Branding Gemma [Grizzly Pines 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (11 page)

“I don’t need anything other than my boots. I was just going to wear jeans and one of those new shirts you bought me. We’re just going to Applebee’s, so it’s casual.”

“What about a skirt with one of the new shirts we bought yesterday and your new boots? Halston’s had the cutest skirt that would go great with those boots, and I’m sure they have your size. You could pair it with that pale pink shirt, with the pearl snaps down the front, that we picked up.”

“Elodie, I don’t feel right letting you buy me more things, much less paying to have my hair and nails done.”

“Nonsense. The guys would insist and you know it. If your brothers were here already, I’m sure they would treat you to the salon over in Hollis Springs. I’ve heard it’s really nice, but I haven’t had a chance to go yet.”

“I don’t think we have enough time to go there. I’m supposed to be ready by five.”

Elodie glanced at the clock on the stove. “It’s not even time for lunch yet. I don’t think it will be a problem getting worked in to either the Clip 'n Curl or the nail salon. They aren’t too terribly busy during the week from what I’ve seen when walking by. I’ve never actually been inside Tammy’s Nails before.”

“You’ve never had your nails done?”

Elodie shook her head. “I know the guys would have urged me to go if they knew, but it wasn’t important. I have to admit, it does sound like fun though. I guess I just didn’t want to go by myself.”

How could she turn Elodie down when the poor thing sounded so excited about it? She couldn’t imagine never having gotten her nails done. While it was true that Gemma wasn’t very girly, she had been to a salon several times over the years, usually at her mother’s urging. It wouldn’t hurt to go with Elodie and get pampered a bit. She glanced down at the chewed nails on her fingers and realized that her men might not be too impressed with them in their current condition. Whoa! Her men? That made her pause a moment. She supposed in a sense they were her men, if even only for tonight.

“All right,” she said. “Let me shower and throw something on.”

“Something that will come off without you pulling it over your head. You don’t want to mess up your hair later. Do you want me to do your makeup for you?”

“I hadn’t really planned to wear any.”

Elodie looked disappointed.

“I suppose a little wouldn’t hurt, just nothing too extreme. Maybe some blush and lip-gloss.”

Elodie beamed at her and she knew she’d made the right decision. It was so easy to make the other woman happy. She could see how her cousins could be so taken with Elodie. While more than a little plump, and not classically beautiful, her beauty shone from within. Gemma had never met anyone with a kinder soul than Elodie. The woman hardly did anything without thinking of others first. She started her day by taking care of Beck, Beau, and Cody—and now Gemma—and she ended her day the same way. She didn’t even leave the house without leaving a note for her men, so they wouldn’t worry about her. How sweet was that?

“I’ll be down in twenty. It will take a little time to dry my hair, and I’m sure the salon would prefer it to be dried when I get there.”

“Take your time. I’ll just wait in the living room. I downloaded the latest from one of my favorite authors last night and never got a chance to read it.” She blushed.

“Hmm. Wonder why that is?” Gemma smiled. “Could it be you were otherwise occupied?”

“We really do need to reinforce the walls or something,” Elodie mumbled.

Gemma laughed as she headed upstairs to take her shower. She hurried as much as she could, but she wanted to take the time to shave—thoroughly, since she didn’t know just how much of her would be seen before the night was over. She wasn’t going to kid herself. Yes, she was going out for dinner, and only dinner, but the fireworks between the two brothers and her were so explosive that she knew there would at least be some kissing, and kissing usually led to other things. And God knew it had been ages since she’d seen any action between the sheets. If they so much as touched her breasts, she’d probably come on the spot. How embarrassing would that be?

After she’d dried off and blown her hair dry, she smoothed on some ChapStick and dressed in a snap-front shirt and jeans, pulling on her old boots. She adored her new ones, but she wanted to save them for tonight. Despite the fact that her wallet was gathering dust bunnies, Gemma grabbed her purse and headed downstairs. She found Elodie curled up on the sofa with her e-reader in hand, a look of fascination and wonder on her face.

