Covington, Cara - Love Under Two Strong Men [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Cara Covington

  Joaquin got to his feet and offered his hand when he and Adam entered the room. Sitting on the sofa, looking a bit wary, a bit proud, was a young man with dark hair and dark eyes. His Hispanic heritage obvious, he, too, got up to greet them, though his smile looked a bit hesitant.

  “Adam tells me you volunteered to go to Dallas and contact some of your former associates on my behalf,” Peter said to Manny. “That took a lot of guts, and a good heart. Thank you for that, Mr. Ramirez.”

  Manny Ramirez smiled. “We are practically cousins, you and I,” he said. “I was glad to be of help.” Then he frowned. “You have a serious problem, Special Agent Alvarez.”

  “Please, just call me Peter. And yes, I do have a serious problem.”

  “Why don’t we go to the dining room?” Portia asked “I’ll bring in the coffee, and some buñuelos that I made this morning.”

  “I haven’t had buñuelos in a long time,” Peter said. “My abuela used to make them for special occasions.”

  Soon they were all five of them sitting at the Ramirezes’ dining table, sipping strong coffee and munching on the crispy, sweet donut-like treats.

  “My former compadres were very pissed.” Manny shot a guilty look at his aunt. “Sorry, I mean, angry. The rumors of this vendetta have spread, you see. They believe Don Miguel should have come to the brothers to handle a problem named Alvarez, instead of going to a gringo, even if he is a gringo who is a pro.” He looked at Adam. “No offense.”

  Adam waved off the concern.

  “Did they know who this gringo is?” Peter asked.

  “No. No one has ever heard of him before. But again, there were many rumors. They said he has more than twenty kills to his credit, though no one can name a single one. They say that he has many names, and many faces, and can become as invisible as a shadow.” Manny shrugged. “You know how it is when guys get together. I could not appear too interested, you must understand. I had to seem bored and wait until someone wished to prove how important they were by boasting of their knowledge. The only other thing I learned is that he is not from Texas—he’s not even from the South. Most have heard he’s an easterner, from New York. But I cannot say if that is true, or not. I am sorry I did not learn more.”

  “Don’t be,” Peter said. “You’ve given me a lot, more than I had before, and I’m grateful.”

  Back in Adam’s cruiser, Peter remained silent as Adam drove them back to the sheriff’s office.

  “Can we put much credence in what Manny said? Have you heard of such a killer for hire?” Adam asked.

  “No, but then I don’t run across that many contract killers in my work. I’ll need to contact my boss. He can put some queries out to some of the other agencies. If this pro has been working as a successful mechanic, and even some of those traits belong to him, someone in one of the agencies is bound to have a file on him.”

  “You can make that call from inside, if you like.”

  Just the way Adam said that made Peter focus on him a little more attentively. He’d already observed that Adam Kendall was a straight shooter, a man who tended to see things as either black or white—for the most part. Because he was a direct man, Peter decided to be direct himself. “Something bothering you?” he asked the sheriff.

  “I was just wondering when you were going to get around to telling Jordan and Tracy about this tiny complication in your life.”

  He pulled the cruiser up to the curb behind the other Sheriff Department’s vehicle, the one that Matthew Benedict drove. Peter was beginning to be able to read Adam pretty well, so he waited until they were inside the office before he answered him.

  “It’s not so much that I’m deliberately keeping the fact that I have a price on my head from Jordan and Tracy. Exactly. Technically it’s just a part of the job. You know yourself that cops don’t tend to talk shop with civilians.”

  From his desk on one side of the office, Matthew Benedict snorted.

  Between the two law men, Peter realized he was being subjected to a total lack of belief.

  “Yeah, okay.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I am keeping it from them. To be honest, Jordan freaks out about my job enough as it is. You remember how he was last month, at that little dustup over at the airfield?”

  “Yeah, I remember,” Adam said.

  “A certain amount of danger goes with the territory,” Matthew said. “We all know and accept that, and so must our loved ones. But, hombre, if the three of you are building something solid—” Matthew left the rest unsaid, but then he didn’t have to elaborate.

