Alexander, Kortny - Surrendering to Summer [Whispering Mountain 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (3 page)

Summer realized the best thing for her to do in order to hold on to her sanity was to keep her distance from Dalton. She wouldn’t treat him as rudely as he treated her. But she would remain cautious. He confused her, tested her patience. She had done nothing to deserve the mood swings he sent her way. And yet he continued to defy all logic.

Summer smiled the moment she heard her sister’s voice floating down the hallway as she headed towards her room. Seeing her sister Spring was a welcoming thought. Spring lived only three minutes away, but Summer didn’t like intruding on the newlyweds. But she missed the female bonding.

“Hey, Summer!” Spring, in all of her best efforts, moved as quickly as possible to reach her sister. She was pregnant with twins and wasn’t as fast as she used to be.

Summer grinned as she closed the distance. Her sister damned near glowed. She was even more beautiful pregnant. Summer always thought that she and her sisters were the perfect combination of their parents. And every time she saw one of her sisters, it brought tears to her eyes. Their parents had died a few years ago, and it was hard to cope with it at times.

The love her sister Spring received from her doting husband shined like a bright beacon in her sister’s eyes. All four of the sisters shared the same hazel, star-shaped flecks that glowed around their pupils. The glow intensified depending on how they felt. “You look absolutely beautiful, Spring.” She hugged her sister tight. She missed the familiar face.

When Spring reciprocated, it calmed Summer’s own conflicting emotions. Stepping back from the embrace, Summer gave her sister the once over. She had on a short-sleeved, flowing, rose-colored dress that stopped at her knees. And damn if her A cups weren’t pushing towards the C cup status. “Where’s your shadow? I’m surprised Bo let you out of his sights.”

Spring laughed heartily as she plopped down on Summer’s massive bed. “He’s out on the patio with his cousins. The morons, I mean men, are arguing over what to put on the grill first.”

“You’re bad, Spring,” Summer teased as she moved around her room, still getting herself dressed. She was going for casual. There was no point in intentionally trying to look sexy. She needed some comfortable clothes. She slid on a pair of khaki shorts that stopped midthigh and an orange long-sleeved T-shirt. No shoes were necessary. She wanted to feel the grass in her toes when she went outside.

“I can’t believe how long your hair has gotten, Spring. I didn’t think it could grow any longer.”

Spring stroked her hair unconsciously as she spoke. “I decided it was best to let my natural hair color grow back, but I also decided not to cut it anymore. It’s become a pain in the butt, but Bo loves it. He actually helps wash it. Enough about me.” Spring propped herself up near the headboard. “This is your official first night here with the three hunks. How has it been so far?”

Crap
. Summer knew that trying to avoid talking about the brothers was not going to work. All Spring would have to do is pull the pregnant card and throw guilt her way. She loved all three of her sisters, but they were a pain most of the time. All three were spoiled and usually got their way. Being the oldest sister, she’d had a hand in spoiling them. So it was partially her fault. Summer grinned as she sat beside her sister on the bed.

Spring picked up one of the two pictures on Summer’s nightstand. “Nice bedroom by the way. You’d think the men would have given you one of the smaller rooms in the house. This bed could sleep at least six to eight people easily.”

Summer grinned as she looked at the picture her sister was holding. It was a picture of all four of them together smiling. Summer really loved all three of her sisters. “Trust me, sis, I put up a fight about it. My room sits in the center at the end of the hall. There was one other empty bedroom that was smaller but they all declined and said I needed the space.” Summer had thought it odd that they had placed her in this room, but she had stopped complaining.

She loved it. It just seemed a little big for her. “Oh, did you know that Dillon made the bed and matching nightstands?” She could not help but to brag about that.

Spring nodded with approval before caressing her protruding belly. A soft sigh escaped her lips. She placed the picture frame down and picked up the other. It was a picture of Dalton, Dillon, and Denver.

“He said he did it in his downtime. Where the hell do they get downtime on a horse farm?”

“I don’t know. But I’m glad that Bo has slowed down his traveling side of the business. His brothers are pulling more weight in the bull breeding and training business. I love having him home. He tries his best not to smother me. But once I got to the point where I couldn’t tie my own shoes, having him around wasn’t such a bad idea after all.”

Summer couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of her sister. She was married to a wonderful, bull-headed man who loved her like she deserved to be loved. His family as well as his extended family were wonderful and welcoming. Now, her younger sister sat on her bed, five months pregnant and joyous as hell. Summer could only wonder how long it would be before she got to experience that level of happiness.

She took the picture frame from her sister, took one last lingering glance and placed it back on her nightstand. “Well, I can tell you that I do not have any complaints when it comes to my living arrangements. I went and looked at my house, and the contractor is on schedule. He said he just may finish before the seventh day arrives.”

Summer cut herself off when she heard the loud chatter coming from the men. They were coming back inside of the house. “I think we need to get to the kitchen. The men are back.” Summer helped her sister up and off of the bed.

“Where did the beautiful flowers come from?” Spring asked as they walked out of her room.

“Dillon.” One word was all that was needed. He had bought her lilies. They were her favorite flowers. Dillon was the romantic of the three. He had left her a card that welcomed her to their home. Summer loved the fact that all three men had similar features but were completely different when it came to the way they dealt with her.

When they arrived in the kitchen, Summer felt almost abandoned when her sister walked right into the waiting arms of her husband. “Hey, minx, are you feeling okay?” he asked as he stroked her back.

