Sparks Fly! A Divine Creek July 4th Family Reunion (5 page)

* * * *

Jayne Sheridan fanned herself as she sat in the folding chair between her cousin Grace and Seth Carter. Her heart hadn’t settled into a regular rhythm since Seth had sat down beside her.

He turned to speak with one of the men and, her eyes were drawn to his arm, perched next to hers on his chair’s armrest. Up close, his tattooed skin looked nothing like what she would’ve expected. She wasn’t even sure what she’d expected. The tattoos were monochromatic, black with gray shading, and very intricate. The unusual design drew her eyes inexorably up his forearms to his lean, muscular biceps. She unconsciously leaned in to get a closer look and her fingers twitched with the desire to run a finger along his smooth skin. He cleared his throat and she looked up into his faintly amused blue eyes. Unsurprisingly, words failed her and she looked away.

Think of something to say. Anything! The parade will be over soon and you might not have another chance.

Sucking it up, she turned to him and asked, “Did it hurt?” right as a member of the local lowrider club, driving a customized 70s-model Chevy Impala, slowed to a halt in front of them. He turned up the volume on his sound system and “Low Rider” by WAR blasted from his speakers. She groaned softly, thinking Seth hadn’t heard her and she’d have to pretend like she hadn’t asked him a stupid question.

Of course it hurt, you ninny.

But Seth must’ve known she was speaking to him because he leaned close and said, “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

Miss Tongue and Miss Lips forgot how to function as a unit when she inhaled his manly, clean scent. His long, black hair wafted in the breeze and caressed her cheek as she looked at his profile. Words failed her,
again
, and Jayne wanted to crawl under a rock.

She mutely stared as the diffused sunlight illuminated his blue eyes until he finally turned to look at her. She suddenly forgot how to swallow and choked on her own spit.

Oh, kill me now!

Grace patted her back, and Jayne put her hands over her face and wanted to die of embarrassment. Seth leaned forward, looking at her with sincere concern in his eyes.

“Are you all right?” he asked quietly.

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment as she settled back in her chair and wiped stray tears from her eyes. “Yes. I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened.”
Yes, you do, you big dolt. You choked on your drool! Get a grip!

She was grateful for the distraction when Maya, Kendall, Boone, and Richard arrived laden with bottles of water and cotton candy for the kids. Mutely, she nodded when Grace softly asked if everything was all right. She sipped from her water bottle and figured she would wait five minutes then make her pathetic loser excuses and walk the few blocks back to her house. She wasn’t even surprised by today’s outcome. Par for the course for her social life.

Seth turned to her and short time later. “The lowrider made it impossible for me to hear you earlier. What were you trying to say?” He didn’t act as though she’d just royally humiliated herself or try to hide the concern that was still in his eyes. He merely chose not to remind her by overlooking it. He really wanted to know what she had said.

Jayne took a deep breath.

You might as well chat with him. It’s not possible to humiliate yourself further. Wait, don’t say that…

Feeling a little more at ease, she replied, “I asked if it hurt.” She pointed at his wrist. “But that’s a stupid question, isn’t it?” She hoped it didn’t make him uncomfortable to point out his tattoos.

Giving her his full attention, he shook his head. “No. Some hurt worse than others, depending on how many nerve endings there are and how close the tattoo is to a bone or joint. None of it was unbearable.” As he spoke, he showed her the image on the underside of his wrist and then turned his arm so she could see the rest. There was so much to see she couldn’t take it all in at once.

Not sure if she hid her inward cringe at his description very well, Jayne asked, “Was the pain worth it? It must’ve been a struggle to sit still through that.”

Seth contemplated her words stoically for a few seconds, but when he looked back into her eyes, she thought she saw the hint of a smile. “Some things in life are worth the struggle.”

Jayne nodded and sat back as his words echoed in her thoughts. She had personal experience with struggles. When the parade drew to a close she stood and folded her chair as the others made preparations to leave.

Grace turned to Jayne and said, “Instead of walking back for your car, do you want to just ride out to the ranch with one of us? We’ll give you a ride back into town whenever you’re ready to go home.”

Jayne hated to be an inconvenience to anyone like that and started to shake her head. “It won’t take but a few minutes. I’m only three blocks away.”

Gaining her immediate attention with a gentle hand on her bare upper arm, Seth said, “Would you like to ride with me, Jayne?”

Just about anywhere you want to take me, handsome.

She looked at where he gestured behind the flatbed trailer to a sparkling, well-maintained motorcycle parked in a row with two others. She recognized the Harley-Davidson emblem on a chrome part and bit her lip.