  “Yeah. Jordan, Tracy, and I are more than solid. We’re forever,” Peter said. “I’ll talk to them both tonight. Hopefully I’ll be able to offer them some kind of positive information—news of progress in finding this mechanic and assembling enough evidence to nail that asshole, Ramos.”

  “Speaking of information.” Mathew swiveled in his chair and looked at him. “I ran that name you gave me earlier, and got nothing.”

  Peter shrugged. “Well, that’s something, anyway.”

  “I guess.” Matthew’s tone made Peter raise one eyebrow.

  “Something bothering you?”

  “Yes, damn it, this Joe Grant is too damn clean,” Matthew said. “Practically everyone has something. I was able to access his school records thanks to a friend who works for the Hewitt School system. Joe Grant had a solid B-plus average, no suspensions, no comments of any kind in his jacket. Not even a comment on any of his report cards. The man has had no speeding tickets, no parking tickets, no nothing of any kind. Crap, somebody ought to nominate him for sainthood.”

  Peter tried not to laugh. “What about the mother?”

  “Still looking, there.” Matthew sat back. “It’s as if someone put together this background to make the guy look clean.”

  “And he looks too clean? Yeah, that is funny, and I don’t like funny,” Peter said slowly.

  “Neither do I.” Adam pulled out his cell phone. “I’m going to talk to Morgan, give him a heads-up about this guy. Have him keep an eye on Grant.”

  Peter wasn’t certain exactly what it was Morgan Kendall had done in the Air Force, but he did know the man had more than a passing knowledge in matters of security and clandestine operations. “Good. I’ll get in touch with Mac. See what he can find out about a mechanic known to be ‘as invisible as a shadow,’ and a blue-collar worker-slash-paragon named Joe Grant.”

  Peter would wait until he had the facts, but one thing was certain. His gut didn’t like the way this entire situation was shaping up.

  No, he didn’t like it one bit.

  * * * *

  “My, my, look who’s humming while she works.”

  Tracy looked up in response to Kelsey Benedict’s comment. Since her boss and friend’s eyes were twinkling, she couldn’t help but smile. She recalled a day, not that long ago, when she’d sat on the sidelines and watched love begin to grow and blossom for Kelsey.

  Now, of course, it was her turn. Tracy hadn’t even been aware she was humming along with the radio until Kelsey mentioned it.

  “How could I not hum? I’ve never been so happy.”

  “I know the feeling.”

  Tracy finished working on the tray of éclairs she’d made, placed the cover on the tray, and slid it into the large dessert fridge.

  “So how are things going? I know you’re happy, but living with two men—especially two very strong-willed men—represents a huge change for you.”

  Tracy felt blessed in her friends. Julia understood Tracy’s dream, and had been there for her from the moment she’d decided to make her move. And Kelsey was not only a good friend, she was a woman who loved, and lived with, more than one man.

  This was a particular blessing since her mother had only one husband and, therefore, little advice to give.

  “It has been a change for me, a wonderful one. I think some of our cousins may have thought I wouldn’t want to take on two men, on account that I was raised in a family
with only one dad. But I’ve dreamed of this since I fell in love with Jordan.”

  “So, are there any announcements forthcoming? Is it time to plan another impromptu engagement party here?”

  Tracy couldn’t blame Kelsey for asking. Relationships weren’t casual in Lusty, Texas. Yet she knew that as very badly as she wanted to say yes, she couldn’t—at least, not yet.

  “We still have some issues between us, I think,” Tracy said. “I don’t mind issues. As long as we’re together, and have time, we can work anything out.”

  The phone rang, and Kelsey turned to answer it, even as Tracy wondered if she was being completely honest with herself.

  She wasn’t fooled into thinking they’d completely and successfully dealt with Jordan’s fear of rejection the night before. What they’d done was only to begin to address it. She knew it would take time to deal with his insecurities, and that was fine.

  Peter was another matter altogether. Tracy didn’t know why she had such a strong feeling that he was keeping something from both her and Jordan. She had no doubt whatsoever that he loved them both. Neither did she doubt for one moment that his was a forever kind of love.

