard about her from several sources and had wanted to get a look at her. They looked good together, and that boy was a handsome little guy. He hoped it would end up well, with her staying here with them. He could already see the deep emotion in Clay’s eyes, and if he wasn’t mistaken, she felt strongly for them if you could see past her fatigued look. He would bet her men would be taking care of the problem before long.
“I’m only cleaning Clay’s house right now, but I have time to take on another.” She looked toward Clay when he squeezed her hand. “What?”
“It’s fine if you want to take on another house, but I don’t want you to overdo it.”
Isabel gritted her teeth and turned back to Grant. “How many days a week?”
“Just two days if that’s possible. We have a housekeeper, but she’s getting on in years and doesn’t have the energy to keep the house up, so we’re hoping to get her some help.”
“I would have to bring Tommy with me, and you should know I’m not sure how long we’ll be staying.” She continued to ignore Clay’s growl. “It could be a week or a few months. I haven’t decided.”
Grant’s eyebrows rose as he looked at Clay. He bit back a smile at the disgruntled emotion on Clay’s face and turned back to her. “We’ll take as much as you can give us, and you’re more than welcome to bring Tommy. Jake and I have a four-year-old daughter, Callie, that he can play with.”
She hoped she hid her shock well. The two men had a daughter. She didn’t know yet if they were a gay couple or with a woman. It didn’t matter at all to her. She was happy for them, but would she ever become accustomed to the way of life here? “I think he’d like that. Can I start tomorrow?”
“Yes. Have Clay or Royce drive you out, and either they can pick you up, or one of us can bring you back to town.”
“I’ll have my own car, so I’ll just need directions.”
Grant looked toward Clay again in question.
Her lips tightened, but she refused to fight about it in front of others. In fact, she didn’t want to fight with Clay about her driving. He had his views, and she had her own.
“So, we’ll see you tomorrow, anytime in the morning, if that’s okay?” He waited for her nod. “You’ll check in with Gina, our housekeeper, and she can show you everything and what needs to be done.”
“That sounds fine.”
“Good. It was nice meeting you.” He reached over and ruffled Tommy’s hair. “And you, Tommy, it was nice meeting you, buddy.” After a few words with Clay, he moved off just in time for their food to be delivered.
Isabel added some sugar to her coffee before taking a quick sip and threw a glare at Clay when he moved her plate closer in an obvious hint for her to eat. She set her coffee cup down and picked up her fork. She was surprised she was able to finish one of the eggs and both pieces of toast. She watched Clay look over her plate before giving a slight nod of acceptance and turning his attention back to his own plate.
“Mommy, I have a picture for Miss Carol. Can I go give it to her?”
Isabel looked around and noticed Carol was wiping down the counter. “Sure, sweetie. But come right back.”
Tommy slid out of the booth.
“Slow down, Tommy,” she said at his retreating back.
“Isabel, we would like for you to come out to the house today.”
Isabel nodded. “What would you like done? It won’t take long to change the sheets on the bed and do a few loads of laundry. The floor in the kitchen needs a good scrubbing.”
“Actually, we were hoping you’d make supper. We don’t want you overdoing it, love. Especially today. I don’t think you got a lick of sleep last night, did you?”
Her eyes dropped to her empty coffee cup and shrugged.
“I’ll be home early afternoon, and Royce will be home shortly after.” He liked the disappointment, which she probably didn’t realize she was showing, that shadowed her eyes. Against her best efforts, she was starting to care for them, and because she was so tired, she was unable to control her emotional expressions. Now they needed to bond with her on a deeper level so she would never think of leaving.
“I guess that will be okay. Do you guys want something specific for supper?”
“Do you cook a lot?”
Isabel bit back a smile at the hopeful look on his face. “Yes, I do. I love cooking and baking.”
“Baking as in cookies and brownies?”
She laughed at the expectant expression on his face. It felt really good to laugh, but whatever happiness she was found at that moment was ripped away with one thought. “Yes, all of that and more. Eva—”
His heart twisted at the sudden devastation that ripped across her face. He laid a hand on her knee and squeezed gently. “Evan? Who is he?”
“My husband.”
Clay’s body jerked. “You’re married?” he gritted out.
Isabel looked silently out the window and whispered, “Not anymore.”
Clay’s relaxed slightly. “Where is he, honey?”
He cringed at the deep despair in her eyes when she turned back to him. “He’s dead.”
Clay’s chest tightened. “I’m so sorry. What happened?”
Tears burned her eyes before making a trail down her cheek. “He was murdered.”
“Murdered? What happened?” he asked, eyes narrowed at her.
She drew in a shaky breath. Could she really trust them with this information? “Evan, a friend of ours, and his son were headed to a game, and the car jerked crazily and then rolled several times, killing them all.”
His arm came around her and pulled her into his chest. “I’m so, so sorry, baby.” He rested his chin on the top of her head and held her as silent sobs racked her body.
He handed her a napkin and cast a quick look at Carol to keep Tommy away. She nodded and walked him into the kitchen.
“Why do you think it was murder?” he asked when she settled.