Grace asked, “Ever ridden on a Harley before, Jayne?”

Jayne stifled a gasp at that question because Grace
already
knew
the answer. Since making the move back to Divine in February after the breakup with her rather staid former fiancé, Jayne had spent a lot of time getting caught up with her cousins. She’d heard about a lot of their escapades, and they knew all about her lack thereof.

“No, I haven’t.”

Grace didn’t even bother trying to hide her Cheshire cat grin. “Seth is a very responsible rider. I’ll bet you’d enjoy it. He even has an extra helmet, don’t you, Seth?”

Seth appeared to suppress a chuckle and glanced at Grace before nodding at Jayne. “Yes, it
just so happens
that I have an extra helmet in one of my saddlebags. A
little bird
told me one might come in handy if someone needed a ride out to the ranch.”

Grace giggled, sounding unrepentant. “See, Jayne? It was meant to be. Save yourself the walk on such a hot day. Seth will keep you safe.”

Jayne weighed her options. The thought of riding on the back of Seth’s Harley both scared and exhilarated her. Just the night before she’d told herself that she needed to start living some of the adventures she wrote about on paper. The thought of refusing him and walking home made her sad, and as she looked up into his clear blue eyes, she saw a trace of some emotion. He was so serious, she almost missed it. Hope? Well, if nothing else, the ride would be great research.

Grabbing at the opportunity, she replied, “Sure. I’ll ride with you. But I’ve never ridden on a motorcycle before.”

Seth nodded. “Not a problem. I’ll give you the quick tutorial but you’ll see that it’s not that big a deal. I’ll take good care of you.”

Jayne bit her lip and felt heat creep into her cheeks as she thought of having her body wrapped around him in a slightly different way. Her pussy clenched with a wave of longing as she imagined
how
he could take good care of her.

Grace took the folded chair from her that she’d forgotten she was holding and winked as she nudged her to follow Seth. “Have a good time and don’t worry. He’ll take good care of you.”

Jayne smiled at the gentle reassurance she saw in Grace’s eyes. She might be an unrepentant matchmaker, but Jayne knew Grace genuinely cared about her happiness and safety.

* * * *

Seth led Jayne over to his Harley Softail and caught the uncertain look in her eyes as she gazed at the bike. Experience was the best teacher, so he figured the best thing to do was give her the basics quickly and get on the road before she had a chance to overthink it and become fearful.

He removed the extra helmet that Grace had asked him to bring, sparing a kind thought for that little matchmaker, and held it out to Jayne. “Pull your hair back and slip that on.”

“Will I be okay in these shorts? Aren’t I supposed to be wearing boots and jeans or something like that?” She pointed at his raggedy jeans and shitkickers.

Seth shook his head. “We’re not going to be on the road for that long. If you were my girlfriend I’d have an easy solution for that but…you’ll be okay as long as you keep the soles of your shoes on the foot rests and away from the exhaust pipes, which are going to get hot.”

“I feel silly with this big thing on my head,” she said as she pulled the helmet on.

“You look safe, though. That’s the important thing. It does feel funny if you’ve never worn one before but you look fine.”
You look beautiful, staring at me with those soulful eyes. I should’ve asked you for that ride yesterday.
“You don’t have to lean with me when I turn, just look the direction we’re turning in and I’ll handle the rest. One more thing.” He looked at her long reddish-brown hair flowing in the sudden breeze.

“What’s that?” she asked as she fiddled with the visor.

“Your hair is going to get windblown on the way to the ranch. Do you mind if I fix it so that it’s not a mass of knots by the time we get you there?”

“Umm…Sure,” she replied, looking uncertain.

Moving behind her, Seth scooped up the thick, silken mass of her wavy hair and began twisting it into a long rope. “This is beautiful,” he murmured, more to himself than her. He’d been right the day before. With the sun shining on it, the deep natural red in her long brown hair was brilliant.

“What? I didn’t hear you. I had the visor closed.”

Leaning so he could look over her shoulder, Seth smiled and said, “I just commented on your hair. It’s beautiful.”

Her eyes widened, her cheeks flushed a pretty pink, and she offered him a small smile. “Thank you.”

“It’s so long, you would break it trying to brush out all the knots if we didn’t do this,” he added as he continued twisting it until the rope coiled up around itself into a knot. “This is going to feel weird but it’ll keep your hair safe. Hold still. See? Justin is doing the same thing for Charity.”

