Carnal Compromise (14 page)

She hung the towel on the coat rack and gave him a hug.

“Fine. Just had a break because of the rain and thought we’d come say hi, maybe stay a day or two if you’ve got room.”

“Of course! Hake’ll be thrilled to have a distraction from the weather.” Then she looked at Ryan. “While you’re at the store, could you pick up more eggs and milk and another bucket of ice cream?”

“Sure. Back in a bit.”

After Ryan left, Brent asked, “Are you sure this is okay? We don’t want to get in the way.”

“No, of course it’s okay! Better than okay,” she added with a meaningful grin. “Ryan goes back to school tomorrow.”

Brent frowned. Maybe he hadn’t thought this through well enough. He probably should have called and prepared everyone.

“Uh, Brent…who’s with you?”

Brent turned to see Joe and AJ heading for the steps.

“A surprise,” was all he had a chance to say before Joe bounded up the steps and grabbed her up in a big bear hug.

“Is that pie I smell?” he asked as he set her down.

“Hi to you too, Joe,” Mandy teased. “And yes, it’s apple. I was going to send one back with Ryan but maybe I’ll hang on to it.”

“I’ll wrestle him for it,” Joe volunteered.

“That won’t be necessary,” Mandy said dryly. “And who’s this?”

“Mandy, meet AJ Pender,” Brent said, slipping a hand between AJ’s shoulder blades and pulling her forward. “AJ, Mandy Stivers, my cousin Hake’s wife.”

“Nice to meet you,” Mandy said.

“AJ works on our crew,” Brent added.

Mandy’s brow went up slightly and he could tell she suspected the three of them did more than work together. But she just smiled and said, “Good for you, AJ. I hope you’re keeping the men in line.”

“When I can.” AJ smiled in return. “Are you sure we’re not imposing? I can’t believe Brent didn’t call to warn you.”

“Of course you’re not imposing. And nothing Brent does surprises me anymore,” Mandy added as she backed up and swept out an arm in invitation. “Please, come on in. Hake’s out fixing fence but he’ll be back by suppertime, and Ryan’s just run to the grocery store for me. Can you stay a few nights?”

Brent could see the gears grinding in her head. “That was the plan.”

Mandy watched him with narrowed eyes for a moment and then turned to AJ. “I’m always a little wary of their plans.”

AJ instantly turned red. “I know the feeling.”

“I’ll bet you do,” Mandy murmured. “As it happens, Ryan’s only home for the weekend—he just started medical school in Omaha,” she added for AJ’s benefit. “He can sleep on the couch tonight so both guest rooms will be free.”

“I hate to put him out,” AJ said hesitantly.

“Don’t be silly! Ryan won’t mind at all. He’s still young and flexible enough to sleep anywhere.”

“Meanwhile, we’re all waiting anxiously for our Medicare to kick in,” Joe quipped.

AJ elbowed him in the ribs. “Speak for yourself.”

Everybody just stood there glancing back and forth at each other for a minute. Mandy looked intrigued and Joe looked amused. AJ looked as if she were standing in a minefield and didn’t know which way to step.

“This is going to be an interesting visit,” Mandy said. “Why don’t you boys bring in your overnight bags and hang up your coats while I show AJ around?”

“So how long have you worked for Brent?” she asked as they climbed the stairs.

AJ watched her butt bobbing back and forth with no small degree of envy. Now
she
was built like a woman—slim and petite, with average shoulders and a narrow waist that bloomed into lovely wide hips. The straight silky hair brushing her shoulders was almost as blonde as AJ’s and looked just as natural.

“I just joined the crew this fall,” AJ said.

At the landing, Mandy gestured to the closed door at her left. “This is our bedroom.” Then she opened the door across the hall. “This is guest room number one. We call it the Yellow Room.”

It was very pretty, with plush beige carpet, pale yellow walls, white painted woodwork and an ivy border stenciled around the ceiling. Having spent the last few months jammed into an RV with two full-grown men, AJ felt almost lost in all the open space of a house, but this room was smaller. She was surprised they’d put a king bed in it. Set in the far corner, it hugged two walls and there was still barely room for the nightstand under the window and the lowboy dresser at the foot of the bed.

Mandy slid one of the mirrored closet doors open. “We added this closet. Back when the house was built, people mostly used wardrobes. This was my office until just a few months ago. Well, it was originally the guest room but when Hake broke his leg and pelvis three years ago, we moved the office up here so he could sleep downstairs and then just never got around to changing things back until last spring.”

