Just Her Luck (62 page)

“Is it dirty?” Thatcher leaned forward on the table, dying to know.

“Maybe…” Ephraim said vaguely, kissing me before he took off.

He sauntered out the sliding door, and I watched him go.

Oh, my, oh, my, did I watch him go.

“I want a dirty note.” Thatcher came up and gave me a hungry, sex squelching kiss.

He pushed something in my hands, and I peeked down at what it was as he headed out the door.

“You better be watching my sweet ass as I walk away, my love…” he called out over his shoulder.

I laughed when he gave a little butt wiggle, then looked down at my hands.

There’s a pencil and a pad of paper in my hands.

“I expect a note in my room before dinner, young lady! And it better be just as good as or better than
his
. If I come home note-less, my little love muffin, you won’t like the consequences!” And with that last nonsensical promise, he was off.

Reeve and Sawyer had left as well, so Bo and I were the only ones left.

“Sometimes I have to wonder how I share genetic material with him,” Bowen rumbled sadly.

“Oh, I dunno…” I hurried towards the kitchen, “You both make the same sex noises. You’re faces even twist up the same.”

I gave a weird face, my own imitation of a man’s sex face.

“Oh, oh,
oooooohhhhhh.
Mmmmm… right there… oh, god….
Yeeeessss!”
I played it up, grinning at the look on his face.

He started stalking towards me at the ‘oh, mmm’ part, and I cackled like a mad woman as he chased me around the house.

Run, run, as fast as you can, you can’t catch me, I’m the …

No, wait, he caught me.

And, mmmm, am I caught!

I need to wash that counter off before I use it again,
I thought much later, making a little mental note.

Oh, well, it was worth it!

The Great Outdoors

“Come on, it’s not like you’re never gonna see her again. Get the lead out, boy!”

“I’ll leave when I’m good and ready! Go eat some oatmeal or something!”

Grumbling under his breath, he turned back towards me and resumed our lip lock.

He groaned and let out a little impatient growl when Bowen tapped on his shoulder impatiently.

“Don’t go hoggin’ her, blondie, we all want a turn too!”

I laughed, smiling against Thatcher’s lips.

My blonde rakehell smiled at me devilishly.

“You gonna miss me, my love?” he purred, trailing kisses down my neck.

“Thatcher!” I gasped, trying to pry his eager, demanding lips off of me, “Your dads are right there!”

“So,” he mumbled against my neck, shrugging. “They don’t begrudge me our love.”

Bo, fed up at this point, yanked Thatcher by the hair and wrenched him off of me.

“Damn it! I wasn’t done yet, you bastard!” my devilish rogue growled.

“You are now,” Bowen rumbled, sidling up to me, giving me a big, wolfish grin.

I hugged him tight and whispered in his ear.

“I’m gonna miss you, wolf man. Who’s gonna blow my house down or make me squeal like a little pig?”

He broke out into a fit of loud belly laughter, grinning.

His hazel eyes lit up as he gave me a huge enveloping hug and kissed me softly, sweetly.

“I’m gonna miss you too, girly. Be good for me and stay out of trouble,” his deep, sexy voice rumbled.

“I can’t make any promises.” I crossed my heart.

He set me down and with one last wave and dragged a very reluctant Thatcher to his truck.

“Ah,” Sawyer sighed, “My turn.”

I jumped up into his arms and planted one on him, taking the lead in our little tongue tango.

He gripped my ass and pressed me into the side of the house where we had all decided would have to be private enough for our good byes.

“Alright! Alright!” Jep came around the corner, eyes closed, banging a camping pot with a spoon. “That’s enough, folks! Break it up! Break it up! Move along! Nothin’ to see here! Nothin’ to see! Just some men goin’ campin’!”

He kept it up for a little while until Brayden yanked the spoon out of his hands and hit him over the head with it.

“What the hell is wrong with you?
Git!”
he growled at his sibling.

He gave us a nod and prowled away.

“Carry on, son. Give your woman a sendoff and then let’s get the hell outta here! The sooner we get this shit goin’, the sooner I can get back to my Barbie doll and beat Phin’s ass for winning that game of poker.” He grumbled this as he lumbered off, muttering loudly for anyone to here. “I still say the bastard cheated.”

I wiped the tears from my eyes as I laughed at it all, the crazy zaniness of their family growing on me.

“I think I like Brayden best,” I told Sawyer, getting another laugh out of him.

“He’s my favorite daddy too,” he whispered back.

“Don’t you be defiling my new daughter over there!” Jep protested loudly, caterwauling from the opened window of the R.V. “None of you has had balls enough to make an honest woman outta her yet!”

“Dad!” Thatcher shouted, glaring up at the window, “Shut up!”

“What? Don’t you tell me to shut up, you little twit!”

“Enough!” Brayden boomed, ending the fight right then and there.

He scowled at them both. “Keep it up and you’ll be bunkin’ together.
Right next to each other.”

They both quickly shut it, sticking their heads back into their respective vehicles.

Brayden grunted his approval and walked away.

“I wanna do that,” I whispered in awe, smacking Sawyer on the ass as he walked away.

“Just remember, brat. We probably won’t get much reception, if at all out there, so you leave a message and I’ll call you back as soon as I can.”

“Alright!”

“Love you, honey.”

I melted at the look on his face when he turned back, getting all girly on him.

“I love you too,” I gushed.

“And it looks like you saved the best for last.” Ephraim sighed happily, bundling me up in a hug.

