Branding Gemma [Grizzly Pines 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (3 page)

It was going to be a little over four hours until they arrived in Grizzly Pines, six if it weren’t for Beau’s lead foot, and Gemma figured Beau would lecture her at least part of the way. She’d resigned herself to her fate. When the first hour went by in silence, she was surprised. Maybe he was waiting on her to start the conversation? Or perhaps he was just so anxious to get home to Elodie that he wasn’t even thinking about Gemma and her problems.

“Thank you for coming to get me,” she said softly. “You didn’t have to.”

“Couldn’t have you hitchin’ a ride.”

“That isn’t what I meant and you know it. You didn’t have to come rescue me from my folly. You could have left me in that trailer until I came to my senses and either ended up in the gutter or slunk home to my parents with my tail between my legs.”

“I figured the gutter was more likely. Everyone deserves a second chance, Gem. What you do with it is entirely up to you.”

“There’s a project I’ve been working on, but it requires a laptop. Trevor destroyed mine. Do you have one I could borrow, just until I get a job and save up to get one of my own?” she asked, making sure he knew she wasn’t asking for a handout, just a hand up.

“You can borrow mine anytime you need it. Care to tell me about this project?”

She shook her head. “I’m not ready yet. When the time is right, I’ll tell everyone what’s going on, but I don’t want to jinx myself.”

“If you don’t want to discuss that, how about we talk about your taste in men? Do I need to watch over you, like a baby chick, while you’re at the house? Make sure you don’t pick another loser?”

“I’m done with the bad boy type. Obviously, it wasn’t getting me anywhere, except the hospital. I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if Mom and Dad hadn’t taken out insurance for me. They wanted to make sure I was covered though, and it was the one thing I didn’t argue about.”

“You’ve always floated from one guy to the next. What was different this time?”

Gemma’s hands fidgeted in her lap. There were some things she just couldn’t tell her cousin, not if she wanted him to stay out of jail. Not to mention, he’d tell her brothers, and that would spell disaster for sure. She had little doubt that, if her family found out what Trevor had done to her, he would be a dead man. While it would be no great loss for the world, to be short one man like Trevor, she didn’t want her cousins and brothers to pay with their lives, and they were the type of men who would turn themselves in to the law. Stubborn idiots.

“He started out nice enough,” she began. “Then there were little things, like forgetting to pick up his laundry. It would send him into a rage when I’d complain. He’d just yell and stomp around, but about a month after we were together, after I’d moved in, he started hitting me. It was just a slap across the face, not hard enough to bruise or anything, and he always apologized afterward.”

“Jesus, Gem. You shouldn’t have put up with that.”

“It escalated after that. He’d start drinking the moment he got off work and, by eight or nine at night, he was so drunk he could barely stand. He functioned well enough to beat on me though, with a closed fist. At first, he kept the marks hidden, so no one would know what was going on. Toward the end though, he didn’t much care if someone knew. I had a busted lip, black eye, and more bruises than I could count on the night I left. I was surprised he hadn’t broken my arm when he’d grabbed me. The bruises faded over the next week or two, or otherwise, I’d still look like a circus clown.

“When he went to bed that night, I gathered that sack of clothes and my books and sneaked out of the house. My laptop was on his side of the bed and I was terrified of waking him. The rustling of the garbage bag had been bad enough. I wasn’t about to tempt fate. I figured I’d go back the next day and gather more things while he was at work. Except, he didn’t go to work. He dumped all my things out front and set them on fire.”

Beau cursed. “You could have been killed if you’d stayed with him. I’m glad you got out while you could, even if you did lose all your belongings. At least you didn’t lose your life.”

“That’s what I kept telling myself.”

He looked her way. “Are you sure that’s everything? I feel like you’re holding something back from me.”

“I’m just not ready to share everything yet, Beau. Give me some time.”

“Fine. We’ll do it your way—for now.”