Then she led the way farther down the hall. The door next to their bedroom was a linen closet, and next to the first guest room was the Blue Room. It was slightly larger and also equipped with a king bed. At the end of the hall was a surprisingly large bathroom. It even had a Jacuzzi tub.

“That’s new,” she said. “I thought it might make Hake’s hip feel better. Plus, I thought I deserved it so I had it installed with the royalties from my last release.”

“Release?” AJ asked.

“Book. Didn’t Brent tell you I’m a writer?”

AJ’s eyes widened. “Oh my God, are you Amanda Garrity?”

Mandy smiled broadly. “Oh my God, are you a fan?”

“Um, slightly,” AJ admitted, hating the heat creeping into her cheeks. “Okay, I’ve read everything you’ve ever written. If you leave your grocery list on the counter, I’ll read it when you’re not looking.”

Mandy laughed. “This is awesome! And here I thought things might be a little awkward this time.”

“They still might,” AJ said under her breath.

“What are you girls doing up there?” Brent called up the stairs.

“I’ll handle this,” AJ told her. Balancing on one foot, she pulled off her new boot then walked to the head of the stairs and threw it at him.

He caught it before it slammed into his chest. “Girl, you gotta quit throwing shit at me.”

“Well, you should have warned me we were meeting Amanda Garrity!”

He grinned. “What would you have done different? Put on a dress or had your hair done?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, boss,” AJ said, “but screw you.”

“Been there, done that,” he laughed. When she glared at him, he immediately looked repentant. “Oops. So much for not telling everything I know.”

“Don’t worry,” Mandy laughed. “It’s kind of obvious there’s something going on between you, if you don’t mind my saying so.”

AJ blushed fiercely. What else had Amanda Garrity noticed?

For the most part, supper was a relaxed and amusing affair. Brent and Hake reminisced while everyone enjoyed a simple meal of beef stew and hot homemade yeast rolls the likes of which AJ hadn’t tasted since her mama was alive.

Except for his brown hair, Hake looked a lot like Brent, and despite having grown up in different states, even their mannerisms and speech patterns were similar.

“Our mothers were identical twins,” Brent explained when she remarked on it.

“This was our grandparents’ farm,” Hake told her. “My dad was an engineer with the railroad, and he literally ran into Mom just down the road when she wasn’t quick enough across the tracks with a load of corn.”

“Good Lord,” AJ breathed. “I assume she was okay?”

“She was fine until Dad got a hold of her. She jumped clear of the tractor and landed in the ditch. Once he’d made sure she was okay, he turned her over his knee and spanked her for taking a chance like that.”

AJ blinked. “Um…”

“Grandpa’d never get away with that today,” Ryan declared, echoing her thoughts. “He’d go to jail for molestation or some crap, and her daddy would sue him for every dime he ever made.”

“You got that right,” Hake declared. “Mom was fifteen at the time, but it was love at first sight for both of them. Dad paid a call every time he came through town and socked away every paycheck until he had enough for a down payment on some land of his own. After my grandparents died, they moved in here.”

“How did you meet Mandy?”

“Funny you should ask,” he said with a grin. “I ran into her. We were at a bowl game in California—I was a tight end and she was a cheerleader for the other team, and I mowed her down diving for a wild pass.”

AJ grinned back. “I assume you didn’t spank her.”

“Not then, no.”

Mandy looked scandalized. “Hake!”

Joe was unusually quiet, and it seemed as if he could hardly keep his eyes off Ryan. At first AJ thought maybe it was because, like his dad, he looked a lot like Brent, but she eventually decided Joe’s look was too brooding for that. Too troubled.

When they all got up from the table, Ryan left them to shower for his date. The men went to the living room while AJ helped Mandy clear the table and load the dishwasher. Joe seemed to relax after Ryan drove off, and they all spent a pleasant evening playing Yahtzee, which Brent won by the skin of his teeth, and Scrabble, which to nobody’s surprise, Mandy won handily.

“Thanks for coming, AJ,” Mandy said as she packed up the dice and score pads. “Usually the guys won’t play Scrabble with me.”

“Well, you do have an unfair advantage,” Brent pointed out.

“How?” she demanded. “I may be a writer but you all read. I know AJ does,” she added with a grin.

Another blush crept up AJ’s neck. Would she ever be sophisticated enough not to blush at the slightest innuendo?

