Boots and Twisters (21 page)

“Mona? Are you in there?” Trent called out.

“We’re down here, in the basement.”

“How many?”

“Six of us,” Mona answered.

“Is Lucky with you?” Isaac threw boards and beauty shop equipment to the side.

“No, she went back for that dog.”

Trent dug faster, careful with the glass and electrical lines. If Lucky wasn’t with them, where had she gone?

After twenty minutes of steady work, they found the door, cleared a path and helped Mona, Bunny, Audrey, Mrs. Rutledge, Deputy Cramer and Mr. Wallendorf, one of the four attorneys in town. With nothing more than scratches, bruises and a layer of dust, they appeared to be fine, if a little dazed.

“You say Lucky was here before it hit?” Trent asked Mona.

“She helped me get Mrs. Rutledge into the basement,” Audrey responded. “Then she ran out, saying something about a dog.”

Trent glanced at his brother and they both said, “Otis” at the same time.

Back out on the pavement, they looked around. More people were crawling out from beneath what was left of houses and businesses.

A vehicle lay on its side, pushed up against the trunk of a tree, the top of which had been snapped off like a broken twig.

Trent and Isaac rounded the vehicle and stopped. “It’s her truck.”

Lucky hadn’t made it out of town. Which meant she was still somewhere in all the mess.

Trent stared around at the disaster, wondering where to start in their search when he heard a dog’s bark.

He and Isaac turned toward the sound.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Isaac asked. Without waiting for a response, he picked his way across the rubble.

Another bark led them directly to the flattened remains of what had once been a small cottage a block off Main Street.

As they neared, the barking grew louder, sounding as if it emanated from beneath an eight-foot section of collapsed wall.

Trent positioned himself on one end of the wall while Isaac positioned himself on the other.

“On the count of three,” Trent said. “One, two, three!” He put all his strength into it and the wall wouldn’t budge.

The dog barked again and again, growing more frantic with each bark.

Jackson, Mark and Luke Gray Wolf hurried across the debris toward them and threw their backs into moving the wall.

With the help of all five men, they lifted and shoved the wall over, clearing what looked like a small bathroom. A mattress lay over what had once been the tub.

Almost afraid to look beneath, Trent grabbed one end of the mattress, while Mark Gray Wolf hefted the other and they threw it to the side.

As they cleared the mattress, Otis leaped out of a bathtub and landed beside Trent, jumping up on him, trying to lick his face.

Trent pushed him down and looked into the tub.

A woman lay across the length of the tub, her body covering something beneath.

Little arms and legs moved beneath the body and a child cried out.

Trent moved the body, lifting it up and away from two children and a woman lying beneath. The limp body he’d pealed back was Lucky.

“Lucky.” Isaac lifted her into his arms and carried her over to a spot on the ground Luke cleared enough to lay her down. Trent knelt beside her and felt for her pulse. After a long moment, he let go of the breath he’d been holding and almost collapsed over Lucky. “She’s alive.”

Mark and Luke lifted the children out and held them crying in their arms.

The people who’d been trapped in the beauty salon made their way toward them. Mrs. Rutledge crying out when Jackson pulled the woman out of the tub. “Oh, dear Lord, Nan!” She rushed forward and dropped to the ground where Jackson laid the woman.

Nan’s eyes blinked open. “Aaron and Emma?” she asked.

“Mommy?” the little boy called out, reaching for his mother. Mark held him back, dropping to a squat so the mother and child could see each other. Luke lowered the little girl as well.

“Oh, babies. I’m so glad you’re okay.” Nan reached out to cup each child’s face. “Thank God for our angel of mercy,” she said. “We were lucky she came along when she did.”

“What are you talking about?” Mrs. Rutledge asked.

“The woman who saved us.” Nan closed her eyes. “I must have been hit by some debris, ‘cause the next thing I knew, a woman came out of nowhere, dragged me into the house and into the tub where Aaron and Emma were. She saved our lives.”

Mrs. Rutledge glanced over at the still form of Lucky, lying as pale as a ghost against the ground. “Lucky did that?” she asked.

Trent stared down at Lucky. “Sounds like something she’d do.”

“Is she…is she going to live?” Mrs. Rutledge asked, her eyes rounded, filling with tears. “I owe her for saving my daughter and grandchildren.”

“I hope so.” Trent straightened and looked around. “We have to get her to the hospital.”

“If it’s still standing.”

The deputy joined them. “Thank God it missed the hospital. The road crews are clearing a path so that the ambulance can get in here. We have other units coming in from Hole in the Wall that should be here in less than fifteen minutes and more help is on its way from all over the state.”

Lucky moaned.

Trent dropped down beside her, Isaac on the other side.

Her eyes blinked open and she stared up at them. “The kids?”

“They’re okay, thanks to you,” Isaac said.

“Mom?”

“Alive and okay.” Trent tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Again, thanks to you.” He bent to kiss her forehead.

“That would feel a whole lot better on my booboos,” she whispered.

“Just tell us where they are and we’ll take care of all of them,” Isaac said.

Lucky chuckled and winced. “Ouch.” Then she raised her hand pointing to her cheek where a dark bruise was just beginning to show. “There.”

Trent bent to press a feather-soft kiss to the spot.

She raised her other arm and pointed to a spot on the side of her chin. “There.”

Isaac laughed and kissed her there, careful not to hurt her.

Then she touched her finger to her lips and peeked through lowered eyelids. “There.”

Trent bent at the same time as Isaac and their heads collided. He backed up and motioned for his brother. “You first.”

Isaac claimed her lips in a gentle kiss. When he came up, he said. “One is not enough.”

“Tell me about it,” she whispered, her gaze going to Trent.

