Love Under Two Responders [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 3

  Ed made short work of his shower, feeling better, and steadier, by the time he turned the water off.

  It was still early, so he moved quietly as he stripped the linens from his double-sized bed, remaking it with clean sheets. He’d take the soiled ones down and put them in to wash when he started the coffee. He dressed, then paused as he was about to tuck his uniform shirt into his pants. Inhaling deeply he smelled coffee already brewing.

  Two possibilities came to mind. Either he’d not been as quiet as he’d hoped, and awakened his brother, or…

  He inhaled again and then smiled when the aroma of banana bread teased his appetite, making his mouth water and his stomach growl.

  He walked quietly past his brother’s still-closed bedroom door. Just before he descended the staircase, he let his gaze wander toward the master bedroom. He made a mental note to himself to see to it that the bed—covered now with only a bedspread—had fresh sheets before tomorrow evening.

  Not that he or Warren expected to be bringing Carol home with them this soon. But it didn’t hurt to be prepared.

  “Good morning, Edward.”

  He grinned. His mother had issued that greeting before he’d even stepped into the kitchen. She had her back to him, her hands submerged in dishwater, cleaning the things she’d used in baking.

  “Good morning, Mom.” He went right to her, kissed her cheek, and then took his load of sheets into the laundry room. After he’d started the load, he returned to a sight that always pleased him—Anna Jessop in his kitchen, being “mom.”

  “I awoke an hour ago with the urge to come and make your favorite breakfast. I doubt I’ll be doing this again, after tomorrow.”

  He’d heard his cousin, Peter Alvarez-Kendall, once say that the CIA would do well to use his mother as a supersecret weapon.

  Ed didn’t particularly disagree with that observation.

  “Mom, you’re always welcome here. Especially if you want to come and make your signature banana bread for us. I mean that, and I know when he gets up, Warren will second that.”

  “You’re a good son, Edward.”

  “Thank you. You’re a good mother.”

  She met his gaze, her head tilted to the side just slightly. People meeting his mom for the first time often remarked that she put them in mind of Mrs. Santa Claus. He had to admit, with her hair now completely white—she’d assured them all years before her own mother’s had gone white when she was in her thirties—the resemblance was uncanny.

  Even more so, if one attributed any gifts of clairvoyance to the mythical mate of the jolly old elf.

  “Now, if only we could do something about those damned nightmares of yours, I would be completely happy.”

  Ed blinked. It didn’t even occur to him to question how she’d known about them, or that he’d just had another one. She’d never mentioned them before but that wasn’t what had snagged his attention. “Mother, you cussed.”

  “I did. I think if anything deserves being cussed about it’s those horrible dreams that haunt you.”

  “They don’t happen all that often,” he said. Because he understood his mother and loved her more than anyone else in the world, he slipped his arm around her and gave her a hug. “It’s all right. Really.”

  “It’s not all right, not when they happen to my son. You say that they don’t happen often, but I hate that they happen to you at all.”

  “Me, too, but that doesn’t change anything, so I just try to let them go and don’t think of them in between times.”

  The oven timer dinged, and Anna Jessop bustled about the kitchen, pulling the two loaves of banana bread from the oven. Overturning them onto racks, she directed him to set places for the three of them, and then set the coffeepot onto the table.

  “Good morning, Mom. This is a nice surprise.”

  Warren came into the kitchen, probably alerted to his mom’s presence by the scent of her banana bread, too.

  “As I was telling your brother, I woke early and decided that I should come and make my banana bread for you. After all, this will likely be the last day that I should.”

  Ed grinned because Warren looked up and met his gaze. He shook his head and turned to their mother.

  “We’re just going on our first date tomorrow, Mom. I don’t think you have to worry about walking in on anything, anytime soon.”

  Their mother looked at them over the rim of her round bifocals as she sometimes did. “You are both your fathers’ sons. Enough said.”

