Terms of Surrender (9 page)

Would they hook up, fall in love, maybe have the set of boys Mike had always wanted?

Or would it send his brother over the edge?

He refused to be jealous. No way, no how. Because he was so not getting involved with Harley. He might be attracted to her—in fact, he might even be wildly, insanely in lust with her—but in the long run, Mike would be safe.

Reliable.

Always in control of himself and his temper.

And if there was one thing Harley deserved, it was a man who would love and cherish her for the rest of her life.

Gage’s stomach clenched. He could solve two problems with one suggestion. He smoothed out his voice, tried to sound like each word wasn’t torn from his throat. “Harley needs a place to stay right now—”

“No.” Mike jerked to his feet, panic pinching his mouth. “She doesn’t know anything about kids. She wouldn’t be able to cope. It would be one more person to drive me crazy.”

Across the yard, the girls had erupted into action, leaving his mom and dad in mid-sentence, heading for their aunt, screaming and jostling each other all the way toward her, until they reached her and flung themselves at her and wrapped their arms and legs around her legs.

He had to give her credit. She barely staggered under their onslaught as she laughed and ruffled their hair. “Looks to me like she knows how to handle them.”

Mike blew out a heavy sigh as he stared across the yard, a brooding expression on his face before he stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and dropped back onto the chair. “Doesn’t matter. I don’t want her near me.”

His dad came across the yard and joined them on the patio. “Those girls shouldn’t be near the flowers.”

“It doesn’t matter, Dad. The flowers can be replaced.”

Hands on hips, the old man surveyed the yard with a keen gardener’s eye, grunted, and changed tactics. “With this kind of heat, you can’t let your plants dry out. If they weaken, they won’t make it through the winter. You should install one of those underground watering systems. I can pick up the material at the hardware store. We could have it in by next week.”

“Dad—”

“It needs to be done.”

He shifted, growing uncomfortable with his dad’s insistence. “On my schedule, not yours.”

“I suppose you think fooling around with that girl is more important.”

Gage glanced at Harley before he faced the older man, wondering how his dad had jumped to that conclusion, and he kept his voice even and his temper under control. “Don’t go there, Dad.”

“You should be painting the house instead. If you weren’t spending so much time chasing girls—”

“Enough, Dad,” Gage said softly. He braced his temper before it could get the worst of him. “It’s none of your business.”

A red flush worked its way into the older man’s face. “Fran, it’s time to go home.”

Gage saw the smile on her mom’s face fade. “Bill, the girls are here—”

“Now, Fran.”

On her way past, his mom squeezed Gage’s forearm. “We’ll be back tomorrow.”

His dad grunted again. “You have enough work at home, Fran. You shouldn’t be taking on more than you can handle.”

Gage didn’t want to cause an argument between his parents. “Dad’s right, Mom. You don’t need to maintain my place.”

His dad grabbed one of the glasses, gulped down the iced tea, set the glass back on the table and headed toward the driveway. “Make sure you water those plants every day.”

“I will,” Gage said to his back. “And you stay out of the heat.”

With a wave of his hand, the older man shuffled down the driveway and disappeared around the corner of the house. Frances stood on tiptoes and gave Gage a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t let your dad bother you.”

Bending to give her younger son a kiss on the forehead, she sent the twins a wistful look, then turned her back on them and walked away. As she disappeared around the corner of the house, Gage pulled his attention back to Mike who was fidgeting like a teenage kleptomaniac. “About Harley—”

“Man, I could use a drink,” Mike interrupted him. “You sure you don’t have something hidden? You know, like Dad used to hide his booze from Mom?”

“Positive. I’ll make you a deal.”

His brother peered at him, suspicious.

“I’ll call Adam and arrange a boys night out so you can get that drink. Harley can babysit the twins. You can all sleep here tonight.” When it looked like his brother might turn him down, Gage lowered his voice. “You’re not doing yourself or the girls a lick of good hanging on to the past.”

After a couple of minutes of silence, Mike straightened on the seat and slowly pushed himself up, looking more like a ninety-year-old than a thirty-two-year-old man in his prime. “You’re right. I could use a break. I’ll collect the girls, go home and pick up few things, and be back here after supper.”