  Peter was the epitome of the strong alpha male who felt as if he had to take care of every danger that faced his family, and take care of it alone.

  She recognized the type, because the families were teeming with just such caretakers, including Jordan’s two oldest brothers. Maybe if she needed insight into dealing with one of them, she ought to talk to Lusty’s newest pilot.

  Kelsey hung up the phone. “That was Tamara. She and the guys are ‘elbow deep in a plane’s guts’ at the airfield.” Kelsey grinned. “Her words, not mine. They wondered if by some miracle we delivered, and I told her we’d be happy to.”

  Tracy tilted her head to one side. “I’ve been wondering if you should think about expanding in that area,” Tracy said.

  “I’ve been giving it a thought or two, but I haven’t decided yet. In the meantime, it wouldn’t hurt to cater to them. Want to play delivery girl? It’s lunch for four to be delivered out at the airfield, to the newly opened offices of Kendall Aviation.”

  There were times, like right now, that Tracy wondered if Kelsey wasn’t part witch. The offer came just when she needed to see Tamara. She met her friend’s hopeful, and somehow knowing, gaze.

  “Sure, I can do that.”

  “Great. Now, what have we got we can put some of that soup in to keep it hot while you deliver it?”

  It took them a few minutes to decide on which containers to use. Then it was simply a matter of putting together a few sandwiches. Kelsey added a small pickle and veggie tray while Tracy took four of her éclairs and put them in a covered dish. Then she recalled that Jon and Caleb Benedict and their new partner Mike Murphy were likely hard at work in their new office right next door, and added another container with three more pastries.

  “Offering takeout is going to mean acquiring the proper disposable kind of containers,” Kelsey said. “When I get some time I’m going to surf the net, look into suppliers and prices, and see what kind of an additional investment I’d be looking at.”

  “There’re likely quite a few people who’d be interested in a takeout service,” Tracy said. “Delivery could just be a matter of using some schoolkids with cars, at least in the summer.”

  “It’s something to think about,” Kelsey agreed.

  It only took a few minutes for Tracy to cart the completed lunch order out to her car, and only a few minutes after that to make her way to the airfield, and the new hangar that had so recently been built.

  A man she didn’t recognize stood on a ladder, working to install a sign that shone gold, silver and teal in the midday sun. The words “Kendall Aviation” appeared bracketed by the depiction of a couple of planes.

  “Hi there,” the man said. “Is that lunch?”

  Tracy suddenly recalled who this man must be—the employee Jordan had hired to tidy up all the “loose ends” he said were out here. Since the lunch order had been for four, she figured Tamara had included him in the order.

  “It is indeed. I like that sign.”

  “I’m just putting it up. Tamara designed it. Tell them I’ll be in just as soon as I finish. The name’s Joe Grant, by the way.” He gave her a big smile, the kind of smile a man offered a woman he was flirting with. She recognized the gesture, of course, because Lusty had quite a few men who loved to flirt and tease. Tracy had no intention of flirting back, but his demeanor certainly didn’t offend her.

  “I know who you are,” she gave him a smile of her own. “I’m Tracy.”

  “I heard murmurs of a Tracy who makes desserts blessed by the angels. Would that be you?”

  Tracy cocked her head to one side and grinned. “Joe Grant. Would that be an Irish name, by any chance?”

  Joe Grant gave her a grin that looked all Irish rogue to her. “Well now,” he said in a passable brogue, “it may be, at that.”

  The large bay door was up, so Tracy waved goodbye to Joe and then simply went inside the building. The back corner of the interior of the hangar featured a good-sized office. She thought that would be the best place to deposit her goodies.

  Since she didn’t think Tamara or either of the flyboys had heard her arrival, she walked over to where all three of them worked on an airplane, first.

  Her brother likely could have rattled off the stats for this aircraft. Terrence was a Chief Master Sergeant in the Air Force, and loved anything that flew with a passion. For her part, Tracy knew the machine was an airplane. She could tell the difference between a prop airplane and a jet, but that was as far as her knowledge ran.

  “Anybody hungry?” she called out.