  Ed had often been told that his mind was one of his finest features. Just then he wished the damned thing wouldn’t work so hard all of the time, because he found himself drawing the logical conclusion.

  Warren did, too, but instead of being a little embarrassed with the surfeit of information, he laughed. Shaking his finger at her, he said, “Young lady, I had no idea you were such a wild one in your youth.”

  Anna Jessop laughed, and her cheeks turned a very pretty pink. Ed smiled, because when his mom laughed, it sounded so merry he just couldn’t help but smile.

  “Now, let’s eat. You may or may not know that I’ve been spending some time at the spa since it opened. I’m partial to having those pedicures. I go every three weeks, just to keep my feet nice and soft. Our Carol does a very good job of taking care of me. As soon as she found out what a softie I am for the foot massage part of the procedure, why, she started taking a little extra time on that part, just because I liked it.”

  Ed grinned at his brother. “Our Carol? First date, Mom, remember?”

  Their mother waved that very important point off as inconsequential. “This is the first time you’ve ever approached a woman in such a public way. That tells me that she must be the one. I have faith in the two of you, and your ability to woo and then wed her. But you don’t have to worry. I absolutely will not embarrass her or you in any way.”

  “Mom.” Ed got up and kissed her cheek. “You could never embarrass us. Not ever.”

  “What he said.” Warren gave her a stern look. “So get that notion right out of your head. We trust you and your instincts, but more, we love you. We love you just exactly the way you are.”

  “Well!” Anna Jessop beamed as if she’d just been given the most wonderful gift ever. “Thank you both very much for that. You’ve made me very proud of you.” She nodded and then filled each of their cups with coffee. “Now.” She looked from one to the other of them, and then focused her attention on Ed. She opened her mouth, and then closed it again. Ed figured she’d been going to say something else that was personal, and changed her mind.

  He was wrong. “Let’s have our breakfast,” Anna Jessop said, “and you can tell me all about our Carol, and when you knew that you’d fallen in love with her.”

  * * * *

  “Can I help you finish up that restocking?” Carol would gladly do so, since Tasha was one to lend a hand right back, if needed.

  They’d just closed up the spa for the day, it was Friday night, and they were the only two people left in the building. Tasha “closed” for Chloe three nights a week. That allowed the spa’s owner to get an early night if she needed to.

  Carol and Ari would work late on any given night, depending solely on how their appointments worked out.

  “No, thanks. I’m nearly done. Why don’t you head over to Lusty Appetites and grab us a table?”

  “All right, I will. Do you want me to order you some sweet tea?”

  “Yes, please. I don’t know what they do different with their sweet tea, but it’s the best I’ve ever tasted.”

  Carol headed out for the two-block walk to the restaurant. Sometimes there were three of them going to Lusty Appetites for Friday dinner after work. Ari had begged off tonight.

  She’d had a headache most of the day, and Carol could certainly empathize.

  Carol loved walking in this town. In the short time she had worked here, and the even shorter time she’d lived here, Lusty had come to feel like home.

  The small t
own didn’t have a night club, or a piano bar, or anything of the sort. That suited Carol just fine. She was all in favor of spreading her wings in the way she wanted to, which had nothing to do with big city lights, sights and sounds. She knew who she was and she knew what she wanted.

  At heart, she was now and would forever be a country girl. Even when she’d begun her career as an esthetician in the heart of the bustling city of Abilene, there had been a part of her that felt overwhelmed by the action taking place around her.

  There’d been one or two women among her coworkers at her last spa who she would sometimes have lunch with. She’d gone with them once, after work, to a bar. While she’d enjoyed the country music being played, she didn’t much care for the smell of beer, or stale sweat—nor the sleazy men with even sleazier lines who’d scoped her out like she was nothing more than that night’s special on the dinner menu.

  Lusty, for all its differences from any place she’d ever heard of, actually suited her much better than Abilene and even Waco, where she’d taken her very first apartment back in February.