Joe gave her a slow smile. “Maybe we should play poker next.”

“Behave yourself, Josiah,” Mandy said in a severe tone, though her eyes twinkled. “AJ is company.”

Feeling like she was missing something, AJ quickly said, “I didn’t know your name was Josiah.”

He gave her a devilish look. “Why yes, Ariel, it is.”

AJ rolled her eyes. “You guys can’t keep a secret to save your lives, can you?”

“Why would you want to keep that secret?” Mandy asked with wide eyes. “Ariel is a beautiful name.”

“A beautiful woman should have a beautiful name,” Hake agreed with a lazy smile, his brown eyes warm with admiration and something she was almost afraid to name.

The air in the room became thick and hard to breathe, and AJ dropped her gaze to the lacy tablecloth. Why did it suddenly feel like she was completely out of her depth?

Brent stood up and said, “Well, it’s been a long day and I’m ready to hit the sack.”

Thank God!
She jumped up. “Me, too.”

The others rose, and they all stood there looking at each other awkwardly for a minute before Mandy smiled brightly and said, “Well, good night! I hope you all sleep well. Hake and I are just going to finish up the pots and pans.”

When they reached the Yellow Room, AJ dropped onto the soft quilt and groaned in sheer relief.

“What the matter, AJ?” Brent asked, unbuckling his belt and tugging it out of its loops.

Joe stepped in, closing the door behind him, and AJ propped up on one elbow. “Okay, what the heck is going on here?”

“What do you mean?” Brent parried.

She raised a brow at him. “Remember that five hundred pound gorilla I was talking about? Well, tonight I had the definite feeling there was one in the room that everyone but me could see.”

The guys looked at each other and grinned.

Brent sat on the end of the bed and pulled off his boots. “What did you think of Hake and Mandy?”

“They’re very nice,” she said dutifully. “Now what’s going on?”

“You didn’t ask Mandy about her writing.”

She rolled her eyes. “No, Brent, I didn’t. I don’t like to be nosy.”

“Did you ever read
Carnal Deliverance
?”

“Yeah…” She dragged it out cautiously. “Why do you want to know?”

“Did you like it?”

“Are you ever going to answer any of my questions?”

“I’m gettin’ there, I promise,” Brent said. “Now, did you like
Carnal Deliverance
?”

“Fine. Yes, I liked it—it’s one of my favorites, actually. The guys in it kind of remind me of you and…you and…” She looked at Joe and the back at Brent again. Oh no. Surely not.

Brent raised his brows. “Me and…”

“
Josiah
. Oh my God, she based those characters on you guys, didn’t she? Joe is Isaiah and you’re Grant. Ha! No wonder I always thought of you two when I read it.” Then her eyes narrowed. “Wait a minute, how does she… What does she…”

“That book is loosely based on actual events,” Brent said, watching her as Joe sat down on the other side of the bed.

“How loosely?”

He grinned again. “Damn, I knew you’d latch on to that. To tell you the truth, it’s a fairly accurate account of our...history with Hake and Mandy.”

“Oh my God, Hake is Grant’s brother Mike and Mandy is his wife Amy? And you…all…” Her brain raced ahead of her mouth, suddenly exploding with images of all four of them naked together.

Her eyes closed as heat swept over her body. Holy shit, she’d landed at Orgy Central.

“AJ, you still with us?” Brent asked in an encouraging tone.

She opened her eyes. “Joe, does that mean you and Hake…?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Joe leaned down and brushed his moustache against her ear. “We come back every year to play new and different dirty games with both of them.”

Oh. My. God.
Her mental projector went into overdrive, displaying graphic images of Joe taking Hake—although if the book was as accurate as Brent claimed, Joe must have been on the receiving end at least once. That was a little harder to imagine since Joe worked so hard to control everything and everyone around him. It wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t actively wanted it to.

“How long?” she asked through dry lips.

“We harvested for Hake after he had his ATV accident three years ago,” Brent explained. “That’s when Hake recruited us to fulfill one of Mandy’s fantasies, while he was still recovering, and Joe turned the tables on him. This will be the fourth year, provided everyone is willing.”

“You mean if I’m willing.”

“Yeah, basically,” Brent said. “Mandy’s always talked about taking Hake to the Mustang Ranch and doing the two-women-on-a-guy thing but it’s never happened. Seeing your reaction to Hake, I thought you might be up for it.”