Dare to Love

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  Taylor stared at Kurt, who looked completely uncomfortable. Then he looked back at the counter.

  “She said she saw them in the supermarket. I went there to find out who sent them but the kid said the guy gave him a fifty. You were at the store today. Was it you? Did you have those flowers delivered to her?”

  Taylor saw Kurt trying to keep a straight face.

  “Maybe.”

  “Holy shit!” Taylor ran his hands through his brown hair.

  “Holy fucking shit. You have never done anything remotely romantic like that fucking ever, not even to get into Sally Anne’s pants senior year of high school.”

  “Fuck you, I can be romantic if I fucking want to be,” Kurt said then turned away and finished making dinner.

  Taylor thought about it a moment. His brother did like Mercedes. He must like her a lot to do something like this.

  “How did it happen? What made you do it?” Taylor couldn’t help but to ask.

  “You make it sound like I committed a crime and need penance. I fucking saw her in the supermarket staring at these gorgeous flowers. She looked at the price and then put them back down and walked away looking disappointed. I didn’t think twice. I bought them, paid the clerk to deliver them and to keep his mouth shut, and that’s the end of it. She was happy when she saw them? That was the point.”

  “Bro, she was beaming from ear to ear. I don’t even think she cared about not knowing who sent them as much as she truly was touched by them. Me, on the other hand, was a fucking raging dick.”

  Kurt chuckled. “Oh man, what did you do?”

  “Looked at her like she committed adultery. She’s not even mine yet and I’m jealous of every guy who looks at her, asks her out, or flirts with her. This is insane.”

  “I heard from Warner an hour ago. He’s coming home. He’ll be here by Thursday.”

  “Thank God. We need to talk.”

  “I know we do. Let’s wait for him. But you should rest a little easier knowing it was me who sent her those flowers and not some secret admirer.”

  Taylor smirked and nodded his head.

  “It does.”

  “Good. So no more going around and threatening store clerks.”

  “I only slightly pushed him. Apparently you intimidated him more and you gave him fifty bucks.”

  “That’s why I’m older and smarter than you.”

  “Screw you, you think you are. Wait until I tell Warner about your romantic side.”

  “Fuck you.”

  Taylor laughed and then headed toward the fridge for a bottle of water. He couldn’t believe how relieved he felt, and even more importantly, optimistic, that Mercedes would one day belong to him and his brothers and they would treat her as special as she deserved to be treated. He just needed to be patient.

  Chapter 2

  Mercedes, Marlena, Alicia, and Adele were laughing as they headed out of the comedy show. Wager County was a beautiful area right outside of Chance. It was built up with lots of storefronts, a movie theatre, a small shopping mall, and a few big chain superstores. There was a really famous bar and restaurant called Bobby’s Treasure Chest. They offered fresh seafood, a raw bar, restaurant, and connected to it was a dance club. It had an upscale bar with an outdoor deck and bar that overlooked the water.

  “Danny and Jack made us reservations at Bobby’s Treasure Chest. Their friends own the place,” Marlena told them as they headed across the street and down the block.

  “God, it’s such a warm night. I don’t even need this sweater,” Alicia said as she took off the light sweater and placed it over her purse, tying the arms of it to the strap.

  “Well it was a bit chilly in the comedy club. But out here is beautiful,” Adele added and she hugged Mercedes’s arm as they all walked down the street together.

  “Oh my, look at that place,” Marlena said and pointed at the storefront of a lingerie store. There was a sexy red negligee hanging in the window along with some other upscale items.

  “Let’s check it out. Maybe I’ll bring the Ferguson brothers a little surprise home,” Adele said and let go of Mercedes’s arm to open the door.

  “You guys go inside, I’ll wait here,” Mercedes said, feeling uncomfortable.

  Marlena grabbed her arm and pulled her along with them.

  “No, you won’t. You’re coming in, too,” Marlena told her and led her into the store.

