Burnin' Love [Men for Hire: Firemen 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (17 page)

Daisy leaned over and drew her into her arms. “No one’s going to make you do anything you don’t have to do. As far as I’m concerned, Charlie doesn’t have a say.”

“She won’t see it that way.”

“It doesn’t matter what she thinks. But never mind about all that right now. The important part is that you’ve made your decision. That was the hardest part. We’ll figure out the rest of it in time.”

Melissa clung to her like she was a life preserver in the open seas. “Thank you, Daisy.” She lifted her tear-stained face to the men. “Thank all of you.”

* * * *

Once Melissa made her decision the men went into action. Yet it was Daisy who came up with the first person to help. Alexia Martin and Daisy had grown close in a short time after Alex had arrived in town to help with the cleanup of damage left behind by not one, but two horrific tornadoes. Alex had stayed at the B&B and had fallen in love with Jeff Jenkins and Kane Kannal, who worked with the Cowboys for Hire organization.

“Hey, Alex, it’s about time you showed your pretty face around here.” Daisy flung open the front door and pulled her friend into a bear hug. “We need to catch up over a toddy or two.”

Alex’s dark eyes dropped to her swollen belly. “Make that a virgin toddy for me.”

Daisy’s laughter joined hers to brighten the already sunny day. “Honey, there ain’t one thing about you that’s a virgin any longer. But of course, I’ll keep the booze out of yours. Tell you what. I’ll just double up on mine and drink for the both of us.”

“I figured you might.”

“What can I say? No one loves their hot toddies as much as I do.” Daisy looked over her friend’s shoulder to see Kane leaning against his new pickup, his cell phone pressed to his ear. “Is your man coming inside?”

The love for him shone on Alex’s face. “Nope. He’s on a call. Besides, he said he’d rather not get caught—and I’m quoting here—‘between three hens.’”

Daisy snorted. That sounded like Kane. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to say it. He’s such a chauvinist pig sometimes.”

She’d known Alex wouldn’t take offense. “Yeah, but you know it’s all a show. He has the biggest heart. And besides, even if he does occasionally sound like a throwback to a bygone era, he’s my chauvinist pig.”

“I’d like you guys to meet Paul, Wade, and Troy.”

“I’d like to meet them, too.” Alex gave her a look that said it all. “Especially since it’s so easy to see that you’ve got a thing for them.”

Daisy hadn’t said much about the men. How could she when she wasn’t positive where they stood? “I like them well enough.”

“Like them, my ass. I may not have known you for very long, but I do know you, Daisy Winters. You
like
them, don’t you? I mean, really, really
like
them.” Alex narrowed her eyes. “Oh, my God. You love them, don’t you?”

“Shh.” Daisy glanced around her. “Keep it down, will you? And don’t be ridiculous. I barely know them.”

“What’s time got to do with it?” She gave Kane another look. “I think I knew it from the first minute I yelled at my men.”

Daisy chuckled. Alex hadn’t gotten off to a great start with either Kane or Jeff. But that hadn’t stopped love from blooming. “Do you think Kane could stand guard for a little while?”

“Sure. He already said he’d keep an eye out. What do you have in mind?”

“Let’s just say I’m overdue on spending a little time with my men.” She held up her hands to ward off an eager Alex. “Not that kind of time. I just want to get to know them better, that’s all.”

“Get to know them, huh?” Alex’s grin couldn’t have been any bigger if she’d been a big mouth bass that had just swallowed a giant worm and still escaped the hook.

Daisy swatted her friend’s arm. “Get your head out of the gutter, girl. I’m talking about talking, is all.”

“Shoot. Where’s the fun in that?”

Daisy wondered if some of her way of thinking was rubbing off on Alex. “So, would you like me to call them in so you can meet them?”

“Hmm, not today. Let’s save that for when we’re not so busy.” Alex searched the interior of the home. “And a time when you don’t want to get busy with them.”

“Knock it off, girl.”

Alex pouted. “You’re no fun.”

“That’s okay. We’ll have you and your two over soon. Right now, they’d rather let you do your thing without them. Anyway, the less people who know where Melissa’s going, the better.”

“True enough.”

