Indulgence (300 page)

“I would love to, Nina. Thank you for all you’ve done for
me. You have a beautiful home. I wish I could stay longer to explore. It would
make a great backdrop for one of my books.”

“You’re a writer?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Mesa blushed, dropping her gaze to the dress
in her hands.

“You must tell me all about it at dinner. I can’t wait to
hear what you write about.” She opened the door. “I’ll see you in a few
minutes. Take your time. There are sandals at the bottom of the closet that
might fit you temporarily until your shoes dry.”

With a soft snick of the door, she was gone, leaving Mesa in
the middle of the huge bedroom to contemplate the turn of events her day had
taken. First she ran out of gas, and then was rescued by a handsome, melt your
panties cowboy, and now she stood in the middle of a magnificent bedroom
borrowing clothing from a woman so gorgeous she could stop traffic. Wow, what a
day this turned out to be. She surely didn’t think things like this happened to
ordinary women like her. Adventures didn’t come her way on a routine basis. She
could count on one hand how many men she’d been out with her in lifetime. Slept
with? That would only take a few fingers.

After she quickly slipped off her wet clothes and put on the
red sundress, she smoothed the material over her hips. The dress fit perfectly.
A pair of leather beaded sandals sat inside the closet. They looked like they
would fit. Slipping her feet into the cool leather, she wasn’t surprised to
realize they too fit perfectly. Weird. Joel’s mother wore the same sizes she
did?

Not wanting to be late for dinner as she heard the clang of
the dinner bell, she grabbed the clothes from the floor and opened the bedroom
door. Joel stood on the other side with a wide grin, propped against the wall
with his arms over his chest.

“Well now. Don’t you look pretty?”

“Thank you, sir.” She dipped a small curtsey.

“I’m here to show you where the washer and dryer are, and
then escort you to supper since the crowd is already gathering.”

“I’d appreciate it, since I don’t know my way around the
house.”

He took the clothes from her arms before he grabbed her hand
with his warm one. “This way.”

Within moments, they had her clothes washing as her stomach
growled again because of the mouthwatering smells coming from the dining room.

“Let’s get you some food before you waste away to nothing,”
he said with a large grin. They headed back down the hall in the direction of
the clanking utensils.

“Oh please. I’m plenty plump that I could miss a few meals.”

“You are not plump. Rounded in all the right places, I’d
say.”

“Flatterer.”

He stopped and glanced down at her with a serious look on
his face. “Don’t let my brothers ride roughshod over you, because they will.
They’re a bunch of men, after all.”

“I think I can handle it.”

“Don’t be too sure. I’ll jump in to protect you.”

“Aw, thank you, Joel.” She skimmed her free hand down his
chest. “What a gentleman.”
What the hell made me do that?

Her reflex was to pull her hand back, but Joel grabbed it in
his before she could. “You’re a beautiful woman. Other than guests, which are
normally families with young kids, we don’t get a lot like you around here.
Prepare to be overwhelmed.”

He kissed her fingers before he let his grip slacken on her
hand so she could pull it free. The zing that raced up her arm bothered her.
Those things only happened in her novels, not in real life. “Um, okay.”

As they rounded the doorway, the volume of noise increased
tenfold. Several people either sat at the picnic tables chatting away or they
were lined up at the serving area with plates in hand. One long table she
hadn’t noticed before took up an entire wall. When she did a double take she
noticed nine people, eight men and Joel’s mother, who sat there chatting while
they waited for the others to be served.
Holy shit! How many freakin’
brothers does he have again?

“Eight. There are nine of us boys.”

“Stop reading my mind.”

“Sorry. I can tell by the look in your eyes what is running
through your head. You have very expressive brown eyes.” Joel tugged her hand
and brought her to the spot where there were two empty seats. “Hey, ya’ll. This
is Mesa.” A chorus of hellos echoed through the room, shushing the rest of the
conversations going on around them. Joel quickly introduced the brothers around
the table and that’s when she noticed two more who looked like…ohmigod.
There
are three of him?
Yes, you could tell they all were brothers by the similar
features, but…

“We’re triplets,” he whispered next to her ear with a
chuckle.

