Peaches 'n' Cream (16 page)

Chapter Eleven

Once again the storm had managed to miss them, dumping the majority of the predicted snow to the north. With all they had planned, it was just as well. The security company and the store delivery service arrived at approximately the same time. Once the freezers were in-stalled, they left to go into town, only to have to return to the ranch when one of the men in-stalling the system called to say that a cat had one of his employees trapped upstairs.

Logan grumbled about the cats, but Peaches just smiled and nodded as he described how he would throw them out in the snow. She knew he didn’t mean it. Actually, she had seen the quirk of his mouth when talking with the man. Evidently he liked the idea of having badass cats around.

“I was thinking we should stop at the hardware store and get a few things to keep those two troublemakers happy.”

“That would be nice,” she said, puzzled, thinking he was planning on making himself happy by putting them into cages.

“Stop thinking the worst. What I was thinking was we could change your former bedroom into a playroom for the cats.”

“You mean a jail,” she accused, frowning at him.

“Let’s call it a time-out room,” he suggested. “They can be in there when they get out of control, when it’s better for them to be kept safe.”

“Kitty jail is what it’ll be.”

She folded her arms across her chest and stared through the windshield. The roads were snow covered, but passable. She really shouldn’t argue with him while he was driving.

“Not at all,” Logan denied. “I’ve seen these rooms on TV. There are all sorts of things for them to do. It’ll be a place where they can do everything they want, without getting them into trouble.”

“And irritating you.”

“And irritating me,” he agreed finally. “Think about it. It’ll be great.”

“It better be great. Have you ever heard an unhappy Siamese cat?”

“They won’t be unhappy. I promise you, they’ll want to spend all their time in there.” Peaches wasn’t too sure about that, but the cats would enjoy a recreational area just for them. They loved to be up high, though they had restrained themselves admirably, for the most part, from spending too much time on top of the furniture in the house.

When they got into town, Peaches was immediately aware of two things. First of all, there was a police cruiser parked at each end of the street where the clinic was located. The second was that the men formed a barrier around her. If someone were going to take a shot at her, then they would have to be a very good shot.

The visit didn’t take long. Peaches was very pleased by the female ob-gyn. After giving all her information and going through the exam, along with donations of bodily fluids, she was told everything looked good so far. The news pleased her, though she had hoped she was already pregnant. Armed with a handful of pamphlets and the doctor’s advice, she left the ex-am room.

The men were waiting eagerly for the news. Even Logan looked hopeful. She wished she didn’t have to disappoint them, but gave them the bad news. Ryan hugged her. Damien kissed her forehead. Logan promptly bought a case of pregnancy test kits at the drugstore, causing the clerk to grin from ear to ear and Peaches to blush.

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“Do you really think that’s necessary?” she asked, trying to look severe. It was difficult because her lips kept twitching. “We need a whole box?”

“You’re going to check every day.”

“Once a week will be often enough, don’t you think?”

“If I thought that, I wouldn’t have said every day.” The Dom was back. Peaches trembled with unexpected pleasure. She was beginning to discover new things about herself. One of them being she liked the idea of Logan taking control. She wanted him to take care of her. Her nipples tightened painfully. Her pussy clenched.

They went to the hardware store next, Logan going through a mental list of everything he wanted for the cat’s new playroom. Lumber, rope, carpet, nails, glue, paint were all gathered.

He spent a small fortune, and then added to it when they went to the pet supply store.

Everywhere they went police were close by. The sheriff was making certain nothing happened to her. She was more worried about the men deliberately placing themselves in harm’s way. If something happened to one of them, she would be lost.

When they stopped at yet another store, she looked at them curiously. “What are we getting here?”

“Stuff for you and for the house. It’s basically a big man cave. You should do things to make it more you.”

“Your house is very nice.” And it was. There were a few things that could eventually be changed or updated, but it was still a very nice house. “I like it the way it is.”

“Our house,” Logan corrected. “It’s as much yours as ours. There has to be something you want to do to it. How about some kind of artwork? Or glass things to set around on tables.

Some pillows for the couch would be nice. Rugs, too.” He shrugged broad shoulders. “You get the idea. Stuff to perk the place up.”

“How about we get new dishes?”

Everything they owned was functional but terribly mismatched in color and design. So much so, she couldn’t even call it trendy.

Damien scowled at Ryan. “We won’t be putting you in charge of birthday or Christmas gifts. Dishes. Cripes.”

“We do need new dishes,” Peaches announced, smiling at Ryan. He perked up. “And some new pots and pans. A good Dutch oven would be nice.” Shopping with three men should have been difficult. At the very least, it should have been irritating. Men, after all, were renowned for hating shopping with women. Her men, however, seemed born to do it. The only problem she had was she couldn’t look at anything too long. If she did, it was placed in a cart. After being forbidden to remove anything after the first few attempts, she gave up.

When Peaches thought they surely had enough to make the entire house look brand new, Ryan was grabbing hold of her and dragging her to the baby furniture department. Logan started looking over each item, asking the salesperson questions about the safety issues, if any models were on any recall lists, until she thought the poor woman was going to cry.