I pulled off his hat and plopped it on my head, blocking everyone else’s view as I clung to him, giving him a proper send off, ignoring Sawyer and Bowen’s cat calls and Thatcher’s overzealous bitching.

Ahhhh. My men.

He broke our kiss, and I licked my lips, enjoying the taste of him lingering on me- mint and my man.

He would have gone for another pantie wetting smooch, but Reeve butt in.

“Get goin’, ‘E’, she aint goin’ anywhere.”

I unwrapped my legs from my cowlick king’s waist and slowly slid down, grinning when Ephraim groaned and readjusted himself.

“Tease,” he grinned, kissing my forehead before he took off, “You aren’t playin’ fair, baby.”

I batted my lashes, “Do I ever?”

He chuckled, “Nope and that’s what I love about you.”

“Love you too, handsome.”

The engines started up and they circled the drive, ready to pull out.

Bo rolled down his window and shouted, “I love you, woman. You be good now, ya hear!”

I shouted back, and he grinned, winking before he blew me a kiss.

“I love you more!” Thatcher shouted from the passenger seat.

“Love you too!”

I laughed when Bowen shoved him back and smiled evilly as he rolled up the window, waving bye.

I waited on the porch steps until their lights faded into the distance.

“They’ll be back,” Reeve said quietly and headed into the house, leaving me to myself.

“I know,” I whispered, hoping the week would go by really fast.

Somethin’s Gotta Give

“Are you watchin’…”

“Shh!!!” I protested, my eyes never leaving the screen.

Reeve walked in and sat down next to me, glancing at me and then the screen, a look of disbelief on his face.

I hummed along as Gene and Debbie danced and sang across the television.

“You really like this one, huh?”

“Shhh! This is the best part!” I hushed him, waving a hand at him distractedly.

He leaned back and watched for a few minutes, getting comfortable on the couch.

Stroking the couch pillow’s trim in his hands, he waited until they were done singing before he asked, “You gonna make me watch the
whole
thing?”

“Oh, forget it!” I grumbled and clicked it off. “Some people just can’t appreciate the classics!”

I tossed the remote at him.

He caught it before it hit his head.

Darn.

“Watch whatever you want. I need to go check on Ruthie anyways.”

“You’re a grump,” he observed, irritating me when his lips quirked up.

Of course he’d find it amusing that it’s only been two days and I’m missing my guys terribly.

Thatcher had already sent me a video to my cell, his own spoof on all those, ‘don’t go in the woods’ movies.

He’d even managed to do the whole flashlight in the face, we’re all gonna die, fake sniffle dealie.

It was impossibly terrible and completely horrendous.

I’d laughed so hard I thought I was going to pee my pants.

“So, what if I am?” I muttered tersely, heading for the phone.

He eyed me critically, watching me from over the back of the couch.

“Somethin’ on your mind, hell cat?”

Yes! I want my cowboys back!

“No,” I snapped a little too quickly, dialing fast and shoving the phone against my ear.

Reeve’s face creased into that slow sexy smile I never thought I’d be party to again, and I turned my back on him.

What the hell does he have to be so happy about?

Ugh!

Things have been so damned boring around here, I’m contemplating starting a mini war with him.

Ruthie answered on the first ring, and I exhaled in relief.

“Hello?”

“Miss me?” I asked teasingly.

“Oh, dear heart! What has you comin’ a callin’?” she teased back, using her best siren voice.

I smiled, chuckling at her silly mood.

“I was just wondering how you’re doing? Has Barry come back yet?”

Barry, apparently, had gone on a mission, per Ruthie’s wishes, to go track down some woman.

That ‘some woman’, I soon found out, was Barry’s ‘one that got away’.

From the way Ruthie tells it, gleefully, of course, she’d gone all the way to Vegas and Barry had followed.

My unconventional cousin somehow managed to convince the poor woman to marry him.

Marry him!

I’d gaped when she’d told me.

Barry? Married?

And then I’d thought about it.

And thought a little more, and then it’d hit me.

This is Barry we’re talking about here.

The poor girl- he probably got her shnockered up and took her ass to one of those cheap wedding chapels with a drive thru.

He’s supposed to be back any day now-
reluctant, from what I’d guess-
bride in tow.

Why would she go all the way to Vegas to get the hell away from him, or so Ruthie claims, then marry his skinny butt and come right back?

Uh, duh, ‘cause she loves him,
the mushy beast I’ve become chimed in.

“Did you hear me, dear heart?” Ruthie asked, snapping me out of it.

“I’m sorry, Auntie, what was that?”

“I said I’m so glad you called me first.”

“Oh. Did you need something? I was going to come over in a bit anyways? Need me to pick something up for you?”

“Oh, no. Nothing like that.”

“Okay.”

“I just need you to take me to the hospital.” She says this calm as you please and it didn’t register at first.

“Sure, I can,
wait.
What? The hospital!” My voice rose several octaves towards the end.

“It’s nothing, really. I just need to get these old stems I call legs checked out. They’ve been bothering me. It’s hard to get around. Keep goin’ numb on me.”

Running with the portable, I nabbed up my purse and shoved my shoes on, hopping around when my toe kept catching on the side of the tongue.

I threw the blasted thing and tossed off the other one, shoving my feet into sandals.

“Your legs! What the hell is wrong with your legs?! You didn’t tell me this the other day!
Ruthie!”
My voice was getting frantic and I was trying not to freak out.