“What on earth are you reading?” she asked with a laugh.

“It’s a ménage with five men. Five! Can you even imagine? I’m not sure if I’m in awe of the heroine or feel sorry for her.”

“Feel sorry for her. Think of all the laundry!”

Elodie laughed. “There is that. I think three is definitely my limit.”

“My cousins will be happy to hear it. I seriously doubt they would want to share with anyone else. Matter of fact, they’d probably beat anyone who even contemplated joining you in the bedroom.”

“You’re probably right. Are you ready to go?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“We’ll grab a bite to eat between getting your hair done and stopping by Tammy’s. Something light so you’ll be hungry when the guys pick you up tonight.”

Gemma rolled her eyes. “Are you going to feed me rabbit food?”

“A salad never hurt anyone. You can get that crispy chicken salad at the diner. It’s really good with ranch dressing on it.”

“I’ll think about it. Why the diner though? Didn’t you say the owner was an asshole?”

“Yeah, he is. But I kind of like to rub it in his face that I have enough money to eat wherever I want now, and that I don’t have to work for his sorry ass anymore. Or at all, for that matter. I do help out around here, between housework and helping in the office a little, but I don’t really consider that a job. It’s just part of my day and part of taking care of my guys.”

“I hope they realize how lucky they are to have you, Elodie. You’re one in a million.” Gemma smiled. “And for the record, taking online classes
is
work. Where you find the time, I’ll never know.”

She smiled. “I’m the lucky one.”

“Come on. Let’s get this show on the road or we’ll still be standing here when five o’clock rolls around.”

Elodie picked up her purse and the women hurried to the front door. Elodie paused a moment as she stared at the key hooks.

“What’s wrong?” Gemma asked.

“Beau must have gone somewhere. His SUV keys are gone. I know Beck needed to go to the feed store today. Do you mind riding in Cody’s truck?”

“Of course not. I don’t care if we take one of the old farm trucks.”

Elodie laughed. “I’m not that desperate.”

As they climbed into Cody’s truck, Elodie turned the radio down.

“You don’t even have the truck turned on yet,” Gemma said, smiling.

“I know Cody. It’s cranked, believe me.”

When the engine turned over, country music blared from the speakers, making both women wince. Gemma had no idea how her cousin listened to music so loud without losing his hearing. Elodie turned down the volume and backed up before heading down the long driveway. They passed Cody on the way and waved to him. He looked curious, but didn’t stop them. Gemma decided to take pity on him and sent him a quick text to explain they were heading into town for girly type things like getting their nails done. He sent a smiley face back so she knew he was more than happy to let them have the truck for the day.

They stopped at Halston’s first, as planned. They were in and out in less than fifteen minutes. The Clip ‘n Curl was just a few doors down, so Gemma put her bag in the truck and they walked down the sidewalk to their next stop. When they entered the small shop, a bell jingled over the door and the young girl at the counter looked up and smiled. She didn’t look old enough to be out of high school. With it being summer, she supposed a lot of the high school kids had procured jobs around town.

“What can I do for you today?” the girl asked.

“Cindy, this is Gemma. She needs something special for a date tonight. No cutting though!” Elodie said. “Maybe an updo?”

Another woman hurried over. “I’m Anette and this is my shop. Let me see what we have to work with.”

She fingered Gemma’s hair, making humming noises as she pulled it this way and that. She studied the ends for a few minutes.

“How about a little cutting?” she asked. “The ends need to be trimmed badly and I think some layers would be attractive.”

Gemma glanced at Elodie, not sure what to do. It had been a while since anyone had messed with her hair, hence the split ends. It didn’t bother her to have it cut, but for some reason, Elodie seemed intent on her hanging onto the long length. Did Elodie know something about Ryan and Synclair that she didn’t? Did they prefer women with long hair?

Anette seemed to sense her hesitation. “I promise we won’t take much length off. Maybe two inches, three tops. We really need to get rid of these split ends though. Your hair will look so much healthier when we’re finished. It may not brush your waist when we’re done, but it will still be really long.”

