Sinful Pleasures (4 page)

Morgan stared at him for a long moment before glancing away. Something in his friend’s expression made a cold lump of worry form in the center of
Dallas
’s chest.

“You still with the program?”
Dallas
asked. He hoped Morgan hadn’t changed his mind. It wouldn’t be a contest between his lifelong friend and the woman he thought he might be falling in love with. That would be a no-win situation. Especially since it seemed Morgan was falling for her, too.

Morgan flashed him a wicked grin. “You mean the share-and-share-alike plan?”

Dallas
felt a knot of tension ease between his tired shoulders. “Yeah. You had me scared for a minute. I thought you were going to say you couldn’t do it.”

“I know.” Morgan gave him a playful thump on the arm that rocked him sideways in the seat.

“Asshole.”

John Grayson looked back over the front seat with a concerned expression on his face. It was obvious he was unsure whether they were kidding or not. “Play nice, boys, or we’ll have to separate you.”

“Everything’s under control,”
Dallas
assured him, shooting a sidelong glance at Morgan, who still had a dumb grin on his face but refused to look his way.

Dallas
remembered the first time he met Morgan Kent. It had been in the third grade, and they had Mrs. Daniels for math. She made him feel like a loser. Math didn’t come easily to Dallas, and it seemed like the harder he tried the more confused he got. Mrs. Daniels liked to make an example of him to the whole class.

Morgan had transferred from
Phoenix
. He sat quietly while the other kids laughed at Dallas’s embarrassment. He hadn’t laughed or stared at him. He just kept looking at Mrs. Daniels until she finally asked what his problem was.

“You’re a jerk,” Morgan had said. Just like that. The class went so quiet he could hear a pin drop. Mrs. Daniels turned a funny shade of scarlet purple.
Dallas
hadn’t ever seen anyone get so mad. He could see her scalp shining hotly through her gray hair.

“You’re going to the principal’s office, young man.”

“He’s right!”
Dallas
countered. “You
are
a jerk.”

Mrs. Daniels gave a hiss of frustration and hauled him out of his chair by one arm. “Both of you. Both of you are coming with me to the office.”

Pinching their arms tightly, she hauled them down to Mr. Tucker. He listened to her rant for half an hour before asking to speak to the boys alone. Mr. Tucker sat solemnly across his desk from them, paying attention to their side of the story. The principal’s gaze frequently shifted from their faces to stare at their bare arms. He frowned at the bruises forming on their tender young skin.

“You shouldn’t call your teacher a jerk.” He hesitated as if weighing the wisdom of his words. “Even if she is one.” The boys giggled, and Mr. Tucker went on. “
Dallas
, I know your father. He wouldn’t approve of you being disrespectful. I also understand that Mrs. Daniels had no cause to embarrass you in front of the class. I’ll get you transferred tomorrow.”

Then Mr. Tucker turned his attention to Morgan. “Were you allowed to talk to your teachers in
Phoenix
like that?”

Morgan shook his head no, keeping his eyes firmly on the floor. Mr. Tucker sighed heavily. “Don’t let it happen again. I suppose I’ll have to transfer you into another math class, too. You boys are dismissed, but don’t let me hear about you being in any more trouble. Do you understand?”

In the hallway, the two of them stared at one another in disbelief. Then they started laughing with the kind of lightheaded hilarity that eight-year-old boys get when reprieved from certain doom. From that point on, Morgan and Dallas were inseparable throughout school. They fought each other’s battles, sharing the victories and defeats.

Dallas
knew Morgan joined the firefighting academy more to watch his ass than to be a hero, but together they made a damn good team.

Morgan turned to give him a thoughtful look. “We should check with Jude after our shift tonight. We can pick up the gifts for Tom and find out what time she wants to leave on Saturday.

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

John Grayson whirled around to stare at them in surprise. “You’re talking about that hot little number who owns Sinful Pleasures? That’s who you two are planning to share and share alike? Wooo-eee!”

Morgan nodded. “Yeah, what about it?”