  And left it only a month later when her super had let himself into her apartment one night when she was getting ready for bed.

  By then she’d worked in town long enough to understand the people and some of the dynamics she’d seen in action here. The day after that scary incident, she’d gone to see Jake Kendall, and asked him about a place to live in town.

  She shook her head when she recalled how easily he’d pulled from her why she wanted to leave her new apartment.

  To this day the anger he’d displayed and the speed with which he’d moved astounded her whenever she thought about it. She’d been free of her lease in Waco, with no repercussions, full refund of all her rent paid, and moved into her wonderful small house in town less than twenty-four hours later.

  That house suited her much better than even her room at her parents’ farm had.

  When she’d first laid eyes on it, she thought it looked just like a doll house. Painted a pale blue with white accents, and white shutters, the windows gleamed in the brilliant sunshine. The front porch that extended the full width of the house, was roofed to provide shade for the three rocking chairs set there.

  The building had looked as if it was smiling, and welcoming her home.

  It wasn’t very big by anyone’s standards, but it was just the right size for her. The front parlor seemed airy with windows on three sides. A tiny hall led to the back, to the kitchen and a small powder room. Off the kitchen, a deck, larger than the front porch and shaded by a big old oak tree, had already become her favorite place to rest and read.

  There’d even been a grill for when she had a mind to cook up a steak or pork chop.

  At the end of the hall from the living room, past the powder room and the kitchen, lay the master bedroom. Carol had gasped when she’d seen it for the first time. The room itself was large and roomy, taking up about half the space of the entire house. The bed, a king-sized one, was the biggest she’d ever slept in—and the most comfortable. There was a glass patio door that led to the back deck, and she imagined that on a night when the winds might blow a bit cooler, she’d sit out there in her nightgown.

  The best thing in the entire house was the bathroom attached to the bedroom. It had a shower and a big old claw-foot tub that she swore was big enough for at least two people. She’d already had several nice long soaks in it.

  Thinking of that tub now, she planned to head to the mall in Waco, and that bath and body shop Chloe had told her about just the day before.

  A collection of bubble baths and bath oils was definitely in her future.

  Her mind dwelled on that bathtub of hers. It really was big enough for two, or maybe even three. And that naughty thought brought the image of those two Jessops to mind.

  Her face colored just thinking about them sharing a bath with her. She’d heard somewhere that people who were lovers did that sort of thing. They called it water sports.

  Carol didn’t really know how to make it happen, but she very much wanted those two men to be her lovers.

  She reached the restaurant, opened the door, and stepped into the air-conditioned coolness.

  “Well, boy howdy, Carol, you got into our AC just in time. You look like the heat out there is about to melt you away.”

  If Ginny wanted to think that the heat of the day was responsible for her pink cheeks, Carol had a mind to just let her.

  “Are Ari and Tasha joining you tonight?”

  “Just Tasha tonight, she’ll be along in a bit.”

  Ginny sat her at one of the tables near the windows, but not right next to them. She handed her a menu, and put one across the table for Tasha.

  “I hear you’ll be going to the dance tomorrow at the community center,” Ginny said.

  Carol had gotten used to the fact that everyone in town pretty much knew everyone else’s business. Besides, this was Ginny, who was married to Jake and Adam. Jake was already a hero in her books for the way he’d helped her get away from that letch of a building superintendent, and Adam was a hero for the way he’d taken care of Chloe last month.

  The moment her friend had called him to let him know Emily Anne Bancroft was in danger, he’d pulled out all the stops, getting in touch with the Divine County Sheriff, getting the GPS coordinates of Chloe’s phone, contacting Chloe’s fiancés, and generally manning the phones until he heard that she was safe and sound.

  Carol smiled up at Ginny. It was still kind of strange seeing her here as a waitress. She only worked a couple of days a week, and then filled in occasionally when needed. Carol had known, from the first time she’d stepped in and seen Ginny taking orders, though, that a lot of the older residents were delighted with this development.