“Okay,” Gemma said, biting her lip. “Let’s do it.”

Anette herded her toward an empty chair and got to work on her hair. It only took about a half hour for her to finish. Gemma had to admit, her hair did look much better, even if it was shorter. Anette may have said three inches, but it looked like she’d taken more like five or six off. Her hair was now just below the middle of her back. It felt a lot lighter, and the layers softened her face. It was an attractive cut, but she saw Elodie in the background shaking her head.

“What’s wrong, Elodie?”

“They aren’t going to like this,” she muttered. “Just you wait and see. They’ll comment on it for sure.”

“It’s just hair. It grows.”

Anette smiled at her and helped her out of the chair after brushing the loose hair off.

Elodie paid the bill and they walked across the street to the diner. After a quick meal, they headed down to Tammy’s Nails. There were two women already getting manicures, but Tammy assured them she would be with them in fifteen minutes or less. Since she had an assistant working with her, both women would be able to have their mani-pedis done at the same time. Normally, it would be a good time for girl talk, but Gemma didn’t really understand how to do girl talk. Now if someone wanted to talk about breeding horses or irrigating crops, she was right there.

“Are you excited about tonight?” Elodie asked.

“Yeah, and a little nervous I think. I’m scared I’m going to say or do something to scare them off. It’s been a while since I’ve been on a date, I mean a real date. I usually just pick up men in bars and we jump right into a relationship. We sort of miss the whole first date step.”

“What if Synclair and Ryan want a relationship?” Elodie asked.

“I don’t know. They’re both… They make me feel unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. My heart races, my palms sweat, and I feel like they’re the center of the universe when I’m in a room with either of them. It’s a little scary to be so focused on someone.”

“I felt the same way about your cousins, so I understand. Are you just going to let nature take its course?”

Gemma laughed. “Are you trying to ask if I’m going to come home tonight?”

“Maybe.” Elodie cast her a sly look. “Two hot men and you aren’t even the slightest bit tempted to take them for a test drive?”

“Maybe I’m worried I’ll decide to keep them.”

Elodie’s expression turned serious, her brow creasing. “There isn’t anything wrong with that, Gemma. Just because you’ve dated a bunch of duds doesn’t mean there aren’t some winners out there. You know how great your cousins are, and I’m betting your brothers are the same way. Is it so hard to imagine there being other men out there who are just as wonderful as your family? Men who know how to treat a woman right?”

Duds
. That was one way to refer to them. If anyone knew the horror that Trevor had put her through… no, she wouldn’t think about it. If she were honest with herself, she’d admit that she was worried that being with two men at once might cause her to have a panic attack. She hadn’t told anyone about the night Trevor drugged her and invited his friends over to play. She’d been helpless to do anything to stop them. Yes, she should have called the police, but she’d been too afraid to do anything.

That nightmare lived on in her memory. She couldn’t remember every detail of what happened that night because of the drugs he’d pumped into her system, but she remembered enough to be scared, and disgusted. Would Synclair and Ryan still want her if they knew the truth? Or would they call her a whore and turn their backs on her? That’s part of what held her back from telling her family. She knew her brothers would want revenge, just because they felt they should stand up for their sister, but what if they were also disgusted with her? What if they felt she deserved what happened to her? She didn’t think she could handle that, knowing that she had disappointed them so much.

She hadn’t told Elodie or her cousins, but Trevor had called several more times since she’d arrived in Grizzly Pines. She’d ignored his calls the first two times, but he’d left her hateful voicemails, so she’d answered the next time he called. Not that it had done much good. Telling him she didn’t want to see him anymore that she was moving on with her life didn’t do anything but enrage him. He’d figured out that she’d moved, but he didn’t know where and she wondered how long it would take him to find her, or if he could. Surely her parents wouldn’t hand that information out? Maybe she needed to have a conversation with them about keeping her whereabouts secret.