John held up his hands. “Nothing, man, but she’s a real piece of work. You really got her to model some clothes for you? Is that who you were talking about? For real?”

Dallas
laughed at the memory. “We picked out some things for Tom’s honeymoon and told Jude the bride is about her size. We promised not to touch if she modeled the clothes for us so we could decide what we liked best.”

John groaned. “She fell for that?”

“Not really,” Morgan answered, “but the promise of a big sale sure helped.”

John shook his head in disbelief. “She’s a class act, guys. I don’t know what the hell she sees in you two, but she definitely makes allowances in your favor. The rest of us poor schmucks get the polite-but-distant treatment.”

“That’s because she knows who the real studs are.”
Dallas
smirked, smacking him playfully in the back of the head.

John raised both eyebrows in disbelief. “Yeah, right.” Then his grin turned into a frown, and he stared back at them in the mirror. “Does the old witch know about this?”

“By witch, do you mean Genevieve Wheeler?”

John nodded seriously. “I’m not kidding guys. That woman is evil. I’ve run up against her in court a time or two over minor ordinance issues. She’s got her hand in everything going on in Parrish. It’s no secret she’s trying to destroy Jude for divorcing her son.”

“Jude’s not married to her son any longer. She can date who she wants.”

“I’m not arguing with that,” John answered, “but I think Mrs. Wheeler is going to pitch a royal fit. You know what she’s like with all her self-righteous bullshit.”

* * * *

Standing in the shower cubicle beside his best friend, Dallas lathered up his chest and arms before speaking. “Do you think Genevieve Wheeler will be able to cause Jude any harm? The Wheelers have friends in high places. We’ve got to think of some way to keep Jude safe. You know they are looking for any excuse to shut down Sinful Pleasures.”

“I don’t see what they can do,” Morgan said. “Besides, all we’re going to do is escort Jude to the ball. It’s not like we’re going to be having an orgy on the courthouse lawn to disgrace her precious Steven.”

“I don’t know why Mrs. Wheeler thinks Jude, or the town of
Parrish
, is going to hurt Steven’s bid for senator,”
Dallas
complained. “Three-way marriages are legal here in Parrish and it won’t be that long till other communities adopt the same laws. And no one cares what Steven’s ex-wife does for a living. Why doesn’t she just leave Jude alone?”

Morgan poured a handful of shampoo over his head and stepped under the heavy spray, lathering his hair until the foam ran down his back. “It’s all about power, but I’m going to make this work, bud. I’m not going to let the likes of Genevieve Wheeler stop me from the woman of my dreams. You’re either with me or you’re not, but I want to know which it’s going to be right now.”

“Like I’ve got a choice.”

Morgan turned to him, blinking the soapy water out of his eyes. “Sure you do. You can back off and let me have her for myself.”

“That’s not going to happen.”
Dallas
felt his heart thumping like a drum. He could count the number of arguments he and Morgan had had on one hand. Not that this was an argument. At least it hadn’t turned into one yet.

“Then we might as well be upfront and honest about this from the start. She’s going to be ours. If we have to fight with the Wheelers then we’ll do it. They don’t own Jude. She’s not Steven’s wife any longer.”

Dallas
shook his head, letting the hot water sluice down his tired body. “And if they get us fired from the force? Or they get the city business ordinance changed and shut down Sinful Pleasures, what then?”

Morgan stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his hips. “Are you that worried about those two? Hell, this is a small town, Dallas. You know these people, the mayor and the fire chief won’t be pushed too far. Not many people love the Wheelers. They’ve been causing trouble since I’ve been in town. That’s nothing new.”

“I know, but I worry about them shutting Jude’s place down.”

Morgan shrugged. “They’re going to push their weight around when they see us with her. Now or later, the three of us are going to be the topic of conversation. You might as well get used to it.”

Dallas
stood under the hot spray long after his partner left. Morgan was right, of course. Trying to stop the Wheelers of Parrish would be like trying to stop the sun from shining. Jude was a hot topic after her divorce from Steven, and the family hadn’t forgiven her for standing her ground. She’d defied them at every turn, and so far, she’d managed to prosper despite their attempts to ruin her. Now it would be the three of them against two, and that made the odds a little better.