Silence descended once more, and Gemma went back to watching the scenery pass outside her window. She didn’t know how much further it was to Grizzly Pines, but she was anxious to get there. It had been quite a while since she’d seen her cousins, and she was looking forward to meeting Elodie. The woman had to be a saint to put up with her three cousins. She hoped they could become friends.

Cody Brower looked at the sign over the door before entering the small shop. He’d done a lot of thinking and had decided he wanted Elodie with him always, everywhere he went. While he’d be wearing a wedding band soon enough, he wanted something more, something he couldn’t take off or lose. A bell jingled overhead, as the door closed behind him, and a man looked up from the front desk.

He supposed the man was typical of someone in his profession. Heavily tattooed, pierced, and carrying that bad boy air that women usually adored. This was definitely a man who didn’t lack for female companionship. He’d have to make sure Gemma stayed clear of him when she got to town. This guy was just the sort she’d fall for, and then she’d be in a mess all over again. Not that this guy beat on his women just because he looked a little rough, but he was definitely the love ’em and leave ’em type. Cody should know. He’d been the same way before meeting Elodie.

“May I help you?” the guy asked.

“I wasn’t sure if I needed an appointment or if you could just work me into the schedule. I’d like to get a tattoo in honor of my fiancée.”

The man winced. “You know, getting someone’s name tattooed on you is the surest way to end up separated, or divorced if you make it to the marriage vows.”

“That will never happen. Elodie is my world. The woman can have anything she wants, and she knows it. Besides, my brothers would kick my ass if I did anything to hurt her.”

“Brothers…That’s right. You’re the ones in the ménage relationship.”

Cody lifted a brow. “You make it sound like we’re the only ones.”

“Nope, just the only ones being open about it. Mike, Peter, and Emily Myers tend to keep to themselves and, while people know of their relationship, they aren’t in your face with it. The four of you aren’t exactly subtle about it.”

Cody shrugged. “If they can’t handle it, that’s their problem.”

“So what are you thinking about, ink wise?”

Cody approached the counter. “I want something that reminds me of Elodie, maybe with her name somewhere in the design. She’s my angel, but she has a bit of a demon inside of her, too.”

The man rubbed his chin. “I think I have an idea. Give me a day to sketch something out. Can you come back tomorrow around the same time?”

Cody nodded. “I’m sure I can slip away. No one knows I’m doing this. I kind of want it to be a surprise.”

“I’ll put something together for you.”

“Name’s Cody Brower,” Cody said, holding out his hand.

“Synclair Black.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr. Black. And thanks.”

Cody headed back to his truck, anxious to get home before he was missed. He hadn’t exactly told anyone he was leaving. Gemma was scheduled to arrive any time today and Elodie was having a fit, cleaning the house from top to bottom. Beck and he had scattered, trying to stay out of her way after they’d been fussed at all morning. Since Elodie wasn’t the fussy type, he knew she had to be nervous about meeting Gemma for the first time.

Cody didn’t know a lot about Gemma’s situation, only what he’d gleaned from a few conversations with the cousins, mainly Colt. It seemed she’d been with a real asshole who’d abused her. Somehow she’d managed to escape him, only to end up in a rust bucket of a mobile home, something barely standing. He could understand why she hadn’t gone home to her parents. She hadn’t wanted to admit defeat. In her place, he’d have done the same thing.

In all honesty, he admired her strength and courage. She’d taken it upon herself to escape a bad situation, no matter how dangerous it was, and had landed on her feet. Granted, she’d landed on shaky ground, but she was upright just the same. Colt said she’d been working part-time at a diner, which Cody knew couldn’t be paying the bills, or if it had been it wouldn’t have lasted for long. It was only a matter of time before she would’ve had to ask for help and, knowing Gemma, she’d have lived on the streets before doing that.

He pulled to a stop in front the ranch house and contemplated going inside. He knew Elodie was alone. No way would his brother Beck brave the little cyclone right now. It didn’t seem fair to make her do everything herself, not when it was his cousin coming to stay. Yes, Gemma would be Elodie’s cousin by marriage in another few months, but they’d never met. If his woman wanted to make a good first impression, there was no reason he couldn’t help.