Daisy led Alex into the living room where Melissa was sitting on the couch and reading a magazine. “Melissa, this is Alex. She’s the lady I was telling you about.”

Alex went straight into professional mode, taking a seat next to Melissa. “Hi, Melissa. Daisy’s filled me in on everything and I want you to know that, although this isn’t my line of work, I have lots of connections. And I’ve already started talking to them. You want to relocate to another state, is that right?”

“Yes. But I don’t have any money or family that could help.” She dropped her gaze, then wiped away a single tear before raising her head and straightening her back. “I’m all alone in this.”

Her downcast expression struck a chord in Daisy’s heart. “Like hell you are, girl. You’ve got me, Wade, Troy and Paul.”

“And now me,” added Alex.

Alex pulled a day planner out of the leather satchel she carried almost everywhere she went. She always wanted to be ready to help out if the need came up. “Money won’t be an issue. And once we’ve taken care of the basics, we’ll see about getting you a job. One that will let you take time off once the baby’s here. How’s that sound?”

“It sounds too good to be true.”

Melissa’s overall appearance and attitude had improved since she’d made her decision. She cried less and had even started joking around a little. Daisy thought she was finally seeing the real Melissa, the carefree girl that she’d been before Charlie and John had come into her life.

“Well, it’s true.” Daisy took a seat in the arm chair next to the sofa. “If Alex says she can do it, then consider it done.”

“You’re going to make my head swell with compliments like that.” In the next instant, Alex was back on track. “Okay, so how about we go over some plans? I’ve found an organization that helps women in your situation and you have a few decisions to make. For instance, what town would you like to live in? I have a list of places that would work.”

Daisy knew that at that point she was only there to listen. Instead of doing nothing, she wanted to take the opportunity to make a few decisions—and actions—of her own. “I can see you two are going to be hard at it, so I’ll leave you to it.”

She doubted they even noticed when she got up. She stood there a moment and when they didn’t respond, she eased past them and into the kitchen. Checking out the back window, she found the men standing around outside. They had, no doubt, heard Alex drive up and were staying out of the “womenfolk’s way.”

Digging the picnic basket out from the pantry where she’d hidden it earlier, she plucked two bottles of wine from the small rack sitting on the counter, then opened the door and slipped out.

“Hey, guys? Anyone want to share a little wine down by the creek?” If they refused her, then she’d already have her answer. If not, then she was intent on getting even more answers.

Their body language and the gleam in their eyes gave her the answers she’d hoped for. But seeing it wasn’t as good as hearing it.

“That sounds like a plan to me.” Wade sauntered over and took the picnic basket from her. Troy wasn’t far behind to take the bottles.

“Where’s Melissa?”

As usual, Paul was the one to take care of business first. “She’s inside with Alex. And Kane’s out front, if you’d like to meet him. He said he’d keep watch while he’s here.” She felt like she had to offer to introduce them, but hoped they’d want to save that for another time.

“And you can trust this Kane?”

“With my life.”

Paul’s eyebrow shot up. If she didn’t know better, she’d have thought that he was jealous. “Good. We have something else we have to do first. Business first, then wine.”

She figured she should be happy that he’d said yes to the wine at all. “Okay, so what’s up?”

He opened the door to the Range Rover and reached into the glove box. She was stunned when he turned around with a gun in his hand.

“It’s time you learned how to use one of these. A bat’s just not going to cut it any longer.”

“You’re kidding?” She didn’t like guns. Too many people got hurt with guns in accidents. But with bats? A person had to want to hurt someone. Then they had to get damn close to use it, taking away the possibility of mistaking one person for another.

“Trust me, he’s not.” Troy lifted the bottles. “I happen to agree with him. Until things settle down, we’d feel more comfortable knowing that you had more to defend yourself with than a big stick.”

“First of all, it’s not a big stick.”

Wade edged away from her. “Yeah, it kind of is.”

It was a good thing that he’d ducked away or she might’ve whacked him one. “In the second place, I don’t like guns.”

“Girls never like guns.”

“Please tell me you didn’t just say that, Paul.” It seemed Kane wasn’t the only man whose ideas needed updating.

He shrugged. “Just stating the facts.”