  All three of them stopped what they were doing and turned to look at her. Tamara straightened from one side of the front of the bird, Morgan from the other. Then Henry, who’d been lying on a mechanic’s creeper, used one foot to push himself out from underneath the plane.

  “Food,” Tamara said. “Thank God. We’re starving.”

  Morgan relieved Tracy of her burden and held it in one hand while he hooked his other arm around her, leading her toward the office.

  “Thanks for taking the time to bring this out to us, sweetheart. Do you have to rush off?”

  Morgan set the box down and began to unpack. Kelsey hadn’t had any disposable bowls, so she’d packed four large mugs to be used with the tomato minestrone soup. She’d sent spoons, crackers, and even a salt and pepper shaker.

  “We’ll see to it that Kelsey gets these things back,” Tamara said. “You want some? It looks like she sent way too much, even for four.”

  “No, I’m good, thanks. I did include some éclairs I made this morning. And I can’t stay, because I packed three for the gumshoes next door.”

  “Did I hear someone say éclairs?” Joe Grant came into the office, and thanked Tamara when she handed him a mug of soup.

  “Our Tracy makes the best. And now that Jordan’s snapped her up, I know my pastry addiction will be satisfactorily fed for the rest of my life.” Henry’s words sounded as lighthearted as ever, but Tracy wondered why they didn’t feel that way.

  Joe Grant placed a hand on his heart and put a hangdog look on his face. “You’re taken? Damn, just my luck.”

  Tracy looked over at Grant. “Sorry, but my dance card is full.” Then she smiled at Henry. “Of course I’ll be happy to be your pastry supplier. Unless, of course, Tamara puts you on a diet.” She stretched up to give Henry a kiss on the cheek to ease the disappointment, and then gave one to Morgan, too.

  Then she placed a hand on Tamara’s shoulder. “Give me a call tonight, when you get a moment.”

  “Will do.”

  Tracy waved as she left, intent on finishing up her deliveries and getting back to work. When she reached the open hangar door she looked back, and caught Joe Grant staring at her with an expression on his face she couldn’t read.

  Shivering, she tried to put it out of h
er mind as she fetched the other small box of pastries from her car. She couldn’t say she’d ever gotten quite those kinds of vibes from a person before.

  It might be a good idea to avoid finding herself alone with the man, anywhere. Her mother had always told her a smart woman listens to her instincts.

  Tracy had always prided herself on being a very smart woman, indeed.

  Chapter 16

  Jordan understood himself well enough to know that arriving home early today was his way of making amends for working late the night before.

  It wasn’t that he hadn’t believed his lovers when they’d told him his working late wasn’t a problem. He did. But his conscience nagged at him that he’d done so. His fathers were always saying that a husband’s conscience was one of nature’s gifts to men—a little survival tool that a wise man appreciated. “Listen to it,” they said, “and you’ll never go wrong.”

  Husband. Is that what he considered himself now? Jordan rubbed at the fluttering in his belly as he let himself think about that one word, and about what it meant.

  He had no doubts whatsoever that he was in love. He’d fallen in love with Peter Alvarez almost at first sight, but had made himself take the time to get to know the man better, to be certain of his feelings, and to be certain of Peter’s.

  When had he fallen in love with Tracy? Rather than go inside the empty house, Jordan decided to walk around to the back. As soon as he rounded the corner of the house he could see the Texas oak he, Peter, and Tracy had planted that very morning. He didn’t know much about trees. He’d have to make a note to swing by a nursery sometime and ask some questions. Or, he could simply search the Web. He couldn’t just plant it and leave it. It was his nature to care for it and give it what it needed.

  Jordan made his way over to the sapling, and then squatted in front of it.

  He’d been in love with Tracy since he’d first understood the meaning of the word. He’d wanted her at an age when she was far too young, with an intensity that at the time had scared him. As she’d grown, as she’d become old enough, his deepest fears had put up a huge brick wall. What if she didn’t want him? What if she witnessed his bisexuality, and was turned off by it? He’d spent most of his adult life in this hot and cold tug-of-war with his own conscience. He loved her, wanted her, but felt he had no right to have her.