“Great.” Gage pulled out his cell phone and as he watched Mike cross the yard, punched in Adam’s speed dial number.

He’d sworn not to get involved, yet here he was, putting himself smack in the middle. But he had no choice. Mike desperately needed help, and he knew without asking that Harley would do whatever she could to help him, too.

Gage might be attracted to Harley. In fact, he might even be wildly, insanely lusting for her, but Mike would always be in control of himself.

Now, all he had to do was convince Harley that Mike wanted and needed her.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Later that night, after a quick shower, Gage grabbed a fresh shirt and jeans, dressed, and went to find Harley.

For the better part of the day, she’d hung around the house, polite, apologetic, careful to stay quiet and out of his way. And he was getting damn sick and tired of her tiptoeing around him.

As he tucked in his shirt, he wandered through the house and into the kitchen, where he found her on her hands and knees on the floor.

He stopped in the doorway and let his gaze drift over her.

For lack of other clothes, she was still wearing the belted t-shirt. The material caressed her backend, and with every move she made, it slipped over her curves like a lover’s hand.

His hands.

Palms itching, it dawned on him that she’d had plenty of time to go back to her house before Mike and the twins returned. Instead, she’d hung around all day, trying to stay out of his way and blend into the walls.

As if that was possible.

It was obvious she didn’t want to go back to her house and he was glad she had an excuse to spend another night. A bit of his guilt eased.

His attention dipped to her backside again where the t-shirt rode up, revealing nothing more than bare skin and the soft nylon of her white panties. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorjamb. “What are you doing, Cinderella?”

She jumped to her feet so fast, she hit the pail beside her with her knee. Water sloshed over the edge and onto the floor, and dismay colored her pale cheeks.

Gage stepped over the water, grabbed the tea towel from the countertop, and crouched down on the floor.

“The twins spilled their iced tea.” She knelt down, the washrag in hand, and sighed. “I’m sorry I have to impose on your hospitality for another night.”

He slanted a look her way. “For the hundredth time, there’s no need to apologize.”

“Still, I’m in the—”

“Don’t say it.” Without getting off his knees, he straightened and wrung the towel out over the sink. “Think of yourself as a necessary part of tonight’s activities. You’re doing your part to give Mike a break from the girls, and by staying here, saving us the necessity of finding a babysitter.”

“I suppose.” Her attention returned to the spill. She squeezed out the rag and as she stretched out to wipe up the water, the t-shirt slid up her thigh a couple more inches.

Gage frowned down at her bare legs. “Don’t you have anything else to wear?”

She sat back on her haunches and shook her head. “Sara is bringing me some of Jessie’s clothes.”

“Sara?”

“Jessie and Nate Coltrane’s daughter.”

“Right. Nice kid. I met her at their wedding.” As he returned his attention to the water, curiosity got the best of him. “She looked pregnant.”

With another sigh, Harley sloshed the rag across the floor. “It’s my fault.”

A surprised laugh escaped him. “You got her pregnant?”

“The father of Sara’s baby is my nephew, Hale Davis.” She scowled down at the floor, sopped up some more water, and gave the rag an extra hard twist over the pail. “The little brat got her pregnant and skipped town.”

As he wiped up the last of the water and picked up the pail to dump it in the sink, he felt a smile tug at the edges of his mouth. “Do I detect a little anger?”

“If I ever get my hands on him, I’ll show him how angry I am.” She pushed to her feet and followed him to the sink where she leaned one hip against the edge of the counter, and watched him dump the pail and dry it out. “I don’t get it, though. Every month, he sends money for the baby.”

He bent, tucked the pail back under the sink, and spread out the tea towel to dry. “A man should take responsibility for his mistakes.”

“And every month, Sara tears up the check.” She shook her head and as she pushed away from the counter, her hair brushed her shoulders, and Gage struggled against the urge to touch her. “She’s coming over to help with the twins. I hope that’s okay with you.”

Gage shrugged. “As long as you’re staying here, make yourself at home.”

“Thanks.” The annoyed expression morphed into seriousness. “So should I make myself scarce when you get home?”

In a heartbeat, Gage switched mental gears because he knew exactly what she was talking about.

