by Marla Monroe
Riverbend, Texas Heat 4
Forever and Always
Lana is determined to make it on her own, but Paul and Justin have plans for their sweet Lana that may be more than she can handle. When she accepts their job offer, she begins to fall in love with them.
Lana isn't convinced that they are interested in more than a fun time, considering their financial status and standing in the community. She’s a nobody who owes more than she makes.
What will it take to convince Lana of their sincerity where she is concerned? Justin and Paul struggle to prove to Lana that they love her and only want her to be happy. Paul’s need to protect and care for her threatens her sense of independence. It will take Justin’s easygoing nature and Lana’s willingness to compromise to forge them into a family. In the end, will they work out their differences and let love find them forever and always?
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Western/Cowboys
Length: 56,765 words
FOREVER AND ALWAYS
Riverbend, Texas Heat 4
Marla Monroe
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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FOREVER AND ALWAYS
Copyright © 2012 by Marla Monroe
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-909-8
First E-book Publication: November 2012
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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FOREVER AND ALWAYS
Riverbend, Texas Heat 4
MARLA MONROE
Copyright © 2012
Chapter One
Lana Peters rested her pounding head against the steering wheel once she had parked the car in the parking lot. She was hot, tired, and ready to go home. She didn’t want to spend the next five hours on her feet dishing burgers to flighty teenagers and grouchy parents with screaming kids. She opened her eyes and sighed. As much as she hated this job, it helped pay her bills. She still had another four months of payments before she was free and clear of her school loans. Then she could start to back off of the second job.
Despite having a decent job as an administrative assistant at the local high school, Lana had to work the part-time gig at the local fast-food joint to help pay off her student loans. Even though she kept telling herself that once she had the loan paid off she would quit her second job, the reality was that she needed a newer car, one she would be able to depend on during the upcoming winter months. The only way she would be able to afford that would be to continue working at the fast-food job.
“You coming in or sitting out in the car all night?”
Lana jumped then grinned. Leave it to Joseph to startle her.
“I’m coming. What are you doing out here? Taking a break?”
“Picking up trash. Not much going on right now. Better hurry in before you’re late.”
She nodded and locked up the car before heading toward the entrance in the back. With Joseph outside, the door would be propped open. She slipped in the back way and punched in before Rick caught her. He didn’t like for them to come in that way. He wanted to know when they showed up. She adjusted her name badge as she stepped up front to locate her duty schedule for the night.
“Hey, Lana. You’re drive-thru tonight. Dee is sick.” Rick tossed her the drive-thru keys and headset.
She grimaced. She hated working drive-thru. That meant she would close the window and not get home much before 1:00 a.m. Remember, more money to pay bills. Reminding herself didn’t do a lot of good when her head already hurt and her feet ached.
She got to work, and by the time midnight hit and she could lock up the window for good, Lana was near tears. Her headache had morphed into a full-blown neck and shoulder ache as well. Her back and legs were useless noodles that threatened to fold on her at any given minute. She quickly cleaned up the area and counted down her drawer. For once she was right on the money and wouldn’t be filling out any extra paperwork.
“You ready to walk out?” Joseph asked when she emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later.
“Yeah. I’ve already clocked out. Let’s go.”
She followed Joseph to her car and waved him off when she was safely locked inside. She jabbed the key into the ignition and turned, expecting it to crank right up. Instead, she got nothing. It didn’t even make a clicking sound.
“God, not tonight. Please!” She tried again with the same result.
By that time, the parking lot was empty except for Rick’s pickup truck parked by the back door. She really didn’t want to have to walk across the empty parking lot to bang on the back door and ask for his help. He would take it the wrong way. He had been trying to get her to go out with him for months. She’d thought she had managed to convince him that she wasn’t interested, but that might all change if she ended up asking him for help.
She looked up and down the street in front of her. It was essentially e
mpty. Her apartment was only a little over a mile away. She could walk that in only few minutes, right? Nothing ever happened around Riverbend, Texas. She would be fine. Glancing one last time at Rick’s pickup, Lana made up her mind and climbed out of the car. She grabbed her backpack purse and locked up the car. It wasn’t as if there was anything worth stealing in it. Just habit, she guessed.