He leaned over her and kissed her, his tongue pushing through to slide along hers. Despite nearly being killed, maybe because she’d nearly died, she tasted like heaven.

No, it was because she was Lucky.

“Hey, let her breathe.”

Isaac’s hand on his shoulder made him pull back. “I’m sorry.”

Lucky lay with her eyes closed, the corners of her lips turned up. “Didn’t hear me complainin’, did you?”

Trent laughed. “Lucky Albright, I’m convinced.”

“About what, cowboy?”

“That the day you showed up at the Ugly Stick Saloon was the luckiest day of my life.” Trent kissed her on the lips again, in a brief, happy kiss.

“And mine,” Isaac agreed. “We had been talking about you before you even showed up.”

“You did?” Her eyes opened, a small frown denting her forehead. “How’s that?”

Jackson laughed. “Trent and Isaac were listing the qualities they expected in the perfect woman.”

“And there you were,” Isaac said.

Lucky’s mouth twisted. “Wrecking Audrey’s truck and her storeroom of liquor.”

Audrey laughed softly, slipping into Jackson’s arms. “All of that can be replaced.” She smiled down at Lucky. “Can I safely say that my new employee will be back on the job as soon as she’s feeling up to it?”

Lucky glanced up at Trent and Isaac. “I don’t know.”

“If you’re asking if she’s staying,” Trent said, “the answer is yes.”

“Damn right she is.” Isaac brought her hand to his lips. “We kind of like having her around and think she’ll be around as long as she can stand the two of us.”

Audrey’s eyes lit up. “So that’s how it is? Well then, congratulations.”

Trent smiled at Isaac and held out his hand. “To partnerships.”

Isaac grinned. “To not selling our home.”

Lucky placed her hand over their combined hands. “How about to making it a home?”

“Agreed,” both Trent and Isaac said at once.

Lucky tried to sit up.

Trent laid a hand on her shoulder. “Not yet. Let the medics take care of you. We need you in top shape when you come back.”

“So that I can shovel horse manure and build fences.”

“Of course,” Trent said, giving her a teasing look. “No, really, you’re going to have all you can handle keeping up with the two of us.”

Lucky lay back, smiling. “I’ll be up for the challenge. Will you two be?”

Epilogue

“Trent, Isaac! Where are you?” Lucky entered the house after her trip to town. “Mona sends her love. We need to hurry or we’ll be late for the party fundraiser at the Ugly Stick Saloon. Audrey got us front-row seats for the concert.”

FEMA had set up shop on the outskirts of Temptation, bringing with it help for those who’d lost their homes and businesses.

Mona had rented a portable building for her beauty shop while hers was being rebuilt and Bunny had a matching portable right next to hers.

Slowly but surely the resilient people of Temptation had come together and were rebuilding.

Lucky was proud to be one of them.

“I saw Barbara, Nan, Aaron and Emma at the store. They all told me to say hello. They want you to come to the next garden club meeting.”

She checked in the living room, the kitchen and was heading down the hallway when she heard sounds from the bedroom.

A guarded
shh
sound came from behind the master bedroom door.

Lucky grinned. She loved sharing a bedroom with the two of them, the king-sized bed perfect for them to sleep or whatever they wanted to do in it.

The whatever was the fun part and thoughts of all the possibilities had her body heating. She toed off her boots and set them to the side of the door.

By the time she shimmied out of her jeans, she was fully turned on and ready for the two of them. She yanked her shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor. Wearing nothing but her bra and panties, she twisted the doorknob. “Ready or not, here I come.” Thrusting the door open she stepped inside, her bare feet tickled by rose petals spread all over the floor.

“What’s this?” She stared around the room. The curtains had been drawn, making the room dark. Candles had been lit all around, the scent of sandalwood filling the air and, down the center of the mattress was a layer of the red rose petals. The best part was that both men stood naked on either side of the king-sized bed.

“What’s the occasion?” she said, loving the feel of the petals against her feet.

Isaac smiled. “Our two-month anniversary since you came to live with us.”

“You’re over dressed for the occasion. It’s clothing restricted,” Trent said.

“The rose petals were my idea,” Isaac said.

“Naked was mine.” Trent shifted and growled. “And you know how much I don’t much like being naked with only another man in the room. Are you coming or do I have to come get you?”

“Oh, I’ll be coming soon enough,” she said, crawling onto the center of the bed. “Although I could use a little help with the clasp on the back of my bra.” Rising to her knees, she turned her back to Isaac who made quick work of the hooks and slipped the bra over her shoulders.

Trent climbed onto the bed, flipped her onto her back and dragged her panties down her legs, tossing them to the corner. Then he spread her knees wide and lay down between them, his tongue tracing the inside of her thigh to her center. “Better. Much better.”

“I’ll say.” Isaac claimed a breast, flicking his tongue across her nipple as it tightened into a hard bead. He scooped a handful of petals from the bed and dropped them over her breasts and belly. “Did you like the roses?”

With Trent’s tongue swirling around her entrance, she answered, “Yes!”

“Bunny helped me with them.”

“Remind me to thank her.” Trent swiped his tongue across her clit and she arched her back, her heels digging into the mattress. “Oh, there. Please, there.”

Trent chuckled and settled in to bring her to the edge. Just the way she liked it.

As Isaac sucked her breast into his mouth, she wrapped her hand around his cock and squeezed gently. “I want
you
inside me first,” she said. With her other hand, she brushed through Trent’s hair. “And, Trent, honey, I want to taste your cock.”

Trent flopped onto his back, his legs dangling off the bed.

Lucky rolled off the bed, bent to take Trent’s dick between her lips and sucked hard, pulling him deep into her mouth.