A beer or three, and she thought he’d be coming home to her. Under the influence of alcohol. Possibly more dangerous than anyone she’d ever met. While fear cramped his gut, he followed her into the living room and kept his tone light. “I’m the designated driver tonight.”

She stopped in the middle of the room. Her gaze skittered to his face, then bounced toward the front door. “I should probably clear out for the night, maybe take the twins back home…or you know, somewhere else. If you like to, uh, make noise, it might, you know, get embarrassing.”

Noise? Confused, he studied the rosy blush on her cheeks, the nervous way she chewed her full bottom lip. She looked more embarrassed than afraid. “Could you be more specific?”

Hands clenching the material of the t-shirt, drawing it slowly up her thighs into dangerous territory, her embarrassment morphed into annoyance. “Do I have to spell it out for you?”

“It would probably be simpler if you did.” The doorbell rang, followed by pounding on the front door. For the moment, Gage chose to ignore the intrusion as the rationale behind her question finally hit him. A smirk grabbed at the edges of his mouth. “Are you afraid you’ll have to sit down at the breakfast table and make small talk with my night’s entertainment?”

She scuffed her bare toe against the hardwood floor and shrugged her slim shoulders. “It’s none of my business what you do or who you do it with. I thought it might be embarrassing for her to have another woman in the house, that’s all.”

The doorbell rang again. Gage headed to the front door, wondering whether he should be flattered or insulted by her question. “Contrary to what you may believe, I can refrain from picking up a woman for the night. It’s not about sex all the time.”

“What is it about?” she asked as he pulled open the door. Adam stood on the front step, his cell phone to his ear, no doubt already talking to his wife. Mike hadn’t been far off the mark. These days, a little of Adam and his pregnant wife went a long way.

Gage motioned him in. “Get Adam to explain it to you.”

Adam stepped inside, something stuffed under one arm, and mumbled a few more words into the cell phone before he disconnected the call. “Explain what?”

“That not everything a man does for—or with—a woman is about sex.”

“It isn’t?” Adam shoved a large white object into Gage’s arms. “I found this on your doorstep.”

For one moment, Gage stared down at the life-size inflatable doll in his arms. It wasn’t just any inflatable doll. This one wore a nurse’s cap, a nurse’s uniform, and the ugliest pair of fishnet stockings he’d ever seen.

“Sex is all a man ever thinks about,” Adam said as he shut the door, turned, and grinned at Harley. “We live it, breathe it, are ready for it at any given moment of the day or night. Is there anything else you want me to explain? Or maybe give you a demo?”

“Don’t forget you have a wife, Durango,” Gage muttered. He held the doll at arm’s length. “Where the hell did you pick this up? And why?”

“I found it on your front porch.”

Harley stepped closer and lifted the doll’s head up so she could see her face. “Who is she? A leftover guest from a private party? She looks like—” Her mouth curved up at the corners, her humor obviously intact. “Why does she look like me?”

Gage met her curious gaze. “Because last night, the guys saw you kiss me and this is their way of telling me they haven’t forgotten.”

“Oh.” She smiled up at him, sweet and insincere. “Sorry.”

Gage narrowed his eyes at her. “No, you’re not.”

“You’re right, I’m not. You deserve to be taken down a peg or two.”

Adam interrupted them. “Mike here yet?”

“No.” Gage carried the doll into the living room and settled her onto the armchair. She slid down, her dress riding up, her legs parting as though inviting him to join her.

Harley pushed past him, bent and crossed the legs into a more demure pose. His attention dropped to where the t-shirt rode up on the back of her thighs.

What would she do if he slid his hand under the t-shirt and up along the soft skin of her inner thigh?

An elbow to his side got his attention and as he shot Adam a disgruntled look, he remembered why they were here. “I’m worried about Mike. He’s been acting strange lately.”

Adam nodded, the easy smile fading from his face. “Robyn ran into him the other day in the grocery store. She said he looked jittery and nervous, like a junkie who needed a fix. You don’t suppose he’s doing drugs, do you?”

Without leaving the doll, Harley shook her head. “No way. Not Mike. But I do think he’s drinking instead of eating.”