The first few minutes of walking proved to be the worst. She jerked at every sound in the night air. Her legs and feet seemed made of lead, taking a monumental effort to get them to move. Eventually, she calmed down enough that by the time she was halfway home, she wondered why she hadn’t saved gas and walked to and from work before.
A dark-colored car pulled up beside her and the window rolled down.
“Need a ride?”
Lana didn’t recognize the voice, so she didn’t turn to look into the car. “No, thanks. I’m almost home now.” She walked a little closer to the buildings on her right.
“Nonsense. You’re still a long ways from home. Let me give you a ride.”
She shook her head and realized she was beginning to shake all over now. She didn’t know whoever this was, but they acted as if they knew her. The car pulled a little ahead of her and stopped in her path. She panicked, unable to move to save her life. Just as the driver’s side door opened on the car, a truck pulled up behind her.
“Lana, come on. You should have waited when your car wouldn’t start.”
She recognized the voice but couldn’t remember the man’s name. He and his brother had stopped by that night for burgers in the drive-thru. She saw them several times a week picking up something to eat. Did she trust him or the man she didn’t recognize at all?
Lana didn’t hesitate. She turned and walked back toward the truck where someone stepped out of the passenger side and held the door open for her. She let him help her into the front seat. Then she was forced to slide toward the middle when the man slipped in next to her.
“Easy, Lana. No one’s going to hurt you. Just relax. We’ll get you home.” The driver smiled down at her.
All she could do was nod as she gazed into his amazing hazel eyes. Then the other man spoke next to her, jerking her head around.
“I’m Justin, and this is my brother Paul. Are you okay?”
“Y–Yes. Thanks for stopping. I don’t know what I would have done.”
“You shouldn’t have walked, Lana. Why didn’t you ask Rick for help?” Paul’s voice was pitched much lower than Justin’s.
“I didn’t want Rick to read anything into it. He’s been asking me out a lot.”
“That boy knows better than to push someone.”
“Paul, do you blame him?” Justin’s quick grin wasn’t lost on her.
“Um, I live over in the Ivy, building three.”
“We know where you live, Lana. You shouldn’t be working so late at night living where you do. It’s not safe at night to come and go.” It was obvious that Paul didn’t approve of where she lived. Why that mattered to her, she didn’t know. She barely knew the two men.
“This is the first time I’ve had any trouble. I plan to get a new car, so it won’t happen again.”
“Good. I hate to think of you out here without someone to watch out for you. Like Paul said, it’s dangerous.” Justin’s arm was stretched out behind her on the back of the seat.
She was relieved when they pulled into her apartment complex that he hadn’t let it drape across her shoulders. She just didn’t feel comfortable around them. It wasn’t a scared kind of uncomfortable. It was more of an awareness that caught her off guard. Paul pulled up in her parking place as if he knew exactly where it was. Then he turned and watched as Justin pulled back and opened the door to let her out of the truck.
“I’ll walk her up to her apartment. Be right back.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.” Lana finally got her wits back about her and started to ease out of the truck. She was surprised when Justin lifted her from the seat at her waist and gently set her on the ground.
“I know, but I don’t want to leave without knowing you’re safely locked up in your apartment.”
She shrugged and led the way upstairs to her third-story home, unlocking the door and stepping inside before he could stop her.
“Thanks for giving me the ride. Tell Paul I said thanks, too.”
“I’ll do that. Now close the door and lock it for me. I want to hear the locks click.”
Lana frowned, but stepped back into the gloom of the room and closed the door, making sure to click each lock in place. Then she stood there waiting for some sign that Justin was still on the other side of the door. When she heard a truck pull out of the parking lot below, she knew he was indeed gone. Oddly enough, her headache was gone, all but a memory, and she no longer felt totally alone and frightened. It was as if some part of Paul and Justin was still residing inside her, keeping her company.