Ah, hell! One gorgeous hunk to tantalize my senses is
enough, but nine of them? And two who look just like him? I’m so screwed!

Joel thought she looked cute with her eyes wide. Most people
were surprised when they realized he, Jason, and Joshua were identical
triplets. “Let’s get our plates,” he said, as the group of men took their
places at the serving line. “We all wait until the guests have been served before
we get ours. Mom’s orders.”

“She’s a wise woman.”

“Yes, she is.”

“She must be tough as nails to raise nine boys, especially
with three of them all the same age.”

“I’m sure it hasn't been easy, but Dad is a strong man too.
Never took any guff from any of us boys.”

“Where is your father?” she asked.

“He’s in the barn I imagine. One of the mares is foaling. He
likes to be there in case there are any problems.”

“Now, that I would love to see.”

He shook his head and laughed. For a woman who wrote about
cowboys and ranch life, she sure didn’t seem to have much hands-on-experience
with it. “We’ll head out to the barn after supper to see how it’s coming. Maybe
you’ll get lucky.”

“Thank you. This is sure turning into an interesting day. I
can’t believe my luck. At first I thought I had about run out of any kind of
luck when my car ran out of gas, but you showed up and rescued me.”

“Oh, by the way, Jeff and Jeremiah brought your car to the
ranch while you changed clothes. You left your keys in the ignition so they
gassed it up before they drove it back here.”

The server slid a hamburger bun with a large burger patty on
her plate. “Wow. You guys eat hearty around here.”

“Wait until you taste it. Even though I live here, I never
get tired of the food. They always seem to get just the right taste on
everything.”

Next came the condiments, a bag of chips, and pink lemonade.
The perfect picnic type supper. He led Mesa back to two chairs at the family
table, hoping his brothers would behave. She seemed like a lady…a beautiful one
at that. Sure, he'd been with lots of beautiful women before. After all, the
reputation around San Antonio, and Bandera especially, had the Young brothers
as catchable material for the mothers of the town. They had land—a worthy
commodity in the hill country. Sure they had the reputation of being playboys,
but it made them all the more chaseable to women.

“What were you doing out in this neck of the woods, Mesa?”
Joshua asked.

“Running out of gas in the middle of nowhere.”

They all laughed as she blushed a pretty shade of pink.
“Actually, I’ve been searching for inspiration.”

“For?” Jeff questioned. As the oldest of the brothers, he
always had a suspicious mind about strangers hanging around the area. There
were too many accidents happening lately, accidents involving their cattle.
They had to be careful. Too many of the neighboring ranches were being bought
out by big corporations wanting the land for housing developments.

“Inspiration for my books. I’m a writer.”

“What do you write?” Nina asked.

“Romance novels.”

“Really? How very cool. I’m an avid reader of romance
myself. Are you published?”

“Yes, ma’am. I have a pen name, though.”

“Why don’t you write under your own name? Mesa is a
beautiful name and very different. I would think it would be a great pen name.”

“I love my first name. My mother wanted something special
for me when I was born. My father is Italian and my mother said she is Mexican
with a little Indian blood. I write under Mesa West.”

“You have the beautiful dark hair and sharp facial features
of your ancestors, Mesa. Do not be ashamed of it.”

“Thank you, Nina. You’ve made me very welcome in your home.”

“You are welcome anytime. I hope you come and visit another
time when you can stay longer.”

“Actually, I’m in the area because of a writer’s conference
in San Antonio. If you have room here at the ranch, I’d love to stay a few
days?”

“Of course we do. I have a special room in the main house
you can have all to yourself.”

“Which room, Mom? I’ll make sure it's ready for her. I
imagine she’ll need to go back to town to get her clothes.”

“Yes, I will. Thank you, Joel. You’ve been more than kind.”

“So what kind of books do you write?” Jacob asked.

