Authors: Kortny Alexander
Chapter 2
“Denver, what are you doing here?” Summer asked as she slid into the booth at the local diner, Dalton right on her heels.
“Mom and the dads had a craving for some of Grace’s peach pie and I told them I would run down and buy one when I took a lunch break. I didn’t expect to see the two of you here.” Denver nodded at his brother as they both sat down after Summer slid into the booth. Somehow, being around her caused him to wear a silly grin. It was a grin he was proud to wear.
Summer thought she would be able to handle lunch with just one of the brothers, but now she had two of them in close proximity. Too close. Too overwhelming. She felt her nipples harden even more when she caught sight of Denver. As if in expectation, her body trembled and the thundering heat between her legs flooded with moisture. He was tall, strong, and muscular like Dalton, but Denver was built wide like a football player.
The few times she had seen Denver without a shirt, those wide shoulders had made her body tremble. She could almost see the fingernail impressions she would leave when he took her. He didn’t look like he’d be a gentle lover and she would be happy to find out if that was in fact true. Then she would remember that her fantasies were just fantasies.
She knew the men worked hard on their horse ranch and somehow it turned these men into mouth-watering eye candy. Sometimes it did irritate Summer when other women stared, but she tried to ignore it since neither man belonged to her. But damn if it wasn’t difficult to ignore.
“It seems that the both of you have an audience.” Summer hated that she sounded insecure, but the truth was the truth. She pulled the menus from the holder and passed them out, diverting her eyes. She opened hers and practically hid behind it as she decided on what she wanted to eat.
“Summer.”
After a few moments, she looked over in Dalton’s direction. Once she did, he continued.
“We are having lunch with you. Nothing else matters.” No smile from Dalton. He was simply stating a fact before turning back to his menu.
“You know, you really suck at trying to make a woman feel confident, Dalton.” Denver chided his older brother and then turned to Summer. “It doesn’t matter if the women stare or not, Summer. We’ve lived in this town all of our lives. They are going to stare. We are having lunch with you. There’s no way in hell we would flirt with other women when we have a beautiful woman sitting right here.” Denver reached across the table and caressed her cheek. His smile widened as Summer blushed at his touch. “Grace is coming over to take our orders.” His hand was gone just as fast.
She would swear she’d just had a mini-orgasm. The effect Denver had on her was unexplainable. It was odd that the mood had changed just that fast. Dalton had turned his switch off again and it was time to adjust.
Sitting at the table with both men was mind-boggling. They were a paradox. Denver was trying to soothe her and her unstable ego and Dalton was being a cold jerk. All she needed was Dillon in attendance. He would have held her hands and said the right words. Nothing would have made him remove his hands from hers. He loved touching her even if it was just an accidental brushing of arms. Summer never knew how much a simple touch could make her crave one of these men.
She shook all thoughts away when she caught sight of Grace’s wonderful, welcoming smile.
Summer loved eating at Grace’s Gathering Place. Grace made you feel like one of the family when you were there. She never forgot anything her customers shared with her. Whether she was asking about a particular doctor’s appointment or how your grandkids were. She made everyone feel special. She was feisty and seemed to have both her husbands wrapped around her fingers. Summer was still getting used to the fact that Grace was with two men. She was married, in a committed relationship, and had raised three children with two men. Summer had never witnessed relationships like this, never knew they existed, until her sister married Bo Durden. The matriarchs in the Durden family were married to at least two men. It seemed that Whispering Mountain was a welcoming melting pot of conventional relationships and what society deemed unconventional relationships. Being in this town also helped Summer feel less awkward about having feelings for all three of the men she was staying with. Although no one else knew how she felt. It was one thing to feel this way and another to share her feelings and not have them returned.
She knew the brothers didn’t share their women like their fathers did with their mother, but she could not help the way she felt. Summer was immensely attracted to Dalton, Denver, and Dillon, and did not know what to do about it. Conversations like that were hard to begin when she talked with her sisters. She wasn’t certain she wanted to know where they stood on the subject.
But Summer also realized that there was no need to go down the relationship road where the brothers were concerned. They did not date as far as she could tell. The men seemed to concentrate solely on the ranching business. And the harmless flirting they did with her was the only proof that the men knew she was female.
Look, but don’t touch
. She needed to stick with that motto.
“Well, look at the three of you,” Grace said cheerfully. “Summer, I’m a little envious that you get to eat lunch with two handsome hunks.”
Summer couldn’t help but laugh. Grace was in her late fifties and flirted nonstop. “I think your husbands heard you, Grace.” She tilted her head and caught one of Grace’s husbands standing at the counter, laughing in their direction.
“We’ve learned to pay her no mind, Summer. She’s getting us back for waking up late and burning breakfast.” Sonny, one of Grace’s husbands, turned and went back into the kitchen.
Completely ignoring her husband’s comment, Grace turned her attention back to the table. “Hmmm. One day, Summer, I will teach you some of my punishments. With the looks of these two, you will definitely need them. Now, what is everyone having?”
Summer was dumbfounded by the remark. It sounded like Grace thought she was already involved with the brothers. It was impossible to cut in and correct her because Grace continued to talk and the men told Grace what they wanted for lunch. It would be pointless if she responded to the comment now. It was best to just act as if she never heard it. Summer realized as everyone waited for her to give her order that the men didn’t correct Grace either.
Great
.
After giving her order, she turned her attention back to the brothers. “Did I hear you say that we were grilling out tonight?” Summer grinned ear to ear. She loved grilling out. Hell, she loved the outdoors, and they had been having warm weather lately.