“They found evidence of some kind of explosive device set in the back.” She’d never forget that feeling of horrifying unreality like she was watching an unspeakable movie where the officials were telling two woman their lives were destroyed and that it was intentional.
The police sergeant discussed the accident in cold hard words. He talked in detail about what caused it and how so very sorry he was, but even though they knew who caused it, there was nothing they could do without solid evidence. She and Mora listened, frozen like mannequins as every word put a spike through their hearts.
Her very existence and the ordinariness of her life as she knew it was gone that day when she looked over at her friend and saw herself in her eyes. The devastation wasn’t even close to what Mora was feeling. Mora never made a sound, but her eyes, God, her eyes told you how she was feeling. Isabel never wanted to see that in anyone’s face ever again.
“Jesus. Did they find who did it, and why?”
“We suspect someone, but don’t have enough evidence yet to arrest and prosecute.” Isabel used a napkin Clay handed her to wipe the tears that kept coming.
“Honey, I don’t know what to say. Do you know this person? And know why he did it?”
“Yes, I know him,” she said angrily then sniffed. “He’s my husband’s brother. My brother-in-law.”
“Jesus. Why?”
She was silent so long he didn’t think she was going to answer. “Money. It was all about money,” she whispered. “And he needs me to get what he wants.” A sob escaped as she turned toward the window.
Clay nodded, pulled her against his chest, and ran his hand slowly up and down her back. “
Oh, honey. I’m so sorry.”
She turned stricken eyes on him. “You can’t tell anyone except Royce, and you can’t look into it. He’s got a lot of sources that are watching for me.”
“But we can protect you and Tommy.”
She grabbed onto his arm, unconsciously digging her nails into his forearms. “People have died trying to help me. If I find out you or Royce told anyone, Tommy and I will be gone. In fact, we should be leaving today.” Her voice grew softer, she slowly closed her eyes, and her head dropped forward. “But I’m so damn tired. I have to get my strength up before we run again.”
Clay tensed at the look of anguish that crossed her face. He was afraid of doing something that would make her run. He felt his head throb and his teeth clench from sharp fury at the thought of her and Tommy running. She wasn’t made for a life like that. He took some deep breaths. The last thing she needed right now was his anger. She had them now, and they were going to take care of her and her son. She needed to come to grips with the fact she wasn’t going anywhere. She was theirs to love and protect, and there was no way anyone was going to get close to her or Tommy. “Let’s talk about this with Royce later today, all right?”
She shrugged and kept her eyes on the table.
Clay cuddled her against his chest and sat his chin on her head. “Let’s get you guys home.”
Isabel turned her head up to see his face, startled. “You mean your house?” She didn’t want to even consider their house her home. It would be too much to take when she left.
“Yes, home.” He raised his hand to Carol.
Tommy sprinted toward the booth. “Mommy, Miss Carol liked my picture, and she let me put my picture on her big fridge. It doesn’t have anything on it at all. She said if I get the time, she could use more pictures, and I said yes. Is that okay?”
Isabel sniffed and smiled. “Absolutely, sweetie. You can work on that today if you want.”
“Yes. Are we going to the horse place with Clay?”
“Yes, honey. I just have to get some things from our place, and then we’ll follow Clay out.” She ignored Clay’s scowl.
“I can ta—” He stopped when Isabel turned an icy glare on him. “Okay, all right.” He held his hands up in surrender. “Follow me out. But first, we have to go to the store. I don’t think we have a lot of food in the house. Would that be okay, Isabel? You can get everything you need for a few meals.”
“Sure, I’ll grab Tommy’s and my stuff and follow you to the store, and then out to your house.”
Chapter Ten
Clay held the phone close to his ear and concentrated on the road. “I talked her into cooking for us. I took her to the store and stocked up. You should have seen us. We had two carts full. Tommy and I snuck some stuff in when her back was turned, but I’m pretty sure she caught us every time because she kept shaking her head. It was the first time I’ve ever had fun grocery shopping. It took longer because people kept stopping to meet her. At first, she was really uncomfortable, but then she calmed down.”
“How does she seem now?”
There was a pause. “I’m not sure. What she’s told me so far is unthinkable. We have to get her to open up later, and I need to keep my eyes on her.”
Royce slapped his hand against his thigh. “Just make sure she stays there. Damn, I wish I was able to get there sooner, but I’ve got a few more horses to shoe before the people have to leave with them for some race.”
“Yeah, I know, Royce. I’ll keep her at home until you arrive.” His eyes went to his rearview mirror to make sure she was still close behind him. “Call Tony at the garage and see if he can come get her car.”
A cold dread filled his heart. “How bad is the situation?”
Clay rubbed the back of his head. “Bad. We’ll talk about it when you get home. We have to come up with a way to keep her and Tommy here and safe.”
“I agree. Is there anything I can do before I get there?”
“No. Just get home.”
“You got it, brother.”
Clay took another quick look in the mirror before pulling into his driveway.
He walked to her car, pulled Tommy’s door open, and unbuckled him before lifting him into his arms. He went to Isabel when she was trying to lift a bag of groceries out of the back of his truck, and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Let’s get you two inside, and I’ll come back out to get the sacks.”