  Everyone walked around the place and Mercedes had to admit that the woman had gorgeous stuff.

  “Can I help you find anything specific?” a woman asked and when Mercedes turned around she recognized Jessica. She lived in Chance with her mom and dad. She was three years younger than Mercedes.

  “Hi, Jessica, how are you? I didn’t know you worked here?” Mercedes asked as Jessica hugged her hello.

  “My mom owns the place and now I work here, too. With my background in fashion and design I get to help my mom keep up with the latest fashions and styles.”

  “Well you have beautiful things,” Mercedes said as she admired some panties and matching bras.

  “Are you shopping for yourself, or looking to please your boyfriend?”

  Mercedes felt her cheeks warm.

  “No boyfriend, and my friends are doing the shopping. They’re all involved in relationships.”

  “Nice. And they drag you in here to look at sexy lingerie,” Jessica said, teasing her.

  “Great friends, right?”

  “We are great friends,” Marlena said and then pressed a set of matching panties and bra to Mercedes’s chest.

  “These would look fabulous on you, and even if no one but you gets to see them, they’ll make you feel sexy and beautiful just like you are,” Marlena told her and smiled.

  “That is true. There’s something about a sexy pair of panties and bra that just make a woman feel incredible and alive,” Jessica added.

  Mercedes introduced Jessica to the girls and they all said hello as they carried their items to the register.

  Mercedes looked at the prices on the bra and panties then felt the hand on her shoulder.

  “They’re on me. But you have to promise to tell me when you find out who your secret admirer is,” Marlena said, taking the set from Mercedes’s hands and passing them to Jessica. Mercedes tried to talk her out of buying the set for her but her friends and Jessica countered her arguments and a few minutes later the four of them all walked out with pretty purple bags containing items from J.J.’s Lingerie.

  As they got to the restaurant, the hostess told them that they needed to wait about fifteen minutes. They headed toward the bar to get a drink and wait. As Mercedes sipped at her glass of white wine, she looked around at the establishment. It was decorated like a fisherman’s ship with old-fashioned fishing tools, some netting, and artificial crabs and lobsters on the walls. It was a fun and lively atmosphere as the sound of live music playing at the connected club next door filtered into the main bar area and restaurant. Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville” was playing, and Mercedes and Adel were laughing because they’d ordered margaritas to drink.

  As she glanced around the place, her eyes caught sight of two men sitting at a high bar table in the corner. One of the guys’ eyes locked on her as the guy next to him continued to speak. He looked her over. She saw the way his eyes slowly roamed her body from across the way and then he smiled.

  She felt embarrassed and shy as she looked away and then focused on her friends talking. She couldn’t help but to glance back toward the man and now both men looked at her. The other one smiled softly and she looked away. Two guys? Two strange men both looking at her at the same time? She felt uneasy, unfamiliar with what she should do.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Adele asked her. Mercedes looked past Adele’s shoulder and saw the guys still watching and talking to one another. Adele looked that way and then back at Mercedes.

  “Oh my God, they’re hot.”

  “Are they?” Mercedes asked and took a sip from her drink.
/>   “Don’t even try to deny that you’re checking them out.”

  “Checking who out?” Marlena asked, and Adele told her, and she looked, and then Alicia looked.

  “Oh God don’t look at them or they’ll come over here.”

  “And what’s wrong with that?” Adele asked.

  “They might try to flirt or ask me out or something.”

  Adele looked back over that way.

  “I think or something, by the looks of those two.”

  Mercedes gasped and felt her cheeks turned red.

  “Stop that, Adele, you’re scaring her,” Alicia scolded Adele and Adele got serious.

  “Sorry. But hey, if they do flirt with you, go for it. You have turned down so many offers in Chance, not wanting to get together with someone from town that you know, in fear that if it goes wrong you’ll be embarrassed.”

  “Yeah, so this could be a good opportunity,” Alicia added.