Dallas
was aware that Jude already knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end of the Wheelers’s disapproval. She fought tooth and nail to open her business, fighting the mother-and-son team while they tried to implement an obscenity zoning law. It took a while, but Genevieve gradually backed down when she saw the community embrace Jude’s store and her tireless efforts to bring business and tourism into Parrish.

Dallas
shut off the water and decided Morgan might be right after all. He toweled himself off until his skin glowed from the rough material, and then he dressed in his favorite jeans and old, comfortable Western shirt. It was time to collect the packages from Jude and ask when to pick her up for the ball.

Chapter Three

“What time do you want us to come over on Saturday?” Morgan shifted the packages under his arms and waited for her reply.

Jude thought he looked tired from fighting the earlier fire and maybe a little world weary from all that he’d seen. She found his brooding sexiness a challenge. Could she make him smile?

“Depends on what you want to do before we leave?” she teased.

Dallas
stepped forward, running his knuckles across her cheek. “Honey, if we start anything, we sure aren’t going to stop having fun to go to some fancy-assed dance.”

Jude was rewarded by a quick smile flitting across Morgan’s face. He nodded in agreement.

Regardless of the fact they were freshly showered, a faint hint of smoke clung to them like the aura of a ghost. It reminded Jude of the risks they took daily to save lives. These men were real heroes, the everyday kind of heroes who got ignored too often. The kind of men her ex-husband, the lawyer, looked down upon. He ridiculed them for not having white-collar jobs.

“In that case, I’ll be ready an hour early, and you can come over whenever you like. I’m looking forward to this.”

Morgan leaned forward to brush his lips against hers. “We’ll pick you up…”

Once again, like the morning’s interruption during her fashion show, the alarms started ringing next door.

“Gotta go, babe.”

The two men left at a run. So this is what I’m getting myself into, Jude thought. Will there always be an alarm during an inconvenient time? Yes, she told herself, imagining that was a way of life for most firefighter’s families.

Jude watched them rush into the bay of the station, tossing the packages aside and undressing as they went. Peeled down to faded blue department T-shirts and their jeans, they stepped into the turnout gear. The outfits consisted of a boots-and-pants combo, heavy Nomex coats, and their helmets. In record time, they were in the truck pulling out of Station Three. This time it was Morgan who tossed her a wave as they rounded the corner on to

The brake lights of Ladder Six were still in sight when Jude’s cell phone rang. She fished it out of her pocket while locking the door. She turned her “
Open for Business”
sign to “
Closed, please come back tomorrow
.”

Tracey’s hysterical voice screeched shrilly through the phone. “Jude, the nursing home’s on fire. Grandma’s inside…Grandma…Oh, God, Jude…”

Jude felt her heart do a dizzy plummet to her feet. Their grandmother had raised them after their mother died of cancer in her late twenties. She was really the only mother either of them could remember. “Tracey, listen to me, don’t panic. Station Three is on its way. I’ll be there in a minute. Where are you?”

Jude’s sister was beyond panicked. Her voice trembled so badly her words were nearly indistinguishable. “I’m across the street. They won’t let anyone near.”

“Stay there,” Jude ordered. She grabbed her purse from beneath the counter, knocking over the partially full watering can. “I’m on my way.” Jude ignored the water dripping onto the tile floor. She would worry about that tomorrow. For now, she had to get to her sister and her grandmother. There must be something she could do to help, she thought, but her frightened mind couldn’t seem to focus.

 
Running red lights and ignoring traffic signs, Jude made it to the nursing home in a record-breaking matter of minutes. There were no cops on the road to slow her progress. She knew that everyone available would be called to the nursing home fire.

Jude maneuvered her Eclipse through narrow streets clogged with emergency equipment. Two blocks away from the nursing home, she found a parking space big enough to fit the compact car in, and she took it. If the car got towed, she would deal with it, but right now, she had to find Tracey. Her sister would be on the verge of a total breakdown by this point.