She looked over to where Justin and Charity Connors and Eli Wolf were preparing to get on their motorcycles and ride out to the ranch as well. Rachel kissed her husband good-bye after loading baby Levi into his car seat in her Tundra. Justin was doing the very same thing for Charity’s long, golden-blonde hair.

Seth took the knot and gently pushed it up into the back of her helmet, being careful to not pull the hair from her scalp. Once the silky-soft strands were secured, he helped her with the chin strap and then held out his hand. “Ready?”

Jayne bit her soft, pink lower lip and nodded her head, suddenly seeming determined. “Yeah.”

After climbing on the bike to steady it, he assisted her in boarding behind him and helped her get settled. He smiled at Charity when she gave him a knowing smile and a “thumbs-up” when he started his bike. All three Harleys roared to life within seconds of each other, and he felt Jayne suddenly quiver and draw close behind him. He flipped the visor on his helmet closed, concealing his smile and his enjoyment of the benefits of her reaction.

He reached back to pat her silky calf reassuringly and yelled, “Hold on to me.”
Tight as you want, honey.

She did just that, and he suppressed a groan as her full, round breasts pressed against his back. All either of them wore was a thin cotton T-shirt, and he had to resist the urge not to rub against her as she got settled.

She slid her smooth, pale arms around his middle, and he hoped that she’d put on sunscreen before she’d left home. He’d ask her when they arrived at the ranch. It would be a shame to see her milky-white skin burned by the sun. He eased out of the parking spot and approached the exit. When traffic was clear, he turned onto one of the back streets to avoid the floats and extra traffic on Main and made his way toward the farm-to-market road that led out to the Divine Creek Ranch. He couldn’t ever recall anticipating such a short ride as she scooted even closer and pressed her body against his.

“Well, would you look at that,” Rosemary Garner said with a giggle as they caught up to the three Harleys cruising down FM 709. “Seth Carter has got Jayne on the back of his motorcycle.”

“Who?” Evan asked as he drove down the road, headed toward the Divine Creek Ranch.

“Jayne Sheridan. Grace and Charity’s cousin. She moved here from Houston in February. Remember, I told you she was—”

“Oh, that’s right. The librarian?” Wes supplied from his seat beside her.

Rosemary nodded. “She’s kind of shy. I’m surprised he got her on there.”

“I’m glad he had a helmet for her,” Evan said. “Seth’s a pretty good guy. Good tattoo artist, too,” he growled as he flexed his bicep for her, showing off the black tribal tattoo Seth had done for him a couple of months before. Rosemary made like she was going to take a bite.

Evan chuckled. “Hungry, Rosie Posie?”

Rubbing her slightly queasy stomach, she shook her head negatively and took a sip from her water bottle.

Wes leaned forward and looked at her with concerned green eyes. “You okay?” Wes was always the first to notice when any little thing bothered her.

Rosemary smiled at him reassuringly. “It’s just the heat. It makes me a little queasy.” The temperature was supposed to be in the triple digits by later that afternoon, so it was understandable, and Wes seemed satisfied with her answer.

“Let us know if you start to feel bad, baby,” Evan said, patting her knee. “We don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.

“Once I eat and cool off in the pool I’ll be just fine.” Rosemary giggled and pointed. “Aw! Look.”

On a straight section of FM 709, Jayne released Seth’s torso and lifted her arms high in the air in a triumphant-looking gesture. Rosemary’s eyes misted a little, and she whispered softly, “You go, girl.” Jayne deserved to have a little fun after the trials she’d suffered.

At the ranch, the three of them were sitting down eating with everyone else when Rosemary’s phone trilled with the ringtone that automatically told her the call came from work. Brantley Gilbert’s “Country Must be Countrywide” played softly on the outdoor speakers as she pulled her phone from her purse.

“Uh-oh,” Evan said before taking another bite of his potato salad.

“Doesn’t the store close early today?” Wes asked as he checked his watch.

“Yes. They’re supposed to close early for the holiday. Hello?”

“Rosie.” Rosemary immediately recognized Bernadette’s voice, but she sounded odd.

“Hey. You okay?”

“Noooo. I’m really sorry to call you on your day off but…”

“Let me guess. The stomach flu got you too?” A nasty case of it had been going around town, and everybody at Cheaver’s had caught it in the last couple of weeks. Rosemary was just praying that it didn’t catch up to her.

“Yeah. I’m
dyin’
. I feel like a big baby for calling you when the store closes in an hour but I’ve hardly been able to get out on the floor as it is. Can you come?”