The interaction wouldn’t have been so odd if Summer had not been in the room with Dalton, Denver, or Dillon. Watching her sister being loved on by her husband was sweet and innocent. It’s what any woman would want. But she could see the longing in the eyes of the three brothers. They never talked about their futures, but the longing for what her sister had with her husband Bo was something that all three seemed to want.

“I’m okay. Just dragging Summer out of her
huge
bedroom.”

Summer saw the way Bo’s eyes cut to his three cousins as he looked past Spring. She did not understand the look but she definitely saw it.

“Huge, huh?” He arched a brow as he eyed his cousins thoroughly.

“Yep. I’m jealous, Bo,” Spring teased as she grabbed his glass of apple juice from his hand and took a sip. “It’s really beautiful. Dillon made the furniture.” She cut her eyes to Dillon. “You have one heck of a talent, Dillon.”

“Thanks, Spring.” Dillon blushed and tried to mask his embarrassment by coughing.

Summer watched as all three of the brothers became twitchy. They scattered as coolly as they could around the kitchen, gathering ingredients, plates, and utensils to take outside to the patio. “Are we eating outside?” she asked no one in particular.

“I thought it would be great to eat outdoors. It’s nice out tonight, and you can walk in the grass if you want.” Dalton walked out of the kitchen without another word.

Summer was shocked that he had paid any attention to her little quirk. When she was staying at Spring’s house, the brothers visited her frequently before offering her a room at their own home. It was nice to know that they paid attention to the little things. When all three brothers converged back onto the patio, Bo finally spoke.

“Whatever you are doing to my cousins, keep it up.” He smiled at Summer as he hugged Spring’s back to him.

“I’m not doing anything, Bo.” Summer grabbed a water bottle and took a few swallows. She was getting confused and was not sure where this conversation was headed. “They barely talk to me.”

He laughed then. “You two ladies don’t see what I see or know what I know. This will be interesting.”

Could he be any more cryptic?

“Oh boy, you have my husband talking in circles. He needs to eat, he’s delusional,” Spring teased as they headed for the back door.

Chapter 4

Whether Bo was teasing or delusional, she did not know what he was talking about. But the look he gave her was one of knowledge. Summer shook her head at him and went out the back door. She couldn’t help but wonder once again what the hell had she gotten herself into.

The soft hum of an approaching four-wheeler grabbed Summer’s attention almost instantly as she stepped out onto the patio. Daisy. She was the younger sister of Dalton, Denver, and Dillon. As much as she loved having her sister there, it was good to have another single woman at the table. Summer waved at Daisy. Her brothers had already cornered her and began questioning her about a recent date she had gone on.

Summer grinned and began walking towards one of the big shade trees only a few yards from the patio. Although it was late in the evening, the sun was slowly setting, causing a beautiful orange haze to peek over the mountaintops. She loved nights like these. This would be her first night here in the custom-built log home the brothers shared. She wished she could just fold herself into the arms of one of the brothers. She wished they looked at her like Bo looked at her sister. Hell, she had everything she had sought out to accomplish.

She had a career she loved, a nice little nest egg saved up, a soon-to-be new home with all the little perks she loved, sisters that loved her whom she loved in return. The one thing Summer wanted was a fulfilling love life. She sure as shit hadn’t gotten that from the last few relationships she had allowed herself to have. With the selfish lovers she oddly attracted, she had learned to accept the fact that she would rarely get a chance to orgasm. Her hardened heart had developed from the lack of love she received in a relationship as well as the race of who could finish first in bed. That little race always resulted in her not finishing at all or eventually taking care of the problem herself.

Now she had temporarily moved into a home where she was overwhelmed by three gorgeous, testosterone-oozing men. If she was forced to choose between the three she would be at a complete loss. There was no way in hell she would be able to make a decision like that.

Six months ago that choice would have been easy. Dalton was the one she wanted. When she met him, nothing else existed. They fussed and fought with each other in Las Vegas as if it were foreplay. It turned her on whenever he had a smart remark to toss her way. She assumed that when she met his two brothers nothing would change her decision about Dalton. Instead, her heart, body, and soul adjusted. It made room for her to fall helplessly for all three men.

They were all different. They treated her differently.

Completely hidden by the huge tree trunk, Summer caught sight of Dillon when she peeked around the tree. The sight of the mountain tops in the distance was beautiful, but the sight of Dillon manning the grill, grinning, and talking to the other men was just too much to ignore. Apparently Daisy had cursed them out, reminded her brothers to mind their own business and went about visiting with Spring. It seemed that no one noticed she was missing.

Dillon must have felt Summer staring at him because at that moment he turned and caught her gaze. The smile that he had on his face softened as he tilted his head and winked at her. Summer couldn’t help but feel her cheeks burn when she gave him a small wave and turned her head.

What was she supposed to do? She was only a few feet from where the men stood and yet she felt so far away. Her sister and Daisy seemed to be getting along as they sat and talked about the twins and their due date. The men seemed to joke and laugh over the grill. But every few moments, when she turned to look in their direction, one of the three brothers caught her eye and smiled. They knew exactly where she was.

Summer wouldn’t call what Dalton gave her a smile. It seemed almost like a strained grimace. What in the hell was wrong with him? She was never sure what was going on with Dalton. His grimace showed one thing, but when she looked into his eyes, she saw what he tried to hide from her. Summer saw the desire and longing in his eyes before he turned away. She always managed to see it before he pushed it away. Why did she have to fall for the difficult brother? Things would have been so simple if she had fallen for just the two. They definitely seemed less temperamental than Dalton.