“Hardly. That’s a load of crap. But that’s not why I don’t like them. Too many people who have guns shouldn’t own them. They’re irresponsible and wind up hurting themselves or someone else.”

“I agree.” Paul checked the gun to see that it was loaded but had the safety on. “Which again, is why we want to show you how to use it.”

“And for another reason, I already—”

“Daisy, will you quit working your jaw and just do it?”

At that precise moment, she was glad she didn’t have a gun. She might just shoot Paul in the leg to get him to shut up.

“Fine. Let’s do this.” She trudged past them, her hopes of getting to talk to them about their relationships, serious or otherwise, dashed.

She marched them into an open clearing behind her home. It was the idyllic location she’d wanted to take them, but it was also the best to shoot a gun.

Troy and Wade put the basket and wine on the ground then rounded up various items, including strips of tree bark, to use as targets. She was still irritated when Troy tugged on her arm and pulled her against him.

“Don’t be mad, Daisy.”

She glared up at him. “Just get even?”

He chuckled then tightened his arms around her. “We only want to keep you safe. Not only for now when Melissa’s still here, but for always.”

It was hard to stay angry when he said things like that. She let out an exasperated breath that took the last bit of her irritation with it. “I know. And I appreciate it.”

“That’s right, baby.” Wade came to stand beside her, then brushed his hand through her hair. “We couldn’t stand it if anything bad ever happened to you.”

If he touched her again like that, she’d forget all about her vow to keep her hands off them. Her body ached for them. They were her drug of choice and she was addicted and loving every minute of it.

“I’ve taken care of myself all these years. I think I can keep on doing that.” Not that she wanted to. She’d love to have three amazing men to take care of her. She’d become an even stronger woman with them at her side.

“We know you can, but let us take on some of that load for you.”

It wasn’t like she’d planned it, but maybe it was even better this way. “Why?”

“Why what?” Wade’s forehead crinkled in confusion.

She reached up to smooth it out. “Why do you want to keep me safe? So that you can leave and go back to your lives in Tulsa?” They’d gotten permission to be away from the station for a few days, but soon enough they’d have to return.

“Because we care about you.”

She met Paul’s eyes. He’d said
care
. Not that they loved her. Was having them care enough?

“We more than care.” Wade’s ever-ready humor was gone. “We’ve talked about this and we’ve come to the same idea.”

“What idea?” She’d go insane if she had to keep dragging their words out of their mouths. Why couldn’t they just say the word she wanted to hear?

“Do you remember our last time together? Do you remember what we said? That you’re ours and we’re yours?”

She could no more forget that than she could her own name. “Yes.”

Troy bent and placed a tender kiss at the corner of her mouth. “We want you as our woman, to share, to cherish, to protect.” He skimmed his thumb over the spot where he’d placed the kiss. “We want to love you for the rest of our lives.”

This was better than she’d dared to dream for. Her vision grew cloudy as her eyes filled with moisture. “Are you sure?” She turned to Paul. “Is that how all three of you feel?”

“It is.”

Paul had spoken in his usual matter-of-fact way, but he couldn’t have said it any better.

“What do you say, Daisy? Will you be ours? All of ours?”

She laughed, then wanted to take it back. “No, no. I’m laughing with joy. Not at you. But I’ve got to ask. Is this your way of asking me to marry you?”

Wade grimaced. “Yes and no. By law, only one of us can marry you.” He brightened. “Of course, if you had to choose one of us, you’d pick me.”

She knew Paul and Troy would understand her going along with his joke. “Well, of course I would.”

“But since we’re all in this together, we don’t want you to choose one of us over the other. Still, legally, to provide you with insurance and the like, you may have to pick one of us to make you an honest woman.”

Although it sometimes irritated her, she loved the fact that Paul was so practical. Even if he did sometimes say something very old-fashioned. Wade was the jokester and Troy was the level-headed, pleasant one. Together, they were the perfect men for her.

“You haven’t told us,” urged Wade. “How do you feel about us? Do you want all three of us?”

She drew in their aroma that was mixed with a little sweat. Looking up at Troy, she hugged her body closer still to Wade. All she needed was to have Paul join them, but she sensed he wouldn’t. Although he’d dropped a barrier since their time in the grocery store, he was still the last to let go, the last to reveal his emotions.