Mesa pressed her lips together as a deep blush stained her
cheeks. Apparently, she thought it embarrassing to tell a bunch of cowboys she
writes about them with sexy heroines. He would have to learn more about her
writing while she stayed at the ranch. Having never read a romance novel, he
really had no idea what they had in them.

“She writes about cowboys,” Joel said, earning himself
raised eyebrows from his brothers. He shrugged his shoulders as he put a potato
chip in his mouth. “What? I already asked her.”

“It’s true. I write about cowboys in modern day and
historical settings.”

“How hot?” Nina questioned, sitting forward in her chair. “I
love the erotic stories.”

“Very hot,” Mesa answered.

“If you have some with you, make sure to bring them back. I
would love to read some of yours. Cowboys are right up my alley.”

The boys laughed as the subject changed to other topics
including the buyouts of the other ranches.

“The Mitchells are selling,” his father said as he
approached the table with a plate in hand.

“Mesa, this is my father, James Young. Dad, this is Mesa.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mesa.”

“You too, sir.”

“Shit, seriously? They’re selling?” Jeff cursed. “Excuse my
language, Mom. Mesa. How many more are we gonna lose to these sharks?”

“I don’t know, Jeff. They seem to be buying up the ranches
who have been hit the hardest by the beef prices. The drought hasn’t helped
either. Feed is scarce in this country half the time anyway, but when it
doesn’t rain, it’s worse.”

“We’ve managed to stay ahead by doing the dude ranch thing,
right, Dad?” Jonathan added to the conversation.

“So far, yes. We’ve had a great clientele of guests to keep
things going, but the prices are hurting even us.”

Joel knew their whole lives depended on this ranch. They
couldn’t lose it. But the developers driving the local ranchers out only
spelled harder times for everyone. The hill country was home, had been since
before he could walk. The five thousand acres encompassing Thunder Ridge Ranch
would be their legacy. Each of them. They all had a stake in the place and as
far as he knew, they all planned to stay and ranch their own small section
deeded to each brother when they turned eighteen.

His parents bought the ranch when his mom had been carrying
his younger brother, Jonathan. Little did she know there would be a total of
nine before she finished. Now, she wanted daughter-in-laws.

He chuckled under his breath. Little did his mother know,
none of them had any aspirations of a bride at the moment. She wouldn’t care,
though. Fixing them up with decent women had become her pastime these days.

The rest of the conversation around the table went back and
forth between who might be going out tonight to the rain pushing through the
area earlier. Even though flash flooding could be a constant worry, they needed
the life-giving essence of the rain. The ground right now needed it badly.

“If you want to head back into town after supper to get your
things, I’ll make sure your room is ready.”

“Thank you, Joel.”

“If you’re back in time, we’re having a bonfire later out
near the pit. Most of the guests will be there.”

“Sounds like fun. I haven’t been to a bonfire in ages.”

“We’ll get you countrified while you’re here if it kills us,
city girl.”

Mesa laughed. The sound sent chills down his back as goose
bumps spread across his arms. The soft tinkle of her laughter reverberated
along his nerves before settling in his groin. Not good. Getting mixed up with
a guest on the ranch always came back to bite a guy in the ass He’d caved into
the urge once or twice, much to his regret and his brothers’ enjoyment. Not to
say he didn’t get his shots in when they decided to play. “I can show you more
of the ranch tomorrow so you can get some ideas of the life.”

The fork disappeared between her plump lips.
God, I never
thought watching someone eat was sexy before
. Her brown eyes sparkled in
the overhead lighting of the dining hall. He shook his head. Thoughts of her in
any kind of romantic situation would just lead to trouble.

“I would appreciate it. I have a vivid imagination but to
have firsthand knowledge is priceless. Makes it much easier to describe scenes
when you have information.”

“Do you know horses?” he asked, pushing his empty plate
back.

“A few. I don't have any of my own, but I’ve ridden before.”

“We can do some ranch work tomorrow if you like. Ride fences
and the like.”

Her smile lit up the room like a beacon for wayward ships at
sea.

“Awesome. I haven’t been on a real working ranch before so
this will be the best experience I could ask for.”