  “Or maybe not. Maybe she just needs to stick to three certain men in Chance that can’t keep their eyes off of her either,” Marlena said and smirked then took a sip from her margarita.

  “Who?” Mercedes asked.

  “Oh you know who. The Dawn men,” Adele told her.

  “Not happening. They scare me. They’re not the commitment types. They have dangerous jobs that take two of them out of town for months at a time, and they’re too experienced and older than I am,” she told them.

  They started talking through her concerns and everyone but Marlena seemed convinced that maybe the Dawn men weren’t the commitment types and were too hard and intense to trust. She appreciated their feedback and talking through her fears, but she also felt a little guilty. It was strange.

  “Your table is ready, ladies,” the hostess said as she interrupted their conversation. Mercedes couldn’t help but to glance where the two men sat and as she walked by they continued to watch her. She gave a soft smile and both of them smiled wide. That wasn’t so hard, she thought as she headed into the other room.

  * * * *

  “It’s good to have you back, bro. We missed you,” Taylor told Warner as they sat at one of the private booths along with Jack, Danny, and Mike Spencer at Spencer’s.

  “It sure is good to be back,” Warner said as he eased into the seat.

  “So have you guys thought much about our proposition with security yet, or is a day too little time?” Jack asked and smirked.

  Taylor and Kurt looked at Warner.

  “We’re discussing the opportunity still. I don’t know if Max has mentioned this or not, but your security team should really be up to speed with some of the crazy shit going on in clubs nearby,” Warner told them.

  “Like what?” Mike asked.

  “Like the shady characters coming in and trying to sell drugs, prostitution, and even abducting women,” Warner said.

  “You mean like sex slave business stuff?” Danny asked, sitting forward and looking sick.

  “Not quite and not on that scale. There’s this new thing where guys come in on a regular basis and scope out a place. They see who the regulars are and the types of women that frequent the place. You know people stick to the same routine a lot and that’s when they become victims. So anyway, these guys take pictures of them or just right there on the spot text to a group of men looking for a certain type of woman. They give a description a cost and then they get paid and the guys get the location. They come in, snag the woman in some suave way, or they pay extra to have someone else do it, and the woman leaves with the man or makes plans to meet and boom, she’s taken,” Warner explained.

  “That’s fucking sick,” Danny said.

  “What happens to the women? Are they killed?” Jack asked, seemingly just as angry and sick as Danny about the information. Warner looked at Mike.

  “Some wind up dead, others wind up in the hospital, not even remembering what happened because they were drugged, and of course others that do remember are embarrassed so they don’t do anything. It’s crazy,” Mike said and then took a slug of beer and looked around the place.

  “Well we don’t want anything like that happening here. What do we have our security look for? How can we be diligent to stop anything like that from happening here?” Jack asked.

  “It’s hard, but having the right security team and the same men and women looking around and recognizing the regulars can help. It’s believed that these types of individuals don’t hit the smaller places. Their faces become too obvious and recognizable. It’s small time so they do a lot of changing of people, these spotters, if you want to call them that,” Warner told them.

  “I think I can speak for my brothers and Marlena by saying we want to have the best security in the business. When the new addition is finally open in a few weeks, we want precautions in place, and most importantly our patrons to be safe. So any advice would be appreciated but of course your involvement and working hand in hand with us would be even better,” Danny said and raised his beer up to toast them. They clinked beers and laughed then Mike glanced at his cell phone.”

  “You okay?” Kurt asked him.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “You keep checking your cell phone. Waiting on a call or text?” Kurt pushed and Mike smirked.

  “Waiting to hear from Marlena,” he replied.

  “Oh, she’s not at home?” Taylor asked then took a slug of beer.

  “No, she and the girls went out tonight,” Jack said.

  Warner wondered if Mercedes were with them. He glanced at his brothers. Since he arrived home Thursday that was all Taylor kept pushing. A conversation about making a serious move on Mercedes and getting to know her. Warner had done a lot of thinking while he was on this last job. He hadn’t even told his brothers about the near death experience. It would only make Taylor angrier at him. He hid the bandage on his arm well. It was just a scratch from the bullet. A bullet that never should have gotten that close to hitting him. An indication that maybe he was losing his focus and his edge.