Bernadette wouldn’t call her unless she was on death’s door, and she’d been there for Rosemary more times than she could count. “Sure. Just let me finish eating. Tell Irving that I’ll be there just as soon as I can and then head on home.”

“He insisted he could handle closing up the store but I told him he’s not quite ready.”

Irving was their assistant manager in training, but he’d only started a few weeks before. He was also a serious flirt, which Rosemary knew was a bone of contention for her men.

“Go home. Rest. I hope you feel better.”

Bernadette groaned and replied, “Sorry to bother you.”

“Would you
stop
? You can’t help it. Don’t forget to drink lots of fluids.”

“Yes, Mommy.”

Rosemary hung up with a grin and then gave both Evan and Wes smiles of commiseration. “I have to go up to the store. You can stay here and I’ll come back just as soon as things are shut down. Shouldn’t take me long at all.”

“That guy Irving is working?” Evan asked with a slight frown on his face.

Knowing where the frown came from, Rosemary put her hand on his thigh. “He’s just eager. He wants me to be happy with his work. He’s not flirting with me.”
Girl, you know he’s totally flirting with you.

Wes shook his head. “I don’t know about that, baby.”

“I don’t like the way he looks at you, Rosie.”

Uncharacteristically, Wes growled. “Like he wants to eat you up or something. We’re going with you.”

Rosemary nodded as she finished her brisket. “Okay. At least that way I can still spend time with you.”

When she was done, Evan rose from the table and took her plate with his to dump in the trash can. They made their apologies and promised to return as soon as they could.

They climbed into Evan’s big truck, and as he turned the key in the ignition, Evan said, “I know you probably think we’re going all alpha-male ‘he-man’ on you but that guy rubs me the wrong way. I’d just as soon you weren’t left alone with him after the store closes.”

“I wouldn’t be alone with him. Linda and Merle are there too. But the alpha-male he-man thing doesn’t bother me at all. I know your heart is in the right place.”

They both seemed relieved when she said that and spent the rest of the trip back to town in a much lighter mood, though she was a little curious about what was causing their possessiveness.

She was just glad that it wasn’t a bone of contention between the two of them. Evan had come a long way in understanding her over the last couple of years. She made sure that he knew without a doubt that he and Wes were the only men she was interested in.

When they arrived at the store, the men opened the front door for her and Irving was right there waiting for her. She pressed her lips together to hide a smile and suppress a snicker as she looked back at Wes and Evan. They both had I-told-you-so smiles on their faces for her then turned the flinty-eyed Clint Eastwood look on Irving Darnell as he greeted her and nodded at the men.

He showed her the day’s sales so far on a register receipt and then listed off what they’d accomplished that day and what remained to be done. She made her way back to the stockroom to check in with Linda in the office and wasn’t surprised when Irving followed her through the doors. All the female employees found him handsome and charming, and while she thought they were right, Irving held no interest for her. Her heart was firmly in the hands of the two very tolerant men waiting out front.

She stopped and turned to see what Irving needed because she had an inkling that Wes and Evan were already on their way to the stockroom doors if they had seen Irving follow her. She stopped abruptly, and Irving nearly plowed right into her.

“Did you need something, Irving?”

He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked down for a second and then said, “Would you like to have dinner with me?”

Where the hell is the gossip mill when I fucking need it? How does he not know I’m involved with two handsome, hunky men?

Her stomach roiled a little, and on top of her embarrassment, she felt slightly nauseated. She’d never made a huge secret out of her relationship, but for the sake of the store she hadn’t paraded that information around town. There had been gossip at one time, but the rumor mill had long since moved on from her “supposed” ménage relationship.

Rosemary lifted her hand to show him the ring. “Irving, I’m sorry, I can’t. I’m already—”

“Married.” The deep, territorial-sounding voice was Wes’s. Her men stood in the open stockroom doors, giving Irving the
“are ya feelin’ lucky, punk”
look.

“Oh, man! I’m sorry. I don’t know how I missed that.”

Rosemary had a feeling she knew. The rumor mill in Cheaver’s was currently all about Irving, so he hadn’t had a chance to hear anything about her because they were all talking about him. Plus, if he was management and hadn’t worked there very long he wouldn’t have heard much anyway. Rosemary knew who the best sources of gossip were in Cheaver’s because she’d grown up in the store.

Directing a hand toward the doors, Rosemary said, “My husbands.”