She tried digging in her heels. “But I can hel—”
He chuckled. She was even adorable angry with him and trying to defy him. “No. I’ll get them,” he said calmly, and walked with Tommy on one arm and lifted Isabel enough her feet were barely touching the ground.
Isabel was astounded at how strong he was. He lifted both of them easily and walked up the stairs to the porch and in the house like they weighed nothing. She’d never been around someone like these men before. It would be so easy to let them take over and take care of them, but she couldn’t allow herself to be weak right now. Tommy depended on her.
Isabel scowled at him and blew out a frustrated puff of air before moving into the kitchen. She unpacked bag after bag of food, putting the frozen and cold stuff away. It took her longer for the rest. There was no rhyme or reason to their organization of the food. The number of cabinets was overwhelming to her. The fact they stretched up to the ceiling made it impossible for her to reach the top two shelves or have to ask someone else to reach something she needed from the top, which was ridiculous. The idea of pulling a chair over to reach was torched immediately. She remembered what happened the last time they caught her on a stool, and after their threat, she guessed they would be even angrier. She didn’t know what they would do then, and she really didn’t want to find out.
“Dammit!”
Clay moved in behind her and wrapped both arms around her, chuckled when she jerked and yelped, and nuzzled her neck. “Watch the language, and tell me what’s wrong,” he rasped in a gentle warning.
Isabel automatically leaned back against his rock-hard body. “There are too many cabinets, and they’re all too tall for me to reach most of the shelves. I don’t know where everything is supposed to go. It’s all mixed up,” she said with irritation, throwing out her hands toward the cabinets.
Clay chuckled. “Then change it. We just usually throw it in where there is space. Hell, we wouldn’t know how to organize it if we tried. Now a toolbox, I can do.” He smiled and relaxed when she laughed.
He turned her and pulled her tighter against his chest. He loved the look of happiness and relaxation on her face at that moment. He knew it was just a short glimpse into how they’d make her feel all the time in the future, but right now she was trying to fight too many demons and negative emotions. If he got the chance, he was going to spend his life making this woman happy.
Her smile froze, and she inhaled raggedly at the heated look on his face when he bent and pressed his lips against hers in a soft, slow kiss. Within seconds the spark of fire raged through them, pushing them to take the kiss deeper.
One of his hands roamed down her back to cup her ass and pressed her between the counter and his hot body, dragging a moan from her throat. Her arms tightened around his neck. The sexy little sounds that flowed from her throat made him hotter.
He lifted his head, and the dazed faraway look on her face made a hot wave of desire rush through him. Lord, she made him forget everything but the moment he finally had her in his arms. With a groan, he lowered his head again. He twisted to the side to deepen the kiss, thrusting his tongue into her mouth. He lifted her onto the counter and used his hip to make a spot wide enough for him between her legs and pressed against her core, trying to give them some semblance of relief from the extraordinary lust they were feeling.
Isabel jerked back, her eyes wide on his, trying to figure out what had stopped them. They both stared at each other in a daze for a moment, then heard her son in the other room making loud truck sounds.
Isabel pressed her hands to hi
s chest when he reached for her again. “No, Clay. Tommy’s in the other room. Besides, I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to take our relationship to that level. I think Royce, you, and I should just stay friends.”
Clay’s eyes roamed over her face before he stepped back and lifted her by her jean clad hips, to the floor. He watched as she licked her lips and tried to smooth her shirt. He bit back a chuckle at her jerky movements, the flushed face she tried to hide, and her struggle to stay strong against what her body wanted. “Friends? Sure.”
Isabel cocked her head to the side, narrowed her eyes for a bit. She wasn’t trusting the innocence he was trying to convey. “Good.” She nodded. “Just friends.”
“No, not just friends. I didn’t say that. We will have you stripped bare and laid you out on the nearest flat surface as soon as we can.” Clay gripped her hip when she tried to step back. “But we’ll be friends also.”
Her arms crossed over her chest as she shook her head.
Clay nodded as his grip tightened on her hips and yanked her against him, bent, and whispered in her ear. “Think about having two men loving you, four hands caressing your body, two mouths sucking the sweet cream from your pussy. Oh, we can be friends, but it’s definitely not going to end there.”
A heat like she’d never felt erupted in her, stealing her breath and her ability to think. Her body took on a life of its own and a need so strong she became light-headed and weak. Her breasts tingled, and her hard, puckered nipples ached. A deep throbbing began to grow deep within her, pushing out a copious amount of her moisture, wetting through her panties and the crotch of her jeans.
The pictures he was putting in her head were forever frozen there, making it impossible now for her ever to be able to see them in a platonic relationship, which was exactly what the bastard wanted. A frown came over Isabel as she jerked away from him and straightened her pink T-shirt before looking up at him.
He bit back another chuckle at the fiery blush on her face, caused in part by anger, but the other part was pure inexperience. How could she have been married and had a child but still look so innocent? He reached for her and frowned when she moved to the side away from him. He started her way when Tommy yelled for her. He let her go but was content with the knowledge that he and his brother were firmly planting in her brain as lovers.