  Ginny had said she wanted to keep her hand in, taking care of, and talking to, adults.

  Carol focused on the question just asked and nodded. “Yes, apparently I am. What should I wear? Is it casual, like blue jeans, or more citified than that?”

  Ginny gave her a wide grin. She nodded and stepped back as Tasha took the seat opposite her. Ginny looked back at Carol. “I guess what you decide to wear to the dance tomorrow night all depends on what you’re hoping to achieve. If you just want to have a nice, comfy time, then you can dress in jeans and a T-shirt, same as I’ve seen you wear on your days off. If on the other hand, you want to make those two young men swallow their tongues…”

  Carol looked from Ginny to Tasha. In the end, she really didn’t have to think about it very hard. “Yeah, let’s go for that one,” she said.

  Ginny and Tasha exchanged grins. Then Ginny nodded. “I’ll pick you up at noon tomorrow, when the spa closes. I know the perfect place to get you what you’re going to need.”

  “I’ll come with you. And then I’ll be over to help you with your hair and makeup,” Tasha said.

  Chapter 3

  Carol had been afraid when Tasha said she was coming over to help her with her makeup and hair that she would end up looking different, somehow.

  Even though Carol didn’t think of herself as being beautiful—far from it, in fact—still, she liked who she was and had accepted herself, imperfections and all, and had no desire to change.

  Thanks to her parents, she’d never been on a date, and for sure had never had a boyfriend, let alone two, but she knew one thing in her heart without a doubt. If she wanted to build a lasting relationship, then the man, or men, in question had to like her for who she was.

  Tasha, a flamboyant and effervescent woman-of-the-world type if ever she’d met one, really was one of her closest friends. Considering how few friends she’d had in her life, Carol worried that she might say or do something that would offend the exotic and self-assured woman.

  To make the entire getting-ready-for-the-first-date ritual even more nerve wracking, Tasha wouldn’t let her look in the mirror the entire time she applied the “paints” and fixed her hair.

  It feels as if she is using a ton of makeup.
Usually Carol was just a brush-of-mascara-and-a-swipe-of-lip-gloss kind of girl.

  But she did want to do a little more for her first date.

  Strange, but she was more concerned with the amount of enhancements being used on her than she was the fact that she was about to have a date with two men.

  “There! I think that’s perfect.” Tasha grinned, and then nodded. “You may now turn around and look.”

  Carol braced herself, and turned. And gasped.

  “Oh! I look…”

  “You look beautiful.”

  Carol thought that just maybe she did. She still looked like herself, but…different. Her shoulder-length blonde hair that she usually just wore parted in the middle had been given a hint of curl and a bit of a feathering effect, so that instead of just hanging it fell softly around her face. Tasha had used more than one eye shadow, but she was hard pressed, looking, to distinguish the colors. Her eyes looked bluer, and…sexy.

  Her lashes appeared longer, but not overdone. In short, the image she saw looking back at her was Carol Ashwood, the enhanced version, ready for a date.

  “I…I never knew I could be beautiful,” she said. “Thank you. Maybe sometime you can show me how to do that.”

  Tasha grinned. “Yes, some Saturday evening we’ll do a sleepover, a girls night, and I’ll show you what I’ve done.”

  Tasha helped her put on her dress—a powder-blue cotton-blend cantina dress. Halter top, the cut of the dress flattered her figure, showcasing her breasts without baring too much cleavage—not that she had a lot to begin with.

  The dress was cool, and comfortable, and short…one of the shortest dresses she ever owned, not that she owned many. When she’d tried it on that afternoon it had felt flirty and fun, and really, that was what she wanted this first date to be. Although she wore boots as often as not, she’d bought herself a pair of pretty summer sandals, white with a lacy motif and a low heel. Not the kind of shoe she’d wear normally, but just about perfect for a dance at the community center.