The speed at which his eyebrows shot up was almost comical. “Well, I
have
heard talk in town about ménage relationships.
Really
?” he asked affably as he turned to look at both men. Rosemary had a feeling that if the men had been alone he might have given Wes and Evan a “thumbs-up” and asked for how-to tips.

Evan shifted the toothpick from one corner of his sensual mouth to the other as he leaned against the door and nodded. He crossed his ankles as he hooked his thumbs in his front pockets, which automatically drew her eyes to the bulge in his jeans.

Gah! But he’s the sexiest man alive when he does that!

Evan caught her look, and she felt a blush heat her cheeks as the bulge at his groin appeared to swell just a bit. He had the gall to wink at her.

“Yes. For two years now.” Normally Wes was so open and friendly, but his tone was definitely communicating
“get your own woman.”
Rosemary thought maybe it was time to have a private talk and find out what was going on with him.

With his usual good nature, Irving said, “Sorry, Rosemary. If I’d known…” He looked at the men then back at her. “I’d have gotten to Divine sooner. Maybe I coulda beat them to you.”

Wes stepped away from the door, and Rosemary held up a hand to stop her Neanderthal from making a point with Irving’s head. “Now that’s not helping this situation. Irving, you were probably still in diapers when they fell in love with me and me with them.”

Irving grinned at both men. “Sorry, guys, but you can’t fault a guy for tryin’. I mean,
look
at her,” he said, gesturing at her with both hands.

Wes’s tone bordered on harsh. “We see her.”

“All right. No hard feelings, Rosemary.”

“Of course not. Now go get to work. I’ll let you out in a few minutes.”

Irving sauntered off as though he didn’t have a death wish after all, and Rosemary scoffed and rolled her eyes as she continued on to the office. Linda was just gathering her purse, so Rosemary escorted her, Merle, and Irving to the door and locked up after them.

“Let me take one razoo through the dressing rooms,” Rosemary said and smiled when Wes and Evan followed her as she made a quick check of the fitting rooms in the apparel department.

She sighed when she found a large untidy pile of clothing that someone had tried on and then discarded in the large women’s dressing room. Thinking it must’ve been overlooked, Rosemary set to straightening and folding or hanging each item.

“Guys, you know that what Irving said about me doesn’t mean a thing to me, right? I think he just wants to get ahead and he’s just super…friendly.”

“Super manslut is more like it,” Wes grumbled as he shook out a pair of blue jeans for her. She could tell he was still ticked.

Suddenly feeling tired, Rosemary plopped down on the wooden bench in the corner. “I don’t even know why he acts that way. I didn’t encourage it and I’ve only worked with him a few times.”

Wes came to her and kneeled at her feet. “I don’t think that you encouraged it, baby. But I know why he does it.”

Evan nodded as he put a shirt back on a hanger. “It’s obvious.”

Rubbing her forehead tiredly, Rosemary said, “Enlighten me.”

Wes brushed a long, curly lock of black hair from her shoulder. “It’s because you’re beautiful. You’re smart and funny. What man could resist that?”

The sincerity in his eyes buoyed her spirits somewhat, and she giggled. “Yeah, right. Are you just angling for a blow job?” Wes laughed as she shoved lightly at his shoulder but then put her arms around him and hugged him. “Wes, I’m grateful that you didn’t rip his arms off and beat him with them.” It really wasn’t like Wes to be that territorial of her. She usually saw behavior like that from Evan first.

Evan chuckled. “Yeah, you kinda beat me to the punch, so to speak, bro.”

Wes shrugged and slid onto the bench next to her. “I guess I was just threatened. He’s younger, kind of ‘up and coming’ so to speak, and you’ve been spending a lot of hours here at the store with all the personnel issues.”

The store had gone through several changes with longtime employees leaving or retiring and new people filling those roles. Whenever that happened, Rosemary always felt that the store deserved extra attention to make sure things were getting done right. The amount of time she was working at the store was going to be changing soon though. She didn’t need Wes to tell her that she wasn’t spending as much time at home or on their business, Garner Custom Furniture, as she used to. But there were only so many hours in the day.

Rosemary had an inkling that something else was going on. “Is that all?”

Wes took her hand. “Are we asking too much of you? The two of us? Are you having a hard time…being with us?”

Rosemary couldn’t help it when her jaw dropped. “Why would you think that?”

“It’s been a couple of years. I was worried that the shine had worn off of our relationship, that you were tired of keeping up with us. When your hours at the store gradually increased again I began to think maybe…”

“I was interested in someone at the store?” The thought was positively jarring to her, and she was sure that showed on her face.