“Yeah,” Dalton answered. “I thought it would be good for you if we invited Bo and your sister over as well.”
Summer cocked her head to the side and studied Dalton. For some reason, he seemed to be withdrawing from her. It wasn’t all that obvious but she could see it. She noticed everything about him.
How in the world could one man be so moody?
She shrugged off the thought. She would go crazy trying to figure him out.
“We thought with it being your first night at our house, we would do something nice for you, Summer. Dillon already hit the grocery store. And I’m sure our little sister Daisy will make an appearance.” Denver held her gaze for a moment too long that made her blush.
“Letting me stay with you guys was way beyond considerate, Denver. But thank you all for thinking of me.” She reached out and touched each of their hands. It was a simple and innocent gesture. Only Dalton seemed to tense up under her touch. Yeah,
that
didn’t make her feel uncomfortable.
That small rejection caused Summer to withdraw, reel the friendliness back in. She managed a small, nervous smile at Denver and then slowly removed her hands from both of theirs. She remained quiet during the rest of their lunch. Even Grace tried to pull a smile from her, but Summer just couldn’t manage one.
What in the hell was wrong with her? She was fascinated with three men, three brothers. And yet one of them sent her more mixed signals than was necessary. How was she supposed to hold on to her sanity when he made her smile, made her nipples tingle, caused her to think of a future with them one moment? And the next moment, it was like a bucket of ice cold water being tossed on her head.
She should have been used to this by now. Dalton usually left her head spinning. It wasn’t the best feeling in the world. It was like he got a kick out of screwing with her emotions. Denver, on the other hand, seemed to make no qualms about the fact that he was openly flirting with her. As much as she adored the attention, she was no longer comfortable sitting at the table with them. She was ready to go, so she quickly excused herself and went to the restroom.
* * * *
“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Denver wanted to kick his brother’s ass for being such a jerk. He was not sure what Dalton had done but he noticed the almost instant change in Summer’s smile when she touched them both. Just because he was a jackass didn’t mean he should direct it at Summer. Denver knew that he and Dillon would need to have a talk with Dalton soon.
Dalton looked over at his brother with a surprise. “Huh? What are you talking about?”
Denver sat up straighter. He couldn’t believe how his brother could be so naïve. “Are you serious? You didn’t notice how hurt Summer looked? That’s why she damned near ran from the table.” Denver was losing patience. He smacked his hand against the table. “What the hell is so interesting out on the street?”
Dalton didn’t even react to his brother’s tantrum, nor did he answer any questions. “Denver, listen to me very carefully.” Dalton used his peripheral vision to keep an eye on the street while he spoke to his brother. “There’s a red Camaro parked four cars down, near the stop sign behind you. Nothing had occurred to me until Summer and I left her house today. It was parked on her street and there was a person inside. I could not see him very well to properly identify him, but there was definitely someone inside. Just like now. I have seen that car several times. It’s following me, I think.”
“You know, I thought red was a stupid and obvious car to follow someone in the day I saw a red Camaro in my rearview mirror,” Denver added.
The brothers eyes met, both filled with skepticism.
“Denver, when we leave I want you to try and see if you can get close enough to get an ID on the guy and then contact the sheriff to let him know we both have someone following us around town.” Dalton realized Summer was walking back towards their table, so he hurriedly finished talking. “Let’s not discuss this with Summer. But we need to see if Denver has had the same thing happen to him.”
“Agreed.”
Both men plastered smiles on their faces and stood. They did not want to be in the diner any longer. Denver paid the check and grabbed his pie. He could not believe some nut was following them around town. Didn’t the idiot know that their town was small and practically everyone knew each other?
Whispering Mountain was a town that welcomed newcomers with open arms, but someone should have been paying attention to the red Camaro cruising through town.
Chapter 3
Dillon was in their private office located inside of the home he shared with his brothers. He almost fell off his horse when Denver phoned him earlier asking about a red Camaro. As soon as he was able, he called it a day and left work early.
Although he’d noticed a red Camaro, he had not paid much attention to it. But the fact remained he had seen the red Camaro a time or two. And that was not something they could overlook. Now, he and Dalton were waiting in the office for Denver to return.
“The license plate was a no-go,” Denver said as he quietly walked into the office and closed the door behind him. He noticed Dalton was sitting behind his huge desk where he normally handled the paperwork and Dillon was leaning against the front of the desk with his arms folded. They both sat silently waiting for him to continue.
“Anyway, I spoke with Connor—I mean Sheriff Stallings,” Denver huffed out. He had to constantly remind himself that although Connor was married to one of his cousins, he still needed to show him the respect he deserved. “He said he’d get the description out to his deputies and see what happens. He doesn’t want to scare the guy away, but he will definitely get a plate number. But, he did say that we should call his cell every time we see the car.”
“Good job, Denver,” Dalton said as he stood. He liked the sheriff, and he was damn good at his job. “There is a perk to having a sheriff who’s a former black ops agent.”
“Yeah, that’s great. I just wonder what the hell this guy wants.” Dillon added, causing both his brothers to stop and chew on that piece of information.
* * * *
The lunch with Denver and Dalton had gone all but silent by the time they left. Denver had offered to let her ride with him, but she went back with Dalton. It was the most uncomfortable ride she had ever been on. They did not speak to each other the entire time. He seemed even more tense and brooding. She could only stare out the window and watch the beautiful scenery—blue skies, tall green trees, and mountains. All of the wonderful reasons why she loved living in Colorado.