Making up his mind, he got out of the truck and walked up the porch steps. He didn’t even get the screen door open before Elodie greeted him, looking harried. There was a sheen of sweat on her face, a long strand of hair had come loose from her bun and hung in her eyes, and her shirt looked like she’d been twisting it in her hands the whole time he’d been gone. Someone definitely needed to calm his sweetheart down. She was getting herself all worked up, and for nothing. Gemma wasn’t going to care how clean the house was, especially after the place where she’d been living the past several weeks. Getting Elodie to understand that was another matter though.

“Honey, you’re upsetting yourself over nothing,” he said as he entered the house. “Why don’t you take a breath, soak in the tub for a while, and put on something pretty. Beau and Gemma should be here in a few hours. He said they would leave by nine this morning and it’s a little after noon now. You don’t want to be running around trying to mop the floors when she arrives, do you?”

She had a horrified look on her face as she glanced down at her ratty clothes, which consisted of an old T-shirt she’d swiped from him and a pair of Beau’s sweats she’d cut off at the knees. He turned her around and guided her toward the stairs. Lifting her into his arms, something that always seemed to shock her, he carried her upstairs to the master suite and set her down when he’d entered the bathroom.

Cody ran her a bath, adding in the magnolia bath oils he’d found for her online, then helped her undress. Watching every creamy inch of her come into view, he couldn’t help but get hard. Just being in the same room with her was enough for him to want her. No matter how much he’d love to make her come, at least twice, he knew that they didn’t have a lot of time. With the way Beau drove, he could arrive at any moment.

Elodie stepped into the water and Cody hunkered down beside the tub. When the water reached her shoulders, he shut it off and leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead. She gave him a contented smile and he was happy he’d decided to come inside. If he hadn’t made her stop, she’d have been cleaning all day.

“I’ll check on you in a little bit. You lie here and relax for a while.” He smoothed her hair back. “You probably overdid it today and I don’t want you to have sore muscles later. I know you’ve been scrubbing floors, vacuuming, dusting, doing dishes and lord knows what else. The house hasn’t been this clean since we moved in. Besides, it can’t be good for the baby.”

She frowned. “Are you saying I don’t keep it clean?”

“No, honey. I’m not saying that at all. I’m just saying you went overboard. The house was perfectly fine the way it was. I can understand wanting to mop and vacuum, but everything else was unnecessary. Gemma isn’t going to notice a few dishes in the sink, or that the laundry hamper is full, or the dust along the baseboards. Hell, I think you even dusted the ceiling fans and I have no idea how you even reached them, short as you are.”

She blushed. “I stood on a chair.”

He scowled at her. “With no one in the house? What if you’d fallen?”

“I’m fine, Cody. I’m sorry I got carried away, but I wanted to make a good first impression. If the house gets a little messy after this, I promise I won’t worry about it. I just didn’t want Gemma thinking I didn’t take good care of the three of you. What if she decided I wasn’t good enough for you and told the rest of the family?”

He caressed her cheek. “That would never happen, sweetheart. You have nothing to worry about. Gemma is going to love you, just like we do. Now, relax! I’ll make sure the guest room is ready for her then go downstairs for a while. Just call out if you need me.”

“Cody, I’m perfectly capable of getting out of the tub by myself. You just sit downstairs and have a beer or something. I’ll be down when I’m done getting ready.”

“Whatever you want.” He smiled. “I’ll be waiting downstairs for you. Don’t be surprised if Beck heads this way shortly to shower.”

While Elodie soaked in the tub, Cody checked on Gemma’s room, double-checking the bedding and that the drawers were empty. Over the past few weeks, he and his brothers had moved into the master suite with Elodie. They’d special ordered a bed big enough for the four of them to share. It didn’t leave a lot of room in the bedroom, but the bed was the most important part.