Having spent the past couple of hours protesting, she didn’t even bother. She chose which style she liked the best and then stepped out of the way. Then there were sheets, blankets, lamps, and various other items to put in a new nursery. She had to admit it was a lot of fun, and she became filled with anticipation by the time they had finished.

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“You do realize,” Peaches said as they walked to Damien’s pickup, “buying all this stuff is going to make the waiting that much worse.”

“We’ll keep you entertained, baby,” Damien promised, hugging her tight. The men inspected everything in the back of the truck, making sure it was secure. Most of what they had purchased would be brought by a delivery truck from the store. “We’ll do the cat’s room first.

Then you can decide what colors you want to paint the rooms, because they could really use it.

And if new pillows aren’t enough to perk the place up, then we’ll get new furniture. We definitely need a bigger bed.”

“Already ordered,” Logan said smugly. “We better get to the grocery store. I’m sure the sheriff is tired of following us around.”

“Can we stop for pizza before we go home?”

Her suggestion was a big hit with the men. She liked seeing them all happy and at ease.

Even Logan was relaxed, which was really an accomplishment. They shoved themselves into a booth and ordered pizza, with six to go.

“Not a dozen?” she teased. “We do have the new freezers.” She laughed when Damien and Ryan changed the order to a dozen. As they sat and talked, waiting for their pizza, she looked at them. How had she gotten so lucky? She had almost turned down the invitation to go to the rodeo. The thought of how close she had come to not meeting Damien gave her a chill. Her gaze touched their handsome faces. Their smiles were easy. Their laughter was filled with genuine pleasure. This place was their home and they took pleasure in it and the people who also called it home. Now she was one of them. Everyone she had met had welcomed her very warmly. From all she had ever heard about small towns, she hadn’t expected it. But here she was, fully committed to being a part of Silver, just as they were.

“Another thing that will keep you busy is planning the wedding.” The wedding. Peaches had given some thought to it the moment she had decided to commit herself to these men. Now she thought of it and it scared her to death. Looking from one handsome face to the next, she wondered how she would manage it.

“You’ll legally be married to me,” Logan told her succinctly. “Then there will be a private ceremony, where we will all commit to one another.”

“I don’t have any choice in which man I marry?”

“No,” he told her, his face set into hard lines. “We decided between us.”

“Did you draw straws?”

“No. Rock, paper, scissors,” Logan said calmly. He couldn’t be serious, but he looked it.

Peaches didn’t know whether she wanted to laugh or smack him. Actually, she wanted to smack all of them. “Jerks!” Looking at her pizza, she wondered what Logan would do if she flicked pepperoni at him. “Don’t you think I should have some say in this? And I hate to mention this, considering how romantic this has all been so far, but shouldn’t I expect some kind of proposal from at least
one
of you?”

“Is she being hormonal?”

It was Ryan wanting to know. When she turned her laser gaze on him, he looked lost and helpless and more than a little confused. He was so damned sweet she couldn’t blame him for being steamrolled by the other two. All he wanted was to make her happy. Even as hot as he was in bed, if they had a normal one-on-one relationship, she probably wouldn’t marry him.

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She didn’t want a man who turned himself into her doormat. Or let her do it for him. Yet she loved him as much as she did his jerk friends. While Logan was definitely the alpha, Damien was in the middle. He was tough when he needed to be, but here he was, willing to let Logan make all the decisions. If it had just been him, he would have been a good candidate for marriage. Then there was Logan. Tough, domineering, willful, he was the epitome of the alpha male. No, she probably wouldn’t choose him as a man for marriage. They were too alike, stubborn, often bull headed. But the other two tempered the match. The men actually complimented one another. If she could squish them all together into one man, she would actually create something close to perfect.

“No, I’m not being hormonal. But I’m considering being homicidal.” Looking at Damien, she smiled when he tried to give her a reassuring look. “I met Damien first. I would think it would make sense that I marry him.”

“Do you want to marry him?” Logan spoke again, his expression closed.

Damien was still smiling. The man seemed amused by her attempt to thwart Logan’s highhandedness. It was as though he didn’t believe it would work. It probably wouldn’t, but she would sure irritate him in the trying. That alone was worth the effort expended upon the impossible.

“I didn’t say that. I just said it would make sense. I met Damien first.”

“Then marry Damien.”

“No.” Lifting the slice of pizza, she bit into it.

Logan growled. Two men in the booth behind them, obviously picking up the gist of the conversation, laughed openly. He growled again and raised a hand over the back of the booth to slap one of the two occupants in the back of the head. She stared in shock.

“Shut the fuck up, you two, or I’ll tell Cheryl you’re here eating meat.”

“Ah, damn, Logan. I knew you were mean, but that’s just rotten.” Ryan leaned close to Peaches. “Cheryl is trying to be a vegan. If she smells the pepperoni on Jerry’s and Stan’s breath, they won’t get any for a month.”

“Any what?” Her brown eyes sparkled as she asked the tongue-in-cheek question.

“Pussy,” Ryan informed her gleefully.

“Is that any way to talk in a restaurant?” their waitress asked as she walked by from another table. She smacked him on the head with a stack of menus.