  “Where did they go?” Taylor asked.

  “It was the four of them? The crew?” Kurt teased, but it was his way of asking if Mercedes went without coming straight out and asking.

  Mike chuckled.

  “Mercedes is with them, if that’s what you want to know.”

  “I didn’t say that.” Kurt stated.

  “But you want to know?” Danny added.

  “When are you guys going to make a move? I mean what the fuck are you waiting for? The woman got flowers from a secret admirer today,” Mike said to them, sounding angry. Warner didn’t react. He knew damn well that his brother sent them to her. What a shock that had been, and it led to some ribbing earlier and a few fists being thrown.

  “I’m not worried about that,” Taylor said with confidence.

  “You’re not? What changed from that look of death you were giving Mercedes and the attitude you had with everyone else?” Mike asked.

  “I was fine. I’m not worried.”

  Mike’s phone rang.

  “It’s Marlena.

  He said a few words. He smiled and then he glanced at Warner, Taylor, and Kurt. “I see. Well tell her to be careful. Make plans for a local place, maybe here in Chance. Okay then in Wager County. Someplace busy. All right I can give her the riot act before the date. When will you be back? Okay. Love ya, too.” Mike disconnected the call.

  “How sweet,” Taylor teased him.

  “Don’t be messing with me. You guys have your own worries, Mr. Confident,” Mike told them.

  “Worries? Why is that?” Taylor asked.

  Mike looked at the three Dawn brothers and then at Warner.

  “Seems Mercedes met these two guys at Bobby’s Treasure Chest after the comedy show. Marlena said she’s talking to them right now and making plans for a date.”

  Warner felt jealousy and anger hit his gut. They fucking waited too long. He never should have gone on this last mission. What the fuck was he thinking?

  “Well, she’s
a very attractive, sweet young woman. You snooze, you lose,” Danny teased.

  “Maybe it will be a disaster of a date?” Taylor said.

  “Maybe we should find out who these guys are and make sure that they’re good enough for her,” Kurt suggested and then made a face as if his own words made him sick. He rolled his tongue over his teeth then took a slug of beer, turning away.

  “Maybe she’ll go on this date and won’t like them. She doesn’t know these men and they apparently aren’t from Chance, which means we do kind of have the authority, inconspicuously, I might add, to ensure she is safe on this date,” Mike said to them and raised both of his eyebrows as if saying they knew what he meant.

  “Well then, you three have a job to do tonight,” Taylor told them.

  “What’s that?” Mike asked.

  “The time, the place, and the location of this date. Need I say more,” Kurt said very seriously. Mike just shook his head. Even their good friends knew when Kurt and his brothers were pissed off and when not to tease. But Warner felt sick and angry. He wanted to call it a night and make a plan. He needed to keep calm and pretend this wasn’t as big of a deal as it felt. Mercedes could get swept off her feet by two men. Two guys who would try to touch her, kiss her, maybe even fuck her. He squeezed the beer bottle so tight then felt his arm ache and slowly released it. He needed to be calm. Mercedes would be their woman. They couldn’t have lost the opportunity because he was being a stubborn dick. They just couldn’t.

  * * * *

  Mercedes couldn’t help the uneasy feeling she had talking to the two men. One of them seemed more interested than the other one and that guy tended to just say things to add to the conversation. But the one really flirting was very attractive and close to her age. In her mind she thought he seemed perfect in her notebook description of the right type of guy for her. He had a normal job, something in business and finance. He lived nearby, he said near the beach so he must make descent money, and he was very polite and a complete gentleman. In fact when he asked for her number and she seemed hesitant to give it to a stranger she’d just met, he offered her a business card and his name and cell number, office number, even fax number. He seemed genuinely kind.