Paul’s gorgeous hazel eyes and shaggy, rich brown hair complemented a masculine face with a square jaw and full, sensuous lips. There were lines at the corners of his eyes that probably came from squinting into the sun since he didn’t have laugh lines at his mouth. He appeared to be the more serious of the two brothers. He struck her as trustworthy and solid, a good friend to have at your back during trouble.
She hadn’t missed his rocking body, either. Broad shoulders and an equally wide chest tapered down to a narrow waist. She couldn’t see him very well in the dimness of the truck’s interior, but she had the impression he was muscular all over.
Justin’s eyes twinkled when he smiled, and there were fine lines at the corners of both his mouth and his eyes as if he spent a lot of time smiling and laughing. He was lighter and less intimidating than his brother. His handsome body sported muscles that spoke of hard work, not gym time. He had chocolate-brown eyes with long, dark lashes and an amazing smile. His rich brown hair was pulled back and tied at the nape of his neck. At close to six feet two inches, he and his brother would probably be the same height. Next to her mere five foot three inches, Lana felt petite despite her well-rounded body.
She had no illusions about her size or appearance. She wasn’t one to worry or angst over it. She had long since come to accept her body and didn’t try to apologize for it. Despite the men’s kindness at giving her a ride and seeing her home safely, she knew it had been just that—a kindness. There was no way either one of them would be interested in someone like her. They were much too handsome and obviously financially secure by the looks of their new-looking Ford King Ranch truck.
At twenty-five, Lana had had her share of boyfriends, but there had been no one in the last two years. She was concentrating on getting herself out of debt from her college loans. Though she had a business degree with a double major in management and marketing, she had taken the job as an administrative assistant at the local high school to be near her mother as she fought pancreatic cancer.
It had been nearly six months since her mom’s death, and she still missed her. Her father wasn’t in the picture, having left when she was only four years old. Her mom had raised her on her own, and Lana felt she’d done a wonderful job. They hadn’t had much, but she knew she was loved.
As much as Lana wanted a nice relaxing bath, she needed to shower off and get to bed instead. Tomorrow was Saturday and she worked closing again. She needed all the rest she could get because she still had her rebellious car to tend to as well as her Saturday chores.
Stepping into the hot, stinging spray, she moaned at the wonderful sensations pelting her tired muscles. Lana made short work of cleaning up and then just stood in the deluge of hot water until it began to cool. She grabbed a towel as she stepped out of the shower and quickly dried off before blow-drying her hair.
When she climbed into bed, she thought again about the two handsome men and wondered how they knew her so well. She didn’t remember ever really talking to them that much. Sure, she had a name tag on her uniform that said Lana, but it was almost as if the
y already knew everything about her.
Despite that seeming odd when the stranger that had been in the car had known her name as well, Lana felt like she could trust Paul and Justin for some reason. The fact that they had seen her to her door without trying to take advantage of her spoke volumes, in her book. Too many times men tended to think they had an obligation to at least steal a kiss when around her. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t dated in a while. The whole dating scene had become disillusioning to say the least. Besides, once her mom’s cancer had gotten in the last stages, she hadn’t had much time to devote to anyone other than her mom and, of course, her job.
Relaxing under the thin sheet in an effort to remain cool in the warm apartment, Lana wished her bills were all paid now so she could branch out some and enjoy herself for a change. Right now she was too exhausted to maintain a steady relationship, and she wasn’t a one-night-stand sort of gal. Maybe in a few more months. She smiled at that thought and drifted off into sleep.
Chapter Two
“Any idea who the asshole was that was trying to get her in the car with them?” Paul asked as they pulled back out onto the street.
“Not a clue. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that car around here before either, and there wasn’t a license plate.”
“We should probably tell Sheriff Tidwell about it tomorrow.”
“Do you want to swing back by and see if we can tell what’s wrong with her car?” Justin asked.
“Naw, we’ll check it out tomorrow. As late as it is, she probably won’t be up much before noon anyway. We can swing through on the way out to work and look at it.”
